Chapter 60.2

On Friday afternoon, Jiang Rou rode her bike to pick up An An first, and then they went to the affiliated high school together.

Li Xin had finished classes later than usual. By the time they arrived, the high school had not yet dismissed, so the mother and daughter bought two fried sausages from the small shop at the school gate.

Jiang Rou’s sausage was dipped in chili sauce.

The sausage was still a bit hot, so An An blew on it diligently before carefully taking a bite.

Around six o’clock, Li Xin finally came out of the school. She saw them and smiled as she waved her hand. Just as she was about to run over, someone called her from behind.

The person who called her was Ji Yu. “Xin Xin.”

Li Xin was momentarily stunned. She turned around to look at him, somewhat confused because he had never addressed her like this before. “What’s wrong?”

Ji Yu looked at her and smiled gently. “I might be going abroad. I just wanted to ask if you… could wait for me?”

Li Xin frowned, not understanding what he was saying. “You’re going abroad? Wait for what?”

Ji Yu did not explain but simply waved his hand and then smiled in resignation. “Never mind. I’ll come back to find you. Good luck, and study hard.”

After saying this, he turned and jogged away.

Li Xin watched his departing figure, feeling very puzzled.

Jiang Rou walked over to the bike and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Li Xin looked puzzled. “I don’t know. Ji Yu said he was going abroad and told me to wait for him. What does he mean, sister?”

Jiang Rou was silent for a moment and then explained the situation to Chang Yong’s family.

After hearing this, Li Xin could not help but exclaim, “That’s really scary.”

She only knew about making money from business and did not realize there were so many troubles involved. “Will Ji Yu and Lei Lei come back?”

She quickly associated the phone call she received from Chang Lei during the New Year with the possibility that Chang Lei also had to go abroad for this reason.

Jiang Rou comforted her. “Since Ji Yu said he would come back, he definitely will. These matters have nothing to do with him. He’s probably just accompanying his mother and younger brother.”

As for Chang Lei, Jiang Rou suspected that she might not have actually gone abroad. The conditions abroad weren’t necessarily safer than at home; unfamiliar with the place, different living habits, and language barriers all made it challenging. Zhao Yun likely wouldn’t take the two children abroad. It was more probable that they went to Hong Kong City, but this was all just Jiang Rou’s speculation.

In the evening, Li Xiao did not come home for dinner. He had been incredibly busy these past few days, and sometimes Jiang Rou couldn’t even find him.

Jiang Rou took Li Xin and An An out for a meal.

During dinner, An An wanted to perform fencing for her aunt. Li Xiao had signed her up for lessons for half a month, and she had been very enthusiastic about it, though her technique was a bit off, as she used chopsticks to jab around randomly.

Li Xin clapped appreciatively, “An An is amazing.”

The little one smiled shyly. “Auntie, I’ll teach you when we get home.”

Li Xin smiled. “Okay.”

—o—o—o—

Li Xiao had been busy these past few days dealing with the land at Yinshan. Although he bought it for a cheap price, he had gone through all the proper procedures. The land had already been transferred, and after several days of hectic work, he had barely had a chance to catch his breath before receiving a call from Chang Yong.

Li Xiao hesitated for a few seconds but eventually answered the call.

On the line, Chang Yong seemed surprised that the call had gone through. His voice was somewhat pleading and humble. “Li Xiao, could you lend me some money? I can’t stay at my home anymore. I don’t have anywhere else to go. I need to rent a place.”

Li Xiao thought for a moment. “Where are you right now?”

Seeing that Li Xiao had not hung up, Chang Yong hurriedly replied, “At the house in the New District.”

Li Xiao responded, “Wait for me for a bit.”

After ending the call, Li Xiao grabbed his car keys and left. He drove to Chang Yong’s house. The New District was where Chang Yong had previously lived with Zhao Yun, so Li Xiao was quite familiar with the area. When he arrived, he saw Chang Yong standing at the entrance of the community with two large bags. Upon seeing Li Xiao, Chang Yong’s eyes reddened.

He hadn’t taken care of himself for some time; his beard was scruffy, his eye bags were deep, and he looked worn out and haggard.

Li Xiao first took him to eat a bowl of noodles at a nearby roadside stall. As Chang Yong ate, he cried while eating. “All those people who used to call me ‘brother’—as soon as something happened, they all ran away faster than rabbits. I didn’t expect you to still care about me.”

