It seems that the villain is targeting me.

"'If she knew'?"

"You still want her support? If that bitch surnamed Gu knew what we were doing, do you think you would be able to get away with it?"

The man shook the man vigorously, strangling him until his neck turned red. "If she finds out, you and I will both die at her hands!"

"What are you doing! Just speak properly!"

The escort's face turned pale after being yelled at by him. He tried to push the man away in a hurry, but failed in his haste.

The other party clenched his hand even tighter and even raised his hand to slap him: "Selling 'fresh goods' can make twice as much money as selling piglets. If you don't dare to make it, there are plenty of people who can!"

"That guy surnamed Gu is always looking back and forth, telling me not to do this or that," he spat. "He's too soft-hearted... If you want to make a lot of money, you have to be ruthless!"

Zheng Qiong tried hard to keep her expression steady. Although her inner emotions were surging, she didn't show it at all.

Perhaps because they sensed the girl's turbulent psychological activities at the moment, the two human traffickers turned their heads and looked at her.

Arjun pretended to look terrified as he looked at them, his shoulders hunched and his face full of fear, as if he was simply afraid of the loud volume of their argument.

Her acting was good, and neither of the two guys could see through her disguise.

However, after the quarrel broke out, the two parted unhappily. The one with the worse temper turned to Arjun and ordered her to keep going while swearing.

Zheng Qiong was put in a new cell.

This should be a temporary place. She was the only one inside. After locking the door, Brother Henren left.

Zheng Qiong waited for a long time before confirming that the other party had indeed left.

My heart, which had been beating violently, finally calmed down a little at this moment.

She almost escaped death, and after escaping from the dangerous environment, she immediately began to see stars in front of her eyes.

Arqiong slid down exhausted and sat on the ground, breathing heavily. It took her a long time to calm her violently beating heart.

After being paralyzed for more than ten minutes, she finally mustered up some strength, stood up shakily, and began to look around the furnishings in the single cell.

There's no need to look at the lock, it definitely can't be opened.

Her hands were still tied with cable ties, so she couldn't move much. Arjun tried to bite it with her teeth and grind it with the sharp edges of the furniture. It took her a long time to get the thing off.

She shook her aching wrists, trying to find something in the room that could help her escape.

Soon, Arjun made an exciting discovery: she saw a ventilation duct!

The ventilation duct was built very hidden, the entrance was protected by iron bars, and it was very close to the ceiling - but these were not the problems.

Zheng Qiong searched through all his pockets and found a ten-cent coin.

——This thing can barely be used as a screwdriver, but it is very difficult to operate.

She kicked off her shoes, climbed onto the makeshift wooden bed, and began to check the entrance to the ventilation duct.

Upon inspection, Arjun's face fell in disappointment.

The entrance to the ventilation duct is small, only slightly larger than an A4 paper.

It was such a small passage, there was no way she could get through it unless she could turn into a cat.

[Lantern Festival Extra] Xiao Niao is extremely sad and angry (Doctor × Bird)

I would like to say something off topic here, which is about Xiaoniao’s daily habits - this person rarely celebrates any festivals.

She is almost insensitive to foreign festivals (mainly because there are no holidays). She can name the main traditional Chinese festivals, but she has to search the Internet for the exact dates. And because of her nearly twenty years of experience in another world, she has a set of understandings of the festival system that is completely different from the reality.

At that time, because the empire was still young, the traditions of each region ruled by the emperor were slightly different. The capital had the Spring Festival and the Sailing Day, while the more distant valleys had the Autumn Hunting Festival and the grand wheat harvest celebration.

But at that time, Xiaoniao was not interested in these things at all - whether there were festivals or not had nothing to do with her as the prime minister, and she didn't have any holidays anyway - she basically relied on people around her to remind her what festivals were coming.

The only holiday that the home-loving little bird would celebrate was the Spring Festival. She had inserted a statutory spring holiday into the imperial calendar. Only on the day of the New Year would the Prime Minister of the Empire indulge herself in half a day of leisure.

To sum up, this person's ability to perceive festivals is very slow. She has to be reminded by others that today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and the Lantern Festival is today. Only then does she know that it is this time of year again.

Due to some well-known reasons, Xiao Niao had a very difficult year. She spent a very exciting New Year's Eve and had almost no time to rest throughout the entire New Year's Eve.

After Hongyue got off the high-speed train and returned home, things spiraled even further out of control. Xiaoniao's last clear memory was the knight's large, calloused hand sliding down his waist...

This was destined to be a New Year she would never forget. The impression was so profound that her legs would go weak whenever she saw these three people in the same room.

