Hearing at 86

  Found a small eatery serving Southern cuisine, Wen Shixuan and Lin Wencan sat down to wait for Manman and the others.

  "Jiajing, go to Zhoujin and buy a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes for your uncle. Lin Wencai took out a 100 yuan note from his wallet and instructed his daughter, "I don't know how much Hongtashan costs in Beijing, your uncle likes hard packs, it used to be 100, now it should be 150. Buy two packs, make sure you get the real thing, don't buy fake cigarettes."

  "Hey, don't rush, I've quit smoking." Wen Shixuan said, stopping his little niece.

  Lin Wencai wouldn't let him intercept, and with one sentence, he exposed him: "Old Wen, can't I just have your niece buy a pack of cigarettes to show filial piety to you? You're not smoking at home, but sneaking off to other places to smoke."

  Because he had heard somewhere that smoking at home would bring second-hand smoke to his family members, Wen Shi Xuan, who was heavily addicted to nicotine, would sneak away to a place far from home every time he smoked.

  Wen Shixuan had nothing to say and reluctantly let Lin Jiajing go. He said to Lin Wencan with a sense of regret, "I actually wanted to quit smoking."

  "It's hard to quit, definitely can't quit. Your family is bothered by this and that, with a big sister like that nagging you every day, you can't even think about quitting." Lin Wencai spoke one sentence that pierced the heart of smokers.

  Smoking is like drinking coffee or taking morphine, it's just a psychological and neural anesthesia. If you're feeling good every day, why do you need these anesthetics?

  "Lin Wencai, you're really... " Wen Shixuan pointed at Lin Wencai, laughing and crying at the same time. Coming back to this sister-in-law's sharp eyes and transparent thoughts were very similar to his own family's Manman. "I said I wanted to quit because I think Manman is right now, can't spoil my wife anymore."

  "Only Manman can persuade you." Lin Wencai laughed loudly and picked up the teapot on the table to pour tea for himself and Wen Shixuan.

  The two of them stood in silence, gazing at the sunset over Beijing's old alleys, shrouded in clouds and mist, yet its outline was unexpectedly clear, unlike the sunsets in their southern hometown, which were often a blurry patch of red, where nothing could be seen clearly. The dryness of the north and the dampness of the south were distinctly evident at a glance.

  The land nurtures its people. The straightforward and frank nature of northerners contrasts sharply with the gentle, refined, and elegant demeanor of southerners.

  "Wen, old brother." Lin Wencai's low voice accompanied his gaze at the eyes on the table, as if he had fallen into a complex thought. "These past few days, I've been thinking to myself whether or not I should tell you. After thinking it over and over again, I think I should be honest with you, so that when the time comes, you won't be caught off guard by Manman."

  "What's wrong?" Wen Shi Xuan turned his head, looking at him with some surprise, because the tone of his speech seemed quite serious.

  "That night when Grandma Wen had an accident, I wasn't rushing back to see the old lady? As a result, I first met several strangers."

  "What's wrong?" Wen Shixuan seemed to be in the midst of it, hastily pulling him back to ask, "Who stopped you? Did they do anything to you?"

  "If I were a bad person, I wouldn't be able to talk to you here now." Lin Wencai patted the arm stretched out in front of him, his eyes behind his glasses smiling with a hint of helplessness. "But that time really scared me. At the time, I thought, for my daughter's sake, nothing can happen. Later, I thought, if Wen Lao were here, he would definitely think the same way as me for Mianmian's sake."

  "What kind of person is he? Why did this happen?" Wen Shixuan asked.

  At this point, Lin Wencai felt a little nervous and deliberately avoided eye contact with Wen Shixuan: "After that night, didn't I ask you if you had looked for Mianmian's relatives? So, I suspect that those people are Mianmian's relatives."

  Wen Shixuan lowered his head, as if looking at his own shadow on the ground.

  Afraid of hurting the other party, Lin Wencai hastily changed the subject: "Of course, they didn't say that to me, it's just my own guess."

  "Wen Cai." Wen Shi Xuan's voice sounded weary and tired. "Actually, I saw two people this morning, just like you did."

  Did those people really find Wen Shi Xuan?

  Lin Wencai's voice was filled with anxiety: "What did they say? What demands have they made of you?"

