On the other side, after Lin Yingxia had sent Lin Ximei and her daughter back to the Rong Medical Department with comforting words, she returned home fuming with anger and immediately noticed something was amiss.
Before she left, there was no such smell at home...!!!
Lin Yingxia secretly guarded herself and searched for the source of the smell without showing any emotion on her face, and cautiously approached her desk, quickly noticing the different arrangement of the books on it.
In order to get closer to Zhu Yilai, she had been rectifying her attitude and deeply regretting her past actions. Books at home have been accumulating, mostly ’borrowed’ through some military personnel—
Lin Yingxia could get books by other means too, but she was being watched by Ding Wangzhong, and she had absolutely no affection for this man, really not wanting to deal with him.
Such a despicable and useless man, wanting to touch her? Dream on!
Another reason was that she had already adopted such an attitude; to get close to Zhu Yilai, she had to seem genuinely remorseful. Yet, she couldn’t change too drastically all at once!
She could only borrow books under the guise of ’borrowing,’ flaunting herself all over the military areas. She couldn’t just change instantly and perfectly, could she?!
There’s a saying that goes, "It’s easy to change mountains and rivers, but hard to alter one’s nature."
If someone changes their nature too quickly or drastically, wouldn’t it be obvious that they are up to something?
Lin Yingxia wasn’t foolish to that extent.
Since these books are ones she often read, certain habits wouldn’t change due to the environment, particularly small habits.
Lin Yingxia has a small habit when reading: she places the books she’s finished reading on top, spine up.
But now, the arrangement of books on the desk was completely different from her habit.
One look, and she knew they had been tampered with!
Moreover, her nose was very sensitive; the odor in the air clearly belonged to a mature male.
This scent was definitely not Zhu Yilai’s!
Most importantly, the smell carried a faint, unique odor as well, and she had just come from the hospital, recognizing instantly where this odor came from!
Lin Yingxia meticulously searched through the books one by one. The intruder clearly wanted her to discover something; thus, the content must be hidden among the books. Therefore, she searched quite thoroughly.
Then, she discovered in an old "Red X Book," on page ’79,’ a very faint special pattern. Lin Yingxia saw it, and her pupils constricted—
It seems her progress was too slow, and the higher-ups have sent someone else!
Lin Yingxia’s face remained expressionless, but internally, she was laughing coldly. It wasn’t that she was inactive, but truly this was an aimless task. Her being dispatched here was entirely because the matter had dragged on too long. What was once secret had now caused a myriad of disputes!
Thinking back to the man’s scent, hmph, she really wanted to see what special powers this person had!
Lin Yingxia sat down nonchalantly in her chair and continued to flip through the books—
These characters are really annoying, hard, hard, hard to learn!
"Old man, my body is really too weak."
Zhou Xiuhua, in a fit of depression, was helped into the house by Xie Tiesheng and lay down on the bed to rest. Seeing the old man’s anxious face, she sighed in her heart and helplessly accepted the frail state of her body, significantly weaker than before.
"Nonsense, if you follow my advice, relax and recuperate for a while longer, you’ll definitely get better!"
"My heart is only so big, how can I relax! Whenever I think of Fifth’s current situation, all because of that short-sighted little girl, it truly feels like— a tragic fate!"
"You, old woman, think too much. What fate, there’s nothing! Fifth is upright and steady, don’t worry. Even Xiao Si and Xiaoqi are clear-hearted. The children are doing well now, never causing any trouble or crying. They, ah, have a clear mirror in their hearts, very sharp!"
Xie Tiesheng patted his old partner’s hand, knowing her worries and concerns were making her ill, wishing she could let go of all these troubles.
"But, Fifth still has two children, it’ll be hard for him to find someone else!" Zhou Xiuhua, weighed down by her thoughts, struggled to recover. Both Zhang Shanni and Xie Tiesheng knew, but such a heartache wasn’t something that could be resolved by just a few words.
For Zhou Xiuhua, caring for the entire Xie family had become instinctual, not something she could let go of easily.
"Fate will arrive when it’s time. You worry about this too, don’t you want to recover?"
"Ptui, ptui, ptui, if it’s such a bad marriage, I’d rather Fifth stay single! My heart aches for our Xiao Si and Xiaoqi!"
"You, old woman, just don’t listen! You need to relax, relax!" Xie Tiesheng said, and if he had a mustache, he would have probably glared and twitched it!
"I wish I could," Zhou Xiuhua glanced at him annoyedly and turned away, breathing heavily: "But I can’t control my thoughts. Whenever I think about..."
"You just are a hard worker, no matter what, you won’t listen!" Xie Tiesheng huffed and glared at the back of his own lean body — Due to continuous illness and occurrences, Zhou Xiuhua had lost twenty to thirty pounds in half a year, from slightly plump to just right.
But Xie Tiesheng, used to his wife’s plumper figure, felt she looked too emaciated now!
"Alright, alright, I won’t talk about this. I just want to know, when are we going back?"
"What’s the rush? Going back is not a problem, but can you really leave San’er’s wife here alone?"
"I’m just worried about home. Leaving the farmland to Boss and his family alone..." Zhou Xiuhua said uneasily.
"What’s there to worry about? I really have no worries. Now, I just feel that San’er’s wife’s belly is growing too fast!"
Don’t bully this old man who has never seen a pregnant woman with twins; after all, when his daughter had twins back in the day, he would frequently visit and take care!
But now, seeing San’er’s wife’s rapidly expanding belly, it truly seemed... like it was being inflated!
"It is a bit big, but there’s nothing to worry about. Have you seen how nimble little girl is? Currently, there’s nothing to fret about!" Zhou Xiuhua cheered up seeing Zhang Shanni’s big belly, finally feeling much better. She straightened up, sat upright, and quickly got dressed.
"What’s the matter?" Xie Tiesheng saw her move and also got off the bed.
This old woman, always coming up with something, never resting quietly!
"I can’t lie still, my body feels too constrained; I want to move around!"
As she spoke, Zhou Xiuhua left without waiting for Xie Tiesheng, full of energy as she stepped out of the room. Seeing Zhang Shanni preparing to mop the floor, she quickly strode forward and snatched the mop from her hands—