Chapter 131

Zhenzhen listened to Xi Junjie’s pale explanation, growing increasingly uneasy. Recently, a large-scale war had broken out between Ba Country and a neighboring nation, with countless casualties. Many overseas Chinese and Chinese citizens had come to the embassy for help, hoping China could bring them home. As the war in Ba Country became harder to control, embassy staff quickly reported the situation to the authorities back home, requesting the dispatch of personnel to evacuate Chinese nationals.

Time was of the essence. Upon receiving the request, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately reported it upward. Within a single day, they received orders to coordinate with the military to carry out the evacuation mission. Due to the ongoing conflict, planes were expected to land only in a neighboring country unaffected by the war. From there, diplomatic staff and military personnel would have to drive alone to the Chinese embassy in Ba Country to extract Chinese citizens across the border, verifying each individual’s identity and nationality along the way—each step fraught with danger. Although China had requested cooperation from the two warring countries for the evacuation, such guarantees were far from reliable in wartime.

After hanging up the phone, Zhenzhen sat pale-faced in her chair. A staff member placed a file on her desk, but Zhenzhen pushed it aside, grabbed her car keys, and rushed out.

“Manager, this is the latest document on the land auction,” her subordinate called out, afraid of delaying something important for the company. But Zhenzhen had no mind for business at the moment. She had only one thought: to get home quickly.

It wasn’t yet time to get off work, so the streets were relatively empty. Zhenzhen drove straight home without obstruction. She burst through the door and ran inside. Xi Junjie was placing the last coat into his suitcase, then zipped it closed after scanning the room to ensure nothing was left behind.

Bang! The door suddenly slammed open. Xi Junjie turned to see Zhenzhen clutching the doorframe, gasping for breath. He sighed, walked over, and pulled her inside. “I told you—it’ll be fine.”

Zhenzhen’s eyes immediately turned red. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly around the neck. “How can it be fine? I’m not stupid.”

“You know I have no choice. Right now, our fellow citizens need us to bring them home,” Xi Junjie said gently, kissing her hair. “But I promise you—I’ll come back safely, okay?”

Her tears soaked his shirt. She nodded furiously in his arms. “Promise me you won’t act brave, don’t try to be a hero. I just want you to come back safe.”

Xi Junjie smiled, purposely acting relaxed. “Of course I’ll come back safely. I’ve got you and our two adorable kids at home—how could I bear to let anything happen to me? Don’t worry. We’ll have a military escort, and China will stay in touch with both countries to make sure our evacuation route is clear.”

Zhenzhen knew this was a national mission she couldn’t stop, and Xi Junjie had no choice but to go. She could only hug him tightly, wishing time would slow down.

Xi Junjie held her quietly until he could no longer delay, glancing at the clock on the wall. He gently pushed her away and joked, “Look at this—I haven’t even left yet and I already need to change clothes.”

Seeing the large damp patch on his shirt, Zhenzhen wiped her tears and tried to smile. “I’ll get you a new shirt.”

Xi Junjie unbuttoned his shirt and set it aside. Zhenzhen brought over a freshly ironed one and helped him put it on, buttoning it slowly, one by one.

“I’m leaving now,” Xi Junjie said, his voice slightly hoarse.

Zhenzhen picked up the car keys from the table. “Where are you meeting the others? I’ll drive you there.”
—

Outside the airport, Zhenzhen stood and watched Xi Junjie’s plane taxi down the runway and soar into the blue sky. She leaned quietly against the car door until night began to fall, then finally came back to her senses, turned around, and drove home.

As she pulled up outside the gate, Li Muwu, who had been sitting by the entrance, immediately stood up and quietly told her, “Your father-in-law and mother-in-law had a fight—seems it was about Junjie’s assignment.”

“Oh.” Zhenzhen paused for a moment. Though Xi Changbo was only a deputy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, many key decisions were made jointly between him and the head. He must have been aware of Xi Junjie’s deployment. From her father-in-law’s position, Zhenzhen could understand the decision. In such dangerous times, if he didn’t send his own son, people would talk.

“I understand,” she said. “I’ll go talk to them. I’ll check on the twins later—tell my mom to wait a bit.”

“There’s still milk in the fridge, no need to rush,” Li Muwu said, then couldn’t help asking, “Isn’t he just going abroad for a few days? Why do you all look so upset?” Seeing the redness under her eyes, he grew concerned. “Is there something we don’t know?”

“No.” Zhenzhen forced a smile. “It’s just that we haven’t been apart this long since we got married. It’s a bit hard.”

