Chapter 348: Misunderstanding

The plane landed safely at the temporary military airfield.

Xie Ning symbolically dragged a small leather suitcase, following the crowd for a short distance.

Song Yaoguo and his wife fell behind the crowd.

When Xie Ning turned to look, she saw the elderly couple exchange just a few words with Song Xiaolong before he turned and left.

Lu Wei accompanied the elderly couple as they walked toward them.

The two of them were dressed in thick down jackets and walked a bit slower than the younger people.

Xie Ning and Gu Chen stood where they were, waiting for the members of the Starfire Team to gather before boarding the pre-arranged vehicles one after another.

Thankfully, the Li Dawei siblings didn’t come over to bother them again. Xie Ning glanced at the rearview mirror and breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Sis, I just saw the people from the Swift Leopard Team followed us here too."

Xie Ning nodded.

She also caught a glimpse of Zheng Heng, Zheng Feina, and their group.

’It’s normal to want to develop your prospects in the Capital.’

"They all paid for their plane tickets."

"Oh." Song Kexin obediently sat down properly in her seat and took a bag of chips that Ji Taixian handed her.

"Do you want to rest a little more? It’s probably another two-hour drive from here to Jingji Base," Gu Chen said softly to Xie Ning.

"Okay." Xie Ning closed her eyes to rest, secretly pondering her own affairs.

By the time she groggily jolted awake, the vehicles had already entered Jingji Base in a line, heading toward a pre-arranged villa district.

Xie Ning sat up straight and looked out the glass window, a subtle turbulence suppressed in the depths of her eyes.

She had been to this place in her previous life, and the memory was deeply etched in her mind.

Back then, she had stood at the entrance of one of the large townhouses in the front row, like a filthy, abandoned puppy, standing foolishly at the bottom of someone’s steps, desperately pleading for that person to give her a single glance.

"Stop the car," Xie Ning said, her voice ice-cold.

The commercial van paused for a moment; the driver thought he had misheard.

"Stop the car!" Xie Ning’s voice suddenly rose, startling Gu Chen who was sitting beside her.

"What’s wrong, Ningning?" Gu Chen signaled the driver to stop.

Xie Ning violently yanked open the car door and jumped out onto the snow, stumbling as she ran frantically forward.

The few people in the car were all startled.

Song Kexin quickly shoved her bag of chips into Ji Erhuo’s hands, jumped out after her, and yelled, "Sis!"

Gu Chen had already followed, chasing after the young woman who was sprinting at full tilt.

Following her memory, Xie Ning turned a corner and sprinted all the way to the familiar villa, her lips curving slightly as she stared at the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Ningning." Gu Chen raced to her side, gently taking her arm and cautiously glancing at her strange expression.

"This row of townhouses is where some of the doctors and researchers from the biomedical research institute live. Our house is a little further back. Ningning, do you like it here?"

"Xiao Gu."

"Hm?"

"Have you ever waited for someone in the snow?"

Gu Chen looked at Xie Ning carefully, feeling that the young woman’s expression was indescribably odd.

"Clad in thin clothes, on the verge of collapsing, without even a single decent pair of jeans on. Standing here, shivering uncontrollably, foolishly staring at the reflection on someone’s floor-to-ceiling window... at the color of bread with jam."

"Blood-red."

Xie Ning clearly didn’t expect an answer from Xiao Gu. She continued to stare at the window across from them with a faint smile. "So stupid, right?"

"It won’t happen again," she said slowly, gradually pulling her gaze away.

...

Xie Ning’s family was arranged into two adjacent villas with a connecting courtyard gate for easy passage between them.

The nineteen members of the Starfire Team no longer had to squeeze into one place. Everyone got their own spacious and very comfortable room.

Gu Chen immediately had someone look into who lived in that row of townhouses.

After receiving the information, he was silent for a long time.

"What did your investigation turn up? Did Xie Xuezheng abandon his wife and daughter?"

"How could that be?" Zhai Ruobai scratched his head. "According to the information I found, hasn’t Dr. Xie been sending people out to look for his wife and daughter all this time?"

"Oh, right. Ever since Dr. Wei returned to the Capital and contacted Dr. Xie, Dr. Xie has sent out more people to search for them near Lanshan Tower Lake."

"Everyone at the Mission Exchange knows about this. Dr. Xie posted a missing person mission over a year ago, and the reward is very high."

Gu Chen recalled Xie Ning’s expression at the time and frowned slightly. "Ningning’s sudden decision to come to the Capital with me... I think it’s very likely because of Xie Xuezheng."

He still remembered that he had just mentioned the biomedical research institute in the Capital had developed a new drug targeting the zombie virus.

Then Ningning had suddenly said she wanted to return to the Capital with him.

"Xie Xuezheng has been conducting experiments in his lab this whole time, right?"

"Yes. For the past year or so, he’s basically been in the lab."

"Then who did he entrust with the task of finding his wife and daughter?" Gu Chen immediately grasped the key point and asked aloud.

Zhai Ruobai flipped through the documents in his hand. FLIP. FLIP. After a moment, he said, "He left it to his assistant, Miss Kang Yunru."

Zhai Ruobai paused. "Bro, do you think there’s a problem with this Kang Yunru?"

"There’s definitely a problem." A cold smirk touched Gu Chen’s lips. "Contact the research institute."

"On second thought, find Dr. Wei first."

Wei Zhengtong practically flew over to the Starfire Team’s villa. The moment he walked in, he grabbed Yu Tianfeng’s hand tightly. "Xiao Yu, you’re looking great!"

’This kid!’

’Making me worry for so long for nothing.’

’I always felt that while he was out there wandering, he’d get beaten to death by someone sooner or later!’

’I never expected him to be so well-fed and healthy, all hale and hearty. A single look tells you he hasn’t been short on good food and drink.’

"Old Wei, you’re just in time. Did you bring the things I wanted?" Yu Tianfeng handed him a thick file. "In exchange, this is the ’Compendium of Mutated Flora and Fauna Habits’ I compiled."

Wei Zhengtong squeezed Yu Tianfeng’s hand tightly. "Excellent, excellent."

He turned and handed the file to the female assistant behind him.

Yu Tianfeng glanced over. "Who’s this old lady?"

The face of Dr. Wei’s twenty-five-year-old female assistant twitched slightly. Maintaining a polite demeanor, she took the file from Dr. Wei and promptly turned and walked away.

Dr. Wei was speechless. He earnestly tried to persuade Yu Tianfeng, "Xiao Yu, I’ve been meaning to tell you. In the future, when you speak to a lady, can you please not always call them ’old lady’?"

"Calling her ’Miss’ sounds bad."

Dr. Wei was speechless again. "And ’old lady’ sounds any better? Besides, how does she even look like an ’old lady’?"

"She looks older than me," Yu Tianfeng said, completely bewildered. "If they’re younger than me, I call them ’little sister.’ If they’re older, what should I call them if not ’old lady’? Should I call her ’Auntie’?"

Wei Zhengtong’s beard bristled and his eyes widened in exasperation. He didn’t want to argue with him anymore. "I’m looking for Ningning. I’m looking for Ningning’s mother."

"I can’t be bothered talking to you."

Yu Tianfeng took a few steps back, clutching the file Wei Zhengtong had given him, and pouted. "Aunt Song, Dr. Wei is here."

Song You’ai came down the stairs.

Wei Zhengtong hurried forward with a smile. "Sister-in-law, it’s been over a year. You’re really looking younger and younger."