Chapter 12

Since her mother had already figured it out, Shu Yuan saw no reason to keep hiding it. She spoke calmly, “Mm. Mom, you’re truly wise. The older, the sharper, nothing escapes your discerning eye. Xiao Man is my son.”

Surprised, Mom?

Xiao Man sat obediently on the stool, the corners of his lips quietly lifting. Mom had announced his identity.

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, Li Hongxia still felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her out of nowhere, burning her inside and out. Her mind went completely blank.

The expression on Shu He’s face could be summed up in four words: just as expected.

Li Hongxia was dumbfounded. “You, you got married in the countryside?”

Shu Yuan answered calmly, “I didn’t get married.”

Li Hongxia’s eyes widened in an instant. A child out of wedlock, and she even dared to bring him home? This was a serious issue!

The silence before the storm was stifling and oppressive. With her mind in complete chaos, Li Hongxia managed to throw out the most crucial question, “Where’s the child’s father?”

Two sharp, piercing gazes shot toward her like lightning. Even Xiao Man tilted his head up, looking at her with wide, jet-black eyes.

Shu Yuan felt this was the hardest question to answer. “The child’s father, uh, he…”

What could she possibly say?

After a brief moment of thought, she said, “He’s in another city.”

Li Hongxia felt heartbroken. Shu Yuan had kept such a huge matter hidden so tightly, she must have suffered immensely in the countryside.

Shu Yuan must have endured countless rumors and gossip. How could she even step outside without people whispering behind her back, scolding her behind her back?

Seeing her mother raise the feather duster, about to lash out, Shu Yuan was already prepared. There was no way she would yield to the tyranny of a feather duster. Swiftly, she scooped Xiao Man under her arm, darted around the table, and ran out through the corridor, down to the first floor, and out of the corridor building.

Panting, Shu Yuan said, “Xiao Man, this way we can get out of doing the dishes, right?”

Xiao Man pressed his lips together, unsure how to respond.

He thought that he ought to learn from his mother’s optimistic spirit.

The mother and son strolled under the big pagoda tree. In less than ten minutes, Shu Ping arrived, tugging at Shu Yuan to head home. “Come on, let’s go back. Mom’s just tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She’ll come around.”

When she couldn’t get anything out of Shu Yuan, Li Hongxia turned to press Shu Ping instead. Shu Ping wore her honest-looking face and said, “Mom, I really don’t know who the child’s father is.”

Shu Yuan refused to say a word about the child’s father. Shu Ping had once wondered whether Shu Yuan had been taken advantage of or wronged by some man, and that maybe she carried psychological trauma. But judging from Shu Yuan’s words and actions, it might not have been the case.

Shu He, using her rich imagination, offered her analysis. “There are really only two possibilities. One, second sister was taken advantage of in the countryside. Two, she got pregnant while dating someone, and the guy refused to take responsibility.”

Hearing that, Li Hongxia’s eyes immediately turned red. Her body swayed, and she had to grip the edge of the table just to stay upright. No matter which possibility it was, both were terrible.

Shu Yuan could feel the tense atmosphere in the room. While she herself appeared calm and unbothered, her mother and sisters were visibly heavy-hearted. It was clear all three of them agreed with Shu He’s assessment.

Even Xiao Man was looking at her, trying to read something from his mother’s face.

He understood what was being said, and his heart ached for her.

The atmosphere in the room was so stifling, it was hard to breathe.

Feeling the four pairs of eyes on her, all filled with pity, Shu Yuan found it more unbearable than ridicule or suspicion.

She didn’t want them to worry, so she quickly clarified, “It’s not what you’re thinking. The child’s father is a decent man. He doesn’t know Xiao Man is his son. It’s not that he abandoned him. The foster expenses for Xiao Man in the countryside were paid by him.”

Shu Ping thought for a moment, then quickly added, “Mom, I can vouch for that. Xiao Man was in foster care in the countryside. Shu Yuan didn’t have any money, it was the man who paid for it.”

Li Hongxia, who had been feeling like she couldn’t even breathe, finally felt a little better hearing Shu Yuan speak so lightly. But her sharp instincts caught the contradiction in her words, and she asked, “He didn’t know Xiao Man was his son, so why would he pay for foster care?”

