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Xie Jingchen, upon leaving the office, heard from his subordinates that District Chief Yan Rong had again gone to the review office to bail out Qi Chunlan.
Xie Jingchen paused in his stride and turned towards the review office.
The corners of his mouth, previously turned up, were now tightly pursed, his tiger-like eyes deep and inscrutable.
Yan Dongsheng was standing in the corridor, and upon Xie Jingchen’s arrival, he saw him.
The two n stood silently, looking at each other. Xie Jingchen’s pupils montarily contracted before he took a step towards Yan Dongsheng.
"District Chief Yan Rong." Xie Jingchen steadied his mindset and saluted ’fairly,’ then called out in a low voice.
"..." Yan Dongsheng’s face collapsed for an instant, and seeing Xie Jingchen using a more distant title to address him, felt an imnse sense of desolation.
Before his wife had erred, Xie Jingchen, considering Zhang Shan Ni’s origins, had an attitude of seriousness laced with closeness in their interactions. Now... it was just official business.
Yan Dongsheng revealed a self-mocking smile and nodded: "Vice Rongwei Commander Xie, I’ve co to bail out my wife."
Yes, just Yan Dongsheng’s wife. Not his mother-in-law, nor his daughter’s mother.
When Qi Chunlan made such a choice, she had already given up her identity in front of Zhang Shan Ni.
Regardless, the relationship between the two of them could no longer return to normal mother-daughter affection.
"Right, you’re busy, I won’t disturb you further." Xie Jingchen nodded, passing him by and entering the commander’s office at the end of the corridor.
Because of Tao Songjian’s special status, Xie Jingchen was sowhat wrathful nowadays. Thankfully, he was still a rational military doctor and wouldn’t directly confront people with such foolish outbursts of emotion.
He clearly expressed his ’hope’ that the Qi Chunlan incident would receive a fair trial and also voiced a refusal to let Qi Chunlan, under the guise of ’birth mother,’ approach his beloved little wife again.
Whatever Qi Chunlan’s intention was, her actions had endangered the personal safety of his wife Zhang Shan Ni, and he had the right to appeal and protect her.
He allowed Yan Dongsheng to bail out Qi Chunlan from the military imdiately, indifferent to the outco of the trial, with only one request: when she left the detention facility, to have the military personally ’escort’ her out of the troops, out of County X!
As a Rongwei himself, Xie Jingchen knew that given Qi Chunlan’s current ntal condition, she could be bailed out under the pretence of ’ntal disorder’ for dical treatnt.
The military, considering Yan Dongsheng’s rits and rank, might politely seek Xie Jingchen’s opinion.
But a higher-ranked official could crush a lesser one, and after all, Yan Dongsheng was an active Rong District Chief, while he was just a minor Vice Rongwei Chief, not even having a proper conversational position!
His opinion was essentially like a fragile mirror, shattering at the slightest touch.
Face is only sothing you have when others give it to you; when they don’t, you’re not even anything at all.
This is the nature of hierarchy and class, such are the state of things in this country.
Yan Dongsheng watched the tall young Rongwei passing by him, but his mind was filled with the image of his daughter lying in the hospital bed, and of his emotionally distraught wife whom he had just visited.
After Qi Chunlan was detained once again by the Rongwei, she shook with fear. Her husband had assured her she could be bailed out, but in no more than five minutes, he had said, it was no longer possible.
Because Zhang Shan Ni was critically ill.
Upon hearing the news, Yan Dongsheng ran in disarray towards the Rong dical Departnt, but the left-behind Qi Chunlan was montarily stunned.
On her well-maintained pale face, features twisted, eyes widened, nostrils flared. Right then, in her heart, she thought: her younger son could be saved!
Just as her laughter was about to bubble over her red lips, she suddenly bit them hard.
After being detained for several days, she had learned that these guards watching over her were all underlings of that Xie Jingchen, and they showed her no courtesy whatsoever.
When she was forcefully pushed back into the detention room, Qi Chunlan’s smile naturally remained on her face.
At this mont, in her heart, she no longer treated Zhang Shanni as a ’person’, but as the ’life-saving blood bag and dicine inducer’ for her young son.
Only by thinking this way could she dismiss the fear that was about to erge in her heart, and... guilt?!
Qi Chunlan shook her head, what’s done is done, she made her choice and would see it through, even if she had to crawl.
As long as Shishi is well, then it’s all worth it.
Yan Dongsheng couldn’t understand how his wife’s obsessive behavior ca about. In his eyes, perhaps due to their occasional separation, Qi Chunlan had always appeared to be a rational and good mother, except for the impulsive incident when her mother passed away.
But it was this one incident that led to the tragedy of the Yan Family.
Such a gentle and kind woman, what... made her change?
While Xie Jingchen and Yan Dongsheng faced off, Zhang Shanni was not idle either.
Because Yan Jinhao has arrived.
Since Yan Jinchang had taken a position in the Rong District of X County, the only one who could always stay at ho to take care of the family and the younger brother was him.
Therefore, for a long ti, Yan Jinsi was brought up by Yan Jinhao. Especially in the first three years, when their mother had not formally retired, it was mostly him who took care of this frail younger brother.
Yan Jinhao placed high importance on this strong-willed younger brother.
Seeing his younger brother now sleeping peacefully, breathing more smoothly than usual, his feelings were really deep.
"Little sister... thank you."
In the quiet hospital room, there was only Yan Jinhao sitting between the two beds, glancing at his frail younger brother from ti to ti, and looking guiltily at the sleeping Zhang Shanni on the other side.
He had affection for this little sister, but since they had never spent ti together, to be honest, his feelings for her could not possibly exceed those for his younger brother who he had raised since childhood.
But blood ties are strange. Even though Zhang Shanni was cold towards them, even though Zhang Shanni appeared indifferent, in his heart, she still made him softer than Yan Jinxian, with whom he grew up.
Especially knowing that his mother had gone to such extres, Yan Jinhao felt self-reproach.
If he had noticed earlier, he wouldn’t have let his mother make this irreparable mistake... Now, looking at her peaceful sleeping face, his heart was filled with both regret and the pain of self-bla.
Although Yan Jinhao’s gaze drifted towards Zhang Shanni from ti to ti, the intensity in his eyes was so strong that it gradually made the sleeping Zhang Shanni frown.
When he looked at her once more, Zhang Shanni suddenly opened her big almond eyes—
At that mont, the air seed to freeze.
Yan Jinhao, realizing that Zhang Shanni had woken up, intended to leave the room, but deep down, he really hoped to communicate with her...
His hesitation was t with her abruptly opening her eyes, which made his breath catch in his chest.
Seeing that she seed to want to sit up, he quickly stood and took a step forward. Catching a glimpse of her not showing any signs of displeasure or disgust, he cautiously reached out to help her up and tucked the pillow behind her.
"Thank you." Zhang Shanni thanked him for the assistance and then picked up a cup of cool boiled water left by her husband at the bedside, about to drink.
"Wait—"
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