Jingjing and Tianbao really like Xiaobao. Every day when they come home, the first thing they do is go to see Xiaobao. Especially Tianbao. Shuyan originally thought that he would stop paying attention to Xiaobao after his curiosity was over, but she didn't expect him to be so patient with his little brother. He would stay by his side and comfort him when he cried, without getting annoyed at all.
"Tianbao is a good older brother." Fang Zeyu felt that the atmosphere at home was very good now.
“I didn’t expect this either. You don’t know, but Tianbao was raised by his grandparents when he was little, and he was spoiled rotten. When I first brought him to live with me, he would throw a tantrum on the ground if he didn’t do something right. It took me a long time to straighten him out. I never expected him to be so sensible now.” Shu Yan said with great satisfaction.
"They say human nature is inherently good at birth. What do children know? They learn whatever adults teach them." Fang Zeyu always believed that parents are the best teachers for their children. Turning his head, he saw Shu Yan eating tomatoes and couldn't help but frown. "Is this all you're eating for dinner? Aren't you going to eat dinner later?"
"No. You still need to eat a little bit later. If you don't eat, how will you produce milk? You can lose weight after you wean." Xiao Bao is almost 4 months old, and Shu Yan plans to breastfeed him until he is 6 months old before weaning him.
She felt she had been feeding the baby for quite a while, but Fang Zeyu felt it was a bit short; normally, babies are fed until they are one year old. However, Shu Yan had already made her decision, so he didn't say anything more.
"Mommy, Xiaobao is smiling at me."
Hearing Tianbao's shout, Shuyan smiled and said, "Xiaobao only smiles at you because he likes you."
Every day passed amidst the children's laughter. When the baby was six months old, Shu Yan weaned him. Afraid that she wouldn't be able to bear seeing the baby cry, and since the company was going to hold a show abroad this year, and Hu Ruixue couldn't handle it all by herself, Shu Yan went abroad with her.
Having a child makes it impossible to work with peace of mind. Shuyan couldn't help but want to go back as soon as she boarded the plane.
"Are you reluctant to part with her?" Hu Ruixue asked, noticing Shu Yan's restlessness.
"Of course, I've always been the one taking care of her, so this sudden separation makes me feel empty inside," Shu Yan said, somewhat anxious.
"It's normal, it will get better as the child gets older."
Shu Yan shook her head. How could things possibly get better once the child grows up? It can only be said that a mother's heart is always with her child, but she cannot hinder the child's growth, so she keeps this concern to herself and silently watches over the child.
"Let's not talk about that anymore. Let's talk about the show. How did the models' rehearsals go?"
In addition to advertising in China, Qianyan also invests heavily in advertising in countries surrounding China, making it very well-known throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Last year, they sponsored two films in country A, and won the Best Costume Award for one of them, thus gaining some international recognition. This year, they were able to successfully hold a fashion show abroad.
The chief designer is still Xia Rou. She has won many awards internationally in the past two years and is considered a well-known designer.
The fashion show was a great success, and it can be said that Qianyan has truly gained recognition from some fashionistas and has entered the ranks of accessible luxury. However, it will take some time to mature before it can become a luxury brand.
Including the round trip, Shu Yan had been away from home for about half a month. When she returned home, Xiao Bao didn't recognize her. When Shu Yan tried to hug him, he kept hiding in his aunt's arms.
"You little ingrate, I'm your mother! You've forgotten me after only half a month away?" Shu Yan was still a little sad.
At first, they were a little awkward, but soon they opened their arms and wanted Shu Yan to hug them, their little heads nuzzling against Shu Yan's neck, showing great affection.
“How could the child not recognize his mother? She’s probably angry because she hasn’t seen him for so long,” the aunt said, speaking up for the baby.
Shu Yan held Xiao Bao, her heart softening instantly. "Where are Jingjing and Tianbao?"
Today is Saturday, and the two children should be at home.
"They were picked up by their second aunt. She said it was Niu Niu's birthday and that Jing Jing and Tian Bao should go over and celebrate their cousin's birthday together." The eldest aunt looked at Shu Yan, opened her mouth, and hesitated whether to speak.
