Watching the group of people descend the stairs, An Ran leaned weakly against Mu Xingfeng, feeling a shred of reluctance in her heart as she saw Hairong’s departing gaze. Perhaps, that child wasn’t as bad as she thought.

"Honey, this is my mistake," Mu Xingfeng embraced her, his forehead veins exposed, revealing his current mood.

He hated such underhanded tactics the most, yet Wang Xia used them against his dear wife.

An Ran held his hand, her fingers scratching his hand back intermittently, "Now you won’t say I’m petty, will you?"

She still remembered when he said Rong was just a child.

Mu Xingfeng lowered his head, kissing the top of her hair, "I’m sorry, it was my fault, honey."

"Oh my, what just happened?" Xiao Xiao climbed back up the stairs, looked back mysteriously, and asked. Walking closer, she pointed at Mu Xingfeng’s pants, "Ranran, why aren’t you giving the pants to Instructor Mu after such a long time?"

Lin Junyang followed behind Xiao Xiao, speechlessly pushing her, "Are you even a woman?"

"Lin Junyang, don’t doubt my gender. I’ve told you before, we’re just friends, I’m not close to you." Xiao Xiao brushed off the large hand on her head with a resentful expression.

Mu Xingfeng wasn’t surprised. He picked up the pants from An Ran’s arms and went into the house.

An Ran recounted the recent events to Xiao Xiao.

"That Wang Xia is truly disgusting," after Xiao Xiao finished speaking, she turned to Lin Junyang, "It’s all your fault. If you hadn’t been pestering me, Ranran wouldn’t have been in danger."

"I... how was I supposed to know this would happen," Lin Junyang said, somewhat aggrieved, blinking his charming peach blossom eyes.

After the performance ended, An Ran and Xiao Xiao completed their tasks and returned to the East District Villa, while Mu Xingfeng and the others resumed their intensive training. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Occasionally, Mu Xingfeng and Lin Junyang would come back together, bringing news from the Guard Team.

It was said that the cup Li Dajun used to drink water was taken directly to the examination department for testing, and it was indeed found to contain aphrodisiac components. They checked the footage and saw Wang Xia tampering with the cup after handing it to Li Dajun.

When she poured the drink, her hand was holding the bottom of the cup, so no one noticed at the time.

Wang Xia’s actions were proven, but since she was a martyr’s family member and there were no severe consequences, her martyr family treatment was revoked, and Hairong was not allowed to attend the Guard Team elementary school.

What was unexpected was that on the day Wang Xia was preparing to leave the Guard Team, Sun Lufang received the news and ran to the guesthouse to beat her up.

Sun Lufang had been doing farm work in the countryside for years; the pampered Wang Xia was naturally not her match when it came to a fight. No one in the guesthouse stepped in to help, and Wang Xia was beaten black and blue.

No one reported the incident, and the Guard Team leaders pretended not to know.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao clapped excitedly, "I really want to see how she looks now."

"What about Hairong?" An Ran asked, recalling the look in the child’s eyes when leaving.

Mu Xingfeng sat beside her, and wrapped his arm around her.

"According to the guesthouse staff, since the day they returned from the performance, Hairong has been quiet and withdrawn, even when Wang Xia and Sun Lufang were fighting; he merely watched coldly from the side."