Yang Wenping returned during the days when Yang Yuan was at her most exhausted.
After dinner, she filled a large basin with hot water and soaked her aching feet while clinging to her parents, complaining and acting spoiled.
Yang Father felt so sorry for her that he immediately went to Yang Lan’s house to borrow a bicycle.
Yang Mother squeezed time out of her already packed schedule and, in just two days, made her a new pair of shoes.
The shoes weren’t very thick.
Since the weather was gradually warming up, Yang Mother followed Yang Yuan’s description and made two removable cotton insoles, stuffed entirely with soft cotton.
That way, her feet would be more comfortable.
When spring arrived, she could simply remove the padded insoles and continue wearing the same shoes.
Yang Yuan exaggerated every hardship she had suffered at work.
The more she talked…
The more distressed Yang Mother became.
The emotional atmosphere had almost reached its peak—
Bang!
The front door suddenly slammed open.
The mood vanished instantly.
“Why’d you come back at this hour?”
“You should’ve found a way to send word.”
“I would’ve gone to pick you up.”
Yang Father hurried to the door, talking nonstop as he ushered the newcomer inside.
“Old Chen!”
“Quick, make something to eat.”
“Fourth Son hasn’t had dinner yet.”
Unlike her husband, Yang Mother noticed everything at a glance.
The moment she looked up…
She saw the bruise at the corner of Yang Wenping’s mouth.
“You’re finally back…”
“What happened?”
“Who hit you?”
“Where else are you hurt?”
“Are you injured badly?”
“Does it hurt?”
“Come on, we’re going to the hospital.”
Yang Wenping instinctively covered the bruise and smiled helplessly.
I knew I wouldn’t get away with this.
Yang Father looked more closely.
The joy he’d felt only moments earlier disappeared completely.
His face darkened.
The moment he heard the word “hospital,” he turned to fetch money.
“Dad… Mom…”
“I’m really fine.”
“Honestly.”
“I don’t need a hospital.”
“I’m perfectly healthy.”
“It’s just this little bruise.”
“If I’d gotten home two days later…”
“You wouldn’t even have noticed it.”
He even tried joking to lighten the mood.
It accomplished almost nothing.
He had been gone for more than twenty days.
Not a single letter.
Not a single message.
His parents had worried themselves sick.
Now he’d suddenly returned in the middle of the night…
With injuries on his face.
How could they possibly not imagine the worst?
After finally calming his parents down, Yang Wenping turned toward the doorway.
“Come in, Xiao Chen.”
“This is my home.”
“These are my parents and my younger sister.”
“There aren’t any strangers here.”
“It’s all right.”
Only then did everyone realize…
He hadn’t come home alone.
Every pair of eyes had been focused entirely on Yang Wenping.
No one had noticed the figure standing quietly outside.
After Yang Wenping spoke…
A pale, frail-looking teenager stepped over the threshold.
He was dressed entirely in black and carried a small suitcase.
Only after walking into the warm glow of the hanging light bulb did everyone see him clearly.
Yang Yuan’s eyes immediately lit up.
Wow…
He’s incredibly handsome.
The young man possessed an elegant, refined appearance.
After Yang Mother hurriedly prepared dinner…
And after Yang Wenping settled the young man into bed to rest…
He finally explained everything that had happened during the past several weeks.
“My school…”
“…is gone.”
“They’re shutting it down.”
“There’d been unrest for quite some time.”
“The professors…”
“The teachers…”
“They’ve all been taken away for ‘re-education.'”
Yang Wenping had grown noticeably thinner.
Beneath the dim yellow light, his gaunt face looked worn and exhausted.
He couldn’t even begin to describe what he’d witnessed.
How could he possibly tell them…
That the teacher he’d admired most had been paraded through the streets with a rope around his neck like a dog?
That the principal—an extraordinarily learned scholar—had his home ransacked, his books burned, and was now locked inside a freezing warehouse, barely clinging to life?
Or that the classrooms he’d once cherished…
The library filled with countless books…
Had been smashed so completely they were almost unrecognizable?
He couldn’t say it.
Nor could he accept it.
If this was how everything ended…
Then what had all those years of studying been for?
What meaning did all the knowledge he’d spent years acquiring have?
What meaning did he have?
He wasn’t even angry anymore.
He couldn’t summon rage.
Only endless bitterness remained.
He had no answers.
And he could imagine even less what would become of his beloved teacher.
