February, the second month of the Flower Festival, saw everything revive and countless flowers bloom.
In the Qin family's old mansion, the backyard was full of life. An'an sat on a swing, listening to Qin Jian's new song with Grandma Liu and Su Nianzhu.
With the Yizhou virus completely eradicated and the city reborn, "Far Away," a song with lyrics and music by Zhao Xianjun and R, was released on major music platforms. Qin Jian's powerful, youthful voice interpreted the song's depiction of scenery, hope, and beauty.
Unlike all his previous songs, this one was exceptionally peaceful and gentle, portraying and celebrating the beauty of the world, inspiring people to move forward towards the future with hope!
"Mom's song is so good!!" An'an squinted, smiling proudly.
His mother was amazing!
Grandma Liu nodded in agreement, "Indeed! The guzheng music blended in is not at all incongruous; it makes one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze."
She was relieved, "It seems Xiao Rou has finally shed her burdens."
Music knows the person.
She could tell that when Huo Rou played this piece, her heart was filled with hope and beauty.
Qin Jian was miserably signing autographs at a stone table not far away, with stacks of albums beside him. He had returned excitedly to share with his family, but no one praised his performance; they were all complimenting his future sister-in-law!
He felt a surge of emotion!
*Crash!*
He ruined a signature.
An'an covered his mouth and giggled, not forgetting to tease, "Uncle, how can you not even write your own name properly!"
"I..."
Qin Jian swallowed his words. He couldn't possibly compete for attention at his age!
Besides...
Huo Rou's song was indeed beautiful!
Considering his sister-in-law remembered him and let him sing this song, which was akin to giving him a music award, he should go along with them.
"By the way, where did sister-in-law go today?"
The internet was buzzing with rumors that the missing R had returned, signaling another period of intense competition in the music industry.
Help! After giving him the song, his sister-in-law had been swamped with work and didn't seem like she was settling into the music scene at all!
"Mom said she was going to attend a report."
An'an didn't quite understand, but he could sense that this matter was very important to Huo Rou.
Speaking of this report, it reminded him of some time ago...
*Crash!*
Another one was ruined.
At this moment, Old Master Qin was in his study, replaying the report from Country M for the nth time.
Not long ago, Country M had aggressively demanded a person from China and even exerted economic pressure, causing significant losses, all to get one individual!
As a result...
International forces intervened.
He knew that his grandson had submitted Walker Bit's inquiry records to the international community. Such behavior, which disrupted world peace, would certainly be targeted by other countries and subject to international sanctions.
It was strange, he thought. The information he heard included not only Walker Bit's records but also intelligence materials submitted to the international community by the leader of the Zhan Ke Alliance.
It likely involved the late former minister of Country M's SS department, Kott.
The international community immediately dispatched personnel to Country M with the two sets of materials.
Country M no longer had the capacity to target China; they were preoccupied with responding to international investigations and inquiries.
The two pieces of evidence were also made known to various countries. Upon comparison, the victimized nations declared war on Country M.
Those sudden cholera outbreaks, those unexpected diseases, those inexplicable information leaks, those two factions frequently engaging in war...
Country M's shadow could be seen in numerous disturbances. They had once believed that Country M's people came to help them and had treated them with extreme kindness. Therefore, when Country M condemned China, they remained silent, showing their support for Country M.
Now, it seemed they had been utterly mistaken!
The international investigation concluded, and Country M's various actions were exposed. Multiple countries condemned them and threatened to sever ties.
To maintain world peace, international intervention established a Peace Supervision Office in Country M, with representatives from various nations stationed there. This finally brought Country M to heel.
Not only were they under the scrutiny of so many eyes, but according to international requirements, they had to report their country's situation to the world and apologize to the innocent victims!
"Hahaha, satisfying!" Old Master Qin exclaimed with delight as he reached the end, "It's rare in my life to see the green face of an ambitious schemer!"
Yuda Security took advantage of the publicity surrounding Country M's report to launch its new generation of security systems.
This security system, spearheaded by their chief technical consultant, received cooperation from businesses of all sizes as soon as it was launched. Even some foreign companies chose to trust China's security system, which undoubtedly further enhanced China's standing.
As the entire internet discussed this hot topic, some people were surprised to discover that Yuda Artificial Intelligence's technical consultant was named Huo Rou, and the composer of the currently trending song "Far Away," R, was also named Huo Rou.
Netizens marveled:
[In this day and age, does having the name Huo Rou make one awesome? All the big figures have the same name!]
[Upstairs, is it possible they also look alike?]
Someone stealthily posted a photo of Huo Rou taken at a concert some time ago.
[Friends, family, tell me, have you ever seen a big shot who looks like this in your life?!]
This post was liked by tens of thousands of people, but the picture somehow broke.
[Why did this picture break?]
[I saved it before it broke. I'm from Yizhou. I came to worship the great artist for her music, but... friends, this person's temperament seems very similar to someone in a photo I took earlier!]
[What photo? Let us see!] Many people inquired, eager for gossip.
[I can't post it. I sent it to a group before, and it broke.]
[So, we can't share the beauty's appearance?]
[Perhaps, we can broaden our thinking a bit?]
While everyone was speculating, Huo Rou had arrived at a very simple military compound.
She walked through layers of corridors and passed through countless hidden doors, arriving at an office.
"Long time no see." A man stood before her and extended his hand for a handshake.
Huo Rou nodded, a gentle smile in her eyes, "Long time no see, Mr. Lin."
"Thank you for making an exception to let me in."
Mr. Lin smiled slightly, "No need to thank me. If I hadn't made an exception, you could have still come. Anyway..."
He said this while glancing at the dozen pairs of eyes peeking through the crack of the door, "...those little brats can't wait for you to come."
"Alright, we'll discuss the rest later. Let me first tell you about a few things Sun Zhiyuan confessed," Mr. Lin gestured for her to sit down and pulled up a transcript of a confession on his computer for her to read.
As Huo Rou read, Mr. Lin narrated, "The matter of Huo Jinyi's sacrifice back then was indeed his design..."