Chapter 123 Forced Independence and Resilience
Zhou Mu was stunned for a long time before softly saying, "Thank you, Aunt Yan. I like you very much. You have given me care that I have never experienced before, but... I'm sorry."
She likes the Yan family, Yan Songyu, Feifei, and Yan Binghua, but they have already been very good to her; this is enough.
Yan Songyu touched her little face. "No need to apologize. I did this because I wanted you to be happy, so everything is up to you."
Zhou Mu looked at Yan Songyu and smiled, "Even without the adoption relationship, you would still treat me well, right?"
"Yes, in Auntie's heart, you are just like Feifei, my daughter."
Zhou Yue didn't see Zhou Mu even once while she was hospitalized.
Feifei tutored Zhou Mu every day after school. Kong Ying also came to visit once and expressed his sympathy for Zhou Mu, saying, "Mu Mu, why have you had so many misfortunes?"
Zhou Mu, finding humor in his predicament, joked, "There's no other way. Heaven will entrust great responsibilities to those who are destined for them, and will first test their minds and bodies..."
"Alright, alright, I know you'll achieve great things in the future." Kong Ying waved his hands repeatedly. "Feifei understands you best."
Zhou Mu looked at Feifei: ?
Feifei smiled and said, "I knew that pain couldn't diminish Zhou's passion for learning."
She slapped a stack of test papers in front of Zhou Mu, "These are mock competition questions given by our teacher. I printed an extra copy for you."
Zhou Mu was overjoyed, "Thank you, Feifei!"
She touched the stack of papers and said happily, "Luckily, my right hand is fine, so it won't affect my homework. There's a math competition at the end of the month."
Kong Ying raised an eyebrow and took out a game console from her bag. "Looks like my gift won't be of any use. I thought you must be bored being alone in the hospital all day, so I brought this to cheer you up."
"Thank you! I like it too. I always need to take a break when I'm tired of writing."
Kong Ying pointed to Zhou Mu's left hand hanging around his neck, "Are you sure you can play?"
Zhou Mu snatched it away, saying, "You can play after you're done making a scene and then you can be discharged from the hospital. Do you want to take back what you gave me?"
Kong Ying rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Am I such a petty person?"
Zhou Mu recovered quickly under Yan Songyu's care. He was discharged from the hospital in the morning and rushed to the competition site in the afternoon. As soon as he received the prize money, he repaid the medical expenses that Yan Songyu had paid in advance.
Yan Songyu sighed helplessly, "You child, do you really have to be so particular about these things?"
“Aunt Yan, I don’t want to clarify things with you, it’s just that I feel safer relying on myself.”
"Okay, I'll take it. Contact me if you need anything in the future."
Zhou Mu nodded, said goodbye to them, and went home.
Feifei watched her retreating figure with concern, "Won't Mumu get beaten up again when she goes back?"
"I don't know, but this time, she should at least run away. After all, she doesn't want to waste another month in the hospital."
"Mom, am I not as independent and strong as Mumu?" Feifei suddenly asked.
Yan Songyu stroked Feifei's head and said, "Mumu was forced to be independent and strong. You don't have to. I hope you can stay young forever, and Mom can be your support for life."
She looked into Feifei's clear eyes and embraced her. Wasn't Mumu now just like Feifei in her past life?
"I love you mom."
Feifei reciprocated Yan Songyu's kindness; the taste of her mother's cooking made her feel especially at ease.
"Mom loves you too."
"I will grow up quickly and protect my mother in the future, so that I can be a support for my mother and grandfather."
A warm feeling spread through Yan Songyu's body. "Okay, Mom will be waiting."
When Zhou Mu returned home, the house was noisy and there were children crying. She paused and guessed what was going on. Sure enough, when she entered the house, she saw Zhou Chenglong and his wife, and their three-year-old son, Zhou Chuanzong, was running around in the house.
"Oh, so you finally decided to come back? Why didn't you go to your new house? Wasn't Yan Songyu going to adopt you?"
Zhou Yue looked at Zhou Mu by the door with a sarcastic expression, but no one knew that she was secretly relieved.
Zhou Mu ignored her and walked to her small bed. The book was covered in drawings and torn in many places. It was obvious who did it. He glanced coldly at Zhou Chuanzong, who was running around the room, and handed the property certificate from the bag to Zhou Yue.
