Chapter 32: The Changed Worldline
After subduing the middle-aged man with glasses, uncle JCs team dispatched another car to escort him back to the police station for further investigation. Mei Fang and Xia Yuan did not have the opportunity to delve deeper into the case and were instead safely escorted to Xia Yuans grandmothers house.
The two of them sat in the car for nearly an hour before finally leaving the city and arriving at their destination.
This place was in the outskirts of Jiangcheng. Apart from the taller buildings, it was not much different from the rural areas elsewhere. There was a wide cement path, with lush green fields on the left and neatly arranged residential buildings with courtyards on the right.
Having received the news early, Xia Yuans grandmother had been waiting at the entrance of her small courtyard to welcome her granddaughter.
Xia Yuans grandmother had white hair and appeared to be in her sixties or seventies, but she looked quite well. As soon as they met, she opened her arms to embrace Xia Yuan.
Grandma
Xia Yuan had always been closest to her grandmother since she was young. She would come here every summer vacation. She had many things she wanted to say, but as soon as she saw her grandmother, she involuntarily twitched her mouth and acted spoiled, throwing herself into her grandmothers arms.
Oh Yuan Yuan, dont be afraid, dont worry, everythings fine You really worried your grandma.
Im sorry I didnt mean to make Grandma worry
Grandma knows about what happened. Its not your fault Wait until your dad comes, Ill see how I deal with him.
After comforting Xia Yuan, her grandmother stood up and thanked JC. She even warmly suggested that they stay for a meal, but of course, they declined and left after a few instructions.
At this moment, Xia Yuans grandmother finally had the time to focus her attention on Mei Fang.
You must be Mei Fang, right?
Hello, Grandma.
Mei Fang nodded. Xia Yuans grandmother had been walking back and forth with her hands behind her back, looking him up and down, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.
He was about to say something in greeting when Xia Yuans grandmother suddenly turned behind Mei Fang and unexpectedly patted his shoulder with force.
Hahaha! Youre really an amazing young man!
Thank you for protecting our Yuan Yuan and bringing her here!
Mei Fang endured the pain in his shoulder and politely smiled with his hands behind his back.
Xia Yuan and I are good friends. Its what I should do.
Just good friends? Only good friends?
Xia Yuans grandmother patted Mei Fangs shoulder again, furrowing her brows as if in deep thought. I remember our Yuan Yuan used to always talk about wanting to have mao mao with a boy named Mei Fang. Thats you, right?
Xia Yuan blushed and jumped up and down in embarrassment.
Grandma! Why do you always bring up things from when I was little!
Hahaha! Thats just how our Yuan Yuan is! Get used to it!
Xia Yuans grandmother continued to pat Mei Fang.
Mei Fang felt like his immature shoulders were about to be patted to pieces by this elderly lady.
The two of them ate some snacks at Grandmas house to fill their stomachs. Xia Yuan and Grandma talked about their experiences of running away from home. Grandma not only didnt blame Xia Yuan for running away on her own, but also expressed her approval of her bravery.
In addition, Grandma kept patting Mei Fang.
The reason was that Mei Fangs clever performance along the way greatly satisfied Grandma and earned her praise.
By the time it was dusk, Xia Yuans parents finally arrived at Grandmas house by car.
Xia Yuan held Grandmas hand and went out to meet her parents.
Although Xia Yuan had prepared a lot to say with Mei Fangs help.
But when she saw her parents, she suddenly couldnt say anything.
She had never seen her parents in such a miserable state.
Her mothers hair was messy and her fathers face was dirty.
Xia Yuans father walked up aggressively, looking very angry.
Xia Yuan tightly closed her eyes and quietly waited for her fathers scolding.
Smack!
A loud and fierce slap.
But it didnt hit Xia Yuan.
Xia Yuan opened her eyes and saw her father half-kneeling on the ground, repeatedly slapping his own cheeks.
Dad please please stop!
Xia Yuan cried and pulled her father, after a few slaps, Xias father tightly hugged his daughter.
Yuan Yuan, Dad has been looking for you everywhere today. When I couldnt find you, I thought about a lot of things.
These years, Ive been too focused on my career and didnt have time to accompany you and your mother. If I had spent more time with you and your mother, you wouldnt have run away from home.
Just the thought of possibly losing you forever, just the thought of you being hurt by bad people outside, Dad feels like his heart is breaking, do you know?
If that really happened, Dad would never be able to forgive himself.
Dont be like this Dad I also made a mistake.
Xia Yuan rubbed her eyes, I shouldnt have made you and Mom worry like this I wont do it again, I promise.
Okay then Dad promises you too, I wont mortgage our house anymore, I will sell the loss-making restaurant business. From now on, I will definitely spend more time with you!
Okay!
Xia Xun, you rascal! Xia Yuans Grandma started patting her son-in-laws shoulder forcefully, A mans words should be backed up with actions, dont fool my precious granddaughter. I will definitely keep an eye on you!
U-understood
Xia Yuans father was already in a grimacing state while speaking, it seems that he had also suffered greatly.
In any case fortunately, the development of the situation did not become the worst-case scenario that Mei Fang had imagined.
Xia Yuans father still loves his daughter very much.
Perhaps it is because of this love that he is unwilling to let his daughter suffer alone in this world.
However, no matter what, this reason is still not enough to cover up the fact that he was unworthy of being a parent in his past life.
This matter is not yet considered resolved, and the current promise needs to be executed in order to be recognized.
Only then can Mei Fang consider what he knew in his past life as a parallel timeline.
In addition, during this runaway plan, Mei Fang still has a very puzzling question in his heart.
I have been missing for so long, why havent my parents even made a phone call?
Could it be that I lack the love of family?
Considering that they still have to go to school the next day and the poor Mei Fang has not seen his parents yet, the group decided to drive back to Baimei County overnight.
Xia Yuans uncle was also in the car, so they could take turns driving and not worry about fatigue driving.
Xia Yuan leaned against her mothers arms and said a lot of things, then fell asleep for a while and suddenly woke up.
She nudged Mei Fang, who was dozing off next to her.
Whats wrong?
Xia Yuan whispered in Mei Fangs ear.
Mei Fang, let me tell you, I had a really scary nightmare just now.
What kind of nightmare?
I dreamt that I was having dinner with my mom and dad, and the dinner was especially abundant.
My mom also poured me a lot of juice.
Then, I fell asleep in a daze.
After that, my mom held me and cried, and she cried for a long, long time.
I have never seen my mom cry so miserably, so I cried too.
Afterwards, my dad and mom also drank the juice and fell asleep with me.
We slept very soundly, as if we would never wake up again.
Mei Fang raised an eyebrow slightly and then asked gently:
Werent you asleep? How did you see all that?
Well let me think
Umm
Xia Yuan lay on Mei Fangs chest and fell asleep again.
While no one was paying attention, Mei Fang gently pinched Xia Yuans fair cheek, enjoying the beauty of life.
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