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CH 101 BE ALONE
“Qian Min is doing his homework and didn’t come out.” He Yanfeng said lightly: “We went out for a walk and saw your house occupied, so we came to visit.”
“Oh, I see.” Yang Si didn’t notice anything strange, and she smiled softly, her slightly round face from pregnancy looking very gentle: “Our two families really have an affinity. Our children play well together, and now we are even neighbors.”
Yang Yun’s eyes fell on Yang Si’s baby bump, paused for a moment, and asked: “You are now seven months old, how do you feel?”
“They’re a bit fussy.” Yang Si lowered her eyes and rubbed her tummy, saying with a smile: “When I was pregnant with Chen Chen he was very quiet. This child is not like their older brother. I wonder if they will be a little troublemaker when they come out.”
“Little troublemakers are also fine.” Jiang Zhuo washed the fruit, put it on the table, and smiled at He Yanfeng and his wife: “Have some fruit, little troublemakers brings cheer and liveliness.”
“That’s right.” Yang Si took Jiang Chen’s hand and said with a smile, “The elder son is mature and sensible, and the younger daughter is fussy. With one son and one daughter, all my wishes are fulfilled.”
He Yanfeng held Yang Yun’s hand, squeezed it calmly, and said with a smile, “Already know it’s a daughter?”
“We don’t know.” Yang Si smiled and shook her head: “It’s just that we already have Chen Chen, so we want to have a daughter even more, and Chen Chen has always wanted to have a younger sister.”
“A boy is not bad either.” Jiang Zhuo touched Yang Si’s belly reassuringly, and said to her, “What if it will be a boy? Don’t say that in front of the child.”
Yang Si couldn’t help laughing: “They’re still in my stomach, what can they hear?”
“This is prenatal education.” Jiang Zhuo insisted on this very much, and took Jiang Chen’s hand from the other side of Yang Si, “Come on son, tell your brother or sister quickly, you like both boys and girls.”
Jiang Chen had no choice but to be pulled by Jiang Zhuo and put his hand on Yang Si’s belly. Suddenly he felt a light kick. His eyes lit up and he touched it lightly. Yang Si smiled and said, “Every time you touch Mom’s belly, it’s like she can feel you, it seems that she really likes her older brother.”
“Nothing happens every time I touch.” Jiang Zhuo said jealously, “Don’t you like Dad?”
“They’re moving!” Yang Si turned to look at Jiang Zhuo: “Did you feel it?”
“I feel it.” Jiang Zhuo laughed immediately, “It seems that they like Dad too.”
The hands of the family of three were laid together touching their future family member, and their eyes were full of soft smiles looking forward to a new life. Yang Yun hid the sadness in her eyes, and grabbed He Yanfeng’s hand tightly.
After going back, Yang Yun was frequently absent-minded, and He Yanfeng knew the reason, so he let her be alone.
There were a few chairs and a tea table by the hot spring in the courtyard. Yang Yun looked in one direction, lost in thought. The tea on the little stove was boiling and the smoke was rising, but she didn’t notice at all.
He Qianjian’s eyes flickered slightly. He walked up to Yang Yun and sat down, poured a some tea into a teacup, and put it in Yang Yun’s hand: “Mom, drink some tea.”
Yang Yun came back to her senses and saw a trace of disappointment in He Qianjian’s eyes. She forced a smile and said, “I don’t really want to drink now, you can drink it yourself.”
“Are you unhappy?” He Qianjian took a sip of tea himself, and said in a concerned tone, “I saw that after you came back in the morning, you seemed to be in a not so good mood.”
Yang Yun looked away and smiled: “Mom is not unhappy, but you, how are you feeling these days?”
He Qianjian squeezed the teacup tightly, lowered his head to conceal it, and said with a wry smile: “I also don’t know, I’m at a loss, I don’t know what to do, I never thought that this kind of thing would happen.”
Yang Yun pursed her lips and raised her hand to touch his head, but she stopped in mid-air for some reason. She withdrew her hand and said, “It’s normal to have a hard time accepting this after just learning about it, but after a while it’s enough to accept it slowly.”
“Mom.” He Qianjian raised his head: “Can I not go back to the Jiang’s? I don’t know Jiang Chen’s parents at all, and I have never met them. I only know that you and Dad are my parents. I just want to recognize you, don’t let me go back to the Jiang’s, okay?”
Yang Yun’s heart seemed to be tugged by something, and the smile that barely managed to be kept on her face faded.
If He Qianjian had always thought this way and didn’t want to go back to the Jiang’s at all, then what about Jiang Chen? Did it mean that he didn’t want to go back to the He family at all, that was why he always thinking about the Jiang couple, that was why he wanted to delay telling them and the others the truth, and that was why he treated the Jiang couple completely differently from the way he treated her and He Yanfeng.
Yang Yun was in a daze and lost in unknown thoughts. He Qianjian frowned, impatience and anxiety appeared in his eyes, which changed into worry before Yang Yun looked over, “What’s wrong? What are you thinking?”
