“Goodbye…”
The girl waved, bidding farewell to the two people outside the car window.
The taxi slowly accelerated, driving away from the spot.
Qin Nanfeng silently watched the car leave, only turning his head away after it disappeared completely.
He then glanced sideways at Lin Xinyu and gave a final greeting, “Yu Ge, contact me if anything comes up. I’m leaving first.”
“Alright, take care.”
Lin Xinyu had finally come to understand just how thick-skinned this guy was.
At first, he had wanted to call him “Brother” directly, but after being declined, he settled for “Yu Ge” instead, even though Qin Nanfeng was a few months older than him…
After parting ways with Lin Xinyu, Qin Nanfeng got into the car but didn’t start driving right away.
Instead, he took out his phone, hesitated for a moment, then sent a message to someone who liked to call him “stinky yellow hair.”
“Wait for me.”
He tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, checked the traffic, and drove off in the opposite direction from where the girl’s car had gone…
Less than two kilometers away, on a city road, inside a white sedan, Lin Xinyuan quietly sat with her eyes closed, listening to her mother and the driver chatting intermittently.
Bored, she decided to sleep.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to look at her phone, but she always got dizzy when doing so in the car.
Plus, she had a slight headache from her cold and felt weak…
At that moment, Lin Xinyuan suddenly felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.
She sluggishly took it out and saw a message from Qin Nanfeng.
What… wait for him?
Fine, whatever… He always says it like they have some kind of connection.
D…
Lin Xinyuan scoffed lightly in her heart and shoved the phone back into her pocket.
But despite herself, the corner of her mouth involuntarily curved up into a faint smile.
For some reason, her head seemed to feel a bit better…
Leishi City wasn’t far from Maxian County, about fifty kilometers or so.
The scenery along the way was quite nice.
For Lin Xinyuan, who couldn’t play on her phone, it was somewhat novel.
After all, this was only her second time coming to Leishi.
She had been too young the first time and had forgotten almost everything after so long…
After more than an hour in the car, the mother and daughter arrived at Leishi’s city center, where the taxi stopped in front of the bus terminal.
Once they got out, they were immediately bombarded with offers from various bike taxi drivers shouting in the same Min dialect spoken in Maxian, though with slight differences in accent.
Lin Xinyuan had heard from her mother before that Min dialect held absolute dominance in Leishi.
Unlike Maxian, where Cantonese was also quite prevalent.
Lin Xinyuan simply hid behind her mother.
She didn’t know where her mother was taking her and hadn’t asked before, nor had her mother said.
There were simply too many people here, and they were overly enthusiastic in calling out to others to take their rides, one after another.
They especially liked to grab her and her mother to ask questions, which made her inwardly annoyed…
She hated crowded places.
With too much luggage and just the two of them, it was quite a strain, and Lin Xinyuan still wasn’t feeling well.
So they just stood there for now.
She kept her head down uneasily, trembling slightly, coughing occasionally.
Seeing the girl like this, Lin’s mother tightened her grip on the girl’s fair hand, full of concern.
With gentle motions, she tightened the scarf around her daughter’s neck, then patted her little head.
“Xinyuan, wait a little longer. It won’t be much longer; someone’s coming to pick us up.”
“Who? Also… where are we going…” Lin Xinyuan looked up at her mother, clutching her hand tightly, her face full of unease.
Feeling the tension in her daughter’s hand, Lin’s mother spoke softly, “It’s your Second Uncle… do you remember him?”
Seeing Lin Xinyuan shake her head, Lin’s mother felt a pang of anxiety but thought it was only natural.
“It’s alright… you’ll get to know him soon enough…”
“You didn’t ask me before, so I’ll tell you now…” Lin’s mother gazed into her daughter’s trusting, slightly worried eyes and slowly said, “We’re going to your Grandmother’s place… we’ll be living there from now on.”
“Is that so…”
Lin Xinyuan had already suspected as much, so she wasn’t very surprised—just worried.
She lowered her eyes, “But… I’m a little scared. And… is it really okay?”
Her mother understood what she was afraid of.
It was just the fear of not being accepted.
“It’s alright… nothing bad is going to happen. I’ve already talked to your Grandmother about you.”
