Chapter 76: The Same Destination

“Xiao Shu?”

“Was that you speaking just now?”

Realizing her daughter had spoken again, Chen Rongying momentarily thought she was hallucinating.

It wasn’t until she saw Song Chaoxu’s equally excited questioning that she knew it wasn’t an auditory illusion – their daughter had truly spoken.

This realization instantly filled her with overwhelming joy.

“Xiao Shu, what did you say just now? Can you say it again?”

“Mommy’s here, can Xiao Shu repeat it for Mommy?”

But no matter how Chen Rongying pleaded, Song Shu remained quiet and unresponsive once more.

Seeing his sister like this, Song Yao felt worried but more than anything, curious.

“Dad, Mom, what’s wrong with sister?”

“She wasn’t like this before. Sister used to love laughing and said she wanted to go to school with me when she grew a little older.”

“What happened to her?”

Facing his son’s anxious expression, Song Chaoxu remained silent for a moment before telling the truth.

“Xiao Shu witnessed you being taken away and couldn’t handle it.”

“That night she developed a high fever that lasted until morning, and when she woke up, she became… unusually quiet.”

“At first she kept murmuring about looking for her brother, but gradually she became like this.”

After explaining his daughter’s condition, he reached out to ruffle his son’s hair.

“Don’t worry, your sister’s condition will gradually improve.”

“Your Fourth Uncle Li’s military unit has psychological counselors. Your mother and I originally planned that if we couldn’t find you, we’d first send your sister for treatment, then continue searching for you after she improved.”

“Finding you earlier makes your mother and me very happy, and your sister feels the same.”

Learning that his sister’s current condition resulted from witnessing his abduction, Song Yao felt particularly distressed.

But hearing there was hope for recovery, his eyes instantly grew determined.

“Dad, let’s all go ask Fourth Uncle Li for help together.”

“As long as we can cure sister, I’ll do anything.”

Hearing this, Song Chaoxu chuckled and ruffled his hair again.

“You silly boy, it’s not your responsibility to worry about that!”

“Don’t worry, your mother and I have preparations in place.”

While father and son were talking, Chen Rongying sat nearby softly speaking to Song Shu.

Though she still received no response, she believed the day of miracle would come.

As the family gathered in this warm moment, Li Beizhao walked directly over to Shen Yi’an.

“After knowing each other this long, I still don’t know how to address you, comrade.”

“May I ask?”

The question felt somewhat sudden and unexpected, leaving Shen Yi’an momentarily speechless.

But considering her identity would eventually be revealed, she seriously introduced herself, “I’m Shen Yi’an. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier.”

Hearing her name, Li Beizhao silently repeated it before responding.

“Comrade Shen Yi’an, you demonstrated outstanding performance in this operation to capture human traffickers.”

“From spotting their suspicious behavior, to cooperating in the arrest operation, to getting injured in the process, and even rescuing a trafficked child during medical treatment.”

“On behalf of countless families with missing children, I express my gratitude to you!”

As his words ended, he offered a crisp, formal salute.

Before Shen Yi’an could respond, he continued discussing subsequent arrangements after completing the salute.

“May I ask about your intended destination?”

“You played a crucial role in this operation. After it concludes, there will certainly be commendations from above.”

“Once we know the exact address, the rewards can be delivered promptly.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Yi’an understood why her name had been suddenly asked—it was for the reward.

Thinking of the place she was headed, she first gave Li Beizhao a meaningful glance before answering, “I’m going to the Luochuan City Air Force Base.”

As for the specific location, she figured it wouldn’t be a secret once she landed in Luochuan.

She was going to find Li Beichen, and the four members of the Song family were also going to find Li Beichen. If circumstances allowed, her future third brother-in-law would also be looking for Li Beichen.

Since they were all looking for the same person, some information naturally couldn’t be kept hidden.

But Li Beizhao didn’t know her thoughts.

He only heard her say she was going to the Luochuan City Air Force Base, and a flicker of surprise appeared on his otherwise calm face.

He quickly composed himself moments later.

“It seems there really is some fate involved.”

“Since it’s the same destination, I’ll take you there after we get off the train.”

He then pointed to the family of four embracing each other. “They’re also going to the air force base.”

Hearing this, Shen Yi’an appropriately feigned surprise as if she had just learned this. “Comrade Song and his family are also going to the air force base?”

“That really is quite a coincidence!”

After that, there wasn’t much else to say. Li Beizhao bid farewell to the Song family and left the ward.

