It was getting late, and Chu Yichen was leaving a social gathering. After getting in the car, he received a report from Bai Xiao.
“Eldest Young Master just went to Lihao because of a dispute with an escort. According to the investigation, her name is Lan Xin. She is 38 years old and lives with her five-year-old daughter. Her husband has a gambling addiction, with several debts at a lending company and some external debts as well. She often physically abuses the mother and daughter and demands money from them. This time, Lan Xin was forced to try to borrow money from a customer. When the customer got angry, she was beaten. Eldest Young Master stopped him. After that, the Eldest Young Master ordered Bai Yang to mobilise some people from the East District to give Lan Xin’s husband a lesson, and…” He paused awkwardly and saw the man looking up at him, so he had to continue. He said, “And brought Lan Xin and her daughter back to Qinglan’s mansion.”
Chu Yichen was slightly startled when he heard the words Qinglan Mansion. His handsome face looked a bit lonely under the flickering light outside the car window. He seemed a little tired. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. No emotion could be heard in his tone.
“Let him be.”
How long had it been since he had been back here?
Chu Yunhan got out of the car and looked at the European-style building before him, feeling a little sad. Since his father’s death, and after his mother couldn’t bear the blow and was sent to a nursing home due to her mental issues, he rarely returned to this place called ‘home’.
At first, he lived in an apartment under his name, but later, he spent his time in hotels or vacation villas, and days went by like that. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to come back; it was just that every time he stepped in here and saw those familiar faces and things, he couldn’t help but remember the happy days from the past, which only made him even more uncomfortable when he was alone.
After getting the news, the old housekeeper, Feng Tai, who was waiting at the door, saw him. His eyes were a little moist, and he said, “Young Master, you are back.”
“Yeah.” He laughed, “Uncle Feng, you should wear a bit more at night. It’s not good to be so concerned about your appearance.” As he walked inside, he continued, “You missed me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, we all miss you very much.” Feng Tai’s voice was choked with sobs. He watched Chu Yunhan grow up and also watched him encounter changes in his parents. Although they had a master-servant relationship in terms of status, he always treated Yunhan as his son emotionally. He understood why Yunhan didn’t come back, and he was willing to wait here for him to come back.
“Young Master is back?!” A mellow female voice rang out. The fair and plump woman hurried out in a coat. When she saw Chu Yunhan, she cried with joy and complained, “Young Master, how can you leave this family and leave us alone?!” and simultaneously asked, “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I’ll cook it for you.” When she caught sight of Lan Xin and her daughter following behind, she paused for a moment, her eyes lighting up, “Young Master, this child isn’t…?”
“Auntie Song, she is my friend.” Chu Yunhan knew she was thinking the wrong way again. He couldn’t laugh or cry. He touched his stomach and said, “I’m really hungry. Make us something delicious, okay?”
“Okay, okay.” The round, plump woman, disappointed after her failed attempt at gossip, went off to cook.
Over there, Feng Tai had already made tea and brought it over, and he didn’t forget to prepare some biscuits for Yuanyuan. Lan Xin thanked him repeatedly, and the thin Yuanyuan stared timidly at the cookie jar in his hand, not daring to take it. She was only five years old and did not yet understand the complex world of adults. She only knew that her father was easily angry and would hit her when he was angry, so she did not dare to do anything, not even to call him ‘Daddy’. Her mother was often beaten and would always cry while hugging herself. Her mother also had to make money to support herself. She worked very late and was very tired, so she couldn’t ask for this or that.
Seeing this, Chu Yunhan knelt down, took a biscuit and threw it into his mouth, then handed it to her, grinning, “It tastes good. Try it?”
Yuanyuan’s big eyes stared closely at Chu Yunhan in front of him. She remembered that this uncle had just come to the house with many people dressed in black and then said, “Don’t do anything in front of the child.” Then, the men in black dragged her drunk father out. She didn’t ask where her father was, and her mother didn’t tell her. Her mother only told her that this uncle’s surname was Chu and that he would protect them. This uncle was different from my father—he was very beautiful, very clean, and spoke very softly. He even asked someone to find warm clothes for her to wear so for her he wasn’t scary.
“You really don’t want it? Then I’ll take it.” Chu Yunhan shook the jar.
Yuanyuan bit her lip and mustered up the courage to reach over and take a piece. He kept looking at the other person’s face the whole time, like a wary little animal.
Chu Yunhan didn’t move and kept smiling at her.
She finally put the cookie into her mouth, took a bite, and mumbled a thank you.
“Is it delicious?” he asked.
She nodded.
“It’s all for you.” He handed over the jar. Yuanyuan looked up at Lan Xin, somewhat surprised. Lan Xin’s eyes were red as she said, “Just take it.” Only then did the little girl accept the jar, immediately expressing her thanks.
