"There is. Yanyan studied for an hour this morning. Later, Yanyan will go study again. First, take a rest. Mommy said to combine work and rest." The little girl was quite pleased with herself.

  "Kids are so arrogant these days." Ji Shufen smiled and winked at the little maid before turning to Gu Xiyuan. "Xiyuan, you've been standing for a while now. Why don't you sit down?"

  "Okay, mom." Gu Xiyan thought that the little girl wouldn't stay for long and didn't mean to sit down. But now that her mother-in-law had spoken up, she naturally wouldn't refuse her good intentions.

  "Xiao Yan, I've noticed you look tired lately. Are you not feeling well? Do you want to go to the hospital for a check-up?" Ji Shufen asked with concern, catching a glimpse of exhaustion in Gu Xiyan's eyes.

  He stood up suddenly and ran out of the shop without saying a word.

  "This child..." Mu Xiao Xiao left, Ji Shufen shook her head, couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She knew that Xiao Qi had a wife and daughter, why couldn't Xiao Xiao let go? Hopefully, the girl would listen to what she said today.

  "Mom, I'm fine. Probably because I haven't been going to work on time every day lately, that's why I've become lazy." Gu Xiyan waved her hand to indicate she was okay, and her face looked a bit more spirited.

  That afternoon, after lunch, Gu Xiyan unexpectedly received a call from Shao Yuan. Shao Yuan said on the phone that he wanted to meet with Gu Xiyan. Gu Xiyan had been cooped up at home for many days and was getting a bit restless. Now that she had a friend's invitation, she told Ji Shufen about it, hoping that Ji Shufen would agree to let her go out. The recent peace had made her forget that there were still people outside who wanted to take her life.

  Ji Shufen knew why Gu Xiyuan and Xiao Yatou were coming to live here. As soon as she heard Gu Xiyuan say that she wanted to go out, her first reaction was to refuse. "Xiyuan, Mom isn't disagreeing with you meeting friends. It's just that you also know the current situation. For people with ill intentions, as long as you step out of this house, it's not safe anywhere outside. I advise you to decline your friend's invitation. If you want to meet up, you can do it another day. Or you can invite that friend over to our home."

  Gu Xiyan actually didn't think it through. Now that she's heard her mother-in-law's words, she thinks they make sense. So she called back to accept Shao Yuan's invitation.

  Shao Yuan did not agree to go to Gu Xiyan's mother-in-law's house. He still can't conceal his emotions well now. He is afraid that when he sees his enemy, he will lose control of the hatred surging wildly in his heart.

  Ye Jiarong's side has not been able to find any news. Ye Jiarong seems to have disappeared from this world overnight. Even Wei Zhe began to suspect that he had made a mistake. Maybe it wasn't her. But if it wasn't her, how could her disappearance be explained?

  At dinner time, Gu Xiyan cooked fish and pork bone soup, adding a dish of green vegetables. The three of them had more than enough to eat. Gu Xiyan's father-in-law was busy with work and didn't come home for dinner. So, Gu Xiyan, Xiaotou, and her mother-in-law sat down at the table together. During the meal, Gu Xiyan's appetite wasn't very good either. She didn't know why, but lately, she had been sleeping a lot and her appetite had decreased significantly. However, since she was not in her own home, Gu Xiyan felt somewhat constrained. Therefore, every time it was mealtime, she still obediently swallowed her food down.

  "Uh..." She didn't used to dislike fish meat, but today as soon as the fish entered her mouth, a wave of nausea surged up in her throat. Covering her lips with one hand, Gu Xiyan rushed into the bathroom without thinking.

  Gu Xiyan retched for a long time in front of the sink. Ji Shufen followed her over, worried, and upon seeing Gu Xiyan's symptoms, she thought back to Gu Xiyan's various reactions lately. A joyful thought occurred to Ji Shufen, who couldn't help but ask out loud: "Xiaoyan, have you discovered something?"

  Gu Xiyan rinsed her mouth and washed her hands, then wiped away the tears that had welled up in her eyes. When she heard her mother-in-law's question, she shook her head blankly, looking a bit silly.

  What's wrong? Is it her stomach that has a problem? But she always had regular eating habits.

  "Silly child. Mom is asking you. When you were with Xiao Qi, did you take any precautions." Ji Shufen was a bit older and more straightforward in saying such things.

  Gu Xiyan should have reacted by now. Let's calculate the days. Her period this month is already very late. She put her right hand on her lower abdomen. Gu Xiyan still couldn't believe it. "Mom, do you mean... I'm pregnant?"

  Ji Shufen was also delighted. "Mom can't be completely sure, but looking at the situation, it's probably 80-90% certain! No way, I'll have to tell Xiao Qi later..."

  Ji Shufen was so excited that she lost her composure. Gu Xiyen hesitated when she heard Ji Shufen say that she wanted to announce the news of her pregnancy. "Mom, don't say anything for now, it's not confirmed yet. I'm afraid if it's not true, Qi will be disappointed."

  Ji Shufen had already firmly believed that she was going to hold her grandson soon. When she heard Gu Xiyan say this, she somewhat disagreed. But thinking about it, since the pregnant woman was the most important one, she let it go. "Little Yan, it's very late now. Tomorrow mom will take you to the hospital for a check-up. Good news is definitely coming."