  "No. They didn't say anything, just asked me questions, saying they were asking on behalf of my son-in-law's elders, asking if Mengmeng was really my biological child. I told them the truth." Wen Shixuan added at the end, "That's all, they didn't say anything else."

  "This——" Lin Wencai kept pushing his glasses, thinking that perhaps Wen Shixuan had seen the same thing as him, and asked, "Did they say what kind of people they were?"

  "One was surnamed Lu, and the other was surnamed Yao."

  That's right, one with the surname Lu and one with the surname Yao.

  Lin Wencai exclaimed: "What are these people trying to do? If they're really relatives, why don't they just reveal their identities directly? It's harming us by making wild guesses."

  "They didn't say, I think there's a reason for it." Wen Shixuan slowly stroked the cup with his palm, speaking very slowly, as if lost in thought or reminiscing.

  "What reason?" Lin Wencai asked, sensing something unspoken.

  "When Manman was very young, she almost got into a car accident." Wen Shixuan let out a long sigh. "Not only that, but she's had quite a few unexpected incidents. So I taught her to wear glasses and to always pay attention to safety, and to be on guard against strangers."

  "You're saying——" Lin Wenchao's next words got stuck in his throat, and he didn't dare say them. He locked eyes with Wen Shixuan, and finally found a definite answer in the other person's eyes.

  Does someone want to kill Manman?

  This is astonishing, but thinking carefully, it's not entirely unreasonable. Considering those strangers went so far as to warn him not to spread the word, perhaps there's some truth to this after all.

  At this thought, Lin Wencai's clenched fist slammed heavily on the table, and a few angry words burst out: "What kind of family is this? How can they let their own child face life-threatening danger?"

  "So, I think we should wait for the other party to make a move. Maybe one day they'll think it's okay and come to me on their own initiative. For now, let's keep Mianmian out of this matter."

  Lin Wencai listened to Wen Shixuan's gentle and slow speech, which sounded like an old cow pulling a cart, and suddenly felt that this Brother Wen was not as weak as he had imagined. Wen Shixuan thought things through and made decisions after years of careful consideration.

  Perhaps it was because Wen Shixuan had endured too much hardship, which made him cautious: not afraid of ten thousand, but afraid of one in ten thousand. He would rather not do something than take a risk of one in ten thousand.

  It's hard to be a good eldest son in the family, and it's even harder for an ordinary person to be a perfect father who is kind and responsible to his children.

  Lin Wencai, who had raised his daughter into a capable person, was deeply moved by this. He patted Wen Shixuan's shoulder and sighed: "Your hard work is valuable, Manman is very filial to you."

  "I don't need them to repay me anything, as long as they are safe and sound, I am content." Wen Shixuan's gaze extended through the sunset, as if he wanted to see his distant hometown.

  There was another daughter of his who had also been lost there.

  I hope his daughter will also be safe and sound.

  ……

  In school, Jiang Yan and his older brother Jiang Fei faced each other, with sharp eyebrows, slightly narrowed eyes, and a subtle curve at the corner of their mouths that hinted at an unspoken deep meaning.

  "Third brother, I just heard that you're leaving school, are you going home? Coincidentally, I'll go with you to meet your wife. You've been married for so long, and as the older brother, I haven't even met my sister-in-law or had a chance to talk to her, it's not quite right." As he spoke, Jiang Fei, who was full of enthusiasm and smiling warmly, pulled his younger brother's arm, wanting to head out.

  With a slight struggle, Jiang Yan broke free from Jiang Fei's hand. The subtle curve of his mouth seemed to hold a deep meaning as he gazed at the shallow dimple, saying: "If big brother wants to see Manman, it might not be very convenient tonight."

  "What? Aren't you going home?" Jiang Fei raised an eyebrow, with a provocative tone.

  "Big brother knows why I rushed back home to see that wife of mine?" Jiang Yan's eyes under his eyebrows shot out a sharp light that couldn't be ignored.

  "This..." Jiang Fei cursed in his heart. His third brother, this cunning fox, actually wanted to trick him. "How could I possibly know?"

  "Really don't know?" The eyes under the English eyebrows narrowed into a suspicious slit, "When Big Brother came over, didn't he hear anything from the battalion office?"

  "Third brother, your words are really strange. I was brought here directly to see you, what could I have heard? On the other hand, why do you keep asking if I must have heard something? Could it be that your wife has done something that makes you feel embarrassed to tell me?" Jiang Fei's mouth corners rose into two deep dimples, a smile that was sinister to the extreme.

