She made her final choice, sorted out the obstacles, and calculated the benefits she could secure.
Of course, she could be ruthless. Thinking herself too busy to care for her daughter, she had sent her to Xinhai without hesitation.
At the time, she thought sending Ji Shuhe to Xinhai would distance her from Ji Xiangjiang, preventing him from "sneaking in" and developing a father-daughter bond while she was abroad for long periods.
The demolition money was important, but not that important. More than anything, she wanted Ji Shuhe to suffer a bit, to see that following her useless father meant having this kind of relatives, so she would willingly and without regret go abroad with her, cutting all ties with Ji Xiangjiang.
But who knew things would go in the opposite direction?
"...Okay," based on this, Xia Chun made another decision.
She stared at Ji Shuhe on the screen for a long time, suddenly feeling that she had grown up a lot.
Though still with a trace of childishness, her features had clearly matured. From the child who had followed her into the alley back then, she had become a graceful young girl.
Sensing something, Xia Chun gave her another question, whether a test or a choice.
"Xiao Shu, next semester you'll be a senior. Yuanjing or Xinhai—which city do you want to take the college entrance exam in?"
Ji Shuhe was taken aback. The answer that naturally popped into her head was, of course, Xinhai.
Although most of her life had been spent in another city, although she had deeply resisted coming to Xinhai before, the days in Yong'anli had truly been happy—genuine happiness.
Classmates, family, people who cared about her... and people she cared about.
"Xinhai and Yuanjing teach very differently. If I transferred back in the last year, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace." Ji Shuhe looked down for a moment, found a perfectly reasonable excuse, then looked up at Xia Chun. "If possible, I'd like to stay in Xinhai."
Ji Shuhe's bright eyes made Xia Chun's heart sink again. Fortunately, in the plans she had made for her daughter, these two cities were never options.
But she still smiled and agreed. "Alright, of course."
The New Year's Eve dinner didn't end until nearly nine. The two brothers were already a bit drunk; several times they let slip things about Xia Chun, which Chu Yue quickly covered up. Seizing the moment while they could still walk, she helped them upstairs to rest.
Ji Shuhe was good at reading people. She picked up on the hints several times but pretended not to know. Together with Ji Shulang, she helped Chu Yue clean up the dishes, then sat on the first floor cracking melon seeds and staying up to watch the Spring Festival Gala.
A comedy sketch was on, and the jokes kept Ji Shulang laughing foolishly. His laughter woke Grandpa Ji, who had started to doze off. He rubbed his eyes and forced himself to sit up straight.
Ji Shuhe propped her head on her hand, lost in thought. Many things ran through her mind: whether Lizi, locked in Wen Shaoyu's room, had eaten enough; whether Wen Shaoyu, without Granny Zheng to buffer things, could get a proper meal in that house; and also Xia Chun's strange reaction.
Today, Xia Chun seemed too easygoing. She had actually given her a choice instead of rejecting all her answers and making her obey.
As a daughter who knew her temper well, Ji Shuhe felt something was very wrong.
Why? Because they had divorced? Because she felt guilty for having the grandparents keep it from her?
No. Xia Chun would never feel that way.
Ji Shuhe racked her brain but couldn't figure it out. By then it was past eleven. With all the boring song and dance performances, the two elders couldn't hold on any longer. Even Ji Shulang had yawned several times. So they all went to their rooms.
Ji Xiangjiang was sleeping in Ji Shulang's bed. Before going to her room, Chu Yue had to prepare bedding for Ji Shulang to sleep on the floor. Before going up to the attic, Ji Shuhe went to Wen Shaoyu's room. She had walked Lizi before dinner, so now she just added some water and food just in case.
Maybe because Wen Shaoyu had disciplined him, the room was clean, with no signs of Lizi wrecking the place. Ji Shuhe thought, Lizi was already two years old, grown up, and compared to last year, it was like night and day.
Unknowingly, she had started talking about last year again.
Last year, Granny Zheng was still alive. The younger ones had paid New Year's respects to her, and all had received red envelopes containing brand-new consecutive banknotes that Granny Zheng had specially withdrawn from the bank.
This year, who knew if Wen Shaoyu had any red envelopes?
Wen Shaoyu, Wen Shaoyu. Damn it. On a day of family reunion, why was she always thinking about him!
Ji Shuhe pursed her lips and stared at the door without speaking. But the next second, she ran up to the attic and dug out a stack of last year's red envelopes from the bottom drawer of her desk.
She found the one from Granny Zheng, then retrieved this year's red envelope from under her pillow. Generously, she took half the money from each and put it into the old envelope.
Ji Shuhe went downstairs again. Seeing that the next door was already closed, she tiptoed into Wen Shaoyu's room.
First, she covered Lizi's mouth, then, under his curious gaze, she placed the red envelope, along with a handful of candies and peanuts, under Wen Shaoyu's pillow.
This was also something Granny Zheng had taught her—it was meant to bring a sweet and worry-free new year.
Ji Shuhe was a very conflicted person. Before making any decision, she would first consider how others might view her because of it. After agonizing for a long time without finding a convincing reason, she would just follow the majority.
Going with the flow was to avoid mistakes, to avoid standing out. But when it came to Wen Shaoyu, she always acted before she could sort out her thoughts.
"Even though I don't know why I'm doing this... Wen Shaoyu, may the new year be kind to you. Good luck in the college entrance exam."
She thought it didn't matter if she didn't understand, because Wen Shaoyu wouldn't care about the reason.
As she finished speaking, her phone buzzed with a special notification. It felt like telepathy.
She took out her phone to check.
[wen]: Don't be afraid.
[wen]: Turn around.
A faint creaking sound came from the wooden stairs, deliberately stepped on. Ji Shuhe's heartbeat quickened with the footsteps. As the sound drew closer, she turned around and met the newcomer's gaze.
"So someone isn't sleeping at all." Wen Shaoyu pulled off the hood of his down jacket, unzipped it, and revealed a teasing smile. "Tell me, what are you up to breaking into someone's house in the middle of the night?"
Caught red-handed, Ji Shuhe looked at the homeowner and swallowed.
What could she say? Other people broke in to steal money; she broke in to give him money.
At that thought, Ji Shuhe straightened her back. "Where did you pop up from? You scared me!"
"I was afraid of scaring you, so I sent you so many messages and you didn't reply to a single one." Wen Shaoyu lowered his eyelids and gestured with his chin toward her phone. "I thought you didn't use your phone."