He had been overheard by everyone in the Lin family except Lin An’an. Feeling thoroughly humiliated, Ren Jie hunched over and left in disarray.
“An’an, Ren Jie is no good. Don’t be sad over someone like that.”
“I’m not sad. I’m actually relieved I saw his true colors early.”
Lin Dong looked at Lin An’an with a hint of pity. His little sister had been forced to grow up overnight.
Unlike in her previous life, Lin An’an was not filled with unease about the future. She slept soundly that night.
The next morning, Lin Dong carried Lin An’an’s luggage out to see her off.
“Wait, Brother.”
In front of Mrs. Lin, Lin An’an opened her bag and let her inspect it piece by piece.
“Besides my clothes, I also brought the photos of my brother and me when we were little. If you won’t even let me take those, I’ll put them down right now.”
Lin Dong stuffed all the clothes into the bag in one go, picked it up, and walked off. “I’m in the photos. If I say it’s fine, then it’s fine.”
The front door opened, and Mr. Lin helped a girl walk inside.
“Honghong, my poor child! You’ve suffered!”
Mrs. Lin had already rushed over to Qiao Xiaohong and was hugging her tightly, refusing to let go, while Qiao Xiaohong comforted her in a gentle voice.
What a touching display of mother-daughter affection!
Lin Dong tugged at Lin An’an, who stood all alone to the side. “Little Sister, let’s go.”
Lin An’an’s gaze met Qiao Xiaohong’s in midair. The Little White Lotus was perfectly calm, and so was she. All she hoped for was that they would never cross paths again in this lifetime.
“Mom, is this Sister An’an?”
“All right, Honghong. Rest first. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”
“Mom’s right. What sisters? I’m just a worthless rag you threw out of the house.”
May we never meet again! Lin An’an sneered inwardly.
…
Lin Dong was a railway police officer. He borrowed a car so he could personally take Lin An’an back to the countryside.
Lin Dong slammed his hand hard against the steering wheel.
“Could our Lin family really not afford to support one Lin An’an? Did they have to send you back to the countryside?”
Lin An’an consoled him. “Brother, this isn’t my home anymore. What if Qiao Xiaohong sees me, gets upset, and something happens to her? Wouldn’t I be held responsible? It’s better for everyone if I leave.”
Lin Dong then tried to reassure Lin An’an. “Little Sister, I’ve asked around. Life in the countryside isn’t as difficult as you think. Now that contract farming has been introduced, growing enough grain to support yourself is no problem.”
In this family, only Lin Dong still treated Lin An’an as his real little sister and thought about her future.
In her previous life, Lin Dong had been the one to send the bastard who sold her to prison. He had also traveled thousands of miles to rescue her from the hands of that small-time boss.
Lin An’an would acknowledge this brother for the rest of her life.
“Brother, I know. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not even your real sister.”
Lin An’an put on a little green-tea act. She simply couldn’t understand it—if people could develop feelings even for a kitten or puppy they raised, why had Mr. and Mrs. Lin developed none for her?
“To hell with blood relations. All I know is that I grew up with Lin An’an, and I’ve called her my little sister for twenty years.”
Lin An’an’s eyes immediately stung when she heard that. “I acknowledge Lin Dong as my brother too. For the rest of my life.”
Lin Dong patted Lin An’an on the head without saying anything. He couldn’t think of any words that would comfort her.
They arrived at Mulan Village that afternoon. The car stopped at the entrance to the village, and Lin An’an got out with her luggage.
“Brother, you should go back.”
“You don’t want me to come take a look?”
“Forget it. If you come, they’ll have to entertain you.”
She was afraid that her biological parents’ home would be too shabby and that seeing it would make her brother feel even worse.
“All right, then. An’an, call me if anything happens. As long as it’s within my ability, I’ll help you.”
In her previous life, she clearly remembered the phone number for Lin Dong’s unit, yet she had never called him even once.
At first, she simply didn’t want to call. Later, she was too ashamed to.
Lin An’an’s voice was hoarse. “I know, Brother.”
Lin Dong turned the car around and drove away under Lin An’an’s watchful gaze.
Lin An’an wiped away the tears that had fallen without her realizing it, picked up her bag, and walked into the village.
She didn’t know what her biological parents looked like or where they lived. She only knew their names.
Lin An’an stopped a boy who was playing hide-and-seek. “Little Brother, how do I get to Qiao Shulin’s house?”
The child raised his hand and shouted, “Shanzi, this person called out your dad’s name! Is she the older sister you exchanged with someone?”
The story about the daughter Qiao Shulin had raised for twenty years flying onto a branch and becoming a phoenix had long since spread throughout the village. Everyone, men and women, old and young, knew about it.
A little boy of six or seven, with skin tanned as dark as a loach, came running over. He looked Lin An’an up and down before asking, “Are you from He City?”
“Yes.”
“Then follow me.”
So this was her biological little brother, Shanzi?
After several twists and turns, Lin An’an was led to a home. Qiao Xiaoshan pushed open the door and walked in.
“Mom, someone from He City is here.”
Lin An’an looked around. There were three rooms, a large pile of corn cobs stacked in the courtyard, and more lining the top of the wall. It didn’t look especially poor.
A rural woman in her forties, with slightly dark skin and a heart-shaped face, hurried out of the house.
“Are you An’an?”
Lin An’an nodded. “I am.”
This was her biological mother, Jiang Xiu.
Jiang Xiu took Lin An’an’s luggage with one hand and pulled her inside with the other.
Her large hand was rough but warm, and Lin An’an did not resist.
The furnishings in the west room were simple: one heated kang bed, an old-fashioned wardrobe, and a stool. A full-length mirror hung on the wall.
Lin An’an noticed that the bed had a new quilt covered in tiny floral patterns, and the bedsheet was new as well. The walls had been papered all around with newspapers, with the front pages facing outward.
Jiang Xiu noticed Lin An’an’s gaze and explained, “The newspapers were given to us by the Ji family. Once we find a buyer and sell a binful of wheat, we’ll have money to buy and arrange a few more things.”
Sell wheat to buy things…
In her previous life, Lin An’an had never come into contact with her biological parents. According to the True Heiress, her parents in the Qiao family had made her suffer for twenty years. When those words reached Lin An’an’s ears, she had preferred running away with that bastard rather than returning to the countryside.
But now, it seemed her biological mother wasn’t so bad after all.
“There’s no need to buy anything else. This is fine.”
Jiang Xiu let out a sigh of relief. She had been worried that her daughter, who had grown up in a comfortable home, would look down on this one.
“You should prepare yourself. The Ji family may break off the engagement.”
“The Ji family?” Lin An’an asked blankly.
“Xiaohong was engaged to Ji Cheng from our village. They had originally planned to get married on the sixteenth of this month, but now that Xiaohong is gone, I heard the Ji family wants to call off the engagement.”
So Qiao Xiaohong had a fiancé too?
“Let me be frank with you first. Ji Cheng is an officer in the military. If you don’t want to break off the engagement, I’ll risk this old face of mine and make Ji Cheng marry you.”
Qiao Xiaohong’s fiancé? Then forget it. Anyone who liked a woman like that couldn’t be much good himself.
“Let’s call it off. The person he wants to marry is Qiao Xiaohong.”
“It’s fine to call it off. There are plenty of men better than Ji Cheng. Besides, he was engaged to Qiao Xiaohong before. There’s no need to hang yourself from that one tree.”
After saying this, Jiang Xiu rose to prepare dinner, leaving Lin An’an alone to unpack her things.