Shu Yan was busy rebuilding her mother-son bond with Xiao Bao, but noticing her expression, she said, "Is today Niu Niu's birthday? I was so busy I forgot. I'll go over too. Don't prepare my lunch."
On the way, they passed a shopping mall, and Shuyan went in to buy Niu Niu two sets of clothes, a very pretty doll, and a big cake. Knowing her second sister's personality, she definitely wouldn't be willing to buy a cake.
Sure enough, when Shu Yan arrived, Shu Li was cooking. She had bought a lot of groceries, but there was no birthday cake.
"You're back?" Shu Li wiped her hands, took the things from Shu Yan's hands, and muttered as she opened them, "Why did you buy so much stuff? The child already has clothes; she's growing a lot, a couple of sets are enough. Why buy a doll? How old is Niu Niu? You can take it back to Jing Jing later. And this cake? It's so big, it must cost tens of yuan, right? It's not even that tasty, why waste money like that?"
“Children should eat cake on their birthdays. You’re practically a little boss now, so you don’t need to make the children feel poor anymore.” Shu Yan smiled as she saw Niu Niu staring at the doll. “Jing Jing already has quite a few dolls. This is a gift I bought for her as her aunt. You have no right to refuse.”
Seeing her daughter clutching the doll tightly, Shuli didn't say anything more, but sighed, "Don't buy it next time."
Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Niu Niu. Shu Li didn't know how to sing it and stood by, somewhat at a loss. Niu Niu, the protagonist of the day, blushed, whether from happiness or shyness, it was hard to tell.
"Thank you, Auntie." This was the first time in her life someone had sung for her or bought her a cake. Niu Niu felt her aunt was a fairy sent from heaven.
Halfway through the meal, the male teacher Shu Yan had met before came over, carrying a gift for Niu Niu.
"When I was looking through the student roster yesterday, I saw that Niu Niu's birthday is coming up soon. I was planning to give it to her before school ended yesterday, but I was too busy and forgot. I was just about to come and buy some test papers, so I brought them with me."
"I can't accept this, I can't let you spend so much money," Shuli quickly declined.
"It's just a small, ordinary gift, nothing expensive. It's a token of my appreciation as a teacher to my students." The male teacher smiled gently, but his tone left no room for refusal.
Shu Yan looked at him suspiciously. She had only ever heard of students giving gifts to teachers, never of teachers giving students birthday gifts.
A closer look reveals that although the male teacher claimed to be giving Niu Niu a gift, he didn't seem to care much about her; instead, he kept his attention on Shu Li.
After he left with the test paper, Shu Yan casually asked, "Do all of Niu Niu's teachers buy workbooks here?"
"Yes, he's always been very supportive of my business. Teacher Wang is a very good person, but he's just as unlucky as I am. His wife is a gambler who not only gambled away all the family's money but also incurred a lot of debt. I heard she even borrowed money from loan sharks, and then she ran away. These debts fell on Teacher Wang's shoulders. Luckily, Teacher Wang has many friends, and they chipped in to help pay off the loan sharks, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to make ends meet." Shu Li had been here for over a year, and she knew pretty much everything about the school teachers.
How much money do you owe?
"I don't know about that. Anyway, Teacher Wang has been raising his son alone for several years, saving every penny and giving it back to relatives and friends. I haven't seen his wife come back."
After dinner, Shu Yan sent the children out to play. With Niu Niu and Jing Jing there, she felt at ease leaving Xiao Bao in their care. She and Shu Li then cleaned up in the kitchen.
With no children around, Shu Yan finally asked, "Second sister, I think this Teacher Wang... he's interested in you."
Shuli gave her a "you're joking" look. "How could that be? She's a teacher, and she's so handsome. How could she possibly be interested in me?" Shuli shook her head; she had that much self-awareness.
"Second sister, don't belittle yourself. You looked a bit thin before, but you've slowly gained it all back this year. Your skin is fairer, and your features are more delicate. Most importantly, you're hardworking and virtuous. Besides, you've been divorced, and so has he. In my opinion, he's not good enough for you." They were born to the same parents. Shu Yan is good-looking, so how bad could Shu Li be? It's precisely because they're good-looking that their parents were able to sell them for a good price. It's only because they were mistreated in their husband's family that they've become like monsters.
