Huo Rou, who had lost contact, was leaning against the wall, panting. The ground was cold. She stared out the window with red-rimmed eyes. Blood had seeped through her thick clothes, staining a large patch on her arm, but she seemed oblivious to the pain.
Someone holding a medical kit rushed to her side, and began to dress and bandage her wounds.
"Are you... alright?" Huo Rou felt the sting of pain and turned her head to scan the people around her.
"We're fine. It's just Miss Huo..." The person who answered her question looked at the killing intent surging in Huo Rou's eyes and stammered, "We need to send you back to China. Your cover is blown today. Staying here will put you in danger."
They had been busy with Huo Rou for almost half a month. The moment she finished verifying the promotion history of SS Minister Kert, her eyes turned red.
"Wait a moment longer."
As Huo Rou spoke, her mind was filled with the memory of that rainy night years ago.
She now knew that the target her uncle from the information department had intercepted back then was led by Kert.
Furthermore, Kert, who was the secret ace up America's sleeve at the time, had remotely intercepted the communication signals alone and used them to pinpoint the task force's location.
That was why the shot could be fired so accurately at the hidden team.
That was why Kert was also responsible for her father never returning home.
When Huo Rou had finished investigating Kert's promotion history, she understood everything. In her mind's eye, she saw her father, even after being shot, desperately protecting the medicine. The blood on the ground stimulated her nerves, leading to this rather immature assassination plan.
Whenever matters related to that year were involved, she couldn't remain calm. Coupled with the fact that Kert had recently been under the protection of the BDD, their actions had inadvertently exposed them, and they were now being pursued.
"But Miss Huo, Young Master Qin ordered..."
They didn't understand why Huo Rou harbored such immense hatred for Kert, but Qin Ningyi had specifically instructed them to protect Huo Rou and ensure her safety. To do so, they had to send her back to China first. The BDD was like a persistent parasite, difficult to shake off.
"I'm sorry."
Huo Rou's tone was gentle, but her expression remained unmoved.
She was unwilling to leave just yet. Kert was not dead.
She glanced at the not-too-deep wound on her arm; it was nothing.
When she had ventured into America alone years ago, wanting to kill Giles and Barrett with her own hands, the injuries she sustained were far more severe. Back then, she didn't even have anyone to back her up, yet she had still evaded pursuit.
She didn't want to wait.
Just as everyone thought Huo Rou wouldn't relent, a piece of news arrived.
"You mean the BDD has sent people to Taichuan City?" Huo Rou frowned and asked.
"Yes. It's just-received information, it won't be wrong. It seems to be a request from the SS department."
The people who had been chasing them across half of America just moments ago had suddenly abandoned their pursuit and changed targets. It seemed strange no matter how they thought about it.
Moreover, it was the SS department, whom the BDD had long looked down upon, that was making this request.
There must be something big going on for the two departments to cooperate like this.
"Find out what's happening."
While waiting, Huo Rou was not idle and intended to use her phone to search for useful information. Qin Ningyi's call came again.
"I'm fine," she reassured Qin Ningyi. Hearing the whistling wind on his end, she instinctively asked, "Where are you?"
"On the way to the airport." Qin Ningyi's voice showed no abnormality, still his usual calm and gentle demeanor.
If Huo Rou could see him at this moment, she would surely notice the panic in his eyes.
Across the phone, listening to the rustling of clothes on Qin Ningyi's end, Huo Rou had a sudden realization about his reason for going to the airport. Could it be that he was worried and wanted to find her because he couldn't contact them earlier?
She curved her lips, about to speak, when she heard Qin Ningyi curiously murmur, "Chi You?"
"Hm?" Huo Rou responded instinctively.
Composing herself, she remembered that Qin Ningyi didn't know she was Chi You. She hadn't had a chance to tell him last time, so why would he suddenly call her that?
"What's wrong?"
Qin Ningyi, on the other end of the phone, frowned as he looked at a message that had just popped up on his phone. The sender was a string of virtual numbers, and the content was simply two words.
Could this be someone's prank? But the phone he was using to talk to Huo Rou was his private number, and very few people should know it.
"It might be a spam message," Qin Ningyi said with a faint smile. "A message from a string of virtual numbers, just two words: Chi You."
Huo Rou paused, feeling as if she had overlooked something important, but upon further thought, there were no clues.
Hearing only Huo Rou's shallow breathing on the other end, Qin Ningyi said softly, "How is what you need to do going?"
Before Huo Rou could answer, his voice became even more tender, "Come home."
What she needed to do, he would do.
This soft murmur, like a "waiting wife stone" standing guard alone at home, with longing and affection woven into his tone, ensnared Huo Rou. She could feel a warm current flowing from the phone, reaching her heart.
"But..."
She knew that Kert was not so easily killed by one person, and she also knew that she was not calm enough to make decisions. Returning now was the best option.
But what after returning? Was she supposed to go to Taichuan City?