Pei Yucheng stepped inside, moving the two baskets aside, and saw Pei Wenrui and Pei Wenci curled up on the ground, their clothes covered in mud.
They weren’t crying or making a sound. He rushed over, checked both children, and immediately let out a sigh of relief.
He called out, “Grandma! Mom! The children have been found!”
Upon hearing this, Sun Limei burst into tears. “My precious grandchildren!”
Grandma Pei and Su Jin both breathed easier.
Pei Yucheng held one child in his arms. Su Jin, seeing an elderly person and someone sobbing uncontrollably beside her, stepped forward and gently took one of the children from him.
There was a brief moment of surprise as the two made close contact.
With the children secured, Pei Yucheng carried the five-year-old Pei Wenrui, and Su Jin held the three-year-old Pei Wenci. Together, they ran toward the hospital.
Along the way, they met Pei Yuan, who took Pei Wenci from Su Jin’s arms.
Su Jin felt a sudden lightness and exhaled deeply. Her arms were sore—she had never held such heavy children before.
Rubbing her arms, she looked back to see Grandma Pei carrying Tuan Tuan and Sun Limei following behind.
When they reached them, Su Jin took Tuan Tuan from Grandma Pei and stroked its fur. “Good job, Tuan Tuan. You’ll get a reward when we get back.”
Grandma Pei gave a faint smile. Though the children had been found, they were unconscious and had spent so much time in the cellar—she worried about potential complications.
“Thanks to Tuan Tuan today, it’s truly our household hero. Without it, the consequences would have been unimaginable. The cellar was hidden, old, and sealed… nobody would have expected the children to be trapped there for so long. Today’s events…” She trailed off, troubled.
Who could want to harm their family like this? If the children hadn’t been found… she couldn’t imagine what would have happened to the Pei household. It felt like a pair of unseen hands were manipulating events from the shadows…
After the children were rescued, they were taken to the military district hospital. They had inhaled the strange smoke, which explained why they hadn’t awakened for so long.
At the hospital, after receiving two IV fluids, the children gradually woke up. The older Pei Wenrui seemed fine, while the younger Pei Wenci was still a little dazed.
It was likely psychological trauma from the fright, and they couldn’t rule out that the prolonged time in the cellar had affected his nervous system.
Pei Yuan, a surgeon at the military district’s main hospital, personally examined his two nephews.
The Pei family, upon learning this, were deeply distressed.
In the living room, Pei Yuan spoke calmly. “I asked Wenrui. He said that after leaving the Guo household with his brother, they saw a kite in the sky. They ran after it, then someone covered their mouths. They woke up in the hospital.”
Grandma Pei frowned. “Whose kite was that?”
Pei Yucheng explained, “I investigated. It belonged to the daughter of Captain Hao and a few female comrades in the unit. They picked up the kite outside the compound.”
“And the other female comrades? Did you find out who they were?”
“One is Li Mengyao, daughter of Captain Li; one is Chi Zhongying, niece of the wife of Colonel Gao; and the third is Chen Yuping, sister of Battalion Commander Chen. I’ve checked. All coincidences. But the more coincidental it seems, the more suspicious it becomes.”
Su Jin’s brows furrowed when she heard Colonel Gao’s name. Something felt very off. Out of all the people the cat had encountered, why did it only hiss at him?
Afraid she was overthinking—and just having arrived—she stayed silent.
At that moment, Grandpa Pei spoke. “The enemy is in the shadows, we are in the open. Don’t publicize this incident yet to avoid alerting them. If news spreads, it will cause panic. If asked, tell everyone the brothers were playing hide-and-seek and accidentally fell into the cellar—an accident. We will investigate quietly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Grandpa Pei then looked at Su Jin. “Jin girl, thanks to you today.” His eyes lingered on the black cat as he spoke.
“Originally, today’s meal was meant to celebrate your arrival. What a happy occasion… and yet, you were wronged.”
“Grandpa Pei, please don’t say that. As long as the children are safe, nothing else matters. Celebrating my arrival is trivial.”
Grandpa Pei’s admiration for Su Jin deepened. No wonder Su Lao Di always praised her. Most people would have cried in such a situation—but she calmly helped search for the children.
Grandma Pei patted her husband’s arm. “Enough of this. Su Jin has been traveling for two days and now went through this. Let her rest upstairs.” She turned to Pei Yucheng.
“Ah Yucheng, take Su Jin’s luggage upstairs and bring her to her room.”
Pei Yucheng stood and complied. His impression of Su Jin had changed; she wasn’t the type to cry and whine.
Su Jin, feeling tired, greeted everyone briefly and followed Pei Yucheng upstairs, holding the cat.
The hallway was dimly lit, which made the broad shoulders and long legs of the man ahead even more striking. Each step he took radiated strength.
Her gaze was involuntarily drawn to him. When serious, he was decisive and capable, radiating a reassuring aura.
She reaffirmed her thoughts: this was the man she wanted.
Pei Yuan was gentle and gentlemanly, but he already liked someone else. Su Jin would never interfere with that.
Honestly, compared to Pei Yuan, she was more drawn to the man before her.
“Here we are. Shout if you need anything.”
Su Jin looked up into his deep eyes. “Thank you.” She then entered the room.
The room was pleasant, filled with sunlight. A large window was closed, and the pink bedding looked new.
She turned, about to speak to Pei Yucheng, but he was nowhere in sight.
Su Jin chuckled softly. Did he really think she was fragile?
Shaking her head, she locked the door, placed the cat in the space, hung a few clothes in the closet, emptied her suitcase, and stored the food in the space.
Then she entered the space herself, washed up simply, and changed into a robe. After two days without a proper bath, she felt itchy all over. She lay down to rest and quickly fell asleep.
That evening, after the Pei household had finished preparing dinner, Grandma Pei saw that it was already dark and Su Jin hadn’t come down. She asked Pei Yucheng to call her.
Pei Yucheng noticed his grandmother’s matchmaking intentions. He nudged Pei Yuning, who was drooling over the roast chicken in the kitchen, and said, “Go, haven’t you heard Grandma? Call Sister Su down for dinner.”