"You can't say things like that lightly," Shuli quickly said.
"How can you say such nonsense? To put it bluntly, I even doubt his motives." Afraid that Shu Li would be deceived, Shu Yan said directly, "You said it yourself, his wife owes a lot of money outside, and even borrowed from loan sharks. Although the loan sharks are gone, they only paid it off with money borrowed from relatives and friends. He definitely has to pay that back. How much does a teacher earn in a month? Your business is so good, any smart person can easily calculate how much you earn in a month. Marrying you is like marrying a mountain of silver, with a large income every month. Moreover, you are so virtuous, and you can help with laundry, cooking, and taking care of the children. What a worthwhile deal!"
"Don't think so badly of people." The second sister glanced at Shu Yan and said while washing the dishes, "I told you a long time ago that I just want to live a quiet life with my two children. I don't want to remarry, and I don't want to be a stepmother. You've reminded me. I'll keep my distance from Teacher Wang. It's best if he doesn't have any ideas. If he does, he should know what I mean."
Being a biological mother is hard enough, let alone a stepmother! Besides, Teacher Wang and his wife aren't divorced; his wife just ran away. Who knows when she'll come back? What if she does? Will she have to give up her position? What has she been doing all these years? Sleeping with people for free and working as their maid? Is she being cheap?
Besides, it's not impossible that Shu Yan is thinking this way; she might even be eyeing her money. If she has money, wouldn't she at least save it for the children? Why would she rush to spend it on others? Isn't that crazy?
Seeing that Shu Li understood, Shu Yan said nothing more.
The two sat and chatted for a while longer before Fang Zeyu drove over to pick her and the children up to go home.
How are things abroad?
"I was so busy with work this time that I didn't have time to go out and explore. We'll go on a trip together when Xiaobao is a little older."
From the second half of last year until now, I've been pregnant and had a baby, so I haven't had any time or energy to go out and have fun. It's true what they say about raising children not giving you freedom.
"We don't need to wait until Xiaobao is older. We'll take Jingjing and Tianbao out for a trip first." Fang Zeyu didn't tell Shuyan about the overseas developments he had been following.
As the first domestic clothing brand to hold a fashion show abroad, they naturally receive a lot of news in China, even appearing in national newspapers. Therefore, Fang Zeyu was very clear about Shu Yan's itinerary.
Seeing that Shu Yan looked exhausted, Fang Zeyu drove her back to rest. After sleeping for two hours, Fang Zeyu woke her up.
"You probably won't be able to sleep tonight." Seeing that Shu Yan didn't seem very energetic, Fang Zeyu hesitated for a moment before telling her, "Grandma slipped and fell when she got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night the day before yesterday, and she's still in the hospital."
"Grandma fell?" Shu Yan immediately snapped out of her daze and asked while getting dressed, "Why didn't Auntie tell me? And you too, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
“When Grandma fell, you were on the plane. Knowing you'd be jet-lagged when you came back, I told Aunt not to tell you yet.” Fang Zeyu only showed his fatigue now.
Grandma fell, and the most heartbroken person was Fang Zeyu. Since he came out of prison, the two of them had been each other's only support, just like his own grandmother. Now that his grandmother had such an accident, Fang Zeyu felt extremely guilty.
"I should have listened to you back then and found a caregiver for Grandma."
When they moved here last year, Shu Yan asked the old lady to live in their courtyard, but the old lady was unwilling. Shu Yan then suggested hiring a caregiver for her so that someone could be with her 24 hours a day, but the old lady was still unwilling, saying that she was used to being alone and didn't want to be watched.
"It's not your fault. Who would have thought that Grandma, who's always so energetic, would suddenly fall?" Who would have thought that she would fall on flat ground? Even with a caregiver, she couldn't have kept an eye on her! "Let's not talk about this now. Let's go to the hospital to see Grandma."
