Qiu Tingting gasped for breath, rubbing her arm, more exhausted than after a training session.
She kicked Yuan Yongguo, furiously scolding, "The military district is right behind here. How dare you abduct a child in broad daylight? Don't you want to live!"
Cheng You limped over, hurriedly opening the bag.
Just as she had suspected, wasn't this Zhenzhen inside!
Caught red-handed, Yuan Yongguo was already despairing.
But he still hadn't given up trying to persuade Cheng You, "We're old people. We've lost two sons and only have this granddaughter left. Why can't you show some mercy! Cheng You, I'm begging you, my wife has gone mad. Please, just let us go!"
Cheng You directly flung the paternity test report from her bag onto his face, her anger blazing.
"Look at this carefully yourself. Zhenzhen has no blood relation to your Yuan family at all! I don't know who Zhenzhen's father is, but I can be certain that Wen Yan never dated Yuan Yuejin!"
The edge of the paper cut Yuan Yongguo's cheek. His pupils widened, and he stared intently at the results at the bottom of the last page.
It bore the stamp of the military hospital. The ink scent filled his nostrils, and every word clearly told him that Zhenzhen was not his granddaughter.
He, Yuan Yongguo, was doomed to have no descendants!
Cheng You said coldly, "In fact, you know in your heart that Zhenzhen isn't your granddaughter, you just refuse to admit it."
Both his sons were gone. If this granddaughter wasn't his family's either, it meant the end of his Yuan family's hopes.
Rather than it being the last straw that broke the camel's back, it was more like he didn't want to believe it himself.
The last glimmer of hope in Yuan Yongguo's heart was extinguished. As if all his vitality had drained away, his face turned ashen, and he collapsed on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.
Cheng You gently laid the unconscious Zhenzhen on the ground and administered some emergency aid.
Yuan Yongguo had given her some medicine, and coupled with being suffocated in the bag on a hot day, it took a long time for her to wake up.
However, after being kidnapped twice, Zhenzhen was left with a trauma. She was listless, like a frosted eggplant.
Cheng You couldn't carry Zhenzhen in alone, so she asked Qiu Tingting to call the guards over to deal with Yuan Yongguo.
Abducting a child would land him in jail.
Finally, she remembered the man who had apprehended Yuan Yongguo.
If it hadn't been for him, Zhenzhen would likely have been taken away by Yuan Yongguo.
She turned back and noticed the man's appearance.
She couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how handsome he was.
His eye sockets were deep, his features were well-defined, similar to Qi Chengyan's type, but he was fairer.
"Comrade, thank you. If it weren't for you, my child would have been abducted. My name is Cheng You, and I'm a military family member living in the military compound. It's a bit inconvenient today. If you don't mind, could you leave your contact information? I'll come to thank you properly another day."
The man extended his hand to her. "Hello, my name is Feng Xianxu."
Cheng You was startled. Wasn't this name that of the eldest grandson of the Feng family?
As she paused, Qiu Tingting cheerfully shook his hand.
"Hello, my name is Qiu Tingting."
Their hands parted instantly. Feng Xianxu pursed his lips and glanced at Zhenzhen.
"I can help you carry the child in."
Zhenzhen tightly gripped Cheng You's arm. "I don't want to, I can walk myself."
Although her head still felt groggy.
Seeing her evident fear, Feng Xianxu didn't insist further. He simply walked alongside them, not too close, not too far.
Qiu Tingting lowered her head and whispered to Cheng You, "He keeps looking at Zhenzhen."
Cheng You glanced at her. "Why are you paying so much attention to him?"
Qiu Tingting, usually bold and outgoing, now showed a hint of shyness on her face.
She lightly patted Cheng You's arm and chided, "What are you talking nonsense about."
Cheng You: "..."
Feng Xianxu escorted them to the doorstep and took his leave. "I've just returned and haven't had a chance to see my family yet, so I won't intrude any further."
Cheng You nodded. "Thank you, Comrade Feng."
"You're welcome. Since the child lives in the military district, it's unlikely someone could have succeeded easily. There must have been an inside job. We need to investigate thoroughly."
Zhenzhen quickly interjected, "It was Qin Xiaoyun who tricked me into going out!"
She had been playing with Qin Xiaoyun these past few days and had truly believed they were good friends.
Zhenzhen's current listlessness, besides the lingering effects of the drug, was mainly due to the shock.
She could have accepted it if anyone else had done such a thing, but why Qin Xiaoyun!
Cheng You stroked her head and comforted her, "Sister knows. We'll investigate these matters. Let's go to the hospital for a check-up first, okay?"
Zhenzhen buried her face in Cheng You's embrace and mumbled, "I miss Grandma, I want to go back and live with Master."
She didn't like it here anymore.
Cheng You coaxed her, "Sister will call Uncle Li right now to pick you up, but we need to go to the hospital for an examination first, alright?"
Only then did Zhenzhen reluctantly agree.
Seeing that his presence was no longer needed, Feng Xianxu turned to leave.
Just as he turned, he encountered Qi Chengyan and paused.
"Ah Yan?"
Qi Chengyan looked surprised. "Brother Xu, when did you get back?"
Feng Xianxu smiled. "Just arrived. Ran into some trouble."
Cheng You came out from inside and told Qi Chengyan about Zhenzhen's incident.
Feng Xianxu then learned that Qi Chengyan was married.
He had been stationed at the border for a long time and was out of touch.
If he hadn't returned, he wouldn't have known how much he had missed.
"Ah Yan, I'm going home first. I'll talk to you later."
Qi Chengyan agreed. "Alright, Brother Xu, come over for a casual meal at my place some other day."
"Definitely."
With stars in her eyes, Qiu Tingting quickly bid farewell to Cheng You and followed Feng Xianxu.
The news of Yuan Yongguo kidnapping Zhenzhen spread rapidly throughout the military compound.
What shocked everyone even more was that after the investigation, it turned out to be related to Ruan Jiuchiu.
After being expelled from the art troupe, she had spent her days complaining at home.
To get revenge on Cheng You, she convinced Qin Xiaoyun to lure Zhenzhen out, where she was drugged by Yuan Yongguo in a secluded corner.
Everyone then began to curse Qin Xiaoyun as heartless.
Zhenzhen lived with the Qi family and always shared any delicacies with Qin Xiaoyun.
Yet, Qin Xiaoyun had turned around and treated her this way.
Director Ruan was so angry that she beat Qin Xiaoyun half to death and insisted on taking her to apologize to Zhenzhen.
Qin Xiaoyun refused to go, no matter what.
"Why should I apologize? She stole my spot, she deserved it! She's not even from Yan City. Why should a country bumpkin compete with me!"
Director Ruan then understood how many similar ideas Ruan Jiuchiu had been instilling in Qin Xiaoyun without her knowledge.
Qin Xiaoyun didn't get into the art troupe because Director Jiang didn't favor her; it had nothing to do with Zhenzhen.
Regardless, the Ruan family's fragmentation because of these siblings was an undeniable fact.
Qin Xiaoyun's father stormed home and ordered Director Ruan to immediately kick Ruan Jiuchiu out.
"And Ruan Tianyang's child, how long are they going to be raised at my house? Send them both away! If you have any more contact with them, I'll report you and file for divorce immediately!"