"Come in first. You didn't even know where you went and your clothes were torn?" Yan Pingshun immediately noticed that Tang Wan's sleeves were ripped with several lines.
"I accidentally snagged it." Tang Wan was too embarrassed to say that she had accidentally snagged her sleeve while wandering through the alley.
"Go change your clothes first, then come down."
If it were anyone else, Tang Wan would have turned and left, but it was Yan Pingshun, so even Tang Wan had no choice but to obey.
As soon as Tang Wan entered the room, Yan Pingshun immediately pinched Yan Nian's ear, causing Yan Nian to reach out and cover it, his expression contorted in pain.
"Dad, let go, let go! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
"You still feel pain! I told you to bring Wanwan back, are you rebelling? What kind of filth did you get dyed!"
"Isn't it pretty?"
Seeing that Yan Nian was still smug, Yan Pingshun gave him a sharp rap on the head!
"You don't look like a student at all. You can dye your hair however you want during winter and summer vacation, but dye it back before school tomorrow."
"I just dyed it. Dyeing two colors at once is very damaging to hair," Yan Nian protested.
"Then I'll shave it!"
Yan Nian pouted, "Oh, don't worry about it, I have plans."
Yan Pingshun looked at him suspiciously, "Will this get Wanwan back to school?"
"Dad, you really understand me." Yan Nian put his arm around Yan Pingshun's shoulder, acting like a close buddy. He even stood on tiptoe because he wasn't tall enough.
"Go away, you have no manners." Although he said this, there was no hint of blame in his words.
"It's a promise, right? Now that Wanwan is back, you'd better get her back right away."
"Don't worry," Yan Nian patted his chest.
"But you said it damages your hair, won't it hurt? If it hurts... maybe I should talk to your teacher and not dye it anymore, since it will grow back anyway."
"I asked my hairstylist, and he said it's fine as long as it's not too frequent. I can just ask him to use the best conditioning solution to help it heal."
Hearing this, Yan Pingshun finally felt a little relieved.
"I'm not going to say anything more, I'm going to take a shower too."
Yan Pingshun waved his hand, signaling Yan Nian to quickly leave his sight with his colorful bird's nest-like head.
Upstairs, Tang Wan came out of the bathroom and saw Jiang Yu lying on her bed watching a variety show, laughing without any regard for her image.
"Aunt Jiang, weren't you going downstairs? Why did you come up here?" Tang Wan was clearly used to Jiang Yu's behavior.
"What are you going down there for? To listen to your Uncle Yan ramble on for an hour? He always says the same few things. I've heard him say them since I was a kid, and my ears are calloused." Jiang Yu sat up straight, picked at her ears, and looked impatient.
"Uncle Yan has always been this talkative?"
“My parents died early, and your Grandpa Chen raised me. Once, he went to the countryside to make medical consultations and brought back your Uncle Yan. We stayed together for most of our lives and never separated. We even went to the same university.”
Jiang Yu's voice carried a hint of nostalgia, and her smile was infectious.
"My English was bad back then, and the harder I tried, the worse it got. When my rebellious streak kicked in, I thought, 'I'm not going to study anymore!' This really worried your Uncle Yan. He was thinking about how to get me to willingly study with him. He would nag me every day, and when he saw I was annoyed, he would take me out to play. He would give me a treat and then slap me, and he managed to get me into their school by the skin of my teeth."
Tang Wan chuckled; this was in line with Jiang Yu's personality.
"I never imagined that this one thought would last for most of my life." Jiang Yu made room for Tang Wan next to her, patted the empty space, and gestured for her to lie down.
"I thought Yan Nian resembled you more, but now that you mention it, he actually resembles Uncle Yan more when he was young."
"That's right, but she inherited my looks, thankfully she didn't grow up to be ugly."
Tang Wan laughed out loud at Jiang Yu's confident demeanor. Putting everything else aside, Yan Nian's confident appearance was definitely inherited from Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu then recounted some stories from her youth, her fingers unconsciously twirling Tang Wan's hair.
"You...aren't you going to scold me?" Tang Wan couldn't help but ask the question.
She wanted to attract the attention of the Tang couple, but it was precisely because she was afraid of disappointing the Yan couple that she dared not come over, or even go to school.
She didn't know why she was like this; she was confused herself.
It felt like there were two little people arguing inside me. One said that I would only be loved if I became a good child again, and the other said that no matter how hard I tried, my parents would never like me, so I might as well go against them!
"Hmm... Should I scold you for dyeing your hair so beautifully? Or should I scold you for missing a week of school? When I was your age, I was much more rebellious than you, and I made your Grandpa Chen so angry that he plucked out a whole tuft of his beard."
Thinking of her childhood memories, Jiang Yu chuckled softly, sounding quite nostalgic.
Tang Wan chuckled softly, then fell silent.
In the darkness, only Jiang Yu's sigh could be heard.
“Wanwan, I always thought we were family, even though we’re not related by blood. But I don’t think you’re the kind of person who would care about these things.”
Tang Wan remained silent, listening quietly to Jiang Yu's ramblings.
In the darkness, the fragrance lingered around her nose, making Tang Wan, who hadn't slept well for a week, feel sleepy. Even her gentle yet worried murmurs seemed to drift from afar.
"I understand that you want your heartless parents to care about you more; what child doesn't want their parents' love? But you can't ignore the other people who love you, can you?"
“Look at you, if you don’t want to go to school, you can tell Aunt Jiang, and Aunt Jiang will take you on a trip to relax. What’s wrong with that? But you shouldn’t have skipped school behind our backs and made us unable to contact you. Do you know how worried we are about you?”
Jiang Yu became more and more excited as she spoke, while Tang Wan closed her eyes and slightly curled up her lips.
“When you didn’t answer my calls more than a dozen times that day, I really wanted to drag you back and beat you up. But when you texted me to let me know you were safe, I felt that Wanwan must have been wronged. When you come back, I have to take you out for a big meal... Wanwan, what can we do to let you know that you are really, really amazing, and that we really love you so much…”
"I'm sorry, Aunt Jiang, I'm so sorry..."
Tang Wan's voice was very soft, but it broke Jiang Yu's heart.
She gently patted Tang Wan's back, "Wanwan did nothing wrong. Our Wanwan is so wonderful, she deserves all the love in the world. Aunt Jiang knows she can't fill the void in your heart, but please don't try to prove anything by hurting yourself anymore, okay?"
"Mmm." Tang Wan clutched Jiang Yu's clothes, a tear sliding down her cheek silently.
“No matter what you do, Aunt Jiang will support your decision, but Aunt Jiang hopes you will do these things because you want to do them yourself…” Jiang Yu’s voice grew softer and softer, and in the end, it was Tang Wan who came to her senses.
After Jiang Yu fell asleep, Tang Wan quietly opened the door, only to run into Yan Pingshun coming upstairs.
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