Chapter 427 A Strange Letter

Chapter 427: A Letter from a Stranger

In late February 1987, Ren Shan received a letter from Diancheng.

Walking along a quiet path, Ren Shan secretly pulled the letter from her pocket and began reading it.

The sender was someone named Yu Xixi. Thinking it had already been half a year, she had her suspicions.

Unfolding the envelope, she found a yellowed, lined sheet of notebook paper torn from a notebook.

On it was a rough pencil drawing—a smiling sun beaming down from the sky, a few white clouds drifting lazily, and beneath the bright sunlight, an orchid swaying freely in the breeze, carefree and unrestrained.

A faint smile crossed Ren Shan’s face, and her anxious heart finally calmed.

This was good news.

In just half a year, she could already send letters out. It seemed her situation was better than she had imagined.

Ren Shan folded the letter, tucked it back into the envelope, and walked on.

She heard voices behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two men with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders, talking loudly.

Ren Shan looked away and continued walking ahead.

Up ahead was a small bamboo thicket. She had passed through it before—it was dim inside, the path narrow, the dense foliage blocking out most of the light. It took forty-some steps to exit the grove and reach the main road.

She frowned slightly, and turned, jumping down the dirt embankment beside the path.

Below was someone’s small vegetable garden, all mud and rough terrain. Crossing this patch would allow her to bypass the bamboo grove and reach the main road directly.

The two men behind her, who had been trading dirty jokes, peered curiously as they watched Ren Shan leap into the garden.

“Hey, that’s weird. Why skip the proper path and wade through mud? Is she an idiot?”

“What do you know? Maybe she just likes playing in the mud. Weren’t you the one who used to mix pee with dirt when you were a kid?”

“Hahaha, screw you! I never liked that—you did!”

Ren Shan glanced back expressionlessly, wondering to herself whether her distrust of people was too extreme, always assuming the worst of strangers.

But she quickly shook her head. No.

Even if the risk was one in ten thousand, she would still avoid it.

Just as she reached the entrance of Fuqing Street, she saw Su Ping rushing home on his bicycle.

Ren Shan’s entire demeanor softened as she stepped forward. “Brother Su Ping~”

Su Ping called back a quick “Yeah!” but didn’t stop, pedaling hard onward.

The smile froze on Ren Shan’s face. Something was wrong—Su Ping’s expression was tense.

She immediately ran after him.

Su Ping rode straight to Hou Li’s house, threw his bike down, and shouted toward the door.

“Aunt Hou! Aunt Hou!”

"Aunt Shuyu, are you there?"

Hearing Su Ping's shouts, Hou Li quickly lifted the thick door curtain and leaned halfway out. "Ping? What's wrong?"

Su Ping replied urgently, "Jinghuan’s hurt! Come quick!"

*Thud—*

The ladle in Hou Li's hands fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

"What did you say? Jinghuan’s hurt? How is she? What happened? Where is she hurt? Is it serious?"

Su Ping, grabbed by Hou Li, stammered, "Yeah, some lady came by the shop and told me. I’d met her before when I rode Jinghuan to the shop on my bike. She knew I was at the restaurant..."

Hou Li grew even more anxious as Su Ping rambled. "Where is Jinghuan hurt? Is it serious?"

Ren Shan ran over and saw Hou Li gripping Su Ping’s collar. She rushed forward and pulled Hou Li away. "Aunt Shuyu, let go of my brother. Take it easy, just ask him."

"Brother, where is Sis Jinghuan?"

Su Ping, slow to react, finally said, "At the hospital."

Ren Shan nudged Hou Li. "Auntie, don’t grill him. Take some money and go with my brother right away. He might not know the details either."

Hou Li, frantic, like a chicken with its head cut off, hurried back inside to get money at Ren Shan’s urging. "Okay, okay, okay."

When Su Ping brought Hou Li to the hospital, Zuo Jinghuan was sitting weakly in the clinic, her face ghostly white.

Hou Li gasped and rushed to her side.

"Jinghuan, what happened? You’re scaring me! Where does it hurt? Are you injured anywhere?"

Zuo Jinghuan ducked her head and tugged at her collar to hide the bruises on her neck.

"Mom, I’m okay—" Her voice came out weak and raspy.

Despite Zuo Jinghuan’s efforts to conceal it, Hou Li noticed the injuries near her ear.

Just then, a nurse walked in holding a medical tray with some medicine.

"Zuo Jinghuan."

Hou Li turned anxiously. "M-me, I’m her mother."

The nurse handed the medicine to Hou Li. "This is for the bruises—apply it morning and night. It should fade in two or three days. These packets are oral medicine—take three a day, half an hour after meals. The numbness on her tongue and throat pain should ease by tomorrow."

"Also, her laryngeal cartilage was injured. Keep her diet light these days—no greasy or spicy stuff—nothing that’ll irritate it to prevent infection."

"Oh, okay, okay! Thanks so much, nurse!"

Su Ping took them back to Fuqing Street, with Hou Li holding Jinghuan up and thanking him repeatedly.

"Thank you, Ping. Sorry for the trouble."

Zuo Jinghuan rasped with effort, "Ping, if you get a chance later, could you let XXX and Sis Shuyu know for me?"

Su Ping nodded. "I’ve got time at noon. I’ll go tell them. Just rest up at home."

As they watched Su Ping leave, Hou Li said softly, "Ping’s younger by a few months. You’re his big sister."

Zuo Jinghuan froze. Seeing Su Ping's tall stature, she just copied Su An and called him "brother."

Once inside, Hou Li finally asked Zuo Jinghuan softly, "You don’t need to hide it anymore. I saw it. I was too scared to ask out there, but now there are no outsiders. Tell me, what happened?"

"Did... did you run into some bad people?" Hou Li's voice trembled slightly as she asked.

Zuo Jinghuan quickly grasped Hou Li’s shaking hands. "No, Mom, don’t worry—what are you thinking? It’s broad daylight, and my workplace is packed with people. Who would dare?"

Only then did Hou Li finally relax. With reddened eyes, she lightly smacked the back of Zuo Jinghuan’s hand. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, kid."

As she spoke, she lifted Zuo Jinghuan’s chin and tugged down her collar to examine the bruises on her neck.

Seeing the swollen, purple marks, Hou Li’s tears fell.

"My God, how did this happen? This is life-threatening! This is straight-up abuse—we can’t ignore this. What exactly happened? Tell me. This is attempted murder! We should report it to the police!"

Zuo Jinghuan lowered her head and, after a long pause, finally said, "Mom... do you... still think about Zuo Shangdang?"

Hou Li froze, quickly realizing what had happened. "Did he come after you?"