DF Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Mom Will Be Your Strongest Backing.

Hua Mei spent nearly a week in the hospital before being discharged.

The school scheduled her appreciation ceremony for the day before the marathon.

Although a malicious incident occurred on the marathon route, the marathon was not canceled. Security measures were strengthened, with guards practically every ten steps, making the defense extremely tight.

Such large-scale events require careful arrangements. Jingjiang has always had extensive experience in this area. This time, the strengthened security measures can reassure most people.

The appreciation ceremony was held in the school auditorium. To make a show of it, the school even invited the media. A row of cameras and microphones was conspicuously placed in the front.

Of course, they weren’t real media but plainclothes police officers pretending to be media to make the ceremony appear more complete.

In the previous few days, [Teacher Liu] had already used surveillance footage to identify the suspects, their classes, and closely monitor their actions. The initial three groups, including the foreign tourists, were largely ruled out as suspects. They were more inclined to believe that the other morning exercise group and several students from the school were involved in a student gang crime, so they deployed more police force in this area.

When Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an returned to find the principal, Liu Yidong and Teacher Fang had already left. This gave them an opportunity. Ten girls argued with her, and stubbornly changed her mind and agreed to Liu’s suggestion. As for how she later persuaded Teacher Fang and Liu, it was not within the scope of Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an’s management.

The appreciation ceremony proceeded quickly, with the participation of the entire school’s student body.

According to Liu and her team’s judgment, the students were from Class 11 of the senior year.

This class wasn’t particularly outstanding. There were no troublemakers in the class. Perhaps because the homeroom teacher practiced moderation, the overall atmosphere of the class seemed somewhat indifferent. They rarely received awards or public criticism.

Apart from those in the know, the matter was not spread, and the performance was meticulously done. Liu Qing, as the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team, even specifically answered questions from the media.

“We did find some evidence at the scene, but it is not sufficient. Therefore, it will take some time to analyze it. However, we believe that the truth will soon come to light. We have given twelve thousand points of importance to relevant suspects and are ready to take action at any time. Everyone does not need to panic.”

The ceremony proceeded quickly, lasting only a few tens of minutes.

After the ceremony, the holiday will come, which is also the most lively time in late summer and early autumn in Jingjiang. Even a high school league attracts many tourists to watch.

What’s more, [Danggui] has recently become an internet celebrity monkey. Even if people can’t see her now, it doesn’t stop them from coming in waves to try their luck. Fajin Temple didn’t expect the popularity of [Danggui] to last so long.

During this time, Sheng Jia continued to work part-time as usual, and Song Ji’an still followed her every day. In the evening, she asked Auntie Liu to pick them up and drop them off. For the safety of Xu Lijing and the others, they found some reasons to let them go home earlier.

Today may be the last day of the danger period. Liu’s team’s actions are scheduled for tomorrow.

Whether or not their plan to lure the snake out of its hole will succeed, this is the deadline set by their police station. They cannot allow suspects in a serious case to remain at large for the sake of another case.

The only thing that made people feel happy these days was that the temperature dropped to the day before the marathon. Although it only changed from thirty-eight or nine degrees to thirty-two or three degrees, this would at least ensure that everyone would not easily suffer from heat stroke during the marathon.

This cooling trend had already begun to show signs in the evening. In the past, the car windows could not be opened at all, and the air conditioner had to be turned on at all times, but now you can open the windows and feel the salty sea breeze.

Song Ji’an lowered the car window, looked at the sparkling sea outside Binhai Highway, and said softly, “Sheng Jia, let’s go to the marathon venue together tomorrow, okay?”

Sheng Jia also shifted her gaze and nodded, “Okay.”

“You must pay attention to safety tomorrow,” Auntie Liu, who was sitting in the front row, carefully instructed: “Even if Liu and the others are watching, you must prioritize your own safety. If you encounter danger, run to crowded places as soon as possible.”

The things they wanted to participate in naturally had to be informed to their parents and must obtain their parents’ consent.

Xia Qingzhao’s process went quickly, with basically no obstacles. Sheng Jia’s Sheng Huaiying knew about this and raised objections, but was later persuaded by Sheng Jia with a few words.

At that time, she was playing mahjong. Sheng Jia pulled her home, and she was very angry at first. When she heard Sheng Jia talk about what she was going to do, she immediately exploded.

“I brought you up so hard, and you’re going to be bait? What will I do if something happens to you?”

Sheng Jia rarely saw Sheng Huaiying lose her composure over her affairs. In most cases, she let Sheng Jia do whatever she wanted, but that kind of tension and worry couldn’t be faked.

Sheng Jia always felt that she had a heart made of iron, but probably her feelings for Sheng Huaiying over the years could not be faked. She unconsciously softened her expression when she saw Sheng Huaiying worried about her, and slowly said, “Mom, but if it’s not resolved as soon as possible, I will still be affected.”

She rarely called her mom anymore. When she called out these two words, Sheng Huaiying was even a little dazed, and finally agreed to this matter after a long silence.

“You haven’t called me mom in a long time.”

