Chapter 10
After Chen Yan returned from the bathroom, he pretended to be nonchalant and knocked on the ward door with his lunchbox.
"I'm back."
After his mother-in-law was diagnosed, she was transferred to the inpatient department. He glanced around and realized that everyone had returned.
He pretended not to know anything and handed the food to Xiang Wan. When his mother-in-law saw him return, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepened again: "Ayan is back."
"Um."
His mother-in-law looked at his face and smiled kindly: "The doctor said that Grandma just got tired from doing farm work and will be fine after resting at home for a few days."
"Hmm." Chen Yan had his back to his mother-in-law, so she couldn't see the bloodshot in his eyes, but Xiang Wan, who was facing his profile, could see it clearly.
She knew the kid already knew, but she didn't expose him. Wang Yidong and Uncle Zhang exchanged a glance, also feeling sorry for the child.
The group finished their meal in silence, all of them unable to taste the food. Chen Yan kept his head down so low that he almost buried it in his lunchbox.
Xiang Wan glanced at the child out of the corner of her eye and inadvertently saw a tear fall into the child's food.
She didn't look again, but just lowered her head and quietly ate her meal.
After the meal, Grandma Chen urged them to leave, saying, "It's fine for an old woman like me to stay here. You young people shouldn't stay in the hospital all the time; it's not good for you."
Chen Yan couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he had no choice but to go back with Xiang Wan and the others.
Uncle Zhang and Wang Yidong went to the parking lot first. Just as Xiang Wan and Chen Yan were leaving the ward, the mother-in-law suddenly called out to Chen Yan again: "Xiao Yan."
Chen Yan turned around quickly, only to see his mother looking at him with an extremely loving gaze: "Xiao Yan... from now on you will be the young lady's errand boy."
She didn't know if she would ever have the chance to say these words again if she didn't say them now. As if she could no longer hold back her tears, her mother-in-law covered her eyes with her wrinkled hands: "You must be obedient from now on and not be willful."
The grandfather and grandson stood back to back, neither daring to look the other in the eye.
Chen Yan's shoulders were hunched, her back to her mother-in-law, her eyes blurred with tears, but she spoke in a calm voice: "I know, Mother-in-law."
"...Okay, that's good."
…
The door was open, and Xiang Wan could hear their conversation clearly. She lowered her head, so her expression was not visible, but her stiff shoulders betrayed that something was wrong with her.
Just then, a middle-aged man passing by was holding a cigarette and about to put it to his lips when Xiang Wan suddenly reached out, forcefully snatched the cigarette from his hand, and lit it.
The man thought it was a non-smoking area, and the child across from him wouldn't let him smoke, which made him look a little embarrassed. But the next second, he saw the little girl skillfully lighting a cigarette, and even the way she held the cigarette was so practiced.
Xiang Wan's fingers trembled slightly as she held the cigarette, thinking of her grandmother who had passed away when she was ten years old.
Xiang's parents often traveled to various places for work, so she was raised by her grandmother when she was a child. She had a very deep relationship with her grandmother, but unfortunately she did not get to see her grandmother one last time.
That year, she chartered a plane to come to China from abroad, only to find her grandmother covered with a white sheet and her cold body.
Looking at her mother-in-law making plans for Chen Yan in the hospital bed, she felt as if she were seeing her grandmother when she passed away. On the day her grandmother died, the lawyer announced at the funeral that all of her grandmother's property would be left to her.
Xiang Wan was born into wealth; the shares in the Xiang family alone were enough to ensure her a life of comfort for the next two lifetimes. However, her grandmother's sentiments were incredibly precious.
Even her mother admitted to being a little jealous of her when she heard that her grandmother had left all her property to her.
In her previous life, Xiang Wan died at the age of 26. As the years passed, the image of her grandmother in her mind became somewhat blurred, but she still remembered her wrinkled hands.
The pungent smell of the man's cheap cigarette pulled her back to reality, and Xiang Wan restrained herself from putting it to her lips. The middle-aged man also realized what was happening and scolded her, "Little girl, what are you doing smoking? Give it to me."
Xiang Wan looked at him indifferently, handed him the cigarette without arguing, and then returned to the ward without looking back.
"Kid, let's go."
"Okay." Chen Yan replied, wiping away his tears and following behind her.
*
There were five people when they came to the hospital, but only four left.
When they arrived at Lijia Village, Uncle Zhang parked the car at the end of the village. He and Wang Yidong went to the village chief's house to call Li Xia, while Xiang Wan and Chen Yan returned to the dilapidated unfinished house.
Xiang Wan sat on the leather stool, still thinking about the manipulator of fate, when she caught a glimpse of the little devil peeking at her from time to time.
She looked at him with a hint of inquiry, wondering what his choice would be now that he knew about his mother entrusting her with the care of his child.
Should he listen to his mother-in-law and go with her, or should he beg her to save his mother-in-law?
She was still wondering which one it would be when she saw the little devil, as if he had mustered up his courage, kneel down straight in front of her.
Xiang Wan sighed inwardly, somewhat puzzled as to how the grandfather and grandson were so alike.
