Zhou Jiao finished her work, rubbed her eyes, sighed with relief, leaned against the chair and patted her sore arms and legs, stood up, and was about to leave with the documents in her arms.
Just then, Shi Dashen, with a face that was usually stern year-round, came in with a big smile, and upon seeing Zhou Jiao, he cheerfully said, "Finished?"
"Yes, could you take a look? Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything else."
Shi Dashen waved his hand, "Better than I expected. You’ve worked hard this period, go home and rest well."
Hearing this, Zhou Jiao quickly put down the documents in her arms and smiled, "So I can really go home?"
"If you don’t go back soon, your dad’s going to beat someone. Also, consider my suggestion carefully when you get home."
Zhou Jiao nodded with a smile. As for agreeing or not, she certainly wouldn’t. This kind of life wasn’t suitable for her, she had a father, a husband, and a young son, and there was room for development domestically, why go far away?
Her heart was too small, not enough to hold outsiders. For the future, she just wished for her family’s peace, and that was enough.
"Your commendation can’t be made public, but it’s recorded in the files. Ask your father for the details when you get home." Shi Dashen finished speaking, paused for a moment, then smiled mysteriously, "Oh, I won’t have anyone take you back; a silly boy nearby has already been waiting all afternoon to see you home."
Hearing this, Zhou Jiao broke into a bright smile and quickly waved goodbye as she walked out. She guessed Zhang Guoqing would come to pick her up!
"Hey... wait!"
Zhou Jiao hurriedly stopped, turned her head, and looked at him confused.
Shi Dashen shook his head with a smile, "You child, not bringing your luggage back? And what about the things you bought?"
Zhou Jiao patted her forehead and laughed, "If you hadn’t reminded me, Uncle Shi, I would have almost forgotten. I’ll go get the stuff from the dorm and won’t come back to say goodbye to you."
"Go ahead, I know you’re eager."
Zhou Jiao wasn’t embarrassed. She guessed that if someone else hadn’t seen their family for several months like her, they’d have run off long ago. She considered herself composed!
Returning to the dorm to collect her things, seeing no one was there, Zhou Jiao thought of the bond developed over several months and left a note for Hu Xiaohui, inviting her to visit the school when she had time.
Zhou Jiao tidied herself up in a small mirror, found herself still as beautiful as ever, happily picked up her luggage, and quickly went downstairs, walking briskly towards the front gate.
From a distance, Zhang Guoqing watched her walk to the gate guardroom, pedaled his bike a few steps eagerly to the gate, set it up, and, seeing her come out, excitedly ran up to pick her up and spun her around.
"Put me down, people are watching!"
Zhang Guoqing looked at the teasing gazes at the gate, reluctantly checked her weight. Hmm, not too bad, not overly thin.
"Xiao Wu, your father-in-law is here."
Zhang Guoqing instinctively looked back, only to find himself tricked. He stepped up and playfully kicked the guard’s leg lightly.
"Haha... alright, I surrender. Why didn’t you come inside earlier? We were betting how long you could last. You’re amazing, really amazing! You made me lose badly."
"Haha... he came to steal the show, why would he come in. But your father-in-law really didn’t come today, didn’t you check first?"
Zhang Guoqing broke into a cold sweat; his wife was too bold, daring to fool around abroad.
He suppressed his smile and seriously said, "Promise me, don’t fool around anymore. We don’t lack anything, no need to take risks. People’s desires are endless, you should reflect on this, wife."
Zhou Jiao wanted to say she was already very careful, but seeing the worry in his eyes, she seriously said, "I won’t touch that anymore if you’re not around."
Zhang Guoqing reached out to touch her head, wanting to hug her, but suddenly remembered their surroundings, rolled his eyes, causing Zhou Jiao to laugh heartily.
"Laugh all you want, see how I make you beg for mercy tonight."
Zhou Jiao, seeing him gritting his teeth, laughed even more, deliberately threw flirtatious glances at him, and softly said, "I’ll be waiting for you!"
"Crazy, really going crazy..."
Zhou Jiao chuckled, quickly walked ahead. If they kept talking, her dad would finish work, and her son would be waiting anxiously.
Zhang Guoqing pushed the bike, closely following her, and began, "Let me mention a few things first, we’ll go into details tonight. While you were away, Old Man Zhou was killed by a petty thief during a failed robbery, Gu Ruyi committed suicide, and Mr. Lin moved out of the Big Courtyard to the recuperation center a few days ago."
After saying this, he watched Zhou Jiao’s surprised expression and continued, "Also, Mom isn’t Gu Ruyi’s biological daughter, she was given sterilization pills after having you. When this came out, Mom tried to commit suicide in the suburbs but luckily was saved."
Zhou Jiao paused, stood there pondering for a while, then after a moment, started walking again, softly saying, "Is there anything else?"
"A lot, a lot. It’s hard to explain all at once, you better check my diary when you get back. Everything’s recorded in detail, including who I talked to each day, what I ate, how many times I used the restroom, and even how much I missed you, it’s all there." He murmured mischievously as he walked alongside her. If it wasn’t something she needed to know eventually, he really wouldn’t want to burden her with these messy issues and spoil her good mood.

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