During a casual chat, Tang Guihua drove to Qin Piao's house.
Luo Yang wanted to go up to get his backpack, Qin Piao wanted to go home to use the bathroom, so both got out of the car, while the others stayed inside.
There were no suspicious people around, so Luo Yang didn't have to worry about Hong Jiaxin being attacked.
Otherwise, he would have asked her to come upstairs with him.
Inside the house, Qin Piao used the bathroom on the first floor, while Luo Yang went up to the second floor to find his backpack and then came back down.
At that moment, Qin Piao was just coming out of the bathroom.
During lunch, Luo Yang mentioned paying Qin Piao two thousand yuan a month. Fang Lin was there at the time, so he couldn't say three thousand yuan.
Now that it was just the two of them in the house, he walked over to her quietly.
Qin Piao was raising her hands to fix her hair, brushing it back to tie it up with a hair tie.
Seeing Luo Yang tiptoeing over, a smile formed on Qin Piao's lips. Just as he came close and was about to speak, he put his index finger to his lips, signaling her to be silent for a moment.
Immediately after, Luo Yang leaned close to her ear and whispered softly, "Sister Piao, actually I meant to give you three thousand yuan a month, I said less before. Don't tell Fang Lin about this."
Hearing this, Qin Piao was quite touched, her bright eyes sparkling with excitement.
She stood on tiptoes and bit his ear, saying, "Thank you for being so good to me!"
Luo Yang whispered back, "We're all fellow villagers, no need for formalities."
Luo Yang wanted to go outside, but Qin Piao seemed to have a lot of things on her mind that she wanted to share with him.
At that moment, the sound of a car door closing came from outside, indicating someone had gotten out of the car.
So, the two of them parted.
He thought An Yuying was coming in, but it turned out to be Hong Jiaxin.
Luo Yang walked to the door and casually asked, "Class leader, need to use the bathroom?"
She said with a smile, "Yes."
However, strangely, she didn't use the bathroom on the first floor but went up to the second floor.
Luo Yang felt that Hong Jiaxin wasn't really going to the bathroom, so he decided to go up and see.
When he reached the second floor, he saw Hong Jiaxin lying on the bed, not knowing whether she was sick.
Luo Yang walked over to the bed and asked with concern, "Class leader, what's wrong?"
Saying this, he walked over.
"I'm not going out anymore, I'll stay here and read. You go ahead," she said lazily.
Indeed, in the past few days, he hadn't sensed any imminent danger to Hong Jiaxin in the Hongyun Brigade.
It seemed like everything had calmed down.
But Luo Yang knew that as long as the Japan Collector hadn't found Mu Tan, he would continue to cause trouble for Hong Jiaxin. If he carelessly lost her, he wouldn't be able to justify it to General Hong Zhong.
That day, General Hong Zhong had entrusted his precious daughter to Luo Yang's care, an affirmation of his capabilities.
Having accepted this task, Luo Yang dared not take it lightly.
"Class leader, come back and read later. Let's go out for a walk. Clear your mind a bit," Luo Yang urged.
He knew her mood was complicated, mostly thinking about her parents.
Indeed, Hong Jiaxin felt that staying in the Hongyun Brigade wouldn't pose any danger, and she wouldn't be much help going with them. Staying at Qin Piao's house allowed her to read and review her lessons.
Moreover, she wanted some peace to think over recent events, to see if she could find any clues to understand what exactly was going on.
Her parents' disappearance alone weighed heavily on her mind.
Thinking of that mysterious piece of charcoal, she was even more confused, unclear on what the charcoal had to do with her parents.
"I'll wait here for you to come back," Hong Jiaxin said with a smile.
"Not feeling well?" Luo Yang asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
At his question, she hummed softly.
Her eyes were sharp, her cheeks flushed, showing no signs of illness at all.
"Here, let me take your pulse," Luo Yang offered.
"No need. I'll be fine after some sleep. You go. I really want to rest for a while," she then turned away from him, her back facing him.
Luo Yang laughed and tried to pull her down from the bed.