Ah Heng ran up to the man, looked up at her father, and said, "Dad."
Her voice sounded just like when she was a child.
"Aheng, when did you get back?" Yun's father put down the medicinal herbs he was holding and asked her kindly, "Did your grandfather come too?"
Ah Heng lowered her eyes, shook her head, and dared not look at her father's face.
"You snuck back?" Yun's father frowned, his voice rising.
Ah Heng remained silent, standing in front of the medicine shop. Passersby whispered among themselves, and she awkwardly didn't know what to do with her hands and feet.
At first, she was heartbroken, which is why she followed Yan hope back to Wushui Town without thinking. Now, thinking of the Wen family in City B, she secretly feels that she has acted very irresponsibly.
Perhaps they have already reported it to the police, just like they did on the day Siwan disappeared?
"You little brat!" He was so angry that his face turned blue. He grabbed the pestle on the table and was about to hit Aheng.
Ah Heng was stunned. She thought to herself, "Why is my father still using this trick? She's become a citizen of the capital, all gilded and back home. Why doesn't he give her any face?"
But the pestle showed no mercy and swung down.
Ah Heng swallowed hard, then turned and ran away in fright.
"Stop right there, you little brat!" Father Yun shouted as he chased after him.
"Dad, don't be angry with me, Mom said you should come home for dinner!" Ah Heng was so scared she almost cried, running and shouting.
"Heh, I knew it! People living in government compounds would never look down on this silly girl. Look, she got rejected!" The town mayor's wife, who runs a herbal tea shop, was eating melon seeds and watching the show in the winter, making sarcastic remarks.
"You were the one who got returned!" Ah Heng sniffed, feeling wronged. She watched as the giant pestle immediately took her body, and she ran away as fast as the wind could carry her.
One chased, the other fled; Wushui Town hadn't been this lively in a long time.
Adults and children alike were all smiles.
Heh heh, look, the Yun family girl got beaten up again!
Ah Heng covered his head and ran as fast as he could, his head turning as red as a signal light.
She's been like this since she was little. Her father never showed her any mercy when he beat her. He would chase her all over town and beat her, while other people would watch and laugh at her.
Running barefoot, Ah Heng finally made it home, rushing back into the main room, her voice trembling with tears—"Mom, Dad hit me again!"
"I told you to run!" came a panting voice from behind.
The mother smiled at her, patted her hand, and said to Yun's father, "Dad, the child is just being filial. She just got back, don't be angry with her, okay?"
Yun's father snorted and then turned to see Yan hope.
The child was watching the play with great interest, his chin resting on his hand, his big eyes sparkling.
"And who is this?" Yun's father put down the pestle and carefully examined Yan hope.
Yunmu spoke softly, her tone carrying a profound meaning—"Yan hope, the grandson of General Yan."
The air felt somewhat stagnant.
Yun's father's face grew even more solemn as he looked at Yan hope and asked, "It's you?"
Yan hope held the chopsticks in her slender hands, smiling brightly—"It should be me. My younger brother is in America, much younger than Wen Heng."
Ah Heng was a little confused.
What are they saying?
After pondering for a while, Yun's father beckoned to Yun's mother, "Peiyun, come with me to the inner room."
Then, he looked at Aheng calmly and said, "Girl, take good care of the guests. If the food gets cold, go to the kitchen and heat it up."
Yan hope picked up his chopsticks, gently picked up a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, chewed it, raised his eyebrows, and smiled at Yun's father, "No need, the food is just right."
Yun's father looked somewhat displeased, but he didn't say anything and strode into the inner room.
Yunmu gave Yan hope a deep look before following him inside.
Aheng stared blankly, covering her mouth with her hand, and whispered to Yan hope, "What happened?"
With a rib in his mouth and his cheeks bulging, Yan hope casually said, "Perhaps your adoptive father doesn't like me."
Ah Heng glanced at the boy discreetly and whispered, "My father doesn't like me either. Don't be angry. He's a doctor. He only likes his patients."
The young man lightly spat out the bone and murmured, "Being foolish is a blessing."
oh.
Ah Heng nodded in agreement, somewhat confused.
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That night, Aheng clung to Yunmu, wanting to sleep in the same room as her. Yunmu couldn't refuse her, so she agreed.
Yan hope slept in the old room where Ah Heng used to live.
Yun's father then slept in Yun's room.
At that time, Yun was receiving treatment at the Southern Military Region Hospital.
"Mom, do you miss me?" In the darkness, Ah Heng huddled under the covers, her eyes filled with longing.
"I don't want to." Yunmu gently stroked Aheng's head and spoke softly.
Ah Heng felt sad and looked at her mother with disappointment.
"But, Mother, I miss you." She snuggled gently into her mother's arms in bed, an embrace that was warm and peaceful.
