Lu Yingqian bit her lower lip, not knowing how to answer this question: "Brother, should I not think about these messy things, but..."
Maybe it's because at night, courage is always infinite, and many things that cannot be said during the day can be said at night.
"Brother, I have no memory of you at all. The housekeeper said I lived here until I was fifteen, but... I don't feel the slightest bit familiar."
Lu Jinghuai fell silent. He didn't say any words of comfort. He turned around again. Instead of returning to his room, he went to the study. When he came back, he had a photo album in his hand.
He handed the photo album to Lu Yingqian, who looked at Lu Jinghuai blankly.
"Take a look." Lu Jinghuai spoke gently, and Lu Yingqian lowered her eyes and opened the photo album.
The album is a record of growth, and the title page is inscribed with a row of beautifully written small characters: "A coming-of-age gift for baby Qianqian."
Lu Yingqian opened the photo album. The first photo was of a baby with a sticky note next to it.
"My little princess is finally born."
In an instant, Lu Yingqian seemed to understand what this photo album was. Her nose suddenly felt sore and she lowered her eyes to cover her red eyes.
It turned out that she was born as expected, in Daliang Village, to the Xu family. She had never doubted her background, but it was not because the Xu parents were so good to her, but because the Xu parents really treated everyone equally.
Girls in Daliang Village have no status.
Girls born in Daliang Village were never expected to be born, and the three daughters of the Xu family were often talked about behind the backs of the villagers.
Xu's mother would also murmur, thinking it would be nice to have a son.
Lu Yingqian didn't know that she was not Xu's child, and she once felt guilty, wishing she was a son.
If she were a son, her parents would not be talked about behind their backs. If she were a son, she could go out of the mountains to study.
After the village high school was abandoned, some villagers went to study in the city, all of them were sons.
But now she realized that her birth was expected by her parents and she was a little princess.
The second photo shows a slightly older baby, with the caption "The little princess is one month old!"
The fourth, fifth, sixth...
The baby in the photo grows up little by little, and basically every moment of growth is recorded.
One year old, two years old, every birthday, first time eating by myself, first time planting a tree, going to kindergarten...
Every ordinary yet special moment is carefully recorded. Needless to say, Lu Yingqian can tell that the little girl in the photo grew up in the love of her whole family.
Later, gradually, the baby grew up, went to elementary school, learned dance, and performed on stage.
The photo shows the little girl's solo dance at the graduation party. She looks very beautiful, confident and bright, just like a little girl.
Lu Yingqian once saw a storybook. The princess in the storybook probably looked like this, right?
For the first time, Lu Yingqian felt a sense of envy. As she continued to turn the pages, the little girl's eyebrows grew bigger, and she gradually began to feel a bit similar to Lu Yingqian.
Lu Yingqian inexplicably felt certain that she was probably really Lu Yingqian, and this photo album was her lost life and lost memories.
The album ends with a family photo. The little girl in the photo is confidently making a scissors gesture at the camera. The little girl in the photo is already 70% similar to Lu Yingqian.
When Lu Jinghuai saw that she had finished reading, he also spoke: "This is our last family photo, your fourteenth birthday."
Lu Yingqian's eyes fell on the accompanying text.
"The little princess has graduated from junior high school and is about to step into a wider world, become an outstanding little girl, and conquer the stars and the sea."
The back half of the album is empty because something unexpected happened to the Lu family.
Lu's father and mother died in a car accident, and Lu Yingqian simply disappeared.
Lu Yingqian finally couldn't hold back her tears and her eyes turned red. She stroked the caption with her fingers.
"Have I let Mom and Dad down? I haven't become a better person..."
She was trapped in Xiaoliang Village and didn't even finish high school.
"No, Mom and Dad will never be disappointed in you." Lu Jinghuai's voice was a little hoarse: "And it's not your fault. It was me who failed to come back in time and protect you."
Lu Yingqian shook her head. She didn't blame others. She heard from Lu Jinghuai and Lin Yan that Lu Jinghuai was studying abroad, but that was how old Lu Jinghuai was nine years ago.
Lu Jinghuai couldn't help but pat Lu Yingqian on the head. "Qianqian, you're still young. Your future holds infinite possibilities. Aren't you studying hard now, preparing for the college entrance exam? Who can say you won't become an outstanding person in the future?"
Lu Yingqian pursed her lips tightly and nodded vigorously, but seemed to suddenly think of something.
She hesitated for a moment, and finally made up her mind to ask, "Brother, my parents... the Xu family, how will they deal with this?"
Since returning to the Lu family, Lu Yingqian has never asked anything about Xiaoliang Village and the Xu family.
Before this, Lu Yingqian did escape. After all, she lost her memory after being abducted to Xiaoliang Village.
In her limited memory, she is Xu Shan, the Xu family parents in Xiaoliang Village are her biological parents, and she also has an older sister and a younger sister.
After nine years of living together, Xu's parents treated her no differently from their other two daughters. She was not a wooden person and it was impossible for her to have no feelings at all.
So after returning to the Lu family, she was avoiding it, afraid to hear news about the Xu family, and she didn't know how to face it.
However, after reading the photo album recorded with love, Lu Yingqian felt hatred towards Xu's parents for the first time.
It turns out that this was supposed to be her life. It turned out that she was supposed to conquer the stars and the sea.
But everything was ruined. For nine years, she was abducted and unable to see her parents off to their final journey.
She was trapped in Xiaoliang Village. She almost married her nominal cousin and then might have two or three children like the eldest daughter of the Xu family.
At this moment, standing in the clean, tidy and bright room, Lu Yingqian only felt fortunate, fortunately, fortunately it was still in time.
Lu Jinghuai appeared in time and took her away from Xiaoliang Village, and she went home.
Lu Jinghuai saw the relief in Lu Yingqian's eyes, so he did not hide anything about Lu Yingqian's question.
"Half of the population of Xiaoliang Village is involved in illegal human trafficking. We are currently collecting evidence and investigating. If nothing unexpected happens, the trial will begin before the end of the year, and a verdict will be made according to the law."
When Lu Jinghuai said this, his eyes were particularly cold. He would not let any of those people go. There was always a price to pay for doing wrong things.
Lu Yingqian also breathed a sigh of relief and stopped asking questions.
Lu Jinghuai looked at Lu Yingqian again, but his eyes were much gentler: "It's getting late, go to bed early."
Lu Yingqian finally nodded in relief this time. Thinking of something, she asked, "Brother, can you give me this photo album?"
Lu Jinghuai looked at the album again. "It was originally yours. Mom was planning to give it to you at your 18th birthday ceremony, but it's already five years late."
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