Under the moonlight

After hearing his explanation, Huang Meng finally understood what the heavy burden on his heart was. She gently rubbed his palm and said, "Are you worried that some of our compatriots in the main city haven't escaped in time?"

Xu Ao looked into her eyes and said, "Yes, all communications are currently cut off and unusable. We have no way of knowing whether there are any compatriots in the city. But fortunately, they only imposed a blockade and did not carry out a large-scale massacre."

Huang Meng nodded in agreement and continued, "Before I came out, I found some food in the main city. It was in a supermarket that had been bombed. Although the items were buried under rubble and were hard to find, we weren't completely out of food. Do you remember Nasha that we encountered last time?"

Xu Ao lowered his eyelids, thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, I remember."

"He's fine, and so are his wife and two children. That means they've managed to find food."

Xu Ao smiled faintly. At this moment, the warm sunlight streamed in through the window, shining on his profile, casting the flickering shadows of his eyelashes on his cheeks.

He wasn't wearing glasses today, and his high, straight nose was smooth and delicate. Huang Meng couldn't help but reach out to trace it, her fingers gently sliding down his nose to his cheek and then to his slender neck. Huang Meng was secretly amazed that a grown man could have such good skin, even the skin on his neck was so delicate.

Huang Meng stared intently at his neck, completely oblivious to the rising desire in Xu Ao's eyes. Her small hand, like a soft feather, caressed his heart. He tried his best to suppress his impulses, but ultimately crumbled when he saw her rosy lips.

He grabbed Huang Meng's restless little hand and wrapped his other arm tightly around her waist. She was already leaning half her butt against the table, and with this, he pulled her down into his arms. Xu Ao stared at her lips with a dazed look in his eyes, then used both hands to support her buttocks and place her steadily on his lap. He then pressed his hand against her neck and kissed her deeply. He lingered on her lips almost greedily, sometimes with gentle tenderness, sometimes with wild and rough passion.

Xu Ao withdrew from Huang Meng's lips with lingering desire. He licked his lips, which still retained her scent, and gently rubbed them with his fingers, saying with a smile, "We've been lounging around here long enough. It's time to go out and see what they've done to the embassy. By the way, please tell Lin Hanshuang that I want to talk to Yuri."

When they came out of the office, they were bewildered by the strange decorations on the first floor of the restaurant. Everywhere they could hang ribbons was covered with colorful ribbons, and every table had a small red flag stuck in it.

Chen Che led them to dig out all the colorful flags, ribbons, and banners in the warehouse, regardless of whether they were red or green. Xu Ao took a few steps forward and even saw the red banner from their basketball game last year.

Chen Che saw Xu Ao standing there and quickly ran over, smiling as he said, "How is it, senior brother? Isn't our decoration good? Isn't it festive?"

Xu Ao lowered his head and rubbed his temples, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Hmph, it's very festive. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were getting married. Let me remind you first, how did you get all these things up here? Take them back exactly as they are. Remember, this is the embassy, ​​not your new house." After saying that, Xu Ao glanced at Chen Che and turned to go to the kitchen. He had to hurry and check on things; he couldn't let the kid ruin all the supplies.

Seeing Chen Che standing there dumbfounded, Huang Meng smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "It's okay, we'll all clean up together later." Huang Meng glanced at Li Linlin, who was standing next to Chen Che with a beaming smile. Even if she didn't tell her, she could tell that wherever Chen Che was these past few days, she was there too. Chen Che didn't hide his feelings for her at all, openly dragging her along to join in the fun.

Remembering Xu Ao's instructions, Huang Meng glanced at the clock on the wall, then walked upstairs. Lin Hanshuang should be in the room with Yuri at this time.

She knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Even though Yuri had recovered, she remained vigilant.

"I am Huang Meng."

A moment after hearing her voice, the door opened, and Lin Hanshuang smiled and invited Huang Meng in to sit down. She was always very grateful to her. Sometimes, a secret kept in one's heart for too long needs an outlet to breathe, and that conversation was an opportunity for Lin Hanshuang to tell the secret that she couldn't tell anyone.

At first, she was worried that her secret would become gossip, but when she and Yuri appeared in front of everyone, no one looked at them with gossipy or curious eyes. They just glanced at them quickly, as if they didn't care about them. Later, Lin Hanshuang learned that Xu Ao and Huang Meng only told others that they were lovers and that Yuri had escaped on his own. Even her previous theft of food and medicine was seen by people as a love that disregarded everything for her lover.

Lin Hanshuang warmly pulled out a chair for Huang Meng to sit down, and Yuri also greeted him warmly, "Hello, Huang Meng."

"Yuri, you look much better," Huang Meng said with a smile.

"Yes, thank you all again." Yuri nodded slightly as he spoke, then reached out and pulled Lin Hanshuang, who was sitting next to him, his eyes filled with tenderness as he looked at her.

Huang Meng smiled at the two of them and said directly, "It's like this, Xu Ao, he wants to talk to you. When would be a good time for you? I'll pass on the message to him."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hanshuang became somewhat nervous again. She always tended to get nervous whenever it came to Yuri. Lin Hanshuang and Yuri exchanged a glance.

"Hey, it's nothing serious. It's Xu Ao. He wants to ask Yuri about the situation in the main city. After all, Yuri is a local and knows the city better." Huang Meng saw Lin Hanshuang's tension and worry and quickly explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Lin Hanshuang's tense expression immediately relaxed. She smiled and looked at Yuri, their eyes seemingly only seeing each other. Huang Meng didn't want to linger and chat for a few more minutes before leaving.

