Chapter 118.2

In the family compound, no one would likely want to have any dealings with the Lin family again. Moreover, it was the New Year’s holiday, and many people were relaxing, making it even less likely for anyone to notice anything unusual at their house.

Wen Nuan quickly regained her composure. She then gathered all the blankets, laid one layer on the floor in the living room, and covered them with another.

Gu Qinghan checked each of them for any foreign objects in their mouths and turned their heads to prevent vomit from blocking their airways.

Lele’s cries quickly had an effect. Soon, people from the two nearby houses arrived. Upon seeing the several people lying flat in the living room, they immediately went to find a vehicle.

One of the military wives, who had been close to Liu Chunyan in the past, couldn’t hold back her tears upon seeing the scene. “Chunyan, why couldn’t you think this through?!” she cried. “And to bring the children along for such a foolish act… it’s a sin!”

Fortunately, a local official had a jeep and immediately drove them to the military hospital.

Late at night, when the children woke up, the medical staff were immediately thrown into a panic.

Wen Nuan, holding Lele, quickly found Gu Qinghan and Doctor Zhao, urging them to help.

Li Yunhua happened to be there as well, and together they took action. Soon, they had administered injections and attached oxygen tubes to the children.

Before long, the only adult, Liu Chunyan, was the first to regain consciousness, though she appeared disoriented.

But the children had not yet woken up, and Wen Nuan was frantic. Not caring about Liu Chunyan’s pale face, which looked as white as paper, she angrily shouted, “Why did you do this? Huahua and the others are innocent!”

What if the children don’t wake up? What then?

What would happen if Liu Chunyan didn’t survive?

Gu Qinghan embraced Wen Nuan, gently pressing her into her arms. She spoke softly, “Don’t worry, Wife. The children probably haven’t woken up because they were drugged.”

Liu Chunyan had worked at a pharmaceutical factory in the military. It had just been reported to Gu Qinghan that some sleeping pills had gone missing from the factory, and it seemed that Liu Chunyan had secretly given the children the pills, likely fearing they would resist.

It appeared Liu Chunyan had fully intended to end her life.

After hearing Wen Nuan’s earlier words, Gu Qinghan had already suspected that Liu Chunyan might be suicidal, but she had never expected her to take the children down with her.

Additionally, her subordinates had just informed her that Liu Chunyan’s room contained a suicide note, stating that she intended to use the deaths of herself and the children to exchange for the freedom of Lin Guoqiang and Aunt Lin.

Such an idea was incredibly foolish!

Wen Nuan looked at the children, still motionless and pale, and her heart grew even heavier.

Gu Qinghan gently patted her back, comforting her. “It’s okay. They should wake up in a little while.”

Li Yunhua sighed deeply and said, “Don’t worry, the children are just unconscious.”

But he wasn’t sure what would happen once they woke up. After all, children were more fragile than adults, and if they had inhaled too much carbon dioxide, it could potentially affect their brain development.

Wen Nuan glanced at Liu Chunyan, who lay lifeless on the hospital bed, then looked at the other children. She sighed deeply, remaining silent.

Lele, however, had somehow moved to Huahua’s side. She first observed Huahua, checking that she wasn’t moving. Then, she gently reached out her little hand and touched Huahua’s face, calling out, “Huahua, why haven’t you woken up?”

“I brought your favorite peach crisp for you.” Lele pulled the broken pieces of the peach crisp out of her pocket. Due to the earlier chaos, it had all crumbled.

Lele looked at Doctor Zhao and asked, “Grandpa, why hasn’t Huahua woken up yet?”

Doctor Zhao, meeting the child’s clear, bright eyes, froze for a moment before replying, “Huahua is probably a little tired. She’ll wake up in a little while.”

Lele took Huahua’s hand and placed the broken peach crisp next to it. She softly said, “It’s okay, I’ll wait for you to wake up.”

“But you can’t sleep too long, or my two little babies at home will wake up and cry for me.”

Wen Nuan stood behind Lele when suddenly, Liu Chunyan, who had woken up first, let out a loud sob.

“My children… Mom is sorry. It’s my fault, not yours. Xiaocao, Tiezhu, Huahua… Mom is so sorry to you all—”

Wen Nuan didn’t want to hear her words. She intended to take Lele out of the hospital room but then saw Huahua slowly move her eyelids. Her arm seemed to twitch, though she lacked the strength to lift it.

Lele, noticing Huahua move, excitedly shook Wen Nuan’s arm. “Mom, Huahua is awake!”

Lele then bent down, looking at Huahua, and smiled. “Huahua, you woke up! I thought you’d sleep for a long time.”

Huahua took some time before finally opening her eyes, and when she saw Lele, she weakly smiled.

Lele immediately pulled Gu Qinghan over, excitedly saying, “Auntie, come quickly, check on Huahua, make sure she’s alright.”

Without a word, Gu Qinghan first examined Huahua, then said to Lele, “Lele, wait a little while. Huahua might need some rest before she has the strength to speak.”

Wen Nuan gently patted Lele’s head and said, “Lele, stay here with Huahua for now. Let Auntie go check on Huahua’s brother and sister.”

Apart from Huahua, Liu Chunyan’s other three children were also unconscious, and they likely wouldn’t wake up so quickly.

Liu Chunyan, seeing that Huahua had woken up, wanted to get out of bed to check on her, but was held down by Li Yunhua, who scolded, “Lie back down! You can’t even take care of yourself right now, what’s the rush? If you truly care about your children, would you have brought things to this point?”

