As soon as the three of them got out of the car, many people curiously peered at them through the fence and windows.
In fact, people noticed the Jeep as soon as it drove up.
Fu Wan and Fu Ming were both unfamiliar faces, and the people in the alley didn't recognize them. Immediately, a few nosy old ladies came to the courtyard gate to ask them.
"Comrades, where are you from, and what are you doing in our Osmanthus Alley?"
Fu Wan met their scrutinizing gazes and then smiled politely.
"Hello, aunties, we've come to find someone."
"Looking for someone? Who are you looking for?"
The aunt did not lower her guard upon hearing this, as they had heard many news reports about child abduction on the radio recently.
A man and a woman, with a little girl behind them who had her head down—it all looked very strange.
When it comes to visiting relatives, these three people were empty-handed, and their clothes and appearance didn't seem to belong to their side of the family.
"Aunt Yang, Aunt Li, it's me."
Li Ruonan called out, and Aunt Yang and Aunt Li looked in the direction of the sound. When they saw Li Ruonan's familiar face, they were so shocked that they were speechless for a long time.
"Ruonan? You're Ruonan from Li Dapeng's family, right?"
"Hey, weren't you seriously ill in the countryside? Why are you back?"
Aunt Yang and Aunt Li spoke up at the same time, and Fu Wan, who was standing to the side, noticed something amiss.
"Auntie, who told you that Li Ruonan was seriously ill?"
Aunt Yang replied matter-of-factly, "That's what her mother said. A few days ago, someone noticed her mother looked worried and casually asked her about it."
Her mother wiped away her tears and said that Ruonan was seriously ill and might not survive.
But right now, Li Ruonan is standing here perfectly fine, with no signs of serious illness on her face or body.
Not to mention being sick, they noticed that Li Ruonan had gained some weight, her face looked better, her clothes were clean, and she looked quite energetic.
The women exchanged glances; their long experience in society immediately gave them a whiff of gossip.
"Comrades, who are you?!"
Aunt Yang lost her appetite and went up to Fu Wan to question her.
Meanwhile, Aunt Li was sizing up Fu Ming, wondering about the relationship between Fu Ming, Fu Wan, and Li Ruonan.
Fu Wan certainly wouldn't tell them her name, she just smiled and said, "Haha, I'm Comrade Li's friend, I'm here today to take care of some business."
"Get something done? What kind of business?"
Aunt Yang pressed for details, and the commotion quickly attracted the attention of other residents in the alley.
Everyone was curious when they saw Li Ruonan, who had a very good complexion.
There was a woman inside, Fu Wan, who looked somewhat familiar. Upon closer inspection, she seemed to resemble Chen Guifang.
She must be Chen Guifang's mother.
People kept asking where Li Ruonan had been lately, and some even went so far as to inform her parents.
It was lunchtime, and Wang Mei usually ate at the factory canteen, but recently her son had come home for vacation, so she had to come back to cook for him.
"Wang Mei, Wang Mei, you're still making lunch? Did you know your Ruonan is back?!"
Xu Dazui was shouting loudly at the entrance of the tenement building when Wang Mei, who had just put the stir-fried eggs with chili on the table, heard Xu Dazui's shouts.
She didn't hear what was said and immediately frowned.
Xu Dazui is like the loudspeaker of Osmanthus Alley; she can broadcast any news from anyone within a radius of several hundred meters.
However, Wang Mei considered herself a cultured person and couldn't express her dissatisfaction with this kind of person.
"Sister Xu, what do you need me for?"
"Hey, I've been calling for ages. Wang Mei, you told me yesterday that your Ruonan girl was so sick she wouldn't survive."
"I'm not trying to be mean, but how can you make up such things? Ruonan is standing perfectly fine at the alley entrance; she doesn't look sick at all."
Xu Dazui kept babbling on and on, and Wang Mei was initially impatient to listen, but when she heard Li Ruonan's name, her eyes widened instantly.
"Who are you talking about, my Ruonan?"
"Yeah, could it be mine? Oh, it's not impossible for it to be mine. I've had three boys, and I really want a daughter..."
Before Xu Dazui could finish speaking, Wang Mei shoved her aside and ran towards the alley entrance.
Li Ruonan is actually fine and nothing has happened. Li Dapeng and I have searched the whole county town for the past few days, but we still haven't seen her.
Unless, this girl is deliberately hiding!
She only came back now that she knew her engagement to Director Hu's family had fallen through?
Alright, alright, this little brat, I'll beat her to death today. Does she even know how much she's caused the family to lose?
Director Hu had promised to promote Li Dapeng and raise her salary by two levels, but all of that came to nothing because of Li Ruonan's disappearance.
Not only that, Director Hu also held a grudge against them. Lately, she has been ostracized in the factory, and Li Dapeng has even lost the opportunity to be promoted to deputy director.
Thinking of this, Wang Mei's joy at Li Ruonan's safe return vanished instantly, replaced by a heart full of resentment.
This resentment instantly escalated into anger upon seeing Li Ruonan.
"Li Ruonan, how dare you come back!"
Even from a distance, Wang Mei couldn't control herself and pointed with trembling hands at Li Ruonan in the crowd.
When Li Ruonan met her fiery gaze, she instinctively trembled.
Seeing this, Fu Wan patted her on the shoulder, "What are you afraid of? Cheer up."
The investigation team is arriving soon; why don't you take this opportunity to get your mother to admit to intercepting the notification letter?
Things have come to this point. If Li Ruonan is not thinking straight and obediently lets Wang Mei scold her, then Fu Wan can only assume that she misjudged her.
Reminded by Fu Wan, Li Ruonan perked up and her aura changed.
"Mom, don't you know why I'm not coming back?"
"Since there are so many people here today, I'd like to ask you, did I really not get into university last year?"
Li Ruonan's question caught Wang Mei off guard.
After understanding Li Ruonan's question, a hint of guilt appeared in Wang Mei's eyes, but her reply remained stubborn.
"What university? If you didn't get in, you didn't get in."
Ruonan, it's been a year, and you still haven't recovered?
Li Ruonan sneered upon hearing this, clenched her fists and whispered, "Yes, I just can't recover!"
For the past few years, I've been studying and doing exercises every day from dawn till dusk, and I've always been in the top three in school exams.
But instead of receiving my university acceptance letter, Li Nan, who spends all his time eating, drinking, and having fun, just wants to ask you, how did he even get into university?!
"Did you give him my acceptance letter?"
The last question, asked with such force that it made Gao Mingsheng and his group, who had just gotten off the bus, stop in their tracks.
"I told you, your child is quite ill. How could I possibly give your admission letter to Nan Nan?"
If you didn't pass the exam, you didn't pass. Ruonan, listen to your mother's advice: studying so many books is useless. Women all need to get married.
Let's go back, find a good family to marry into, and have children.
If you still want to go to university, you can take the entrance exam again later.
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