Chapter 33: Mom, I Was Wrong!
When people visit someone’s home with gifts, it is usually nothing more than food, drinks, and entertainment items. In life, aside from dreams and ideals, these practical things are the most real, even if it does not sound very elegant.
Gao Ming saw a fairly decent gift shop nearby and dragged the restless Cheng Fei inside. He picked several expensive-looking cigarettes and bottles of alcohol.
When the two came back out, Cheng Fei felt like a robber returning with a full load of stolen goods.
Sure, bringing some gifts was normal, but was there really a need to buy every kind?!
There was so much stuff. The alcohol was at least easy to store, but how long would it take to finish all those cigarettes?
“A son-in-law visiting for the first time would look bad if he didn’t bring enough gifts.”
“Heh…”
Cheng Fei gave a helpless dry laugh. Every time she smiled, her heart hurt a little more.
Third- and fourth-tier cities were already considered underdeveloped areas, and the small county towns under them were even worse. Still, because the center of the county had a dense population, the streets were lively and crowded.
At this time of day, almost every shop was open for business. Except for that life supply supermarket, whose doors were tightly shut.
Cheng Fei became absent-minded for a moment and looked inside through the glass.
Some vegetables had already wilted, clearly showing the shop had not opened for quite some time.
According to Zhou Lin, he learned about Cheng Fei’s situation two weeks ago. He hid it for one week, but in the end he could not bear the guilt anymore and came back to tell the family.
Even losing a pet cat or dog that had been raised for years would make people sad for a long time.
Not to mention a child raised with years of love and effort.
Thankfully, both parents had always been healthy. Otherwise, this shock alone might have made them collapse from illness.
Gao Ming did not dare say anything and simply let Cheng Fei stand there quietly for a while.
The road had never felt this hard to walk before.
Even though it was only a little more than one hundred meters, to Cheng Fei it felt as long as an entire day.
Her mind could not stop imagining the scene she least wanted to see.
The front gate stood open.
The cherry tree in the yard had already passed fruit season, while the small flowers on the persimmon tree nearby were blooming. Their branches and leaves were thick and full, rustling loudly as the wind blew through them.
On the brick-paved ground, two small stools sat quietly, almost as if listening to the wind’s story.
Was the sound warning outsiders not to enter the yard?
Or was it welcoming her, a member of the family, back home?
Cheng Fei firmly believed it was the second one.
Even if her name had changed, and even if her appearance was no longer the same, she was still him.
In a daze, a yellow figure suddenly appeared beneath the tree.
Its round little head faced her directly, and its two eyes, one yellow and one blue, like glass marbles, shined with unusual color.
“Bread!”
“Meow~!”
Hearing Cheng Fei call out, the cat softly meowed and ran over to rub affectionately against her legs.
This was Gao Ming’s first time hearing the cat’s name. Naming a pet after food…
Greedy for money, beauty, and delicious food, truly all part of the same family.
Inside the room behind the tree were two slightly aged faces…
Becoming white-haired overnight was not just something from novels or TV dramas.
It felt like something pierced Cheng Fei’s heart as she looked at them with teary eyes.
Every time “Lu Wei” returned home, before he even entered the yard, this cat would somehow sense him and run out to greet him.
Just now, the couple had been crying in front of their son’s memorial photo when the cat suddenly jumped out of their arms and ran away.
Could someone really return from the dead?
Shocked and curious, the two followed the cat outside, only to see two strangers standing there instead.
Although they were deeply depressed, their simple and honest personalities still made them follow proper manners toward guests.
“Who are you looking for…?”
Gao Ming looked toward Cheng Fei. Since she was the main person involved, he did not speak first.
Cheng Fei’s emotions had already reached the limit. Tears flowed out together with her trembling voice.
“Dad… Mom!”
The couple froze on the spot.
They quietly thought to themselves, aside from Lu Wei, they had never had a second child, nor had they ever adopted a goddaughter.
So then… who exactly was this person in front of them?
Still, seeing her cry made their hearts strangely tremble.
After calming themselves a little, they followed basic hospitality and invited the two inside.
The living room was not large, and the house was already quite old.
Fortunately, Qin Yi, who used to be a head nurse, loved cleanliness and order. Every morning after waking up, she cleaned and organized the house carefully.
