Chapter 46

Yu Xiangnian instructed Cheng Jingmo, “You lift his chin a bit. When I stop, pinch his nose and blow into his mouth.”

She had forgotten the pain in her own body, kneeling on the ground, leaning forward with her upper body, and pressing hard on the child’s chest.

Cheng Jingmo had learned some first aid knowledge in the military and coordinated with Yu Xiangnian to perform CPR.

After more than ten minutes, Yu Xiangnian was drenched in sweat and the child showed no reaction.

Cheng Jingmo, watching Yu Xiangnian still pressing firmly, said, “Let me take over.”

“No need!”

Twenty minutes passed and the child still had no reaction.

Yu Xiangnian’s sweat continuously dripped down, leaving dark spots on the child’s clothing.

Brother Ping’s face grew anxious. A man threatened, “If you don’t save Rui Rui today, you’ll join him!”

Yu Xiangnian paid no attention to the outside voices and was fully focused on saving the child.

Finally, after about twenty-five minutes, the child opened his eyes, moved his mouth slightly, and weakly called out, “Mom.”

Yu Xiangnian let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion.

Brother Ping excitedly knelt beside the child and picked him up, calling out, “Rui Rui! Rui Rui!”

Cheng Jingmo noticed that Yu Xiangnian’s knees were already bleeding. He frowned, lifted her onto a stool, and took a handkerchief from his pocket to give to her to wipe away her sweat. He then rolled up her pants leg to inspect her injuries.

Yu Xiangnian’s right ankle was swollen, and both knees were scraped and bleeding.

At this point, Yu Xiangnian felt the intense pain in her knees and ankles, causing her to gasp.

Cheng Jingmo’s face remained tense as he lowered her pants leg and said, “We’re going home.”

“Wait! You haven’t accounted for the police being called!” a man said to the woman. “Brother Ping, we suspect this woman is the one who called the police. Now she’s even discovered our hideout.”

Having just saved Brother Ping’s child, Yu Xiangnian spoke with more confidence, “I said it’s not related to me! I’m just here to do some business, I didn’t want to run into them!”

Brother Ping took a seat and stared at her with sharp eyes, “Do you know medicine?”

Yu Xiangnian had never seen such a terrifying gaze from a woman before. It was clear she was a tough person.

No wonder so many burly men respectfully called her “Brother Ping”!

“Just a little,” Yu Xiangnian said modestly, glancing at the halo above her head.

Thinking about the potential danger to the child’s life, she couldn’t help but remind him, “Your child might have a heart condition. Take him to the hospital as soon as possible.”

Brother Ping’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Indeed, it’s a heart condition. Can you treat it?”

Yu Xiangnian: “…”

Heart conditions require surgery. Without seeing the child’s medical report, she couldn’t say whether she could treat it.

Brother Ping seemed to see through her thoughts and said, “If you cure Rui Rui, I’ll help you get the goods.”

Yu Xiangnian wanted the goods but didn’t want to expose herself in front of Cheng Jingmo. She awkwardly laughed, “I’m not a doctor, how could I treat it!”

At this point, Cheng Jingmo was standing next to Yu Xiangnian, his mind more focused on observing the surrounding environment.

There were seven people on the other side. He could escape alone without issue, but with an injured Yu Xiangnian, it became a bit difficult.

He targeted Brother Ping as a potential hostage. If negotiations fell through, he would capture Brother Ping and then take Yu Xiangnian away.

Brother Ping raised an eyebrow, “In our line of work, traitors get their legs broken.”

Yu Xiangnian looked down at her legs.

Comrade Yu Jiashun wanted to break her legs, and now Brother Ping wanted to do the same.

Why were her legs so unfortunate?

She assured with conviction, “It really wasn’t me! I lost over a thousand bucks worth of goods—I’ve gone bankrupt! What could I gain from being a traitor?!”

Brother Ping remained silent for a while before saying, “Since you saved Rui Rui, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt this time. You can leave now.”

Cheng Jingmo carried Yu Xiangnian on his back as they walked down the deserted street.

A half moon emerged from the clouds, casting a shadow of the two figures behind them.

“Cheng Jingmo, how come you’re here?”

Yu Xiangnian was draped over Cheng Jingmo’s back, her arms wrapped around his front, and her chin resting on his shoulder.

Cheng Jingmo, slightly bent over with his hands supporting Yu Xiangnian’s legs, replied, “I was worried about you, so I came along.”

Yu Xiangnian felt a warm sensation inside her. The unpleasantness from the previous days with Cheng Jingmo faded away. “Thank you. Otherwise, I’d have been caught today.”

She sighed, “It’s a pity about my goods. I’m at a huge loss!”

She wondered if Cheng Jingmo could manage to sell them for fifteen hundred bucks.

Cheng Jingmo said, “I’ll look for someone tomorrow and see if I can retrieve the goods.”

Yu Xiangnian quickly stopped him, “Don’t look for anyone! You’re a soldier, and if people find out you’re privately involved in business, it will affect you.”

Cheng Jingmo replied, “It’s fine. You can’t afford to cover that much.”

Yu Xiangnian actually had a plan in mind. She intended to secretly approach Brother Ping tomorrow to discuss a cooperation.

But she couldn’t let Cheng Jingmo know, so she said, “Forget about it. Tomorrow I’ll ask my older brother to think of a solution.”

Cheng Jingmo knew that Yu Xiangguo’s connections were certainly more extensive than his own, so he stopped talking.

On the quiet street, the only sound was Cheng Jingmo’s steady footsteps. The moonlight cast a soft, misty veil over them.

With her head resting on Cheng Jingmo’s shoulder, Yu Xiangnian felt a sense of security she had never experienced before.

“Cheng Jingmo, can you still carry me?”

“I can manage.”

During their training, they had to carry a heavy, hard piece of wood while running over ten kilometers.

Yu Xiangnian wasn’t heavier than the wood and was soft, especially with her two soft areas pressing against his back.

He had to deliberately ignore that feeling.

Yu Xiangnian seemed to be in good spirits tonight, continuously chatting in his ear.

Her soft, sweet voice lightened Cheng Jingmo’s mood.

As they left the city and reached the road back to the countryside, three figures suddenly emerged from the roadside.

In the moonlight, it was clear they were Liu Zhen, Wang Hongxiang, and Li Guihua—the three who had fled in their own dire situations!

“Deputy Captain Cheng, what are you doing here?”

“Comrade Yu, what happened to you?”

Yu Xiangnian couldn’t blame them, after all, she had promised the day before to take full responsibility if anything went wrong and not drag them down.

“I twisted my foot,” Yu Xiangnian said.

“What about those rain boots?” Li Guihua asked.

“I don’t know. They were probably confiscated.”

“Oh no!” Wang Hongxiang said sympathetically, “So many pairs of shoes, over a thousand bucks!”

Liu Zhen also lamented, “Goodness! That’s so much money! If we had known, we should have pushed the cart out even if we got caught.”

Yu Xiangnian thought to herself, you three ran off so quickly!

But she still comforted them, “I’ll figure something out. Everyone should rest for now.”

As the four women chatted about the day’s events, Cheng Jingmo remained silent.

When Yu Xiangnian turned her head casually, she noticed a dark gray halo not far behind them.