Chapter 81 - "It's me, Wen Rugui." (2)
Pu Jianyi was stunned speechless as though struck by lightning. He looked at Tong Xuelu in disbelief.
Not only was he fooled, Tong Xuelu was able to extract all that information from him?
Pu Jianyi looked at the girl that was smiling slightly at him and could not accept the fact that he was an idiot.
A smile flashed past Tong Xuelu’s eyes. She cleared her throat and said, “I need to return to work. Laters~”
Having said that, she turned to leave. She walked out quite a bit before she suddenly turned around to look at him.
Tong Xuelu couldn't help but bust out laughing when she saw Pu Jianyi still standing where he was like a silly goose.
He didn’t look like the brightest star in the sky, but it was only because of him that she had found out that Wen Rugui had helped her out behind the scenes.
But why did Wen Rugui help her?
She thought about it for a while but wasn’t able to figure it out. She did, however, make a mental note of it.
She would repay his favor when she had a chance to do so.
By the time Tong Xuelu had disappeared into the train station, Pu Jianyi finally recollected himself.
He returned to the police station, distressed. He thought about it some, picked up the phone, and gave Wen Rugui a call.
Nevertheless, he was told that Wen Rugui had left for the research base, and they didn’t know when he would be back. They asked if he wanted to leave a message.
Pu Jianyi left his name and hung up.
He touched the back of his teeth with the tip of his tongue. He felt that he may have ruined something for Wen Rugui.
He wasn’t sure how Wen Rugui would react when he found out.
***
Tong Xuelu did not return to work but returned to the compound instead.
She washed all the bed sheets and pillow covers that the Tong family had used and brought the pillows out to be placed under the burning sun. She also cleaned the house inside and out.
When she was all done, she was so tired that she could barely stand up straight.
“You are tired, Big Sister. Mianmian will give you a back massage.”
Mianmian climbed onto the bed with her stubby little legs and pounded Tong Xuelu on her back with her chubby little paws here and there.
Tong Xuelu collapsed onto the bed and said in a dull voice. “Thank you, Mianmian. Can you do it harder? That’s not hard enough.”
Hearing her Big Sister’s words, Tong Mianmian cocked her head, thought about it some, and responded loudly. “Okay!”
Tong Mianmian clenched her fists and pounded Tong Xuelu on her back as hard as she could.
Tong Xuelu, “……”
She might as well have been scratching Tong Xuelu’s back.
After pounding for a little while, she rolled over, pulled the little bun into her arms and gave her a kiss. “Grandma and the others are gone. Is Mianmian happy?”
The little bun nodded forcefully, “Yes!”
She paused for a little before leaning in and said in a low voice, “Mianmian does not like that big brother!”
The Big Brother loved pinching her on her cheeks and one time that he hugged her so tightly that it hurt.
Tong Xuelu rubbed the little bun on her head. “Big Sister doesn’t like him either.”
The little bun was a bit worried after saying what she had said but she instantly felt better after hearing that her Big Sister didn’t like him either. “Will he be back?”
“No.” At least not anytime soon.
By the time he returned from the northwest in 5 years’ time, Mianmian would only be 8.5 years old. She would still be young and still not out of the woods. Regardless, Tong Xuelu would not give Tong Yanliang a chance to get close to Tong Mianmian.
After Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin returned from school and learned that the gang from the old village were gone, they were both stunned.
Tong Jiaxin asked repeatedly with his eyes widened, “They really are gone? And they will never be back again?”
When he received a definitive answer, he was so happy that he somersaulted a few times on the ground.
Tong Jiaming was not an expressive one but his lips curved upward for a change and there was joy in his eyes.
Tong Jiaxin scratched his head and looked at Tong Xuelu with anticipation, “Does that mean we don’t need to eat pickled vegetables from now on?”
Tong Xuelu shook her head, “Of course…. Not.”