PWE – Chapter 117 Do you know who’s back?

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Xiao Wange got up with Zhaozhao. She planned to take Zhaozhao for another stroll around the provincial capital. After wandering around and having lunch at noon, they would head back to the village.

However, just as the two of them reached the entrance of the guesthouse, Mu Yunhao came chasing after them from behind.

“Comrade Xiao, please wait a moment…” Mu Yunhao called out.

Xiao Wange slowed her steps and turned her head to glance at him.

Mu Yunhao ran up to her and gave her a slight smile. “Comrade Xiao, are you and Zhaozhao heading back today? If you’re going back today, I can give you a ride along the way.”

As soon as he finished speaking, two men in suits walked out from behind.

One of the men was tall, the other short.

The taller man lifted his eyes and swept a glance at Mu Yunhao, his gaze seeming to carry a trace of hostility toward him.

That hostility, however, was hidden very deeply—so deeply that one wouldn’t notice it without looking carefully.

When Xiao Wange glanced at that man, she frowned slightly.

Although his looks were ordinary, and there was even a black mole on his face that she particularly disliked, she recognized him at once.

This was Zhan Zeyan!

Zhan Zeyan had changed his appearance—he had swapped faces!

The fake face was made extremely convincingly. Just by looking at it, there was no way to tell that Zhan Zeyan’s face was artificial.

She clicked her tongue inwardly.

She hadn’t expected Zhan Zeyan to be able to get his hands on something like this—or rather, that his unit had helped him obtain it.

Making such a lifelike face mask was no easy feat. Thousands of years ago, there had once been physicians who specialized in crafting human face skins. But that technique seemed to have long since been lost.

There was, however, another method: relying on spells to create such a thing.

But no matter which method was used, it all indicated that his unit was anything but ordinary.

She herself had never used this kind of thing. To be honest, she was rather curious about it.

Yet last night, that damned man hadn’t mentioned this at all—he hadn’t said a word about changing his face.

Her eyes flicked quickly toward the man. Xiao Wange then withdrew her gaze and looked up at Mu Yunhao, saying, “No need. Zhaozhao and I will just take public transport ourselves. It’s quite convenient, so there’s no need to trouble Comrade Mu.”

“It’s no trouble at all, really,” Mu Yunhao said with a smile, hurriedly adding, “It’s on the way anyway. It’s not troublesome in the least. Comrade Xiao, why don’t we go back together? I’ll go bring the car over.”

As he spoke, Mu Yunhao turned, preparing to drive his car over to the guesthouse entrance.

Xiao Wange’s expression darkened slightly. Although Mu Yunhao meant well, she didn’t want to accept this kindness. After all, her current public identity was that of a woman who had lost her husband. A widowed woman walking together with an unmarried man would inevitably invite gossip.

She fixed her eyes on Mu Yunhao, about to speak—

when Mu Yunhao suddenly went “bang” and fell to the ground.

It seemed he had stepped on a small stone, which caused him to twist his foot.

Falling at the entrance of the guesthouse was truly damaging to one’s image. Mu Yunhao frowned and quickly got back up.

Meanwhile, the corner of Zhan Zeyan’s mouth curled up ever so slightly. He cast a faint glance at Mu Yunhao, then very quickly swept his gaze over Xiao Wange before striding away.

He really wanted to stay and see whether Mu Yunhao would continue pestering Wange. But there were people around him right now, and he couldn’t act according to his own wishes. So he could only leave, pretending he knew nothing and had seen nothing.

Xiao Wange glanced sideways at Zhan Zeyan’s retreating figure out of the corner of her eye.

If she hadn’t been mistaken just now, it was he who had flicked out a grain of rice. That grain had struck Mu Yunhao’s knee, causing him pain and making him drop to the ground.

Her brows twitched slightly, and the corner of her mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

As expected of a man with special abilities—using a single grain of rice to make someone kneel to the ground. How strong must the force he used have been?

She realized that the more she understood this man, the more extraordinary the power he revealed to her.

Yet one thing she still couldn’t figure out was this: his mother was clearly an ordinary mortal. How could an ordinary mortal give birth to a son with such abilities? Could it be that his father was no ordinary person? Were his abilities inherited from his father?

“Wange, I’m sorry. I let you see something embarrassing just now,” Mu Yunhao said apologetically as he brushed the dust off his clothes.

Falling in front of the woman he liked most was truly humiliating.

Mu Yunhao really wanted to find a hole in the ground and crawl into it, but at this moment, there was no hole for him to hide in.

Still…

Just now, he had clearly felt pain coming from his knee, as though something had struck it. But when he looked carefully, he found that there was nothing on the ground at all.

A thought flashed through his mind—earlier… he had wondered whether Wange herself had attacked him.

But he also knew that Wange wasn’t the kind of despicable or insidious person who would use underhanded tricks.

So the one who struck him must have been someone else.

Could it have been the two men who had just left the guesthouse? But he didn’t know either of them at all. Why would they target him?

“It’s nothing. Just be more careful when you walk, and don’t fall again,” Xiao Wange said indifferently, her gaze sweeping coldly over Mu Yunhao. “And also, Zhaozhao and I really aren’t taking your car. If you’re heading back to the county, just go on your own.”

With that, she took Zhaozhao by the hand and quickly crossed over to the opposite side of the street.

Mu Yunhao frowned slightly, wanting to call out to Xiao Wange. But just then, the person in charge of the guesthouse walked out.

The manager asked whether he was all right and whether he had been injured in the fall.

Listening to the manager’s concerned words, Mu Yunhao couldn’t help feeling a bit distressed.

Just now, Wange hadn’t asked whether he was all right. Perhaps she could tell that he wasn’t hurt, which was why she hadn’t asked.

But for some reason, her indifferent attitude still made his heart ache a little.

Did she really have no feelings for him at all? Was he not good enough? Was it because he wasn’t outstanding enough that he failed to win her favor?

…

After having lunch in the provincial capital, Xiao Wange took Zhaozhao to catch a ride home.

By the time they traveled from the provincial capital to the town, Zhaozhao was already so tired that he had fallen asleep.

After getting off the vehicle in town, Xiao Wange carried the sleeping Zhaozhao and hurried toward the village.

When she reached the village entrance, Xiao Wange ran into Zhao Lijuan and several other villagers.

Zhao Lijuan’s brows were tightly knit, and her expression looked rather unpleasant.

Seeing Xiao Wange return with the child in her arms, Zhao Lijuan quickly stepped forward and said, “Wange, you’re back. Did you go to the county again to buy things?”

There were quite a few items in the basket on Xiao Wange’s back—things that weren’t available in town and must have been bought in the county.

Xiao Wange lifted the corners of her mouth slightly. “I took Zhaozhao to the provincial capital yesterday. We bought these in the provincial capital.”

“Oh! You went to the provincial capital?” Zhao Lijuan exclaimed. “That’s wonderful. The provincial capital must be very beautiful. I’ve never even been there myself.”

Her tone carried a trace of envy, but more than that, it was relief—relief that the Zhan family’s days were getting better and better.

Xiao Wange smiled faintly and was about to take some snacks out of her basket to hand to Zhao Lijuan and the other villagers.

But suddenly, Zhao Lijuan’s expression turned serious, and her voice grew solemn as well. “Wange, I need to tell you something. After I say it, you mustn’t get angry.”

Xiao Wange’s brows moved slightly. She looked steadily at Zhao Lijuan. “Auntie, what do you want to tell me? Just say it. I won’t get angry.”

Zhao Lijuan stepped closer to Xiao Wange, her face becoming even more serious. She spoke slowly, word by word: “Do you know who has come back?”