Chapter 39: Wherever I Am, That Is Your Forever Home

But since ancient times, the most fickle thing has always been the human heart.

The moment promises and love are spoken, they are real.

But it is also true that they can vanish in an instant.

In her childhood, Lin Muyu had lived a happy and comfortable life. Even after her younger brother was born, her family had never mistreated her in the slightest.

Her mother was gentle, a lady from a good family. She taught Lin Muyu how to read and do needlework, holding her close as she showed her how to tell red beans from rice grains.

Her father was knowledgeable. In the scorching heat of summer, he would wave a cattail fan to cool her as she lay on a bamboo bed, speaking passionately about the vast land of Huaxia^[1] and its five thousand years of history.

Lin Muyu once thought she would spend her entire life living this way.

Until the day she turned ten.

When she returned home from school, the house was in utter disarray.

Her mother sat on the floor, hugging her knees with her head buried. Hearing her daughter return, she looked up, her eyes already blurred with tears.

She said, “Yu’er, your father is gone. He took your little brother with him.”

Lin Muyu stood frozen, unable to process the words for a moment.

“He abandoned the two of us.”

Her mother stood up, letting out a miserable laugh. “I’ll cook for you. The two of us can still live a good life together.”

After she spoke, she seemed to want to take a step, but the moment she stood, she collapsed to the ground and fainted.

Her mother had fallen ill.

It was a lingering ailment from when she had given birth to her younger brother without proper postpartum recovery.

She suffered from constant bleeding and severe deficiency of both Qi and blood^[2].

This blow was fatal. The young Lin Muyu did not know how to do anything. She could only stand outside the door, watching one blood-soaked cloth after another being carried out, staining the clear basins of water a terrifying red.

Later, her mother became bedridden, lingering in sickness for three years before finally closing her eyes forever.

Before she passed, she said nothing. She only called Lin Muyu to her bedside, weeping and wailing over and over again.

In her final moments, with her last breath caught in her throat, her eyes turned bloodshot as she clutched the mosquito net, letting out a hoarse, terrifying wail from her throat.

“You betrayed me! You betrayed me!”

As the voice faded, her breath left her, and the sound of weeping filled the room.

Only Lin Muyu stood outside the door, her eyes numb and hollow, not even knowing how to cry.

She thought.

That carefree version of myself must have died too.

Later on, she was taken in by the village chief’s family.

Her mother had originally settled here with the army and had no relatives nearby. With her father’s whereabouts unknown, the thirteen-year-old Lin Muyu began a life of relying on others for shelter.

Life was not so difficult at first.

The village chief’s family had treated her with genuine sincerity in the beginning.

Unfortunately, as time went on, resentment and friction inevitably began to grow.

And so, when she was fifteen, they found an excuse to stop her from going to school. Later, all the chores in the household, big and small, were dumped onto her.

Until the year she turned sixteen.

The girl had grown up, slim and graceful, her features possessing a breathtaking beauty that surpassed even her mother’s former radiance.

The village chief’s family began to make their calculations.

Rather than keeping her at home and feeding her, it was better to marry her off early.

When suitors came to propose, they immediately brought up the bride price.

A bride price of five hundred yuan, plus a sewing machine, specifically a West Lake Brand one, with a firm price and no negotiation.

As for a dowry?

There was none.

In other words, how was this any different from selling a daughter?

Lijia Village was right next to Shishui Village.

Once this demand was made public, all the young men who had been harboring hopes gave up.

Even if some were still unwilling to let go, their families absolutely refused to agree.

What was the use of being beautiful?

Was she worth five hundred yuan?

Not to mention a sewing machine that required ration coupons!

Once they went to work in the fields under the scorching sun, it did not matter if a girl was ugly or beautiful; they would all have to bend their backs and plant rice seedlings like everyone else.

There was no difference.

It simply was not worth it.

And so, the matter dragged on for a whole year.

By the time Xie Zhao was recognized and brought back to the Xie Family, Lin Muyu was already seventeen.

It was Tian Xiufen who had suggested proposing a marriage to Lin Muyu.

That year, when Tian Xiufen went to the market, she had seen the village chief of Lijia Village taking Lin Muyu out. He claimed it was to let her see the world, but it was really just parading her around like a piece of merchandise.

She had kept her head down, her eyes red, her expression numb.

Yet, when she accidentally bumped into Tian Xiufen, she had quickly reached out to support her, asking after her with concern, and eventually walked her back to Xie Youzhen.

She was polite and gentle, clearly someone who had gone to school and received a good upbringing.

Tian Xiufen liked girls like her.

She was worth any amount of money.

“I used to feel resentful too, but now, seeing Xi Bao’er and Le Bao’er, I feel like there’s no one in the world luckier than me.”

She turned her head to look at Xie Zhao, her lips curving into a smile that revealed two shallow, lovely dimples.

Xie Zhao, however, felt a surge of emotion churning in his chest, making him restless.

So that was how it was?!

That was how it was!

Just what kind of past had she gone through?

At this moment, thinking of his past actions, Xie Zhao wished he could slap himself hard across the face!

But when he stood up, his expression was so terrible that before he could speak, Lin Muyu softly continued her explanation.

“Xie Zhao, I’m sorry.”

Lin Muyu said softly, “Back then, I had no control over my own life, and I couldn’t make my own decisions when it came to marriage.”

“I’ve held you back all your life.”

Xie Zhao: “?!”

How much must her heart have bled for her to say such words?!

Xie Zhao, you really are scum!

He cursed himself bitterly under his breath, then suddenly stood up and strode quickly toward Lin Muyu.

Startled, she shrank back almost instinctively.

But in the next moment, Xie Zhao leaned in close.

The young man’s scent was warm and solid. When he pulled her into a tight embrace, it felt just as reassuring as she had once imagined.

He rested his chin gently on her shoulder, and Lin Muyu could clearly feel the warm breath of his rapid breathing against her skin.

“You didn’t hold me back.”

She heard Xie Zhao say earnestly.

“I was the one who didn’t know how to cherish you. I was blind back then, unable to see what was truly precious.”

Xie Zhao spoke deliberately, word by word, as if speaking to Lin Muyu, and as if telling himself.

“From now on, we are family. The children and I will never leave you.”

“Wherever I am, that will be your home forever.”

Xie Zhao didn’t know how to say sweet nothings.

But these words were more beautiful than any sweet talk.

Lin Muyu felt a buzzing in her ears. She instinctively wanted to open her mouth to say something, but a massive, surging wave of emotion crashed against her chest, leaving her unable to speak.

Her tears fell first.

The past she had tried so hard to bury, the hidden pain she had kept to herself, all seemed to be understood in this moment.

Abandoned by her father, her mother deceased, she had been adopted.

Anyone who asked around the surrounding villages could tell you a thing or two about her story.

Because the village chief had adopted her, it was as if she had received some immense blessing. She was told over and over again: you are lucky; if not for the village chief, you would have starved to death; you must always remember to be grateful.

Then came marriage, and giving birth.

She was like rootless duckweed, drifting wherever she was pushed.

She had long since grown used to it.