Getting old really makes a difference. If a young person falls on flat ground, they can just get up and be fine. But if Grandma falls on flat ground, it's very serious. She fractured her pelvis. At her age, surgery is not recommended. Conservative treatment is the best option. As a result, the old lady can only stay in bed and recover. We don't know when she will be able to recover.
Shu Yan was shocked when she saw the old lady. In just half a month, the old lady, who used to have a rosy complexion, had become skin and bones and her hair had turned completely white.
"Grandma, I've come to see you."
"It's Yan Yan! When did you get back? Have you eaten yet?" The old lady said happily when she saw Shu Yan.
"I only found out you fell when I got back today. Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt, I took painkillers. When you get old, you become useless, you can fall even on flat ground, it's just that I've caused trouble for Xiaoyu and you." The old lady felt very guilty.
"Look at what you're saying, what do you mean by 'implicate'? Xiaoyu is your grandson, and I'm your granddaughter-in-law. We're family, so let's not stand on ceremony. You should just focus on getting better in the hospital. Only when you're fully recovered can we rest easy."
Fang Zeyu and Shu Yan were both very busy and couldn't stay at the hospital with the old lady. They hired a caregiver to take care of her. Shu Yan planned to ask her aunt if there was anyone in their hometown who was willing to work as a caregiver, since the old lady definitely needed someone to take care of her in her current condition.
"Yes, of course! Quite a few people have asked me to help them find jobs. Don't worry, I'll definitely find honest and hardworking ones," Auntie assured, patting her chest.
"Everything else is manageable, but this person needs to be meticulous and patient." Taking care of a patient is different from taking care of an ordinary person; you really can't do it without patience.
"Okay. Don't worry. I'll come over first, then you can come and see for yourself. If you don't like her, just tell her to leave."
The aunt took a bus back to the countryside the next day, and two days later she came back with a woman in her thirties.
I only found out after they introduced her that she was only 24 years old and had a hard life. Her husband was sick and couldn't work, so the burden of the family fell on her shoulders.
“Xiaolan used to be my neighbor’s daughter. She helped me a lot before she got married. When my daughter was little, no one looked after her, so she was always following her around. She was like a second mother to my daughter.” So whenever there was an opportunity, my aunt would help her out.
Xiao Lan, feeling a little embarrassed, followed her aunt's lead and called her "boss lady".
"Your aunt has already told you who you're going to take care of, right? The old lady used to be quite kind, but when someone gets sick, their personality inevitably changes a bit, so you'll need to be more patient, and you'll also need to be more careful and diligent in taking care of the patient."
"Don't worry, my husband isn't in good health and is often bedridden. I'm the one who takes care of him," Xiaolan quickly said.
Shu Yan led her to the neighboring courtyard before starting to discuss her salary and benefits.
“Your job is different from your aunt’s. You have to take care of the old lady 24 hours a day, and you also have to take care of her bodily functions. It’s quite hard work. So I’ll pay you 600 yuan a month, and I’ll give you two days off a month. If you don’t take any days off, I’ll pay you 50 yuan a day. If you don’t take any days off this month, I’ll give you an additional 50 yuan attendance bonus. Holiday bonuses are separate. You’ll eat and live here. I’ll have your aunt buy an extra portion of vegetables for you every day and bring it over. That’s about it for the salary and benefits. You can make any requests you may have.”
"No, no, I think it's fine as it is now."
On her way there, she heard from her aunt that she could earn 400 yuan a month, which she already thought was a very high salary. Unexpectedly, the boss's wife gave her another 200 yuan, plus overtime pay and a full attendance bonus, which brought her to 750 yuan. If she wasn't satisfied with such a salary, she would be too ungrateful.
The old lady needs to stay in the hospital for a few more days, and a caregiver will take care of her during this time. Xiaolan will tidy up the house first, and then send soup over every day.
When the old lady returned, Xiao Lan took care of her in the yard. Fang Zeyu and Shu Yan would visit the old lady every day after get off work, chat with her for a while, and then return to their own yard.
"Seeing the old lady like that makes me feel so sad." After visiting the old lady, Shu Yan sighed, "I hope I can just die of old age and go to sleep."
"You're still young, why are you thinking so far ahead?" Fang Zeyu didn't like Shu Yan talking about death.
