“Well…” The chief didn’t know either. Yan Huan had not mentioned anything on that before leaving. If it was up to him, however, he would not be admitting their kids. They have the freedom to attend school, but not the school in their village. Besides, Jin Gen was a rich man and Changsheng was a soon-to-be rich man, and they’ll probably consider the village school beneath them. Let them be the rich city folks they want to be.
Jin Gen and Changsheng’s mother had no clue that their progeny would be barred out from education. When the village thrives and becomes one of the most famous agricultural industries in the nation, they and their progeny wouldn’t even be given a slice of the pie.
But who was to be blamed for that?
In life, you should never push someone too far. When you screw someone up, it might come back to bite yourself one day.
Yan Huan returned two days later, when everything in the Chenjia Village had been seen to. She had done what everything she could to help the village. The rest was up to them. As long as they remained hardworking and held on to their kindness, they had a bright future to look forward to.
“Mama!” cried Xunxun when she saw Yan Huan. She hugged Yan Huan’s leg tightly and grasped her clothes, looking the very embodiment of pathos.
Yan Huan hunkered down, then sat down on the floor. Xunxun climbed into her chest and hooped her hands around her neck, pressing her squishy face against hers.
“Pretty Mama,” she said.
Yan Huan chuckled. Where did she learn to be this slick?
Xunxun was a sweet talker. It’s unknown where she got that trait from. Everyone who met her fell in love with her. She was obedient, clean, and generous with her praises.
The house had become quieter ever since Liu Fang left. In the end, she decided that she liked her home best. Besides, with all the agricultural stuff going on back home, it would be better for her to go home rather than work for someone else. Most importantly, like every child in this world, she missed her mother. Yan Huan could understand her; her Little Xunxun didn’t like being apart from her either.
Yan Huan lifted her up and went to get some snacks for her.
Xunxun took the snacks and began watching cartoons docilely.
Then the doorbell rang.
Yan Huan had not even combed her hair after coming home, but she went to get the door anyway, thinking that it was Aunt Gu back from grocery shopping.
When the door opened, two little boys came rolling in.
“Mama, mama!”
They each seized one of Yan Huan’s legs.
“Huanhuan?” said a quavery voice that was startled and delighted at the same time. Yan Huan let out a soft sigh. She never planned to keep it as a secret for too long. The Su Family was coming back, and she had simply stayed low to not alarm them.
Yan Huan looked up and smiled. The person at the door stood stock-still, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Tears rolled off her face.
“Long time no see, Yiyi.”
Yi Ling brought a hand to her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.
She had her suspicions; lately, Xunxun always talked about her mother whenever she visited. The boys were the same. They mentioned her less often, but nonetheless it was their favorite topic. Were they hiding something from her? Could it be that they have a new stepmother? Then again, Lu Yi didn’t seem the type to do such a thing. He wasn’t that casual when it came to relationships. Otherwise, he would have married Fang Zhu and not Yan Huan.
It wouldn’t have been strange even if Lu Yi remained single for the rest of his life. That sounded like something he would do.
But something was definitely off.
These days, Lu Yi often brought the three kids to his own place. He only had one nanny there, and how could she deal with three kids at once? The kids were a handful even by themselves, let alone all three.
But Lu Yi persisted. At first, Yi Ling was a little worried and paid them daily visits, only to find the children neatly dressed and well-fed. They even became livelier. The one who changed the most was Xunxun; she had become a lot more talkative, and often blabbered to her grandmother. It made her love her even more, and a little sad that she didn’t have a cute little daughter herself.
She even wondered if Yan Huan was back.
But she soon brushed those thoughts off as impossible. If she really was back, why would she not tell her? She had grown up with Huanhuan! In this world, who was closer to Huanhuan than her?
She couldn’t get rid of the thought once it took root in her head. Today, she finally could not sit still anymore, and decided to bring the kids home herself. Ye Shuyun had an odd expression when she made the request, but in the end she obliged. Now that she thought about it, Ye Shuyun must have known about it.
Still, she couldn’t believe what she saw when the door opened.
Within the door was a secret, a huge secret that stupefied her. They found her. She’s home.
“Is that really you, Huanhuan? Am I seeing things?”
Yi Ling hurried to Yan Huan and touched her face. It was her face alright. Her voice and temperature seemed normal too.
It was Yan Huan! It was her, her Huanhuan! The younger sister that Madam Yan had entrusted to her!
“It’s me, Yiyi,”said Yan Huan, clasping Yi Ling’s hands. “I’m back.”
She smiled, but felt a tingle in her nose. In this world, there were many others who cared and worried about her, but she couldn’t tell them yet. Still, there was no one she felt more guilty towards than Yi Ling.
“You scared the heck out of me, Huanhuan,” said Yi Ling, snuffling. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “Tell me, where have you been? And why are you so skinny?”
Yan Huan was very skinny—the skinniest she had ever been, in fact—from a year of malnutrition.
Yan Huan gestured at Yi Ling to sit down and poured her a cup of calming tea, lest she explode with anger later on.
She didn’t reveal much, apart from her days of being stranded in a small mountain village. She couldn’t come home because the snow made it impossible to descend the mountains, and when she tried calling home, she couldn’t contact anyone. She had thought that everyone had changed their numbers, but as it turned out, it was the payphone that was spoiled. She only found out that they had not changed their numbers after coming home.