"You brat, what are you doing with my property certificate? I was wondering why I couldn't find it."
“If I don’t take it, this place will already belong to someone else by the time you come out.”
Zhou Yue's eyes sharpened. "What do you mean?"
"Ask your dear younger brother."
Zhou Mu picked up his packed schoolbag and walked out, while the sounds of cursing and arguing came from inside the house.
"Zhou Chenglong, how dare you sell my house?"
“So what if I sell you my house? That’s what you owe me. You even dared to sell my kidney, didn’t you? If that brat hadn’t climbed up to the Yan family, I would have sold this place long ago and bought a bigger house. Our family wouldn’t have had to grow up in a place like this.”
"ah!"
"Release Chuanzong right now, you crazy woman! You're Chuanzong's own aunt!"
Ignoring the sounds behind him, Zhou Mu quickened his pace and left.
Zhou Yue is out, but she can't let her know about the bonus she saved, so she needs to find a part-time job to cover it up.
After putting his schoolbag in the music room, Zhou Mu took a part-time job distributing flyers in a part-time job group and did it for a year. Zhou Yue did not suspect anything.
Zhou Mu didn't ask her for money, which made her happy. With a criminal record, it became even harder for her to find a job. She had no choice but to set up a street stall, where she was exposed to the wind, sun, and rain, and was chased by the city management officers every day, barely making ends meet.
After the high school entrance exam, Feifei, Zhou Mu, and Kong Ying met at the amusement park.
"Kong Ying, in this heat, what made you think of coming to the amusement park?" Fei Fei felt like she'd been sunburned.
For the first time, Kong Ying was no longer as lively as before, and looked at the two of them with a gloomy expression. "I... I've come to say goodbye to you."
Zhou Mu: "Saying goodbye? Where are you going? Traveling?"
"No, I'm going to England the day after tomorrow, which is why I hurriedly asked you to meet me today. Tomorrow I'm going to see my grandparents and maternal grandparents with my parents."
Kong Ying was very sad. He couldn't bear to part with his friends, especially Fei Fei, whom he had been classmates with since kindergarten, for 12 years.
Feifei also felt a pang of sadness at the thought of parting. "Why the rush?"
"My mother's job has been transferred to the Chinese Embassy in the UK, and my father's job has also been transferred to the UK. They just told me because they were afraid it would affect my exams."
"Okay, don't be sad. You're only 16. You'll definitely be with your parents. It's just that you're going abroad. It's not like you can't see them anymore. You'll definitely come back for holidays. We'll make plans then. Don't be sad," Feifei comforted her.
Zhou Mu also said, "Yes, since we're going to part ways soon, let's have some fun today. Memories before parting should be filled with laughter. This is my first time at an amusement park."
Although Kong Ying only met Zhou Mu through Fei Fei, he was also one of Zhou Mu's only two friends, and Zhou Mu liked him quite a bit.
While Kong Ying was in the restroom, Fei Fei and Zhou Mu ran to the souvenir shop to buy him a farewell gift. Fei Fei chose a red string safety buckle, and Zhou Mu bought a small bottle keychain with colorful fine sand.
"There are also gifts!"
Kong Ying was indeed very happy to see these two things.
"Yes, this is a peace buckle. I hope you will be safe and healthy in the future, and that you will turn misfortune into good fortune."
Kong Ying took it and put it on, saying, "Thank you, Feifei!"
“There were originally several kinds of fine sand in this bottle. I just opened the bottle and filled it with some soil from the flower bed.” Zhou Mu pointed to the top layer of yellow soil and said, “This is it. I even borrowed a fine mesh sieve from a friend to sift the soil. If you miss home or us in the future, you can look at the soil from your hometown.”
Kong Ying was overjoyed, "I love it so much, thank you Mumu! I will definitely wear the peace buckle and carry this keychain every day from now on."
After Kong Ying left, Fei Fei went on a trip with Yan Binghua, while Zhou Mu worked part-time and reviewed high school material.
That day, she was handing out flyers in the 35°C heat, wearing a frog headgear. She was so hot that she could hardly breathe. When she finally found a shady spot to rest for a while, she saw the person in the wheelchair by the river trying to commit suicide.
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