The Song Family lived on the western side of the residential compound, which was still some distance from here. Along the way, Song Zhenzhen received far too many strange looks.
On weekends, the older children all went out to play on their own, while the younger ones followed their mothers to visit relatives and friends. The men were all away from home. In the Song Family’s living room, the large color television was playing cartoons, and Niannian watched with great interest.
Sister Wang opened the door for Song Zhenzhen and led her inside, saying: “Madam, Zhenzhen is here.”
The moment Song Zhenzhen entered, she saw Niannian, and her heart sank. However, she still smiled and called out: “Auntie!”
Li Huifang said: “Zhenzhen is here? Why did you bring gifts again?”
Song Zhenzhen said: “My dad went on a business trip to the south a while ago and brought these back. I brought some for you to try.”
Song Zhenzhen wore a long plaid skirt with a white blouse tucked into it, making her waist look very slender. Her outerwear was a small leather jacket, her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she wore high heels. She looked very fashionable.
“Who is this child?” Song Zhenzhen asked as she looked at Niannian.
Li Huifang said: “This is Niannian, your Brother Xi’s daughter. She and her mother just came back from their hometown.”
Song Zhenzhen clenched her fists, her toes curling tightly against the soles of her shoes. How could Li Huifang say it so naturally and with such complete confidence, as though it were only right and proper?
Then what exactly did that make her?
“Is that so?” Song Zhenzhen said with a smile. “She’s really adorable. Where is her mother?”
Li Huifang said: “She went out with Xingchen. Sit down and have some tea. They should be back soon.”
Li Huifang picked up Niannian and said: “Niannian, call her Auntie?”
Zhao Yinian glanced at Song Zhenzhen and said in her soft, childish voice: “I have Mommy~”
Song Zhenzhen: “…”
Li Huifang explained: “She’s still little, so don’t take offense, all right?”
Song Zhenzhen smiled faintly and said: “It’s fine. She’s still young and has only just come back, so she needs some time to adjust.”
There was technically nothing wrong with those words, but for some reason, Li Huifang simply felt unhappy hearing them.
Song Zhenzhen’s mother and Li Huifang were good friends. Zhao Beichen and Song Zhenzhen had not exactly been betrothed since childhood, but the two of them truly were childhood sweethearts. The adults could all see that they had feelings for each other. After asking for their opinions and confirming that their feelings were indeed mutual, the adults arranged their engagement before Zhao Beichen was sent down to the countryside.
After Zhao Beichen had relations with Yang Liu back then, the first thing he thought about was how he was going to explain it to Song Zhenzhen.
The consequences of what had happened were too serious, so he could only swallow his displeasure and marry Yang Liu. After returning, he joined the army. He could not bring himself to say it in front of Song Zhenzhen, so Li Huifang could only step forward and handle the matter.
At the time, Li Huifang swallowed her pride and apologized to Song Zhenzhen’s parents, saying that her fourth son had met a young woman in the countryside and that, due to special circumstances, the two of them had gotten married. Therefore, his engagement to Song Zhenzhen could only be called off.
Song Zhenzhen firmly refused to agree. She wanted Zhao Beichen to give her an explanation, and she wanted him to tell her himself.
As soon as Zhao Beichen finished his recruit training, he volunteered for border defense duty and did not return for several years. However, he could not keep avoiding the matter either, so he wrote Song Zhenzhen a letter telling her that he had gotten married in the countryside, that he had wronged her, and that their previous engagement was null and void. He would compensate her and allow her to name what she wanted.
In fact, when Zhao Beichen and Song Zhenzhen called off their engagement, Zhao Dongshan and Li Huifang had indeed compensated the Song Family generously.
Song Zhenzhen’s classmate Liu Xiaojuan had once been sent down to Shanhe People’s Commune at the same time as Zhao Beichen. Although the two of them were not assigned to the same brigade, Zhao Beichen was a well-known figure among the Educated Youth at Shanhe People’s Commune, so Liu Xiaojuan knew everything about him.
Liu Xiaojuan told Song Zhenzhen that when Zhao Beichen was about to return to the city, a village girl had drugged him and deliberately arranged for people to catch them in bed together before falsely accusing Zhao Beichen of forcing himself on her. Zhao Beichen had no choice but to marry that woman.
Therefore, Song Zhenzhen had never given up on Zhao Beichen. She knew that he had been entrapped by that country woman and had only married her because he had no other choice.
Calling off the engagement had been a unilateral decision by the Zhao Family. In Song Zhenzhen’s heart, she was still Zhao Beichen’s fiancée.
The people in the residential compound had no idea at all that Zhao Beichen had married a wife and had a child in the countryside. They all believed that he would marry Song Zhenzhen.
Zhao Beichen had only finished his border defense duty a few months ago and had been transferred to the Beicheng Military Region, which was very close to the capital, but he was still serving in a grassroots military unit.
What Song Zhenzhen was curious about was this: how had that country woman, who could barely recognize a few written characters, managed to secretly escape the arranged bride exchange and bring a small child safely and unharmed all the way to the capital?