"You were crying in bed again at the Wen family's house, weren't you?" Yunmu sighed.
"No," Ah Heng said in a muffled voice, resting her head against her mother's chest.
She was not lying.
At the Wen family home, she cried only on the day she arrived; she never cried again after that.
Yunmu patted her back gently, her voice warm and sad—"Aheng, Mom is sorry."
Ah Heng's back stiffened for a moment, then she hugged her mother tightly—"Mom, it's not your fault."
Yunmu felt a pang of sadness—"Mom returned you to the Wen family for Zai Zai's sake, don't you resent Mom?"
Ah Heng shook his head violently.
That day, her grandfather's secretary said to her, "Your grandfather is an old friend of the director of the Southern Military Region Hospital. Send Yunzai there, and there will be expert consultations. The Wen family will cover the medical expenses. It's better than just staying at home doing nothing. Don't you think so?"
Hearing these words, my mother's eyes lit up with a beautiful radiance, just like the way she always looked at me.
Zai Zai's illness can no longer be delayed.
So she packed her bags and left happily.
Dad was very sad, and Zai Zai was also very sad; she knew it all.
However, she couldn't selfishly watch Zai Zai walk towards death.
The Yun family was the warmest and most beautiful connection she had in her life.
When she was young, her father taught her to read and write. Other girls went to work early, and she wanted to go too, to earn money for Zai Zai's medical treatment. She told her father, but he beat her severely and told her that even if he worked himself to death, he would not let his daughter be a servant.
Grandma is the gentlest. She always braids her hair beautifully, makes her pretty dresses, and tells her wonderful stories. Whenever Dad chases after her and hits her, it is Grandma who protects her. If Dad hits her hard, Grandma cries even harder than she does.
As for Zai Zai, he was even closer to her. Whenever there was something delicious, he would always wait for her to come home from school so they could eat together. Sometimes, when she went up the mountain with her father to gather herbs and stayed overnight, Zai Zai would stay up all night waiting for her to come back. During the Lunar New Year, it was the only time of the year that Zai Zai was allowed to go out and play with her. He went to the market with her, and although he was reluctant to buy anything he liked, he spent his hard-earned New Year's money to buy her a paper rabbit lantern, simply because she liked rabbits.
She wants the Yun family to be well, and she wants them to be healthy.
What difference does it make whether one's surname is Yun or Wen?
“Mom, the Wen family likes me very much, don’t worry.” Aheng raised her eyes, looked at her mother, and chuckled. “The grandfather there will scold my brother for my sake, the mother there can play very beautiful piano music, and the brother there loves me so much.”
Yunmu smiled too, but tears welled up in her eyes—"Good, good! My little girl is so well-behaved, so good, who wouldn't like her..."
"Mom, when I grow up and come back to see you, please don't send me away, okay?" Ah Heng asked cautiously.
"Okay. I'll wait for my daughter to earn money to support me. Mom will wait."
"Mom, Mom, let's make a pinky promise. I won't miss you, and you won't miss me either, okay?" Ah Heng sniffed, her eyes reddening.
Mica choked up and said softly, "Mom doesn't miss you, she definitely doesn't miss you."
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Meanwhile, Yan hope was also not sleeping soundly.
The people of Wushui Town are used to sleeping on bamboo beds, but Yan hope, a native of northern China, is not used to it and always finds it uncomfortable.
I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
In the darkness, my eyes gradually adjusted to the room.
The small room contained nothing but a clean desk and a few books.
He could hardly imagine that Wen Heng had grown up in such extreme poverty all these years. Compared to that, Wen Si'er was far too lucky.
Yan hope's lips curled up slightly, and he laughed silently, his tone full of sarcasm.
Suddenly, a faint light entered the room.
Inside the main room, there could be sounds of someone pacing back and forth anxiously.
Yan hope figured she couldn't sleep anyway, so she got out of bed and walked out of the room.
As expected, it was Yun's father.
"Uncle Yun, why aren't you asleep yet?" Yan hope leaned gently against the door frame, his right leg casually crossed over his left, his black hair hanging down to his forehead, and in the moonlight, only the boy's fair chin could be seen.
Like most men in the Jiangnan region, Yunfu smoked water pipes.
The "clattering" sound was very clear in the complete silence of the room.
"Yanxi, what are you going to do about Aheng's matter?" The man frowned and looked at the boy seriously.
"Of course, we should do what needs to be done." The boy smiled gently.
Although Wen Heng lived a hard life, he was better off than him because he had adoptive parents to protect him.
"Would you..." The man hesitated, gritted his teeth, and finally spoke—"Would you like Aheng?"
The boy was stunned. After a long while, he was both amused and exasperated. "Uncle, you're overthinking it."
Yun's father was somewhat annoyed and said, "It was your grandfather who told me that!"