"Time flies so fast, I'm almost thirty in the blink of an eye." Before she knew it, she had been in this world for more than two years.
We thought the old lady would get better after a while, but we didn't expect that the fall would ruin her health. She was hospitalized again just over three months after returning home, and this time she didn't make it out.
As soon as the old lady passed away, a whole bunch of nephews and nieces popped up, saying they wanted to see her off in her final moments. You could tell what they were really up to at a glance.
At this moment, Fang Zeyu took out the old lady's will, which stated that the house should be sold and all the money donated to children who could not afford to go to school.
No one believed it, thinking that Fang Zeyu had forged the will.
"The village chief of Xiazhuang Village and Attorney Chen were present when this will was made, so it has legal effect. Attorney Chen is here too. If you have any doubts, you can go to court and sue me." Fang Zeyou was too lazy to say another word to them.
Of course, they didn't dare to sue Fang Zeyu. They went to the village chief to confirm that the will was real. In an instant, all the nephews and nieces disappeared, leaving only Fang Zeyu and Shu Yan.
The old lady's funeral was unusually quiet, with only a few of her friends and some relatives she visited frequently attending. As for others not coming, the old lady didn't even want to see them.
"Is the funeral finished?" Hu Ruixue asked, noticing Shu Yan's haggard appearance.
“Yes. People’s hearts are truly terrifying. That house originally belonged to the old lady. What did it have to do with them? But just because the old lady donated it, those close relatives didn’t even come to the funeral. They didn’t care about saving face at all,” Shu Yan sighed.
“Without hope, there’s no hope. The old lady was all alone. They always thought they were her nephews or grandnephews and had the right to inherit that house. Now that it’s suddenly gone, of course they’re upset.” Hu Ruixue said with emotion, “The last time I saw the old lady, she was in good spirits. I thought she could live for another ten or eight years. I never expected her to fall down and pass away. So people are really fragile.”
Although the old lady has passed away, they did not move back to Nancheng Shoufu. The original three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment was enough, but now with the addition of a baby, it feels a bit cramped.
The yard was indeed quite spacious, and the two children liked it, so they decided to stay.
With three children in the family, especially the youngest, Shu Yan decided to keep Xiao Lan with them. Of course, her salary wasn't as high as before, just like her aunt's, 400 yuan a month, plus 20 yuan a day for overtime. Xiao Lan wasn't disappointed, since the two of them did the laundry, cooking, and cleaning. Two of the three children were already older and didn't need them to pick them up or drop them off. Only the youngest still needed their care, and it was quite easy for the two of them to take turns looking after him. The salary was already quite high.
Before they knew it, it was Chinese New Year again. Shuli and Shuyan received one phone call after another from their hometown, urging them to come back for the holiday. Thinking that it had been many years since they had been back, they decided to take their child with them.
Fang Zeyu brought two bodyguards who didn't need to go home for the New Year. One could help carry things, and the other could lend a hand if anything happened.
After they got off the plane, Shu Jianyang drove up to pick them up in his minivan.
"Why did you bring so much stuff back?" Shu Jianyang helped put the things in the car; the back of the car was already full and there was still room for more.
"I have a lot of relatives, so if I bring a little here and a little there, it'll be too much." Shuli put two things down at her feet; most of the things in those bags were hers.
"I told my second sister to bring less, but she wouldn't listen." Shu Yan was quite helpless. Things are developing better and better now. You can buy anything in Xicheng. There are many things that are not necessary. It would be so much better to just buy them here.
“How can that be the same? I brought it back by plane, it has a different meaning.” Shuli felt that she was right to do it this way.
We ate lunch at Shu Jianyang's house. His villa has been built but not yet decorated, and he is still living in the house that Shu Yan sold to him.
"Do you know that Li Jiaojiao and Ye Zhiqiang are divorced?" Li Miaomiao whispered to Shu Yan as she went into the kitchen to help.
"I don't know. I haven't heard from them in a long time. How did they get divorced?" Shu Yan was taken aback. She really didn't know how Ye Zhiqiang was doing now.