The atmosphere at the embassy has been very relaxed these past few days. Perhaps it's because the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the traditional festival has brought every compatriot in a foreign land together closely. Everyone has been getting along exceptionally well these past few days.

It was around 4 p.m., and she had nothing to do, so she took a walk in the yard, her hands behind her back, her head down looking at her toes, casually kicking the pebbles at her feet. A gentle breeze blew by, lifting the strands of hair by her ears.

Huang Meng looked up at the azure sky above. The climate here was truly comfortable and pleasant. If it weren't for this sudden war, she would really like this place. Strands of hair tickled her cheek, and Huang Meng tucked them behind her ear before turning to go to the restaurant. In that instant, she glanced at the mercenaries a few hundred meters away. Just a moment later, she turned back to look at them more closely, suddenly feeling that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She turned and ran towards the stairs, running all the way to the top floor, from where she could see the entire opposite side.

After catching her breath, Huang Meng looked at the scene seriously. The opposite side was still blocked off as before, but the mercenaries guarding it were not like those she had encountered before.

Those people were more like a disorganized army organized for money. Every time I saw them, they were lazy and relied solely on their guns to suppress and intimidate others. Their clothes were also loose and casual.

But the group standing opposite them was far more disciplined and disciplined than the previous group, both in their clothing and their posture. Moreover, the number of mercenaries opposite them was clearly twice that of the previous group. Huang Meng's heart pounded. After several days of peace, this sudden abnormality was definitely not a good sign.

The blockade hadn't been lifted, yet so many mercenaries had appeared. Something must have happened. Huang Meng turned to go downstairs, but a strange thought suddenly flashed through her mind, making her stop in her tracks. She then slowly turned back and stared at the opposite side.

Why were they standing in a line with guns pointed towards the embassy? Huang Meng pressed herself against the wall on the top floor, watching intently. Those people were indeed staring motionless in the direction of the embassy. After realizing the strangeness in her heart, Huang Meng felt a chill run down her spine. Were they watching them, monitoring the embassy?

Huang Meng was startled by the thought that popped into her head. She didn't dare to think about it anymore and turned around to find Xu Ao. Sure enough, she saw Xu Ao and Yuri in the office.

Xu Ao was talking to Yuri, who was sitting with his back to the door. Xu Ao sat opposite him. Huang Meng stood at the door, watching Xu Ao's deeply furrowed brows, guessing that Yuri's words might not have brought any good news. He kept clenching his hands. Huang Meng remembered that he had once said that he would clench his hands like this when he was nervous.

Huang Meng stood at the door without going in. She leaned against the wall with her head down, and could hear Chen Che and his friends' lively voices downstairs. They seemed to be planning the games for the evening. She heard Li Linlin's voice and happily echoed Chen Che. The two of them worked together to arrange the evening's activities, and even the usually serious Jiang Ying was dragged into being the game referee.

Huang Meng bit her lip. After calming down, she kept wondering if she had seen wrong, if she was being too sensitive. Maybe they had just reorganized the team, or maybe they had just replaced them with a more professional team. But the thought of being monitored that suddenly popped into her mind was something she couldn't convince herself of.

"Okay, thank you." Huang Meng heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor from inside, followed by Xu Ao's soft voice.

She arrived at the door and saw Yuri come out first. As he passed Huang Meng, Yuri nodded and smiled. Xu Ao saw him off, then looked at Huang Meng at the door. Although he was preoccupied, he still managed a smile and said, "What, you missed me so much?" Huang Meng noticed that his smile didn't reach his eyes and said seriously, "Xu Ao, come with me to the rooftop." Xu Ao was pulled along by her arm. Seeing that Huang Meng seemed quite anxious, he also stopped smiling and asked, "What's wrong?"

Huang Meng remained silent, simply pulling him forward until they reached the top floor, where she had been standing. She turned to Xu Ao and said, "Look across at the other side, look carefully."

Xu Ao looked at her furrowed brows, her eyes serious and earnest, not at all like someone who was joking with him. Xu Ao reached out and pushed up his glasses, looking across the street. The view from the top floor was much clearer than from the main entrance, thanks to the absence of tree branches and leaves.

"The mercenaries on the other side seem to be different from the previous ones. This team is more like an army, and there are more of them than before."

Xu Ao coldly stated what he had seen, and Huang Meng looked at him anxiously and said, "Anything else? Is there anything else that's not right?"

“They’re spying on us.” Xu Ao said calmly, but Huang Meng said excitedly, “Yes, that’s why I sent you here. I had the same thought in my mind just now, but I can’t understand why. Why are they spying on us?”

Xu Ao stared intently at the mercenaries opposite him for a moment, then let out a deep breath and said, "I don't know yet, but judging from their posture, they're just monitoring. Maybe they've switched to a different team, and this team is more disciplined than the previous one."

Seeing Xu Ao's calm demeanor, Huang Meng's worries lessened somewhat; perhaps she had been overthinking things.

She turned her head to look at the heavily guarded area opposite her and muttered to herself, "This city is already so lifeless, why bother sending so many people? Tch..."

Xu Ao also turned his head to look at the opposite side. He heard Huang Meng's mutterings in his heart. Of course, he knew that if it was just to guard the main city and prevent the people inside from coming out, there was no need for so many people. The previous rounds of bombing had already left very few survivors. They would not send so many people to guard this place and guard unarmed people waiting to die, unless they had other missions.