“Oh, you clingy child,” Li Muwu laughed. “Junjie said he’d be back in ten days or two weeks.”

“I know.” Zhenzhen pointed inside the gate. “I’ll go in now.” Li Muwu nodded and watched her go in before heading home himself.

As Zhenzhen entered the main house, even without using her ability, she could hear Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan arguing. Ever since she moved next door to the Xi family, she had never seen the couple fight—they had always seemed loving. This was the first time she’d seen them like this.

She sighed and gently knocked on the door. The argument inside fell silent. The door opened, and she saw Xi Changbo. She softly greeted, “Dad.”

Xi Changbo responded with some guilt, lowering his head. Zhenzhen walked in and sat beside Ling Xiulan, who was wiping her tears on the couch, and held her hand. “Mom, don’t cry. Junjie will come back safe.”

That only made it worse. Ling Xiulan turned and threw her arms around Zhenzhen, bursting into loud sobs. “Your dad talks so easily, saying the two countries will make way. But can war really be predicted like that? If they were so reasonable, why would so many civilians be dying?”

Zhenzhen gently patted her back and spoke on her father-in-law’s behalf. “Mom, I think Dad feels bad too. Junjie is his only son—of course he’s worried. But with his position, he can’t stop it. This is all he can do.”

Xi Changbo let out a long sigh, his tone much softer now. “You see, you understand me better than your mother.”

“But my heart aches,” Ling Xiulan’s eyes were bloodshot. “He’s my son, my only son. If anything happens to him, what will I do?”

Zhenzhen paused, then said slowly and firmly, “I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Ling Xiulan looked at Zhenzhen’s face, and a sudden fear gripped her. She grabbed Zhenzhen’s hand tightly. “Zhenzhen, I know you’re worried too, but I’ve thought it through. Your dad said he’s going with our best military unit. With them protecting Junjie, he’ll be fine. But promise me—you can’t go running off to find him. Think of the twins. They need you.”

“I know,” Zhenzhen replied calmly. “Besides, I couldn’t get a ticket even if I wanted to.”

Ling Xiulan finally relaxed, wiping her tears and trying to comfort her daughter-in-law. “I was just scared earlier. I do understand all the logic, but it still hurts.” Then noticing Zhenzhen’s dazed expression, she asked, “Did you go with Junjie to the airport?”

Zhenzhen nodded and smiled. “He said he’ll come back safe and told us to wait for him at home.”

Looking at the first signs of exhaustion on her daughter-in-law’s delicate face, Ling Xiulan hugged her tightly, heart aching.

That night, after putting the twins to sleep, Zhenzhen lay in bed wide awake. Thinking of Xi Junjie, who had only been gone for a few hours, she closed her eyes and directed her consciousness into the sky, searching for his plane. Her awareness lightly entered the cabin. She saw Xi Junjie sitting with his eyes closed and, unable to resist, let her spirit drift over and gently kissed his cheek. Xi Junjie’s eyes opened suddenly, alert. He looked around, disoriented. A colleague beside him put down his newspaper and asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Having a dream?”

Xi Junjie came back to his senses and smiled sheepishly. “I dreamed about my wife.”

A colleague smiled kindly. “You’ll see her when you get home.”
—

After Xi Junjie and his group got off the plane, staff from the neighboring country’s embassy had already prepared vehicles. They would cross the border to the Chinese embassy in Ba Country to pick up the diplomatic staff and fellow citizens there.

Meanwhile, back home, Zhenzhen had no mind to manage the company. She called Mingbei back from the construction site to handle business affairs, while she sat behind her desk with her eyes closed, mentally focusing on Xi Junjie.

Although Grandma Li and Wang Sufen didn’t know exactly what had happened, seeing the grim expressions of Ling Xiulan and Zhenzhen, and the news broadcast on TV, they had a vague idea of the situation. At a time like this, they felt they couldn’t be of much help to their daughter and son-in-law, so they simply took the twins every morning to avoid disturbing Zhenzhen. Fortunately, Zhenzhen had stored a good amount of breast milk, which was enough for the twins.

Following the route provided by staff at the Chinese embassy in Ba Country, the Chinese military and Xi Junjie’s group stayed relatively far from the area of crossfire. Even so, sporadic gunfire could still be heard in nearby areas.

After two days on the road, the convoy reached the Chinese embassy in Ba Country, which was already crowded with people waiting to be evacuated. Xi Junjie and his colleagues distributed food and water they had brought. Once the retreat route negotiated with both conflicting nations was confirmed and sent from China, the convoy immediately departed the embassy.

Only half a day into the journey, a commotion suddenly erupted inside one of the buses. Xi Junjie stood up and walked toward the disturbance to see a young woman covering her face and crying loudly.