Shu Yuan answered truthfully, “I asked him for breakup money.”

The three adults and one child nearby: “……”

Li Hongxia pressed a hand to her chest, finally able to breathe freely again. She thought that maybe the man wasn’t so bad after all, and asked, “That foster care must have cost quite a bit over the years, right?”

Shu Yuan still had to tell the truth. “He gave me twenty-four hundred.”

Four voices rang out at once, “Two thousand four hundred?”

“What kind of person would give you two thousand four hundred?” Li Hongxia asked in astonishment.

First of all, the man had to actually have two thousand four hundred. Second, he had to be willing to pay that much.

Shu Yuan didn’t respond. How could she possibly explain why that fool Chen Zai was willing to give her two thousand four hundred?

Li Hongxia pressed on, “Was all that money for foster care? It wouldn’t have cost that much. Where did the rest of it go?”

Of course, it had gone to that freeloader writer. But Shu Yuan couldn’t possibly tell them that.

Life was unpredictable. A moment ago, they had been doubting Xiao Man’s father; now, they were questioning Shu Yuan herself.

Shu Yuan felt that she had talked too much and ended up putting herself in a morally questionable position.

Still, her explanations had produced immediate results. She had effortlessly pulled her mother and sisters out of despair. Now the three of them were far less anxious and worried. As long as Shu Yuan hadn’t been taken advantage of or abandoned, which were the worst-case scenarios, they didn’t feel quite so distressed.

These were her family. From their concern, Shu Yuan could truly feel their love and care.

Also, from what Shu Yuan had said, they had gathered that Xiao Man’s father wasn’t a completely awful person.

They began asking for more details about him: where he was from, how old he was, what kind of work he did. But Shu Yuan said nothing more.

After Shu Ping left, the chaotic evening finally settled into calm.

Shu Yuan, still not recovered from several days of nonstop rushing around, planned to go to bed early.

——

While Shu Yuan slept soundly with a full stomach, the one who lay awake all night was Li Hongxia.

When Shu Yuan got up a little after six in the morning, Shu He was cooking in the hallway. She said, “You’d better go check on Mom. She’s so worried she can’t even get out of bed.”

Shu Yuan didn’t have time to wash up. She grabbed Xiao Man and headed to Li Hongxia’s bedroom. There, she saw her mother’s eyes red-rimmed, her face pale and worn. She looked like she had aged five years overnight.

Li Hongxia quickly pulled her second daughter over and sat her down by the bed, saying, “Shu Yuan, listen to me. I was so worried I couldn’t sleep. I kept turning things over in my mind all night and felt like life has become unbearable.”

Shu Yuan sat by the bed and let Xiao Man sit on her lap, wrapping one arm around him. Her tone was light as she said, “I’m not even worried, what are you so worried about?”

Li Hongxia’s voice was weak and feeble. “Shu Yuan, have you thought about how you’re going to raise Xiao Man? You can’t register his household account. Without it, he’s considered a black household. He won’t receive any grain rations and will have to rely on adults to share their food with him. He won’t even be able to go to school. And what about how people at the factory see you? Can you still go outside? They’ll all be laughing at you, saying you’re shameless, they’ll say all kinds of nasty things. And Xiao Man will be called a bastard. Also, you don’t have a job, no income. My salary alone can’t support the four of us. Have you thought about any of that?”

Shu Yuan chuckled lightly. “Mom, none of those are real problems. Xiao Man can’t be registered right now, but that can be solved eventually. There are plenty of unregistered kids out there. There’s always a way to get a household registration.”

Li Hongxia had considered putting Xiao Man’s household registration under Shu Ping and her husband’s name, but their relationship wasn’t that good, and she figured her son-in-law wouldn’t agree.

Shu Yuan continued, “As for the gossip you mentioned, do you think I’m afraid of that? If anyone talks trash about me, I’ll just curse them right back.”

This had been Li Hongxia’s own guiding principle in recent years. If someone cursed at her, she’d curse back even harder. But if one could live peacefully, who would want to spend their days in arguments? She didn’t want her daughter to live like that.

Just as Li Hongxia was about to snap back with a rebuttal, Shu Yuan didn’t give her the chance and continued, “I’ll get a job and earn money. I’ll definitely be able to make enough to raise my child.”

