Yao Jingjing put the key in the company's safe, but then she felt uneasy and thought it would be safer to keep it on her person.
Professor Mei gave this to her before he left, saying it was the laboratory's emergency key and was very important, and he instructed her to keep it safe.
Hou Biao went to the United States with Professor Mei, and most of the company's staff were transferred there, which suddenly made Yao Jingjing's burden heavier.
As the year draws to a close, the security company's business is increasing rather than decreasing, forcing Yao Jingjing to turn down many orders because she simply can't manage the manpower.
Today, she was accompanying her mother to the hospital for a check-up. She arrived at the company early, arranged everything, drove around Liuying Lane for a while, and then went home.
When Mama Yao saw her, she complained, "Why are you working so hard, you're such a young lady! You're never Tiantian!"
"There's a lot going on at work, what can I do?" Yao Jingjing grabbed a steamed bun from the table and started eating.
Mama Yao quickly served her a bowl of hot porridge. "Eat slowly, have some porridge to fill your stomach first, don't choke."
While drinking her porridge, Yao Jingjing said, "Mom, get ready. Doctor Wang from the hospital called and asked us to be there at ten o'clock."
Mama Yao laughed and said, "Good, good, I'm all ready. My daughter is so capable. Other people have to queue up at the hospital to see a doctor, but I get my appointment called by the doctor."
Yao Jingjing said, "Mom, this is all thanks to Professor Mei and Qingmu, it has nothing to do with me."
Mentioning Qingmu made Mama Yao unhappy. She had initially considered Qingmu her son-in-law, but later heard that he had gone abroad with a young female professor and hadn't returned yet. She naturally didn't know the details, only that her future son-in-law had run off with another woman, leaving her daughter in Wuzhong. But she couldn't bring herself to be angry; after all, he had saved her life!
" Jingjing, you should reconsider your own situation."
"Mom—why are you bringing this up again! I'm so busy right now, I don't have time to think about these things!"
"What's there to be busy about? If you're busy, you don't need to think about marriage! You don't need to carry on the Cuan Family line!"
"Mom, you keep talking about the Cuan Family Cuan Family the time. Dad will scold you again if he hears you."
"Go away, ignore him! I've already decided, if you have a daughter in the future, she'll take the surname Cuan."
"What a joke! You yourself don't even have the surname Cuan anymore, didn't you change it to Cun? Besides, would my dad agree to that?"
"What's wrong with that? If it's a son, he can take the surname Yao. Now you can have two children, even three."
Yao Jingjing chuckled, "I'm not that prolific, I'm not a pig!"
Mama Yao ignored her and continued talking to herself, "That President Hou from your company is a nice guy, just a bit older... Being older isn't a big deal, it's just that he's bald... Bald isn't a big deal either, it's just that all those tattoos... People think he used to do something like that!"
Yao Jingjing retorted, "Mom, what are you saying!"
"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore." Mama Yao shook her head, then said seriously to her daughter, "This year we're going back to Cuanzhou for the New Year."
"Why?"
"It's been over a year since I left. Last year, I spent the Spring Festival in Wuzhong. It was just the three of us, and we didn't know anyone. It was so lonely! This year, I'm going back for the Spring Festival. It'll be so lively back home!"
But you haven't fully recovered yet!
"I'm all better now, the doctor said I'm fine. Besides, I keep dreaming about your great-grandmother lately. She keeps asking me in my dreams where Xue'er is, and it makes me uneasy. I need to go back and visit her grave."
Yao Jingjing asked curiously, "Who is Xue'er?"
" Xue'er is the name of the cat I had when I was little," said Mama Yao. " Qingmu even asked about it before!"
Yao Jingjing's heart skipped a beat. Since awakening, Qingmu had told Yao Jingjing some things. She knew that her mother had been infected with the Gray Brain Virus and was harmed by Parasitic Consciousness, and that Ruxue had saved her mother. She was very curious about how Ruxue coexisted with her mother's subconscious.
