Chapter 19: Jiang Ningning Faints

Bang!

The heavy pole smashed hard against Huo Donglin’s back.

Manman felt the man’s body shudder slightly, but he didn’t even grunt.

Manman tried to look up, but the large hand pressing on his chest kept him down, and he could hear the increasingly powerful beat of the man’s heart.

Then came the angry voice of Uncle Zhu Changguang:

“Her husband is Huo Donglin, the leader of your military district! If you bully a widow and her children, I’ll kill you, you bastard!”

Uncle Zhu raised the pole, ready to strike again.

“Uncle Changguang, that’s Huo Donglin!” Jiang Ningning hurriedly spoke up, stopping him.

In that moment of hesitation, several soldiers quickly rushed forward, pinning Zhu Changguang’s limbs to the ground and swiftly disarming him.

Zhu Changguang’s face was forced into the ground, and he nearly couldn’t catch his breath, his hands stinging with pain.

Seeing this, Jiang Ningning immediately reached out to grab Huo Donglin’s arm, explaining, “It’s all a misunderstanding. Uncle Changguang is Zhu Shenzi’s son. Zhu Shenzi was worried about us traveling alone with the children, so she asked Uncle Changguang to escort us.”

Huo Donglin straightened up, his gaze lowering.

The hand on his arm was delicate and white, almost like jade in the sunlight.

When he didn’t respond, Jiang Ningning gently shook him.

“…Old man, please say something!” She raised her voice anxiously as she saw the soldiers preparing to take Zhu Changguang away.

She was about to be suffocated by her own tea-smelling anxiety.

Huo Donglin’s expression remained calm, but his earlobes were slightly red.

Old man?!

How could she call him that in front of so many people? She’d have to be “re-educated” later.

Huo Donglin adjusted the position of his son in his arms, then used his firm, strong arm to support Manman’s little bottom as he took a few steps forward and explained the situation to the soldiers holding Zhu Changguang.

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, the soldiers released him and returned to their posts.

However, the pole couldn’t be returned to Zhu Changguang for now.

“Uncle Changguang, are you alright?”

Huo Donglin had some impression of Zhu Changguang. The Jiang family had no relatives left. When he married Jiang Ningning, Zhu Shenzi had specially asked her eldest son to act as her brother and carry her out of the door.

Zhu Changguang’s wrist was bruised from being pulled, but seeing that the injury was minor, he looked at Huo Donglin’s back with guilt. “I’m fine. Are you alright? You should go check the medical room if you need.”

Huo Donglin patted his arm, reassuring him with a smile, “It’s not your fault. You were just trying to protect Manman and them.”

“Captain Huo—”

“Donglin, I’ve been looking for you!”

A group of people hurriedly walked out from the base.

Old Sun, out of breath and clearly in a rush, gasped, “We received a call saying that your wife and children are being abused at your old home. They’re heading to the military district for shelter.”

Huo Donglin, one of the top soldiers in this batch, had been away on consecutive missions, defending the country and its people, but now his wife and children were being mistreated back home.

The military district could not allow such a harmful incident to spread!

Huo Donglin felt the little guy in his arms squirming and swiftly slid him down his body. Manman immediately ran to Old Sun.

With his large, wet eyes full of admiration, he asked, “Kind and warm-hearted Grandpa, are you the highest-ranking official here?”

Old Sun’s heart nearly melted from the innocent look in his eyes. He bent down, “There are people more powerful than Grandpa in the base, but Grandpa still has a say in things. Little one, is there anything you need Grandpa’s help with?”

Manman turned his head and blinked at the nearby guards.

The guard, stunned by the child’s cleverness, whispered, “This is the oldest leader of the base. He has the highest rank here, even higher than the secretaries.”

As the words fell, Manman quickly grabbed the large hand of Grandpa Sun, tilted his head, and in a sweet, childish voice asked, “Excuse me, Grandpa Commander, is that big black bear with the beard really my Black Egg Daddy?”

Grandpa Sun couldn’t help but chuckle.

The others burst into laughter.

Huo Donglin: “…”

His sword-like eyebrows arched, and he looked at his wife with a questioning gaze. Was their son always this mischievous?

Jiang Ningning didn’t notice his look. She appeared pale, looking incredibly frail, as if she were about to faint.

This time, it wasn’t an act.

She truly felt faint.

Her stomach churned violently, the pain almost unbearable.

Jiang Ningning’s vision blurred, and instinctively, she protected Summer’s head, her body weakly collapsing to the side.

The anticipated pain never came. Instead, she was caught in a broad and solid embrace, and then she lost consciousness.

---

In the medical office.

Father and son sat on two separate chairs, staring at each other.

Manman, looking like a little adult, crossed his arms and carefully observed his father. Then, he shook his head in disdain.

He was ugly, his skin was dark, and he wasn’t as handsome as his mom;

He was cold and unapproachable, unlike his mom, who was so gentle;

He was too tall, with muscles that were too big… There wasn’t a single thing about him that was acceptable. He just didn’t deserve to be with his mom!

Though he didn’t say anything, his gaze seemed to speak volumes.

Huo Donglin’s veins throbbed on his neck, struggling to restrain the urge to strip his son of his cotton pants and give his buttocks a good smack.

“What exactly is your relationship with that woman from the train, the one who wears a braji, Yingchunhua?” Manman was young but incredibly sharp-minded.

If his dad had cheated and had another woman outside, then he and Summer would have to leave with their mom. They couldn’t stand to see their mom suffer.

With a stepmother, there would be a stepdad.

Only a real mother could be trusted.

Huo Donglin pieced together the fragmented information and finally understood what he meant. “You’re talking about Guan Xue? She worked with our team on a mission. There’s nothing between us; we are strictly comrades.”

Afterward, Guan Xue secretly claimed that after getting on the K895 train, she was humiliated by three country bumpkins in the sleeper car, and in a moment of emotional instability, the human traffickers seized the opportunity.

She firmly believed that the mother and son trio were accomplices of the traffickers.

“What exactly happened then?”

Seeing his son’s eyes darting around, Huo Donglin had no choice but to lay everything out. “The Guan family is known for covering for each other, and Guan Xue is the youngest daughter, so of course, she would seek revenge. You need to explain the whole situation so I can handle it properly.”

Manman thought for a moment, then began recounting the events on the train in great detail.

His sharp perception allowed him to grasp the subtle nuances of each conversation and expression, almost as if he were there himself.

Huo Donglin tapped his finger on the desk, his gaze darkening. “Jiang Ningning plays the piano?”

Before marriage, the organization had conducted a thorough background check. The Jiang family was from a working-class background, with no foreign connections.

The records mentioned that Jiang Ningning was a premature child, frail since childhood, with a preference for light foods.

She had always been a top student and had a talent for painting, but there was absolutely no mention of her playing the piano.

Manman noticed the doubt in his father’s tone and instantly became wary, a feeling of unease creeping into his heart. Unable to help himself, he defended Jiang Ningning. “The junkyard has all sorts of things. My sister can fix all kinds of small machines.”

Summer, who was guarding the bedside, nodded absently to her brother’s words.

Her red eyes were fixed on her mother, never once glancing at her scary-looking father.