Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Fiercely Protective Xiao Fengying, Personally Writing the Article

After completing the hospital admission procedures and paying the fees, Gu Qinghuan finally went to check on Xiao Zhuo.

Xiao Zhuo had already had his injuries examined. Fortunately, there was nothing serious—just some superficial wounds. Otherwise, Gu Qinghuan really wouldn’t know how to thank him. After all, he was a grown man and could take a beating better.

“Is she alright?” Xiao Zhuo asked as he stretched out his arm for the nurse to apply medicine, glancing at Gu Qinghuan.

“The doctor said she has a gastric hemorrhage and needs to be hospitalized for observation. Dr. Xiao, are you alright?” Gu Qinghuan asked, a little embarrassed.

“I’m fine, just some scrapes. Gastric bleeding, though? That needs careful recovery,” Xiao Zhuo replied thoughtfully.

“Dr. Xiao, do you need me to contact your family? I’m really sorry for taking up your time today. Thank you so much for your help—I’ve already paid your treatment fees,” Gu Qinghuan said politely.

Suddenly, Xiao Zhuo remembered he was supposed to go home for a blind date today, but it had completely slipped his mind.

Oh well, he hadn’t really wanted to go anyway.

“No need to be so polite. I’m fine.”

Just then, the nurse pressed a little too hard, and Xiao Zhuo’s face instantly scrunched up in pain.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but laugh—this guy was actually pretty amusing.

Since Zhong Luoning needed to stay in the hospital, Gu Qinghuan had to go home and pack some things for her. She also didn’t know how things were going with Xu Huai’an.

So, she asked Xiao Zhuo to help look after Zhong Luoning for a few hours while she ran home.

Xiao Zhuo understood and told her to let him know if she needed any help. Gu Qinghuan didn’t think much of it.

She had no idea that Xiao Zhuo actually came from a well-off family, with strong connections in politics—a big tree to lean on.

After Gu Qinghuan left, Xiao Zhuo found a phone and called his mother.

“Mom!”

“You little brat, what’s going on? I’ve been waiting for two hours and you still haven’t come home? Don’t you dare tell me you’re busy at work. How many patients does that shabby clinic of yours even get in a day?” Mrs. Xiao Fengying, Xiao Zhuo’s mother, scolded in a low voice.

On the other end, Xiao Zhuo gave a helpless smile. “Mom, I got beaten up!”

“Let me tell you, don’t think you can—what? You got beaten up?” Xiao Fengying suddenly realized what he’d said, her voice instantly rising several decibels so that everyone in the living room could hear.

“What happened? Who dared to hit you? Are you badly hurt?”

Xiao Zhuo gave her a rough account of what happened, only saying that Zhong Luoning was one of his patients.

He hadn’t planned to tell his mother, but considering that Gu Qinghuan and Xu Huai’an might not be able to handle those Red Guards, and in case they suffered more, he decided to let his mother step in and help.

Xiao Fengying was fiercely protective of her own—she would never let her son be bullied without doing something about it.

She hung up and immediately called someone else, not even waiting for the other party to speak before launching into a tirade.

“Qu Hanwen, listen to me—your son acted bravely today and got beaten up by those little bastards. I don’t care what you have to do, but you’d better make sure those guys get what’s coming to them—at least ten times over!”

With that, she hung up, storming off to pack her things and head to the hospital to see her son.

Her guests could only smile awkwardly and take their leave.

Meanwhile, Qu Hanwen, left staring at his phone in disbelief, was speechless. That woman—after all these years, she was still as fiery as ever.

But Xiao Zhuo, that kid, was usually so sharp—how did he end up getting beaten up? That was rare.

Still, he was his own son, so he hurried to call and find out what had happened.

Back at the police station, Xu Huaian and his group were immediately detained upon arrival.

Soon, several officers came to question them.

The moment Xu Lei saw Xu Huaian, he was stunned. Wasn’t this Gu Qinghuan’s man? What was going on?

In official situations, he didn’t dare acknowledge any personal connection—doing so would only bring trouble for Xu Huaian.

He put on a businesslike air and had Xu Huaian brought in for questioning.

“Name, age…”

Xu Huaian was clearly smart, acting as if he didn’t know Xu Lei at all, even looking a bit timid—making it easy to believe he was a good guy.

He gave his statement quickly, logically, and clearly—there was nothing suspicious about it.

Next up was Xu Jianguo.

He came in trying to throw his weight around.

“Officer, do you know who I am? I was just released from your headquarters this morning—by a leader’s personal order. You’d better watch yourself!”

Xu Lei immediately realized who he was—this was the same Xu Jianguo Gu Qinghuan had asked him to look into yesterday, the one who’d just been released this morning.

He hadn’t even had time to notify Gu Qinghuan before this troublemaker showed up at her door.

