When Xie Changning’s words reached Xie Changyi’s ears, a single phrase floated through her mind: ’In his dreams!’

She didn’t just think it; she said it out loud!

"Did you give the letter to Yue Yihan?"

"They said if I dare give it to Yue Yihan, they’ll kill the hostages. I’m not sure if Mom and Dad are really in their hands."

In truth, Xie Changning was testing the waters when she said this.

She wanted to see if her predecessor’s biological parents were really involved in the effort to build up the nation.

If that were the case, Xie Changning had reason to suspect that the ones they had captured were likely her adoptive parents.

"Leave this to me. I’ll handle it. Don’t worry. All traces of Mom and Dad were erased right after you were born. How could they possibly know who your parents are?"

As Xie Changyi spoke, she suddenly had a thought: the people they’d captured were probably Xie Changning’s adoptive parents.

Just then, Xie Changyi began hesitantly, "What if..."

"Sis, it doesn’t matter. They’re part of that traitor group, so we have to take them down, don’t we?" Xie Changning was perfectly calm. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Her motivation wasn’t that her adoptive parents had been captured, but that the enemy was endangering the nation’s interests.

Xie Changning wasn’t the first to be threatened, and she wouldn’t be the last.

A smile touched Xie Changyi’s lips at Xie Changning’s words. She was very pleased with the answer. "That’s my sister, all right. You really have your priorities straight!"

The goal of playing along with the enemy was to force them to reveal a weakness.

"I have someone in mind. If you have the connections, you could investigate him." Xie Changning was thinking of the incident at the machine tool factory where she had been targeted.

It wasn’t as if she’d never been targeted before—it had happened at the screw factory, too.

Back then, the deputy director’s dislike had been obvious; he felt she was unworthy of her position.

But the deputy director at the machine tool factory targeted her in a much more subtle, watchful way. He didn’t want to reveal his dislike for her; instead, like a rat in the gutter, he was constantly digging for information about Xie Changning.

For him to make a move now, he must feel the time is right.

"The man you’re talking about... I’ve heard of him. You just act like you don’t know anything. I’ll handle the rest."

"Okay."

After telling Xie Changyi everything, Xie Changning hung up the phone.

After hanging up, Xie Changning took her time before contacting Yue Yihan to tell him about the situation.

’Just because they threatened her, she was supposed to keep quiet?’

’She wasn’t one to just meekly obey.’

Yue Yihan had gotten used to Xie Changning calling him whenever she had a problem, and this brought him a measure of comfort. ’See, I’m not completely useless in my wife’s eyes.’

’At least she knows to come to me when something’s wrong!’

This thought had Yue Yihan grinning from ear to ear when he heard his wife was on the phone for him.

However, when he heard that Xie Changning had contacted Xie Changyi first, his ear-to-ear grin vanished in an instant. "Wife, I can actually investigate what you mentioned faster and better, you know."

He was meekly competing for her attention.

Xie Changning didn’t pick up on Yue Yihan’s petty attempt to compete with her sister for attention. She simply explained calmly, "The main reason I called her was to test the waters about our parents’ work."

Xie Changyi’s words had made her understand.

Her parents’ existence may have been completely erased. To the outside world, it was as if they were no longer alive.

Traces of them could be found from over a decade ago, but after that, nothing.

In fact, in this time and place, all information on the two of them had likely been condensed into a single word: Deceased.

"Oh, so that’s why. Darling, don’t you worry. I’ll be sure to investigate this thoroughly."

"Okay. Focus on the deputy director of the machine tool factory. Investigate him thoroughly. I think the ones they kidnapped might be my adoptive parents."

’Even the military can’t find my biological parents; how could this group possibly succeed?’

"Now that you mention him, I was about to tell you myself. He’s been restless lately, and we’re already preparing to make our move." Yue Yihan didn’t elaborate much over the phone, just giving a simple update without specifying when they would act.

Xie Changning had no objections to this.

Anyone else probably wouldn’t have even revealed that they were preparing to move against the target.

"How have you been lately? Have you been hurt on any of your missions?" With the main topic concluded, Xie Changning started asking about Yue Yihan himself.

This was the first time Xie Changning had shown him this kind of concern during a phone call since they had gotten married.

Asked if he was hurt, Yue Yihan was so happy he nearly jumped for joy on the spot.

’Good heavens! I’ve finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel!’

"I-I’m fine. I’m not hurt. Every time I go on a mission, I think about you and the child waiting for me at home, and I know I can’t let anything happen to me..." Yue Yihan explained, stumbling over his words.

He was afraid that if he delayed his answer by even a second, Xie Changning would get upset and hang up.

Hearing that Yue Yihan wasn’t hurt, Xie Changning’s brow relaxed, and a hint of a smile entered her voice. "Take some leave during the Spring Trade Fair. I need to go to Shencheng City for a while, and someone has to look after the house."

"Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it."

The two chatted for a while longer before Xie Changning hung up.

As for Yue Yihan, after he hung up, he paid the soldier manning the phone. The soldier teased him, "A call from your wife sure is effective. It even put a smile on the face of our ’Living Yama’."

Hearing the soldier’s joke, Yue Yihan shot him a sidelong glance.

"It’s a good thing you’re not one of my men. Otherwise, I’d have you running ten kilometers with a full pack today!"

"..." ’And that’s exactly how he earned the name "Living Yama"!’

Seeing the soldier press his lips together and fall silent, Yue Yihan finally left, humming a little tune.

After he left, a number of others popped out from their hiding spots and crowded around the soldier in the phone booth. "Was our commander on the phone with his wife? Was he in a really good mood when he left?"

They all asked at once.

With the afternoon training session coming up, they really didn’t want their workload to be doubled! AAGH!

The soldier nodded. "He left with a big smile on his face. Looked like he was in a great mood. Seems his wife showed him some concern, too. He was grinning from ear to ear when he walked away."

"WOOHOO! That’s great!"

"Heh heh heh, no ten-kilometer run with full packs for us today!"

Everyone was incredibly grateful for Xie Changning’s existence. If not for her, their commander would never be this happy!

"I hope his wife calls every day!" someone prayed.

"Are you nuts? Even one call a week is a luxury. You want one every day? What kind of fortune do you think he has to be so extravagant?"

"That’s true."

They all left together.

-

At Xie Changning’s daily chemical factory, research and development were in full swing. But even with foreign products to use as samples, Sheng Jiaojiao and the other researchers still needed time.

Just as they were starting to feel they were letting Xie Changning down, she arrived.

"I know developing a shampoo and body wash is still proving difficult. What if we pivot to developing a scented facial soap? Do you think that would lower the difficulty?"