Chapter 19: Urgent Return Due to Critical Illness

The old auditorium was brightly lit by the abundant sunlight streaming through the glass windows.

On the stage, the team members stood in neat rows, singing loudly in unison with the conductor’s rhythm. One stirring and resonant song after another echoed through the hall, and everyone was fully immersed in the rehearsal.

Suddenly, Xiao Dong from the communications room hurriedly pushed the door open and rushed inside, her expression anxious. She quickly approached Song Huaizhi’s side, whispered a few words, and then handed her a slip of paper.

Song Huaizhi glanced at it quickly, then looked toward the center of the stage. She made a pause gesture and said, “Shen Nanqing, please come out for a moment.”

Hearing this, everyone looked at Shen Nanqing with curious eyes, wondering why the leader had called her. Shen Nanqing herself was puzzled but didn’t think much of it and calmly stepped down from the stage.

“Everyone else continue rehearsing,” Song Huaizhi instructed, then led Shen Nanqing and Xiao Dong out of the auditorium.

Song Huaizhi swallowed hard, then placed the folded note into Shen Nanqing’s palm, her tone grave: “Nanqing, stay calm when something happens. If you have difficulties, just tell me.”

Seeing her serious expression, Shen Nanqing felt a sudden jolt in her heart. The hand holding the note grew unusually heavy.

She opened the note; the ink was still wet. The words were clear and stark: “Shen’s father injured, critical condition, return immediately.”

Shen Nanqing stared at the message in shock, her eyes widening. She read it again carefully.

After confirming it multiple times, she froze in place as if rooted to the spot.

After a brief daze, she took a deep breath and quickly composed herself, furrowing her brows but clearing her gaze.

“Xiao Dong, can you tell me exactly what happened?” Shen Nanqing asked urgently but steadily, her eyes fixed on Xiao Dong, catching every detail, her mind racing to devise a plan.

“Shen Huizhi, the caller said he’s from the machinery factory. When your father was conducting a random inspection, his hand accidentally got caught in the machine. It’s very serious. He has already been rushed to Friendship Hospital for emergency treatment and they asked you to return immediately,” Xiao Dong said, her mouth opening then closing as if she was about to say more—perhaps about it being the last chance to see him—but she swallowed the words.

Shen Nanqing had just visited her family yesterday; her father personally saw her onto the bus. How could something like this happen today?

Her father had worked at the machinery factory for many years, routinely inspecting every workshop. He knew the equipment inside out; it was impossible for him to make such a careless mistake.

The more Shen Nanqing thought about it, the more suspicious she became. She asked again, “Did the caller say who he was?”

“Li Gao…” Xiao Dong couldn’t recall immediately; her focus was entirely on Shen’s father’s condition and she hadn’t paid much attention to the caller.

“Li Gaoyi,” Shen Nanqing’s tone suddenly turned cold.

“Yes, it was Li Gaoyi,” Xiao Dong nodded, tapping her head confidently.

Only then did Shen Nanqing’s heart settle slightly. Her expression remained anxious, but she looked composed.

“Leader Song, may I take leave now and submit the formal request afterward?” Her voice trembled.

Song Huaizhi was not rigid and immediately agreed to make an exception. “Go ahead. I’ll handle things here.”

She had initially planned to arrange a car for Shen Nanqing, but Shen Nanqing refused. She felt this was a personal matter and didn’t want to use official resources—it wouldn’t look good.

With unsteady steps, Shen Nanqing hurried toward the main entrance. Song Huaizhi, worried the guard might stop her, personally escorted her to the door.

This scene happened to be seen by Song Huaiwen.

“Sis, what’s wrong with Shen Nanqing?” Song Huaiwen saw her rushing out anxiously and quickly pulled Song Huaizhi to ask.

Song Huaizhi frowned deeply and sighed, “Someone just called saying her father is critically ill. As soon as the child heard, she immediately wanted to rush back.”

Song Nanhua’s heart sank sharply when he heard this. Watching Shen Nanqing’s figure disappearing into the distance, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy and immediately gave chase.

“Hey, where are you going!” Song Huaizhi looked puzzled as she saw the man vanish like a gust of wind.

Lately, she noticed Song Huaiwen acting strangely. Before, she had forced him to stay at her place as if her life depended on it, but now he seemed reluctant to leave.

He had become very eager to come to the cafeteria for meals every day. She suspected Song Huaiwen might have fallen for their troupe’s cook.

But the head chef was a burly man!

Once Shen Nanqing was out of the sight of the guard post, the anxious look on her face disappeared, and her steps grew lighter.

She took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead and was relieved that today was just singing rehearsal and she was in regular military uniform—not the tight training clothes—otherwise, running out like this would surely be reported as improper behavior.

Traveling with the performing troupe was inconvenient, but the Friendship Hospital was not far—about a half-hour walk, faster if she took the shortcut.

Without hesitation, she entered the alley for the shortcut.

The sudden snap of a broken branch was particularly loud in the quiet alley.

Hearing the noise behind her, Shen Nanqing smirked slightly, raised her hand to discreetly pull out the wooden hairpin from her hair, then tucked it into her sleeve. She loosely tied the scattered strands of hair with a hair tie.

Quickening her pace, she turned into a dead-end alley, pressed herself against the wall, and listened intently, holding her breath.

“Where is the person?” A man stopped at the mouth of the alley, his eyes scanning anxiously but seeing no sign of anyone. He cursed under his breath, “Strange, where did the person go?”

Just as he was peering around, Shen Nanqing seized the moment and suddenly dashed out from the shadows, pressing the wooden hairpin hard against his neck, her nails whitening from the grip.

“Don’t move! If you dare struggle, I’ll send you to meet the King of Hell!” Shen Nanqing warned fiercely.

The man froze stiff, his voice trembling, “Don’t, don’t hurt me!”

“Who are you? Why are you following me? Was it you who made the call?” she asked, moving the hairpin closer to his skin.

Terrified, the man began trembling uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down, utterly miserable. Stammering, he said, “I… let me go first, then I’ll tell you.”

Seeing how scared he was, Shen Nanqing felt if she kept pressing, he might soil himself—and she didn’t want to smell urine during the interrogation—so she actually loosened her grip.

The man was genuinely scared but didn’t think women were that formidable. He blamed himself for being careless.

He only wanted to test the waters but didn’t expect this silly woman to really let go. Feeling elated, his face instantly twisted into a sneer.

In a flash, he threw a punch at Shen Nanqing with all his strength, cursing, “You little woman, how dare you mess with me? I’ll show you how tough big brother is!”

From afar, Song Huaiwen saw someone suspiciously following Shen Nanqing. He wanted to catch up but saw both of them turn into an alley.

The alleys twisted and turned like a maze, and unfamiliar with the terrain, he couldn’t find Shen Nanqing’s trail for a while.

Suddenly, the man’s rough voice echoed through the alley. Song Huaiwen’s eyes instantly reddened. His tall figure surged forward, filled with burning rage toward the source of the voice.

But the scene before him stopped him in his tracks.