  At this point, the eyes under Ying's eyebrows instantly turned into a cold winter. If his previous series of questions were just exploratory, then Jiang Fei's last sentence was like saying "there is no silver here" three hundred times.

  Brother, brother, in the end, did we drift apart because of a woman?

  Jīn Měi Chén!

  He had very little contact with his sister-in-law, and before he got married, he met Jin Meichen only a few times, and they barely exchanged two words, just being polite and passing by like strangers. However, since she was the woman his brother chose, he chose to respect and honor her.

  When I heard from my second sister Jiang Mei that this elder sister had some unpleasant aspects, I was somewhat concerned, but still chose to be tolerant.

  However, everyone has a bottom line, and Jin Meichen is becoming more and more excessive, actually instigating Jiang Fei to find him. It's likely that the relationship between the brothers has already been alienated by this woman.

  "Big brother thinks that my wife has done something that would make me embarrassed to tell big brother?" The tone was half cold, in order to further extract information.

  It's come to this, and while I couldn't say it to her face, giving my younger brother a warning isn't out of the question. Jiang Fei sneered coldly: "Third Brother, am I slandering your wife? It's just that she's done something too outrageous, making everyone know about it. Your wife is already married, yet she doesn't follow the proper path of a woman, and her relationship with our superior is ambiguous and unclear. Do you know what people are saying now? They're saying it's because of you, that you can't control your wife, or even that you're encouraging her to do this. When did you, Jiang Yan, become so incompetent? Are you still my brother? You and your wife have lost face for both me and your elder sister!

  He furrowed his English eyebrows fiercely, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a cold sneer: "Brother, I only ask you one question, are these words your own thoughts or did sister-in-law tell you?"

  "Is this worth mentioning?" Jiang Fei's expression was disdainful, his thick eyebrows slanting downwards like a brush stroke. "Even if your sister-in-law didn't tell me, I would have heard it from others. What your sister-in-law and I think is not important, what's most important is that you're harming yourself! You don't want to marry the daughter of the Group Army Commander, but instead insist on marrying a girl from a grocery store, and for this, you're willing to quarrel with your mother, is it worth it?"

  "So that's what big brother thinks? And also what big sister thinks?" His heart was getting colder and colder, the sharp eyes under his eyebrows were devoid of any emotions, only a chill remained.

  Jiang's mother had never changed her opinion of Manman, and was even more severe, deciding that someone must be possessed, but today she saw the situation clearly.

  Who is destroying the harmony of the Jiang family?

  What does Jin Meichen want?

  Mengmeng's own personality is most clear to himself, Mengmeng doesn't like to argue with anyone. But does Jin Meichen want to fight for the position of eldest?

  Sneering, there are such unscrupulous, self-righteous scoundrels.

  What's even more ridiculous is that his own brother has been blinded by wealth and is being led by the nose by this woman.

  "I've said it before, what your sister-in-law and I think is unimportant, what's important is—"

  His icy eyebrows slightly raised, his words sharp as a knife: "Since it's not important, why did big brother rush to tell me these things? If big brother really didn't care about others' opinions, in fact, big brother you are caring about others' opinions, believing their rumors, thinking the mistake is all on this younger brother."

  "It's what everyone says!" Jiang Fei, who had been struck at his weak point, turned red with rage.

  "Big brother, even if everyone says so, you are my elder brother. You won't even listen to me explain myself. Who will believe that we are brothers? Who will believe that we are from the same family?" The eyes under his eyebrows were as cold as an ice cellar, every sentence was meant to strip the opponent bare and dig into their most vulnerable spot.

  Jiang Fei's face turned red and his neck thickened, for a moment he couldn't pick out a single sentence from Jiang Yan's words that went against reason, thinking to himself that this old three was indeed extremely cunning, I absolutely cannot be deceived by him again, so he temporarily lowered his head and held back his voice.

  "It seems the opportunity for counterattack has arrived. With an arrogant expression, she looked down at her elder brother's face that was trying to hide its sinister intentions and said: 'What? Big Brother doesn't even dare ask me how I'll defend myself? Since it's like this, I actually have a few words I'd like to question Big Brother about and make clear with him.'"

  "What's going on?" Jiang Fei asked coldly.

