chapter3

  Wu Aunt awkwardly stood still, looking at Yan Bai, Yan Bai slightly raised his chin, "You all go up first."

  As soon as the words fell, a loud crash was heard, and the black remote control smashed to Yan Bai's feet, with the battery cover flying out. Wu Shu's body shook, and she quickly took He Song upstairs, with a somewhat fleeing posture.

  Yan Bai faced the other's angry gaze, bent down to pick up the remote control and reinserted the batteries, walked over and put it on the coffee table, saying: "He Shuang was brought over by Director Yuan's order, I couldn't do anything about it."

  The young man stretched out his long, straight legs and kicked the tea table over, staring coldly at Yan Bai, pointing to the door and saying word by word: "Take that thing and get out."

  Yan Bai remained unmoved, his expression calm as he met the other's gaze. "If you're not satisfied with this arrangement, you can give your opinions to your father. It's useless telling me, you know that I'm just an employee."

  After finishing speaking, she turned around and went upstairs. The second floor turned a corner and walked to the end was He Sheng's room. Wu Shu was arranging her clothes and putting them in the wardrobe. The child pulled out the handkerchief from earlier and sat silently on the chair with his head down.

  Yan Bai walked over and handed her a note with a phone number on it, "If anything happens, call this number, or you can also tell Aunt Wu."

  He Sheng took it over and nodded.

  At this time, the sound of something colliding and shattering came from downstairs. Yan Bai frowned and instructed, "The person you saw earlier, try to stay away from him as much as possible in your daily life, don't provoke him, understand? Otherwise, it's yourself who will suffer."

  He Sheng nodded again.

  "Alright, I'll go first."

  He Sheng finally lifted his head, and his eyes were clearly panicked. He grabbed his sleeve in fear. In this place, only Yan Bai was familiar to her, like a floating wood in the ocean that gave her absolute sense of security. If he left too, what would she do? The unfamiliar Wu Shu, the violent young man, the completely unfamiliar environment, how could she survive?

  Yan Bai understood her feelings and sympathized with her situation, but he couldn't bear to stay in this place any longer. He still had a lot of work to do, and Yuan Chongyang was waiting for him back at the company to handle some matters.

  He pulled away from He Song's hand and said, "Many things need to be adapted to. After this stage, everything will get better. Although these words are still too profound for you now, the reason is here, I hope you can understand."

  He Sheng didn't quite understand, to put it simply, the person in front of her was determined to leave and she would be left behind. She fell silent, hanging her head, and there were no more attempts to salvage the situation. After a day and night, she had already tried too many humble gestures, all to no avail. Even her own family, whom she thought were closest to her, could ruthlessly abandon her without hesitation, let alone this stranger she had just met.

  She was only twelve years old, but she had already matured to know despair, knowing that many things were not her own, and no matter how hard she tried, they would never be hers. She needed this awareness, especially in this strange place without any survival skills.

  Yan Bai and Wu Shu exchanged a few words before leaving, Wu Shu tidied up her clothes before walking in front of He Song, smiling kindly: "Go, little girl, go take a bath first, change into new clothes at the new place, it's a good omen."

  He Sheng was covered in dust, dirty beyond recognition. Wu Shu didn't want to hurt the child's feelings by telling the truth, so she indirectly asked someone to clean him up.

  He Shuang followed Wu Shu into the bathroom attached to the room, and the interior decoration made her feel a little flustered, with nowhere to put her hands or feet. Looking at all sorts of unfamiliar bathing utensils, she blinked quickly and stuttered in a low voice: "Wu Shu, face basin."

  Aunt Wu took in her flustered expression and smiled, "It's okay, we don't need a washbasin. Come on, Aunt Wu will teach you how to use these."

  She then had He Sheng operate each one by himself, and after everything went smoothly, Wu Shu said: "As long as you don't forget, it's fine. If you can't remember later, just say so, and I'll teach you again."

  He Sheng looked at the foam in his hand and said, "Thank you, Aunt Wu."

  Aunt Wu pinched her face and sighed sympathetically or relievedly at her clever politeness, saying lightly: "It's okay."

  Wu Aunt quickly went downstairs, and the large bathroom was left with only He Sheng. She took off her clothes and started taking a shower under the warm water spray. Because she was not used to taking showers, she choked on several mouthfuls of water. She leaned against the wall and started coughing violently, her thin and weak body shaking violently until she finally cried out tears. The water washed away instantly, and her nose trembled slightly, but soon stopped. She sniffled and began to wipe her body with a towel. Except for the redness at the bottom of her eyes, the crying from just now seemed like an illusion.

