Chapter 149: Chapter 149: Kicking the Iron Plate—Qu Hanwen Is Xiao Zhuo’s Father

It was already afternoon, and the children’s stomachs were growling with hunger. Gu Qinghuan took out some instant food from her space and gave it to them to tide them over.

“Dabao, you take care of your sisters. After you eat, go to sleep right away. Watch your sisters and don’t touch anything dangerous in the house. When your uncle comes home from school later, tell him that Mommy is at the hospital taking care of Auntie.”

“Mom, I know. Don’t worry, just go.”

You Ran seemed to sense that something had happened to her mother. She tugged at Gu Qinghuan’s clothes and looked up at her. “Mom…”

“You Ran, Mommy will be back very soon. Your brother and sister will stay with you, okay?” Looking at her child’s innocent face, Gu Qinghuan felt a deep ache in her heart.

Dabao stuffed a piece of egg cake into You Ran’s hand. “You Ran, eat this. It’s really tasty. After we eat, we can play hide-and-seek.”

You Ran took a bite and chewed contentedly. She loved playing hide-and-seek.

After giving her instructions, Gu Qinghuan grabbed her packed daily necessities and headed out.

Back in the village, even in such tough conditions, Dabao had taken good care of his sisters. She believed he could handle things now, too.

In fact, Dabao was a responsible and dependable big brother. Sometimes, she wished he didn’t have to be so mature. But seeing him shoulder the burden of caring for his sisters with his young, slender back, she couldn’t help but feel proud.

Maybe, sometimes, you really shouldn’t view children only from an adult’s perspective. Love is mutual, and among siblings, it’s pointless to fuss over who gives more.

Gu Qinghuan planned to go first to the police station where Xu Lei worked—the closest one to them. She figured Xu Lei and Xu Jianguo must be there.

She guessed right.

Just as Xu Lei was caught in a dilemma, he suddenly received a call from headquarters. It was Chen Jiadong himself.

Chen Jiadong had been pressured by Qu Hanwen’s people to severely punish the person who hurt Xiao Zhuo. The incident happened in Xu Lei’s jurisdiction, so he called to ask about the situation.

Unexpectedly, Xu Lei asked awkwardly, “Director Chen, this suspect is a bit special. His name is Xu Jianguo. He says he just got out of headquarters this morning. What do you think…?”

Xu Lei was testing Chen Jiadong’s attitude toward Xu Jianguo.

But as soon as Chen Jiadong heard the name Xu Jianguo, he exploded!

“What did you say? Xu Jianguo? The same Xu Jianguo we just released this morning? That brat! He must have a death wish—just got out and already causing trouble.

Alright, keep a close eye on him for me. I’ll send someone over to take over immediately. Don’t worry about this anymore—I’ll handle it personally!”

After getting a call from Fang Zhihai that morning, Chen Jiadong had been worrying about how to bring Xu Jianguo back in a legitimate way. Who would have thought the little punk would get himself in trouble again as soon as he got out?

And this time, he’d messed with people he absolutely shouldn’t have—now old and new grudges could be settled together.

Xu Lei realized that Xu Jianguo had really kicked an iron plate this time. He stopped interrogating him and let him make a fuss in the holding cell—there was nothing more he could do.

He had someone bring a meal to Xu Huaian and quietly told him, “Don’t worry. Today’s fight was self-defense. That guy is in for a rough time. Eat up—you’ll be out soon.”

Xu Huaian didn’t know what had happened. Just a moment ago, Xu Lei had seemed worried and stuck, but now he was all smiles. Still, Xu Huaian didn’t ask questions and just ate his meal.

When Gu Qinghuan arrived at the station, Xu Huaian had just finished eating. Xu Lei briefly explained the situation and told her to go home and wait.

Learning that Xu Jianguo had finally met his match, Gu Qinghuan felt a wave of relief. She didn’t know which “immortal” had intervened, but as long as this scumbag got what he deserved, that was enough.

Xu Huaian had to wait for someone from headquarters to handle the handover before he could leave, so Gu Qinghuan went to the hospital to be with Zhong Luoning, who needed someone by her side.

Gu Qinghuan also gave Xu Lei all of Zhong Luoning’s medical reports, including today’s, as evidence of Xu Jianguo’s assault.

Back at the hospital, Xiao Zhuo was keeping watch over Zhong Luoning.

“Is Xu Huaian alright?” he asked.

Gu Qinghuan shook her head. “He’s fine. They’re at the police station now. He should be released soon.”

Xiao Zhuo understood that his father must have intervened, but didn’t say much—just nodded lightly. “That’s good.”

Xiao Zhuo was Qu Hanwen’s biological son, though almost no one at the hospital knew this. Qu Hanwen and Xiao Fengying had separated when Xiao Zhuo was just a few years old.