Li Xiao sat opposite him, smoking a cigarette, and merely reminded him, “Eat.”

In the past, he probably wouldn’t have paid any attention, but having spent time with Jiang Rou, he had gradually learned her approach to dealing with people—leaving a line for future encounters. Sometimes, helping out was better than adding insult to injury, which only provided temporary satisfaction.

“You’re still young. Find a job and work hard. There’s nothing that can’t be overcome.”

Chang Yong’s voice was choked with emotion. “My sister and brother-in-law hate me. They suspect Zhao Yun did this. I can’t reach Zhao Yun on the phone. I really regret it. I should never have treated her and the kids that way…”

Li Xiao did not agree or disagree with him but simply asked, “What about your second wife?”

Chang Yong wiped his tears with his hand. “She ran away, took the kids, sold the house, and took all the money. When I went there earlier, it was already someone else’s place.”

Tears flowed more freely as he continued, “I really regret it. That woman was truly heartless. I was so good to her, bought her everything, and she didn’t leave me a single thing.”

Li Xiao was not interested in hearing more. “Alright, just eat. What’s the use of talking about this now?”

Chang Yong nodded. “Yes, it’s useless. It’s just a dream.”

After leaving the noodle shop, Li Xiao took Chang Yong to rent a cheap apartment and then left 500 yuan before walking away without saying much.

Chang Yong stood at the door watching Li Xiao leave—his eyes turned red.

After a long time, he turned and walked into the small, dark apartment behind him.

—o—o—o—

When Li Xiao returned home that evening, he told Jiang Rou about the day’s events. Jiang Rou couldn’t help but laugh when she heard he had taken Chang Yong out for noodles and rented him a place. She praised him: “You did well. No matter how unpleasant Chang Yong was in the past, our family did benefit a lot from him. We don’t need to add to his misfortune. Whether he is doing well or not is irrelevant to us. We just need to focus on doing our own part.”

Li Xiao knew Jiang Rou would agree with his actions. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, lowering his head to kiss her forehead. “When I saw him today, I thought, if one day I were to fail in business and face such a situation, I would hope someone would at least invite me for a bowl of noodles.”

Jiang Rou hugged him back and gently reassured him, “Don’t worry, that won’t happen to you. Even if it did, I’d be here. I’d make you a bowl of noodles that would be better than Chang Yong’s.”

Li Xiao smiled, feeling a warmth in his heart.

After imagining Jiang Rou’s words, he realized he had nothing to fear. Even if he lost everything, he would still have Jiang Rou—who would always be by his side.

—o—o—o—

This Friday, Li Xin did not come home. After picking up An An, Jiang Rou went directly to find Li Xiao. She had only two classes in the afternoon, finishing just in time for four o’clock.

Kindergarten finished at 4:30. Jiang Rou hadn’t ridden her bike that day; she had taken a taxi instead. When she arrived, there were five minutes left before the end of class. Jiang Rou saw An An sliding down the slide with some other kids outside.

A little girl was quite pushy, repeatedly cutting in front of An An to slide down herself. An An didn’t get upset and waited her turn to slide down with a big smile on her face.

Jiang Rou felt her heart soften watching An An.

When An An saw her mother, she waved her hand excitedly with a big smile.

Jiang Rou waved back. “Play a little longer.”

The little one obediently turned around and climbed the slide again, sliding down twice more before the end-of-class bell rang. After picking up An An, Jiang Rou squatted down to give her some water.

She then pulled out the chocolate that Dong Mingming had given her at lunchtime.

An An was thrilled to see the chocolate. After unwrapping it, she handed it to Jiang Rou first. “Mommy, eat.”

Jiang Rou bent down and took a small bite. “I’ve had enough. You eat it.”

“Thank you, Mommy.”

The little one took a bite of the chocolate and, knowing they were going to find her father, she deliberately left a small piece for Li Xiao.

Jiang Rou took her to the restaurant, and just as they were sitting down, Li Xiao arrived. An An eagerly handed the remaining piece of chocolate to her father, insisting that he eat it.

Li Xiao looked at the chocolate, which was about the size of a fingernail and had two bite marks and some saliva on it. After a moment of silence, he calmly said, “You eat it yourself. Daddy doesn’t like it.”

“No, Mommy and I both ate some. You have to eat it too.”

Li Xiao was speechless. “Alright, I’ll eat it.”

He took the chocolate and popped it into his mouth.

