An Qingyan was delirious with fever and felt terrible. In his hazy state, he had a dream that he couldn't even tell if it was reality or a dream; it felt very real.

Eleven years ago.

At the Gu family villa, eight-year-old Lin Qingyan was still a thin and small child. He sat on the steps of the courtyard, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and trousers that were a size too small. The trousers were too short, revealing his slender ankles.

But he was exceptionally fair-skinned, with a delicate and lovely face, and big, bright eyes like grapes. However, he seemed lost in thought, his little hand supporting his chin, as if he was thinking about something.

My older brother has been gone for three days. He said he's going to study abroad. How far is it? Will he have to take a plane? Lin Qingyan felt a little melancholy. He had never been on a plane before.

I miss my older brother so much. I wonder if he's eating well abroad, and if he can sleep well at night? Does he miss home? Does he cry when he misses home?

Lin Qingyan sighed.

The child's thin and frail figure looked especially lonely at that moment.

After his older brother left, he had no friends. The neighborhood kids and his classmates at school didn't want to be his friends and always bullied him.

"Xiao Yan, sweep up the fallen leaves in the yard, and remember to sweep them clean." Zhou Yuelan came over with a broom.

"Okay," Lin Qingyan replied, her voice clear and youthful. (Remember this website: https://m.)

He obediently took the broom, which was taller than himself, and began sweeping the fallen leaves under the tree. Although he was still young, he was very skilled at the work, and his mother often asked him to help with the chores.

He was happy to help with chores because his mother wouldn't scold him then; instead, she would pat his head and praise him, saying he was a good boy.

The broom was too big, and Lin Qingyan had some difficulty sweeping. August and September were the hottest months, so he raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face and continued to work.

Just then, a similarly childish voice rang in his ear, innocent and naive yet with a hint of arrogance: "Hey, what are you doing?"

Lin Qingyan stopped what he was doing, looked up at the person who had spoken, who was standing right in front of him.

It was a boy about his age, fair-skinned and delicate, wearing a clean shirt and trousers, shiny little leather shoes, a longevity lock necklace around his neck, and a toy car in his hand.

He's obviously from a wealthy family.

"I'm sweeping the floor." After saying that, Lin Qingyan lowered his eyes. He was sweating and dirty, his clothes had several small holes, and his shoes were also filthy.

"What's your name? Why are you working here? You're not the servant's son, are you?" An Nanyi walked closer, looking at the person in front of her carefully, her small face showing a hint of disdain and mockery.

Lin Qingyan was very familiar with this kind of gaze, and he also disliked being looked at like that. He took two steps back, broom in hand, and said, "I need to get back to work..."

Annan said, "What work do you want me to do? I want you to play with me."

Lin Qingyan: "No, you can play by yourself."

"Look at the clothes you're wearing, they're so tattered and old. Here's what we'll do: if you play with me, I'll give you money. Aren't poor families like yours the ones most in need of money?"

Lin Qingyan had heard this kind of talk many times at school. He continued sweeping the floor with his head down and said in a low voice, "I don't want your money. You can find someone else to play with you."

He swept the fallen leaves together, piling them into a small mountain. Just as he turned to get a dustpan, Annan, who had been standing next to him, suddenly ran over and kicked the mountain of fallen leaves around.

Lin Qingyan only glanced at the other person timidly before continuing to sweep the scattered fallen leaves back into a pile. He knew he couldn't afford to offend these rich kids.

Seeing that Lin Qingyan ignored him, An Nanyi got angry. Every time Lin Qingyan swept the ground, he would kick it around and mess it up. This happened several times.

"Hey, are you mute? I'm talking to you!" An Nanyi said, then pushed Lin Qingyan hard, knocking him to the ground.

Lin Qingyan felt nothing at all. Even though his palms were scraped raw, he didn't feel any pain or itching. He suppressed his grievances, stood up without saying a word, and continued sweeping the floor.

If only his older brother were here, he would definitely help him.

Seeing that he still didn't react, Annan stomped his foot in frustration, muttered "How boring!" and turned to leave. As he did so, he inadvertently saw the schoolbag under the tree, which was old and tattered, clearly belonging to that poor little devil.

He smiled maliciously, then turned and left.

Lin Qingyan finally managed to put all the fallen leaves into the trash can, and then, panting, he dragged the half-person-high trash can to the other side to empty the garbage.

After he left, Annan, who had been observing from the shadows, immediately ran to the tree, opened the tattered schoolbag, and found only a few tattered notebooks, a few short pencils, and a wooden rabbit.

He wasn't interested in any of that. After thinking for a moment, he took off the safety lock necklace hanging around his neck, put it in a small compartment of his backpack, zipped it up, and put the backpack back in its original place.