  He Shuang put on new clothes for the first time in twelve years, a pink dress with flowers that made her look like a princess. She looked at herself in the mirror and slightly curled up the corners of her mouth, but before she could smile, she retracted it. She took a few steps forward, being careful not to touch or dirty the edges, beautiful as it was, but wearing it on an asymmetrical body was just too tiring.

  Aunt Wu came up and saw her, directly boasting that she looked good. With a kind heart, she also helped her tie up her hair which had been messy for years. Although it wasn't the most beautiful face, at least it looked slightly cleaner now.

  "It's done." Wu Aunt pulled He Song in front of her and turned around in a circle, "Now it's refreshing, let's go downstairs to eat."

  Went to the kitchen, on the intricately carved small round table, exquisite dishes were already placed, the pungent aroma made He Song unable to help but swallow his saliva. The young man who had just been furious was sitting there eating slowly and steadily, some people are born with the favor of heaven, every move of picking up food, every action of swallowing, exudes unparalleled elegance and nobility.

  He Shuang never knew that eating alone could be so beautiful, she lowered her head, and the originally hungry stomach seemed not to be so hungry anymore, under Wu Shu's push, she was passively seated opposite the young man.

  The boy raised his beautiful eyelids with a visible sneer and scanned her, "Who allowed you to sit here? Get out."

  He Shuang was taken aback and quickly got up, Wu Shu glared at the boy and said, "Yuan Zhi, don't bully He Shuang." Then she pressed her back into position, served her rice, and smiled: "Eat, I didn't know what you like to eat so I just made some random dishes."

  "Thank you!" He Sheng held the bowl and looked at the plump and distinct white rice inside, adding: "Not bad."

  The person opposite him sneered and raised an eyebrow, "Can you tell me what's not good about this?" He pointed to the table with his chopsticks, "Look, delicious food, how many times have you seen such a big spread?"

  The next second he suddenly threw the chopsticks over with force, jumped a few times, one fell to the ground, and the other hit He Song's face before also falling to the ground.

  There was sauce on the chopsticks, and He Sheng's face and the skirt from just now were stained. After being stunned for a moment, she gently rubbed the hem of her skirt with her fingers, but it didn't come off.

  The young man looked at him coldly. At this time, the long leg stood up and said in a light voice: "I won't eat anymore, it's really disgusting." After finishing speaking, he walked out of the kitchen by himself.

  "Yuan Zhi!" Wu Shu yelled, rushing towards his back, "Where are you running to?"

  "Breathe in some fresh air, too lazy to look at annoying things." The voice had already drifted away.

  Wu Shu furrowed her brow and stared in that direction for a moment, then turned to He Song, who was lost in thought wiping his skirt, and sighed: "He Song, don't be angry with Yuan Zhi, he's not a bad person by nature."

  Then he took a towel over and wiped her face, "Let's eat, don't mind him."

  He Sheng mechanically picked up the bowl and shoveled rice into his mouth, Wu Shu smiled and turned to clean up elsewhere. The rice was fragrant and the dishes were delicious, He Sheng choked on a piece of food that got stuck in his throat and almost spat it out, his eyes welled up with tears for an instant before returning to normal.

  After eating, I took advantage of Wu Aunt's inattention and went to the kitchen to wash the bowl. A bowl and a pair of chopsticks were neatly placed on the cabinet. When Wu Aunt came in, she was stunned for a moment, "Washed? Next time just leave it there, I'll clean up."

  He Sheng felt a bit embarrassed and pursed his lips, "It's nothing, I'm used to it."

  Wu Aunt put the bowl in the cupboard, looked down at He Song, and saw that his tender hands were much coarser than those of children of the same age, with some small wounds.

  She said: "Is it often busy at home?"

  "Uh-huh." He Song responded, "I'll help with a lot of chores, Aunt Wu. From now on, I'll assist you."

  Listen carefully and be more obedient; if you work harder, maybe you won't be sent away again.

  Aunt Wu patted her head, "Good child."

  After helping Wu Shu tidy up the house and mop the floor, He Sheng returned to her room. This was the first night she would spend in this city, with countless such nights waiting for her ahead.