Professor Lu had studied overseas.
His family had once been highly respected.
No matter how hard he’d tried…
Yang Wenping knew the old man probably wouldn’t survive much longer.
Professor Lu had a son and a daughter.
His daughter had married years ago.
Protected by her husband’s family, she would likely be safe.
He worried far more about his son.
To protect his grandson, Lu Chen, Professor Lu had arranged for him to be sent to the countryside.
His own son, however, refused to leave.
He insisted on staying to care for his aging father.
Soon afterward…
He even publicly divorced his wife through a newspaper announcement…
So that she could take their young daughter away and avoid being implicated.
When Yang Wenping and the others arrived…
Seventeen-year-old Lu Chen was kneeling on the floor, desperately begging.
Though still only seventeen…
He already understood.
This farewell…
Might very well last a lifetime.
As a member of the Lu family…
With his father already in poor health…
How could he watch his father and grandfather suffer while he escaped to safety?
The standoff lasted several days.
Conditions only worsened.
They watched helplessly as the school’s signboard was ripped down…
Thrown onto the ground…
And trampled beneath countless feet.
There was nothing they could do.
They secretly gathered information about several professors.
The news was terrible.
At one point, Yang Wenping and the others nearly got themselves arrested after intervening.
They had no choice but to leave immediately.
Before they departed…
Professor Lu personally wrote each of them a certificate.
It officially declared that they had severed all ties with the school and its faculty.
Then…
Holding each student’s hand…
He pressed their fingers into red ink and left fingerprints beneath the statement.
Yang Wenping pulled the wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket.
More than once during the train ride home…
He’d wanted to tear it to pieces.
Each time…
Lu Chen had stopped him.
“As long as what’s inside your heart doesn’t change…”
“…one piece of paper can’t define anything.”
Yang Wenping looked at his parents.
“The village where Lu Chen has been assigned…”
“…isn’t far from here.”
“Professor Lu asked me to look after him whenever I can.”
Yang Mother nodded immediately.
“Of course.”
“A teacher is like a second father.”
“From now on…”
“Lu Chen is part of our family too.”
“When does he leave?”
“I’ll prepare some things for him.”
“You don’t have to trouble yourself.”
Yang Wenping stood up.
“He leaves tomorrow.”
Although Lu Chen had been assigned to the southern province…
The particular county and commune were surprisingly close.
Their own city lay at the southernmost edge of the northern province.
Lu Chen’s village was located at the northernmost edge of the southern province.
Traveling from here…
Was actually much more convenient.
“The train was delayed today.”
“It was already dark when we arrived.”
“So I brought him home for the night.”
“I’ll take him there tomorrow.”
Yang Mother got up before dawn to prepare breakfast.
She even made egg pancakes.
When Yang Yuan stumbled sleepily out of bed…
Everyone else was already eating.
“There you go again.”
“So lazy.”
“Look around.”
“What respectable grown girl sleeps this late?”
“Other girls are already cooking and sweeping the yard.”
“But you?”
“Instead of letting your old mother enjoy a little peace…”
“I still have to cook for you.”
“Wash for you.”
“I must’ve owed the Yang family something in a previous life.”
“So lazy…”
“Who’ll ever want to marry you?”
“When you become someone else’s daughter-in-law…”
“You won’t cook.”
“You won’t even touch a needle.”
“Let’s see how you’ll survive then…”
Listening to the familiar daily lecture…
Yang Yuan let out an enormous yawn.
This noisy warmth…
Was what made a house feel like a home.
“There.”
Clunk.
Yang Mother set the washbasin down in front of her.
“I’m serving a living ancestor…”
Yang Yuan grinned from ear to ear, flashing a brilliant smile.
Her mother really was amusing.
She could scold Yang Yuan three different times a day without repeating herself.
Every day she complained that her daughter was lazy.
Complained she was too troublesome.
Yet while scolding…
She never forgot to pour warm water for Yang Yuan to wash her face.
Or cook every single meal for her.
Back when Yang Yuan had been told to wash clothes or do housework…
She’d always bullied Yang Wenping into doing it instead.
The one time Yang Wenping wasn’t home…
She’d reluctantly started washing clothes herself.
Yang Mother had immediately snatched them away.
“A young girl shouldn’t put her hands in cold water.”
“It’s bad for your health.”
See?
That was a real mother.
There was a reason people always said:
A child with a mother is the luckiest treasure of all.