However, unlike his reaction when he learned that his mother-in-law wouldn't live for more than a few years, the little devil didn't shed a single tear. Even when he was kneeling, he kept his back straight.
"I... am just a weed. I'll be fine with a meal. I'll stay in Li Family Village. Miss, you don't need to worry about me. I only ask that you save my mother-in-law." His voice was hoarse and resigned.
Xiang Wan raised an eyebrow. Many people called her "Young Miss," but this seemed to be the first time she had heard a little devil call her that. It was as if his pride had been worn down, and it sounded rather unpleasant.
But he made it sound so easy. Saving his mother-in-law, keeping an elderly woman who wouldn't live for more than a few years, would cost a fortune and require immense effort. While it might be a drop in the ocean for her, it would be an astronomical figure for an ordinary person.
Xiang Wan is a businesswoman. Although she is not profit-driven, she also dislikes making money at a loss.
Is it really worth it for the little devil to kneel down like that? Should he be expected to take care of him and his mother-in-law for the rest of his life?
She didn't help him up immediately, but she caught a glimpse of his eyes, those pitiful eyes of a stray cat that had been soaked in the rain.
This once again stirred Xiang Wan's compassion, making her begin to think about his situation from his perspective.
If she were a child, her grandmother was dying like her mother-in-law, she was poor and had no bargaining chips, all she had was her pitiful self-esteem.
Then she... will probably kneel too.
Xiang Wan is a businesswoman who understands human nature well, but she can also put herself in people's shoes. Therefore, she doesn't think his behavior just now was an exorbitant demand. It was just a desperate person trying to grab onto a lifeline.
She is quite tolerant of human nature, and occasionally she can't bear to see people suffer, just like when she saved the Orange Group and Wang Yidong, regardless of the cost.
Xiang Wan already had a plan in mind. Looking at the kneeling child, she said in a relatively gentle tone, "I will take your mother-in-law to the hospital with the best medical system. As for you..."
She thought about it again and again, but still didn't want to keep him by her side.
She didn't want to raise another Zhou Chengze; it was just too disgusting: "You and Li Xia go abroad to study housekeeping, and he'll take care of all your needs."
Her agreeing to save his mother-in-law was already a pleasant surprise. As for where he went, Chen Yan didn't care much. He was fine with going anywhere; he would be content as long as he had food to eat.
His gaze towards Xiang Wan was filled with too many emotions. He knelt on the ground, vowing in his heart that he would repay her, even if it meant sacrificing his life.
He wanted to kowtow again, but Xiang Wan stopped him, saying, "Kid, I don't really like it when people kneel."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yan's back stiffened. The next second, he heard her next sentence, which was still devoid of emotion, yet it made him feel incredibly warm.
"Never kneel down to anyone, no matter what."
"Okay." He desperately held back his tears, lowering his eyelashes to hide the bloodshot eyes.
*
After dealing with the little devil, Xiang Wan wanted to go back to the car. It was too cold here; there was no heating, and drafts were leaking through the cracks in the bricks.
But when she brought Chen Yan back to the parking spot, she found that the tires were flat and had obviously been punctured with a sharp object.
The car had been parked here for less than an hour, so it was obvious who did it. Apart from a few outsiders, the only people here were from Lijia Village.
As for who specifically from Lijia Village did it, Xiang Wan already had someone in mind—
Zhou Chengze's mother, Li Taohua.
To get her to take Zhou Chengze away, they resorted to any means necessary, even trapping her in Lijia Village, all for her own little scheme.
But Xiang Wan didn't say it aloud. She just gave a cold laugh and gestured for Chen Yan to go back to his house with her first.
"The tire is flat." Chen Yan had occasionally seen four-wheeled vehicles, but he only saw them when out-of-towners took the wrong route and passed through Lijia Village.
Every time he saw a car, Li Yaozu would lead a group of children to surround it, proudly introducing it to them as a tire, and occasionally pointing the finger at him, mocking him for probably never having seen one before.
The children had rarely seen a car, but they would join Li Yaozu in making fun of him for being ignorant.
Later, Chen Yan also learned that those were tires, which rolled around to make the car move.
After mocking him, Li Yaozu would proudly talk about his father's car. In Li Family Village, only the village chief's family owned a car, and everyone envied them.
But the village chief's car was dilapidated and couldn't compare to the four-wheeled vehicle that Xiang Wan drove over.
But now that tire is flat, the car can't be driven. Chen Yan didn't know why she was so calm, but he couldn't help but worry about her: "We have to find out who did this."
He knew in his heart that this must have been done by people from Lijia Village, but he didn't know who it was, so he could only look at Xiang Wan.
Unexpectedly, she simply turned to look at him and said lightly, "Whoever comes to the door later is the one who did it."
Chen Yan looked at her with a somewhat confused expression, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Do you think bad guys would come knocking on your door?
But he knew she was right, so he simply followed behind her, imitating her posture and standing up straight.
To their surprise, when they returned to Chen Yan's courtyard, someone actually came to their door...
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