So after barely regaining consciousness, Xiao Niao immediately used the excuse of wishing New Year's greetings to his friends and ran out of the house.

What does it feel like to wake up on the second day of the New Year holiday?

In short, Xiao Niao was reluctant to speak.

She hid like a mouse at a good friend's house in her hometown for two days, and was then caught by Chen Xiaoyue who mobilized some local connections (referring to calling Xiaoniao's grandmother).

The little bird almost accepted its fate at that time. After all, as the old saying goes: You can escape the first day, but you can't escape the fifteenth.

But just as Dr. Chen was thinking about how to bring the bird home, grandma suddenly said that my aunt and her family, who hadn't been home for many years, came to pay New Year's greetings...

Xiaoniao has never been so grateful for the traditional Chinese custom of visiting relatives and friends during the New Year!

When relatives from afar come to visit, Xiaoniao, as the only bird left in grandma's family, must stay to help entertain them.

The elders on her father's side died early, so she was raised by her grandmother and has the deepest relationship with her grandmother. Although Chen Xiaoyue doesn't say it, she can feel the deep emotional connection between the two.

So, when Xiao Niao tentatively suggested staying in his hometown for a few more days, Chen Xiaoyue agreed without much hesitation.

"...Then I'll go back to the city first. Teacher, please come back after you're done with your work," Chen Xiaoyue said considerately. "It just so happens that I only have a few days of annual leave left..."

Then the bird hooked her neck.

"What are you talking about?" Xiao Niao pressed her head down in dissatisfaction, and said angrily, "It's New Year's Day, how can I let you stay home alone?"

Gwyneth decided to return to England at the beginning of the year. Her parents hoped that she could go back to accompany her younger siblings and help her eldest brother take care of matters related to the family business.

Hongyue received a new notice right after the first day of the Lunar New Year, and hurriedly left by plane in the early morning of the next day. She is now a well-known stuntwoman in the industry and has just finished filming her first movie in her life.

This is why the bird was in such a hurry to escape - she knew that Gwen and Luna would have something important to do in the next two days.

I have to do it. If I don’t go home now, I’ll have to eat meat again.

She also estimated that the person should have left, and then she relaxed and prepared to go back to her grandmother's house to eat this year's newly steamed rice cakes...

Then he was caught red-handed at the door.

As a result, people came to visit my grandmother's house. My aunt who married far away brought her husband and children home to visit the old lady, and Xiao Niao also went home to help her elderly grandmother with housework.

After all the calculations, it seems that Chen Xiaoyue is the only one who has no home to return to.

In fact, she is not completely without relatives. In reality, Chen Xiaoyue's mother is still alive, but she remarried early like in her previous life.

This poor woman hadn't actually done anything particularly bad to her in her previous life, so the world's will arbitrarily identified her as a family member and packed up and thrown into reality.

Chen Xiaoyue couldn't say she hated her mother, but she didn't have any special feelings for her either. She didn't want to be a nuisance in someone else's happy home during such a festive occasion.

The doctor's arms became a little stiff due to the close breathing.

"teacher……"

Chen Xiaoyue was inexplicably embarrassed - this person usually did things that would not pass the review, but at this time he was at a loss as if he was meeting his parents for the first time.

"Stay with me," Xiao Niao softened her voice, "My grandma really loves you."

This is true. When grandma saw Chen Xiaoyue for the first time, she exclaimed, "Oh, this girl is so pretty." Then when she heard that she worked in a hospital in the city and was a deputy chief physician, she wished she was her own granddaughter.

Chen Xiaoyue herself was aware of this, and she even secretly guessed that the teacher might invite her back.

But when the other party really brought it up, she hesitated.

Xiao Niao's emotional problems are still a secret at home, so the doctor seems to have no reason to stay at someone else's house for the New Year.

Seeing that the person in front of him just stood there without saying anything, Xiao Niao couldn't help but reach out and pinch the soft flesh on Chen Xiaoyue's cheek.

In real life, Xiaoniao is actually younger than the doctor, but he still likes to do these little actions to amuse children.

It was as if nothing had changed. She was still that skinny and short little girl who needed extra protection and care.

Xiao Niao had a smile in the corner of his eyes and touched the doctor's ear affectionately with his cold fingers.

Her tone was serious, but her words sounded like she was coaxing a child: "I'll make you some steamed rice cakes."

Chen Xiaoyue felt like she was bewitched and couldn't even hear what the bird said - in fact, at this time, no matter what the bird said, she would agree.

She nodded imperceptibly and held the bird in her arms as carefully as if it were some fragile porcelain.

She stroked the soft hair on the back of Xiaoniao's head and felt that it was even smoother and more beautiful than feathers.

