For the first time, Su Cheng wanted to know more about her.

He was certain that she was not the woman who had returned.

That woman, who never thought she was wrong until her death, wouldn’t treat Qiuqiu so kindly if she returned.

“There’s a way that should ease your worries a bit. Do you want to try it?” Suppressing all his chaotic thoughts, Su Cheng spoke to Ji Meng.

“What?” Ji Meng instinctively asked.

Both of them were lying on their sides, facing each other, close enough to feel each other’s breaths. Ji Meng felt a tightness in her chest for no apparent reason, her hand resting on the blanket couldn’t help but grasp and grab the quilt.

After a moment of silence, Su Cheng reached out his hand toward Ji Meng and said, “Hand.”

“What for?”

Ji Meng was taken aback for a moment. In the dim light, she could vaguely see his hand extended toward her. She didn’t know what he wanted to do but still stretched her hand out, placing it in front of his.

Ji Meng’s hand was delicate, with slender, soft fingers. Even in the dim light, the clear contrast between her hand and Su Cheng’s long, strong palm was evident.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Su Cheng’s large hand could completely envelop hers.

In fact, that’s exactly what Su Cheng did.

But instead of wrapping it up, he held her fingers, feeling the warmth of his palm, the space between his thumb and index finger, and gently touched the thick calluses on her fingertips.

As he touched her, he asked in his deep, hoarse voice, “Can you feel it?”

“What?”

At this moment, Ji Meng’s mind was spinning. His palm was wide and strong, radiating warmth. The layers of calluses on his hand made her soft fingertips tingle slightly as she gently brushed against them.

That intense heat and itch spread through her, like countless tiny currents racing to her heart, sending waves of warmth.

Ji Meng felt her ears heat up, causing her cheeks to flush. Her throat was slightly dry, making it hard for her to speak. She only heard him say:

“Since I was seventeen, these hands have been through various forms of training. When I held a wooden gun for the first time during my first mission, these hands saved someone from the grasp of death…”

Su Cheng didn’t elaborate, after saying that, he released Ji Meng. The soft warmth of her delicate fingers lingered in his palm as he tightened his grip slightly and looked at Ji Meng again.

“These hands aren’t extraordinary, but even when facing a group of men with weapons, I can protect myself and adapt to the situation.”

“So, nothing will happen, we’ll all be safe. I’ll bring that little girl back as you asked.”

The night was pitch black, and Ji Meng couldn’t see Su Cheng’s expression as he spoke those words, but she could sense the seriousness and almost oath-like promise in his voice.

Ji Meng reached out to touch her heart, which was racing, yet she felt much more at ease.

Beyond the comfort, there seemed to be some other unknown feelings and emotions arising, but for now, she couldn’t quite tell what they were.

After a long moment, she clenched her hand, which felt a bit empty after being released, and softly replied, “Mm, I understand.”

“Can you sleep now?”

Hearing her response, Su Cheng’s lips curled slightly in the dark, his low voice carrying a hint of amusement.

“I can! I can!” Ji Meng hurriedly replied.

Now she really could sleep, she didn’t want to touch anything else, fearing it would make her feel even warmer.

“Then sleep, it’s getting late.” Su Cheng said softly, then turned onto his side, lying flat.

“Mm.” Ji Meng watched him for a moment before lying down herself and closing her eyes.

Perhaps a bit of distraction would help her sleep, Ji Meng hadn’t closed her eyes for long before she truly fell into a deep sleep.

Listening to the familiar sound breathing beside him, Su Cheng’s lips curled up slightly and he gradually drifted off to sleep as well.

As April approached, the sky began to brighten earlier.

At 4:30 in the morning, the sky turned a pale white, and the dim light streamed through the glass window, revealing the outline of a person.

Su Cheng woke up at the usual time, feeling a familiar weight on his thigh.

Turning his head, he indeed saw Ji Meng half-lying outside the blanket. A hint of helplessness crossed his dark eyes, thankfully, the weather was gradually warming up, or else she might catch a cold sleeping like this every day.

He raised his hand and gently tucked her slender, straight leg back under the blanket, then pulled the blanket up to cover her properly.

His gaze inevitably fell on her peaceful sleeping face. This time, he lingered a bit longer. Her inky black hair was piled behind her, and her fair, smooth face was stunningly beautiful. Her long, curled eyelashes framed her delicate brows and eyes, giving her a serene yet slightly enchanting appearance as she slept.

Su Cheng stared at her for a while before gently tucking the blanket’s corner around her and getting out of bed.

He moved quietly, careful not to wake her.

By the time Ji Meng was awakened by the alarm, Su Cheng was no longer in the room.

It was the same as usual, but this time felt a bit different. After all, he wasn’t busy outside and wouldn’t knock on her door at 6:20 if she hadn’t left yet, nor would he help her wake up Qiuqiu.

Outside the yard was even quieter, with only the occasional chirping of birds.

For some reason, she felt a bit uncomfortable.

This discomfort made Ji Meng not want to linger in bed. She rested her hand on her forehead for a moment before getting up.