  A wide bed, soft like a cloud-like quilt, this is the treatment that He Shuang didn't dare to think about, but she didn't sleep well that night. She barely fell asleep at dawn and was soon awakened by a nightmare. In her dream, Qian Zhao Di held a kitchen knife behind her, scolding her for being ruthless and heartless. He Shuang kept running, ran for a long time, and fell into a big pit before waking up.

  The sky outside the thin window had not yet fully brightened, only a faint gray-blue hue. He Sheng couldn't sleep anymore, got up and walked to the window, gazing at the unfamiliar scenery below until daylight broke through. Only then did she take the clothes she had changed out of yesterday and go downstairs. There was no well in the outdoor area here, but there was a water pillar with a faucet. He Sheng carried a basin of clear water from the kitchen to wash her clothes.

  Wu Shu heard the sound and walked out, seeing He Song squatting outside the yard with a surprised expression, slightly opening his mouth. She walked to his side and said, "Getting up so early, why are you washing clothes by yourself? Leave it alone, I'll do it for you later."

  He Shuang lived for twelve years, a short and insignificant period in her life, but since she had memories, clothes had always been washed by herself, which was the most normal thing in that small mountain.

  His damp fingers pinched the dripping collar of his clothes, looking up at her, He Song said softly: "It's okay, I used to wash them myself before."

  The child's tension was still evident, so Wu Ayi didn't say anything else. She glanced at the still clear water in the basin, turned around and went into the house to fetch laundry detergent, taught He Sheng how to use it once, and then smiled: "After washing, put it in the washing machine to spin dry, when it's cold, you can just throw it in the washing machine."

  He Sheng nodded, "Trouble Wu Aunt."

  "It's alright, from now on this is your home, don't be too polite, if there's anything just say it, got it?"

  He Sheng twitched the corner of his mouth, "I know."

  At this time, a silly-looking young man rushed into the courtyard, holding a small cage in his hand, inside which was a fluffy mouse the size of a steamed bun.

  "Yuan Zhi! Come out and die for your grandfather!" He put one hand to his mouth and yelled up at the building with a curved smile.

  The white window on the second floor opened a slit quickly, and two shoes were thrown down with a loud noise. The young man jumped around, staring at the window that was closed again in an instant, shouting: "You want to kill me? I brought you good things, you heartless one."

  The window on the second floor didn't open again, and there was no response to his call. Instead, Wu Shu smiled and said: "Shou Si, what are you carrying?"

  "Aunt Wu!" The young man turned his head and called out with a smile, raising his hand, "Little hamster, just bought it for fun."

  He turned his eyes and saw He Song, who was also curious and looking around. He exclaimed, "Who is this dark-skinned kid? I've never seen him before! He looks like an African refugee."

  He Sheng lowered his head, staring blankly at the water basin. Wu Shu frowned and scolded: "What nonsense are you talking about! Is there anyone who talks like that? What have you learned?"

  The window on the second floor opened again, and Yuan Zhi leaned against the windowsill looking down, staring at the messy hair, with a hoarse voice unique to morning, coarsely saying: "Still not rolling up." Paused for a moment, "Bring my shoes."

  "Come on!" shouted He Shou, "You said you threw something earlier, but I'm the one who's tired!" He quickly picked up two shoes and smiled mischievously at Wu Shu as he dashed inside.

  He Shou rushed to the second floor, ran into Yuan Zhi's bedroom, threw his shoes in as he entered, and saw that Yuan Zhi was already sitting comfortably on the bed with his eyes half-closed, staring at him. Seeing He Shou about to pounce onto his bed, Yuan Zhi coldly said: "Back off."

  He Guanshu barely stopped his feet, which were only a step away, and sat down in the chair he had pulled over, "You're really clean, you're really clean, what's wrong with you."

  Yuan Zhi ignored him and glanced at the small hamster in his hand, saying directly: "What's this for?"

  He was reminded of his original purpose and got excited again, "Aren't you going to compete with Gu Wei for Lü Sisi?" He raised an eyebrow and said proudly, "I came up with a plan, Lü Sisi loves this kind of thing, she told me privately, obviously she wants to give you an advantage. I had my dad bring it from the flower and bird market today, how's that? Isn't that brotherly enough?"

  Yuan Zhi didn't react much and turned the cage in his hand, where the yellowish-white hamster was curled up in a ball in the corner, just like the woman who had just arrived, giving off a strong aura of weakness.

  "I don't want it, you take it away, it's annoying!"

  "No way, I specifically bought it for you."

