Half-asleep, Anu's voice was clear, "My grandmother said that my brothers were seriously ill, and despite all efforts, they couldn't wake up. They were on the verge of death, so my birth parents brought me here. The day I arrived, my brothers woke up, and since then, they've never been seriously ill again... The day before my wedding, my mother said I had a name, Zhao Mei, which I thought was very nice. But to make it easier to remember, they changed my name to Anu. Anu, isn't that just like 'slave'? I hate this name! I want to change this despicable name, but my in-laws won't allow it..."
Some people are destined to be childless. If they adopt a child, they are destined to have siblings, and will inevitably bring siblings with them. Although Anu's adoptive family had a son who was born early, they had committed many sins in their past life. Due to various circumstances, they were destined to lose their son and die a tragic death. However, because of Anu's appearance, the lives of their two sons were saved. If they are treated well, the family will not be immune to all evils, but they will live a peaceful life. If they are neglected, they will inevitably suffer the pain of losing their son.
Good and evil deeds both have their consequences...
After a long, tense night, Zeng Jing returned to his office and collapsed onto his chair, too exhausted to move. Staring blankly at the ceiling, his mind a jumbled mess: the bloodstains on the bridge pier, the woman's pale, lifeless face, the little girl who called the police—all these images played out in a loop. The child who called the police seemed to have appeared out of thin air and vanished just as suddenly; even the security cameras didn't show her. She was clearly standing at the gate, calling him "uncle" so clearly. What was she holding in her arms? A blanket, like a child's…
After Zhao Ma finished cooking, she opened her daughter's door and saw little Yuan Zhuan holding a thin, small, but fair-skinned baby in her arms, feeding him formula. The mother and daughter looked at each other, and the latter was dumbfounded.
A minute later, "Who has such a cruel heart? How could they just leave the child outside the gate like that? They're so wicked, so wicked!! My darling, my darling, Auntie wants to hug you, my sweet baby..."
Yuan Zhuan smiled as she watched Zhao Ma walk out of the yard while playing with the child. She knew it would be like this; no mother dislikes her child.
Pushing open the window, Yuan Zhuan's gaze fell on the woman bending over to dry corn by the door. The child's destiny lay here.
The woman was Liu Ma's older sister. The three-story building behind her was a house newly built by the couple. They used to work in the government sector, but later heard that they could make a lot of money by going into business, so they took a leave of absence without pay and followed the trend to try their luck. They made quite a bit of money and decided to buy out their years of service. Now they have considerable assets, which, in Liu Ma's words, are several times more than what she has earned.
Good fortune and misfortune are intertwined. The couple had worked too hard in the past and didn't take care of their health, which led to difficulties in conceiving. Later, the brother-in-law fell ill and all hope of having children was lost, so the couple resigned themselves to their fate.
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, they were both forty. The two of them lived their lives like this, ordinary yet happy, with the only regret being that they didn't have a child.
In the afternoon, Yang Ailan's appearance did not surprise Yuan Zhuan. Zhao Ma exchanged a few pleasantries with her and then left, citing the child as an excuse.
"Zhuanzhuan, Aunt Yang is truly grateful to you for what happened to your Uncle Xu. If it had been revealed any later, not only would your Uncle Xu have lost his life, but the foundations of both our families would have been shaken. This is a thank-you gift that your Uncle Xu specially prepared. I hope you like it, Zhuanzhuan." As she spoke, Yang Ailan took out a palm-sized wooden box from her handbag, opened it, and placed it on the wooden table in front of Yuan Zhuan.
Yuan Zhuan's gaze fell on the open wooden box, where a smooth, lustrous jade bracelet gleamed. "Zhuanzhuan, you're eight years old this year, aren't you? Have you started school yet?"
Before she could even speak, Yang Ailan had already started to change the subject, clearly afraid that Yuan Zhuan wouldn't accept it.
"Yes, we're new here and have just settled in. We haven't had time to find a school yet," Yuan Zhuan said with a smile.
"Zhuanzhuan, Aunt Yang didn't tell you, did she? Your Uncle Xu is the principal of Beiyu High School. The affiliated primary school of Beiyu High School is Beiyu Primary School. The teachers are top-notch, and they are currently preparing to enroll students. Do you want to give it a try?"
When you're sleepy, someone brings you a pillow; hmm, not bad.
"Thank you, Aunt Yang." Yuan Zhuan smiled, revealing her teeth.
Knowing she had hit the mark this time, Yang Ailan's smile deepened.
"Where's Xiaozhuzi? How old is she this year?"
"Four years old, time to go to kindergarten."
"That's perfect. I know a kindergarten where all the teachers are graduates of teachers' colleges, the fees aren't high, and it's a public school..."
After presenting a thank-you gift that satisfied Yuan Zhuan, Yang Ailan did not stay long before leaving.
"Zhuanzhuan, what's this?" After seeing Yang Ailan off, Zhao Ma came in and saw the eye-catching bracelet on the table.
"This was given to me by Aunt Yang. Mom, please take it."