  "First of all, I want to ask my brother, who said that my wife and our superior leader are in a ambiguous relationship? Who said it? I, Jiang Yan, must get to the bottom of this, because this matter concerns the reputation of my wife and our superior leader. I believe that our superior leader will also attach great importance to the truth of this matter, just like me."

  A sentence is like a needle, like a gun, like a bullet, hitting the fatal point with one strike.

  Jiang Fei's face turned pale. In the whole team, whoever dared to spread this rumor would be doomed, and Manman couldn't do anything about it. However, their superior leader would absolutely not let off anyone who spread rumors about him easily. So, what he just told Jiang Yan was his own thoughts, his wife's thoughts, and no one else would say that.

  Gritting his teeth, his grandmother's old three dragged out a long tone of shirking responsibility: "This... everyone says, so many people say, how can I remember who it was?"

  "Big brother can't possibly not remember any of it, right? If big brother really can't remember, I'm worried that my superior might not believe me. If this gets to my superior's ears and they say you invited big brother over, don't blame me for not reminding big brother." Of course, he couldn't let the exceptional sister-in-law off the hook, his eyes cold and stern, "And what about sister-in-law? Big brother can't remember, but sister-in-law should remember, since big brother said sister-in-law also knew about it."

  "You——" Under the thick eyebrows, the eagle-like eyes looked at his brother, with a cold smile, "Are you threatening me?"

  "Big brother, man proposes and heaven disposes. I don't need to intimidate you, big brother, just let these few words make you reflect on yourself. And obviously, you have a guilty conscience, otherwise you wouldn't be unable to answer my questions. No one is saying that your wife has done anything bad, if someone really did, who is it? I've already heard it in my ear." His eyes narrowed, flawless.

  Nothing to say, the general was defeated and was scolded by his own army. He was so angry that he almost spat out fire from his mouth. Jiang Fei angrily swung his sleeve and, as if not forgetting the dog who had escaped after falling into the water, shouted a thunderous rebuke: "Fine, you can keep protecting your wife for now, but mark my words, one day this matter will be exposed to the whole world! When that day comes, we'll see who's wrong and who's right, whether I've falsely accused your wife or not. Heaven and earth will be my witness!"

  When he heard this, Comrade Jiang Yun suddenly burst out laughing in his heart, it was too funny, so much so that he could only clench his fists to cover up.

  One day when his wife's secret is revealed, Jiang Fei's own doomsday will also arrive if he and Jin Meichen still refuse to wake up.

  Such an elder brother, just like Mother Jiang, why bother reminding him on purpose, he deserves to be taught a lesson.

  "Please." Jiang Yan said slowly and sent someone over.

  This kind of extreme thing is born and dies on its own.

  Jiang Fei flung his hat aside and shot out of the doorway like a fireball.

  He stormed out, walking very quickly, without looking up or noticing anyone, and almost collided with someone at the stairway entrance.

  He steadied himself, looked up and saw that it was a colonel with two epaulets on his shoulders, who was even higher in rank than him. At first glance, he made a deep impression as a soldier. Searching through his memories, he suddenly realized that the man he almost bumped into was someone he had met before in his father-in-law's office, and was the son of his father-in-law's superior. He hastily put on a smile and greeted him: "Colonel Lu."

  "Do you know me?" Jun Ye was about to leave when he was stopped by the man in front of him, who had a awkward smile on his face. A hint of displeasure gathered at the corner of his eyebrow.

  Then, Yao Ye stopped beside Jun Ye and curiously looked at Jiang Fei.

  "My surname is Jiang, and my name is Jiang Fei. I had the pleasure of meeting you in my father-in-law's office. Afraid that Your Excellency might have forgotten, I'll clarify our relationship: My father-in-law used to be a deputy general under General Lu, and he still works under General Lu now; his surname is Jin."

  The surname Jiang is enough to attract the attention of two grandfathers.

  Jun Ye gave a glance at Yao Ye: Does Jiang Da Shao have any brothers?

  Yao Ye gave a thoughtful and reminiscent look: You should be clearer about this than me, isn't it your brother-in-law's home?

  To be honest, Jun Ye had no interest in the Jiang family at all, only having an interest in his sister. If it weren't for his brother-in-law, Jiang Da Shao, marrying his sister, he wouldn't even know what the Jiang family was like. However, this doesn't mean that he would remember every single person from the Jiang family because they were not on the same level as him, and Jun Ye didn't have the energy to remember them.

