Beijing District, Cheng Family Residence
Yuan Nian, wearing a blue shirt and a white skirt, carrying a bag of gifts, walked into the Cheng family home.
Now only Cheng Ran's parents live at home. The housekeeper only comes occasionally to clean and cook, so the atmosphere is a bit lonely.
As soon as she entered, she knocked on the door and called for help.
"Is anyone home? Uncle Cheng? Auntie? I've come to see you!"
To pass the time, the two elders of the Cheng family were tending to the flowers and plants in the back garden. When they heard the noise, they looked at each other, somewhat puzzled.
Mr. Cheng put down the watering can he was holding: "Did you hear anything?"
Cheng's mother nodded: "I heard it, it sounds like someone came to visit us."
Who is it?
"Go out and see for yourself."
The two elders put down their work and walked towards the main hall. When they saw Yuan Nian, they still felt unfamiliar with her. Cheng's mother asked first.
"Young lady, who are you?"
"Auntie, don't you recognize me? I'm Yuan Nian."
"Yuan Nian? You're Yuan Nian?!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng's mother was shocked. Just as excitement began to surface, she suddenly remembered that this girl had drugged her son, Cheng Ran, in the army. Although she had outwardly thought he was a good boy at the time, after all…
Therefore, she cautiously looked Yuan Nian up and down, and did not get too close to her.
"Oh, it's Yuan Nian. What brings you here all of a sudden?"
"Oh, it's like this, Auntie, Uncle, I... my job has been transferred back to Beijing. I thought I had some time today, so I came to see you. Also, I have some news for you, about Cheng Ran."
Yuan Nian carefully chose her words. The story began two days ago when her sisters in the military arts troupe wrote her a letter. In the letter, in addition to explaining her recent situation, they also mentioned Cheng Ran's injury.
"About Cheng Ran? Didn't you transfer back to Beijing for work? How do you know about him?"
Cheng's father was also very shrewd; perhaps after what happened with Guo Xueyun and Wang Yan, he had become more cautious.
"Yes, Yuan Nian, what... do you want to tell us?"
Cheng Ran wrote to them a few days ago, saying that everything was fine and that they could rest assured. Why is Yuan Nian saying that she has news now? And judging from her appearance, if it were just ordinary news, it probably wouldn't be worth her making this trip.
"They're all ancient foxes, so let's not put on any ghost story," Cheng's mother pointed to the sofa and poured Yuan Nian a cup of tea.
"Just say what you have to say. We heard that Cheng Ran reported your family. I doubt you're that kind to us either."
Damn it! Weren't these two old folks supposed to be easy to fool? Why are they so direct?! Yuan Nian clenched her hands. The situation was different from what she had imagined, leaving her feeling a bit lost and unsure of what to do next.
“I…” She swallowed and took a sip of tea. “Auntie, Uncle, you’ve misunderstood me. My parents really did something wrong, and the law should punish them. But the relationship between our two families can’t be completely severed because of this. Besides, the news I brought this time is related to Cheng Ran’s life. As a person with flesh and blood, how can I know and not tell him?”
"What?!"
Upon hearing Yuan Nian say that this news was related to Cheng Ran's life, the two elders were quite agitated.
They already knew that Cheng Ran might be in danger at any moment. Could it be that he encountered some accident during the mission again?
Cheng's mother grasped her husband's hand, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I told him a long time ago not to go to the southwest, not to go to the southwest, but he wouldn’t listen, and this time…”
Mr. Cheng was calmer than her; he patted her hand to comfort her.
"Alright, Yuan Nian hasn't even explained what happened yet, why are you crying? Think about it, if Cheng Ran really had some kind of injury, who wrote us the letter a few days ago? The army would have called by now. I guess he's just a little injured. Don't panic."
As expected of a veteran, his reconnaissance skills are indeed strong. Yuan Nian originally wanted to scare them, but this time she miscalculated. She could only continue to talk along with Cheng's father and try her best to achieve today's goal.
"Uncle guessed right. Cheng Ran is not in any immediate danger, but... it's no different from almost losing his life."
"Stop keeping me in suspense! Tell me what happened!"
A mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles. Even though Cheng's mother said she didn't want to get involved in the younger generation's affairs anymore, she was still very concerned when things actually came to this.
"Auntie, Cheng Ran risked his life to save a fellow soldier during a mission and was injured, hurting his leg and foot... and... I heard from his comrades in the army that his condition is not optimistic. It seems that his wife, Comrade Jiang, is busy with work and cannot take good care of him."
Yuan Nian not only said what she wanted to say, but also spread rumors about Jiang Wanqing.
Sure enough, these words made Cheng's mother even angrier, and she immediately slammed her hand on the table.
"I knew it! A friend in need is a friend indeed! Jiang Wanqing still doesn't love Cheng Ran enough. I don't trust her to take care of him. Old man, hurry up and buy tickets. Let's go to the southwest to see what's going on and take care of our son!"
Mr. Cheng frowned deeply. Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Jiang Wanqing, he thought that in a broader sense, she had done a good job. If she didn't love Cheng Ran enough, she would have left long ago and wouldn't have waited until today. However, he would only know what was going on after seeing it with his own eyes.
He nodded: "Okay, I'll go buy the tickets now."
As they spoke, the two elders did not try to persuade Yuan Nian to stay any longer, and Cheng's mother pushed the gift back to her.
"Thank you for telling us such important news. You can take this gift back with you. Your uncle and I don't need it. We won't keep you at home for dinner today. We'll get together again when we get back. You should go home now."
"Auntie, please take these with you and Uncle to eat on the way. I won't bother you anymore, I'll be going now."
Yuan Nian waved her hand, turned around and left, a triumphant smile playing on her lips.
Why should she slink back to Beijing with a less glamorous job than before, while Jiang Wanqing continues to expand her business in the southwest and has such a good relationship with Cheng Ran and his wife? Now that the Cheng family elders are going over, they're bound to give their unloved daughter-in-law a hard time.
As long as she could make Jiang Wanqing unhappy, Yuan Nian felt comfortable. She was extremely happy when she left the Cheng family.
Cheng Ran's parents quickly bought the nearest train tickets and left the next day. They didn't have time to pack much, only their valuables and money, so they could use them for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, Cheng Ran and Jiang Wanqing have temporarily moved out of the family compound.
She rented a small courtyard in a secluded place, paid someone to clean it, and she and Cheng Ran moved in.
Unlike the family compound, this place belongs only to the two of them. This compound is very much like their home in Beijing, but now it is also their new home.
On the first day after moving in, Fang Zheng helped move a lot of things, and finally everything was settled before dark. To express her gratitude, Jiang Wanqing personally cooked a big meal.
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