I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

Zhou Weiguo was completely dumbfounded by the woman's unusual reaction.

He simply stopped talking and outwardly returned to calm, but secretly he activated his senses to keep a close watch on the woman's every move, even capturing the subtle changes in her breathing.

In fact, the moment he opened the courtyard gate and saw the woman, he vaguely sensed a faint hostility emanating from her. After activating his friend/foe perception, he became even more certain. Zhou Weiguo was actually wondering what this woman wanted. An assassin? She brought a doll to assassinate someone? But she wasn't wearing anything on her. How could she kill her?

Regardless of Zhou Weiguo's brainstorming, Tian Zao, who was kind-hearted to begin with, immediately turned to Lou Xiao'e and the others upon hearing Zhou Weiguo's words and said, "Xiao'e, could you get me some snacks and hot water, and also find a clean bowl to make a cup of milk for the child?"

Lou Xiao'e nodded with a curious look, quickly turned around and went into the house, and Bai Yuechang followed her in to help.

Tian Zao smiled and walked towards the woman, his gaze falling on the child in her arms. He said gently, "Sister, this child is so good. How old is he?" As he spoke, he reached out to gently touch the child's face.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Tian Zao reached out, the woman seemed to be burned, instinctively shrinking back and tightly protecting the child in her arms, her face turning even paler.

This sudden dodge left Tian Zao's hand frozen in mid-air, her expression somewhat embarrassed.

Zhou Weiguo watched this scene with a slight frown, his doubts growing stronger. The woman's reaction was too abnormal; she didn't seem like an ordinary woman. It was as if she was hiding from something or had been frightened.

The woman realized her reaction was too obvious, and quickly forced a smile of apology, her voice weak: "I'm sorry, comrade, my child is shy and afraid of strangers."

Seeing this, Tian Zao didn't pursue the matter further. She withdrew her hand and smiled, trying to smooth things over: "It's alright, it's alright, all children are like this. Don't stand there, sit on that stone bench over there and rest for a while. Xiao'e and the others will bring the things out soon." As she spoke, she pointed to the stone bench next to her, gesturing for the woman to go and sit down.

The woman, carrying the child, walked slowly toward the stone bench with her head down. As she passed Zhou Weiguo, he suddenly frowned, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

He was stunned for a moment before he realized that the woman was wearing perfume.

And it was the common "Friendship" perfume on the market! He thought to himself, this bottle of perfume costs at least three yuan, which is equivalent to several days' wages for an ordinary worker. This woman is dressed in shabby clothes, looks weak, and looks like she is fleeing a disaster. How could she be willing to buy perfume and even put it on?

Puzzled, Zhou Weiguo subconsciously activated the military dog's keen sense of smell.

In an instant, my nostrils were filled with a rich perfume scent, the sweet aroma lingering.

But then he realized something was wrong. Underneath the perfume, there was a strange, foul odor. It wasn't strong, but it was extremely pungent and clashed with the perfume.

This contrast completely bewildered Zhou Weiguo. He took a deep breath without making a sound, and after repeatedly checking, he finally confirmed that the strange stench was coming from the woman in front of him.

His eyes sharpened instantly as he discreetly examined the woman's clothing. Although the old cloth shirt was patched, it was fairly clean, and the source of the odor was unclear. However, the smell was not that of sweat or dirt, but rather something like decay or mold.

His doubts deepened, and combined with the faint hostility he had sensed earlier, he became even more certain that this woman was no ordinary person.

With a child, dressed in shabby clothes, wearing perfume that smelled strange, and exuding hostility, who exactly is she? And what is her purpose in coming here?

Zhou Weiguo remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he heightened his senses to the extreme, not missing even the slightest movement of the child in the woman's arms, ready to respond to any possible accidents at any time.

The next scene was quite simple. Lou Xiao'e and Bai Yuechang quickly brought out the things: dry food, hot water, and freshly prepared milk. They also found a lot of snacks and candies for children and filled a large bag with them.

Tian Zao and the others surrounded the woman, asking her where she came from and where she was going. Their tone was kind and warm, and the woman answered them all softly. Her manner of speaking was proper and there was nothing unusual about her.

She deliberately kept her distance from everyone throughout the entire process. Whenever someone tried to get closer or reached out to help her hold her child or hand her something, she would instinctively back away, her face full of refusal, determined not to let anyone touch her or her child.

Zhou Weiguo stood aside, watching everything without making a sound. His keen sense of smell kept picking up the stench hidden beneath the perfume, and his vigilance never wavered.

He could see the woman's unease and apprehension, her rejection and fear, which seemed more like a deep-seated dread, as if being touched would lead to something terrible.

Seeing Tian Zao and the others' enthusiasm, the woman's face gradually turned ashamed. She stood up hesitantly, holding her child, and said softly, "Comrades, thank you for your kindness, but I can't accept the things anymore. I should go." With that, she turned to leave.

Seeing this, Tian Zao quickly stepped forward, wanting to pull her to stay a little longer. But as soon as he reached out, the woman seemed to be provoked, suddenly pulling back and screaming in a tearful voice, "Don't touch me!"

Her emotions collapsed instantly; her face turned ashen, her hands gripping the child so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and her body trembled slightly uncontrollably.

Tian Zao's hand froze in mid-air, filled with helplessness, and she dared not force it any further.

She glanced at the food and bags on the table, took a few ten-yuan bills from her pocket, walked to the stone table and gently placed them down, her tone tender and concerned: "Sister, I know you're having a hard time. Take this food and this money with you. No matter how difficult things are, we can't let the child suffer. Take this and buy some nutritional supplements for the child."

Looking at the money and the bag full of food on the stone table, and then at the sincere eyes of Tian Zao and the others, the woman's pent-up grievances and bitterness erupted instantly, and she could no longer hold back, bursting into tears.

The crying was suppressed and desperate, not a deliberate wailing, but filled with endless bitterness, making one's heart sink. The child in her arms was awakened by the crying and began to whimper softly, his little hands tightly clutching the woman's clothes.

Zhou Weiguo frowned even more as he watched the woman weeping.

He could sense that the woman's cries were full of genuine emotion, without any pretense.

But what happened the next second left everyone in the courtyard completely stunned.

Suddenly, the woman bent her knees and knelt down with a thud, tightly protecting the child in her arms as if afraid of hurting the little one. She then kowtowed heavily to Tian Zao, her forehead touching the ground.