Chen Gao was caught off guard and shoved aside. Seeing Jiang Hua and Song Jin walk past him and head inside, he immediately panicked. “What are you doing? Stop right now. You can’t go in any further.”
Jiang Hua turned a deaf ear and led Song Jin inside at a quick pace.
She came to the Chen household often and was very familiar with it. The first room on the second floor was Auntie Chen’s room. Jiang Hua did not slow her steps at all as she went upstairs and pushed the door open in one swift motion.
All her actions flowed seamlessly, leaving Chen Gao no time to react. It was only when an angry voice sounded from inside the room that he finally came back to his senses.
The man lying on the bed sprang up in a single motion, glaring at Jiang Hua and Song Jin. “Who are you?”
Jiang Hua ignored him and quickly scanned the room. She did not see Auntie Chen. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to look at Chen Gao. “Didn’t you say your aunt was resting in her room?”
Chen Gao had no time to answer.
The man had already put on his clothes and was scrutinizing Jiang Hua and Song Jin. “You’re here to look for Fan Hongmei?”
It was only then that Jiang Hua learned Auntie Chen’s name was Fan Hongmei. She cast the man a cold glance. Judging by his appearance, this man should be Director Chen’s elder brother, one of the bloodsuckers.
“Where is she? Why are you in her room?” Jiang Hua did not want to waste time with someone like this and asked directly.
Chen Weijun said, “Where she is is none of your business. Why I’m in this room is also none of your business. This is our family matter.”
This was clearly a case of occupying someone else’s home. Song Jin could not tolerate it at all and angrily said, “What kind of family matter is this? Who do you think you are? You’re shameless!”
Jiang Hua said, “Song Jin and I have lived in the compound for so long and have never seen you before. Now that something has happened to the Chen family and only Auntie Chen is left, you suddenly show up claiming to be her family. Don’t tell me you’re some poor relatives who came to take advantage and freeload?”
Her words hit Chen Weijun right where it hurt.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Chen Weijun’s brows shot up at once.
Chen Weijun worked in the fields year-round and looked physically strong. His skin was dark, and when he got angry, he was indeed quite intimidating. At the very least, Song Jin felt her heart pound.
But Jiang Hua was not afraid. She tugged at the corner of her mouth and looked at him coolly. “Whether I’m talking nonsense or not, just let Auntie Chen come out and say a word. If you’ve got nothing to hide, why don’t you dare say where she is?”
Chen Weijun looked like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water, but Chen Gao’s face showed clear nervousness and panic.
Jiang Hua gave Song Jin a look.
Song Jin understood immediately. She and Jiang Hua split up, one on each side, and briskly pushed open the nearest room doors.
Their mouths were not idle either as they loudly called out, “Auntie Chen.”
Chen Weijun and Chen Gao did not have time to react before the two of them had checked all the rooms on the second floor.
Jiang Hua did not hesitate at all. She turned and ran downstairs. By now, her expression had completely turned cold. She and Song Jin had shouted so loudly. If Auntie Chen could hear them, there was no way she would have had no reaction at all.
Moreover, all the Chen family’s rooms were on the second floor, but when she and Song Jin opened them earlier, all the rooms were filled with luggage and already occupied, clearly not by Auntie Chen.
That left only two possibilities. Either Auntie Chen was on the first floor, or she was no longer in this courtyard at all.
Either possibility made Jiang Hua furious just thinking about it.
In the end, they really did find Auntie Chen on the first floor. Song Jin found her first and immediately shouted in panic, “Auntie Chen? Jiang Hua, come quickly!”
Jiang Hua’s heart leapt into her throat as she hurried over. She saw Auntie Chen lying on a broken wooden plank, her forehead wrapped with a cloth. Faint blood stains seeped through. Her face was deathly pale, and her entire body radiated a lifeless, ashen aura.
With the truth exposed, Chen Weijun and Chen Gao, who had been constantly trying to block them earlier, did not dare say another word and stood far away on the other side of the courtyard.
Jiang Hua felt a chill spread through her entire body. She could not believe the Chen family could do something like this.
Song Jin’s mind went completely blank. She grabbed a stool from the corner of the wall and hurled it over. “Murder! This is murder! Are you even human?”
People outside heard the commotion from the Chen household. They had originally intended to watch the excitement, but unexpectedly caught the word “murder.” Everyone immediately panicked.
“What’s going on? Why did I hear something about killing? Could it be that Jiang Hua discovered Auntie Chen’s secret and Auntie Chen wants to silence her?”
“No way. It’s this serious and you’re still standing around? Hurry and knock on the door!”
“Yes, yes, there are so many of us. She’ll have to think twice.”
“…”
In the crowd, Ma Fenghuo listened half-understandingly to the adults’ conversation. His small face gradually turned pale, panic visibly surfacing. Seeing the adults preparing to push the door open, he slipped out of the crowd and bolted off as fast as his legs could carry him.
Xu Yunkai. Xu Yunshu. Your mother is going to be killed.
Yunkai and Yunshu were at home. The courtyard gate was open. Ma Fenghuo ran straight in, panic still in his eyes, panting so hard he could barely catch his breath. He said anxiously, “I heard someone is going to kill your mother.”
Yunkai had been squatting on the ground. He immediately stood up and frowned at him. “What did you say?”
Yunshu’s small face also tensed up instantly as she asked seriously, “Ma Fenghuo, explain yourself clearly. Where is my mother?”
Ma Fenghuo was in such a hurry that he did not know how to explain it properly and could only gesture wildly with his hands.
“We heard noises from Grandma Chen’s courtyard, and we also heard someone say they were going to kill your mother. Hurry up and run. What if those people kill your mother and then come back to kill you too?”
Ma Fenghuo looked flustered and terrified. After saying that, he immediately ran off.
