Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Qin Xiao Goes Abroad
Qin Xiao left, and Xiao Li’s heart followed him to M Country. After Qin Xiao arrived in M Country, he made a call to report that he was safe.
After that, he became very busy. Getting one call a day from Qin Xiao was considered good; sometimes there wasn’t even one call a day.
In order not to miss Qin Xiao’s calls, Xiao Li kept her phone’s ringtone on even when sleeping, whereas previously she used to keep it on silent.
Even with the ringtone on, she didn’t sleep soundly, fearing she’d sleep too deeply and miss hearing the phone ring.
The first thing she did every morning was check her phone to see if there were any missed calls.
On the fourth day after Qin Xiao went abroad, He Jie and her two children were sent back home first. He Jie was reluctant to return first, wanting to stay abroad to wait for Qin Tan, but Qin Xiao didn’t allow it.
If He Jie stayed, it would be an extra worry for him while searching for Qin Tan, so he firmly sent her back.
He Jie was unwilling, so Qin Xiao asked her to think about the two children, think about how Qin Tan, before disappearing, wanted to protect her and the children first, and consider that every extra minute she stayed would slow down Qin Xiao’s search efforts.
For Qin Tan and the children, He Jie compromised and returned home with her children.
In Qin Father’s villa, upon hearing that He Jie and her children were back, Xiao Li hurriedly brought her child over.
As soon as she entered, Xiao Li saw the exhausted He Jie and the somewhat silent Little Stone. Not seeing Little Dumpling, Xiao Li asked, "Mom, where is Little Dumpling?"
Qin Mother replied, "In the room, sleeping."
Xiao Li placed her child, Little Li, into the toy castle with barriers on the side, then came over to sit beside He Jie, "Sister-in-law..."
He Jie heard Xiao Li’s voice and looked up at her, "Xiao Li, when you were learning martial arts and shooting with Ah Xiao, Ah Tan asked me if I wanted to learn?
I said the world is peaceful now, why would I need to learn such things?
But now I regret it so much, if I had learned back then, when things happened, I could have fought alongside him instead of having him protect us mother and children.
Those bodyguards wouldn’t have all had to run to protect the three of us, and Ah Tan wouldn’t have gone missing.
No, I shouldn’t have taken the children abroad. If I hadn’t gone, Ah Tan with so many people protecting him could have protected himself, nothing would have happened.
It’s all my fault..."
He Jie said this while covering her face and crying. In front of Xiao Li, He Jie was always the career-type woman, usually presenting a very capable image.
This was the first time Xiao Li saw He Jie’s vulnerable side. Xiao Li was about to comfort her when Little Stone, sitting beside them, had already brought tissue over, handing it to He Jie.
Little Stone’s small face was tense, and though his small eyes were reddened, he forced himself not to cry; Xiao Li had felt something was off about Little Stone before.
Seeing him like this made her heart ache terribly.
Seeing Little Stone like this also made Qin Mother upset, "Little Stone, come to Grandma."
Little Stone only walked over to Qin Mother after He Jie took the tissue. Qin Mother embraced him, "Good boy, if you want to cry, just cry!"
Once embraced in Qin Mother’s warm arms, Little Stone couldn’t hold back and burst into tears...
Seeing him cry, Xiao Li actually breathed a sigh of relief. It’s good to be able to cry!
He Jie, who had been crying, was stunned upon hearing Little Stone’s crying.
Only at this moment did He Jie realize she hadn’t heard Little Stone cry before...
Little Stone sobbed in Qin Mother’s arms until he hiccuped, then finally stopped. Qin Mother patted his back to soothe him, and while patting him, Little Stone fell asleep.
Qin Mother had someone carry Little Stone to a room to sleep, then sat beside He Jie, "He Jie, I know, with Ah Tan missing, you’re definitely feeling terrible inside.
But you must remember, you still have two children. Little Dumpling doesn’t understand anything yet, so you don’t need to worry.
But Little Stone, you have to consider his feelings. Look at how tense he was earlier, he’s just over four years old!
Won’t he be afraid seeing the gunfight?
Won’t he be scared knowing his dad is missing?
If you cry like this, won’t it frighten the child inside?"
He Jie shook her head, crying, "Mom, I’m sorry, I..."
Qin Mother held He Jie’s hand and embraced her, "Don’t keep saying sorry, it’s not your fault!"
Xiao Li and Qin Mother consoled He Jie for quite a while before she calmed down.
Xiao Li accompanied He Jie to the bathroom to freshen up a bit, and when washing her face, He Jie looked at her swollen eyes in the mirror and gave a bitter smile, "Xiao Li, I never thought I would ever be so vulnerable."
Xiao Li softly called, "Sister-in-law."
He Jie shook her head, "I’m fine. Xiao Li, Ah Xiao went abroad for Ah Tan, and now you’re worried every day because of it."
Xiao Li said, "Sister-in-law, we’re family, let’s not talk about this anymore.
Let’s go out!"
As they stepped out of the bathroom, they saw Qin Father had already returned. Seeing He Jie, he asked her to sit down and recount the incident.
He Jie was present at the time; no one understood the situation better than her.
He Jie slowly recounted the events. That day, their family was playing at a famous square in M Country, and He Jie was using her phone to take a selfie of their family when Qin Tan suddenly pressed her down, and then gunfire erupted.
In the chaos, Qin Tan had people escort He Jie and the children away. He Jie glanced back at Qin Tan before leaving, seeing his hand was bleeding. After that, she couldn’t see him anymore, and when their protectors went back to find Qin Tan, he was already gone.
After hearing this, Qin Father calmly said, "I understand, you don’t need to think about it anymore.
Don’t go back today, stay here!"
He Jie’s condition wasn’t good, and Qin Father was worried she’d be unable to take care of herself if she returned home.
He Jie and her children stayed behind, while Xiao Li, after having dinner here, took her child back home.
After putting the two kids to sleep, Xiao Li sat there waiting for Qin Xiao’s call.
Qin Xiao hadn’t called her yesterday, and she didn’t know if he would today, but she just wanted to wait and see...
Xiao Li waited until late at night before receiving Qin Xiao’s call, with loud noise in the background. He likely made time to call to reassure her.
Xiao Li and Qin Xiao only managed to exchange two sentences before he hung up.
Though they didn’t say much, hearing his voice made Xiao Li’s heart feel a little more at ease.
Days passed one after another, three more days went by in a flash.
Qin Xiao had been abroad for a week, yet Qin Tan still hadn’t been found, making even the previously calm Qin Mother a bit anxious.
The longer time passed, the greater the danger for Qin Tan!
Xiao Li was worried too, but she dared not show it too much. The family’s emotions were tightly strung, with anyone’s overly intense emotion risking the collapse of everyone...
In M Country, Qin Xiao finally managed to trace Qin Tan’s whereabouts through the Bai Family’s connections and immediately led people to rescue him.