“It’s nothing.” Yang Yun looked at He Qianjian flatly, the always gentle smile on her face was gone, and her voice seemed to be a little colder: “Qian Jian, you and Chen Chen’s identities have been misplaced for eighteen years. Both of us have missed a lot in the past eighteen years. Not only do I want to make it up for Chen Chen, but I also imagine that your biological parents will also want to make it up to you after learning of your identity. I know it may be difficult for you now to accept this fact, but I hope you will think about your biological parents and give them a chance to make it up to you.”
“But in my heart, you and Dad are my biological parents.” He Qianjian squatted down, lay his head on Yang Yun’s lap, and looked up at her: “Mom, I just want to be the son of you and Dad, I don’t want to be the son of the Jiang family.”
Yang Yun lowered her eyes, and the image of He Qianjian in front of her now seemed to coincide with the image of Jiang Chen gently stroking Yang Si’s belly with a smile. She pursed her lips, and gently pushed He Qianjian’s hand away: “Qian Jian, this is impossible to change, you and Chen Chen must return to your original position, your father and grandfather are right, you are already an adult, it will be a matter of time before you leave home, so just think of it as leaving home early.”
“But…..”
“Can you let Mom be alone for a while?” Yang Yun gently rubbed He Qianjian’s head: “Mom really wants to be alone for a while now.”
He Qianjian swallowed the words that came to his lips, lowered his eyes to hide the gloom in his eyes, nodded and got up and said, “Then I’ll go for a walk, be careful not to catch a cold.”
Yang Yun’s heart warmed, and she smiled and said, “You also need to add another layer of clothes before going out. Although it’s warmer here than at home, it’s easy to catch a cold if you don’t pay attention.”
“I know.”
After walking out of the courtyard, He Qianjian’s obedient smile disappeared instantly. He grabbed the door frame and lowered his face. Looking around at the rustic rural buildings, his expression became even uglier.
“Are you the second child of the He family?” A passing village woman saw He Qianjian and pointed in a direction with a smile: “Your brother and younger siblings have all gone to play there, are you going to find them?”
He Qianjian adjusted his expression, his n was still a little ugly, but in front of a village woman, he didn’t bother to pretend, “I’m not.”
“You’re not?” The village woman saw that his face was not very good, and said in a very friendly manner: “Would you like to go to auntie’s house? There are many delicious foods at auntie’s house. You children from the city should have never eaten it before. The child about your age in Xiao Jiang’s house in front likes to eat the frozen sticky bean buns from auntie’s house, so why don’t you try some too?”
Originally, He Qianjian wanted to refuse after hearing the first part, but after hearing that Jiang Chen liked to eat it, he agreed.
The village woman was warm and generous. After leading He Qianjian in, she took a large bowl and filled it with frozen sticky bean buns. When she handed it to him, she smiled and said, “Just take this bowl home, and just bring it back to auntie’s house after you’re done.”
He Qianjian looked at the chipped and yellowish bowl in his hand, curled his hands in disgust, and finally took it.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, you’re welcome.” The village woman waved her hand: “You children are just too polite, now go and play.”
He Qianjian came out of the village woman’s house with the bowl in his hand, picked up a piece casually and took a bite, but unexpectedly knocked his tooth. He spat, covered his mouth and threw the sticky bean bun in his hand.
“You’re wasting food.”
A child with a runny nose came out from some corner, pointed at He Qianjian, but looked at the sticky bean bun in the grass.
He Qianjian glanced over the child’s dirty clothes, turned around and was about to leave.
“You can’t go, you threw out the food, you can’t throw out food.” The little boy grabbed He Qianjian’s shirt and handed the sticky bean bun he picked up to He Qianjian: “This is yours.”
“What’s it to you?” He Qianjian pulled away the hem of his shirt: “Go away and mind your own business.”
The little boy grabbed He Qianjian again: “Don’t leave.”
He Qianjian’s face darkened: “Don’t think I don’t hit children.”
The little boy shrank his neck, but did not let go of his hand.
He Qianjian stared at the little boy for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed inexplicably, and raised the bowl in his hand: “Want this?”
The little boy sniffed and nodded honestly.
“You can have it if you want.” He Qianjian picked up a sticky bean bun that was frozen hard, and tossed it up and down before saying to the little boy, “Stand in front.”
The little boy obediently walked a few steps, “A little further ahead.”
“Okay, stop.” He Qianjian smiled, shaking the sticky bean bun in his hand and said, “Just stand there, I’ll throw it over, and it will be yours if you catch it.”
“Really?” The little boy’s eyes lit up.
“Of course.”
The little boy held out his hand and struck a catcher’s pose.
He Qianjian smiled, and casually threw the sticky bean bun forward. The sticky bean bun fell into the soil two meters away from the little boy.
The little boy looked at the sticky bean bun in the mud with pity, then turned his head to look at He Qianjian again, and said with a pursed mouth, “You didn’t throw it correctly, it fell to the ground.”
He Qianjian smiled: “Then go pick it up.”
The little boy shook his head: “It’s in the mud, it’s too dirty to eat.”
