Chapter 26

Even though the sun was out today, it couldn’t chase away the chill of the twelfth lunar month.
Eager to go home, Lin Miao didn’t care about the cold at all. She was so excited that she practically skipped with every step, as if her joyful heart simply couldn’t walk steadily.
The others at the villa all knew that once she left this time, she likely wouldn’t be coming back.
Lin Miao carried her backpack, just like when she first left the village.
She hugged her mom tightly, grinning from ear to ear. “Mom, you came to pick me up!”
And with that, she burst into giggles.
Perhaps the three adults in the villa were being considerate of those standing on the second-floor balcony.
Mother Lin had been brought in by Grandma. She met Lin Miao in the garden.
On the second floor, Yu Jingxuan patted the dog beside him, smiling with genuine joy. He’d lost 344 games and only won one, and even that hadn’t made him this happy.
They’d bought candy together before, and she hadn’t looked this thrilled.
Yu Jingxuan thought hard, and he was certain, he had never seen her this happy before.
He suddenly had a realization: maybe he wasn’t all that different from those little friends she often mentioned.
They played together, but it didn’t matter if they had to part ways.
This thought made Yu Jingxuan lower his head.
Downstairs, Lin Miao’s dad had already picked her up. “That’s right, Shui Shui’s going home.”
Mother Lin bowed to the remaining adults. “Thank you for taking care of her during this time.”
Lin Miao leaned close to her dad’s ear. “Dad, is little brother feeling better?”
“He’s fine now. He’s waiting for us in the car,” Dad said gently.
Lin Miao beamed with joy.
The three of them walked out, and only then did Lin Miao realize, why wasn’t her big brother here?
She looked up and saw him on the second-floor balcony. Because the sunlight was behind him, she couldn’t see his expression clearly. All she could feel was that he seemed to be glowing.
Lin Miao felt a little reluctant to leave. She wanted to put her brother in her pocket and take him with her. But she knew he also needed to spend the New Year with his parents, so she couldn’t make such an unreasonable request. All she could do was look up at him, warm in the winter sunlight, and call out, “Brother, I’m going now. When I come back, I’ll bring you pomelos! Xiao Mei said she saved two for me. I’ll save one for you!”
The young master forced a smile, not wanting to dampen her mood. “Okay. Safe travels.”
And so, Lin Miao was carried out of sight.
As soon as she left the neighborhood, she saw her little brother standing by the car, and almost didn’t recognize him.
He used to be just like her, running through the mountains and rivers, dark and short. Now he was fair-skinned and taller than her.
Lin Miao felt like she had just been struck by lightning.
All the excitement she’d felt about seeing her little brother instantly turned into one sentence. She turned to look at her parents. “Mom, what did you feed him…”
Lin Sen was overjoyed to see her, but when he heard what she said, he cautiously called out, “Sister…”
Lin Miao turned to him and pretended to forget all about her previous promise, that if he ever got taller than her, she’d call him “big brother.” She patted his head with all the maturity she could muster. “Have you been good while I was gone? Did you listen to Mom and Dad? I brought you candy.”
Lin Sen nodded, looking much more well-behaved and mature than before. “I was good.”
Lin Miao was surprised. As she got in the car, she took out the candy for him.
Her parents got in too. They had hired a van from someone they knew. The back had plenty of space.
Sitting in the car, Lin Miao couldn’t help but keep staring at her brother. How had he changed so much?
Then she turned to see her mom gazing at her with red eyes.
“Mom, did something get in your eyes?” Lin Miao asked.
Her mother nodded. “It was the wind.”
“I’ll blow it out for you.” Lin Miao had her mother lower her head and carefully blew into her eyes. “There. No more sand.”
Her mother couldn’t help hugging her tightly, unable to say a word.
Lin Miao had a special talent: the moment she got into a car, she would fall asleep. This time was no exception. She barely said anything before dozing off on her mom’s shoulder.
When she woke up, she was being carried on her mom’s back.
Then she realized, they weren’t home yet.
“Mom, where are we going?”
“We moved,” her dad said. “We’ll live here from now on. It’s close to your school. You’ll go to school with your brother next door.”
Lin Miao rubbed her eyes. “Huh? I’m not going to work anymore?”
“Nope,” Mom replied, remembering what the young master had told her. “We’re switching to a new school. The teachers and classmates there are really nice. No one will bully you.”
Lin Miao thought about it. Studying didn’t seem so bad. After the New Year, her big brother was going to school too. If she went to work, she wouldn’t even know what to do.
Shui Shui’s dad didn’t understand why they had to switch schools, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
The new home was great!