Liu Chunyan, hearing this, became even more agitated. She clenched her fists and pounded the bed frame, crying out, “I was wrong… I was wrong…”

Wen Nuan looked at Liu Chunyan’s condition, unsure whether she regretted bringing the children into such a desperate situation, or if she regretted being so foolish to try to use suicide to bargain with the army for Lin Guoqiang’s release.

But no matter which it was, Liu Chunyan was still foolish.

Even if they died, Lin Guoqiang’s punishment wouldn’t change in the slightest. Instead, it would only make him feel even more guilty, living the rest of his life in pain.

But if Liu Chunyan had the courage to live, she could still wait for the day Lin Guoqiang would return.

Wen Nuan had also inquired, and Lin Aunt’s punishment wasn’t severe—only two years, just enough to teach her a lesson.

Liu Chunyan had been too extreme.

General Lu and General Xu soon learned of the situation and arrived at the military hospital.

By the time they arrived, Huahua’s brother and sister had also woken up.

After a careful inquiry, they finally learned the details from the eldest sister, Xiaocao.

Because Liu Chunyan had been mentally absent for a while and had neglected the children, there had been nothing to eat or drink at home.

But that night, Liu Chunyan had suddenly brought back half a roast chicken, saying it was a special holiday treat. The children had not eaten meat in almost a month, so they quickly devoured the chicken.

Afterward, they began to feel very sleepy and went to bed. The next thing they knew, they woke up in the hospital.

General Xu looked at Liu Chunyan on the bed, his brows furrowed, and said nothing.

He only dragged a chair over to sit beside the bed, watching Lele and Huahua as they ate the peach crisps.

Once the two children finished the peach crisps, General Lu sat beside their bed, putting on a gentle expression, and asked, “Was it delicious? Do you want more?”

Huahua looked at General Lu, clearly nervous, and shrank back against the bedboard.

Lele, noticing this, smiled and introduced, “Huahua, this is my great-grandpa. My doll was a gift from him.”

When Huahua heard this, she looked carefully at General Lu. Her big eyes widened as she said, “Is this your great-grandpa?”

General Lu nodded. “That’s right, I am Lele’s great-grandfather. I’ve heard Lele talk about you. She said you’re very good at painting. Is that true?”

Upon hearing this, Huahua’s resistance seemed to fade, and she nodded. “My older sister taught me.”

General Lu pointed to the small grass nearby and asked her, “Is your sister the one who painted this?”

Huahua nodded. “Yes, my sister paints even better than I do.”

Looking at the child’s innocent yet slightly proud expression, General Lu smiled and praised, “That’s great, well done. Your dad and mom must be very proud of you.”

Huahua smiled and nodded happily. “Yes, my dad and mom say we’ll definitely become great painters when we grow up.”

“Is that so?” General Lu gently patted the child’s head. “Then I look forward to it.”

Liu Chunyan, upon hearing this, lowered her head and started crying again.

Wen Nuan stood by and handed her a clean handkerchief.

When Liu Chunyan saw it, her crying worsened, but unlike before, she no longer shouted or caused a scene.

Huahua seemed to sense something was wrong. Her little head drooped, and her eyes filled with tears. She cried and said, “But mom said dad won’t come back anymore. The kids from the family compound said dad is a bad person, and someone took him away.”

“Wuwuwu…”

Lele saw Huahua crying and immediately climbed onto the hospital bed to hug her. “Huahua, don’t cry. Did your dad play hide-and-seek with you?”

“My dad often plays hide-and-seek with me, but he would always be gone for a long time. But every time he comes back, he always brings me delicious food.”

Huahua was only a little over four years old, so she was sensible but not fully understanding of everything.

However, the people in the family compound had noticed their family’s situation. Many of them would gossip about them and even throw trash at their house.

General Lu looked at the two little ones, waiting until Huahua had calmed down before asking her, “When you’re in kindergarten, if a child does something wrong, do you remember what the teacher would do?”

Huahua and Lele didn’t fully understand, but they still competed to answer, “She would criticize him.”

“And she would take away his little red flower.”

“Tell his parents, so he couldn’t be naughty anymore.”

General Lu listened to the children’s answers and nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to Liu Chunyan, who was still sobbing, and said, “That’s right. When someone does something good, we should praise them. But when they do something wrong, they need to be criticized.”

“Now, Huahua, you tell me, what should we do after someone makes a mistake?”

Huahua glanced at Lele, who raised her little chubby hand and said, “Great-grandpa, I know. Mom says if you make a mistake, you should bravely admit it and correct it. That way, you’re a good child.”

“Good girl.” General Lu patted Lele’s head before standing up. He walked over to Liu Chunyan’s bedside, hands behind his back, and said, “Children understand these principles. You, a thirty-year-old adult, why don’t you understand?”

“Your man made a mistake this time, and he must accept the criticism and punishment. But the organization didn’t give up on him. They’ve given him a chance to reform. He still has a future.”

“But what you’re doing now is cutting off all his chances. Not only for Lin Guoqiang, but also for your children. You’re killing their future. I hope you think about this carefully. If you think you’re unable to take care of your children, the organization will arrange help for you.”

“Do you understand? We have hundreds of thousands of soldiers buried far from home. They fought with blood to create what we have today, and yet you disregard life so callously. It’s stupid!”

After leaving this statement, General Lu led General Xu and the others away.