Chapter 11 Net Cover Zheng Yi, I beg you, please read some books and learn...

Xiang Li went to Jiang's house alone.

It was Jiang Cheng who opened the door. He looked haggard. Jiang Hao's stepmother, Wang Jing, was probably resting in the bedroom with her son, with the door closed. His step-grandmother was busy in the kitchen.

"Xiang Li, why are you here?" Jiang Cheng was a little embarrassed.

Xiang Li didn't beat around the bush: "Jiang Cheng, let's talk about something we'd like to talk about."

Jiang Cheng rubbed his hands and sat down across from her. "I was too anxious yesterday and said something harsh. But Wang Jing's mood was unstable after giving birth, and you saw it. Don't say I missed her, I also endured it all day long. I had no choice at the time. It's also difficult for me to be caught in the middle. Put yourself in her shoes and think about it, isn't it the same?"

"There's no other way? So you can't ask for evidence and directly pin the serious crime of strangling your own daughter? So you can't scare a nine-year-old child into running away from home in the middle of the night, and only discover she's missing the next morning? Jiang Cheng, check your conscience. As a father, aren't you being a little too foolish?"

Jiang Cheng was completely utterly devastated by Xiang Li's merciless words. He tried to defend himself, but found he had no way to begin.

Xiang Li looked at his expression, feeling a bit angry. He suppressed his anger and said, "I miss that child so much. She's your daughter. How could you not understand your daughter? She's soft-hearted, but not weak. She's a bit spoiled, but definitely not evil. You told her to pinch her own brother? Do you believe that? There are so many reasons for bruises on a baby. Have you examined it carefully? Have you consulted a doctor? Just based on a few emotionally uncontrolled words from your wife, you condemn the child and want to send her away? Is that your attitude to solve a problem?"

She looked at Jiang Cheng's flickering eyes and continued, "Yes, you're happy now that you have a son. I understand. But she also looks like your daughter, the daughter Lin Ran risked her life to give birth to for you! If Lin Ran knew her child was treated like this, would she be able to rest in peace in the grave?"

Jiang Cheng felt so unfamiliar when the name Lin Ran was mentioned here. These two words had never appeared in this family.

Jiang Cheng was powerless: "It's not that I don't love her, it's just..."

"It's just that your focus is now on your new home and your son, and you feel like she's getting in the way, right? Do you think sending her to grandma's house would be more peaceful, out of sight and out of mind?"

Jiang Cheng didn't say anything, which was considered as his agreement.

Xiang Li looked at him. Blaming him was useless. After a few slaps, he started to offer sweet words: "Jiang Cheng, we have known each other for so many years. You know who I am, Xiang Li. I don't mean to interfere in your family affairs. But look at the situation now. Wang Jing is emotionally unstable and needs to rest and recuperate. She also needs your company. I miss her very much. After what happened yesterday, she must be frightened. You two also need time to ease the tension. Forcing her to stay at home at this time will not be good for anyone. It might even irritate Wang Jing."

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but take a look at the master bedroom. Even though the door was closed, he still sighed.

Xiang Li observed that Jiang Cheng was starting to waver, so he offered his own proposal: "Since you're interested in giving her a change of scenery, why not let her stay with me temporarily? It's close, so you can come visit her whenever you want. With me, Zheng Yi and I will be watching over her, so you can rest assured. Once Wang Jing's emotions have stabilized and your family relationships have eased, you can let Haoxiang come back. What do you think?"

These words were reasonable and logical. They pointed out Jiang Cheng's inappropriate handling of the situation, gave him a decent way out, and took into account his current situation and concerns.

Jiang Cheng looked at the tightly closed bedroom door, then recalled Jiang Haoxiang's determination to run away from home yesterday. He finally nodded, "Okay. Xiang Li, I'll trouble you for now. I'll pick her up when things are stable here."

When the news reached Zheng Yi, he jumped up from his chair.

"Really? Mom! You're so awesome!" He circled around Xiang Li.

"Stop flattering me." Xiang Li patted the back of his head. "Go, help Haoxiang pack up and move in tonight."