He frowned slightly and first told the nearby onlookers to return to their seats, then asked the woman, “What’s wrong?”

“The two friends who came with me to the embassy didn’t get on the bus,” she said in panic. “They went to the bathroom, and we boarded shortly after. I thought they had come up too, but just now I realized they’re not on the bus.”

“What are their names?” Xi Junjie asked immediately.

The girl sobbed twice before replying, “Li Wen and Zhang Xiaoran.”

Xi Junjie quickly searched through the collected passports and, sure enough, found both names. His expression darkened as he slammed the seatback with his fist, then urgently radioed the staff in the other buses. “Check whether Li Wen and Zhang Xiaoran are on board.” Five minutes later, the three buses responded in turn: “Not on bus 2!” “Not on bus 3!” “Not on bus 4!”

Frustrated, Xi Junjie ran a hand through his hair. A thorough check had been done before departure, ensuring no one was left in the offices or bathrooms. How had two people been left behind? But since they had been, they had to go back—after all, he still had their passports.

Xi Junjie immediately contacted the head of the evacuation operation. Moments later, the order came: “Xi Junjie, take two soldiers in a jeep to search for the two citizens. The rest of the convoy will proceed and regroup in the neighboring country.”

The convoy stopped, and a jeep was quickly cleared. Xi Junjie got into the driver’s seat, with one armed soldier in the passenger seat and another in the back.

The evacuation route had a strict 48-hour window. After that, it might once again become a battleground, so Xi Junjie had to move fast to get out of the country as soon as possible.

Distant explosions could be heard from the streets. Locals stayed hidden in their homes, too afraid to venture out. Buildings, malls, and parks once common had been reduced to rubble. Xi Junjie drove full throttle and made it back to the embassy in just two hours. Jumping out of the vehicle, he pushed open the door and saw the two women sitting on the ground crying and blaming each other.

Startled by the sudden door opening, they screamed in fear. Upon realizing it was a fellow Chinese citizen, they breathed a sigh of relief. Standing up and wiping away tears, they recognized him as an evacuation worker from China and quickly asked, “Why did you all leave so suddenly?”

“Yeah, why didn’t you let us know first?”

Xi Junjie suppressed his fury and looked at them. “I should be asking you—everyone else got on the bus. How did you end up left behind?”

Seeing how angry he was, the two women looked guilty and turned their heads. “Well… we had something to take care of last minute.”

Xi Junjie didn’t want to waste words on their stupidity. He moved aside. “Get in the car. Any more delay, and we might run into crossfire.”

Panicked, the two grabbed their backpacks and scrambled into the jeep. Xi Junjie’s eyes flicked to a gold bracelet on one woman’s wrist, then to the ruins of a jewelry store nearby that had been bombed the day before. He took two deep breaths to calm himself before driving off in the evacuation direction.

The round trip had cost four hours. Since the two soldiers had to stay alert with weapons ready, Xi Junjie was the only one driving. Though he was desperate to return home, physical stamina had its limits. After driving for eight straight hours, he pulled over by a wooded area, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. “I’m too tired. I need a break.”

Soldier Shao Hong handed him some hardtack. “Eat a little and nap for half an hour. I’ll stand guard.”

Xi Junjie nodded, took a bite of the dry, hard biscuit, and dozed off against the seat before he could even swallow. Shao Hong and Zhu Mingyi got out and began patrolling around the vehicle.

Li Wen and Zhang Xiaoran noticed the men’s obvious dislike for them and felt guilty. But after sitting for eight hours, they couldn’t stay still. After whispering to each other, they opened the car door and got out.

Shao Hong immediately turned and snapped at them, “Get back in the car! It’s dangerous out here.”

Li Wen swallowed nervously. “We want to use the restroom.”

Shao Hong looked around and pointed at a tree not far away. “Do it over there and come back quickly. We can’t stay here long.”

The two nodded and ran to the tree. Li Wen tugged at Zhang Xiaoran and whispered, “That’s too close to them. What if they peek? Let’s move a bit further.”

Zhang Xiaoran glanced at the two armed soldiers circling the car and hesitated. “Didn’t they say it’s not safe here? Let’s just get it over with.”

Li Wen scoffed. “It’s dead quiet here—nobody’s around. We’re not going far. See that slope? Let’s go there. They won’t see.”

The slope Li Wen pointed at was only about ten meters away. Zhang Xiaoran nodded. “Alright, let’s hurry. I think that Foreign Ministry guy is annoyed at us for going to the jewelry store.”

