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Fortunately, despite not being very familiar with He Teng, Sister Lin had the phone number to He Teng’s military office because she needed to contact He Zhilan.

When she received the call about He Zhilan’s hospitalization, He Teng, without even changing out of his combat training uniform, drove straight to the city.

By the time He Teng arrived at the hospital, He Zhilan had already been taken to the ward. As Sister Lin had suspected, He Zhilan’s fainting was not related to her physical health, but rather her psychological state.

"Zhilan hasn’t woken up yet, and there are some things I need to discuss with you." Sister Lin glanced at an anxious He Teng and gestured for him to follow her to a secluded area to talk.

He Teng first peeked into the ward and, after confirming that He Zhilan was not in serious trouble, followed Sister Lin out.

The two stood under a tree outside the emergency building, and Sister Lin said to He Teng, "The situation is quite serious. We’ve realized there’s something off about He Zhilan."

"What do you mean?" He Teng asked.

"She told Wang Juan and the others that she has a son several months old.

Just now, she fainted suddenly while bringing up the topic of the child," Lin summarized the situation, "Wang Juan said that after He Zhilan returned to the translation agency, she mentioned having a few-month-old son, boasted that he was well-behaved and looked a lot like you, her husband, and often went shopping for children’s items with Chen Cui, buying things like baby bottles, formula, and toys, and she talked a lot about her son. That’s why Wang Juan and the others always thought that He Zhilan had been absent from work because she had given birth and was on maternity leave at home. "

He Teng’s shock was no less than hearing of some major national event. He could scarcely believe that He Zhilan, who showed no signs of abnormality in front of him, would declare the existence of a son at the translation agency?

"Baby bottles? Toys?" He Teng suddenly remembered that he had once seen a new baby bottle in He Zhilan’s bag, but at the time, her explanation showed no sign of abnormality, claiming it belonged to a colleague.

Then, the brand-new toy that Lan Li had seen He Zhilan throw away, was that also true? And not just a mistake made by Lan Li?

"The other day, the day you all went out for hotpot, did Zhilan go shopping with you and purchase lots of toys?" He Teng questioned.

"I’m not sure, I’ll call Chen Cui to ask her," Sister Lin shook her head, turned around and fetched Chen Cui.

Upon hearing He Teng’s question, Chen Cui nodded repeatedly, "Yes! A lot of toys were bought! And it wasn’t just that one time, every time I went shopping with Zhilan, she would buy something for children, whether it was little shoes or socks or clothes, and toys were often bought as well.

She also bought baby bottles and formula, so I just couldn’t believe that she didn’t have a child. "

Chen Cui paused, then continued, "I just remembered something!"

"What?" Sister Lin and He Teng both turned their attention toward Chen Cui.

"Actually, upon careful consideration, He Zhilan was indeed a bit off from the beginning," Chen Cui tapped her forehead, "When she first returned to the translation agency, although she said that she had a son, when chatting and talking with us, she almost never mentioned the child, and even when we asked her, she stayed silent and did not answer.

It was only later on that she slowly started sharing some things about her son with us.

"This must have been part of her psychological transition," Sister Lin said.

He Teng fell into silence.

Does this mean that several months have passed, but as her husband, he hadn’t noticed any signs of He Zhilan’s abnormal behavior?