The two years before going abroad were spent living in Xinhai...
On the morning of New Year's Eve, Wen Shaoyu was picked up by a car sent by Wen Cheng.
In the past, Granny Zheng would have packed a symbolic change of clothes for him, but this time he didn't bother pretending. He just put on his thick down jacket and got into the car, taking nothing but his phone and keys.
Ji Shulang, puzzled, leaned against the doorframe. After thinking it over, he couldn't help asking Ji Shuhe, "Has Wen Shaoyu been possessed? He's had such a falling out with his dad, and he actually agreed to go back for New Year's Eve dinner?"
What else could he do? Stay with their family for the New Year?
She thought back to last year, when she had insisted on staying behind instead of joining Chu Yue's family for the holiday. Wen Shaoyu had asked her why she didn't go. What had she said?
"Going to someone else's house to pay New Year's calls feels like I'm just after red envelopes. I don't want to."
Now the roles were reversed. Last year's her had become this year's Wen Shaoyu.
"No matter how ugly the fight, he's only just come of age. The future is too uncertain. Even if it's not sincere, humoring him a little is like leaving himself a way out."
Ji Shulang still didn't quite understand. He believed in drawing clear lines and didn't see why they had to take the easy way out.
Ji Shuhe didn't explain further. This issue wasn't important to Ji Shulang; his life probably wouldn't require him to make such a difficult choice about family.
Ji Xiangjiang arrived that evening, laden with bags: cashmere sweaters for the grandparents, cosmetics for Chu Yue, Maotai for the uncle, and even a Lego set for Ji Shulang.
But he had forgotten Ji Shuhe, whether intentionally or not. He just handed her a heavy red envelope, as if that made up for everything.
Chu Yue, uncomfortable, smoothed things over, saying Ji Xiangjiang was careless and that he should take his daughter out shopping tomorrow to buy her a few new outfits as an apology. Then she turned to guide the family to the table.
The round table had been set with cold dishes. She called out to Ji Chenghai in the kitchen to start stir-frying the hot dishes and not delay the little gathering of father and son.
The fake orchid was casually placed on the small table in the grandparents' room, next to the red candy box bought this year. It had four compartments, overflowing with peanuts, melon seeds, and various candies. The lid wouldn't close, so it had to stay open.
Naturally, there was no shortage of that milk candy, but this year there were also many round foil-wrapped chocolates. They were a New Year's gift from Wen Shaoyu to Ji Shuhe, but she had given half of them away to sweeten the deal, leaving him so annoyed he didn't talk to her for a while.
The Spring Festival Gala hadn't started yet. The TV was playing local news, showing interviews with people shopping for New Year's goods and asking what they were cooking for dinner. The volume was low, unable to drown out the voices of two brothers who hadn't seen each other in a long time, toasting and chatting.
Meanwhile, the room on the other side was dark, the door locked.
Ji Shuhe was daydreaming when Ji Shulang nudged her with his elbow. She turned to see him making hand gestures.
Ji Shulang had finished eating and wanted to leave, but Chu Yue's glare kept him in his seat. He could only pitifully gesture to Ji Shuhe, trying to form a united front to escape the wine-laden table.
His movements were comical, and he didn't make himself clear, which only made Ji Shuhe laugh.
She shook her head gently, refusing, signaling him to be patient. The New Year's Eve dinner only came once a year, and she dared not leave until the elders gave the word.
Just then, Ji Shuhe's phone rang. A video call from Xia Chun. After a moment's thought, she decided there was no need to hide it from the family, so she answered right where she was.
"Hello, Mom..." Ji Shuhe still had a smile on her face. Ji Shulang had failed yet another escape attempt and was being scolded by Chu Yue. Their mother-son bickering was truly amusing.
But Xia Chun, seeing the dim lighting, the mottled yellow walls with mold, and her daughter smiling happily in such an environment, found it jarring.
She had bought a 150-square-meter apartment in Manchester, which Ji Shuhe wouldn't come to live in. She had no interest in her grandparents' three-story house either. Now she was in a cramped, dilapidated place, smiling so genuinely. Xia Chun couldn't accept this change.
"Are you still eating dinner?" There was a seven-hour time difference between Europe on winter time and Xinhai. It was just past lunchtime for Xia Chun.
"Mm, Dad and Uncle are drinking. They haven't seen each other in a long time, so they have a lot to talk about."
Ji Shuhe switched the camera to the rear lens and swept it across everyone present—those talking, those raising glasses—all smiling. Then she turned it back to herself, and that smile, that relaxed expression on her little face, was particularly striking.
Only Xia Chun felt uncomfortable. Seeing this unfamiliar yet familiar environment, seeing those people she only vaguely remembered, made her whole body resist.
Especially when she caught a glimpse of Ji Xiangjiang, Xia Chun really wanted to hang up and buy the earliest ticket back to China.
Why was Ji Xiangjiang in Xinhai?
Hadn't they agreed that Xiao Shu would stay with her? What was he doing going to Xinhai now, looking for his daughter? What was his intention?
His family... Xiao Shu wasn't resisting them; in fact, she seemed to like them. Was he now planning to brainwash their daughter together with them?
And what about her? She had raised Ji Shuhe for over a decade. Had she become unimportant?
"Mom... Mom?"
"Huh?" Xia Chun snapped back to see Ji Shuhe tilting her head, looking at her with concern. The anxiety that had almost overflowed subsided. "What's wrong?"
Ji Shuhe shook her head. "Nothing. I just thought you looked tired. Since you're on vacation, you should relax and get some rest..."
Xia Chun breathed a sigh of relief. At least her daughter still cared about her. She was about to speak when Ji Shuhe continued.
"...Everything is fine here. Dad's here, Uncle and Auntie take good care of me, and Grandma and Grandpa gave me a big red envelope. I've adjusted well here. I'm happy every day. Don't worry!"
But Ji Shuhe's words hit Xia Chun like a hammer.
She shouldn't be happy!
That environment, those unfamiliar relatives, the quality of life far inferior to their home in Yuanjing—her daughter should not have refused to come to Manchester for winter break. She should not be happy in an old alley about to be demolished!
The feeling of losing control over Ji Shuhe returned, stronger than ever.
Xia Chun's emotions surged, her body burning hot, but her heart felt icy cold. She urgently wanted to go back to China, to take Ji Shuhe away from that place, at least away from Ji Xiangjiang and his whole family.
On the scales of Ji Shuhe's affections, between father and mother, Xia Chun would never allow herself to lose.
She had already prepared language schools and short-term study visas in Manchester. She had planned to synchronize with the demolition compensation in Xinhai and take Ji Shuhe away once the money came through.
But now...
Xia Chun had always been decisive. When she decided to leave Ji Xiangjiang and move to Manchester to be with her parents, it took her just one night.