  So, Mr. Yao only read from the bewildered eyes of Jun Ye: Comrade Jiang Fei is so pathetic, because Jun Ye can't even remember you, and even if you really have a relationship with Jun Ye's brother-in-law, he still can't remember, it's clear how pathetic you are.

  "Director Chiang, what brings you here?" Because Master Jun couldn't remember, Master Yao had to speak on his behalf, lest Master Jun's first words would shock people to death.

  Jiang Fei thought his abilities were no worse than those of his younger brother, but Comrade Jiang Yan was faster even without the support of his capable father-in-law.

  "I'm here looking for my brother." Jiang Fei avoided being compared with his brother in front of their grandfather.

  However, how could he avoid it? It wasn't that Master Yao was intentionally picking a fight, but rather just making small talk: "Oh, who is it? Tell me and I might know them."

  His surname is Jiang and his name is Jiang Yan.

  Jiang Fei just finished answering.

  Yao Lao inadvertently said: "You mentioned Jiang Zhongxiao? Coincidentally, he's in the same class as us."

  Jiang Fei's face turned red on the spot.

  The two men finally discovered Jiang Fei's abnormal expression at this moment.

  After some thought, Mr. Yao could slightly understand Jiang Fei's feelings of being inferior to his younger brother.

  Jun Ye's cold gaze swept across Jiang Fei's reddened face, and he snorted: Why not just admit that you're climbing up? What's the point of being ashamed? Are you a man or not?

  However, as a result, I can see that my brother-in-law Jiang Dashao is quite capable among his peers in the military.

  Whenever Father praised Jiang Dashi in front of him, the cold light in Jun Ye's eyes flickered with a hint of thought.

  Then, this cold light was cast back on Jiang Fei: It is said that the true young master of the Jiang family came to find his brother-in-law, what for? Why didn't he see Comrade Jiang Yan send his own brother out the door?

  No need for two sets of questions, Jiang Fei was already at a loss in front of his grandfather because he had been outdone by his younger brother. He had to quickly come up with something to prove himself, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he said: "Actually, I came here to talk to my younger brother about his wife. Perhaps the two colonels are not aware, but this sister-in-law of mine has no sense of propriety, causing rumors to spread among everyone, and even giving rise to unfounded gossip about our superiors, which makes me very worried."

  Jiang Fei said this in order to move the two masters and get them to stand on his side against Man Tian Xing.

  However, the two men's faces changed suddenly after hearing his words, but it was not the kind of change he had imagined.

  Younger brother's wife?

  Isn't it referring to Chiang Yan's wife?

  His sister?

  Her eyes turned cold and her tone dropped by three degrees as she began to peel away at Jiang Fei's face: "What rumors? Tell me, let me hear."

  Dad actually has something interesting to say?

  Jiang Fei was excited, thinking he had really flattered the boss. He swallowed his saliva and couldn't wait to speak, soon saying with flying spittle: "I don't know what my sister-in-law did? Maybe it was my brother's idea, who knows? It's possible that she went to curry favor with the leader, causing people to misunderstand the relationship between the leader and my sister-in-law as ambiguous. You say, isn't this adding trouble for our superior leaders? My brother doesn't do things thoroughly, making me, his older brother, feel deeply regretful."

  Lightly passing over his face, Master Yao's narrow and long eyebrows slightly furrowed, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, seemingly smiling yet not: In his heart, he was so angry at Jiang Fei's words that he couldn't help but laugh and cry.

  Lu Shuai would be delighted to have a ambiguous relationship with his daughter every day, it's strange if he wouldn't.

  "Jun Ye's eyebrows rose slightly as he asked, 'Who said these words first?'"

  Who started the rumor?

  Suddenly remembering what his brother said in the reception room, Jiang Fei didn't dare to say it was himself who said it, and said: "Many people have said that."

  "Oh, I've never heard anyone say that before." Jun Ye's cold gaze pierced through Jiang Fei's spine, "Colonel, is this what you said?"

  "No, no, it's not me, really not me." Jiang Fei hastily waved his hand.

  Upon hearing this, Yao turned around and set a trap: "Colonel Jiang, if it wasn't you who said it, then who was it? Please be sure to tell us. This way we can report back to our superiors and reward those with merit."

