Chapter 76: Chen Huixing, are you sleepwalking? Chen Huixing is sick...

The red and blue lights of the police car cut through the nearly dark night. Several policemen walked quickly, making a crackling sound as they rolled over gravel, and asked Pei Jiqing: "What happened?"

Pei Jiqing pointed in the direction where Wei Ji had left: "The suspect ran away from there." The

leader shone the white light of the flashlight in the direction Pei Jiqing pointed, glanced at him and said: "Don't walk around casually at night."

Pei Jiqing said he would go back to his residence immediately.

After Pei Jiqing returned to his residence, his phone vibrated in his pocket, the screen lit up, and a series of emojis popped up. The chubby little cat blinked its eyes, its furry paws scratching the edge of the dialog box, as if it would pop out of the screen in the next second.

He replied with a few kiss emojis and added: "What's wrong, baby? As soon as the message was sent, the other party displayed "Type in progress ."

Zhizhi's reply quickly popped up, a little girl's voice: "Dad, are you busy? Can I see you?"

Pei Jiqing stared at the words for two seconds, then asked directly: "Is your father around?"

Zhizhi replied quickly: "Yes."

Pei Jiqing couldn't resist the sweetheart's expectant tone and opened the video. The moment the screen lit up, Zhizhi's little face immediately leaned close to the camera, her eyes sparkling, and she softly called him, "Dad!"

He murmured a low "hmm," and the corners of his lips curled slightly.

A slender figure sat behind Zhizhi's camera. Alpha, his brows lowered, flipped through documents in his hands, his knuckles occasionally tapping on the pages. His expression was calm and focused, as if he had no interest in what was happening on the camera.

Pei Jiqing's gaze lingered on the person for a second, then quietly shifted away, as if he hadn't noticed anything.

The small safety lock hung around Zhizhi's neck, gleaming warmly under the light, its red string against her fair skin. Liang Yi had specially obtained it from the temple.

Liang Yi was superstitious, saying that the number "six" was particularly important for Zhizhi's fate, implying that great fortune could also conceal great misfortune, and that this method was essential to suppress it. Chen Huixing used to be extremely impatient with such mysterious things, but after Liang Yi's repeated mumblings, he actually moved the furniture around the house, adjusting its orientation to the auspicious positions Liang Yi had described.

Pei Jiqing listened to Zhizhi chattering about school on the other side of the screen, then bobbed his head and recited a new poem, his voice tinged with pride.

Pei Jiqing's voice softened: "Baby, you're awesome."

In the background, Chen Huixing was originally sitting sideways on the sofa. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, his shoulders moved slightly, as if he wanted to turn his head, but also as if he was hesitant about something. In the end, he only tilted his head halfway, and his eyes lightly glanced in the direction of the camera.

Pei Jiqing's smile faded a little, and his brows wrinkled slightly.

Chen Huixing paused, then turned back inconspicuously, lowered his head and picked up a book beside him again. However, he didn't notice that the words on the pages were all upside down.

Chen Huixing's chats now focused more on asking about his well-being.

He didn't use the military's encrypted intranet communication number, but instead specially registered a new ordinary social account. The previous one had been blocked by Pei Jiqing, so the avatar was blank and the circle of friends was clean, as if the only meaning of this account was to lie quietly in Pei Jiqing's contact list.

Pei Jiqing's replies were very regular, and only messages that mentioned Zhizhi would receive a response. Chen Huixing's messages of greetings like "It's getting colder today, remember to dress warmly" or "Is it raining where you are?" often fell on deaf ears.

Chen Huixing seemed to have mastered a pattern, slipping in little messages of concern and concern whenever he could find a way to talk.

Whether or not Pei Jiqing replied was one thing, but he could guarantee that Pei Jiqing had seen them.

That was all that mattered.

Twenty minutes later, during a break in the video call, Pei Jiqing came to two conclusions: first, his daughter was incredibly talkative, chattering nonstop; he wondered where she got this talkative streak from; and second, Chen Huixing had tried several times to interject, but to no avail.

This time, Pei Jiqing had brought an assistant with him to the Lower City. Some people were eager to cooperate with his intentions, spitting at him profusely, while others were extremely wary, unwilling to address their concerns and letting Pei Jiqing leave.

After several setbacks, Pei Jiqing finally spoke of growing up in the Lower City, a serious glandular disease he'd developed from an allergic reaction to a suppressant, and a recent area that resembled the Lower City back then.

The conversation finally entered a heart-to-heart, finally peeling away the polite facade to reveal the raw, flesh-and-blood truth.

Finally, several representatives were selected for interviews, arranged in order of age. One of the patients was Ms. Xu Mingzhu.

Pei Jiqing typed out her symptoms: glandular cancer, which had been reported as glandular abnormality before diagnosis.

Initial symptoms included persistent, abnormal glandular fever, pheromone disturbances in the middle stages, and tissue ulceration in the late stages.

Pei Jiqing knew better than anyone that Ms. Xu Mingzhu had ultimately become emaciated, her hospital gown hanging loosely from her body. Cancer cells began to eat away at her glands, spreading beneath the skin like corrupted vines.

Many people have their glands removed to stay alive, but because of the lack of pheromones, they felt neither alive nor dead.

Pei Jiqing remembered that the urn was clearly just a box, yet it felt heavy to him. Just that square wooden box held the weight of an entire life.

The report sparked a massive online discussion.