Last time Ye Zhiqiang had designs on Tianbao, Fang Zeyu asked his comrades for help to get Ye Zhiqiang's current mistress pregnant. Judging by the time, the child should be born by now, so the mistress successfully used the child to take over the position.
"Don't even mention it. It's a good thing you divorced Ye Zhiqiang. That man was a real scoundrel." Li Miaomiao put the pot lid back on, glanced outside to make sure Fang Zeyu wasn't looking in the kitchen, and then said, "He deliberately hired someone to pretend to be a rich young master to seduce Li Jiaojiao, then caught them in the act, forcing Li Jiaojiao to divorce him. By the time Li Jiaojiao realized that the young master was Ye Zhiqiang's doing, the divorce was already finalized, and she couldn't do anything about it. Less than a month later, Ye Zhiqiang found someone else. Guess who he married next?"
"His new mistress?" Shu Yan guessed that Ye Zhiqiang was afraid of being schemed against by her, so he took the initiative to strike first.
Unexpectedly, Li Miaomiao shook her head. "No, it's a rich woman who's 10 years older than him. I heard she's his business partner's wife. His partner died in an accident, and these two got together. Don't you think that's interesting?"
"Interesting, very interesting." Ye Zhiqiang truly lowered her standards once again.
If I remember correctly, his mistress was his partner's cousin, right? Shu Yan thought he would marry his cousin, but she never expected him to marry his partner's wife instead. The question is, did his partner really die in an accident?
When Shu Yan asked Fang Zeyu that evening, she learned that his partner had indeed passed away unexpectedly.
"I already knew, but I felt there was no need to say it, lest it offend your ears." Fang Zeyu genuinely thought Ye Zhiqiang's private life was too messy.
Shu Yan chuckled, "He is indeed an insignificant person to me. When my third sister-in-law told me about him today, I just took it as a joke. Let's go to sleep."
The next day, Shu Yan took Fang Zeyu to the mall to buy New Year's goods. The mall had just opened last year and was said to be invested in by a boss from Gangcheng. As the end of the year approached, there were a lot of people coming to buy things.
"Let's go into this store and take a look." Shu Yan saw a candy store and pulled Fang Zeyu inside.
"Hello, would you like to buy some candy?"
Privately owned shopping malls are just different; the service is more than a dozen levels above average.
"Yes, you don't need to follow me. Go and take a look yourself first. I'll call you if you need anything." Shu Yan didn't really like the salesperson following her around trying to sell her things.
"Okay, please feel free to call me if you need anything."
"How about we buy a little bit of everything and mix them together?" Shu Yan asked Fang Zeyu after looking around.
"Okay." Fang Zeyu nodded.
Just as Shu Yan was about to ask the sales clerk to bring her a bag, she heard shouting and cursing coming from the store across the street. Looking up, she saw a plump woman pointing at a sales clerk and yelling at her. The sales clerk kept bowing and apologizing, squatting down to polish the plump woman's leather shoes. There were slight water stains on them, probably from when the sales clerk accidentally spilled water while pouring it for them.
When the sales clerk stood up, Shu Yan was stunned to see her. Li Jiaojiao? She went back to Xicheng? Or rather, how did she become a sales clerk?
Perhaps because Shu Yan's gaze was too direct, Li Jiaojiao looked back at her.
Their eyes met. Shu Yan remained calm, while Li Jiaojiao was embarrassed and annoyed. However, judging from her eyes, she did not recognize Shu Yan. Otherwise, she would have felt not only embarrassed and annoyed, but also utterly ashamed.
"What's wrong?" Fang Zeyu returned with the bag.
"It's nothing, we just ran into someone unexpected. Let's buy some candy." Shu Yan didn't really want to talk about Li Jiaojiao; what's past is past.
That night, Shu Yan suddenly had a very long dream.
The original owner of this body had taken sleeping pills and was revived. In a dazed state, she was tricked by Ye Zhiqiang into divorcing her, and took the family's savings of over ten thousand yuan and her two children back to her parents' home. The bankbook was taken away by Lin Zixiang that same day.
Without money, Shu Youfu and Lin Zixiang no longer treated the original owner of the body differently. Regardless of whether she had recovered or not, they kept ordering her around. Tianbao was a little younger, so it was okay, but Jingjing also worked alongside her, and she never had a moment to spare.