  Discussing merits and rewards?

  Jiang Fei's heart moved, and he said: "Actually, the fault lies with my brother and sister-in-law. But please rest assured, leader, I will educate them well, and in the future, they won't cause you any more trouble."

  "How do you plan on educating them?" the cold voice asked.

  "I've already had a word with my brother."

  A cold laugh suddenly emerged from the bottom of both men's hearts.

  Therefore, Comrade Jiang Yun did not see off his elder brother Jiang Fei when he left home, and that's the reason.

  Since Comrade Jiang Yan has already taught Comrade Jiang Fei a lesson, making him so angry that he almost bumped into someone, the two of you think it's not impossible to send this Comrade Jiang Fei on his way.

  Mr. Yao smiled, his smile as sly as a flower: "Captain Jiang, don't worry about this matter, I will definitely report to our superiors and 'invite credit' for you, so please make sure to present the true evidence of the rumor-monger when the time comes, because you know that our superiors only recognize two words - evidence. Without evidence, those who want to accuse others are more guilty than the rumor-mongers themselves."

  What his father said was perfectly normal, but it was enough to make Jiang Fei's heart skip a beat and break out in cold sweats. Where could he go to find someone to back him up?

  "As for your younger brother and his wife, you don't need to educate them anymore. After this matter is thoroughly investigated, rest assured that our leaders will handle it impartially."

  His words were concise and profound, with a deep meaning that also contained an extremely intimidating threat.

  Jiang Fei was shocked and stuttered, unable to say a word, vaguely saying "yes, yes" as he ran down the stairs and escaped.

  Cold eyes stared at one glance at Jiang Fei's escaping back.

  For them, getting rid of Jiang Fei is easy, the problem is that what Jiang Fei said isn't empty talk. If they get too close to Manman, it's possible that they'll bring her a lot of gossip. Maybe people are afraid of their status and don't dare to wag their tongues, but in their hearts, maybe they're just like Jiang Fei and have suspicions. However, they should all be people who can't tell black from white, on the same level as Jiang Fei.

  It seems that there are many extreme cases in human society, and it's hard to guard against them all.

  Going back to the Wen family, that group of extreme products should be the most extreme among all extreme products.

  The two men walked up while whispering to each other.

  "We tracked down Wang Hai making a call to Wen Huan, but it seems that Wang Hai used a roadside phone booth, and we can't find any leads." Yao Ye furrowed his brow, "Do you think we should bring in Wen Huan for questioning?"

  "It's useless, Wen Huan herself doesn't know how many things. If we really catch Wen Huan, it will be like beating the grass to scare away the snake, and this thread may have been cut off." In his cold voice, there was a deeper contemplation.

  The reason why Wen Shitong's line was cut off is that they had previously sent someone to investigate Wen Shitong's company, which led to the other party withdrawing quickly. This also shows how ruthless and resolute the other party is in doing things. For someone like Wen Shitong who is an outsider, they will never let him touch the core secrets, and he can be discarded at any time as a sacrifice.

  Wen Shitong, who was put in prison, after multiple interrogations, indeed knew almost nothing about the behind-the-scenes of the Yang family's line. He only knew that a Yang Le'er had approached him to do some things, and there was also Wang Hai, who seemed to be Yang Le'er's assistant, and had helped him out when he was in trouble.

  Yang Le'er and Wang Hai, with the requirements he put forward for trading with him, are nothing more than asking him to let Wen Mingzhu get close to the Lu family as much as possible, or let Wen Huan mix into the Lu family, and now, let Wen Huan find the lost jade pendant.

  "What do they want to know whether the little girl is alive or dead?" Old Yao couldn't understand why the little girl, who had no benefits to gain, would become their target.

  Yang Le'er is a madman, and his actions towards Nangnang are actually aimed at Mrs. Lu. However, Yang Le'er has been defeated, and this matter should have ended there.

  "What they want is definitely not Nangnang, but some secret that Nangnang possesses." As he spoke, his cold eyes rotated with an intimidating chill.

  "This matter, even Nainai herself is probably unclear about it." The sorrowful and sympathetic Master Yao furrowed his long eyebrows in deep concern.

  "Perhaps that man knows something." His eyebrows rose, his narrowed eyes seemed to see Wen Shi Xuan's honest face right in front of him.