  Yuan Zhi furrowed his brow and looked at him, "I didn't ask you to buy it, otherwise, putting this on sale would be enough."

  "Whatever, this pet mouse was meant to be raised anyway, releasing it will just make it die faster." He put the cage on the bookshelf beside him, "Don't care, if you want it or not, just leave it here."

  He paused for a moment and then said: "By the way, who is that woman downstairs?"

  "The old man sent someone over, who knows where he popped up from." And that person, Yuan Zhi, had never gotten along with him.

  He Shouzi curled his lip and said, "No wonder, he's really ugly."

  Yuan Zhi smiled and looked at him with a glance, deliberately teasing him, "Not good-looking? It's just right for you, let her be your daughter-in-law!"

  "Hmph!" He Xiu shouted as he pulled out a pillow from behind his back and smashed it forward, "Can you die from saying something nice?!"

  Yuan Zhi burst out laughing and dodged to the side, his bright eyes and eyebrows still showing a bit of sleepiness, yet looking as radiant and captivating as ever.

  Wife, wife, none of them would have thought that years later, He Shou would be chased by Yuan Zhi all over the courtyard for calling him "wife" with a smile, who dares to call her "young lady"? How annoying!

  At that time, He Song still had the Highland Red, and his dark skin tone, which was naturally sunburned, couldn't be hidden even if he wore expensive clothes, revealing a poor appearance from the mountains, making some people not look at him with good eyes.

  He Sheng was going to school, and after a few days, Yan Bai reappeared in the small house, preparing to take someone to school for a look.

  Yan Bai's appearance made He Sheng very surprised and excited, she had a great liking for Yan Bai, he was the first person to be good to her when she was at her most helpless, although it was limited, but it still made her feel less desperate, the first one is always special, He Sheng quickly ran to Yan Bai's front, twisting her hands, with a slight smile on her mouth and a smile in her eyes.

  Yan Bai raised an eyebrow at He Song's overjoyed reaction, then patted her head and smiled: "Still getting used to life?"

  He Sheng nodded, "Aunt Wu is very good."

  "Has Yuan Zhi bullied you?"

  He Sheng shook his head and carefully pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket to hand it over, "Wipe yourself clean."

  This is for you to wipe your face at the airport, Yan Bai didn't take it, "Keep it yourself, I said I'd give it to you last time."

  He Sheng was taken aback for a moment, slightly pursed his lips, looked at him again, and said in a low voice: "Thank you." He then carefully put the handkerchief back into his pocket.

  Yan Bai and Wu Shu said, and soon took He Song to school. At the age of 12, he was already old enough to attend junior high school. They went to the education office to take a test, and the result was that his score was less than 20 points.

  The education level in the mountains is backward, and the teacher's strength is poor. It can be imagined that He Shuang's knowledge is limited to a certain extent. She did several more, and her grades barely reached the third or fourth grade of this school. As for entering junior high school, forget it. Even if she was allowed to enter in a special case, she would not be able to keep up with the pace and suffer as a child.

  After leaving school, He Sheng was very disappointed and Yan Bai didn't expect it to be like this. When they got on the car, he advised He Sheng, "Either stay in third grade for a few days first, learn enough and then go to fourth grade, increasing gradually, use one year's time to catch up with grades, strive to enter junior high school after next summer."

  He Sheng felt uncertain in his heart, staring at the hands on his knees and didn't know what to do for a long time before softly saying: "What if I can't keep up? I'm not clever."

  "It's okay, let's keep learning, one day we'll be able to. As long as we work hard, it's fine." Yan Bo started the car and drove out, smiling: "Let's go, first go to the bookstore to buy some materials, after returning home you also study hard on your own, during weekends or other free time I will come over to take a look."

  He Sheng turned his head to look at him, the man's profile was angular and clear-cut, with a high nose bridge supporting those gold-rimmed glasses, his mouth curved in a smile, set off by the warm light spilling in from the car window. She thought Yan Bai looked very good-looking, better than many people. "Will you help me?"

  "Of course."

  He Sheng covered his mouth and whispered: "I will try my best."

  Yan Bai looked at her with a good laugh.

  Arriving at the bookstore, Yan Bai led everyone in a circle, buying all the exercise materials needed for each grade. Then they went to the office supplies section. He patted He Song's shoulder and said, "Choose the one you like."