Having just been discharged from the hospital, and after the divorce and being tormented by her family, the original owner of this body quickly lost weight. Although she was a bit darker-skinned after losing weight, her features were still quite good. Seeing her like this, Lin Zixiang started to plot, thinking of having her ask Ye Zhiqiang for money in the name of the child.
She actually succeeded. After the first time, Lin Zixiang thought about a second time. She even helped come up with a strategy, telling the original owner to take the two children to Ye Zhiqiang and cry poverty. They had to cry pitifully. If it were the original owner before, Ye Zhiqiang wouldn't even give her a second glance. But the original owner was thinner and prettier. And when she was crying with the two children, Ye Zhiqiang actually softened a little.
When Li Jiaojiao found out about this, not long after the original owner went out to buy something, she got into a car accident. Then Shu Yan saw the driver calmly driving away.
The scene shifts to Jingjing being tortured in prison, turning her into a grotesque, inhuman creature. She commits suicide before even being released. Then there's the moment Tianbao is in the car accident; the driver is the same one who killed the original owner, only much older. His calm expression makes it seem as if he killed not a person, but a chicken or duck.
The dream abruptly ended there, but Shu Yan had already found the answer she was looking for. Connecting the dots, she realized that the original owner of this body must have been deliberately murdered, and the mastermind was definitely Li Jiaojiao, because the original owner threatened her position. As for Jingjing and Tianbao, it was because they threatened Li Jiaojiao's child that they met such an end.
"What's wrong?" Fang Zeyu asked with concern when he saw that Shu Yan was covered in sweat.
"It's nothing, I just had a nightmare." Shu Yan pursed her lips, drank a glass of water, and calmed down. "I'm all sweaty and sticky, I'm going to take a shower first."
"Go ahead." Fang Zeyu helped Shu Yan get her clothes.
Lying back down, Shu Yan was extremely grateful that she had made it through. It wasn't because she had changed the original owner's fate—there's always a reason why someone is pitiful, and the original owner had many flaws that Shu Yan couldn't tolerate—but because she had changed the fate of her two children, Jingjing and Tianbao. No matter what, she would ensure that the two children grew up safely and peacefully.
Shu Yan was lost in thought until dawn before she finally felt sleepy. Then Shu Jianyang came to tell them to set off for the countryside. Shu Yan simply got up to wash up and planned to take a nap in the car.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Li Miaomiao asked, noticing Shu Yan's tired face.
"No, I just had a nightmare. I'll sleep a little longer in the car." Anyway, it'll take several more hours to get from Xicheng to Ling'an Township.
Leaning on Fang Zeyu's shoulder, Shu Yan drifted off to sleep and entered another dreamland. This time, it wasn't the original owner's dream, but her own.
Shu Yan felt as if her soul had returned to her own world. She saw the police coming and going in her rented room, and her neighbors standing there pointing and whispering. From the fragmented conversations, she learned that because she was playing on her phone while it was charging, the phone exploded, knocking her unconscious. The charging cable knocked over the water glass on the bedside table, and she was electrocuted.
In an instant, a memory that hadn't appeared in Shu Yan's mind appeared. She hadn't fallen asleep while reading the novel, but suddenly saw sparks coming from her phone. Before she could throw it away, there was no time to do so. With a bang, she lost consciousness.
So... she died, which is why she transmigrated into the body of Shu Yan in the book.
In a daze, Shu Yan saw her parents crying and supporting each other as they came over.
“I kept telling you to go home, to go home, but you wouldn’t listen. I told you to get married, but you wouldn’t listen either. You lived here all by yourself, and if you left, no one would even know,” Shu’s mother muttered between sobs, her voice filled with sorrow.
Shu's father was overcome with tears and couldn't utter a single word.
Upon seeing them, Shu Yan was already in tears, calling out loudly for her parents, but they couldn't hear her. She followed them inside and saw that her own body was already decomposing. The police said that the company discovered she hadn't come to work for a day, so they contacted her family. Her parents rushed over, and they also contacted her friends in Nancheng, but they all said they hadn't seen her and her phone was always switched off. So the company called the police.
