Huo Rou herself couldn't explain it, but the packaging box with the Qin Shi skincare logo from yesterday kept lingering in her mind.
"Your skin really looks more hydrated and delicate!" Granny Yao, who never used face cream but always had good skin, leaned in and happened to see Huo Rou's cheeks. Today, her skin was exceptionally dewy. "I knew that what the neighbor sent was better than Xiao Pan's. I'm a good judge of things."
Huo Rou felt even more flustered when Granny Yao said that.
Nerves before approaching home.
She felt cowardly for the first time last night. How could that neighbor possibly be Qin Ningyi?
He should have been in Taichuan City guarding the grandfather he respected since childhood, or he should have been in Yuchang City guarding the family business he saw as his responsibility since childhood. Either way, he shouldn't have been in this place.
Yet, even after excluding this possibility, she still dared not approach.
She missed him. Every day, she buried herself in books, but she still couldn't stop her thoughts from drifting far away. She was afraid he would blame her, and afraid he would understand her feelings.
"Woof!"
Just as Huo Rou lowered her eyes, unsure how to explain, Shen Feng suddenly barked.
He anxiously circled Huo Rou and An'an, barking incessantly.
"Shen Feng, what's wrong?" An'an patted Shen Feng's head, puzzled by Shen Feng's unusual behavior. Shen Feng had only barked like this before when someone in the village tried to cause trouble at their home.
An'an's soothing did not bring any change. Shen Feng continued to circle them, barking non-stop.
"Mom?" An'an looked up at Huo Rou, his eyes questioning.
Huo Rou looked at Shen Feng's unusual behavior, made a gesture, cast all thoughts from her mind, and held her breath, listening intently to the commotion outside.
Shen Feng, understanding her perfectly after she made the gesture, fell silent and stood guard in front of them, fully alert.
The sound of a woman's sobbing, Grandpa Nong's deep and firm voice, and an unfamiliar human voice reached her ears.
There was trouble!
Huo Rou immediately put down what she was holding and her fingers habitually reached for her waist.
It was empty.
She was annoyed. Since coming to Grandpa Nong's place, she hadn't left the house or gone anywhere. Becoming complacent, she had put away the weapons she usually carried at her waist.
Fortunately, her custom-made phone was still there. She gripped the phone and looked at An'an, "An'an, do you have the gift Uncle Ling Xiao gave you with you?"
She remembered that flashy little dagger. Only Ling Xiao would give such a thing. Thinking that An'an had good judgment, she had never asked An'an not to touch it.
An'an saw the seriousness on Huo Rou's face and became nervous too. He handed Huo Rou the small dagger, the size of a keychain, that he carried with him.
"Granny Yao, you and An'an stay in the laboratory and lock the door. Wait for my news."
Although this laboratory was built in a greenhouse, it was constructed not only with professional engineers sent from above but also with the addition of high-tech support from Xiao Yuda's company, hired by Huo Rou. It was a very sturdy fortress. As long as An'an and Granny Yao stayed inside and didn't go out voluntarily, ordinary means could not shake this laboratory.
This was also a space for Granny Yao and Grandpa Nong to save themselves in times of crisis.
Granny Yao looked at Huo Rou's instantly changed demeanor and felt a bit unaccustomed. "Girl, why don't you just stay here? The guards outside will handle it."
In her heart, Huo Rou was still a gentle and weak young girl. Although her eyes were now so sharp that she couldn't look directly at them, her years of impression made it difficult for her to accept the scenario of Huo Rou going out to fight with a knife.
"I have to go," Huo Rou said firmly to Granny Yao.
For public and private reasons, she had to go.
It was a high-risk period lately, and she couldn't stay out of it. Moreover, the commotion in the yard didn't seem to have alerted the guards, which was strange. She had to go and see.
"An'an, take good care of Granny Yao!"
With those words, Huo Rou went out. An'an obediently nodded, and after she left, he locked the door, switched on the power, and reinforced all the windows.
After doing this, An'an opened the intercom system on the computer in the laboratory and tried to contact the guards outside.
"Hello, is anyone there?"
An'an's childish voice came through the intercom. He didn't say anything else, just a simple greeting.
He had heard his mother say before that this intercom system was connected to the mobile phones and smartwatches of all the guards in the vicinity. As long as this device sent out a signal, the guards' phones and watches would vibrate.
For safety reasons, guards who had not opened the intercom system would not be able to hear the conversation.
An'an waited for three seconds, estimating that the guards who could open the system had enough time to turn on the intercom, and then spoke again, still with no substantive inquiry, "Hello, is anyone there?"
At this time, he needed to confirm that the other party was a guard uncle before he dared to explain his situation.
A static sound came, and after a "crackle," a deep and gentle voice came from the speaker. It wasn't the voice of the guard uncle An'an was familiar with.
"Yes."
The other party paused, and his voice became even softer. "Is that An'an?"