Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Fu Yanyan didn't know how it all happened. The moment she jumped from the rooftop of the school building, she never thought she would live. She was in too much pain and just wanted an escape.

She had expected to die cleanly, but never imagined that after her death, she would involuntarily follow Jin Xiuzhu. That woman indeed didn't love her; she only cried for a moment before being comforted by her lover.

Yet Fu Yanyan didn't feel angry. After all, she had long been utterly disappointed with Jin Xiuzhu. So she numbly watched as Jin Xiuzhu was betrayed and abandoned by her lover, burdened with enormous debts, and ultimately embarked on a path of no return.

As for Jiang's father, he did not marry the auntie Jin Xiuzhu mentioned. Since divorcing Jin Xiuzhu, he lived alone with He Yan. Unfortunately, good people don't live long, and he died in an accident.

Regarding He Yan, this nominal older brother, Fu Yanyan actually hated him at first.

In her previous life, when Jin Xiuzhu suddenly came from the countryside to the military camp and started living well, she felt inferior and timid. She knew she had used dishonorable means to achieve her current situation, so she couldn't hold her head high in front of Jiang's father. She tried to please him and was particularly accommodating and partial towards his adopted son, He Yan. Whatever He Yan liked to eat or drink, she would always yield to him. Whenever they had a conflict, it was always her fault, as if only then could it seem fair and make her a good stepmother.

At that time, He Yan would stand aside and laugh, as if mocking her, the biological daughter, for not measuring up to his place in Jin Xiuzhu's heart.

Sometimes, she knew he intentionally wanted to see her humiliated.

Those humiliations and disappointments were deeply etched in her mind. So when Jin Xiuzhu and Jiang's father separated later, she even felt relieved.

However, good fortune did not come her way. Jin Xiuzhu took her south to do small business and led a peaceful life for a while. Once the business improved, Jin Xiuzhu sent her to a boarding school and left her there, finding another man herself and spending all her money on him. Meanwhile, Fu Yanyan could only eat the worst food at school and was ostracized by teachers and classmates due to unpaid tuition fees, leading to depression.

So when He Yan secretly came to see her in the south, and stood up for her when he found out she was being bullied, Fu Yanyan didn't appreciate it at that time. She would rather be bullied than have his help, and even deliberately said, "Isn't this what you want?"

At that moment, He Yan stood across from her, clearly taller than her, yet he seemed lowly like dust. With red eyes, he looked at her without saying a word and then walked away. But from then on, no one dared to openly bully her anymore, though some avoided speaking to her.

But He Yan didn't know that some harm wasn't just physical.

She remembered that on the eve of the college entrance exam, she prepared herself mentally for the whole day. Finally, she cautiously told Jin Xiuzhu about the twenty yuan needed for the registration fee and living expenses at school. She thought of many ways to deal with it and even considered telling Jin Xiuzhu that she would pay her back later if she refused. However, she never expected that she hadn't even finished speaking when she received a scolding, being called a jinx who had killed her biological father and caused her divorce, and now affected her business because she kept coming home...

At that moment, she suddenly felt that living in this world was meaningless.

Later, she saw He Yan limping in and out of the hospital, looking wretched and dusty, unable to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a soldier.

Jin Xiuzhu lay in a hospital bed, relying on nutritional fluids to maintain her vital signs, supported by He Yan's part-time jobs.

Finally, an elderly lady in the same ward as Jin Xiuzhu noticed the jade pendant around her neck and got up in the middle of the night to steal it. The pendant shattered on the ground, and at that moment, Fu Yanyan suddenly remembered that she had bought this jade pendant with all the money she had after hearing Jin Xiuzhu say she couldn't sleep well recently. That money was secretly given to her by Jiang's father when he divorced Jin Xiuzhu.

The moment the jade pendant broke, she seemed to hear Jin Xiuzhu tremble as she called her name.

Then a blinding white light appeared before her eyes, and she lost consciousness.

When she woke up again, it was the morning of the day she left, and she saw Jin Xiuzhu again. However, this Jin Xiuzhu seemed different from the one she knew.

In her memory, Jin Xiuzhu was obsessive, strong-willed, and vain, hoping to prove that she was unique in everyone's hearts. She acted this way towards Jiang's father, the neighbors in the compound, and her later lovers. But ironically, the more crazily she tried to grasp something, the less she obtained.

But this Jin Xiuzhu smiled and gently wiped her mouth, treating her like the mother she had longed for countless times.

Even though she had let go of everything, she still couldn't help but harbor a sliver of unwarranted hope.

Fu Yanyan looked at young He Yan, feeling very complicated.

