Jiang Cheng and Shen Que pretended to be very busy in the hotel.
Various phone calls were made from the hotel room, and amid the chaos, Jiang Cheng also met several people.
He Gong had been monitoring Jiang Cheng’s movements, and unbeknownst to him, his every move was under surveillance.
Jiang Cheng didn’t know exactly what happened during this time.
But she played her role on the surface perfectly.
Five days later, Director Leng suddenly came to visit in person.
Jiang Cheng looked at Director Leng and smiled knowingly, asking, "Is it over?"
"It’s over, I came to give you an explanation."
Director Leng came in, and Shen Que, who had been hiding, also emerged, and the three of them sat down together.
"Jiang Cheng, you were not part of the capture plan this time."
In other words, it’s not that they didn’t tell Jiang Cheng, they just didn’t know that He Gong would contact her.
Jiang Cheng shook her head indifferently, saying, "I’m willing to be used if it means catching spies."
Hearing this, Director Leng’s serious face broke into a smile, and he looked at Jiang Cheng sincerely, saying, "Thank you."
This thank you was not just for the spy incident but encompassed a lot more, which Jiang Cheng understood.
"No need to thank me, it’s where my heart lies."
Director Leng stopped with the pleasantries.
"A few years ago, after your report, He Gong was secretly monitored by us. Back then, he went to the Northwest with the intent targeting some of our secret projects."
"We just never found the right opportunity to act, and we didn’t want to alert the enemy because we wanted to see what kind of trail he would leave, so we kept watching."
"Later, He Gong applied to move to the South, possibly eyeing the trend of the southern economy taking off."
"As for this time, he was indeed intent on stopping your funding activities, even hoping to tarnish us and shake the trust in free market individuals."
...
Director Leng said a lot, and in conclusion, He Gong had been lurking for a long time. This time, by following the lead, they uprooted the entire network behind He Gong in one go.
Jiang Cheng, upon hearing this, said contentedly, "It’s good that he was caught."
"Indeed, and also... that Boss Hu was one of our people, always monitoring He Gong from the side."
Jiang Cheng was slightly surprised, but then felt it was to be expected.
"That’s good."
After the explanation, once Director Leng confirmed that Jiang Cheng had no more concerns, he left.
Jiang Cheng and Shen Que both let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment, they decided to go home.
The two left immediately, catching the earliest flight back to Beijing.
After getting off the plane, they rushed home without stopping.
Nothing more, they missed home.
Upon arriving at the courtyard house, the first person they saw when they opened the door was Shen Xing, wearing an apron.
Little Zhuang Zhuang was clinging to Shen Xing’s leg, pleading for him to make him big chicken drumsticks.
"No way! You’ve already had chicken drumsticks today, eating too much will give you a tummy ache."
"Does Uncle not like me anymore?"
Zhuang Zhuang looked pathetically at Shen Xing, who couldn’t help but think of when he could return to his unit as he couldn’t handle it anymore.
The sound of the door opening made the uncle and nephew look up together, and the next second, Zhuang Zhuang let go of his hold.
"Mom!"
Zhuang Zhuang, like a little cannonball, charged forward, and Jiang Cheng stepped forward to catch him, hugging him tightly.
"Mom missed you so much!"
Zhuang Zhuang’s line was stolen.
"Mom—I missed you the most!"
Zhuang Zhuang said this with his little mouth pursed, looking pitiful and hugging Jiang Cheng’s neck.
"Mom.... you were gone for several days, and Zhuang Zhuang couldn’t sleep well at night."
"And Uncle wouldn’t let me eat drumsticks, look, my little tummy is all shriveled."
After Zhuang Zhuang said this, Shen Xing behind him was red with embarrassment, looking wronged as if falsely accused.
"Zhuang Zhuang buddy, don’t tell tales!"
Zhuang Zhuang didn’t care about all that; he clung tightly to Jiang Cheng with his little hands, refusing to let go.
On the side, Shen Que looked longingly but couldn’t get a hug in.
With Jiang Cheng and Shen Que back, Grandma Shen’s heart was at ease.
In the evening, Shen Que personally cooked, and everyone had dinner together.
The next morning, Shen Xing got the order to return to his unit immediately.
Shen Que and Jiang Cheng felt reluctant to see him go, every visit was in a hurry.
But they also deeply understood that responsibility.
If no one took on these responsibilities, how could we have such good days?
Shen Que adjusted Shen Xing’s already neat collar.
"Train well."
Only this way could he protect himself.
Shen Xing understood Shen Que’s unsaid meaning and nodded, saying, "I will."
Jiang Cheng also stepped forward, looking at Shen Xing, who was already a head taller than her, filled with memories.
"Our Xing Xing has grown up, take care of yourself and come home when you have time."
With tears in his eyes, Shen Xing nodded, and before the tears fell, he turned resolutely and left.
Jiang Cheng leaned on Shen Que’s arm, saying with some sentiment, "The kids are grown, every meeting is like a farewell."
"It’s alright, I’m here with you."
Jiang Cheng looked up, nodded, and said, "That’s the meaning of having a lifelong companion."
"Lifelong companion?"
"Ms. Jiang Cheng, mind explaining, how old am I?"
Jiang Cheng looked at the serious Shen Que speechlessly, releasing the arm she was holding.
"Mr. Shen Que, I find that the older you get, the more childish you become!"
The two teased and laughed around, and time flew by until it was time for Zhuang Zhuang to start primary school.
Zhuang Zhuang also went to kindergarten, but he just went there to play every day, got off by 2 pm, and didn’t learn much.
Jiang Cheng didn’t want to push Zhuang Zhuang to study hard, not teaching him anything ahead of time.
That’s just how it was, and for the first time, Shen Que and Jiang Cheng experienced the hardship of "tutoring homework."
Is Zhuang Zhuang dumb?
Not really.
He’s just too curious!
Teaching other kids, you just need to tell them that one plus one equals two, and they’d just memorize it.
But Zhuang Zhuang would ask, why does one plus one equal two? Can’t it be zero?
Jiang Cheng didn’t get angry or frustrated but patiently asked, "Why should it be zero?"
Zhuang Zhuang pulled out a cup, added some salt and then hot water in it.
"Mom, look, one portion of salt plus one portion of hot water is one portion of salt water. The salt is gone, and the plain water is gone too. So couldn’t it be zero, or maybe one."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng found Zhuang Zhuang’s thinking quite interesting, so she patiently explained from the beginning.
This explanation almost led to a discussion on the origin of species.
Two hours just passed by like that.
The key is, she couldn’t get angry.
Kids are just curious and eager to learn, what could she do?
The only thing Jiang Cheng could do was to have Shen Que explain.
Shared joy is double joy, right?
The pain shouldn’t be borne by just one person.
Since Zhuang Zhuang started school, Shen Yue seldom came back.
Not for any other reason, Shen Yue just feared Jiang Cheng and Shen Que might suspect her.
That her nephew took after his aunt, that Zhuang Zhuang’s current learning difficulties were inherited from her.
As the only academically underachieving one in the family, Shen Yue felt guilty!