As they walked to the car, Qin Ningyi felt something was off about Huo Rou.
"What's wrong?" he stopped at the car door and looked at her. "You've been smiling since just now."
"Can't I smile?" Huo Rou rubbed her face and looked at him, full of questions.
Qin Ningyi had seen An'an make this gesture before.
An'an would rub her face to switch expressions, looking cute and clever.
He had once thought that An'an was the cutest child when she made this gesture.
The contours of Qin Ningyi's face instantly softened. He reached out and pulled Huo Rou into his arms.
"You can smile," he murmured. "It's very cute."
Huo Rou shivered when she heard him praise her like that.
That word hadn't been applied to her in many, many years.
"So cheesy."
She tried to pull out of his embrace, suppressing a laugh, but his arms held her tight.
Qin Ningyi hadn't forgotten the expression on her face when she left earlier.
"What was it just now?"
Huo Rou shook her head. "Nothing, I was just thinking about the past."
"The past?" Qin Ningyi's voice rose. He had never heard her mention the past before. "You have a past with him?"
He and she had no past.
Qin Ningyi's embrace tightened.
Huo Rou felt the strength of his grip and found it amusing.
Wasn't he jealous again?
"Of course, I do!" she said seriously, nodding. "Does the time I apprehended him count?"
Qin Ningyi replied just as seriously, "It counts."
"Don't let people like that disturb your peace of mind."
Huo Rou nodded. "I know. I won't."
She nuzzled Qin Ningyi's neck. Her soft hair tickled him, making him let out a muffled laugh.
She started talking to him about Shen Yuanshu. "...His mother was a spy, and she was very successful. She passed a lot of information about Huaguo to..."
A hint of envy flickered in Huo Rou's eyes as she said this.
"If that hadn't happened, he would have been a pillar of the Academy of Sciences."
Qin Ningyi patted her back. Hearing the envy in her voice, he felt a pang of unease.
He murmured, "It's not just biomedical fields that have value..."
Huo Rou didn't grasp the deeper meaning of his words. She just nodded casually and continued, "With his talent applied to the right path, he could have saved many lives."
Her eyes flickered in a place Qin Ningyi couldn't see. "How many families could have been happy and complete."
"His original intentions have changed; there's no need to regret it," Qin Ningyi said gently, trying to comfort Huo Rou after listening to her.
He still had some confusion. "So what did his words mean?"
Huo Rou finally pulled away from his embrace. She blinked. "I don't know, but I'm different from him."
"I captured him, and he was caught by me," Huo Rou said with a playful tone. "Our positions are different."
Qin Ningyi agreed and nodded, stroking her hair. He opened the car door for her.
"Let's go home."
Hearing the word "home," a soft smile bloomed on Huo Rou's face.
Now, this home was becoming a tangible reality.
Just hearing the word, she could already feel a sense of warmth.
"Yes, let's go home."
The car started to move slowly.
Faintly, they could still hear Shen Yuanshu's angry shouts and curses from behind.
He roared with rage at times and laughed wildly at others.
His voice faded into the distance, growing quieter.
Zhao Wen, leading a doctor, came out from inside and happened to see their car.
He waved at Qin Ningyi and saluted Huo Rou, calling out, "Captain Huo!"
Qin Ningyi glanced at the doctor behind him and asked, "How is it?"
Zhao Wen looked regretful. "Thank you for inviting the expert. There was indeed a problem, but thankfully it was discovered in time, and drug intervention has been administered."
"Contact me if you need any help," Huo Rou said, holding up her phone, her voice deep.
Zhao Wen saluted energetically in response, "Yes!"
His loud voice startled people outside the gate.
"Officer! Officer!" someone was shouting loudly from outside the main gate.
The guard's voice followed, "We told you not to come in without permission. The superiors said no entry. Stop shouting!"
The person's volume only increased. "Officer, officers inside, my girlfriend is innocent! I want to see her, please, let me see her!"
"What's going on?!"
Zhao Wen was reporting to Huo Rou when all the commotion started outside. Would Huo Rou think he was incompetent in his management?
He didn't want to be labeled "incompetent" in front of his former captain.
Another guard hurried over to explain the situation. "Director Zhao, this person wants to see someone we are detaining. The relevant department has already rejected the request."