“Mom, I’m sorry for worrying you,” Lin Shiyao said, feeling guilty for making her parents so anxious. She resolved to leave a note for them whenever she went out in the future.
“Why did you buy this kettle and enamel basin? We already have them. You should spend your money on snacks and hair accessories for yourself,” her mother said. She knew Lin Shiyao had pocket money. Whenever she visited her grandparents, her grandmother would secretly give her some, doting on her like her own daughter. Even her uncle and aunt treated her like a beloved niece and often made sure she had enough pocket money.
“Mom, Dad… don’t be mad,” Lin Shiyao said nervously. After all, encountering child traffickers was quite dangerous.
“Child, tell us. Don’t worry, did someone bully you?” her mother asked urgently.
“No one bullied me. It’s just… today I ran into child traffickers…” Lin Shiyao recounted the day’s events in vivid detail, completely unaware of how pale her parents had gone. Only her younger brother, Lin Zhengbin, responded excitedly, occasionally chiming in, “Sister, you’re amazing!” with a look of admiration.
When Lin Shiyao finished, her mother immediately hugged her. “I’m glad you’re okay. You must never be so reckless again. What if the traffickers had seen you? You’re a girl and couldn’t fight them off! If anything happened to you, how could your father and I bear it?” Her mother wiped away tears. Lin Shiyao panicked, not expecting such a strong reaction. She quickly patted her mother’s back to comfort her. “Mom, I’m fine. I’ll be careful next time.” In her mind, she still planned to act the same if she encountered such situations again—but next time, she wouldn’t tell her family, to avoid worrying them.
“Alright, darling, you’re safe. You must be hungry. Come on, let’s eat,” her mother said.
“Sister, you’re so brave! When I grow up, I want to be a police officer like you, to catch bad guys!” Lin Zhengbin said, clenching his fists.
Before he could finish, their father gave him a playful kick on the backside.
“Ouch, Dad! Why’d you kick me?” Lin Zhengbin protested.
“Eat your meal first; we’ll talk about that when you’re older,” their father said.
Her mother, now smiling, led Lin Shiyao to the dining table.
“Yao Yao, did you buy the meat? I saw it in the kitchen, so I cooked it into your favorite braised pork,” her mother said. She didn’t ask where the meat came from—any extra meat brought home was a rare treat.
“Yes, Mom, you’re the best,” Lin Shiyao replied, deciding not to mention the source since her mother hadn’t asked.
“I’ll give you some money for it later,” her mother said.
“No need, Mom. I have money,” Lin Shiyao replied. Her mother didn’t insist.
After dinner, Lin Shiyao went to the bathhouse with her mother, while her father took her younger brother. Lin Shiyao was surprised to learn that she needed a ticket to bathe. She thought about how inconvenient life was in this era—everything required a ticket.
The bathhouse was located just behind the residential compound, and there were others heading there as well.
“Lizhen, take Yao Yao to bathe. Oh my, she’s even prettier than before!” One of the neighbors, Aunt Li, exclaimed. She had moved from the countryside because her son, a technician at the steel plant, had been assigned a city apartment after a promotion. In those days, it was prestigious to get a city job from a rural area, and her family was well-known in the village.
Aunt Li was kind-hearted and straightforward, popular among the neighbors in the residential compound.
Lin Shiyao had been here for a few days and hadn’t encountered the kind of terrible people often depicted in novels—so far, everyone was polite, and no one had spoken harshly. She had even mentally prepared what she would say if someone insulted her.
Inside the bathhouse, everything was bright and white. Was everyone this open-minded? Poor Lin Shiyao, who had grown up in the South, had never seen such a sight before.
She hesitated over whether to undress, but her mother urged her on, reminding her she had bathed here before and needed to hurry. Lin Shiyao closed her eyes firmly—after all, everyone was a woman, and everyone looked the same.
She couldn’t help but admire her original body. With what appeared to be a C-cup figure, long legs, a height of 168 cm, and flawless fair skin, she was quite satisfied.
Several pairs of eyes glanced at her intentionally or unintentionally, but Lin Shiyao washed quickly, got dressed, greeted her mother, and ran out.
Seeing Lin Shiyao leave, the neighbors commented on her beauty and speculated which boy might be lucky in the future.
“Lizhen, your Yao Yao is so pretty. Has anyone proposed yet?” one aunt asked Lin Shiyao’s mother.
“She’s still young. No rush. We want to keep her for another two years,” her mother replied. She didn’t want Lin Shiyao to marry too early, unlike other families who hurriedly married off daughters to provide dowries for their sons.
“Oh, she’s not young. Our Xiaofang was already a mother at her age,” the aunt complained, envious of how spoiled Lin Shiyao was.
“Mind your own business. My Yao Yao’s matters are none of yours,” Lin Shiyao’s mother said firmly, finishing dressing.
Lin Shiyao picked up her basin and followed her mother home. She didn’t tell her parents about applying for the textile factory broadcasting job today, waiting until tomorrow when the results came in.
However, she did tell them about the bookstore translation job, so she had a reasonable explanation for the income she would earn from it.
Her parents were amazed. Their daughter had just graduated and was already earning money on her own. Who else’s daughter could do that? The entire residential compound couldn’t find another like her. They felt incredibly proud.