The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

The old man with the red nose was wearing a green fleece shirt and trousers, with a military-style jacket over it, and cotton slippers on his feet.

Upon seeing Tang Qu, he first breathed a sigh of relief, then nervously peered into the stairwell: "Didn't you bring a tail?"

Tang Qu snorted through his nose and squeezed through the doorway: "Now you're scared? Don't have gotten my sister-in-law pregnant in the first place!"

Zhou Lingbin quickly closed the door, bolted it, and lowered his voice: "Don't speak yet. There are three families living in this building now, not just mine! The walls have ears!"

Tang Qu then noticed that the structure of the small building had changed.

Originally, there were two households per floor, but now a partition has been added in the middle, turning it into three floors with six households.

The stairwell was cluttered with honeycomb briquettes, cabbages, pickle jars, and several bicycles, making the space cramped.

He shut his mouth and followed Zhou Lingbin inside.

The living room is small, only a dozen square meters, and contains a set of artificial leather sofas that are cracked, revealing the yellowed sponge inside.

A folding dining table leaned against the wall, on which sat half a bowl of leftover pickled vegetables and half a steamed bun.

On the chest of drawers sat a Red Lantern brand radio, next to which was a framed photo of Zhou Lingbin in military uniform, looking quite handsome in his youth.

"Sit down." Zhou Lingbin pointed to the sofa and sat down opposite him.

Just then, the bedroom door opened.

A middle-aged woman peeked out.

She was thin, with her hair pinned behind her ears with black hair clips. Her face was not fleshy, her cheekbones were prominent, and she had heavy eye bags, making her look much older than her actual age.

She was wearing a faded floral cotton-padded jacket and cotton shoes she had made herself.

Clearly, she is Red Nose's wife.

She was still sleepy when she saw Tang Qu. A hint of surprise and uncertainty flashed in her eyes, but she quickly lowered her eyelids again.

"Chen Xiangqin, go back to sleep!" Red Nose scolded impatiently.

Being called by her full name doesn't seem to be an insult to Chen Xiangqin.

A cautious smile appeared on her face. After a moment's hesitation, she said softly, "Should we pour some tea for the guest? There's still hot water on the stove..."

"Go back!" Zhou Lingbin raised his voice, his face darkening.

Chen Xiangqin shrank back like a startled rabbit, quickly retreating into the bedroom and closing the door.

The door closed softly, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Tang Qu watched this scene with a smug smile on his lips.

"You really have to resort to this kind of smokescreen?" He lowered his voice, but the sarcasm in his tone was undisguised. "Finding someone from the countryside, who can barely read, just to shut others up?"

Red Nose's face was grim, but he didn't argue. He just lit a cigarette and took a deep drag: "What else can I do? I work in the military! If I don't have a woman by my side, won't gossip fly everywhere? Besides, she's cheap and easy to manipulate."

Smoke swirled in the dim light.

Tang Qu lost patience for small talk. He leaned forward, staring at the red nose: "Your daughter is still handcuffed at the police station. Are you going to do anything about it? I just want one answer!"

The red-nosed man's fingers, holding the cigarette, trembled slightly, and ash fell onto his pants, but he didn't care.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke, his voice hoarse: "That child, Tian Tian, ​​your mother has spoiled her rotten. She's given everything she wants since she was little, and now she's caused this mess..."

He sighed and looked up at Tang Qu: "I can help with the rest, but after Tian Tian and Ai Jun are released this time, you have to arrange for her to marry Ai Jun."

"Marriage?" Tang Qu exclaimed as if he'd heard a joke. "If you could get married, wouldn't you have done it already? Both kids are on the same household registration. Aren't you just making me a target of gossip?"

"Then let's change their identities, leave Beijing, and run away to the faraway lands." Red Nose stubbed out his cigarette. "Otherwise, even spittle can drown Sweetie. You know how dangerous military compounds are; a single spittle from someone can be fatal. If word gets out, I might be in trouble too!"

"Run away?" Tang Qu shook his head. "Where to? Xinjiang? Inner Mongolia? We've struggled our whole lives just to let our children live comfortably, haven't we? I only have Aijun as my son! Do you want me to grow old without any child to care for me?"

He paused, lowering his voice even further: "Besides, Aijun is now a propaganda officer at the steel rolling mill. It's not a lucrative position, but it's a respectable job. Ask him to give up everything and start over with your daughter in another city? Why should he?"

Red Nose's face darkened: "Then what do you suggest we do? Just wait and see? Wait for Wang Dong to make a big scene, wait for the military's disciplinary committee to get involved?"

Tang Qu did not answer immediately.

He leaned back on the sofa, his fingers tapping lightly on his knees.

This is his habitual action when he's thinking.

After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice eerily calm: "Nothing much, just leave it like this."

Red Nose was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Tang Quchong gestured towards the bedroom, his eyes conveying a meaningful look: "You can come up with a smokescreen, but Aijun and Tiantian have ready-made smokescreens too."

"You mean Ai Jun's wife? That idiot surnamed Qi?"

Red nose and furrowed brow

"Even if she's stupid, she'd still make a scene, right? I heard at the police station today that she banged Aijun's head against the wall and even wants a divorce!"

"Divorce?" Tang Qu sneered, pulling two neatly folded pieces of paper from his pocket and slamming them onto the coffee table. "Does she dare to divorce me?"

Pick up the red nose and unfold it.

There are two confessions.

The handwriting was crooked and messy, but the signature and red handprint were clearly visible.

One of them was Qi Chou's, who admitted to using his position as a train driver to smuggle scarce goods.

One of them was from Chen Hongxia, who admitted to embezzling public funds from the supply and marketing cooperative.

"This is..." Red Nose looked up.

"Qi Weiwei's parents' lives are in my hands," Tang Qu said, emphasizing each word. "I have this in my hands. No matter how much trouble she causes, what can she possibly pull? Unless she wants her parents to go to jail."

He took back the confession, carefully folded it, and put it back in his pocket: "Right now, it's more important to deal with Wang Dong. Wang Dong is an active-duty soldier; if he keeps pressing the issue, the pressure on the military will be immense."

When Wang Dong was mentioned, the man with the red nose's eyes darkened.

He lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled smoke from his nostrils: "I've thought it through about Wang Dong. As long as he's alive, this won't be easy... The military values ​​discipline the most, and he's a combat hero, so the leadership will definitely side with him."

He paused, his voice so low it was almost inaudible: "But as the saying goes, death absolves all debts. He's dead, what's the point of standing up for him? Anyway, I've made up my mind!"

Tang Qu's eyes lit up: "You plan to..."

"Don't ask me the specifics," Red Nose interrupted him. "The less you know, the better for you. But—"

He changed the subject, his eyes turning greedy: "I did all these immoral things, and I didn't get any benefits at all! Director Tang, you can't just make the horse run without feeding it."