“He’s just mad we made them go back for us,” Li Wen said self-righteously. “How were we supposed to know they’d just leave like that without waiting?”

Talking as they went, they stepped down the slope. It was pitch dark, and the ground was sandy with a deep pit below. As soon as they stepped down, they both slipped and fell in.

“Ahhhh—!” A piercing scream shattered the stillness of the night. Shao Hong and Zhu Mingyi immediately turned around. Seeing no sign of the women by the tree, their faces darkened.

“What are those two up to now?”

“Help!”

“Come help us!”

“We fell into a pit!”

The cries for help grew louder and more urgent. Shao Hong took two deep breaths, then went to the car to wake Xi Junjie. “Those two women had an accident while going to the bathroom. Zhu Mingyi and I will check it out. Stay alert.”

Xi Junjie nodded, wiped his face, unbuckled his seatbelt, and opened the door for air. Shao Hong and Zhu Mingyi followed the voices to the pit. Climbing the slope, they looked down and were speechless at the sight of the two women.

Li Wen, sitting on the ground, was covering a bleeding forehead in terror. “Help us up! Our legs are too weak to climb!”

Just as Shao Hong was about to speak, gunfire suddenly erupted. Before he could turn around, bullets rained from behind. Thinking quickly, he dragged Zhu Mingyi into the pit. A grenade exploded at the edge moments later, sending down sand and debris that nearly buried them alive.

Zhu Mingyi and Shao Hong each covered one woman’s mouth and lay silently at the bottom of the dirt pit, not daring to make a sound. Only after the two women realized the danger and promised not to make any noise did Shao Hong and Zhu Mingyi quietly raise their guns, ready for combat. A few scattered gunshots rang out outside and then suddenly fell silent. Shao Hong and Zhu Mingyi were deeply worried about Xi Junjie, who was still in the vehicle, fearing something had happened to him.

Every passing second was agonizing—after all, Xi Junjie mattered far more to them than these two reckless women. Shao Hong couldn’t wait any longer. He gestured for Zhu Mingyi to provide cover and cautiously climbed out of the pit with his gun raised, only to find the outside eerily quiet, not a soul in sight.

Shao Hong signaled to Zhu Mingyi, who dragged the two women out of the pit and quickly ran toward the SUV parked at the edge of the woods. But when they reached the vehicle, they found the doors wide open, the body riddled with bullet holes, and Xi Junjie nowhere to be seen.

Shao Hong and Zhu Mingyi could no longer spare any attention for the two troublesome women. Guns in hand, they frantically searched the surrounding area, combing through the nearby woods, but there was still no sign of Xi Junjie. By this time, dawn had broken. Unwilling to give up, they widened the search area and finally discovered some faint traces—scattered shell casings on the ground, one even stained with blood—but aside from that, there was no sign of Xi Junjie.

“Was he kidnapped? But why would they kidnap a Chinese diplomat?” Shao Hong said uncertainly. “What do we do now?”

Zhu Mingyi was silent for a moment before replying, “We can’t delay any longer. Let’s get those two back first and immediately request military backup.”
—

Sunlight poured in through the window. Xi Junjie’s eyelashes trembled slightly as he slowly opened his eyes. Maybe he had been in the dark too long, because the light felt blinding. He tried to raise his hand to block it, but a sudden sharp pain shot through his upper arm, making him gasp. He looked down at his arm, now wrapped in bandages, momentarily dazed.

Everything from last night slowly returned to him. While Shao Hong and Zhu Mingyi had gone to find the two women, he had just unfastened his seatbelt and was about to step out for some fresh air when several people suddenly emerged from behind the vehicle and, without a word, opened fire.

Xi Junjie had immediately rolled out of the car and used it as cover to dash into the forest. At that moment, the women’s screams distracted the attackers, buying him precious time. He remembered hearing a grenade explode and gunfire raining down endlessly. Just as he reached the woods, a bullet grazed his arm and embedded itself in a nearby tree. The intense pain made him stumble and fall, hitting his head on a tree and passing out instantly.

Using his uninjured hand, he touched his forehead—sure enough, it was also bandaged. The pain confirmed that none of this was a dream. But how had he survived such a perilous situation? Xi Junjie found it hard to believe.

He felt the soft mattress beneath him and lifted the feather comforter covering his body. Getting up, he walked to the window and was suddenly drawn to a strange scene outside. Below were countless shelves and rows of jars and containers. Given how many cultural relics Zhenzhen had collected, Xi Junjie had some basic knowledge of artifacts himself—but could someone please tell him, where was this place, and why was there a pile of blue-and-white porcelain outside?