SCT-Novel Chapter 116.2: The Research Fanatic Who Lost His Child (2)
Chapter 116.2: The Research Fanatic Who Lost His Child (2)
Lin Shiheng and Zhou Chuchu’s home was in a very ordinary residential building. He called ahead before coming home to avoid facing the embarrassing situation of coming home and having no one there.
After all, he hadn’t been home for over 2 months. During that time, and in keeping with state secrecy, no one was allowed to contact the outside world. Instead, everyone simply sent a message to their families, assuring them of their safety, and then buried themselves in their work.
There were five soldiers escorting him home, all solemn, with that air of having seen blood.
Although the imposing appearance was quite intimidating, the soldiers still respected the Professor who had made a great contribution to the country. The one leading them was worried that they would scare Lin Shiheng’s family by wearing military uniforms and thoughtfully asked, “Professor Lin, do you need us to change our clothes?”
“No, let’s go early, so I can go home sooner.”
How could he let them change? Lin Shiheng wanted them to follow him back in those uniforms.
He threw on a jacket of his own. It was February and it was still frighteningly cold out there. As soon as he stepped outside, there was a chill. Luckily, the military had no intention of letting him walk back, and a car pulled up at the door. A soldier in a crisp uniform pulled open the door.
“Professor Lin, please.”
Lin Shiheng obediently sat inside and watched the car drive all the way to his home.
His house was on the third floor. It was a work day, so there was no one downstairs. Two of the five soldiers were left in the car, while the other three followed Lin Shiheng upstairs.
When the doorbell rang, the old lady inside the apartment was rummaging around the kitchen making soup. She was uneasy about her own granddaughter. Since the incident with the child, Zhou Chuchu, whose life was considered pleasant, had completely turned into a person who did everything in a hurry, for fear of wasting the time she could use in looking for the child.
Before the child was lost, she used to think carefully every morning about what kind of food and soup to eat and drink for the day. It had to be nutritionally balanced and easy for the child to digest. She would arrange the dishes in a good mood and then take photos to cherish the memory.
After the child was lost, Zhou Chuchu was partly in no mood to cook and partly in a hurry. In addition, Lin Shiheng became more and more serious with work after the child was lost, and basically never came home for dinner. She was even less motivated to cook.
Generally, she would only buy and cook instant noodles. Sometimes, when she went out to look for her child, she would only stop the car for a short while, and ate the dried food in her bag. It would be strange if her body didn’t get weak.
The old lady lived near the area. She was worried about her granddaughter, so she came to check on her every time the twins had gone to school. She was especially diligent after Zhou Chuchu was found lying unconscious with a high fever on the floor. No one knew how long she was like that.
Zhou Chuchu had a good relationship with her, so she didn’t stop the old lady. When she received Lin Shiheng’s text message saying that he was coming home, the old lady, who had planned to place the soup ingredients in the pot, turn on the fire, and leave; changed her mind as soon as she heard that Lin Shiheng was coming back.
Ever since Lin Shiheng had spoken to her cryptically about someone watching them at the hospital last time, the elder couldn’t stop thinking about it. She was ready to listen to a big secret.
Instead, she didn’t see the boy after that day.
The old lady suspected that she had been tricked, since Lin Shiheng didn’t say anything else. He only sent a text message back, saying that he was going to turn off his phone for a period of time, and not to contact him. Other than that, the old lady had sneakily watched the stairs, up and down, every day.
For the first month, she thought that maybe doing research would take time and she should wait
By the second month, she was somewhat suspicious and angry, but held her tongue when she remembered Lin Shiheng’s assurance, that he would find her great-grandson.
A few days later, when she found out that Lin Shiheng had sent a text message to Zhou Chuchu and had read the content of the message, the old lady was fuming with anger.
She didn’t think Lin Shiheng was in any kind of danger. After all, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen this kind of behavior before, when he got serious about his work and switched off his mobile phone. It only took a little longer than before.
What the hell? He said he was going to give a surprise, but still hand shown up.
She turned around, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Lin Shiheng. At the same time, she still ridiculed, “I wonder what you’re doing every day. You don’t even care about your family. Why don’t you just marry those machines and live with them? “
The haggard-looking man took the water and weakly smiled at her, “Thank you, Grandma.”
The old lady tried her best to scowl, “Why aren’t you quickly coming in? Don’t let the neighbors ridicule you.”
As she spoke, she reached out to slightly widen the door. Before the words had fallen, she saw the three people previously hidden behind the door.
They were wearing military uniforms and had stern temperaments. They silently stood there without making a single sound. The first glimpse almost shocked the old lady.
“The... they are?”
Even Zhou Chuchu revealed a questioning and wary look. The stern air of the three soldiers was noticeable to everyone. Why would Lin Shiheng, a researcher, have anything to do with them?
“Oh, these are some comrades from the People’s Liberation Army, who were kind enough to give me a ride home.”
Lin Shiheng’s explanation was clearly not true.
Zhou Chuchu was fine, but the old lady was scared. Looking at the three soldiers, her brain was imagining a lot of scenarios, one by one.
The men were welcomed in with a forced smile. When Lin Shiheng came out of the toilet, they tugged him aside, “Tell us, did you do something illegal? Why would soldiers send you home?”
Lin Shiheng didn’t know if he should laugh or cry, “Grandma, what are you talking about? I’m just a researcher, what can I do to break the law? Even if I did something, the police should be the one to escort me.”
“That’s true.”
The old lady nodded hesitantly. But looking up and down at her son-in-law’s appearance, apart from going to jail, she really couldn’t think of any other reason that could make this grandson-in-law, look messy like this.
Lin Shiheng sat on the sofa. The three soldiers went to the balcony, so that they could watch the movements in the living room at all times, without disturbing the family when talking.
“Chu Chu, I can’t stay for too long. I just came to tell you that you shouldn’t go looking for Xuan Xuan in these few months. Take care of yourself at home. After a while, I’ll take you to see him.”
The dullness on Zhou Chuchu’s face, who had been quietly sitting there, faded in an instant and turned into excitement.
“Did you find Xuan Xuan? Where is he? How is he now? Is he healthy??”
Even the old lady, who was trying so hard to scowl was overjoyed and looked over to him, asking in a trembling voice, “How did you find him? How is the child now?”
“He hasn’t been found yet.”
Lin Shiheng’s words sounded like he was building up and tearing down hope for the two of them in a single moment. Zhou Chuchu’s bright eyes suddenly dim down again. Even the temperature of her hands gradually turns into cold.
“Hasn’t been found...”
As she murmured, her hand slowly let go of her husband’s hand. However, in the next moment, Lin Shiheng grabbed her hand with a strong yet gentle grip that made her raise her eyes in bewilderment. She met his gaze.