It was approaching 8 o'clock in the evening when Emerald Sparrow, carrying two large plastic shopping bags, crossed the nightfall and returned to the secret base. However, as she found her keys and opened the front door as always, she suddenly felt that something was missing.
Behind the door was an empty entrance hall; Lin Xiaolu hadn't come over.
For nearly a month now, every time Emerald Sparrow returned to the base, Lin Xiaolu would always come out to greet her. Sometimes enthusiastic, sometimes calm, but always engaging proactively in a little small talk. This slightly intimate behavior had initially made Emerald Sparrow somewhat embarrassed, but over time, she had grown accustomed to their way of interacting.
But it seemed today was an exception.
The time by now was getting late. Logically, Lin Xiaolu should have finished her patrol, and what's more, Emerald Sparrow had heard a few days earlier that she was to have half a day off, so there was even less reason for her not to be at the base. Yet now the girl didn't come out to greet her, leaving Emerald Sparrow feeling a bit regretful.
This sense of regret didn't last long because she also knew that children are independent beings with their own things to do; they can't always be circling around her, and it's completely normal for them to be busy and not come to the door. So she quickly returned to her usual composure, changed into slippers methodically, and took small steps into the living room.
What she saw was Xia Liang sitting on the sofa watching TV and Bai Jingxuan, who was unusually not training in the basement but accompanying her in the living room instead.
"Have you had dinner yet?"
She bent slightly, ready to place the shopping bags to one side, "I stopped by the supermarket before coming back and bought some extra ingredients."
"Ah, has Junior returned? We've eaten already."
Hearing the movement behind her, Xia Liang immediately got up, ran out from the living room, and helped Emerald Sparrow with the shopping bag: "Wow, that's heavy! We should put these things in the fridge first!"
"I want to help too!" Hearing this, Bai Jingxuan quickly inserted herself between the two, snatching the other shopping bag.
"There's no need to rush... but thank you all the same."
The two bags were swiftly taken from her hands, relieving her of the weight and leaving Emerald Sparrow slightly at a loss as she blinked, "Right, where's Bai Mei?"
Then, she saw the two people in front of her simultaneously pause.
"...Sister had mentioned she wanted to go home, so she left alone earlier," said Bai Jingxuan, her voice sinking subtly.
"We went out together this afternoon, but due to certain reasons, Xiaolu didn't come back with us."
Xia Liang awkwardly chuckled, "I tried to persuade her, but, you know... she really wouldn't listen, haha."
Their evasive responses made Emerald Sparrow realize that there seemed to be more to the story. Instinctively she wanted to raise an eyebrow. However, to avoid putting pressure on the kids, she deliberately maintained an even expression, "There was a study meeting scheduled for tonight, why would she suddenly go home?"
"The thing I'm about to tell you, you need to stay calm after hearing it, okay?" Xia Liang put down her plastic bag and extended her hand flatly, pressing it down as if to convey a gesture of "staying calm."
"Is it something serious? Is she in danger?" Emerald Sparrow looked tense.
"No, it's not something dangerous, and her life is definitely not in danger. But serious... it's indeed quite serious. How should I put it... well, we went out for some reason this afternoon, and then decided to go have fun together, so we ended up at the shopping mall near the Abnormal Strategy Bureau."
Xia Liang struggled to maintain a smile:
"Then, in the evening, we saw Uncle Lin and Sister Hong Si together."
Because Bai Jingxuan was nearby, she chose a roundabout way of speaking, adopting a more objective phrasing. Nevertheless, Emerald Sparrow still understood the implication of her words:
The scene of herself and Hong Siyu acting together had been witnessed.
——"Mom! Dad is having an affair!"
As Xia Liang spoke out the truth, Bai Jingxuan followed suit at once, though her understanding of the situation was clearly on another level: "That's why sister had to go back to her own house, she said she wants to confront Dad!"
As Bai Jingxuan uttered the word, which was swiftly processed in her mind, Emerald Sparrow's thoughts plunged into a momentary void.
It took some effort for her to accept the fact. When she came back to her senses, she first looked at Bai Jingxuan, and finding no useful information on the child's face, she then turned to Xia Liang.
Xia Liang appeared to understand what she was thinking and nodded with an awkward laugh.
So, Emerald Sparrow came to grips with the current situation: in Lin Xiaolu's eyes, her father, despite his busy work, was still supposed to come home every evening, which was why she chose to wait at "her own" home.
This also meant that Emerald Sparrow was inevitably going to have to make a trip there.
Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, she spoke after a long silence, "...I might need to leave for a while, and I may not come back tonight."
After she finished speaking, she pointed at the shopping bags in Xia Liang's hands, "You might have to put these things away in the kitchen for me, thank you for your trouble."
"Is Mom angry?" Seeing her tense expression, Bai Jingxuan asked quietly, "Should we not have talked about this?"