"I don't want it. Since it's a gift for you, you should keep it." Although she knew this was also her daughter, Zhao Yuxiang still felt a little uncomfortable. She knew very well whether her daughter had such abilities. It was her daughter who had earned the respect of a family like the Yang family towards her and her two children. Therefore, these things were not for them to take. Besides, she had to work. That thing looked very valuable, and she dared not wear it.
Zhao Yuxiang's thoughts were easy to guess, so Yuan Zhuan could only do nothing for the time being, and it would take time to accept her.
At the Beiyu City Funeral Home, Zeng Jing had a gloomy face. He used all his strength to hold back from rushing up and beating someone. He wished he could kill that scoundrel in the memorial room!
The man glanced at his wife's body and said he wanted to donate it to the hospital as a cadaver. His disgusted expression and actions made it seem as if he had seen something disgusting and didn't want to look at it even once more.
The man completed the identification process in one go, glancing at the body and walking away without pausing for a second. He only said a few words from beginning to end: "This is my wife, Anu. I don't want her body. I'll give it to the hospital as a cadaver."
"Officer Zeng, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I just confirmed with Anu's husband that he doesn't plan to cremate the body or waste money taking it back. He said we should send it to the hospital to be used as a cadaver." When the curator came out of the office, Ai Tianlei (Anu's husband) came out with him and strode away from the funeral home. Zeng Jing even saw the man spit as he reached the door, his disgust and contempt undisguised.
'Bang! Thud!'
The curator's smile vanished when the stool was kicked away. Following Zeng Jing's angry gaze, he saw Ai Tianlei's retreating figure.
He understood Zeng Jing's thoughts and, after a moment's thought, said with feigned seriousness, "His name is Ai Tianlei. It's not that he didn't want to take his wife, but he's from the countryside, and there's nothing he can do. His family is poor, he has an elderly mother in her eighties, and two underage sisters. He doesn't have any extra money. The morgue fees here are quite high; it's enough to feed his whole family for several days. However, he is someone who knows how to give back to society. You see... Hey, hey, Officer Zeng, where are you going? Aren't you going to stay a little longer? Is this the end of the case?"
Zeng Jing, who was in a fit of rage, couldn't stand it any longer and strode away. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would scold the curator and the leaders would definitely reprimand him.
After leaving the funeral home, Ai Tianlei went out and bought two pieces of tofu and a pound of meat to ward off bad luck.
His wife's death wasn't a big deal to him. He could just remarry after a woman died. As for the child, she must have drowned. The police hadn't mentioned the child either, probably because the body hadn't been recovered. He was thinking that since she was just a little girl, he shouldn't bother with her and wouldn't cause trouble for society. But he decided not to mention her, otherwise he'd probably have to stay in that unlucky place waiting for news, which would be incredibly distressing.
After dinner, he went to find Guiqin and bring her back first. The family still needed a woman to take care of them. He didn't know what was wrong with his mother. She suddenly had a stroke last night. Not only was her eye and mouth crooked, but she was also incontinent. Neither of his two younger sisters cared about her. They packed their clothes early this morning, saying they were going to visit their aunt for a few days. He took care of her all night last night and scolded Anu, that lazy good-for-nothing, all night long. He never expected her to commit suicide.
Along the way, Ai Tianlei's mind didn't rest at all; he was constantly thinking about his future plans. Meanwhile, Chaonan Street, which was usually bustling with vehicles and pedestrians, was unusually quiet today. There were hardly any cars passing by, and even pedestrians were few and far between. So much so that Ai Tianlei didn't even notice when he walked to the middle of the road. He just kept his head down and hurried on his way back to eat meat.
"Bang... Squeak... Tsk... Thump..."
With a sudden screech of brakes and tires skidding, Ai Tianlei's tall, thin body was suddenly sent flying into the air before plummeting headfirst onto the concrete ground. The force of the impact forced his neck back into his chest, leaving a trail of crimson blood on the ground, like cherry blossoms overlapping each other. The tofu and meat in his hands fell high into the blood, staining the ground with bloodstains and eliciting screams from the surrounding pedestrians.
A short, stout man climbed out of the driver's seat unharmed, his steps unsteady and his eyes unfocused, as if he didn't understand what trouble he had caused.
"My God, how much alcohol did he drink?" a passerby exclaimed.
"I estimate it must weigh several kilograms, otherwise it wouldn't be like this, all soft, and yet it's still driving, isn't that just a disaster..."
Yuan Zhuan sat on a bench by the street, coldly watching Ai Tianlei surrounded by the crowd. Above Ai Tianlei's corpse, Anu, holding Ai Tianlei's dazed soul, waved in her direction, "Thank you, benefactor."
Yuan Zhuan shook her head. It really wasn't her doing. Cause and effect are sometimes too coincidental. Coincidence, nothing more.
Her hands are never stained with life, nor is there anyone worth the cost of her life in the cause and effect.
"Zhang Xiaoxiao is calling you." The system's voice suddenly sounded.
At first glance, Yuan Zhuan didn't realize who Zhang Xiaoxiao was, but he quickly remembered, oh, she's the trading partner from the apocalyptic world.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com