Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Relief and Sowing Discord
Xia Yingyu froze and looked over, spotting two disheveled children whose faces were blue from the cold. They were her own kids, Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang. She hurried forward a few steps and asked anxiously, "What happened? Didn’t your dad go pick you up?"
"No," Zhao Nuanyue said, shaking her head. "I brought Nuanyang with me. We took the bus and walked the rest of the way ourselves. No one came to get us."
Zhao Nuanyang was thrilled to see his mother and called out, "Mama!"
Hearing her son call her "Mama" made Xia Yingyu even happier. Tears streamed down her face as she grabbed one child with each hand, refusing to let go. Her heart ached with a mixture of pain and anger. "Let’s go," she said. "We’re going home!"
Even though she was filled with resentment, she didn’t want to lose face in public.
"Thank you, ladies." Xia Yingyu led her daughter and son inside, followed by a few onlookers who began to whisper among themselves.
From the back of the crowd, Aunt Wang stood on her tiptoes and called out, "Yingyu, you need to go home and have a serious talk with Zhao Jinghai. Even if they aren’t his own flesh and blood, they’ve called him Dad for years. To leave the children at the gate and not even let them in... that’s just too cruel."
Zhao Nuanyue could feel her mother’s rage; Xia Yingyu’s hands and body were trembling slightly. Fearing for her mother’s well-being, she tried to placate her. "Mom, you know full well how Zhao Jinghai’s family treats my brother and me. Don’t be angry, you need to look after your health. By the way, Mom, was there a specific reason you had us come back?"
Her daughter’s words eased some of Xia Yingyu’s anger. Wiping her tears, she said with a choked voice, "You’re both so young, and you’ve been away for over half a year. I haven’t stopped worrying about you. Your stepfather happened to mention he could get two train tickets, so I wrote to you to come home."
’So it was Zhao Jinghai’s idea.’
Hearing this, Zhao Nuanyue immediately put her guard up. ’Zhao Jinghai isn’t that kind. He must have an ulterior motive.’
"Oh!" Xia Yingyu nodded. "By the way, how are you and Nuanyang doing in the countryside?"
As she asked, Xia Yingyu’s voice trailed off. ’How could the countryside possibly be as good as the city?’
’Leaving home to work in a rural village... what kind of good life could they possibly have? Many young people from here went to the countryside, too. When they came back, they would do anything to get a job in an office or a factory—anything to avoid going back.’
’But she was powerless. She’d asked Zhao Jinghai about bringing the children back, but he would always stay silent. When she pressed him, he’d just say he didn’t have the right connections. She didn’t dare to think too hard about whether he really couldn’t find a way, or simply didn’t want to.’
’If she thought too much, life would be unbearable.’
"It’s alright," Zhao Nuanyue replied. "The work is exhausting, but at least we have enough to eat. It’s better than our life in Jincheng City. At the very least, no one is cursing at me and my brother anymore."
Zhao Nuanyue said this intentionally to make sure Xia Yingyu understood. She was letting her know that she’d rather suffer hardship elsewhere than live in this house, which showed just how miserable she and her brother had been under Zhao Jinghai’s roof.
"Sigh... It’s all my fault. I’m useless, I couldn’t protect you." Xia Yingyu looked embarrassed, but she was also filled with guilt. ’In the past, I was just too soft. When they berated and hit my son and daughter, I never stood up for them because I was afraid people would say I was a bad stepmother.’
’But she had been wrong. They didn’t appreciate her silence, and it only made her son and daughter come to resent her.’
’For her daughter to say such a thing to her face proved she was still holding a grudge.’
Zhao Nuanyue looked at Xia Yingyu and said earnestly, "Mom, look. Nuanyang can speak now. It’s only simple sentences, but that was completely impossible before. I took him to see a doctor who said that a warm, caring environment is good for his condition. So, after we’re done visiting you, I’m taking him back with me. Maybe in a few years, he’ll be just like everyone else."
"Really?" Though Xia Yingyu was a bit weak-willed, she was still Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang’s mother. She was overjoyed to hear her son was doing much better.
Backing up his sister, Zhao Nuanyang smiled, nodded, and said, "It’s true, Mama! I can draw."
With that, Nuanyang pulled a drawing from his bookbag. It was a family portrait he had drawn: a beautiful and gentle Xia Yingyu, his pretty sister, a tall and handsome version of himself, and a framed photo of their biological father sitting on a table.
Zhao Jinghai had never treated them as his own children and was cruel to them, so Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang never considered his family to be their own.
The drawing made that perfectly clear.
Xia Yingyu gazed at the drawing, tears streaming down her face. No matter how wonderful that man had been, he was gone, having left them forever.
’I shouldn’t dwell on it,’ she thought. Her son’s improvement was a comfort, at least.
Seeing the smile on her son’s face made Xia Yingyu even happier. In the past, her son had been expressionless and silent, which was why people called him a fool.
But she knew that wasn’t true.
"Good, you’re such a good boy." Xia Yingyu stroked Zhao Nuanyang’s head, her face once again streaked with tears of emotion. "Listen to your sister, alright? It’s all my fault. I’m a useless mother."
"Don’t cry, don’t cry." Zhao Nuanyang took out a handkerchief to wipe away his mother’s tears, able to comfort her now.
Xia Yingyu felt a deep sense of relief, hoping her son could recover fully soon, just as her daughter had said.
"Come on, let’s go home. I’ll make you something delicious," Xia Yingyu said. "I made a special trip to the store for meat today. We’re having pork stew with glass noodles for dinner."
Zhao Nuanyang helped his mother with her basket while Zhao Nuanyue supported her by the arm, and they headed home together.
At first, Zhao Nuanyue still harbored some resentment toward her mother, but the Dragon Bright Grass around her neck didn’t grow warm, proving that for now, her mother held no ill will toward her.
The mother and her two children walked home together. As they reached the door, they could hear laughter coming from inside. They recognized the voices of Zhao Jinghai and Zhao Huilan, as well as the even louder laugh of her mother-in-law, Wang Lianhua.
Xia Yingyu took out her key and opened the door. Without so much as a glance at the three of them, she pulled Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang inside.
"Nuanyue, Nuanyang, just a moment, I’ll go make dinner," Xia Yingyu said. "Go put your things in your old room. I’ve already tidied it up for you."
Zhao Jinghai saw his wife arrive with Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang trailing behind her. Only then did he seem to remember that his wife had asked him that morning to pick them up from the train station.
"Oh, my! Look at this memory of mine, how could I have forgotten!" Zhao Jinghai said with a laugh as he walked over. "I had a bit to drink this morning and completely forgot to pick you two up. You mustn’t be angry with me."
Xia Yingyu listened, then turned to Zhao Jinghai with a cold, expressionless face. "How could I possibly dare to be angry? And how could I ever dare to ask you to do anything again! It’s one thing to forget to pick them up. But Nuanyue and Nuanyang got to the main gate at noon. The security guard called to say someone would be right over, but they waited and waited. They were still there when I got back from work with the groceries. Not a single soul came for them."
