What a fine family the Suns turned out to be! It did not take Lu Qiqi long to see that little Lu Chuan had fared terribly in their care. Far from sending him to school as promised, they had worked him from dawn till dusk like a little laborer.
The original owner had gone to Sun Kaifeng to protest, only to be brushed off with the excuse that all country children live like that.
What the original owner had never known was the vision Lu Qiqi had carried with her—the dream, or rather, the memory of what was to come. She had seen it all: in that timeline, the original Lu Qiqi refused to marry Gu Mufeng. Gu Mufeng had not forced her; he had simply paid the Lu family five hundred yuan and dissolved the engagement. Within days, Sun Kaifeng had arranged another match—this time to a widower in his forties who had already buried three wives. The original girl had fought, but she had been powerless. Once married, she had been beaten and abused every day. She had died in childbirth barely a year later. And little Lu Chuan… he had never lived to see his tenth birthday.
That was why, no matter what became of this marriage, the very first thing Lu Qiqi had done upon waking was to sever all ties with the Lu family.
Lu Qiqi and Gu Mufeng walked for some twenty minutes before arriving at Sunjiazhuang. Dusk was already painting the sky deep violet. The eldest Sun brother’s house stood right at the village entrance.
They had barely drawn near when a torrent of shouting and cursing burst from within.
“You little bastard! How dare you steal an egg? I’ll beat the life out of you!”
It was followed instantly by the sickening sound of blows raining down.
Lu Qiqi’s blood ran cold. She did not stop to think—she broke into a run and burst through the doorway.
There on the ground, a gaunt, shivering little boy was being pinned down and beaten by a heavyset woman. The boy curled small hands over his head, his thin body wrapped in a tattered, patched tunic far too light for the season. Even in the fading light, Lu Qiqi recognized him at once: this was her brother. Her brother now.
The woman holding him down was Li Guilan—Sun Kaifeng’s eldest sister-in-law. She had borne three daughters and no son, and the grievance had festered in her until it turned sour. She had taken one look at handsome, bright-eyed little Lu Chuan and conceived a bitter dislike for him. The family hen had laid an egg every day without fail—until that morning, when none had appeared in the coop. Convinced the boy had stolen it, and seizing the excuse she had longed for, Li Guilan had unleashed all her resentment upon him with her fists.
“Stop!”
Lu Qiqi lunged forward, shoved Li Guilan aside with all her strength, and shielded the trembling boy behind her.
Li Guilan stumbled and fell heavily. She scrambled to her feet, saw who had dared interfere, and pointed a shaking finger straight at Lu Qiqi’s face.
“You little hussy! Your brother stole our egg! I’m teaching him manners—what business is it of yours?”
“Stole an egg?” Lu Qiqi’s voice cut like ice. “Which of your eyes saw him eat it? And besides—did your family not swear you would raise him as your own flesh and blood? If he ate one single egg in this house, it would be his egg too! Or have you never once treated him as a real son?”
“He is not of my womb!” Li Guilan spat. “Why should I look on him as mine? An orphaned little cur—he thinks he deserves eggs? What next, the moon on a platter?”
The adoption had been agreed upon by the eldest Sun brother and his mother; Li Guilan had opposed it from the start. She had given birth to no sons, true—but she had had no wish to raise another family’s child.
Lu Qiqi burned with rage.
“A cur? My brother is no such thing! It was Sun Kaifeng herself who came to us—saying your family had no heir, no son to tend your graves and carry your name. That is why you sought to take him in! Had you not sworn again and again that he would be loved and cared for… I would never, ever have let him cross your threshold!”
She looked down at Lu Chuan—bruised, shivering, and small—and her heart twisted.
“Since it is clear you never meant to keep your word… I am taking him back today. From this hour forth, he is no kin of the Sun family whatsoever.”
Lu Qiqi bent to lift the boy, but Gu Mufeng stepped forward quickly.
“Let me carry him.”
His young wife was far too slender and frail to lift an eight-year-old child. He had held some reservation about this marriage at first—but the papers were signed, and looking at her now, he felt no reluctance at all. She was his wife. He would stand beside her. Seeing how thin and worn she was, his mind had already begun turning over every way he might build up her strength and care for her.
Li Guilan scrambled forward and planted herself squarely in their path.
“You are not taking him! He has eaten at our table for months—pay us for his keep first!”
“Payment?” Lu Qiqi let out a cold, sharp laugh. “You know perfectly well what kind of life he has led here! I have not dragged you to the commune to answer for child abuse—that alone is mercy. And you dare stand there demanding money?”
Li Guilan’s face drained of color. She had mistreated him—worked him like a grown man, fed him scraps, clothed him in rags. She had done it all precisely because he was not hers. Even so, she felt no remorse. She had only agreed to take him in because he was a handsome, promising boy—she had planned to keep him until he was grown, then trade him in a marriage exchange for one of her own daughters. If Lu Qiqi took him away now… all her scheming would come to nothing.
“You little witch!” she shrieked, blocking their way and reaching to snatch the boy from Gu Mufeng’s arms. “You will not leave this house with him today! Not unless you pay us five hundred yuan! Otherwise none of you are leaving!”
Gu Mufeng’s expression turned dark as iron. He shifted his body, evaded her grasping hands, reached out, and caught her wrist in a firm, unyielding grip.
“Let go.”
He was strong—hardened by years of military training. He applied only the slightest pressure, and Li Guilan screamed in pain.
“Ah! It hurts! Let go! Let go at once!”
“I will release you,” Gu Mufeng said evenly, his voice low and dangerous, “once you answer my questions.”
He twisted her wrist gently but firmly. Li Guilan cried out and released her hold instantly. Gu Mufeng set her free, kept Lu Chuan securely in his arms, and fixed her with a gaze like steel.
“This boy has been starved, ill-clothed, denied schooling, and beaten under your roof. If you never intended to care for him—why did you ask to take him in? Give me a satisfactory answer now, or do not blame me for being harsh.”
Li Guilan took a step back, unnerved. She was a rough, loud-mouthed woman—but she knew strength when she saw it. She could see the quiet power in him, and feared what he might do if truly provoked. Yet pride and greed warred within her. To let them go so easily… it galled her.
“Fine then!” she snapped. “What do you want?”