It was a three-bedroom apartment with furniture included.
Sure, the Yu family lived in a villa like a castle in a storybook, but to Lin Miao, a “home” had always been their own little mud-brick house.
So naturally, she compared this new home to their old one, and in comparison, the new place was amazing, bright, clean, and beautifully furnished.
Her mom pulled her into a room. “This is your room.”
The little bed had a fluffy pink blanket with pom-poms on all four corners. It looked so warm and cozy.
There was even a desk, and on the windowsill, all her old books from home were neatly arranged.
Lin Miao was so happy she rolled around on the bed.
While her mom went to cook and her dad answered a phone call, something about an issue at the construction site, Lin Miao put her backpack in her room and pulled her brother into the kitchen to help wash vegetables.
As soon as they got in, Mother Lin handed them a plate of marinated chicken feet. “Have some of this while we wait for dinner.”
Lin Miao and her brother washed their hands and began munching on the chicken feet. She hadn’t had any in over half a year.
Her brother really had changed. In the past, when their mom gave them snacks, they would fight over it. Now, he only ate one slowly and then stopped.
Lin Miao found it strange. After finishing her own, she asked, “You’re not eating anymore?”
“I don’t like it that much. You can have it.”
“…”
Then, she watched her mom make dish after dish: two pots of stewed cured ribs with lotus root, four deep-fried salted fish, and half a block of fresh pork stir-fried with shredded potatoes…
Lin Miao asked her brother, “Do we have guests coming over?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Mom said, “These are all your favorite dishes. I saved them for when you came home.”
Lin Miao beamed. Most of these were dishes they’d only cook for guests, and now she got them all at once!
They’d eaten well at the Yu family too, but their food was completely different. They didn’t eat cured meat or salted fish.
Just then, the steamed sausage her mom had made was ready. Thick and fragrant, her mom picked it up with chopsticks and started slicing it. Seeing how much Lin Miao was drooling, she fed her a few pieces.
Lin Miao was overflowing with happiness. Back then, she and her brother loved sneaking bites of cooked meat off the cutting board.
After moving in with someone else, she obviously couldn’t do that anymore. She’d only even been in the kitchen once.
“Is it spicy?” Mother Lin asked, turning to look at her. She had made the sausage herself. In past years, Lin Miao would help her.
“It’s perfect!” It wasn’t even dinnertime yet, but Lin Miao was already full and satisfied.
She thought, it was such a shame her brother (Yu Jingxuan) wasn’t here to eat this.
Then...she suddenly thought of a very, very serious problem.
“Mom, if I’m not going to work anymore and I’m going to school instead...does that mean I won’t see big brother again?”
She’d promised to bring him pomelos!
And Da Huang, Fei Fei, Jia Jia, would she not see them either?
Mother Lin hesitated. She remembered what that family said, it would be best not to go back. If they did, people might think she had agreed to their terms, or worse, that she was trying to use Shui Shui to cling to their family…
That young master had really been kind to Shui Shui. He hadn’t said anything at first, but later went out of his way to tell her that Shui Shui had been bullied at school, and that when she got back, she shouldn’t go to the old school again. He seemed to understand that she wouldn’t let Shui Shui return to their house anymore.
Mother Lin looked at her daughter, who didn’t know any of this. She was just looking at her expectantly, hoping for a “yes”, like when she asked to eat something and wanted her mom’s approval.
The words on the tip of Mother Lin’s tongue suddenly felt too cruel for Shui Shui. This was grown-up stuff.
Then the little brother said, “Don’t worry, Sis. When I grow up, I’ll drive and take you there.”
Mother Lin finally said, “After the New Year, once your dad has more time, we’ll go visit the city for a few days. Then you can see your brother again.”
Lin Miao nodded eagerly. “Yay!”
She wondered if her brother was out walking the dog now.
Would Aunt Yu be walking the dog with him...would she be too busy to come?
Actually, Lin Miao was overthinking it.
“Xuan, let’s go walk the dogs,” Mother Yu called from the doorway.
Yu Jingxuan opened the door listlessly. “Mom, Da Huang isn’t in a good mood today. Doesn’t want to go out. Let’s skip it.”
Next to him, Da Huang was full of energy, ready to head out with two puppies: “…”
Da Huang grabbed a slipper in its mouth and bolted out the door!
The two puppies followed, but instead of chasing after them like usual, Yu Jingxuan quietly shut the door. “I’ll stay and read. Mom, you find someone else to walk them. I don’t feel like moving.”
He returned to the study and picked up a book.