  Wen Shi Xuan, no matter how he looked at him, couldn't see through or clearly understand what was going on inside his heart.

  ……

  Manman met her husband at the entrance of the barracks compound as he rushed back.

  "You're over half an hour late? Was there a traffic jam on the road?" During the process of waiting for her husband to arrive, Xiaowei's heart went through a thrilling worry, and Yue'er furrowed her brow into a small knot.

  "Nothing's wrong." Jiang Dashao raised an eyebrow, took the bottle of wine from his wife's hand, and revealed a shallow dimple at the corner of his mouth, looking handsome and elegant.

  Whatever happens, he bears the brunt of it.

  She leaned back and looked up at her husband's profile, seeing his broad shoulders like a mountain, the crescent moon-like eyes narrowed into a curved smile.

  Then, Jiang Dashao drove a Volkswagen Beetle to take his daughter-in-law to meet her parents.

  "Ah Yan." Manman thought for a moment before bringing it up with her husband, "I want to take the driver's test."

  "Can you pass the driver's test?" Jiang Dashao thought of the last time Gaodashuai told him about that incident, and his heart still had lingering fears. "Do you still drive with your eyes closed? And when you reversed the car, it almost caused a big disaster."

  "I'm not driving with my eyes closed now. Last time was an accident, my dad was sitting in the back and saw me driving and got scared, stretched out his hand to grab me, that's when I panicked."

  "Man man, I'm not trying to make things difficult for you, it's just that you need to think carefully." Ying's eyebrows furrowed with concern as she looked at her wife, "You must think carefully before going to take the driver's test."

  "I've thought it through." He lifted his glasses with his fingertips and nodded.

  "So I ask you, why did you always try to avoid hitting something when driving on the road and instead hit the utility pole?"

  Didn't expect her husband to suddenly ask such a sharp question, Manman furrowed her brow and lightly bit her lip: "It's possible that it was just my confused memories from when I was young. When I was young, I heard my dad say that I almost got into a car accident."

  Comrade Jiang Yan had heard a bit about Yang Le'er's car accident, could it be that back then she almost hit her future wife when she was still a child, leaving a psychological shadow on her?

  Now that all those madmen have been caught, it should be much safer.

  His wife is willing to open up to him, which means she has untied a lot of knots in her heart.

  People must always move forward and can't be trapped in shadows for their whole lives.

  "Hmm." After much deliberation, Jiang Dazhou made a relatively scientific decision. "Alright, next time you drive, I'll invite a psychologist to sit beside you and see if you're still affected psychologically and can drive normally."

  Her husband made this proposal for his own good, and Manman nodded in agreement.

  The Beetle drove into the Cantonese restaurant and after parking the car, two people walked into the restaurant.

  "Manman, over here——" Seeing Wen Shixuan and Lin Wencan enter the door, they called out in unison.

  Her father, her aunt's husband, were all too familiar. What caught her attention was the tall girl standing next to Lin Wenchang with her head lowered. Yueyue smiled brightly and turned to her aunt's husband: "Is this Jiajing?"

  "Yes." Lin Wencai adjusted his glasses and smiled, urging his daughter, "You weren't eager to see Manman sister? Now that you've met her, why don't you hurry up and call her?"

  "Mei Mei Jie." Lin Jiajing hastily bowed to Man Man.

  Manman burst out laughing and quickly helped her up: "Jiajing, no need to be so polite, we're all family."

  After saying that, when helping the other party up, he carefully examined Lin Jiajing's slightly shy face and said that to be honest, Lin Jiajing's appearance was not like Wen Haoyue or Wen Mingzhu, who were pretending, but a truly introverted and easily embarrassed girl.

  Suddenly, Manman remembered that before going to university and getting to know Chunxia, she was very similar to Jiajing. When meeting a stranger, she would be extremely cautious and nervous, afraid of unintentionally offending the other person. Now, she naturally doesn't think this way anymore. People are equal and don't need to deliberately try to please each other. So, university is a place that trains people well, it's a small society.

  When Lin Wencai blamed his daughter for being disobedient, Manman smiled and interjected: "Young uncle, don't say anything about her, after she goes to college, she will naturally become different."

  As for the issue of going to school, worried that Lin Wencai wouldn't speak up, Wen Shixuan hastily said: "Manman, Jiajing might have to come to Beijing to attend school. You see, your younger brother-in-law wants to ask for your and Ayin's opinion."

