Chapter 146: A Sudden Longing to See Lin Xiaodou

Lin Xiaodou and the two public security officers took Xu Mo and Da Niu away first, as both men were suspected of being enemy agents. Despite their severe injuries, the authorities did not send them to a hospital but instead to a detention center, fearing they might attempt to escape.

After giving her statement, Lin Xiaodou returned to the hospital. Shortly after, Director Hu and the Zhu family rushed over in a panic. Upon learning the details of the incident, Director Hu could not help but wipe away a cold sweat. The situation had been incredibly perilous; had it not been for Lin Xiaodou, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"How is Xiao Jingyao?" Director Hu asked. "What did the doctor say?"

"The nurse mentioned that the bullet has been removed from his back, but he is still in emergency care," Lin Xiaodou replied. "I don't know the specifics."

Seeing the exhaustion on her face, Director Hu spoke up, "You haven't closed your eyes for two days and two nights. Go home and get some sleep. I'll keep watch here; everything will be fine."

Lin Xiaodou nodded in agreement. Since she had already provided her statement, there was nothing left for her to do. As she rose to leave, the members of the Zhu family crowded around her.

"Thank you, Comrade Lin. If it weren't for you, our Qingqing might never have come back." They had just emerged from Zhu Qingqing's room after checking on her condition. Aside from some emotional instability, she was otherwise doing well.

Zhu’s parents felt a deep sense of shame. Previously, their daughter had repeatedly provoked Lin Xiaodou, and they had even defended her. Now that Lin had saved their daughter's life, they felt they had no face to see her.

"Hm," Lin Xiaodou replied coldly, turning and walking away.

"It’s still our fault for how this child turned out..." Zhu’s father said, looking remorseful.

Zhu Damei watched the retreating figure and scratched her head. "She’s already showing us mercy by doing that. If she were someone petty, she probably wouldn't have even spared us a glance."

Zhu’s mother looked toward the ward with worry and sighed, "What will become of Qingqing now? She’s no longer an innocent girl; she’ll never be able to marry."

"Mom," Zhu Damei said, "my sister is involved with enemy agents. Forget about marriage—she might not even keep her life."

At these words, the faces of Zhu’s parents turned deathly pale. They had been so anxious that they hadn't considered this. Now, hearing their eldest daughter’s warning, they were gripped by fear.

Zhu’s father paced back and forth in a panic. "What are we going to do? Qingqing is innocent! This is all the work of that beast, Xu Mo!"

Zhu’s mother’s eyes reddened, and she wiped away tears incessantly. "It’s all my fault. If I had just kept a better eye on Qingqing, this wouldn't have happened."

Seeing her parents’ distress, Zhu Damei felt heavy-hearted. She had been deeply disappointed by her younger sister’s foolish actions in the past, but seeing her suffer such a terrible trauma, she could not help but feel pity. She could only pray in her heart that her sister would be safe.

That very night, however, Zhu Damei had a bizarre dream.

In the dream, after her sister was dismissed from the art troupe, she used their parents' connections to become a veterinary apprentice at a pig farm. There, she fell in love at first sight with the labor reform convict Xu Mo, and the two began a secret affair. Later, when Damei accidentally discovered this, she immediately told their parents. Though their parents were furious and scolded their sister, she was determined to be with Xu Mo, even threatening them with a hunger strike. In the end, the parents compromised and had Director Hu pull strings to have Xu Mo sent to another province as an educated youth, and her sister immediately followed him.

But this left behind a disaster. While at the pig farm, Xu Mo had interacted with an enemy agent known as "Big Foolish Ox" and knew his true identity. A public security officer named Xiao Jingyao had previously infiltrated the farm to investigate but failed to find the agent. After Xu Mo and her sister left for the countryside, Xiao Jingyao, unwilling to give up, returned to the farm. This time, he discovered clues, successfully captured Big Foolish Ox, and executed him after a brutal interrogation.

When Big Foolish Ox’s two brothers learned of this, they were consumed by rage. They concluded that it was Xu Mo who had leaked the information. Unable to find where the couple had relocated, they turned their vengeance toward the Zhu family.

That night, they set the Zhu home on fire. The roaring flames swept through the house like a beast. By the time Damei and her parents woke up, it was too late. The fire reached the sky, and smoke was everywhere; there was no escape. Zhu Damei was burned alive while screaming in agony.

Her skin ripped open, and her face became unrecognizable. Her body was charred black, leaving only two hollow eye sockets. Those sockets stared straight at her, and suddenly, a trail of bloody tears flowed down.

"Ahhh!!!" Zhu Damei woke up screaming from the dream. Her parents were startled awake and rushed over to ask what was wrong.

"It's nothing, just a nightmare," she said.

Everything in the dream felt so real, as if she had experienced it herself. It was too preposterous, and she dared not tell her parents for fear of worrying them. Once they left, she curled up, trembling, and it took a long time to calm down.

For some reason, the more she tried to be calm, the more the details of the dream flooded her mind. In the dream, after she died, her soul did not dissipate but drifted to the place where her sister had been sent. When her sister learned that her family had been burned to death, she wasn't sad at all. Instead, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Now I don't have to worry about my identity being exposed."

Identity exposed? Could it be that someone was impersonating her sister? That was impossible. They looked identical and were familiar with the family; it couldn't be a fake!

Zhu Damei pondered for a long time, unable to make sense of it. As the memories of her dream collided with reality, she suddenly realized one fact: there was no mention of Lin Xiaodou in the dream.

In the current reality, because of Lin Xiaodou’s appearance, the course of everything had changed. Her sister hadn't ended up with Xu Mo; instead, they had turned into enemies, and he had been arrested. Could all of this be thanks to Lin Xiaodou?

Contemplating this possibility, Zhu Damei suddenly felt a desperate urge to see Lin Xiaodou. She wanted to see her, more than anything.