He Qianjian didn’t expect a rural kid to be so particular. He rolled his eyes and laughed again: “I’m throwing it over, you catch it.”
The little boy stared at the sticky bean bun in He Qianjian’s hand, and nodded.
The smile on the corner of He Qianjian’s mouth deepened, and he threw the frozen sticky bean bun.
Seeing the sticky bean bun flying towards him, the little boy’s eyes brightened and he went to catch it, but cried out when it hit him, his eyes turning red instantly.
He Qianjian smiled maliciously, “Continue.”
One after another, the sticky bean buns hit the little boy. The little boy went from trying to catch it to dodging it, and finally squatted down and hugged his head in pain.
After He Qianjian threw out all the sticky bean buns in the bowl, he felt his bad mood fade away. He glanced at the child squatting on the street, and was about to turn around and leave.
Suddenly there was an angry shout, “What are you doing!”
He Qianjian paused, looked left and right but saw no one, but recalling that the speaker had a standard Yan City accent, a trace of guilt flashed across his face, and he lowered his head and hurried away.
Yang Si supported her belly and walked quickly to the little boy. She looked in the direction where the young man had just disappeared, lowered her head and said softly, “Little friend, stand up first and let auntie see if you are injured.”
The little boy had a red nose and a red spot on his forehead, but he didn’t cry. He let go of the hand holding his head, looked at the direction He Qianjian was leaving, heaved a sigh of relief and pouted aggrievedly: “Wait till I go back and tell my brother that someone hit me.”
Seeing that the little boy was not seriously injured, Yang Si breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing his words, she was both amused and distressed: “Where is your home, tell auntie, and auntie will walk you back.”
“It’s right in front.” The little boy stretched out a finger and pointed, taking Yang Si’s hand familiarly: “My brother and father and grandfather are also in front.”
“Then auntie will take you home.” Yang Si’s heart softened. She looked at the little boy’s face carefully, and saw that besides the red forehead, the lower part of his cheek was also red. She frowned, and scolded that young man in her heart, saying with distress, “Does it hurt?”
“It hurts.” The little boy pursed his mouth, “But it’s okay, it only hurts a little.”
Yang Si held his hand while walking and told him: “Go back and ask your parents to apply some medicine for you, and it’s better that you don’t come out alone in the future, you have to let brother accompany you, you understand?”
The little boy blinked: “We don’t have medicine at home.”
“How can there be no medicine in your house?” Yang Si smiled and said, “You tell your parents and they will apply medicine for you.”
“I don’t have a mother.” The little boy said, “My brother said our mother is dead.”
Yang Si was stunned, and stopped: “Then let’s go to auntie’s house first, and auntie will apply medicine to you before sending you back.”
The little boy was not at all wary of strangers: “Okay.”
When seeing Yang Si come back with a little boy, Jiang Chen and Jiang Zhuo were very surprised.
“Honey, whose child is this, why did you bring him back?”
Being reminded, Yang Si was quite angry about what happened. She brought a medicine box to the little boy and relayed what she saw while applying the medicine. At the end, her emotions even became a little excited: “That boy looked pretty big but he actually bullied such a young child, I think he has antisocial personality disorder symptoms.”
“Mom, don’t be angry, have you seen what he looks like?”
“I only saw the side of his face.” Yang Si said angrily, “But I’ll recognize him when I see him next time, and I’ll be sure to ask his parents how this child was taught and why he became like this.”
“According to what you said, the child is probably almost or already an adult. It’s useless for you to talk to his parents.”
“Why is it useless?” Yang Si said: “Even if he is an adult, they raised him. Such a child will practically cause a lot of harm when he enters society in the future! If I talk to his parents before he enters society, maybe he can change.”
“Don’t be angry anymore.” Jiang Zhuo patted her back: “Be careful of the baby.”
Yang Si gently wiped the medicine on the little boy, rubbed the little boy’s head comfortingly, and suddenly sighed. She said: “To be able to teach such a child, the parents are probably not very good either, and it may be difficult to talk sense to them.”
“Yeah.” Jiang Zhuo had long been used to his wife’s capriciousness during pregnancy, and said with a smile: “That child will not be successful in the future, so you shouldn’t care about him. But after sending this child back, we must tell his parents, don’t let the child play outside alone again.”
“That’s right.” Yang Si ordered Jiang Chen: “Chen Chen, you get some snacks for your little brother, and then send him back to his family, make sure you let them know, okay?”
Knowing that he would be the one running errands, Jiang Chen got up and accepted the task. Holding the snacks that Yang Si gave the little boy, he led the little boy to the door of his house under his guidance.
The courtyard gate of the little boy’s house was open, and there were many cardboard boxes piled up in the yard. Some people were walking around, and Jiang Chen paused. He thought the boy was a villager’s child, but now it seemed that he should be from one of the families assigned to a house here who came to stay for the winter.
“Elder Brother!”
The little boy broke away from Jiang Chen’s hand and ran forward on his short legs.
Jiang Chen raised his eyes, and happened to collide with the eyes of the young man who looked up, and they were both taken aback.