Kids were sensitive. They knew well who liked them and who didn’t. Especially Pingan, being ill, he was even more sensitive to others’ feelings toward him. He had, in more than one occasions, seen the look of disgust from his aunt and his grandmother. They wanted him gone.
The divorce was already final and there was not much more to say about it. The couple obtained their divorce decree the next day and Shu Jianyang was able to get his hand on 5 plane tickets for Shu Yan to bring Shu Li and her two children with her to City Nan.
“Little Aunty, are we going to ride in the plane?” asked Niuniu timidly.
Her look and tone were exactly the same as JingJing back then. That and her being dark and skinny, Shu Yan’s heart softened uncontrollably and said to her, “Aiya, don’t be scared. It’s just like riding in a car.”
The three of them had looks of disbelief on them. One flew in the sky and one ran on the ground. How could they be the same?
Once they were through security checkpoint, Shu Li held on tightly to her children’s hands and her palms were sweaty.
Shu Yan had Shu Li sat next to the window and Pingan next to her. Niuniu too, sat by the window, next to Shu Yan. Feng Zeyu was singled out.
It was a three-hour flight from City Xi to City Nan. Shu Li and her two children never closed their eyes once during those three hours. They stared out the window intensely and let out little exclamation noises from time to time. Niuniu was a lot livelier than she normally was and had a million questions to ask Shu Yan.
“Look, Little Aunty, there’s a rainbow over there. Is that the same one that we see on the ground?”
“Niuniu, you had been watching this whole time. Let you little aunt get some rest,” said Shu Li to Niuniu.
“It’s alright. I am not tired. We are almost there,” said Shu Yan with a smile.
Time flew in their chattering and Shi Li and her children were stunned by how bustling City Nan was when they got off the plane. They had always thought that City Xi was bustling but, compared to City Nan, City Xi was way behind.
“We will be living here from now on?” asked Shu Li, a little intimidated.
All of her big words were gone while she was standing at the feet of this city. The city made Shu Li felt small. She was dazed and had no idea where to go and what to do.
“Don’t worry. You are my big sister. I’ve brought you here and I will help you get settled in.” Shu Yan pinched her lips some. She had given it some thought before they came. Shu Li was even worse than original owner and didn’t even attend grade school. She was illiterate. She didn’t know how to speak mandarin nor did she have any skills.
She thought about it some and decided that she could help her open up a stationary shop by the school. It wouldn’t matter that she didn’t know how to be a salesperson, she just had to hire one. She only needed to be in charge of merchandizing and man the cash register. The two children would attend the school nearby and she could also watch out for them. Mainly this place was very close to the hospital and it wouldn’t take them long to get Pingan to the hospital when he fell ill. It was perfect.
Shi Li asked hesitantly after hearing Shu Yan’s plans. “How much would it cost to open up a stationary shop? All I have on me is the 18,000 yuan I got from Lu Qingwei. I am sure that will ot be enough.”
“I’ll loan you the remaining amount. You can pay me back after you start earning money.” Shu Yan had thought about loaning her money to buy a house so they can truly settle down in City Nan as well but, after she had given it more thought, she realized that she couldn’t do that much for her even if they were real siblings. People will appreciate whatever little help they received during their hardest time but, if that kept up, they would feel hateful for life if one falls short somewhere in a long run.