What if the bad people saw him tipping them off and killed him in revenge? What would he do then?
Just then, Xu Chenghuai heard the commotion and came out of the room. He casually swept a glance at Ma Fenghuo’s retreating back, then his gaze landed on the two children who looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy. “What’s wrong?”
Yunshu pouted, then ran over and tugged at his hand. “Daddy, hurry and save Mommy. Ma Fenghuo said bad people are going to kill Mommy!”
Xu Chenghuai’s gaze instantly sharpened. He lifted his foot and strode outside, but after only two steps, he thought of something and turned back to scoop up the two children.
Yunshu was tucked under his arm, and the position was very uncomfortable. Under normal circumstances, she would definitely have hummed and whined in protest, but now she did not make a sound at all, staying extremely obedient and still.
“Daddy, walk faster!” Even when she spoke, she did it carefully, afraid of adding to Xu Chenghuai’s burden.
As for Yunkai, he really wanted to get down, but he was also worried about adding to Xu Chenghuai’s burden, so he remained motionless and let Xu Chenghuai carry him, his small face full of dissatisfaction. “Put me down. I can walk by myself.”
Xu Chenghuai seemed not to hear him. A cold, forbidding aura radiated from him, as if strangers should not come near. He walked toward Auntie Chen’s home, his eyes looking as though a heavy pool of dark ink was gathering within them.
But unexpectedly, before they even got there, they heard a burst of noisy commotion, mixed with Song Jin’s furious cursing and other people’s anxious voices.
“Walking is too slow. From here to the hospital, it’ll take at least twenty minutes no matter what.”
“Yes. If it really comes down to it, we should borrow a vehicle.”
“…”
The voices came from the alley ahead, faint and unclear. They could only catch the gist, but with the word “hospital,” combined with what Ma Fenghuo had said about Jiang Hua being killed, the expressions of the father and two children changed instantly.
Yunshu even burst into loud sobbing. “Mommy!”
Yunkai suddenly struggled hard, his voice so urgent it carried anger. “Let go of me.”
Xu Chenghuai acted as if he had not heard and carried the two children forward at a hurried pace.
So the people in the compound saw it. Xu Chenghuai, who was usually upright and unsmiling, was actually carrying two children under his arms without caring about appearances, his steps more hurried and flustered than they had ever seen before.
And Yunshu was still bawling and shouting, “Mommy.”
Everyone subconsciously assumed the children had been scolded and were calling for their mother to uphold justice. Even Jiang Hua thought so and hurried out of the crowd.
“What’s wrong?” Her voice was clear and bright, full of strength.
The moment Yunshu saw her, she froze. Her crying stopped abruptly, and a “gah” sound came from her throat. Xu Chenghuai stopped in his tracks, and Yunkai stopped struggling. One adult and three children fell into silence.
Jiang Hua frowned. “Why isn’t anyone saying anything?”
An unnatural look flashed across Xu Chenghuai’s face. Then he looked at the many pairs of eager, gleaming eyes watching the show. He curled his toes and forcibly suppressed the urge to turn around and leave on the spot. He put the two children down, cleared his throat softly, and exchanged a look with Yunkai.
Once Yunkai stood steady, he pouted unwillingly. “Little sister saw you hadn’t come back for so long. She was so worried about you that she cried. Daddy and I hurried to bring her to find you.”
Xu Chenghuai nodded solemnly. That’s right, exactly like that.
With a huge blame dropped onto her head, Yunshu was stunned. Her dark, bright almond eyes were still wet with tears. Her usual innocent naivety was gone, replaced by disbelief.
But they had not understood the situation and thought something had happened to Mommy. They had cried all the way out to find her, and so many people had seen it. It was too embarrassing.
Yunshu felt wronged, but Yunshu did not speak. She silently took the blame and hurled herself forward to hug Jiang Hua’s leg. “Mommy.”
Jiang Hua bent down and picked her up. She shot Xu Chenghuai a look, then looked at the little girl. “Is it really like your brother said?”
Yunshu did not want to lie, so she wrapped her arms around Jiang Hua, buried her little face in Jiang Hua’s neck, and pretended she was too embarrassed to admit it.
The people in the compound stared, dumbfounded.
But the bigger reason many people looked dazed was that their eyes had landed on Xu Chenghuai’s bare feet.
Just because the children were crying and worried about their mother, he had been so anxious that he did not even have time to put on his shoes before rushing out? When had they ever seen Xu Chenghuai like this? The shock in their hearts was hard to describe.
As for Song Jin, she ran to the Xu household often, and whatever filter she used to have for Xu Chenghuai had long since vanished. Her mind was entirely on Auntie Chen.
“Alright, alright. We have to get her to the hospital as soon as possible.”
Song Jin’s suddenly raised voice snapped everyone back to their senses.
“Yes, yes, hurry, hurry.”
“…”
It seemed like they had wasted a long time talking, but in reality, it had only been about a minute.
Jiang Hua hurriedly set Yunshu down, pushed her toward Xu Chenghuai, then looked at Yunkai. “You two go home with Daddy first. I’m taking your Grandma Chen to the hospital.”
Xu Chenghuai had long noticed Auntie Chen, who was being carried on a bedsheet by the crowd. Hearing Jiang Hua’s words, he frowned, but he did not say anything, only speaking softly. “I’m at home today.”
Jiang Hua could not help looking at him in surprise. Was he reminding her that she could ask him for help?
A group of people carried Auntie Chen out of the compound gate and sprinted toward the hospital.
Song Jin accidentally caught sight of Jiang Hua’s almond eyes, as if a smile were rippling in them. She froze for a moment.
She thought she had seen wrong.
When she looked carefully again, she had indeed seen wrong.
In those almond eyes, there was only tension and worry.