What intrigued her even more was her great-grandmother—what kind of person was she?
She had casually mentioned her great-grandmother to her mother, but her mother clearly knew only a limited amount, and could only describe her as kind, capable, and compassionate, without being able to say much more about her.
After Ruxue was moved into Hanran Ran's body by Qingmu, Yao Jingjing went to see Han Hanran. However, at that time, her Mental Power was not strong enough, and she could only see Ruxue with Qingmu's help. Ruxue seemed not to recognize her and just glanced at her coldly. But Ruxue's noble appearance was deeply imprinted in her heart from then on. She felt that the women of the Cuan Family should be that noble.
Hanran followed Qingmu away and hasn't been heard from since. She doesn't know what happened to them and can only pray for them in her heart.
When Yao Jingjing heard her mother say that her great-grandmother had come to her in a dream looking for the cat, she had a bad feeling. Had something happened to Ruxue? Otherwise, why would she have such a dream now of all times?
But then I thought about it again and it made no sense. If I really had such a dream because something bad happened, then either my mother has superpowers or my great-grandmother's ghost came to visit me in the dream. That's too absurd!
But what popped into Yao Jingjing's mind was something even more absurd—could her great-grandmother still be alive?
She blurted it out without thinking, and then startled herself.
Mama Yao touched her forehead and said, "Daughter, are you alright? Why are you talking nonsense!"
Yao Jingjing said, "Mom, I just miss my great-grandmother because you described her so well!"
Mama Yao sighed and said, "Even the best people don't live past a hundred!"
Yao Jingjing accompanied her mother to the hospital for a follow-up examination, and the results showed that her mother's health was excellent in all aspects. The doctor said that immune reconstruction takes two years, and half of that time has already passed, so there is basically nothing to worry about. She can rest at home from now on and have a check-up every six months.
Mama Yao was eager to return to her hometown. Yao Jingjing couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she said, "Then I'll take you back first, and I'll also go to my great-grandmother's grave to burn incense. But I have to come back soon; President Hou isn't here, and I can't stay away for too long. I'll go back for the New Year after President Hou."
Yao Jingjing booked her plane ticket and arranged her work at the company. Before leaving, she suddenly remembered that she still had the key Professor Mei had given her. Since it was an emergency key, and the professor had given it to her, it was naturally for use in case of an emergency. She couldn't take it with her; otherwise, if she wasn't there when she needed it, wouldn't that cause a delay?
She couldn't put the key in the safe either, because only she and Hou Biao could open it. She had to find a reliable person to entrust the key to. Logically, she would only be gone for two days, so she could just find anyone, but due to her professional instincts as a security guard, she felt she couldn't just do it casually.
Her first thought was of Bi Shenghua, the woman Qingmu trusted most. Although she felt a little uncomfortable thinking about it, it didn't affect her rationality. She knew that in Wuzhong, besides Professor Mei, Qingmu, and Hou Biao, Bi Shenghua was the most trustworthy person.
Coincidentally, she received a call from Old Yu at that moment. Old Yu said that he and Teacher Xiao Bian had drunk some alcohol, and the lab's security system said that their alcohol levels were too high to enter. He wanted to ask if the system could make an exception.
Yao Jingjing laughed when she received the call. The security system had just been upgraded last month, and the addition of an alcohol detection function was purely Professor Mei's way of addressing those who teased him about smoking; it didn't actually prohibit employees from drinking. However, she still had to criticize Old Yu's inappropriate behavior of drinking at work, even though it wasn't her responsibility at all.
She suddenly remembered that Bian Ziyuan was a core member of the professor's team. Since he was a core member, he was naturally reliable, so handing the key to him for two days should be fine.
Out of caution, she decided to inform Professor Mei. She called Hou Biao to ask how things were going. Hou Biao said the professor was attending a charity gala, but he was a little worried. Yao Jingjing asked him what he was worried about. Hou Biao said:
"There's an art exhibition going on here. Do you remember the painting that Qingmu told us about in Elder Xia's study?"