Chapter Five: He Felt Dizzy and Disoriented

Inside the infirmary, 5188 sat obediently in her grandmother’s arms, peering at the three grown men sitting opposite them. She couldn't help but shrink further into her grandmother's embrace.

Oh no, had they discovered she was a system and not a human child? Were they going to take her away?

She looked up at her grandmother, her tiny eyes welling up with tears, her mouth pouting. Even if that were the case, she didn't regret saving the uncle. Her grandmother didn't remember the system, so if the system disappeared, her grandmother wouldn't be sad. But if the uncle stayed asleep, her grandmother would be heartbroken.

Sniffling, 5188 hopped down from Jiang Hua’s lap. After giving her grandmother’s hand a lingering, affectionate pat, she hung her head and walked over to Bai Chu, holding out her two tiny hands. "Go now!"

"Oh? Can she say two words now?"

The three men couldn't keep up with 5188’s train of thought, but hearing her small, milky voice transition from one word to two made them immediately delighted. Jiang Jing, in particular, looked utterly astonished as he pinched the little girl’s outstretched hands.

5188 tilted her head, blinking in confusion. That’s right, she could say two words now: "Why so?"

Watching the little girl gaze at her third son with such bewilderment—not even pulling back her hand even after it had been pinched red—Jiang Hua couldn't help but step forward. She initially intended to give him a slap, but remembering he was still recovering from a concussion, she restrained herself, merely kicking his leg instead before scooping the little girl back into her arms.

"Regimental Commander Bai, if you have something to say, just say it! Don’t scare the child."

Jiang Hua could see that the little girl’s previous distress must have stemmed from the belief that she had done something wrong and was about to be taken away. Yet, because of her young son, the child never doubted that saving someone was the right thing to do. In other words, the little girl trusted their family implicitly. Sensing this, Jiang Hua looked down at the child in her arms with even greater tenderness.

As a commander, Bai Chu had experience in ideological work; he could sense the subtle shift in the little girl’s demeanor. He quickly put on a smile and asked gently, "Uncle just wants to ask you a few questions, I don't want to take you away!"

5188’s eyes brightened. She looked up at Jiang Hua, and upon seeing her nod reassuringly, she finally relaxed.

"Do you have any more of the medicine you gave him earlier?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Wang Lianjun’s breathing hitched, his eyes filled with longing as he looked at the little girl. Jiang Jing’s medical report had already come back, and his physical condition was better than when he had first joined the military. If there was more of that medicine, and if the country could research it...

"None left!"

5188 was amazed that she had managed to say two more words, and she couldn't help but add another: "Really!" After saying it, she covered her mouth and giggled secretly.

Bai Chu felt a flash of disappointment, but it lasted only a moment before he regained his composure. That made sense; if such potent medicine were truly abundant among the enemy, their country’s intelligence agency wouldn’t be completely in the dark.

That being said—Bai Chu pondered, his gaze turning worried as he looked at the little girl. "Then where did you get the medicine?"

He glanced at the pockets of her clothes, his eyes clouded with doubt. When the little girl was brought back, the nurses had changed her clothes; if she had been carrying anything, someone would have reported it to him. The problem was that neither the nurses nor Wang Lianjun had found anything hidden on her.

"Stolen!"

Recalling the items she had taken from the bad people who had deceived her, 5188 puffed out her small chest, her milky voice filled with righteous indignation: "Bad people!" She paused, clenched her tiny fists, and while the three men held their breath in anticipation, she squeezed out two more words: "Tricked me!"

Once those words were out, the three men exhaled in unison, then felt a bit ridiculous. Why had they been holding their breath just because the little girl was struggling to say two words?

Jiang Hua looked at the three foolish men before her. If it weren't for the fact that one of them was a regimental commander, she would have rolled her eyes. They were truly too stupid to look at.

"You mean the bad people tricked you, and so you took their things?"

Jiang Hua gently and lovingly summarized for the little girl. Seeing the child look back at her with bright, adoring eyes, she felt a sense of satisfaction even greater than finding her husband’s secret stash of money during the New Year. "So, what did they trick you out of?"

5188 thought of all those years she had been deceived and couldn't help but tear up. "Find Grandma! Lies!"

The adults in the room exchanged glances, understanding immediately. Those enemy agents must have been trying to extract information from the little girl, using the excuse of finding her family to manipulate her. But what could this little girl possibly have? Wang Lianjun and Jiang Jing looked her over from head to toe, but saw nothing special.

Bai Chu, however, had a thought. "That person you knocked out earlier, why did you say he was a bad person?"

5188 tilted her head, pointing first at her own nose and then at Jiang Jing. "Smell!"

Recalling the scent that had been pressed against her when Jiang Jing held her, 5188 wrinkled her nose in disgust. The look of disdain was so obvious that Jiang Jing couldn't help but exclaim, "Little girl, that’s just the smell of a man, you wouldn't understand!"

Jiang Hua looked at Jiang Jing with a dark gaze as he spouted nonsense. As a mother, she said with profound concern, "Later, I’ll give you some money; go get your brain checked! If you need medicine, take it; if you need to be hospitalized, do it!"

Spouting nonsense about the 'scent of a man' to a small child—if that wasn't a sign of a brain issue, what was?

Wang Lianjun let out a snort of laughter, then quickly stifled it under Jiang Jing’s threatening glare, hurriedly changing the subject. "What kind of smell? Can you describe it?"

5188 tapped her head with a tiny hand and made a throwing motion. Seeing that the people in front of her didn't understand, she hopped down from Jiang Hua’s lap and climbed onto Jiang Jing’s knees. Under his beaming gaze, she gave his head a light tap with her small fist.

"Mom... I—why do I feel like—like you used to smack me when I was little—"

Jiang Jing felt dizzy and disoriented as he mumbled the question.