After teaching the unruly child a lesson, Wen Nianxin quickly found the courtyard of Director Zhang’s house.
He said the courtyard they currently lived in was previously occupied by her maternal grandparents’ family, with an osmanthus tree planted by her grandfather at her birth standing before the gate.
She didn’t remember where her grandparents used to live, but she knew what an osmanthus tree looked like before its blooming season.
“Hello, is anyone home?”
The courtyard gate was closed. Although Director Zhang had told her yesterday she could just push it open upon arrival, she refrained—a guest ought to behave like one. Director Zhang’s warmth toward her didn’t guarantee the same from his wife and children.
Politeness was always better than presumption.
“Yes, coming!”
As the voice fell, an elegant, gentle, and graceful woman emerged from the house.
“Nian Xin, you’re here. Long time no see.”
The beautiful woman smiled, stepped forward to open the gate, and warmly linked arms with Wen Nianxin, guiding her inside.
“Your Uncle Zhang is really something—he didn’t tell me you were back until seven or eight last night. If I hadn’t worried about disturbing your rest, I’d have gone to the Guest House to see you yesterday.
After lunch, Aunt Yu will take you to check out of the Guest House and help you move your things here.”
“No need, Aunt Yu. I won’t be staying long, and the room at the Guest House is already booked. There’s no need to trouble you with extra arrangements.”
“It’s no trouble at all. Your sisters Wen Hui and Wen Ru can share a room, and you can take Wen Ru’s room—everything is already set up.”
Actually, when Zhang Wei returned and told Yu Yaqin yesterday, she wasn’t keen on having Wen Nianxin stay with them.
Back when Zhang Wei wasn’t the director yet, their family lived in the Tongzilou area, and Yu Yaqin knew exactly what Wen Nianxin had been like since childhood.
Even though she and Xiao Man had been close friends for over a decade, it didn’t negate her dislike for Wen Nianxin.
But Zhang Wei had repeatedly emphasized how much Wen Nianxin had changed after going to the countryside, that she wasn’t the same as before. He also mentioned that the Zheng family had cut off contact with her after she left, which rekindled Yu Yaqin’s compassion for this child who had lost her mother at birth.
Her previous behavior was largely influenced by her stepmother Ding Lan’s deliberate actions.
Once inside, Yu Yaqin invited her to sit on the living room sofa.
“Does this house feel familiar to you?
Not long after your grandparents moved out, our family moved in. Uncle Wen and Aunt Lu maintained the furniture very well; they didn’t take it with them, so your Uncle Zhang and I have been using what they left behind, hardly moving anything from its original place.”
Wen Nianxin glanced around the unfamiliar room. Without the original owner’s memories, she naturally felt no sense of familiarity.
“I don’t remember.”
The words froze Yu Yaqin’s smile, leaving her at a loss for a response. The atmosphere in the living room, with just the two of them, instantly turned chilly.
“Is Uncle Zhang not home?”
Ignoring her displeasure, Wen Nianxin swiftly changed the subject.
She didn’t want to explain things repeatedly, and she wasn’t sure how well Aunt Yu knew the original owner, so she preferred to wait until Uncle Zhang returned to discuss everything together.
“He took Wen Ru to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy drinks. They should be back soon… Ah… here they are.”
Hearing footsteps, Wen Nianxin looked toward the door.
Factory Director Zhang carried several bottles of orange soda in his right hand, with his youngest daughter walking beside his left side.
The little girl wore a light pink coat and looked utterly adorable. Though similar in age to the original host’s brother she had just encountered, they were worlds apart in demeanor.
“Nian Xin, you’re here. Make yourself at home, no need to stand on ceremony.”
“Alright, I will.”
“Wen Ru, this is your sister Nian Xin. You played together when you were little, do you remember?”
“I… don’t remember.”
Zhang Wenru never expected her parents’ invited guest to be her.
In her eleven years of life, there were two people she detested most.
Currently, she hated Zheng Xu the most, but previously, no one could surpass Wen Nianxin in her dislike.
Back when she had just started first grade, she couldn’t recall the reason now, but Wen Nianxin had fiercely scolded her, reducing her to tears. Though only six at the time, this incident had remained etched in her memory, unforgotten to this day.
Fortunately, not long after the scolding, Wen Nianxin left the Family Compound, which had been a great relief to her for quite some time. But why did she have to return?
And how dare she come visit their home!
Had she forgotten about scolding her before?
How could there be such a shameless person in this world?
“Mom, I don’t want to share my room with sister tonight! I want to sleep in my own room!”
When her mother discussed this with her last night, she had agreed. But now that she knew the person taking her room was her most disliked individual, she absolutely refused!
“You silly child!”
Yu Yaqin glanced at her daughter, then at the composed Wen Nianxin, feeling extremely awkward.
She never expected her usually well-behaved youngest daughter to say such things in front of their guest. Just ten minutes earlier, she had told Wen Nianxin to stay in Wenru’s room for the night, but now… ah…
“Little sister Wen Ru, did I bully you before?
If so, I wonder if it’s too late for me to apologize and say I’m sorry now.
Don’t worry, I’ve already booked a room at the Guest House. I won’t be competing for your bed—you can still sleep in your own room.”
Wen Nianxin felt somewhat helpless. The pitfalls left by the original host now required her to fill them one by one.
When she left this Family Compound back then, Zhang Wenru must have been only five or six years old, right?
She had no idea what she had done to make a child remember it so vividly all these years.
“You…Zhang Wenru had expected Wen Nianxin to act nonchalant and taken for granted, but she truly never anticipated receiving an apology. Her previously resolute attitude suddenly softened.
“Are you sincerely apologizing to me?”
“Of course, I am sincere.
To be honest, I’ve forgotten what I did to you before. But for such a kind and lovely girl like you to be this upset, I must have done something truly terrible.
It’s okay if you don’t forgive what I did in the past, but I’ve changed now. I hope you can be magnanimous and give me a chance to turn over a new leaf, alright?”
Zhang Wenru’s emotions had gradually calmed, but she worried Wen Nianxin might be pretending just because her parents were present.
“Wen Ru.”
Yu Yaqin gently tugged at her daughter’s sleeve.
“Alright, I forgive you.
But you can’t scold me for no reason anymore. If you yell at me again, I’ll never let you come play at my house ever again.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Although Zhang Wenru had already forgiven her, when her mother asked her to sit on the sofa next to Wen Nianxin, she still felt somewhat resistant.
“Nian Xin, you’ve really changed a lot.”
From this incident, Zhang Wei could clearly sense that Wen Nianxin had genuinely changed for the better.
Although he had felt the same yesterday, it wasn’t as convincing as today when she apologized to his daughter.
“Uncle Zhang, actually there were some things I couldn’t tell you yesterday.”
“What things?”
“Last month I fell and hit the back of my head. After waking up, I couldn’t clearly remember people and events from before.
When I saw you yesterday, I actually couldn’t quite recall who you were.
The reason I’m staying at the Guest House instead of returning to the Zheng family this time is partly because I don’t want to live under the same roof with the Zheng family, but more importantly, I simply don’t remember what they look like.”