Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
The bed sheets and the blanket were not a complete set but they smelled like sunshine. This was an old house, but it was also evidently lived in by a woman who was obsessed with cleanliness.
“Xunxun, we are here. Look, this is mummy’s house.”
The woman took off her mask and revealed her face. If one looked closely, one could really see traces of Best Actress Yan from the past.
However, there were now scars on her face and her body’s shape had changed due to her weight loss.
When she was living in the village, she never had three full meals a day. Even after she started living with Changsheng, her health never seemed to recover. This was mainly because she had been floating in the Sea River for too long and it had weakened her.
Thus, she was so skinny that she looked like a ghost.
Fortunately, her daughter was not afraid of her and could recognize her.
Yes, she was not just anyone, she was Yan Huan. She was still living in the same small house she used to share with Yi Ling. She was like a turtle now, hiding in her shell here. She did not dare to do anything nor see anyone.
She knew that in the hearts of the Lu family members, she was already dead. As for her current appearance, not to mention other people, even she herself could not tolerate it. She was afraid.
She was afraid of being discriminated against and abandoned. Therefore even though it had been a few months since she returned from that small village; spring had gone and fall had arrived, yet she was still hiding the fact that she was alive.
She could only hide in the shadows every day and look at Lu Yi and her children from afar.
Lu Qi and Lu Guang had the typical Lu family’s features. They looked sturdy like Little Lei. They were taller than kids of their age and they looked healthy, but Xunxun was the one she was worried about as she was smaller than her brothers. She also heard from the women at the door that her little Xunxun could not speak and that she was mute.
But that was impossible, that was definitely impossible. Before she went missing, little Xunxun had called her mama then.
Looking at her now, Yan Huan was certain that her little Xunxun could still call out to her.
“Xunxun, are you hungry?”
Yan Huan placed her daughter on her own tiny bed and covered her daughter’s tiny body with a blanket.
Little Xunxun nodded her small head firmly, then she reached out her tiny hands and held on to Yan Huan’s shirt.
“Mama…”
She rubbed her little head on her mother’s neck with an expression full of longing.
“Xunxun, yes, I’m mama, it’s mama.” Yan Huan sobbed a little, then she let her daughter sit down before placing a blanket over her small legs.
“Be good, sit here and wait for mama. Mama will steam an egg for you, alright?”
Xunxun nodded her little head again and sat still obediently.
Yan Huan stood up and caressed her daughter’s little head once again before entering the kitchen.
She opened the refrigerator and took out an egg. She had found a job as a milkwoman and had been delivering milk for months. This was not an intensive job. Besides waking up early in the morning, it was an easy job. Once the delivery was done, she had the rest of the day to herself. She earned one to two thousand yuan a month and that was enough for her current lifestyle.
She was used to the difficult life in the small village now. She had lived through the days of being penniless, so no matter how bitter, how poor or how difficult life was now, it was nothing compared to life in the village. She had suffered in the past and after. Even though she used to earn millions or billions per night, she could still get used to the poor life now.
In fact she never denied herself the luxury of life. Every day she still fed herself well and slept well. Since she lived alone, she could not let herself live inhumanely no matter what. Fortunately she had bought some eggs so there was still food in the house.
When she came out of the kitchen, Xunxun was already fast asleep.
Yan Huan went directly to the side of the bed, then she caressed her daughter’s forehead carefully. She was very lucky to have bumped into them on her way back so she waited by the door to see her three children a little longer. If not for her, little Xunxun would have gotten lost.
“Mama…” Xunxun rubbed her eyes as she sat up and crawled toward Yan Huan’s arms. She did not know how she recognized Yan Huan, she just knew in her heart that Yan Huan was her mother.
Although mummy’s appearance had changed and she was not as pretty as before, she was still her mother. This would never change.
Yan Huan sat her daughter up properly before bringing out the steamed egg from the kitchen and fed her daughter.
Xunxun must have been starving as she finished the bowl of egg in just a few mouthfuls.
For a child as big as her, she still needed milk.
She played with Xunxun for a while. Xunxun was very happy so she kept smiling, and this should have made Yan Huan happy. However, while her child was well-behaved, she rarely spoke.
After a while, Xunxun rubbed her eyes as she felt sleepy. She lied on her mother’s lap and fell asleep quickly. Yan Huan did not know her daughter’s daily routine nor did she know how long her nap time would be.
The sky outside had darkened and night had fallen.
She obtained her large mask to cover her face before going out. She then came back quickly, though she was now full of sweat. She kept coming back in between as she was worried that Xunxun would wake up all of a sudden.
But fortunately, when she was back for good, Xunxun was still sound asleep. Her tiny child’s little face was flushed. She was a very pretty child with delicate features and she looked just like Yan Huan.
Yan Huan sat down and took out the things that she had bought. She had gotten some milk powder, a milk bottle and some clothes for her daughter. Xunxun’s clothes were already dirty, if she washed it, Xunxun would not have an outfit to change into.
As she folded the clothes one by one, little did she know that chaos had descended upon the Lu family.
Lu Qi and Lu Guang had started crying on the way home once they could not see their sister anywhere. They had cried until their voices were lost and after much effort, they managed to fall asleep. Lu Jin and Master Lei were carrying one of them each.
The two children had cried so pitifully their eyes had turned puffy. Even now they did not sleep peacefully, they had to be held by someone. Once they were put down, they would start crying again. No matter how sensible they were, they were merely kids who had yet to turn two.
Ye Shuyun was still crying hysterically.
Madam Lei was trying to comfort her, but the more she did, the more she herself cried.
What should they do now? How could they have lost Xunxun? They all knew how much the Lu family doted on Xunxun. Their families were full of boys so they yearned for girls. Especially the Lu family, more than a hundred years had passed before they had finally gotten a baby girl. Everyone in the family loved her so much. Losing her was heartbreaking for the Lu family.
