“I used to hear my dad say that his family was very important in Tianjin, but I don’t know why they came to Beijing.” Chen Wenjing was already ten years old when her father passed away, and she understood a lot of things. These were all things her father had told her when he was alive.
When her father was mentioned, Chen Wenjing remained calm.
"Who knows?" Chen Niannian replied casually.
"Why do you look so listless? Are you upset about not getting first place?" Chen Wenjing teased.
"I don't feel anything at all. If I had to strive to be number one in everything, it would be exhausting. As long as I can get into my ideal university in the end, my ranking doesn't matter at all."
At first, I strived to be number one simply to gain recognition and to change my destiny through things within my power.
Now, none of that matters anymore. If there are no major problems, getting into her desired university shouldn't be an issue. What's troubling her now is how to find clues about her younger brother and biological mother.
We still need to start with the Fang family to solve this problem.
We can't expose Chen Huibo's identity now. If we do, it will alert Wang Xuemei, who will insist that her own brother died at birth and that she only did this because of greed.
Then the Chen family and she, the Fang family and Wang Xuemei, have no way to deal with it, and the clues will be cut off.
If that's the case, the situation will be too passive for her, so she must start with Wang Xuemei and investigate secretly. But how should she investigate?
Chen Niannian fell into deep thought.
"Niannian, what's wrong?" Chen Wenjing saw Chen Niannian suddenly staring blankly and not saying a word for a long time, so she reached out and nudged her.
"It's nothing, cousin. I was just thinking about the multi-colored ballpoint pens." Chen Niannian lied, trying to avoid Chen Wenjing's questioning gaze.
"You little money-grubber," Chen Wenjing couldn't help but chuckle.
"Oh, right, Niannian, Aunt Liu went back to her hometown for the Chinese New Year. Cao Yujiao asked me to tell you that she's also going back to her hometown." Chen Wenjing suddenly brought up Cao Yujiao.
"She went home??" Chen Niannian asked in surprise, then felt very guilty for forgetting about Cao Yujiao.
"She said she wanted to go home and visit her family. She had saved up some money over the past few months and wanted to see if she could pay the betrothal gifts for her brother. What a silly girl," Chen Wenjing sighed.
Although they hadn't known each other for long, Chen Wenjing and Cao Yujiao were close friends who could talk about anything because they were of similar age, Cao Yujiao was a simple-minded person with an innocent and carefree personality, and they spent a lot of time together.
"What if she encounters danger if she goes back like this!" Chen Niannian began to worry.
“It’s alright. I made a promise with her that I must come back by the fifteenth of the month at the latest. If I don’t come back, I will go looking for her. Besides, don’t you have a friend in the village named Fang Yuan? If anything happens, she said she will have Fang Yuan come to ask for help. I also wrote down my home phone number for her.”
Seeing that Chen Niannian was anxious, Chen Wenjing told her what she had told Cao Yujiao to say, so that Chen Niannian could relax.
Hearing these words, Chen Niannian calmed down and began to blame herself. She had been so busy with her own things lately that she had neglected Cao Yujiao. She hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye when Cao Yujiao left.
The two chatted like this, making small talk, until dinner was over.
Before leaving, Chen Wenjing gave Chen Niannian many instructions, telling her to call her if anything happened, that she would come to her rescue immediately, and that she would visit her often and that she shouldn't be afraid.
This left Chen Niannian both amused and exasperated. In this family, she had no problem protecting herself; who would dare bully her? After all, she was the infamous Chen Niannian.
However, it feels really good to have someone care about and protect her like this.
Because of Mr. Chen's increasingly severe bronchitis, Chen Bangrui and Ma Sijun took the elderly couple back to the Haishi Sanatorium just after the second day of the Lunar New Year.
With Chen Bangrui gone, Zhang Xinyue felt much freer, and Chen Niannian also felt much more relaxed. If it weren't for the fact that it wasn't appropriate to stay at someone else's house during the Lunar New Year, Chen Niannian would have liked to pack her bags and go straight to her aunt's house.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Zhang Xin took Chen Yawen, who was dressed up like a doll, back to her parents' home early in the morning. This was the first time she had returned to her parents' home on the third day of the Lunar New Year after marrying into the Chen family.
In previous years, she would stay at the Chen family home on the third day of the Lunar New Year to cook, clean, and take care of her parents-in-law and sisters-in-law. This year, she was free, so she left some money for Chen Huibo to eat out and also left her phone number so he could call her if he needed anything.
Then he took Chen Yawen back to her parents' home.
Chen Niannian slept in late today, and when she woke up, she was a little hungry, so she decided to go downstairs to find something to eat.
After she went downstairs, she was about to head to the kitchen when she suddenly heard Chen Huibo's voice.
"Yes, Mom, they've all left. You should set off today. Only that brat is at home. Come straight here when you arrive, and try to come early so that she doesn't see you."
Is Chen Huibo calling for his mother? Is he talking to Wang Xuemei on the phone?
"Okay, I'll wait for you and my dad at home. I'm hanging up now. Hurry up and come over. Goodbye." Chen Huibo hung up the phone after saying that.
Wang Xuemei and Fang Zhiyong are coming over? What are they doing here now?
One question after another arose in Chen Niannian's mind.
In their past life, they clearly came in the summer, and their shabby appearance made Zhang Xinyue laugh at Chen Caiyun for a long time. After being reborn, too many things have gone wrong.
Could it be that they actually came here in winter in their past life, but she just didn't know? Chen Niannian looked thoughtful.
It takes at least two days to get from Fangjia Village to Shangjing, so I should be able to see Wang Xuemei and Fang Zhiyong on the morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.
"What...what are you doing here!?" Chen Huibo hung up the phone and was about to go upstairs when he suddenly saw Chen Niannian standing at the bottom of the stairs. He was so frightened that he stammered.
When exactly did she get here? Did she hear herself making a phone call?
"Guess?" Chen Niannian gave a mysterious smile, then turned gracefully and walked towards the kitchen, leaving Chen Huibo looking on with suspicion.
Chen Huibo felt uneasy. After thinking carefully, he realized that he had spoken very softly, and even if Chen Niannian heard him, it would only be a few words.
Chen Niannian is getting more and more fond of playing mysterious. In a few days, when her parents come, she should meet them discreetly so that no one else can find out.
With a sense of self-comfort, Chen Huibo went into the bedroom and carefully organized his treasure box to see how much he could bring for his mother.
Chen Huibo still had a deep affection for his biological mother. Ever since the phone call, he had been thinking about her day and night, feeling like each day was an eternity, and wishing the sixth day of the Lunar New Year would come immediately.
After overhearing Chen Huibo's phone call, Chen Niannian kept a close eye on his movements. She wanted to learn more about Wang Xuemei's situation and seize the opportunity to perhaps uncover some secrets.
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