Couldn’t wait, apparently.

“Xu Huaian accuses you of assaulting his cousin—your legal wife—in public. She’s been sent to the hospital unconscious. Is that true?”

Xu Jianguo was a sly one and immediately denied it. “Officer, you’ve got the wrong guy. Zhong Luoning was cheating on me behind my back. I just happened to run into her with a few Red Guard comrades, and a conflict broke out. Then this Xu-whatever-his-name-is rushed in and beat us up. I demand a medical exam and that he be sent to labor reform!”

Xu Lei nearly spat blood. He’d seen shameless people before, but never anyone who could twist the truth like this.

He’d led a group to someone’s front door and called it a coincidence? Beat someone half to death and called it a “conflict”?

Xu Lei was at a loss for what to do, when suddenly he got a call from headquarters.

Meanwhile, Gu Qinghuan returned to the small villa to find Xu Huaian and Xu Jianguo gone. Only one figure was pacing outside.

It was the reporter Xu Li, whom she’d just met that morning.

She hadn’t expected him to act so quickly, but it made sense—if this article was published, it would be a big win for them, too.

What Gu Qinghuan didn’t know was that her thinking was still too simplistic. There were bigger forces behind the People’s Daily, and for them, this article wasn’t just about clearing an innocent woman’s name—it was also a political test.

That’s why Xu Li had come back with a reply so quickly.

“Comrade Gu, our editor-in-chief thinks very highly of your story and wants you to write it for us. You can name any conditions.”

Xu Li had thought the editor-in-chief might hesitate or even refuse, but to his surprise, the chief agreed almost instantly—telling him to secure the article no matter what, and even hinting that if it got published, Xu Li’s own promotion and raise would be just around the corner.

Naturally, Gu Qinghuan agreed.

She set two conditions: first, no matter how rushed, she wanted the article to appear on the front page of tomorrow’s People’s Daily.

Second, she wanted to write the article herself. The newspaper could edit and polish it, but not distort the facts.

Xu Li readily agreed to the first condition—they were also afraid of delays, and the editor-in-chief had already reserved the front page for this story.

But he hesitated at the second condition. On one hand, he wasn’t sure about Gu Qinghuan’s writing skills and worried the editor-in-chief wouldn’t be satisfied.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t say much—she simply handed him an article she’d already written.

She’d prepared it in advance.

After all, she was a graduate of a top university and had worked in livestreaming, writing countless touching short pieces.

Writing a moving, powerful news article was as easy as eating or drinking for her.

Thanks to the advanced internet of later times, she stood on the shoulders of giants. Compared to writers of this era, her work might seem a bit unconventional, but it was definitely captivating.

Sure enough, after reading her article, Xu Li was so stunned he didn’t know what to say. He’d thought she was a bronze, but she turned out to be a king.

The article was just that good—sharp, well-argued, full of references, making readers deeply empathize with Zhong Luoning’s plight while exposing the injustice she’d suffered.

It was almost too blunt—just short of directly calling out the head of the Revolutionary Committee for protecting his own.

“Whether it works or not, take it back and show your editor-in-chief! Here are the photos, too—you can handle them as you see fit.” She believed that as long as the editor-in-chief wasn’t blind, he’d use her article.

If you’re in journalism and don’t have a bit of courage, and only play it safe, you might as well not bother.

Gu Qinghuan was exhausted and didn’t want to waste words. The photos had already been selected and cropped by her. Since they were taken with a Polaroid, the quality matched the era and didn’t look out of place.

After Xu Li left, Gu Qinghuan hurried into the kitchen and let the three children out of the storage room.

As soon as Dabao and Beibei came out, they clung tightly to her legs.

Gu Qinghuan pulled the dazed Youran into her arms as well.

“Kids, you must have been scared! It’s alright now—it’s all over.”

“Mama, what happened?” Beibei didn’t seem scared—she actually thought it was kind of fun.

Dabao looked at Gu Qinghuan with concern. “Mama, is Auntie okay?”

He’d heard the commotion outside earlier. Zhong Luoning had hurriedly locked the children in the storage room, which had frightened him.

To comfort Youran and Beibei, he’d told them they were playing hide-and-seek, but he’d actually been bearing a lot on his own.

Seeing the worry in her son’s eyes, Gu Qinghuan’s own eyes grew red.

When it rains, it pours—she was at her wits’ end.

“Auntie got hurt and is in the hospital. Mama still has a lot to do. Dabao, you’re the big brother now. I have a task for you: take care of yourself and your two sisters. Can you do that?”

Dabao wanted to ask more and was still scared, but seeing how tired his mother looked, he chose to bear it silently.

“Mama, don’t worry. I’ll take care of myself and my sisters.”

Gu Qinghuan patted his shoulder. “Thank you, my little man.”"