The two of them spent the most pleasant days of the whole year together. Xiao Niao took Chen Xiaoyue to the New Year's market in his hometown, watched the lantern festival and visited the night market stalls, treated her to the local specialty spicy hot pot with dipping sauce, and visited all the relatively famous local attractions.

"It's a small place, there's nothing fun to do here," Xiao Niao said apologetically. "There are more places to visit in big cities. Let's go traveling together when we have time."

The 'we' here certainly doesn't just refer to her; the bird never belonged to her alone.

Chen Xiaoyue knew this very well, but couldn't help feeling a little unwilling.

There were a lot of people around, Xiao Niao walked in front of her to lead the way. Chen Xiaoyue stretched out her hand and held the other's hand tightly. Xiao Niao did not struggle and shook hands with her back openly. Not many people noticed them. The lantern festival was very lively and everyone had a smile on their face.

The doctor thought, at least at this time, she belongs only to me.

The two of them shuttled through the bustling crowd, walking from one end of the street to the other. The winter in the small county town was very cold, but they both had sweat in their palms.

The little bird turned back to look at her halfway and saw that silly smile on the doctor's face.

The two of them lived a happy and heavenly life for quite some time. Everything was fine during that time, except for one thing that Xiao Niao found difficult to talk about.

After lying comfortably at home for a few days, Xiao Niao noticed that his lower abdomen would occasionally feel hot, as if there was a warm spring in his stomach, sending warm currents to every part of his body.

From a scientific point of view, this is a normal desire caused by hormonal changes. As long as a person is healthy, they will occasionally have similar feelings.

To be honest, the little bird had just been tossed around in such a turbulent night that it was difficult for its hormones to remain stable.

Of course, this is no big deal. Humans are not animals, and this little physiological impulse is far from causing trouble to people's normal life.

If you are careless, you may not even notice the subtle changes in your body.

Xiao Niao naturally didn't take it seriously.

It was not until the last day of the holiday, at six o'clock in the morning, that Chen Xiaoyue got out of bed and washed up quickly.

Today they are leaving for home.

Dr. Chen has used up all his annual leave and has to go back to the hospital for duty tomorrow. Early this morning, the two of them had to go to the station to catch the train.

Grandma asked them to eat Yuanxiao before leaving, so it would be better to get up early and prepare.

Chen Xiaoyue is used to getting up early. She packed herself up and prepared to go

The birdie gets up.

The two lived in different rooms at their grandmother's house. Chen Xiaoyue slept in the guest room, and Xiaoniao slept in her mother's former room. Both of them were sensible people. Although their families did not know about their relationship, they still consciously avoided suspicion and never made any trouble during this period.

That night at the Lantern Festival, they quietly held hands, and that was the closest they had ever been.

To be honest, during these days here, Chen Xiaoyue felt more of a spiritual satisfaction. Even though it was just the two of them holding hands, it made her happier than any kiss or hug.

But such happy days are about to end, the doctor sighed in his heart, he has to go back to work tomorrow.

Thinking of this, she opened the door, and Xiao Niao rolled up the quilt into a ball and moved towards the door.

Chen Xiaoyue couldn't help but slow down her pace and slowly walked to the bed. The moonlight that had not completely disappeared yet sprinkled on her, making her feel a little dizzy.

Xiao Niao seemed to be sleeping soundly. She might have felt a little hot, so one of her arms was stretched out of the quilt, revealing her fair neck.

The indoor temperature is high enough that you won’t catch a cold, but it’s still uncomfortable to sleep like this in winter.

Chen Xiaoyue was a little puzzled. She moved a little closer and suddenly noticed that the corners of Xiaoniao's eyes and cheeks seemed a little red. It was not the unhealthy blush after being sick, but a kind of fresh, soft peach pink.

The doctor gently shook the bird's shoulders and called softly: "Teacher, teacher, it's time to get up."

Xiao Niao didn't react and looked like he was sleeping soundly.

"Okay, wake up," Chen Xiaoyue looked at her helplessly, "Little bird? Wake up."

As if she heard the call, Xiao Niao shook her head in resistance. She put her forehead towards Chen Xiaoyue's hand and let out a hoarse groan from her throat.

"Um……"

Chen Xiaoyue froze in place as if under a petrification spell—she was no longer a child, and the sound of birds was very familiar to her.

The doctor's mouth suddenly became very dry. He swallowed his saliva and his hand couldn't help but touch Xiao Niao's warm cheek.

So what exactly was that just now—

Her movements were a little too big, and Xiao Niao opened his eyes and woke up suddenly at that moment.

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