Several Asian Union departments held a joint vote. Sitting next to Chen Huixing was an old classmate from the External Relations Department, who said with amusement, "Your wife's been making quite a racket lately." Chen Huixing

leaned back in his black leather chair, his chin slightly raised, his eyes fixed forward, as if lost in thought. Hearing the word "your wife," he smiled, "Remember to vote for my wife. I'll treat you to dinner next time." His

old classmate was a little taken aback. Back in military school, Chen Huixing had been known for his stoic demeanor, a man who wore the same expression for both anger and happiness. Now, the sudden, warm smile that graced his usually reserved face made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

The vote finally appeared on the electronic screen: the Linhe restricted area proposal passed.

After the vote, Pei Jiqing, a member of the press corps, was outside the conference room. The results had already been announced, and the corridor outside the conference room was already packed with people, their voices echoing like a tide beneath the vaulted ceiling.

Pei Jiqing stood with the press corps, his light blue shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, looking professional and elegant.

Chen Huixing originally wanted to go up to Pei Jiqing and say something like, "Your wish has come true."

Chen Huixing looked over across the crowd and thought it would be even better if he could hug Pei Jiqing.

But the moment his sight shifted, he saw Xu Ze leaning over and whispering something in Pei Jiqing's ear. Pei Jiqing tilted his head slightly, and a relaxed arc appeared at the corner of his lips that Chen Huixing had not seen for a long time.

At that moment, Chen Huixing felt that the inhibitory patch behind his neck was not very effective. His glands were throbbing, and some violent emotions were running rampant in his blood vessels. Chen Huixing clenched and unclenched his hands hanging at his sides, and his knuckles turned white.

A very irritable and uncontrollable emotion came over him.

He really wanted to hide Pei Jiqing, who hated him and despised him.

But no, this was in public, and Pei Jiqing had abolished all his rights to get close to him.

Pei Jiqing's peripheral vision caught sight of Chen Huixing's figure walking towards him, his black uniform making him stand out in the crowd. But the man suddenly turned around five steps away, so quickly that it seemed as if he would lose control a second later.

This result was still ideal.

As an important port for foreign trade, it was not easy to pass the ban in Linhe District. The approval documents were stamped with official seals of more than a dozen departments. Behind each signature was a tug-of-war of interests, and most people only cared about their own interests.

It was evening when Pei Jiqing came to pick up Zhizhi.

Pei Jiqing went to the villa where they used to live to pick up the child.

As a child from a divorced family, Zhizhi obviously did not have the sensitivity and anxiety that was expected. The world of five years old was too small, too small to accommodate such a complex word as "separation".

The love given by the adults in turn was so full that she could not notice the subtle changes in the trajectory of her life at all. Just like Chen Huixing was also very busy with work in the past, and now it was Pei Jiqing's turn to work, in her opinion, it was just a simple logic like "adults have to work."

In just one week, Chen Huixing bought a lot of things for Zhizhi, and many of the gift boxes were still unopened.

Zhizhi sat obediently in the back seat.

Chen Huixing said that he would not be at home and someone would help him.

The servants were stuffing large and small bags of items into Pei Jiqing's trunk, and the beautifully packaged gift boxes soon filled the small space. Pei Jiqing knocked on the car door twice with his knuckles: "If you are not taking it away, just leave it here."

It would take up too much space if he took it back.

The older servant took out a velvet bag, and when the tie was loosened, it revealed the sparkling little hairpins, bracelets and other small gadgets inside.

"Madam," she habitually used the old name, "then you are not taking these jewelry too? They don't take up space."

Pei Jiqing lowered his eyes and took a look. The bag was full of the sequined hairbands and cartoon pendants that Zhizhi had been obsessed with recently, as well as some jewelry of not low value. He shook his head: "Forget it, let's not take it."

Seeing the servants start to move the things they had just packed out, he suddenly reached out to take the heavy bag: "You guys do other things, I'll take this up."

Pei Jiqing was very familiar with this home where he had lived for many years, and nothing had changed.

Almost everything in this house was bought by him.

Zhizhi's room was next to the master bedroom, and her handmade paintings were pasted on the pink door panel. Pei Jiqing put the bag of jewelry away carefully, and when he turned around, he caught a glimpse of the half-open door next door. A ray of warm yellow light leaked out of the narrow gap, mixed with a few suppressed coughs.

Pei Jiqing hesitated for only three seconds and then pushed the door open. He walked in very quietly and saw the quilt bulged on the bed. Chen Huixing was lying on the bed, looking very uncomfortable, with his eyes closed and his brows furrowed.

Chen Huixing was sick and seemed to have a fever.

Pei Jiqing had the impression that Chen Huixing seldom got sick, and seldom even caught a cold, because his abnormal genetic condition as an S-class Alpha determined his strong physique.

Just as Pei Jiqing was about to leave, Chen Huixing woke up, and when he stood up, he brought with him a warm smell of medicine. He hugged her into his arms without saying anything, resting his chin in front of Pei Jiqing, his breath hot, and said to himself: "I seem to be a little abnormal today, has the meeting started?"

Pei Jiqing did not speak, and Chen Huixing tightened his arms.

He put his palm against Pei Jiqing's thin back, and suddenly frowned: "The Arctic Circle doesn't seem to be that cold, you are wearing so little."

Pei Jiqing reacted and realized that Chen Huixing was talking about the Arctic Circle Summit many years ago.

Chen Huixing did not receive the expected caring inquiries, such as Pei Jiqing asking him softly what was wrong and whether he wanted to call a doctor, but he only heard Pei Jiqing say calmly and indifferently: "Chen Huixing, are you sleepwalking?"