“You should let her go to kindergarten and spend more time with her.” Chu Yunhan stood up and said to Lan Xin.
“I saved money before and wanted her to go, but then…” She thought of her husband, who was worse than a beast. Filled with both hatred and guilt towards her daughter, she couldn’t continue speaking.
“I will take care of Yuanyuan’s tuition. Your husband should not cause trouble again in the future. You can live here for the time being. Don’t go to Lihao anymore. Uncle Feng will arrange a job here for you. Cleaning or helping in the kitchen will not be very tiring. The salary will be higher than before, and you can spend more time with Yuanyuan. If you don’t want to work here, I can ask someone to find another job for you.”
Lan Xin’s tears rolled down, and she choked up, “I want to. I want to… I don’t know how to thank you anymore. Really, I really… thank you…”
“Why are you crying again?” He laughed helplessly and said jokingly, “I remember you always said that you were a tigress. Tigress don’t cry so easily.”
She couldn’t help but smile and wipe away her tears. In a harsh living environment, she was accustomed to being covered in armour and struggling alone. Only when she had a solid shoulder to rely on did she reveal the softest side of a woman.
Lan Xin understood that Chu Yunhan was just repaying the favour she had done for helping him. These things might not be worth mentioning to Chu Yunhan, but to her, this man pulled her and Yuanyuan out of the mire and saved their lives. Starting tomorrow, everything will be different.
After settling the mother and daughter, Chu Yunhan happily drank the seafood porridge made by Auntie Song and took a shower. It was already midnight. He lay down in his room and looked at the family photo placed by the bedside. His fingers brushed over the old man’s smile and his parents’ faces little by little, with a gentle light in his eyes. His eyes slowly turned to his high-spirited self, smiled, and finally stopped on the face of Chu Yichen standing aside.
He still remembered the day the photo was taken. The elders were laughing and talking, and the children were playing. He stood between them and secretly stretched out his fingers behind Chu Yichen and Chu Minran’s heads to make bunny ears while taking pictures. His father scolded him.
Sure enough, he would always recall the past in this house and smile bitterly. After experiencing betrayal, escape, detention, struggle, r4p3 and suicide, looking back at old photos and thinking of the close companionship when he was young, it felt like a lifetime ago.
In the still photo, young Chu Yichen looked at him silently with his black eyes. Chu Yunhan suddenly felt a little upset and placed the photo frame face down on the bedside table.
I’m almost there. With just a little more effort, I can get rid of this person.
He covered his head with the quilt and fell asleep.
Lan Xin and her daughter were left in the care of Feng Tai, which made Chu Yunhan feel at ease. The next morning, he went to work with renewed energy. He needed to focus all his efforts on winning the tough battle to increase sales by eight percent. As the store’s anniversary week approached, he became busier, spending all day in the office. Unfortunately, the closer he got to the critical moment, the more problems arose, like a student about to enter an exam room suddenly realising they forgot to bring an eraser or that their pen was out of ink. Though these were minor issues, they kept his nerves on edge.
A few days later, the anxious student Chu Yunhan finally faced this major test. The seven days of the anniversary week felt like the shortest seven days of his life. Although they extended the operating hours by four hours each day, it still didn’t feel like enough.
He did not have high hopes for an increase in offline sales. He only hoped to remain relatively flat, focusing mainly on online sales. Since the store’s opening, Chu Yunhan, who was closely focused on the backend data of the website, had hardly had much rest. He drank one cup after another of coffee. After three days, he almost fell into a strange state of confusion and excitement, with dark circles under his eyes. With stubble on his face and messy hair, Bai Yang forced him into the office restroom and finally fell asleep.
In a daze, he felt someone sitting down next to him and gently stroking his hair. The warm touch was a little familiar, and the light fragrance in his nose was also a little familiar. He wanted to avoid that hand, but he didn’t have much strength. He couldn’t even open his eyes to see who it was. So he could only drift off into one strange and bizarre dream after another. It was an uneasy sleep, and he woke up an hour later. No one was around him except for a thermos bucket on the table containing fragrant wild ginseng and chicken soup.
Chu Yunhan took a sip and asked Bai Yang, “Where did the soup come from?”
“Auntie Song made it and had it delivered.”
He stared at Bai Yang for a while without saying anything. Then he lowered his head, finished the soup, and said, “Tell her not to bring it again.”
“Yes.”
He had always had a discerning palate and was very sensitive to the flavours of food. This soup had been on the bland side, with a light flavour and soft chicken, not made by Aunt Song. He had tasted this kind of chicken soup before.
In the Chu family’s old house, it was Auntie Wang’s work.
Who brought the chicken soup? Who was the person in the dream just now that he couldn’t see clearly?
Since the other party wanted to hide it, he didn’t want to reveal it.
Chu Yichen, you came to see if I can win, right?
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