That night, before Sheng Jia entered the room, she suddenly covered her face and said this.

“I’m not a good mom, and I didn’t take good care of you, but I hope you prioritize your own safety no matter what you do. I can’t stand anyone hurting you.”

Sheng Jia paused with her hand on the doorknob, but in the end, she didn’t say anything and went into the room.

It has been a long time.

Sheng Jia looked at the sea outside the window and thought in a daze.

After her desire for Sheng Huaiying’s maternal love failed, she began to resist calling her mom.

What she was thinking about at this moment was the other person’s somewhat sad eyes, but she didn’t know how to respond.

Sheng Huaiying couldn’t accept her being physically harmed, just like how she would go crazy when Wang Jian used to hit her.

Her life experience made it difficult for her to value emotional needs. Even she herself said that when she was a child, which child didn’t get scolded? She herself grew up being suppressed, so she avoided emotions and never understood how painful it was for Sheng Jia to not have her mother’s companionship and support when she was young.

The protection in her mouth was only protection of Sheng Jia’s body, but after Sheng Jia grew up and sent Wang Jian in, Sheng Huaiying seemed to have figured it out. Although she still didn’t give Sheng Jia much emotional care, she would at least maintain her dignity outside and say some soft words to her in front of her that she wanted to confide in.

This made Sheng Jia, who had no expectations of her, uncomfortable.

Because Sheng Jia’s emotional feedback seemed to have been worn away in such a long time.

She had even become someone who resisted communicating more than Sheng Huaiying, building a high wall for herself. No one could enter it, and no one could know what was inside the wall.

Sheng Jia thought about things in a daze. The high wall in her eyes almost materialized, blocking Song Ji’an outside the wall. She answered very naturally, “I’m thinking about whether something will happen tomorrow.”

“Actually, Liu’s team showed us part of the plan and the manpower they dispatched,” Auntie Liu thought Sheng Jia was scared, and comforted her in a warm voice, “It’s a very detailed and professional plan, don’t be afraid.”

Song Ji’an must also report to Song Ningqiu, and perhaps experienced a little twist, but the final result was that Song Ningqiu sent Auntie Liu to pick her up and drop her off every day, not allowing her to have the slightest bit of danger.

Song Ji’an knew about Sheng Jia’s situation, so she took the opportunity to let Auntie Liu protect Sheng Jia together. During this time, the two had basically not separated after school.

But fortunately, everything has been calm until now. The gang that Liu and her team speculated to be retaliating against the students who rescued Hua Mei and disrupted their plan did not happen.

The purpose of not inviting outside media to today’s commendation ceremony was to control the scale. Liu’s team had their own plans for what kind of manuscript should be released and what information the public should know. The most important thing was the protection of Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an, so their names should not be mentioned in the media as much as possible.

In fact, these matters had been discussed by Liu’s team and Song Ningqiu’s team.

Of course, this wasn’t Song Ningqiu using her power to interfere with the city’s Criminal Investigation Team’s actions. After confirming that Song Ji’an wanted to participate in this action and would not change her mind, Song Ningqiu simply called Liu.

The next day, several of the city’s latest tracking equipment were sent to the city’s Criminal Investigation Team. This was Song Ningqiu’s sincerity to cooperate with them.

To be honest, there haven’t been many malicious cases in Jingjiang in recent years, and the equipment of Liu and her unit hasn’t been upgraded for many years. Song Ningqiu saw this point and became a participant in solving the case. She didn’t make any comments, and the only requirement was that Liu’s deployment should be revealed to them in advance.

Worrying about her daughter is a normal human emotion, and revealing the deployment that could be revealed to Song Ningqiu wasn’t a big problem, so Liu accepted this cooperation.

Sheng Jia only found out about these things a few days ago, and at that time, she glanced at Song Ji’an.

Even though Auntie Liu was seriously talking about what Song Ningqiu had prepared for Song Ji’an’s willfulness this time, Song Ji’an was not surprised at all and looked like she was used to it.

Song Ji’an had long been accustomed to her mother taking care of everything for her, and she had been protected too many times, so much so that she would sometimes feel that her mother was too concerned and call her to act cute and tell her not to be so tired.

But anyone could see clearly what Song Ningqiu was saying when she did all this – child, feel free to do what you want to do, Mom will be your strongest backing.

This was the protection that Sheng Jia envied but couldn’t touch, and because of Song Ji’an’s sincerity towards her, this glory called maternal love also shrouded Sheng Jia invisibly, making her like a dark mouse, stealing that little bit of nourishment.

The car quickly arrived at the entrance of Sheng Jia’s neighborhood. Song Ji’an and Auntie Liu got out of the car, and the headlights continued to illuminate the way for Sheng Jia to enter the neighborhood.

Song Ji’an watched her figure disappear into the darkness as many times before, and after another five minutes, she received the message from Sheng Jia that she had arrived home safely before getting back into the car.

As soon as the two got in the car, Auntie Liu’s phone rang, and she glanced at the information on it, her expression changed slightly.