An An could not sit still when Huo Rou didn't answer Qin Ningyi's call and crawled out from under the covers.
"Dad, I wanted you to answer the phone so you could talk to Mom. How did you upset her that she hung up?"
An An was very confused. Huo Rou had hung up without saying a word, which was very unusual.
He picked up his own small phone to call Huo Rou and ask, but Qin Ningyi smiled and stopped him, "Good boy, your mom has something to do. I saw it. Don't disturb her."
"What could Mom possibly be doing alone at home?" An An didn't understand, but he obediently didn't call Huo Rou anymore.
Qin Ningyi didn't answer him, but pressed his head onto the pillow. "Go to sleep. I'll chat with your mom via message."
Hearing that Qin Ningyi was going to message Huo Rou, An An was very well-behaved and didn't make a sound to disturb them, going to sleep on his own.
Qin Ningyi, who had just spoken like a gentlemanly father, sent a selfie in the next second.
"Where did you see something that made you suddenly shy?"
Today, Huo Rou felt exceptionally real to him, capable of being embarrassed and shy.
And he, who was usually so serious, couldn't help but want to tease her.
On the other end, Huo Rou, who was being teased, blushed again at the selfie Qin Ningyi sent.
"Huo Rou: Don't call me that."
"Qin Ningyi: Weren't you like a little calico cat this afternoon?"
She had not only burned down kitchens in front of others before, and she never felt anything about it. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses; she knew too many things, so what if she didn't know one?
But today, under Qin Ningyi's gaze, she felt extremely embarrassed and didn't want him to see.
At this moment, he brought up the matter again.
Huo Rou, feeling both shy and angry, replied, "Stop talking about it."
"Qin Ningyi: Alright, alright. Then let's talk about what you saw that made you blush. Circle it for me in the photo."
How could the person who was usually so gentle and refined be so annoying now?
Huo Rou held her phone, looking at the selfie Qin Ningyi sent, her wet hair, and his deep eyes.
She didn't know if it was her imagination, but she always saw patience in Qin Ningyi's eyes. Whether she was the troublesome little girl who meddled in everything, or the cold and distant Huo Rou.
When he looked at her, his eyes were always filled with patience and gentleness.
She had seen him fight violently, and she had also seen his cold eyes after that night.
He seemed different towards her. Huo Rou looked at the message Qin Ningyi sent, and her heart stirred even more.
Not only his eyes, but even the words he was saying now were things he would never say on a normal day.
Huo Rou patted her face, not allowing herself to think any further.
Since she had forgiven Qin Ningyi's unintentional harsh words, she had also let go of the sorrow and disappointment of the past few years.
Qin Ningyi had no idea who she was. Perhaps he was only treating her this way because she was An An's mother.
The Qin Ningyi she liked was the one who pulled her out of despair that year; she liked the Qin Ningyi who had made promises to her.
If Qin Ningyi's words today expressed liking, then he only liked the current Huo Rou, the mother of An An who lived a peaceful life.
Not the Huo Rou he liked.
She was unwilling to accept this.
Qin Ningyi's message sank like a stone into the sea, and Huo Rou did not reply to him again.
The next morning, Huo Rou put everything from yesterday behind her and began packing to return.
Most of the books on the wall had been read; a simple dust cover would suffice. Clothes and necessities were packed, and Old Zhang helped load them into the car.
"Hello, Old Xiao."
When Old Zhang returned to move things, he saw Huo Rou holding a phone in one hand, a password box in the other, and a laptop tucked under her arm. He quickly stepped forward to take them.
"Send it over. I happen to have my laptop handy." Huo Rou picked up the laptop again and sat back down by the coffee table.
Old Zhang, likely guessing that Huo Rou had something to attend to, sat on the sofa nearby and waited.
As the computer booted up, a game interface popped out and logged in automatically.
Before Huo Rou could close the game, the in-game message sound chimed.
A pop-up from the other party instantly filled the entire screen.
"Purple Lightning Azure Frost: Madam."
Huo Rou paused her hand, which was about to close the game, and then another message came from the other side.
"Purple Lightning Azure Frost: You haven't been online for so long. Are you dodging me?"
Huo Rou looked at the word "Madam" several times and casually checked the character card.
Heh, husband and wife?
Xia Qingxue was now in an online relationship. Looking at the time, it had been almost half a year. This girl had practically lived here for the past six months, using her computer every day. So all this was for an online romance?
A smile curved her lips, and she tapped lightly on the keyboard, replying with a message.
"Qing Mo: ?"
"Purple Lightning Azure Frost: Isn't it? I can't hack into your computer. Last time, I traced your IP from a phone call, and you hid again. What are you afraid of?"
Oh? It had even escalated to phone calls.
Just as Huo Rou was about to continue fishing for more information, her deployed IDS alerted her to abnormal computer activity.
The IPS also automatically began to defend against the intrusion.
Interesting.
Huo Rou's gaze settled on the "Purple Lightning Azure Frost" name tag, opened an interface, and her fingers flew.
Old Zhang listened to the clatter of the keyboard and felt his heart tighten along with it.
The other party was clearly prepared, or rather, had been working on cracking it for a while.
Few people could hack into the computer she had set up herself. Clearly, this person had been planning this for a long time.
She hadn't been monitoring the computer regularly during the past one or two months, which allowed him to seize the opportunity. He had likely been working on the cracking solution for a considerable amount of time. If An An hadn't taken Xia Qingxue to Qin Ningyi, this person would have succeeded by now.
It had been too long since anyone had provoked her like this. Huo Rou felt a surge of fighting spirit. Her fingers moved with lightning speed.
Before long, the other party was defeated. For the sake of her best friend's lifelong happiness, Huo Rou casually accessed the other party's computer to take a look.
A family photo of the Ren family?
Huo Rou found a family photo of the Ren family on the other person's computer, which made her feel a little ashamed.
Could it be that guy...
Almost with the answer in hand, she opened the other party's webcam.
Ren Zhen's face appeared in front of the lens. He grinned lewdly and waved at the camera.
A dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water. Did he know he was exposed like a sieve and therefore didn't bother to hide it anymore?
Ren Zhen opened a notepad on his computer desktop, using this strange method to communicate with Huo Rou.
"You are her computer expert friend? I genuinely want to meet her. Please help me convey this message."
After such a brutal suppression, Ren Zhen also realized that the person behind the computer was not the one he was looking for.
"Why should I?"
Huo Rou slowly typed these three words. Although it was an inside job, she wouldn't agree to her best friend being snatched away like this.
"Do you know about the Battle Flag Alliance? You're skilled, I'll recommend you to join."