After the Qingming Festival, Li Zhengguo and Tian Jing left the valley, which was handed over to Zhou Chengbing and Xiaomai for safekeeping.
Xiaomai reluctantly held Tian Jing’s hand. "Auntie, you must remember to visit me."
Tian Jing gently stroked her hair. "I will. You and Brother Zhou should also take good care of each other."
Xiaomai nodded obediently. "Mhmm."
Li Zhengguo tossed a mobile phone to Zhou Chengbing. "Remember to call if anything happens. Your life and death are of no concern to us, but Xiaomai's safety is paramount."
Zhou Chengbing caught the phone. "Uncle, don't worry, my sole focus is taking care of Xiaomai."
...
With his parents back, Li Weixin quickened his pace.
He applied for a courtyard closer to his parents' home and asked his father to help with the renovations.
Li Zhengguo was uncooperative. "If you could renovate the caves in the valley, surely you can renovate a courtyard? Do your own chores."
Li Weixin had a reason. "Isn't this me making time to pursue love?"
"Have you caught it?"
"Not yet."
"Not yet? Then what are you preparing the courtyard for?"
"If I succeed, I'll hold the wedding feast immediately."
Seeing her husband about to say more, Tian Jing took the keys from her younger son. "Alright, you go chase your love, and your father and I will help with the renovations."
Li Weixin's eyes lit up with a smile. "Thank you, Mom. I feel like it's close. During the May Day holiday, I'll take her to the valley to play and confess. It's bound to succeed."
He could distinctly feel that Zhang Qiongyu's attitude towards him had changed after the Lunar New Year.
Tian Jing nodded. "Then your father and I will speed up the renovations. It should be ready by mid-Autumn Festival at the earliest, and before the end of the year at the latest."
...
The three-day May Day holiday made little difference to the teachers and students in the special skills team.
A colleague invited Zhang Qiongyu for a barbecue, but she declined. "Xuanxuan and Yaoyao have already invited me."
Her colleagues envied Zhang Qiongyu for having two good friends here.
One of the colleagues, who was quite gossipy, asked, "Teacher Zhang, I heard Captain Li is still single. Have you ever seen him? Is he handsome?"
"I also heard that Captain Li's family is very wealthy. He has status and money, a perfect rich and handsome specimen!"
"If I had the chance to meet him, I would definitely find a way to get close. If I could marry him, I'd surely live more comfortably than the young wives of wealthy families outside."
Zhang Qiongyu curiously asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Are you silly?"
The colleague said with mock exasperation, "We have some restrictions here, but we don't have to guard against the traps and scheming outside. Just like what I'm saying now, if it were outside, it would have been twisted beyond recognition, or someone would have confronted me saying I'm a toad lusting after swan meat."
"Hmph! I only signed up because I heard that freedom of speech and action here are somewhat restricted."
"I'm someone who can't keep secrets and can't detect linguistic traps. After being tricked multiple times, I decided to retreat into seclusion."
"This place is very good. It's just that when I speak too carelessly, I get warned. Heh heh heh. If I were the captain's wife, who would dare warn me?"
All the colleagues laughed good-naturedly. Most of them had voluntarily applied after seeing the recruitment conditions, and they were even more satisfied after arriving. The environment was beautiful, the air was fresh, and shopping was convenient. It was no worse than outside at all.
Zhang Qiongyu's phone rang, and her colleagues let her leave.
Outside the school gate were Li Sixuan and Mai Xingyang, Zeng Yao and Jiang Junhu.
Li Weixin extended his hand to Zhang Qiongyu. "We'll go directly to the valley and stay there for two days before coming out."
"Ah?"
Zhang Qiongyu was surprised. "I didn't pack any spare clothes."
Li Weixin pointed to the backpack behind him. "Xuanxuan prepared some for you."
Once again embraced by Li Weixin, Zhang Qiongyu's face flushed. Thinking of her colleagues' words just now, she secretly raised her eyelids to appraise Li Weixin. He was quite handsome, though not as refined as Li's elder brothers. He was sunny, especially when he smiled, his eyes dazzling.
Li Weixin stepped on the treetops without looking aside. "What are you looking at?"
Zhang Qiongyu quickly lowered her head. Upon arriving at the valley and her feet touching the ground, she hurried to Li Sixuan's side.
Mai Xingyang cast a resentful glance at Li Weixin. They were here to help, not to be third wheels.
"Ranran."
Xiaomai ran over joyfully. "You brought friends to play?"
Li Sixuan shook her head helplessly. Her second aunt had never regained consciousness until the day she died, so she had never recognized her.
Li Weixin nodded. "Ask Brother Zhou to prepare some simple meals. We'll go play somewhere else."
"Okay."
Xiaomai nodded to the other five people and ran towards Zhou Chengbing, who was hoeing the ground.
Watching Xiaomai's cheerful figure, Zhang Qiongyu's favorable impression of the Li family deepened. Unfortunately, she hadn't met the kind Grandma Li.
...
Tian Jing took some time to go to the dungeon.
The dungeon had recently been under strict guard, with the duty team fixed at three shifts of six people. Apart from the three captains, one main and two deputies, no one else was qualified to enter or leave the dungeon.
Squatting by the window of a dungeon cell, Tian Jing asked the person inside, "Do you regret it?"
The person inside replied, "No regrets."
"I will ask this question often. I hope your answer remains consistent until the end."
"Don't worry."
"Time changes people's thoughts. Even if you never get the chance to go out and experience society, time will change you. I'll wait to hear your second answer."
"Perhaps you won't wait?"
"I still have three sons. They will tell me through burning paper. Just as your execution will be carried out, we will tell your great-grandmother through burning paper."
"It's very illusory."
"But aren't your methods precisely aimed at achieving your desired illusions through shortcuts? You know full well that blood relations cannot be changed. Your self-deception has made the entire world laugh."
"Don't bother me if there's nothing important."
"What counts as important? After your mother was taken away by us, your father went missing, your grandparents were hospitalized, and your sister had her uterus removed. Do these count as important matters?"
"Get out! Get out, get out!"
"Already angry? Do you know how much effort we put in to ensure that your life and death are in our hands today, and that you became a death row inmate? Don't get angry, I'm afraid you'll burst a blood vessel. Enjoy the days ahead slowly."
"Madmen, you are the madmen."
"Yet, there are still people who ridiculously want to become direct relatives of madmen. Do you regret it?"
"I do not regret it."
"Then don't shout, and don't categorize us as madmen. Continue to deceive yourself according to your own thoughts."
Tian Jing left the dungeon in a good mood, instructing the duty team to keep a close eye on the prisoner in the dungeon to prevent them from committing suicide. However, they were not to provide any public information from the team to the prisoner, nor were they to discuss anyone or anything with the prisoner, to avoid agitating them.
The duty team member nodded. He had secretly looked at the prisoner, whose face was covered in scars, making it impossible to recognize their original appearance. Suicide was a possibility.
"Captain Tian, what about the mirror in the dungeon?"
Tian Jing shook her head. "It's fine. He doesn't care about appearance, neither his own nor others'."
Looking at Captain Tian's retreating back, the duty team member scratched his head. Were there people who didn't care about appearance? They, with their ordinary looks, would sometimes jokingly blame their parents for not making them look better. Those who were disfigured had definitely had above-average looks. It was hard for anyone to accept such a sudden disfigurement.