The accompanying doctor left with him.

Without even needing to think hard, she knew it was likely to discuss the injury situation.

Shen Yi’an didn’t dwell on it. Just as she was about to leave the ward to take a walk and give the family of four space to enjoy their reunion, Chen Rongying stopped her first.

“Comrade Shen, I’m sorry, I unintentionally overheard your conversation with Deputy Regiment Commander Li. Is it alright if I address you this way?”

“It’s just a form of address, it’s fine!” Shen Yi’an responded first, her tone then turning slightly suspicious.

“However, when you mentioned Deputy Regiment Commander Li… it wouldn’t be that Comrade Li, would it?”

When chatting with Li Beichen, he only mentioned that his third brother was also a soldier like him, but he didn’t go into much detail.

Since they were strangers and unlikely to meet in the short term, she hadn’t asked for specifics.

Now that she had heard it, she naturally wanted to ask.

Noticing the confusion on her face, Chen Rongying nodded with a smile, her eyes still red. “Yes, it’s him!”

“If it weren’t for your help, we wouldn’t have known he was on the same train.”

After briefly recounting what happened when they met on the train, Chen Rongying got straight to the point.

“Comrade Shen, I don’t even know how to thank you.”

“First, you helped our family out of a difficult situation on the train, and now you’ve saved my son in the hospital.”

“This kindness is too great. I… I’ll kneel to you!”

At a loss for words, Chen Rongying simply knelt on the ground, looking as though she was about to kowtow.

Sensing her intention, Shen Yi’an quickly stepped forward and supported her arm. “Comrade Chen, please get up!”

“Saving the little one was purely coincidental. You don’t need to do this.”

“Besides, I still have a wound on my neck, and supporting you like this is quite uncomfortable.”

The last sentence was the truth.

She had just undergone surgery during the day, and after nightfall, she had encountered a series of unexpected events.

Though it was quite tense and thrilling, it was also quite taxing on the neck, because any movement of the body would pull at the wound.

It was true that she had drunk the Spirit Spring Water, but to act as if nothing had happened would be an exaggeration.

If someone with ill intentions noticed, it might even attract unnecessary trouble.

Attention to detail was truly important.

Only after hearing her say this did Chen Rongying realize the issue with the wound.

That’s right—because of her family, Comrade Shen had been taken hostage by the leader of the human traffickers.

And because of that, her neck had been cut by a dagger, causing her to bleed heavily.

Considering the inconvenience of their environment on the train, the accompanying doctor had taken Comrade Shen off at Xincheng precisely to make it easier for her to receive medical treatment nearby.

If the wound reopened because of her, she would truly become someone who repaid kindness with ingratitude.

Realizing this, she straightened up on her own without needing Shen Yi’an to exert any more effort to support her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!”

“I don’t know how to thank Comrade Shen for saving my life, so I can only use the simplest method.”

“I’m really sorry—did I pull at the wound? Should we call a doctor to take a look?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she was about to send Song Chaoxu to fetch the doctor, but Shen Yi’an stopped her. “No need to call a doctor. It’s not as serious as you think.”

“It’ll get better gradually with some rest.”

Seeing the two of them supporting each other and entangled together, Song Yao, who was holding his younger sister’s hand, walked over.

“Mom, Auntie is really nice!”

“She gave me her dinner and didn’t eat a single bite herself.”

“Should we buy another portion for her?”

Hearing this, without needing Chen Rongying to say anything, Song Chaoxu immediately took action.

“You and the children stay in the ward and don’t go anywhere. I’ll go out to buy food.”

Without waiting for a response from the ward, he turned and left.

Seeing this, Song Yao stamped his foot in frustration.

“Dad left too quickly. I wanted to say I could eat a little more too.”

“Since we left home, we haven’t had a proper meal. Every day it’s either coarse grain buns or black flour steamed buns. I don’t know where those people found such food.”

“If it weren’t for wanting to see Mom and Dad again after escaping, I wouldn’t have been able to swallow that scratchy stuff.”

Hearing her son’s dejected voice, Chen Rongying felt heartbroken but didn’t forget to ruffle his hair.

“Your father isn’t foolish!”

“When he comes back, he’ll not only bring food that Auntie can eat, but also dinner for our whole family.”

“We haven’t eaten anything either, all because we were looking for you, little one.”

Hearing this, Song Yao’s eyes reddened.

As the mother and her two children nestled together again, Shen Yi’an sat quietly by the bed, watching.