“Okay…”
Lin Xinyuan felt a bit relieved and realized why her mother hadn’t come back to Maxian for several days—it must have been because she was at Grandmother’s place.
Even so, despite Lin’s reassurance, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
After what happened with her father, she was even more resistant to meeting relatives or acquaintances.
At that moment, Lin’s mother suddenly received a phone call.
“Yes… Second Brother, I’m right in front of the station… Okay… alright, bye for now…”
After hanging up, Lin’s mother smiled at her daughter, “Here they come.”
Sure enough, less than two minutes later, a black sedan stopped not far from them, and a middle-aged man stepped out.
He had a dignified appearance, with features somewhat resembling Lin’s mother, and an elegant demeanor.
Though dressed plainly, he stood out remarkably.
He was Lin Xinyuan’s Second Uncle.
The Second Uncle got out of the car and walked towards Lin and her mother with a smile, “Little sister.”
“Second Brother.”
Lin’s mother responded, pulling the girl, who was trying to hide behind her, forward and gave her a sharp look.
“Xinyuan, why are you hiding behind me? Say hello to your Second Uncle.”
Lin Xinyuan stumbled but steadied herself and shyly looked up at the smiling middle-aged man.
“Second Uncle…”
The moment he saw Lin Xinyuan’s face, the Second Uncle was momentarily lost in thought, reminded of a young Lin’s mother.
After a brief pause, he quickly regained his composure and smiled even more warmly.
“Xinyuan, it’s been so long! You’ve grown so beautiful. If you need anything, just come to your Second Uncle!”
Lin Xinyuan felt awkward.
His words made it sound like she was still a little girl…
She silently nodded, not used to the atmosphere, and quickly hid behind her mother again, only peeking one eye out at the Second Uncle.
The Second Uncle had already been briefed about Lin Xinyuan’s situation by Lin’s mother, so he said nothing, but his heart ached all the more.
He cared deeply for this niece who looked so much like his sister, even if her personality was completely different.
“Let’s get in the car first. We can talk more on the way.”
“Okay.”
The Second Uncle helped load their luggage into the trunk, and the three of them got into the car.
The car started and moved along the road.
Trying to ease the awkwardness, the Second Uncle began talking about some anecdotes.
Although he was the one speaking and Lin’s mother responding, with Lin Xinyuan rarely chiming in, the atmosphere lightened considerably.
Eventually, even Lin Xinyuan found herself listening.
The car left the city and entered Xingyi Town, which bordered the city.
Their destination wasn’t the town itself but Tangjia Village, under Xingyi Town’s jurisdiction.
As they entered the village entrance, Lin Xinyuan looked out at the lush greenery by the roadside and the smooth road surface.
It seemed her mother’s hometown was developing well.
At least much better than their home in Beishui Village…
At this point, the Second Uncle continued talking sporadically.
Lin Xinyuan turned to look at her mother but noticed her expression had changed.
She seemed not to be listening to the Second Uncle and kept staring out the window.
“…”
Hearing her daughter’s call, Lin’s mother snapped back to reality.
“What is it?”
Lin Xinyuan shook her head, “It’s you… what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I… was just thinking about something.”
Her mother’s expression returned to normal, she smiled and patted Lin Xinyuan’s head.
Lin Xinyuan felt her mother was brushing her off.
It didn’t seem like nothing was wrong, but she didn’t press.
After all, asking would probably get her nowhere…
However, a seed of doubt had been planted in her heart… no, many.
Since entering Tangjia Village, her mother’s expression had worsened noticeably.
And with her father’s situation in the mix…
Lin Xinyuan felt there was more to all this than met the eye…
After spending this time together, she had a rough understanding of who her mother was—calm and even cold on the surface, but warm deep inside.
Why, then, had her attitude towards her been like this before?
Why was her relationship with that man so bad?
Why did she rarely contact Grandmother and the others…?
There were many questions…
Lin Xinyuan desperately wanted to know her mother’s past but also knew Lin’s mother probably wouldn’t tell her directly…
Forget it…
Let it be…
She had a feeling she would find the answers here.
She believed in that feeling—ever since she got that jade bracelet, it had never failed her…