Compared to the first two issues, Shu Yuan felt that making money was actually the hardest and the most urgent. She knew jobs were hard to come by these days and hadn’t yet had time to figure out what kind of work she’d pursue.

Shu Yuan’s easygoing attitude and vague promises didn’t convince Li Hongxia. Then Xiao Man added, “Grandma, I won’t eat for free. I can earn money too.”

Shu Yuan reached out and gently scraped her finger along Xiao Man’s little chapped cheek, smiling. “See, Mom? Even Xiao Man has more confidence than you.”

Li Hongxia gave a bitter smile. This mother and son really were as unreliable as each other. Shu Yuan had once been lucky just to have a temporary job, but she’d rather stay home unemployed than take it. Believing she’d go out and find work now was about as believable as expecting a rooster to lay eggs.

To her, the most urgent issue was that there simply wasn’t enough money. She looked distressed. “I only make a little over fifty yuan a month. Four mouths to feed, school expenses, how could that possibly be enough?”

Right after, she presented the conclusion she had arrived at after a whole night of careful thought. “There’s a solution. Didn’t you say Xiao Man was picked up? There are plenty of people who want to adopt a child these days. Find a good family and give him away.”

At those words, Xiao Man’s body trembled. Was he going to be given away again?

His handsome little face scrunched up like a bitter melon. He immediately turned and burrowed into Shu Yuan’s arms, pleading, “Mom, don’t send me away. I’ll find a way to earn money. I want to stay with you.”

Shu Yuan’s eyes widened. “Mom, what kind of lousy idea is that? I went through so much trouble to bring this child back, how could I send him away again? Just drop that thought.”

Then she pulled Xiao Man into her arms, wrapping him tightly in an embrace, and smiled. “What are you afraid of? I finally got my child back. I won’t send him away again.”

Xiao Man buried his little face against Shu Yuan’s shoulder. He believed his mother wouldn’t send him away. But he was afraid of his grandma.

“If I had any other option, I wouldn’t have brought it up. So you tell me, what now?” Li Hongxia said, feeling utterly helpless.

Before, even with Shu Yuan relying on her, life was just barely manageable. But now with a child added to the household, things were clearly becoming unsustainable.

Shu Yuan held the soft, warm little one in her arms, resting her chin against his forehead. After thinking for a while, she spoke calmly. “I’ll contact Xiao Man’s father. He should be willing to take responsibility for raising him.”

Li Hongxia was overjoyed. The dull light in her eyes instantly reignited with energy. “Good, then send Xiao Man to live with his father?”

Xiao Man’s little body trembled again. He lifted his head and said, “Mom, don’t send me away.”

Shu Yuan gently stroked Xiao Man’s soft, yellowish hair and chuckled. “Mom, I want to keep Xiao Man with me and have his father pay some child support.”

She figured Chen Zai would definitely be willing to provide support. After all, according to the story in the book, once he found out Xiao Man was his son, he kept searching for him. Father and son played a game of chase, with one pursuing and the other fleeing, while the mother, long deceased, was left out of the picture entirely.

Li Hongxia, being a woman of upright principles, immediately thought of the 2,400 yuan. Her daughter had already taken that much money, how could she go and ask for more?

She still couldn’t understand why Shu Yuan didn’t want to give Xiao Man to his father. That way, she could go on to marry and have children like normal.

As long as they could get in touch, there would be a chance to hand Xiao Man over to his father.

Li Hongxia sat up straight. The weariness and gloom she’d been carrying disappeared, replaced by renewed energy. She urged her daughter, “Didn’t you say he’s in another city? Then go call him. You have his contact number, right? It’s Sunday, just the right time to call.”

When Li Hongxia heard that Shu Yuan had the man’s phone number, she finally saw a glimmer of hope and urged her to make the call right after breakfast.

Shu He was eager to go along too, but Li Hongxia didn’t want her involved and told her to stay home and do her homework. Shu He had no choice but to drop the idea.

Shu Yuan found the phone number of Chen Zai’s hospital in the original host’s notebook. After breakfast, the three women headed off in the direction of the telephone bureau.

——

At 5:10 in the morning, Chen Zai woke up on the dot in his one-bedroom apartment. After so many years, his biological clock was finely tuned. He didn’t need an alarm; his wake-up time hardly varied from day to day.