  "Really?" Manman exchanged a glance with her husband.

  "Everyone sit down, eat and talk." Lin Wencan couldn't let others starve for him and his daughter. He invited Mengmeng and Jiang Dashao to sit down while calling the waiter to hurry up with the dishes.

  Lin Jiajing went to a public school in Beijing, but it was not one of the key public schools in Beijing. Probably because of the issue of promotion rate and high school champion, the new principal of this school encouraged teachers to dig up top students from other places as long as they had a Beijing hukou.

  In fact, Lin Jiajing taking the exam locally won't be worse than taking it in Beijing, because Lin Jiajing's high school is very famous locally and every year many students from this school are admitted to top universities nationwide. Unless, Lin Jiajing wants to take the exam for a university like Central Academy of Fine Arts which gives special preference to local students in Beijing.

  "What does Jiajing think herself?" asked Manman, after consulting with her husband, to the shy and lowered-headed Jiajing.

  "Tell it yourself and ask your sister as well." Lin Wencai urged his daughter.

  "I want to take the entrance exam for Central Academy of Fine Arts." Lin Jiajing took a deep breath, her eyes locking onto Mianmian's large glasses, "Because I want to become a painter like Sister Mianmian."

  Manman knows that her late younger sister loved to paint. Now, her younger sister's daughter says she wants to learn painting too. If she really succeeds, wouldn't it fulfill the regret of her younger sister who is now under nine springs?

  "Alright, I'll help you. You study hard and I'll take care of the household registration issues for you."

  Upon hearing this, Lin Wenchang and his daughter were overjoyed. Wen Shixuan, after sharing in their joy, thought of her younger daughter's dream and sighed deeply. She whispered to her elder daughter, "Today I took Yuanyuan to that private school, and they said they would accept Yuanyuan."

  For this sister who didn't understand her feelings, Manman pushed down her glasses: "I know, Dad."

  The hot dish is served.

  Everyone cheers and raises their chopsticks.

  When Comrade Jiang Yan went to the counter to find an opener, he was suddenly patted on the shoulder.

  Turning back, he saw it was Lin Wencai, who raised an eyebrow: "Young brother-in-law?"

  They glanced secretly at the people on the other table and didn't notice them, Lin Wencai then pulled Jiang Dashao out of the store, finding a dark shaded place to talk.

  "What's up, Little Brother-in-law?" Lin Wencai was so mysterious that he startled Comrade Jiang Yan.

  "It's like this." Lin Wencai thought for a moment, in Beijing, only Comrade Jiang Yan could protect Wen Shixuan, so it was time to let Jiang Yan know. "Today, and not long ago, your father-in-law and I were both asked by a group of strangers to ask questions, all about Manman."

  A flash of insight: she knew it must be someone from the Lu family who had asked them to come over for questioning.

  As expected, Lin Wencai continued to reveal: "They claim to be surnamed Lu and Yao. I will leave Beijing in a few days, which is not a problem, mainly because of your father-in-law's safety issue. Although these people seem harmless, thinking that it's always better to be safe than sorry, as the son-in-law, you should take good care of your father-in-law."

  English eyes lowered: This time, it's really become a sandwich cookie, hard to please both sides.

  Lin Wencai, who had just been patted on the shoulder by Jiang Dashao and given a serious entrustment, lifted his head to leave, but saw that Mianmian was standing less than three steps away, and he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

  "Little sister's husband?" Jiang Yan turned around and saw his wife, equally startled.

  When did your wife learn how to sneak up on people? And still manage to catch him off guard?

  The two big men on this side have become wooden.

  He adjusted his glasses and said in a very casual tone, "Young Master, Ah Yan, the dishes are getting cold. I just couldn't find you at the counter, what are you doing here?"

  It seems like Mianmian didn't hear a single word.

  Mutual suspicion flowed in Lin Wencai and Jiang Dashao's eyes.

  "It's nothing, I'll just have a quiet word with Ah Yuan about something between men." Lin Wenchao smiled as if nothing was wrong, his eyes slightly dazed, and led the way back into the restaurant.

  Comrade Jiang Yan hastily followed behind.

  Watching them two fleeing figures, a flash of arc light flashed across the big glasses: After all, have they found their own father?