Zheng Yi received the imperial edict and kicked Jiang Hao out of the house.

Zheng Yi deftly helped Jiang Haoxiang fold her clothes and stuff them into her suitcase. Soon, they were almost done packing. Jiang Haoxiang looked around the small, stuffy room and pointed at the electric fan Zheng Yi had given her. "Brother Zheng Yi, let's take this too."

Zheng Yi was zipping up his suitcase when he turned to look at the electric fan. "Really? Jiang Haoxiang? Why are you bringing this crap? I have an air conditioner at home. It's a hundred times better than this crappy fan. Just leave it here. I'm too lazy to move it!"

Jiang Haoxiang was extremely stubborn. She stood next to the electric fan and said, "No, I want to take it away."

In this stuffy room, during her countless lonely nights, it was this electric fan that accompanied her, bringing her wind, and it also witnessed her tears and helplessness.

Zheng Yi looked at her attitude of not leaving unless she moved, and resigned himself to his fate: "Okay, okay, okay! Move, move, move! I really owed you this in my previous life!"

"Go, go, go! Hurry up!" He held the electric fan and walked out first.

Jiang Haoxiang moved into the new room that Xiang Li had prepared for her. The new room was next to Zheng Yi's room.

"This room faces south and has good ventilation." Xiang Li said as he pushed the suitcase in neatly.

The room was small, with a bright window. It was empty, with only a desk, a chair, and an empty wardrobe. It was simple, almost empty, but the good thing was that it was clean and bright.

"Mom, when did you pack up? Why didn't you wait for us?" Zheng Yi was a little surprised.

"There's nothing in there, why are we waiting for you to do it together? It will be cleaned up in no time." Xiang Li said casually.

"Come here, Haoxiang, hang your clothes in." Xiang Li opened the empty closet and said to Jiang Haoxiang who was holding her clothes.

The three of them worked together. Xiang Li was in charge of separating the hangers one by one, while Zheng Yi took Jiang Haoxiang's poorly folded clothes, shook them out, and handed them to Xiang Li to hang up. Jiang Haoxiang ran back and forth between the suitcase and the wardrobe, carrying the last few pieces of clothing.

"The way you folded your clothes..." Zheng Yi picked up a long-sleeved shirt and commented with disdain.

"Then you fold it!" Jiang Hao seemed unconvinced.

"I'll fold it." Zheng Yihao took the long-sleeved shirt and began to fold it again in an orderly manner. It was much better than the messy mess that Jiang Haoxiang had made.

"Brother Zheng Yi, you are so awesome! I want to learn from you too!" Jiang Hao was convinced.

"No need to learn, I'll help you fold it later!"

Xiang Li looked at his son's pretentiousness and teased him, "The sun really rises from the west. Normally, asking you to pair your socks is like asking your life."

Zheng Yi: "How can it be the same? She's so stupid!"

"Who's stupid!" Jiang Hao wanted to refute immediately.

"You're just stupid!" Zheng Yi immediately counterattacked.

Xiang Li ignored the bickering of the two children, hung up the last piece of clothing, and took out the four-piece suit he had prepared. "Come, make the bed."

This time, Xiang Li and Jiang Haoxiang took the lead, while Zheng Yi was assigned to straighten the four corners of the bed sheet. As he struggled, he shouted, "Why do I have to do this job?"

"Because you are tall and strong." Xiang Li praised.

Zheng Yi stopped complaining and pulled the bed sheet flat.

The three of them worked together, shook and patted the quilt, and put it into the duvet cover. Looking at the newly decorated room, the tidy bed, and his clothes hanging in the closet, Jiang Hao wanted to stand in the middle of the room and felt like he was the king!

"How is it? Is there anything you need?" Xiang Li looked around and asked.

Jiang Hao wanted to shake her head: "It's not missing! But why is it smaller than Brother Zheng Yi's room?" She was very familiar with Zheng Yi's room, and this room was indeed smaller than Zheng Yi's.

Zheng Yiba raised his head slightly and said, "Nonsense! Mine is the main room number one! Yours is the backup room number two! How can they be the same?"

