Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Yutian’s escape was full of doubts.
That year, Lin Yutian was sentenced to seven years in prison. She had already served four and a half years in prison. In these four years, she had performed rather well and had never caused trouble.
In another two years or so, she would be released fully. There was no reason for her to be unable to resist the last two and a half years.
After watching the video, Han Miao still didn’t believe it.
She didn’t sleep anymore. She packed her clothes overnight and rushed to the airport with Li Ao. They took the fastest flight back to China. After returning to China, Li Ao accompanied her to Lin Yutian’s house.
He stood in the lift lobby of Lin Yutian’s house and didn’t follow Han Miao to knock on Lin Yutian’s door.
Han Miao knocked on the door and waited for Mother Lin to open it.
As she waited, Han Miao sorted out the changes in Lin Yutian’s family over the past few years in her mind. Lin Yutian’s grandmother had passed away last year. The old lady was ill and had been hospitalized for more than a month last year. In the end, she passed away.
Han Miao wasn’t sure if Lin Yutian knew about her grandmother’s death.
On the other hand, because she had a murderer as her daughter, Mother Lin found it very difficult to live in the company. Not only did she lose her position as the manager, but she also suffered from the cold words of her former subordinates and peers in the company. Half a year after Lin Yutian was imprisoned, Mother Lin finally resigned due to the pressure.
After leaving her job, Mother Lin opened an online shop and sold fruits live on the Internet. Her income over the years was rather considerable.
Han Miao had heard all of this from Song Ci.
After Lin Yutian went to jail, Song Ci had been paying attention to the changes in Lin Yutian’s family. When she first found out that Mother Lin had resigned, she had wanted to help Mother Lin. But that woman was also headstrong. She rejected Song Ci’s help and chose to start her own business.
As Han Miao thought about this, the tightly shut door in front of her finally opened.
Mother Lin stood under the door and asked, “Who is it?”
]Han Miao said, “Auntie Lin, it’s me, Miaomiao.”
After a few years, Han Miao had also grown up. Her voice was no longer as clear as when she was young. It sounded charming and very much like her mother, Song Ci.
Mother Lin cautiously opened the door and sized Han Miao up through the gap.
As she sized Han Miao up, Han Miao was also sizing her up.
Although her life was rather smooth-sailing, Mother Lin had still become much older. It was not that her appearance had aged, but her eyes. In the past, Mother Lin’s eyes were filled with fighting spirit. But after her daughter was jailed for murder, Mother Lin lost her goal in life and her eyes lost their glow.
She was working so hard now because she wanted to save some money for her only daughter. Her daughter had a murder case. Even if she was released from prison in the future, it would be a fool’s dream to find a good job.
Saving some money to start a small business for her daughter was probably the motivation for Mother Lin to continue living.
Mother Lin stared at the slender and elegant woman for a long time before asking in a surprised and careful tone, “Are you really… Miaomiao?”
Han Miao nodded, grabbed Mother Lin’s hand, and shouted, “Auntie Lin, it’s me. I haven’t seen you for so many years. I came to visit you.” In these few years, Han Miao had never come to see Mother Lin.
She was the daughter of the Han Family and a pianist who had made a name for herself at a young age. Han Miao was worried that Auntie Lin would think of Baby Tian, who was locked up in prison, when she saw her glorious self, and feel even sadder, so she didn’t visit her.
Hearing Han Miao’s words, Mother Lin smiled, but there was an indescribable sadness in her smile. “Miaomiao, Auntie heard that you went to Hanover Music Academy to study. Auntie even saw your performance video online last time. You really did your parents proud.”
Han Miao didn’t know how to answer Mother Lin’s question. Apart from a polite smile, she still smiled.
“Quick, come in and have a good chat.” Mother Lin pulled Han Miao into the house.
The house was still the same one. Mother Lin didn’t move.
All these years, Mother Lin had earned some money and paid off all the mortgages in the house. She thought that even if she was old and couldn’t earn money in the future, her daughter would at least have a residence and wouldn’t be homeless.
Han Miao was familiar with every corner of the house. After all, she had often come to play with Baby Tian in the past.
On the television cabinet in the living room was a photo of Lin Yutian and Mother Lin when they were in high school. In the photo, the skinny Lin Yutian was wearing Wangdong High School’s uniform and standing in front of the administration building with Mother Lin. She was all smiles and filled with anticipation for the future.
Han Miao stared at that photo and fell silent.
Mother Lin walked over with a teacup in hand. Seeing that Han Miao was sizing up that photo, she forced a smile and said, “Back then, when we took this photo, we never expected that it would be our last photo together.”
Hearing the word ‘last’, Han Miao felt uneasy. She looked at Mother Lin worriedly and saw her sad eyes. She couldn’t help feeling flustered.
Han Miao hurriedly grabbed the back of Mother Lin’s hand.
Mother Lin was still holding the glass of water in her hand when Han Miao suddenly grabbed her hands. Mother Lin was somewhat shocked. She looked up in surprise and met Han Miao’s caring eyes. Seeing that Han Miao’s eyes were filled with concern for her, Mother Lin couldn’t help feeling sad.
Han Miao narrowed her eyes and asked Mother Lin carefully, “Auntie Lin, are you alright?” Auntie Lin gave Han Miao the feeling that she would do something foolish.
Auntie Lin broke free from Han Miao’s hand and placed the cup on the tea table. She said to Han Miao, “Miaomiao, sit down and drink some water.”
“Okay.”
After Han Miao sat down, she picked up the glass of water and took a small sip. She heard Mother Lin say, “Miaomiao, you know that Baby Tian escaped from prison, right? How can I recover after such a thing happened? These few days, the police came to look for me to ask if I knew Baby Tian’s whereabouts, but how could I know? I only found out about Baby Tian escaping from them!”
“Our Baby Tian has always been a well-behaved child. I don’t believe she will break out of prison!”
Like Mother Lin, Han Miao refused to believe that Baby Tian would escape from prison. But Han Miao had seen that video and recognized that the girl in the video was Baby Tian herself. She had to admit that this ridiculous matter was true.
“Auntie, didn’t Tian Bao contact you after she came out?”
Mother Lin shook her head. “No.”
Han Miao spoke to Mother Lin again and confirmed that Mother Lin had never seen Baby Tian before before leaving the Lin family.
After she left, Mother Lin also got up and walked to the window of the small balcony in the living room. She saw Han Miao and Li Ao walk out of the building and leave towards the main entrance of the community and couldn’t help sighing in relief.
At this moment, soft footsteps sounded behind Mother Lin.
Mother Lin’s body trembled. Then, she slowly turned around and looked at the person behind her.
Behind Mother Lin stood a girl in a white sweater. She was about 1.65 meters tall and looked malnourished and thin. Her wrist was so thin that it seemed like it could be broken with a gentle pinch.
She was clearly standing in the room, but the girl was wearing a pair of black sunglasses. Under the sunglasses, her face was so pale that it looked like it had been covered in a layer of dust.
Mother Lin stared at her daughter who had suddenly appeared. She instinctively grabbed the curtains behind her and said to the girl with trembling lips, “B-baby Tian, Miaomiao has already left.”