Shu Yan didn't care about any of that. All she wanted to do was talk to her parents. It's true what they say, "You only know how much your parents love you when you become a mother." She only realized how difficult it is to be a parent after having her own child.
"Mom, Mom, I was wrong. I'll listen to you from now on and never go against you again. Mom, I'm sorry. Dad, I'm sorry. I miss you so much, I really miss you."
Shu Yan kept crying, and then followed them to the police station, to the funeral home, and back to her hometown. She watched them hold a funeral for her and watched her younger brother rush back to hug and cry with her parents.
She kept shouting, but no one heard her.
That day, Shu Yan suddenly entered a white, misty place. As she walked, she arrived at her own living room, where her parents were sitting on the sofa.
"Dad, Mom..."
"Yan Ni, is that you? My Yan Ni! Mom was wrong, I shouldn't have forced you, otherwise you wouldn't have left home to go so far away, and you wouldn't have..."
"Yan Ni?" Shu's father raised his hand, wanting to touch his daughter's face.
She reached out and grasped her father's hand. "Dad, it's me, Yan Ni. I've come back to see you."
As they spoke, the three of them hugged each other and cried. Shu Yan had a feeling that after seeing her parents this time, she might have to leave, so she stopped crying and wanted to talk to her parents more.
There was nothing to hide from her parents, so Shu Yan told them that she hadn't really died, but had traveled to a parallel universe, gotten married, and become a mother. She talked about Fang Zeyu, Xiao Bao, and her best friend Hu Ruixue, rambling on and on about whatever came to mind.
Shu Yan felt a suction force coming from her body and looked at her parents with reluctance. "I feel like I'm leaving. Dad, Mom, take care of yourselves. In the next life, I'll still be your daughter."
As Shu Yan disappeared, Shu's parents woke up with a start. They looked at each other, told each other about their dreams, and immediately believed that their daughter had indeed come to visit them in their dreams.
"Old Shu, do you really think people have souls?" Shu's mother found it hard to believe, but she also wanted to believe it, so that her daughter could live somewhere in another way.
"It must be true. Let's try and see if it's true." Shu's father got up and went to Shu Yan's room. He found the diary in the drawer as Shu Yan had told him to. He opened it with the password she gave him. The first page contained a photo of their family. He burst into tears.
“Our daughter is still alive…” Shu’s mother said, her voice a mixture of joy and sorrow.
"Yan Yan, Yan Yan..."
Shu Yan opened her eyes and saw Fang Zeyu looking anxious.
"You're awake." Fang Zeyu breathed a sigh of relief. He had truly felt that Shu Yan would never wake up again, and his heart ached. "You kept crying, and no matter how I called you, you wouldn't wake up. Did you have another nightmare?"
Fang Zeyu recalled what Shu Yan had said about her past experiences in her hometown. He realized that this place must have hurt her too much, which was why she kept having nightmares. He decided to return to Nancheng after the New Year and not stay there for even a moment longer.
"I'm fine, I just..." Shu Yan wiped away her tears, "I just had a dream of joy and sorrow."
"Don't be afraid, I'm here with you." Fang Zeyu hugged Shu Yan.
"Mmm." Feeling Fang Zeyu's body temperature, Shu Yan's lips curled up slightly. 'Dad, Mom, don't worry, I'll be doing well in the other world.'
Author's Note: I felt I should end it here, so I did...
It's finished! Let's chat for a bit. This book has had a rough time. First, the sales were alright, and I want to thank all the readers who supported it. During the remaining new book period, it was suspended for half a month. Do you know about the "Clamps" (or similar rankings)? This is the most important ranking after the VIP chapters, practically determining the fate of a book. And on the day this book was listed, the "Clamps" was suspended. I almost collapsed. Those two weeks felt like an eternity. I just kept thinking, "Will you remember me after two weeks?" And then, near the end, the comment section was closed for half a month…
After saying all that, I am most grateful to the readers who have accompanied me all the way. I hope we can meet again in the next book.
Love you all, muah! (づ￣3￣)づ╭?～
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