Xiang Li was amused by these two funny guys and took one in each hand: "Alright, alright, main number one and backup number two, hurry up and pack up, get ready to wash hands and eat!"

That evening, Xiang Li ordered takeout as a welcome treat for Jiang Haoxiang. Zheng Yi grabbed the food while complaining about Jiang Haoxiang's slow eating. Xiang Li smiled and offered her some food, urging her to eat more. Jiujiu flitted around people's feet.

Jiang Hao felt like he was dreaming. This was what home felt like, right? The feeling of being able to eat in peace.

On the table was a dish of diced carrots, stir-fried with corn and peas. Zheng Yi brought the dish to himself and picked at the carrots. Once he had picked them all, he pushed them back to the center of the table. He remembered that Jiang Haoxiang loved sweet corn.

Xiang Li casually said, "Try this. It's okay if you don't like it."

After saying that, he took away a few mushrooms from another dish. Zheng Yi didn't like mushrooms. Only after Xiang Li took them away did Zheng Yi pick up his chopsticks.

Xiang Li didn't care about children being picky eaters. Everyone has something they don't like. There are so many nutritious things in the world. If you don't like something, there are always other things you do like that can provide the same nutrients. Forcing a child to eat something they hate just for a few vitamins, making eating like torture, is not the right thing to do. It's called bullying, and it's also just adults being lazy, too lazy to think of other solutions.

Besides, even if they're truly deficient in a certain amount of nutrients, what's the big deal? Is the sky going to fall? A bunch of adults know smoking, drinking, and staying up late are bad for their health, yet they keep doing it anyway? Why should children be treated differently? It doesn't make sense.

It was time to go to bed. Xiang Li, considering that Jiang Haoxiang had just arrived in a new environment and worried that she might be scared, came to Jiang Haoxiang's door and asked, "Haoxiang, do you need your aunt to sleep with you tonight?"

Before Jiang Haoxiang could answer, Zheng Yi, who was hanging around nearby, heard her and interrupted without a second thought: "It's okay! I'll sleep with her!"

Xiang Li slowly turned her head and looked at her son, her veins throbbing. She felt a little worried. "Zheng Yi, I beg you, please read a little and learn a little, okay? Don't just play games all day! Why are you talking like an uneducated scoundrel? Huh?"

Uneducated! What a scoundrel! Six sharp arrows! Every arrow hit their mark! They pierced Zheng Yi's sensitive self-esteem. His face flushed red all the way to his ears, and he was furious: "Who's the scoundrel! I just wanted to accompany her! I didn't mean anything else! Why are you so complicated!"

"My thoughts are complicated? Is this a question of whether my thoughts are complicated or not? This is a question of basic common sense! I think you just lack education!"

Zheng Yi just felt that his mother was simply unreasonable!

Seeing his stubborn attitude, Xiang Li used his trump card: "Alright, you don't study, you don't learn, and you just mess around like this all day. Then how are you going to make a living in the future? Are you going to rely on your in-game skills to find a father and a master? Or is it just relying on your bank account with little money in it?"

Zheng Yi was filled with shame and anger this time.

He glared at his mother, unable to utter a word, and finally stamped his feet, rushed back to his room, and slammed the door. From inside came the sound of flipping pages, turning anger into motivation to study, or pretend to study.

Xiang Li looked at Jiang Haoxiang again: "Haoxiang, ignore him, he's stupid. Are you afraid of sleeping alone?"

Jiang Hao wanted to shake his head: "Don't be afraid, Auntie."

"Okay, go to bed early and call us if anything happens." Xiang Li helped her turn off the lights, closed the door and went out.

Jiang Hao wanted to lie in a strange bed, but he didn't feel scared.

There was a sense of security all around, and Zheng Yi's voice came from the next room.

She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling, feeling that this was unreal happiness.

She no longer had to worry about being wronged, no longer had to fear being sent away, no longer had to look at people's faces, no longer had to be unable to eat her favorite food at the table. She could lie here peacefully, without worrying about what would happen tomorrow.

She was not familiar with the smell of sunshine, but at this moment she was sure that the smell emanating from the quilt was that of sunshine.