There was a note on the small table with a small enamel cup. Ji Meng walked over to pick it up, it was left by Su Cheng.

It said that he had heated eggs and buns for them on the stove and told her and Qiuqiu to go eat.

She didn’t even know when he had gone to buy breakfast.

Ji Meng’s lips curled up slightly as she folded the note and changed her clothes, then brushed her hair.

After over a week of both of them taking turns to pick up the child, now she was doing it alone, and she felt as though one careless moment could make her late. Once her hair was done, Ji Meng went to call for Qiuqiu.

“Baby, Qiuqiu, time to wake up!”

Ji Meng didn’t know how Su Cheng usually woke their daughter up, but it was clear that Qiuqiu was much harder to wake these days. Ji Meng called out for quite a while before Qiuqiu slowly began to stir.

The little girl wasn’t fully awake yet. She rubbed her eyes, squinted around the room, and upon not seeing her dad, asked her mom, “Mom, where’s Dad?”

“Dad went to pick up Sister Qingyu. Didn’t we talk about this last night?”

“Oh.”

Qiuqiu slowly remembered. Before she went to sleep last night, her parents had mentioned this, saying they would be away for several days and that her dad wanted her to listen to her mom while he was gone.

“Alright, baby, today Mom will take you to school. Let’s get up early, so hurry up.” Noticing Qiuqiu had fallen silent, Ji Meng gave her soft head a gentle rub and called out to her.

“Oh, okay.” Qiuqiu obediently climbed out of bed, though she didn’t seem as energetic as usual.

Ji Meng guessed that the little girl was probably unaccustomed to her dad being away and started to think.

She didn’t say anything, just went to the closet to fetch two sets of Qiuqiu’s favorite clothes for her to choose from, and finally let her pick her favorite hairstyle.

Kids are generally easy to coax, by the time her beautiful hair was tied up, Qiuqiu seemed to regain some of her spirit.

After taking care of washing up and having breakfast, Ji Meng tidied up the room and then took her daughter to school. With two family members gone, the house felt noticeably quieter.

Having gotten used to the noise, the sudden silence was a bit difficult to adjust to—not just for Qiuqiu, but for Ji Meng as well. Plus, since it would take Su Cheng and the others two full days to reach their destination, and she hadn’t received a call from them to confirm their safe arrival, Ji Meng felt a bit off.

For the next two days, while Ji Meng was at work, she was somewhat distracted and seemed to be in a daze, as if she hadn’t fully woken up.

Meng Ling was the first to notice this. She typically arrived two minutes later than Ji Meng, but today, she surprisingly showed up two minutes earlier.

The two of them spent the morning inspecting production in the workshop and reviewing data in the afternoon.

Meng Ling looked at the production and scrapping data from the factory, while Ji Meng focused on last week’s sales report.

Their summer clothing line was extensive, and they had to pay special attention to the data, adjusting as needed to avoid inventory buildup and stock shortages.

Thus, Ji Meng and Meng Ling monitored this every three days and made minor adjustments every week.

Normally, when Ji Meng looked over this data, she was particularly focused, reviewing and summarizing her work. But today, Meng Ling noticed Ji Meng absentmindedly drawing circles in her work log with the pen she usually used for summarizing.

Meng Ling found it quite amusing and stared for a while. When she saw Ji Meng’s little circles forming a small patch on the page, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well, look at that! Our hard-working sister can also zone out sometimes.”

Meng Ling now called Ji Meng “hard-working sister” because she was simply too dedicated. Every day, Ji Meng either pulled her to review reports, go market surveying, or dragged her into the workshop to oversee production.

The key was that Ji Meng didn’t just supervise, sometimes she even joined in on the work. Meng Ling, wanting to keep up with Ji Meng, also jumped in to help.

This had its benefits, as it brought them closer to the factory employees, but it was exhausting.

Now, Meng Ling looked forward to having at least one day off on the weekend, knowing there would be no breaks from Monday to Saturday.

So, discovering that Ji Meng was zoning out made Meng Ling quite happy, it felt like a rare catch.

“What’s wrong? Tired? How can you not be tired? Look at us! This week has felt like a battle, there’s a task every week. We don’t need to push ourselves like this. The overall performance is quite good right now, we don’t have to be so tense.”

Caught slacking off, Ji Meng felt uncomfortable and coughed lightly, trying to play it off as if nothing had happened, sending a blank stare over to Meng Ling: “Have you finished reviewing the reports?”

“No.”

Mentioning the reports made the smile fade from Meng Ling’s face. God knows she hated looking at those tedious reports. She would rather be out running market surveys with those second-generation factory workers from the sales department.

“Then hurry up and look! We need to finalize the adjustment report as soon as possible. Tomorrow, we need to visit Lin County. The sales data has shown no improvement for a week, we have to check the situation. If it’s not good, we might have to pull back those free samples and just focus on sales.”

“They have over a thousand items there, that’s not a small number.”

