Thinking of all the suffering her daughter had endured over the years, He Yinhua couldn't stop her tears.

She was furious.

How could Yang Shuying, a woman with a beast's heart, do such a thing!

It's all because she's a useless mother that her child has to suffer so much.

Jiang Xuan said softly, "Stop crying. You've cried so many times today. Look at me, I'm doing just fine now. By the way, let me take you home."

Wiping her eyes, He Yinhua said, "Xuanxuan, I'm not going. How can I face people looking like this? I'll just make them laugh at me. Call Shengye out later, I'll meet him, and then I'll go to the train station."

"How can you go home looking like this? Besides, is there anyone at home to take care of you?"

"Don't worry, HyunHyun, I can take care of myself."

Jiang Xuan asked in a low voice, "Do I have any other younger siblings?"

He Yinhua shook her head and gave a bitter smile. "You originally had an older brother, but he was stillborn. It's all because your mother is useless; she couldn't leave you any brothers or sisters in this world."

Um?

Was the original body actually a pair of twins?

"Don't be sad. Whether you have brothers or sisters or not is all predetermined. Since that's the case, just stay in Ningzhou. I can keep you company whenever I have time."

He Yinhua rummaged through her pockets for a while and pulled out a silver ring and a few coins.

She needed to save the few dollars for travel expenses.

Her voice was full of guilt: "Other people's parents leave their children big bracelets, but I have nothing. I only have this ring, which I got when I went to Hexi. You can keep it."

Jiang Xuan wanted to refuse, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Her feelings toward He Yinhua were particularly complicated.

On one hand, she harbored the original owner's hatred for He Yinhua, and couldn't even bring herself to call her "Mom."

On the other hand, seeing this pitiful woman would inexplicably remind her of her own mother.

Her mother must have been heartbroken because of the separation from her child.

Subconsciously, she felt that as long as she treated He Yinhua well, this kindness would surely be passed on to another world, where a girl who looked very much like her would comfort her mother's heart.

Jiang Xuan took the ring and said, "It's already very nice, I like it very much. Since you don't want to go home, I'll book a guesthouse for you near the school. You can stay there for now, and I can bring you food for lunch and dinner. Come on, let me treat you to something to eat."

Considering that He Yinhua was receiving a blood transfusion today, Jiang Xuan bought her a bowl of old hen soup.

But He Yinhua seemed unable to eat anything, stopping after a few bites.

Jiang Xuan then took her to the guesthouse.

After settling her in, it was already 7 p.m.

Jiang Xuan picked up her bicycle from school and hurried home.

Lu Shengye has returned and is telling stories to the two children.

"You're back?"

"Um."

Seeing Jiang Xuan return, Hu Tao, who was knitting on the sofa, put down her knitting needles and stood up. "Then hurry up and wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Stir-fried knife-cut noodles made with walnuts.

She had already cooked the noodles and had been keeping them in the small vegetable basket to drain.

The dishes are all cooked.

Jiang Xuan put down his bag, changed his shoes, walked over, and said to Dian Dian and Fan Xing, "Babies, Daddy and I are going inside to talk about something. You can look at things yourselves first."

Dian Dian said unhappily, "Why are you adults always like this? You interrupt us before the story is finished."

Lu Shengye put down his book and said seriously, "Aunt Xuanxuan must have something important to say. I'll tell you about it later."

Back in the bedroom, Jiang Xuan asked in a low voice, "You don't have any plans for tonight, do you?"

What do you mean?

Are you free tonight?

Lu Shengye nodded. "Yes."

"It's like this, my mother came to Ningzhou, and she wants to meet you."

Lu Shengye was a little taken aback. "Your... mother?"

"Yes, my biological mother."

"Where is she now? Why didn't you bring her home?"

Jiang Xuan lowered her voice: "She's sick, late-stage breast cancer. I wanted to ask her to come over, but she absolutely refused, so I booked a guesthouse for her near the school. I hope you can go and see her."

Lu Shengye thought he had misheard; she could so calmly describe such a terrible disease.

However, considering that she grew up in her uncle's house and probably never met her biological mother, it's normal that she doesn't have much affection for her.

He didn't know what her biological mother was thinking. She hadn't taken on the responsibilities of a mother for so many years, and only came to her daughter when she was sick.

It's time to go see them.

"Late-stage breast cancer?"

Jiang Xuan sighed and nodded: "Yes, I went to the affiliated hospital for a check-up this afternoon. The doctor said that the cancer cells have spread and there is probably no need for treatment. However, the doctor also suggested that we could do conservative treatment, which is chemotherapy, but that has a lot of side effects. He also said that if we don't want to do that, we can try traditional Chinese medicine."

Lu Shengye nodded, "Give me the report first, and I'll find an expert at the military hospital to take a look and see if there are any other options."

"The test report is still with my mom. I need to go there later."

Just then, Hu Tao called for dinner.

Jiang Xuan whispered to Lu Shengye, "Please don't tell anyone about my mother's matter. It's enough that you know."

"I see."

At the dinner table, Hu Tao said, "Jiang Xuan, do you get out of school this late every day? Eating this late all the time is bad for your stomach. If you really can't, you can eat at the school cafeteria before coming back."

"No, Auntie, something came up today."

Dian Dian blinked her big eyes, "What is it?"

Lu Shengye gave Dian Dian a serious look, and the latter stuck out her tongue and remained silent.

“Oh, by the way,” Hu Tao put down her chopsticks and walked to the living room cabinet, “a comrade named Liu Hao came to see you just now and said this is the money from selling pancakes.”

Hu Tao took a stack of change and gave it to Jiang Xuan, saying, "23.5 yuan. He said it's for 47 pancakes."

"He sold them all?"

"Yes, he said it sold out pretty quickly. He said he originally wanted to come find you at noon, but he was afraid you wouldn't be there. When he came just now, you happened to be out, so he gave me the money."

Liu Hao is so honest.

Jiang Xuan originally intended to give the person who helped sell the pancakes a small fee of one cent for each pancake.

Speaking of this, Lu Shengye also remembered the stall.

“I went to see Master Yang at noon, but he said there was still a little bit left to do and it would be finished tomorrow.”

"Okay, it's alright."

Because of what happened to the original owner's mother, Jiang Xuan felt that she didn't have enough time anymore.

I'm a little worried.

After finishing their meal, Lu Shengye told Hu Tao that they had something to do, and then pushed his bicycle and went out with Jiang Xuan.

It's a bit far to ride a bicycle back and forth, but he doesn't have the right to use the vehicle at will.

As soon as he left the compound, Lu Shengye walked in the opposite direction.

(End of this chapter)