Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Before Qin Jiayan even entered Gu Yusheng’s villa, his mother was already urging him to hurry, as they had to get on the road.
Because the anonymous benefactor had stepped in to help the Qin family during their most challenging times, Qin Zhi’ai was also going along to thank the donor in person. Once Little Peanut had left to go stay at the Gu mansion, they were ready to go.
Their benefactor’s name was Zhang Lin, and she lived in a village in the distant Beijing suburbs, which took them three hours to get to.
After arriving, they walked up to an old, shabby single-story bungalow. Qin Jiayan stood at the entrance and knocked on the door for some time before a voice on the other side said, “Who’s there?”
Subsequently, the sound of footsteps approached the door. After 30 seconds of silence, they heard the door unlock and watched it open accompanied by a heavy creak.
The person who opened the door was a woman who appeared to be in her 30s, but it was difficult to tell as farm labor had aged her. When she saw three well-dressed people standing outside her door, she was visibly stunned for a moment before she asked hesitantly, “Who are you looking for?”
Based on the information that Gu Yusheng had provided to Qin Zhi’ai, Zhang Lin was a youthful, pretty girl. Qin Jiayan asked politely, “Hello, is this Zhang Lin’s house?”
The woman looked even more puzzled and, after some time, replied, “Yes.”
Mother Qin stepped forward in agitation, asking, “Where is she now? Can I meet her?”
The woman’s eyes darted among the faces of Qin Jiayan, Qin Zhi’ai, and Mother Qin a few times before she finally stuttered out her own question, “What business do you have with her?”
“She helped us many years ago, and we want to find her to express our gratitude. Back then, I… I was hospitalized…” Mother Qin began explaining the purpose of her visit in detail, but before she could finish the woman looked at Qin Jiayan and stared straight at him for a very long time before she finally said, “You’re Qin Jiayan?”
Her question astonished all three of them. They hadn’t introduced themselves to her yet, so how she knew Qin Jiayan’s name was perplexing.
Noticing they were baffled, the woman spoke again. “I’m Zhang Lin.”
Qin Zhi’ai was particularly stunned upon hearing this, so she took out her cell phone and looked closely at the photograph Gu Yusheng had sent her. Based on her features, Qin Zhi’ai recognized the two women as being the same person, but she had aged so much that they had failed to recognize her.
“So, you are Ms. Zhang! You are truly our great benefactor. Back then, it was all thanks to you…” Mother Qin continued expressing her gratitude.
Slightly embarrassed by Mother Qin’s outpouring, Zhang Lin lowered her head and hurriedly stepped aside and welcomed them into her house.
She ushered the three of them to the aged sofa, offered them a seat, and then served each of them a glass of water. After Mother Qin repeatedly thanked her, Zhang Lin finally responded, “Mother Qin, I’m not the one you should be expressing your gratitude to, because the one who helped you back then was someone else. She just used my name to make the donation.”
The three of them were shocked and stared at each other for some time before they turned to look at Zhang Lin, who appeared to have no intention of speaking further. Instead, she turned to Qin Jiayan and asked, “Mr. Qin, could you follow me to another room to have a private chat?”