Jiang Haoxiang blinked and reached out to pinch his arm - it hurt a little.

It wasn't a dream. But she felt uneasy. Once when she was a child, she had a fever and thought she owned the whole candy house. But when she woke up, she only had a pack of wet wipes in her hand.

She rolled over, facing the wall, and began counting silently in her head: "One cat, two cats, three cats..." This was a trick she'd invented when she couldn't fall asleep. It was said that counting sheep could help you fall asleep, but she thought cats were cuter.

When she counted twenty cats, she stopped. Would she stop when she counted a hundred cats and then opened her eyes to find herself still lying in the small north room?

She closed her eyes, a little afraid to continue counting, but she had to count because she had learned a word, called facing reality.

There was one thing she didn't tell Zheng Yi and Xiang Li. In fact, she had started eating carrots the day before she ran away from home.

Jiang Haoxiang hated carrots the most. They had a strange taste, and they were so soft and mushy when cooked that she didn't like them. When Lin Ran was around, he'd never force her to eat them. He'd always say, "Don't like carrots? How about some broccoli? Broccoli is nutritious, too."

But now it’s no longer possible. My stepmother has said several times: “Children can’t be picky about food. Carrots are good for the eyes and are rich in vitamins.”

Dad also said: "I really want to. Be good and eat some carrots."

But she was a little tired, exhausted by this battle that only she knew about. When her father, ordered by her stepmother, put a piece of carrot into her bowl with chopsticks and said, "I want some carrots," she stuffed the orange slice into her mouth.

Jiang Hao wanted to feel the orange slice enter her mouth, but she didn't chew it, letting it slide down her throat and into her stomach.

A strange feeling washed over her. Instead of feeling relieved that the war was over, she felt betrayed. Who had she betrayed? Was it the part of her that disliked carrots?

It turns out that the war was not over, but her body was about to be transformed by the war.

What would the future hold? Would she have to accept and reform everything she disliked but that the adults considered good for her, just like accepting that brother and this family?

Is she going to live like this, eating carrots forever?

Before I could figure it out, the next day I saw my brother get bruises.

Jiang Hao wanted to speed up: "Twenty-eight cats, twenty-nine cats, thirty cats..."

When she counted to fifty cats, she secretly opened her eyes a crack. The moonlight was soft, with the furry feeling she loved. The furry moonlight made the room brilliant. The outlines in the room remained the same: the desk, chair, and wardrobe were all in their original places.

She breathed a sigh of relief, closed her eyes again, and counted a hundred cats. She opened her eyes and they were still there.

Happiness comes too suddenly.

She was ready to accept the carrot, but what she was offered was a cake.

"Room, are you serious? You won't sneak away while I'm asleep, will you?"

"And the wind outside the window, will you come tomorrow?"

"Pillow, you promise not to disappear?"

In the darkness, Jiang Haoxiang quietly sat up, slipped out of bed like a kitten, and walked to the door of the master bedroom. The door was not closed tightly, and Xiang Li had left it a crack for Jiang Haoxiang. Jiang Haoxiang looked through the crack and saw Aunt Xiang Li lying on her side, seemingly asleep.

Jiang Haoxiang's heart was beating fast. She hesitated for a moment, then gently pushed the door open. She tiptoed to the bedside and looked at Aunt Xiang Li's face. Emotions surged in her chest.

Jiang Haoxiang leaned over and whispered in a very low voice:

"Mother……"

"Mother……"

"Mother……"

Tears soaked the collar of Xiang Li's pajamas.

She thought Xiang Li was asleep.

When she called out "Mom" for the third time, Xiang Li's eyes, which were originally closed, opened.

The moment Jiang Haoxiang tried to escape as if she had done something wrong, Xiang Li stretched out his arms, hugged Jiang Haoxiang into his arms, and then carried Jiang Haoxiang to the bed.

The two hugged each other tightly. Xiang Li wanted to convey to Jiang Haoxiang the warmth she had missed out on over the years, the protection Lin Ran had failed to give her, and all his heartache through this hug.

There are no words in the darkness.

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