Qu Hanwen, born into a family of doctors, was obsessed with medicine in his youth. He devoted himself entirely to his research, barely ever home, and neglected his family.

Because of his neglect, Xiao Fengying developed severe postpartum depression. At the time, there wasn’t even a name for it—people just thought she’d gone mad.

Qu Hanwen’s experiments were at a critical stage, and he had no time to be with her.

Xiao Fengying was a strong, well-educated, independent woman. She didn’t want to drag Qu Hanwen down or keep living in a fog. While she was still lucid, she asked for a divorce.

Qu Hanwen refused, so she threatened suicide and even self-harmed, forcing him to agree.

Afterward, she took their child to America for treatment, only returning in recent years.

Her depression gradually improved after going to America—their psychological treatment was indeed better than in China.

This was also why Xiao Zhuo chose to study psychology. Witnessing his mother’s suffering as a child, he was determined to help others like her.

Xiao Fengying hadn’t wanted her son to go into medicine—the pain Qu Hanwen had caused her ran too deep. Doctors, especially ones as obsessed as Qu Hanwen, rarely balanced work and family well. She didn’t want her son to repeat his father’s mistakes and end up unhappy.

But fate had other plans—he became a doctor anyway, though a psychologist.

Xiao Fengying always complained about his career, but deep down, she supported him.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t know Xiao Zhuo had helped behind the scenes and was still wondering who had stepped in out of conscience.

Xu Li returned to the newspaper office with Gu Qinghuan’s article and her two requests and reported to the editor-in-chief.

At first, the editor-in-chief was annoyed—these days, any random person thought their writing was good enough for the paper.

But out of caution, he still took the manuscript from Xu Li.

After reading the first two lines, his expression changed. His eyes lit up with admiration as he kept reading.

He read it three times before finally putting it down, carefully placing it on his desk.

“Look at this—this is what a news article should be! Not a single unnecessary word. The content is clear and well-organized, concise and accurate, and grabs the reader’s attention right away. The ending and headline are crisp and clean—you understand the whole point at a glance.

What’s more, she knows how to highlight the news value and ensures the content is genuine.

Compared to this, what have you all been writing? Learn from this!

Call everyone in. This article must be studied as a model. From now on, I only want to see this level of quality on my desk.

Also, get it printed right away—don’t change a single word. I want it on the front page of tomorrow’s paper.”

Xu Li had thought the article was good, but hadn’t expected the editor-in-chief to praise it so highly. He suddenly felt a bit useless.

“But Chief, aren’t some of the words in here a bit too sharp? What if we offend the Revolutionary Committee…?”

“Xu Li, you actually have a good news sense. You know what your problem is? You’re too cautious. If we journalists can’t even tell the truth or are afraid to offend people, then we might as well quit.”

That was exactly what Gu Qinghuan believed, too.

“You said the author is a woman? I’d love to meet her someday. I really appreciate her style—she’s talented and insightful,” the editor-in-chief sighed again.

Xu Li didn’t dare say more and hurried off to do his errands.

Chen Jiadong sent people to take over the case. Xu Jianguo and several Red Guards were transferred to headquarters.

The whole process was swift and decisive—they even took Xu Lei’s notes. He handed over the medical reports Gu Qinghuan had given him as evidence. After that, it was out of his hands.

When Xu Huaian left the police station, a black sedan was parked at the entrance.

He was about to leave when the window rolled down, revealing a square-faced man.

“You’re Xu Huaian?” Fang Zhihai asked tentatively.

Tang Zhenye hadn’t lied—Xu Huaian really was in great shape. Though he was a bit dirty from the fight, it didn’t affect his bearing at all. He looked full of life. Word was, he’d just beaten up seven troublemakers single-handedly—impressive!

Fang Zhihai had always admired tough people and preferred action over words. Seeing Xu Huaian, he felt like he was looking at his own son’s hope, so his voice softened.

Xu Huaian looked at Fang Zhihai warily. “Can I help you?” He didn’t remember knowing this man, and the car looked expensive.

Fang Zhihai smiled. “You know Tang Zhenye, right? He asked me to help you.”

Xu Huaian understood immediately. No wonder things had been resolved so smoothly today, and Xu Jianguo, who had just been released that morning, was now back in custody. So Tang Zhenye had pulled strings behind the scenes.

Fang Zhihai patted the seat beside him. “Come on, let’s talk.”

Xu Huaian no longer hesitated and got in, sitting next to Fang Zhihai.

Fang Zhihai exuded the aura of someone in power, though it was different from Tang Zhenye’s. Xu Huaian couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he wasn’t afraid—he just listened attentively.

The driver started the car and drove off."