"Yaoyao!"
Yu Mengzhi whispered.
Xu Yaoyao, after all, did not stay. She quickly left in her military boots.
This young girl wanted to prove with her own life that she was not someone who relied on her family's influence.
She could contribute her strength to this country!
She reached the doorway.
Xu Yaoyao stopped, cast a deep glance at the gate of the courtyard where Chen Jinzhao was located, as if she could see Chen Jinzhao, who was in seclusion, through time and space. She murmured, "I always felt I had a lot to say to Brother Chen, but at this moment, I find I can't say a single word."
"Brother Chen, take care!"
"I hope my sacrifice is meaningful."
As she turned to get into the car,
A large hand pressed down on her car door. Xu Yaoyao looked back and clearly saw that the person who acted was Wu Chengyang.
She hesitated, "Uncle Wu, do you want to stop me?"
Wu Chengyang shook his head and said, "No."
"Then what do you mean, Uncle Wu?" Xu Yaoyao kept glancing at her watch; time was running out for her.
Wu Chengyang's gaze was firm, and he said to Xu Yaoyao, "Take me with you."
"What?" Xu Yaoyao thought she had misheard.
"I want to go to the Forbidden City," Wu Chengyang repeated.
Xu Yaoyao confirmed she had heard correctly and quickly shook her head, saying, "No, going to the Forbidden City at this time is the most dangerous. It's a sure death. Uncle Wu, you should stay here; perhaps you can help Brother Chen with something."
Wu Chengyang smiled and said, "Girl, do you think I, Wu Chengyang, am a coward? Even you, a young girl, dare to face death calmly. How can I, a man who has lived for decades, lose to you? Get in the car, don't delay."
Xu Yaoyao no longer insisted.
She nodded and said, "Okay, Uncle Wu, please get in."
Wu Chengyang got his wish.
He increasingly admired the women around Chen Jinzhao, especially the girl in front of him.
Only in her early twenties, yet possessing such a spirit.
Even in a transcendent force like the Wu family, Wu Chengyang had rarely seen anyone with Xu Yaoyao's disposition.
The car they were in headed towards the Forbidden City.
In stark contrast, people were continuously leaving the capital.
The capital had already begun evacuating the population, informing the public that the capital might face war, so most people were heading out of the city.
Xu Yaoyao looked at the chaotic streets and clenched her fists, saying, "A hundred years ago, someone also attacked the capital. I thought such a thing would not happen again, but unexpectedly, a hundred years later, the same thing has occurred."
"Our generation of youth must swear to defend Chinese civilization with our lives!"
"No regrets even in death!"
The car they were in arrived outside the Forbidden City.
Here, many heavily armed soldiers were on guard.
After Xu Yaoyao got out of the car, she saw a figure in black standing not far away.
Her eyes narrowed, and she quickly walked over.
The other person had clearly seen her and revealed a faint smile, "Yaoyao, you're here?"
"Sister Qiyue, why are you here?" Xu Yaoyao asked.
Tao Qiyue smiled faintly, "Why can't I be here? Don't forget, I am a police officer of China. How can I be a coward at this critical juncture? When the nation is in peril, each of us has our own mission, and mine is to defend the capital of China with my life!"
Xu Yaoyao's delicate body trembled.
The words she had intended to say were swallowed back into her throat.
She understood.
Tao Qiyue's thoughts were similar to her own.
There was nothing to persuade.
Xu Yaoyao nodded heavily and said, "May our efforts be meaningful."
Tao Qiyue's tone was resolute, "They will be, they will definitely be meaningful."
"By the way."
"I want to ask you a question: if there is an afterlife, would you still be willing to stay by Chen Jinzhao's side?"
"If it were someone else, perhaps you could live a peaceful life."
Xu Yaoyao smiled faintly, "Sister Qiyue already has the answer in her heart, so why ask me? I would rather be a firework that shines brilliantly in the night sky for a moment than a candlelight that stays in the corner for a lifetime. This is my destiny."
A more serene smile appeared on Tao Qiyue's face.
The two entered the Forbidden City.
As if going to their deaths!
At the same time.
Yamanashi Chiho had arranged for Li Qiurong to board a plane to Japan.
Beside Li Qiurong were Chen Jinzhao's two children. Yamanashi Chiho hugged Chen Sinnian and Chen Poxiao separately before reluctantly saying, "Mom, you should leave quickly. Once you get to Japan, my sister and Qin Fengwu will meet you. Japan is safer than China right now."
Li Qiurong felt reluctant and asked, "Chiho, aren't you coming with me?"
Yamanashi Chiho looked at the time and said to Li Qiurong, "Mom, there isn't much time. If those people find out you and the children are here, they will hunt you down relentlessly. We will meet again if we have the chance."
"But..."
Li Qiurong hesitated to speak.
Yamanashi Chiho added, "Please take good care of the two children, I beg you!"
Li Qiurong then nodded heavily, "Alright, no matter what happens, I will take good care of them."
She cast a final glance at the capital before preparing to board the plane and leave.
Chen Sinnian seemed unwilling. She broke free from Li Qiurong's hand and ran to Yamanashi Chiho, hugging her leg and saying pitifully, "Auntie Chiho, are Dad and Mom abandoning us?"
Yamanashi Chiho's heart trembled slightly. She reached out and stroked Chen Sinnian's small head, softly saying, "How could we? We all love Sinnian very much. It's just that something has happened, and we can't stay with you right now."
"Go."
"Go to Japan with Grandma. We will come to pick you up later."
Chen Sinnian seemed to understand but not fully.
Yamanashi Chiho squatted down and hugged Chen Sinnian's slender shoulders, asking, "Little Sinnian, can you do Auntie a favor?"
"Auntie, please tell me," Chen Sinnian said obediently.
"You must take good care of yourself, and also take care of your brother and Grandma, do you understand?" Yamanashi Chiho knew that this instruction was too heavy for a girl not yet five years old, but she feared this parting might be eternal.
Some things had to be made known to Chen Sinnian.
Chen Sinnian nodded her little head, her small face serious, "Auntie Chiho, don't worry, I will take care of Grandma and my brother."
Yamanashi Chiho hugged Chen Sinnian again, then sent her onto the plane.
Under Yamanashi Chiho's gaze, the plane entered the runway, then soared into the clouds, eventually disappearing.
Standing for a long time.
Yamanashi Chiho withdrew her gaze and murmured to herself, "I should go to Jinzhao's side. A wife should be wherever her husband is. However, I still think the name Chen Beiwang suits him better. If he dies, then I will not live."
For Yamanashi Chiho, Chen Jinzhao was her everything.
Her perspective was not as broad as Xu Yaoyao's or Tao Qiyue's. She just wanted to be an ordinary woman by Chen Jinzhao's side.
On this day.
The capital of China was engulfed in smoke, shocking the world!