  A shiny pencil eraser, colorful and lovely in shape, shining brightly under the light, He Sheng picked up a duck-shaped eraser, poking at its bulging belly, everything here is beyond reach of the vast mountains.

  He picked up another pen and looked up at Yan Bai, "Can I have two?"

  "Alright." Yan Bai took some other stationery and a few draft books, smiling at He Song: "These are your rewards, take one away each time you make progress."

  He Sheng's eyes sparkled, "So many?"

  "Right, you go for it, all these are waiting for you to take."

  He Sheng nodded heavily.

  The two of them settled the bill and headed home. As they entered, it happened to be mealtime. Wu Ayi came out and said: "You're back? Mr. Yan is here eating, why don't you join him for a meal? Everything's ready."

  He looked down at He Song, who was still rubbing the eraser, and nodded after a moment of thought. "Alright, sorry to trouble you."

  "It's okay, I'll go get the bowls and chopsticks."

  Yuan Zhi was already seated at the dinner table in the kitchen, eating with silver chopsticks held elegantly between his slender white fingers. When he saw someone enter, a hint of a smile played on his lips, accompanied by an air of nonchalant provocation.

  Yan Bai's expression didn't change as he sat down across from him, picking up his chopsticks. "It seems like it's been a while since we've eaten together like this."

  He raised an eyebrow, "Rare, but having dinner with you isn't exactly a good thing either." Previously, such meals would always have Yuan Chongyang present, and the relationship between the two father-son pair wasn't ordinary, making for an awkward scene.

  Yan Bai naturally knew what he meant, smiled and said, "I hope that today, even if it's not a good thing, at least it won't be a bad thing."

  He turned his gaze and frowned at Wu Shu who was collecting the dishes beside him, "Wu Shu, where's He Song? I just saw her here."

  Aunt Wu's expression was somewhat awkward, rubbing the rag in her hand and looking outside, "He Song... is eating in the living room!"

  Yan Bai was stunned, looking at Yuan Zhi's gaze which was almost schadenfreude, put down his chopsticks and got up to walk out. In the living room, by the tea table, a little girl was sitting obediently, with a large plate in front of her, on which were scattered some dishes, eating slowly and carefully one mouthful at a time.

  Walked over to her side and squatted down, furrowing his brow: "You've been eating like this since you arrived?"

  He Qian swallowed what was in his mouth and pursed his lips, looking a bit embarrassed, "It's fine like this."

  "Aren't you tired? Why don't you sit in a good spot?" He paused for a moment, "Was it Yuan Zhi who forced you to?"

  He Sheng hastily shook his head, "No, it's just that I'm not used to eating with others."

  The excuse is obvious, anyone who knows Yuan Zhi won't believe it. He Sheng herself may also be aware of this point. She's still young and doesn't understand many things, but she does know one phrase: "living under someone else's roof". These four words carry a weight that is all too clear to her now - being obedient will allow her to live a slightly better life. She has no ability, so she can only endure like this.

  Yan Bo gazed at He Sheng's forced and feigned relaxed expression, he had grown up in the city since childhood, and his ears and eyes had been tainted by it, making him not a particularly kind person, with a warm temperament that was also limited. However, 12-year-old He Sheng had given him many unexpected surprises, which he had never encountered before growing up, perhaps this was also the reason why he couldn't help but give He Sheng more tolerance.

  After a while, he smiled and said, "Okay, I'll try this way of eating today too."

  After finishing, he got up and walked to the kitchen under He Sheng's astonished gaze. Yuan Zhi crossed his legs elegantly on a chair, holding chopsticks and lightly tapping the bowl in front of him with a rhythm. Seeing Yan Bai come in, the corner of his mouth rose, "Are you satisfied with what you've seen? Assistant Yan!"

  Yan Bo felt helpless towards Yuan Zhi's explosive state, he picked up his own rice bowl and scooped some dishes from the table, without even raising his eyes, saying: "Yuan Zhi, don't always think about yourself, you don't understand He Shuang, you don't know her suffering, maybe one day when you understand, you will regret it."

  Yuan Zhi was originally not a bad person, and it's purely because he was forced into becoming what he is now.

  He finished speaking and turned around to walk out. Yuan Zhi lazily tilted his neck and sneered to himself, "Regret? Ha!"

  To him, this was simply a fairy tale, but later every time he thought back to that moment, not only did he regret it, but he also covered He Shuang's mouth and educated her not to nag about Yan Bo, remembering how good the man had been to her, jealous like a child.

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