  "Mom, remember to keep it a secret first. It's not good if we get disappointed later." Gu Xiyen reminded Ji Shufen again.

  "Alright. Mom knows. Mom said to keep it a secret, so I'll definitely keep it a secret. Let's go eat first." Ji Xufen walked ahead, and Gu Xiyan quickly followed up.

  What surprised Gu Xiyan was that Shang Kaiqi didn't come back that night. Gu Xiyan's father-in-law knew something about the situation, so he told his wife and daughter-in-law: "Kaiqi's unit just received an urgent task. Kaiqi is the main organizer. In the next few days, he may not be able to come back."

  "Will there be danger?" Gu Xiyan couldn't help but feel anxious.

  "Any mission that can be carried out by special forces is not to be underestimated. The missions of special forces are absolutely confidential, so it's hard to say." As a father, Shang Baiko couldn't help but worry about his child. But this is the military. From the moment you join the military, everything, including your life, belongs to the country.

  Because she was thinking of Soo-young, Koo Se-yeon didn't sleep well that night. The next day at 5 or 6 o'clock, she got up and hugged the pillow that Soo-young used to rest on, desperately trying to absorb some of his remaining warmth from it.

  Around 9 am, after sending Xiaoyao to the neighbor's house for help with babysitting, Ji Shufen drove one of their family cars that was not often used, taking Gu Xiyen to the Military District Hospital.

  At this moment, the two of them could never have imagined that even a place like the military district hospital had hidden dangers lurking nearby. As soon as they got off the car, Ji Shufen was knocked unconscious, while Gu Xiyen's mouth and nose were covered with a towel soaked in anesthetic.

  An unremarkable taxi quickly drove away. Some soldiers entering and leaving the hospital discovered something unusual and ran to Ji Shufen's car, only to find Ji Shufen unconscious in the driver's seat. The person in the passenger seat had vanished.

  Ji Shufen woke up and soon realized that she had been ambushed. "Where's Xiaoyan?" she asked a nearby military officer, but he couldn't give her a clear answer.

  A thousand precautions were taken, yet someone dared to take action outside a military hospital.

  Gu Xiyan was splashed awake with cold water. A string of long hair on her head was dripping with water droplets. When she first woke up, her vision was still a bit blurry. As soon as she saw the scene in front of her clearly, she slightly opened her mouth and her heart began to thump nervously.

  Gu Xiyan was tied to a not-so-sturdy chair, and the location she was in was an empty abandoned garage. Just a short distance from her feet, about ten silver snakes with lengths of around one meter were spitting out snake letters, and a few had already started swimming towards her.

  If there's an animal that Gu Xiyan fears, it would be snakes.

  "Haha, look at you guys. This little girl seems to be scared." A loud and piercing laughter suddenly came from behind her. Gu Xiyan slightly tilted her head and saw a few burly men standing not far away on her left rear side. One of them was even holding a plastic bucket. It seemed that he was the one who had just splashed water on her.

  "What do you want?" A snake had crawled to the side of Gu Xiyan's foot. Gu Xiyan was frightened in her heart and also cried out in surprise.

  The big gate of the workshop was suddenly pushed open, and a patch of white sunlight poured in from the doorway. Gu Xiyan looked intently at it, and saw two women walking towards her together. When the two people approached, one of the women said with a gloomy tone: "Tsk, look at you like this. Don't worry, I will definitely make you unable to live or die."

  "Ah, what do you want to do?" Another woman glanced sideways at the burly men in the garage. "You say, let them get on her, it'll definitely be a thrilling scene."

  Gu Xiyan saw Ye Jiarong and a hint of understanding flashed in her eyes. "So it was you who wanted to harm me."

  She looked at another woman, Gu Xiyan's voice was shaking slightly. Because the snake had moved to her calf earlier. Even though she was wearing thick clothes all over her body, she still had a hallucination that her skin had touched the icy body of the snake. Facing the woman, Gu Xiyan clenched her fists behind her back. "We have no grudges against each other, why do you want to harm me with her?"

  Facing Gu Xiyan's accusation, Luo Wanyun just smiled lightly and said, "Who says we have no grievances or grudges? The grudge between us is quite deep."

  "It's because of your father, it was your father who was wrong first, you can't be ambiguous about right and wrong." Another snake moved under Gu Xiyan's feet. At this moment, Gu Xiyan's tears were almost coming out, the whole person was speechless and at a loss.

  "Who said it was because of that man? That man is dead or alive has nothing to do with me. I should thank you for helping me get rid of him. A man like him, when his own wife is seriously ill in bed, he can still ignore her and have an affair with another woman outside. Is such a man worthy of being a father? Do you know how much I hate that man? It's just right, now he has ended up with a miserable fate, it serves him right." When Gu Xiyan mentioned her father, Luo Wenyun's eyes flashed with a hint of madness. Father... in her mind, she had no father.

  "That's why..." Gu Xiyan struggled to shake off the snakes on her body, but they seemed to be stuck to her and refused to budge.

  Author's Notes