“Oh.” Meng Ling replied, then started to pay serious attention to her work. After a while, she suddenly looked up at Ji Meng.

“By the way, why have you been riding your bike to work alone these past couple of days? You didn’t go home for lunch either. What about your husband? Did he return to the army?”

Ji Qinghe went to pick up Qingyu, and since he wasn’t sure if he could successfully bring her back, he didn’t mention this to anyone in the alley. He told the clinic that he was out to look for medicinal herbs.

In the past few days, Ji Meng had been worried about Ji Qinghe and the others and wasn’t in the mood to chat. When she went to the cafeteria with Meng Ling, she merely replied that she didn’t want to make a round trip.

However, there was no need to hide this matter.

“He went to ^[1]Heilongjiang (黑龙江) is a province located in the northeastern part of China. Its name translates to “Black Dragon River,” referring to the Heilong River, which forms part of the … Continue readingHeilongjiang with my dad.”

“What’s he doing in Heilongjiang?” As Meng Ling asked, the office phone rang.

In the next moment, Ji Meng picked up the receiver, speaking somewhat urgently, “Hello?”

Then Meng Ling saw a smile spread across Ji Meng’s face. “That’s good, as long as you’ve arrived. It’s cold over there, right? Did you bring warm clothes? Don’t catch a cold…”

The call lasted a full five minutes, covering topics from weather and meals to any issues they encountered on the train, and then updates from back home. Meng Ling watched as Ji Meng’s smile transformed from a light grin to a beaming, cheerful expression.

“Alright, take care and call me if anything happens.”

“Is it your husband?”

After hanging up, Meng Ling asked Ji Meng.

The term “your husband” had initially felt awkward to Ji Meng, but she had gotten used to it by now.

She nodded in acknowledgment, “Yes, they just arrived in ^[2]“Tieli” is a city in Heilongjiang Province, China. It is located in the northeastern part of the country and is known for its scenic landscapes and rich natural resources. Tieli is also a … Continue readingTieli.”

“Oh,” Meng Ling nodded. After a moment, she hesitated and carefully asked Ji Meng, “Are they there regarding Brother Ji Qiao’s matter?”

Having grown up in the same alley, Meng Ling had previously had a hard time getting along with Ji Meng, but she had a good relationship with Ji Qiao, who she remembered as a gentle and caring older brother. No one expected him to pass away at such a young age.

Meng Ling had felt sad for a long time upon hearing the news. Although she had also gone to the countryside, her mother had arranged for her to stay with a distant aunt, providing regular food and supplies. With that family being kind, her life in the countryside was quite easy, unlike the difficult situation Ji Qiao’s family faced years ago.

Ji Meng paused for a moment and nodded, “Yes, they want to bring my brother back.”

“Brother Ji Qiao has a daughter, right? Aren’t they bringing her back too?”

“What I mean is, the conditions here are better. It’s definitely better for the child to come back rather than staying over there. Of course, Uncle Ji has his reasons for not bringing her back.”

Worried that Ji Meng might feel she was meddling, Meng Ling quickly added an explanation.

Ji Meng understood Meng Ling’s good intentions and smiled, “Yes, they’ll bring her back. If everything goes smoothly this time, they should be able to do it.”

She hoped things would go well.

Ji Meng glanced outside, the sky was gray and seemed like it might rain.

She wondered what the weather was like in Heilongjiang now.

“Have you sent a message to Mengmeng? How is she doing?”

At the post office, after finishing his call, Ji Qinghe hurried over to Su Cheng, who was nearby.

Originally, Ji Qinghe had come to the post office with Su Cheng, but just as he was about to cross the street to go inside, he spotted a familiar face entering the post office.

It was none other than Ji Qiao’s uncle, Qingyu’s fifth uncle.

Ji Qinghe vividly recalled the scene of this tall, burly man grabbing him by the collar and threatening him for his son’s compensation.

Due to that instinctive reaction, Ji Qinghe immediately pulled Su Cheng aside to hide.

After hearing this, Su Cheng thought it was best not to make an appearance since they hadn’t yet checked on Qingyu, so he cooperated and stepped aside.

Coincidentally, the alley next to them was where Ji Qiao had worked at the hospital. Su Cheng suggested that he go find Ji Qiao’s colleague to ask about the situation while Ji Qinghe went into the post office to call Ji Meng.

“Yes, everything’s fine over there,” Su Cheng replied.

“And you? Did you see Big Brother’s colleague?”

Hearing the question, Ji Qinghe’s expression paused for a moment. After a while, he looked down at the snow-covered ground and quietly replied, “Yes, I saw them. I even called Uncle Fu using the hospital phone to inform Mengmeng.”

“Ah Cheng, I’m afraid it’s going to be very difficult for us to bring Qingyu back this time…”

After hesitating for a moment, Ji Qinghe finally looked up and told Su Cheng what he had just found out.

“Qingyu’s fifth uncle has a group of people over here, and he has opened several underground gambling houses. From what I heard from Uncle Fu, he has close ties with some people in the town and the local police station.”