An An was satisfied and sat down obediently. She was so small that her little legs dangled back and forth from the long bench.

She was very happy.

Li Xiao took a sip of water from Jiang Rou’s cup and then discreetly slipped something from under the table into Jiang Rou’s hand.

Jiang Rou was supporting her chin with her right hand while looking at the menu and suddenly felt something touch her left hand. She instinctively looked down and saw a long box being handed to her.

She looked up at Li Xiao across the table.

Li Xiao remained unfazed, met her gaze, cleared his throat, and took the menu in front of her. “Alright, I’ll order now.”

He then turned to his daughter. “What do you want to eat?”

An An immediately looked at the menu. Although she couldn’t read the words, she pointed at the pictures with her little chubby fingers. “This one and this one. Daddy, what’s this? I want to eat it too.”

Jiang Rou took the opportunity to secretly open the box. The box was long, about the length of half an arm. Jiang Rou had expected it to be something like a necklace and was filled with anticipation. However, upon opening it, she found it was actually a golden rose.

“…”

It should be a rose, right? It looked a bit like one.

But why was she given a golden rose?

What was it for?

Jiang Rou looked at Li Xiao in confusion. Li Xiao, with a smile on his face, seemed quite pleased with his gift. “Don’t you like flowers? Fresh flowers wither in a few days. This one is better. It’s valuable. If you like it, you can display it.”

Jiang Rou thought, “…” Well, a gift is a gift.

The food was served quickly. An An could now eat by herself, though she was a bit short and needed to be held on Li Xiao’s lap to reach the table.

Halfway through the meal, Li Xiao’s phone suddenly rang. He didn’t know who it was, but his previously relaxed expression gradually turned serious. “Don’t worry, I’ll go check it out right now.”

“Send me the address and the person’s phone number.”

After hanging up the phone, Li Xiao immediately stood up. “Are you full? If not, we’ll pack the food to go. I’ll take you home first.”

“I’m full.”

Jiang Rou also stood up. “What’s wrong?”

Li Xiao instructed the waiter to pack the food and then explained to Jiang Rou, “It was a call from Dayou. His neighbor called. They had seen his mother in a rural area under J City, and she didn’t look well. He asked if I could go check on her. He’s already bought a train ticket and is on his way but is worried he might not arrive in time.”

Jiang Rou was taken aback. “Jin Dayou’s mother?”

She remembered Li Xiao had mentioned before that Jin Dayou had an older brother who was lost when he was young. His parents had been searching for him ever since. Later, his father gave up and started a new family elsewhere. As for his mother, Jiang Rou wasn’t sure…

Li Xiao took the packed food from the waiter and picked up An An then headed out. “I’ll make a call first.”

Jiang Rou followed him, and the family of three got into the car.

Once inside, Li Xiao called that neighbor. The call was answered. “It’s me, Li Xiao.”

A voice with a rural accent responded, “Oh, it’s Li Xiao. Dayou told me you’d be coming. I’m at the police station now. There are some family members here who want to take advantage of Dayou’s mother, she’s not in a good state of mind. I’ve stopped them, but you should hurry.”

The noise and commotion in the background were audible over the phone.

Jiang Rou quickly said, “You go ahead. I can take the kids home by myself.”

Li Xiao refused, “No need. I’ll just grab some money from home.”

Jiang Rou didn’t argue further.

Li Xiao drove quickly, and within ten minutes, they reached home. He took some money and called Zhou Jian, who was having dinner next door. Upon hearing it was about Jin Dayou’s mother, Zhou Jian immediately agreed to go along.

Mother Zhou and Wang Yan were puzzled and didn’t understand what was happening. So, Jiang Rou explained the situation, “A neighbor said that Dayou’s mother is in poor mental condition and might have encountered some bad people. The neighbor has taken her to the police station.”

Mother Zhou, who had lived in the county for many years and knew its affairs well, sighed, “It’s truly a hard life. Dayou’s mother was very beautiful when she was young. She worked in the factory, and even though she was just a temporary worker, many people pursued her. She ended up with Dayou’s father, but her family looked down on him. Whenever they visited her parents’ home, they would argue.”

“In their younger days, they both had stubborn tempers. Who would have thought they would lose their child? I still remember that boy, Da Peng. He was very smart, kind, and responsible. He used to fight with Li Xiao when they were young, but he was honest and didn’t have Li Xiao’s cleverness. He was often taken advantage of and never told his family, so he kept getting tricked.”