Lin Qingyan, who had just returned from taking out the trash, was completely unaware of what had happened. Despite the disturbance, he still swept the fallen leaves clean. Would his mother praise him when she saw them later?

...

In the bright kitchen, Song Shuman and Yu Qingtong were making desserts.

Song Shuman: "Is Gu Fei getting used to life abroad? Why did you have to send such a young child to study abroad? He's all alone."

“He’s not young anymore, he’s already sixteen.” Yu Qingtong shook her head helplessly. “My son took the initiative to ask to study abroad. Don’t let his sixteen years fool you, he’s a twenty-six-year-old inside, incredibly mature.”

"Isn't this great?" Song Shuman smiled, then began to complain:

“An Jing just started high school last year and was boarding at school. After only two days, she called me with tears in her eyes, saying how bad the food in the school cafeteria was, how hard the bed was, and how people grind their teeth and talk in their sleep at night. She insisted on going home to live.”

"In the end, we couldn't stand his annoyance anymore, so Lingkang and I had to buy him an apartment near the school and let him move there. We even hired a housekeeper to cook for him and clean the house every day, otherwise his smelly socks would have piled up like a small mountain."

Yu Qingtong: "Gu Fei has never made me worry. I'd rather worry about him."

"My hair is starting to turn white from all this experience, especially that kid An Yu, who gets into fights and causes trouble at school every day. Only Nan Nan is the most well-behaved and obedient."

As they were talking, An Nanyi suddenly ran over and called out "Mom!" His eyes were red and brimming with tears, making him look extremely aggrieved.

Yu Qingtong asked, "What's wrong? Who bullied you?"

"What's wrong?" Song Shuman squatted down, raised her hand to rub her youngest son's head, her eyes concerned and her tone gentle: "What happened? Why does our Nan Nan look so sad?"

"The necklace my mother gave me is gone." An Nan sniffed and said aggrievedly, "I was playing in the yard just now, and I took the necklace off and put it next to me, and then it disappeared. I looked for it everywhere but couldn't find it."

"It's okay, Mom will go with you to look for it."

The group went to the courtyard and asked the servants to search as well, but they couldn't find him after searching. An Nanyi suddenly pointed to Lin Qingyan, who was sitting in the corner with his schoolbag and writing on the ground with a twig.

"That guy was right next to me, did he take it?"

Song Shuman watched the little boy's thin figure from afar, then said to her youngest son, "Nannan, you can't falsely accuse someone without evidence."

Annan pouted, looking aggrieved. "But I just noticed he kept staring at my necklace."

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuelan, standing among the servants, lowered her eyes in alarm and silently put on the mask she used while working. She only knew that the Gu family had guests today, but she never expected that the guests would be...

Without any evidence, Song Shuman didn't want to cause trouble for a child, so she comforted her youngest son, "If you can't find it, that's okay, Mom will buy you another one."

"But it was a birthday present from my mother, it's different from other gifts."

“Shuman, that’s the son of one of my maids. He usually seems quite well-behaved and often helps his mother with chores. He shouldn’t do something like this,” Yu Qingtong whispered to her best friend.

Zhou Yuelan's gaze remained fixed on An Nanyi, her son. He had grown up so much; life in a wealthy family was quite different, he looked so elegant.

Seeing An Nanyi's aggrieved and heartbroken expression, she suddenly walked quickly towards Lin Qingyan. Without saying a word, she took the schoolbag from his arms, unzipped it in full view of everyone, and emptied out all the contents.

Notebooks, stationery, wood carvings, and a valuable necklace.

Lin Qingyan stared blankly at the things on the ground, "Mom..." However, he was met with a hard slap in the face. Zhou Yuelan slapped him across the face.

"How did I teach you? How could you do something like this?!"

Although he felt no pain, the child's fair cheeks immediately flushed red. Lin Qingyan covered his cheeks, feeling both aggrieved and confused. He looked at the necklace on the ground, "This isn't mine..."

"Mom, that's my necklace!" An Nanyi ran over quickly and picked up the necklace. "Brother, even if you like my things, you can't steal them. That's wrong."

"What? What theft?" Lin Qingyan looked at him and the adults around her in disbelief. "I didn't steal anything from you. Why are you framing me..."

"Mom, I didn't steal anything, I really didn't steal anything..."

"Why was that necklace in your bag? Does it have legs? You still won't admit it?" Zhou Yuelan glared fiercely at her adopted son, and was about to raise her hand to slap him when Song Shuman stopped her.

"Forget it, it's good that the things were found." Zhou Yuelan was wearing a mask, and Song Shuman didn't recognize her after all these years. She frowned and said, "Even if your son did something wrong, you can't hit him."

The thin, small child covered his cheeks, his eyes glistening with tears, looking exceptionally pitiful.