He must have regretted it later, taking care of Jin Xiuzhu, who was bedridden and unable to move, afraid that she would die and leave him alone. What was he thinking at that time? Was he thinking that if he had treated her and Jin Xiuzhu better, their family might have been different?

---

When it turned dark, Jiang Mingchuan brought back two bowls of food. He originally planned to pick up He Yan from next door tomorrow since the house wasn't cleaned today, but he was surprised to find He Yan already back when he returned home, remembering that there might not be enough food.

He Yan also saw the food in his hands and spoke softly, "Dad, I'm not hungry. I ate a lot at Grandma Wu's house at noon."

Hearing this, Fu Yanyan's heart tightened. She knew what would happen next.

Sure enough, Jin Xiuzhu confidently said, "Get another serving. I want to eat that sweet meat from lunch."

Fu Yanyan was stunned for a moment and then looked at her in disbelief.

Jin Xiuzhu didn't notice anything amiss and seriously told Jiang Mingchuan, "Fu Jianguo's mother doesn't feed us well. We're both starving. You can't treat us like this."

"..."

There was nothing Jiang Mingchuan could say, so he went out to buy more food.

He Yan opened his mouth to say something but ultimately didn't dare to speak, as it was Auntie who suggested it, and he was afraid she wouldn't like him if he spoke up.

There was no more braised pork, so Jiang Mingchuan bought radish cooked with meat instead. He placed the two bowls of dishes on the table. Seeing no serving chopsticks, Jin Xiuzhu took the initiative to divide the food, giving each person a small bowl filled to the brim.

When Jin Xiuzhu divided the meat, Jiang Mingchuan kindly suggested, "Give my portion to the two kids. They're still growing and should eat more."

Jin Xiuzhu was speechless, but she said, "Everyone gets some. Why shouldn't we eat what you bought?"

Jiang Mingchuan didn't say anything else, but he felt warm inside.

The two children silently lowered their heads, waiting until Jiang Mingchuan and Jin Xiuzhu started eating before obediently picking up their chopsticks.

Throughout the meal, no one spoke a word. Jin Xiuzhu was accustomed to not talking during meals, while Jiang Mingchuan was simply quiet. But strangely, He Yan felt a sense of comfort, preferring this over the lively meals at the Wu household.

Jin Xiuzhu didn't like the skin, finding it unclean. After eating, a few pieces of skin with fatty meat remained in her bowl. When Jiang Mingchuan saw this, he didn't say anything and directly picked them up to eat.

Seeing this, Jin Xiuzhu blushed. It was the first time someone ate what she left behind.

She felt a strange sensation in her heart but didn't dislike it.

After dinner, Jin Xiuzhu promptly cleared the dishes.

Jiang Mingchuan didn't sit idle either. He sat under the stove and heated water, then tidied up the kitchen.

---

That night, the family of four washed up simply and went to sleep.

There were two rooms in the house, but only one had been tidied up. When Jiang Mingchuan and He Yan stayed at home before, they slept together in the same room.

Fortunately, this bed had been widened by Jiang Mingchuan previously, so the family of four lying on it wasn't too cramped.

Jiang Mingchuan and Jin Xiuzhu lay facing each other on their sides, separated by the two children. Upon meeting each other's eyes, both felt a bit awkward, after all, they had only known each other for a few days.

The two children, however, slept soundly, soon emitting steady breathing sounds.

Jiang Mingchuan closed his eyes shortly afterward.

Only Jin Xiuzhu couldn't fall asleep, as everything before her eyes seemed like a dream.

Just a couple of days ago, she was a prisoner, and now she suddenly had a new husband and two children.

However, she soon found herself unable to sleep even if she wanted to, as the man's loud snoring nearby disturbed her peace.

Fu Yanyan, lying beside her, was woken up by the noise and shifted her body.

Jin Xiuzhu noticed this and glared at the man opposite her with annoyance, covering the child's ears with her hand and muttering angrily, "Sounds like an ox bellowing."

Fu Yanyan froze instantly. She didn't hear clearly what Jin Xiuzhu said, only feeling the warmth on her ears, taking quite some time to realize that this was real.

A strange sense of sorrow welled up within her.

The next morning, Jiang Mingchuan fetched water from the Wu family's well next door with a bucket early on. They didn't have a well at home and had to draw water from their neighbors.

After making six or seven trips back and forth to fill the water tank, he stood at the door for a while, noticing that the mother and daughter inside showed no signs of waking up, while his son was considerately starting to heat water and cook in the kitchen.

Jiang Mingchuan returned to the kitchen, took the spatula from his son, and started stir-frying the dishes.

He Yan sat down by the stove to tend to the fire, of his own accord.

For a moment, neither father nor son spoke, both sensing something odd.