The home looked simple and old-fashioned, but it was neat, organized, and spotless.
On a nearby table stood a black-and-white memorial photo frame draped with two black ribbons.
In front of the photo were incense sticks, candles, and fruit offerings, all properly arranged.
Cheng Fei felt very uncomfortable looking at it. She even had the urge to throw it away immediately. But after all, it was still herself. It could also be considered a farewell gift to her old body.
The moment Cheng Fei sat down on the sofa, Bread impatiently jumped onto her lap, wanting to warmly greet this owner it had not seen for a long time.
“Our family just recently went through something…”
Lu Shengdong really had no mood to make tea. He brought over two bottles of mineral water instead. Seeing where their eyes were looking, he explained quietly.
“Dad…”
“Miss, you shouldn’t say things like that carelessly. Even if you want to become family with someone, that still depends on fate.” Lu Shengdong sounded slightly unhappy. At a time like this, he truly did not want to waste extra energy talking.
“Dad! If I said this out on the street, everyone would probably laugh and call me crazy, but I really am Lu Wei!”
Lu Shengdong let out a laugh, and Qin Yi sighed along with him.
At this stage in life, the important thing was learning to accept reality, no matter how impossible it felt.
“Miss, you’re Xiao Wei’s friend, right? You probably came here to comfort us.”
Cheng Fei became anxious. Ignoring the cat still lying on her legs, she suddenly stood up, rushed past Gao Ming, and ran toward the stairs behind Lu Shengdong and Qin Yi.
Thump, thump, thump.
In just a few seconds, she was already upstairs.
“Miss!”
The elderly couple were hospitable people, but they still could not allow strangers to run around freely inside their home.
They hurried upstairs after Cheng Fei, though Gao Ming did not follow.
Inside what used to be their son’s room, Cheng Fei pushed the bed away from the wall, crouched in the corner, and pried up a floor tile. From inside, she pulled out a rusty iron box.
The two elders originally wanted to stop her, but after seeing this scene, both froze.
Their hearts trembled hard.
“This is my Chinese test paper from third grade. I only scored eighteen points. The teacher told me to bring it home for Mom to sign. I was afraid Mom would beat me with the rolling pin, so I lied and said I lost it.”
Cheng Fei continued quietly.
“At that time, I was too cowardly to burn it because I was scared you would notice. So while you two were out selling vegetables, I secretly pried up this tile and even used Dad’s chisel to dig a hole into the wall.”
“Later, so much time passed that even I forgot about it myself. Then when the house was renovated again, this thing was discovered.”
“When I came home during New Year two years ago, you even joked about it. You said you wouldn’t seal up this hole, and that when I had children in the future, they should come see it too.”
By the time Cheng Fei finished speaking, Qin Yi was already crying uncontrollably, while Lu Shengdong’s old tears also flowed from overwhelming joy.
Cheng Fei knew they finally believed her.
Unable to hold back her emotions anymore, she rushed forward.
Gao Ming softly sighed, walked out onto the balcony, and Bread followed him to sit near the doorway, trying not to disturb the family.
The joy of a family reunion naturally could not be compared with ordinary happiness.
Even though their son had become a daughter, it was still another kind of returning from the dead. As long as the person was alive, nothing else mattered more.
Still, Cheng Fei had refused to come home and tell them the truth for so long, making them suffer and grieve for no reason. That part was hard to forgive.
“Xiao Wei… no, I should call you Feifei now,” Qin Yi said.
“Tell me honestly. Why didn’t you tell your father and me the truth earlier after all this time?”
“Uh… this… well…”
The happiness in Cheng Fei’s heart had not even faded yet when fear slowly began rising inside her.
“I was afraid… afraid you wouldn’t be able to accept it. This whole thing is way too strange. And with how I suddenly became like this… what if you got angry and kicked me out?”
“Oh? Really?”
Qin Yi lightly laughed.
Her face clearly carried a gentle and kind smile, but the words coming from her mouth carried a terrifying coldness.
“Tell me then. After hearing all this today, did your father and I believe you or not? Did we treat you like a madman and throw you out? Or did we send you to a research lab to be cut open for experiments?”
This was bad.
Really, really bad.
Cheng Fei realized she had spent all her time overthinking by herself and never properly considered how her parents would feel.
Then she saw Qin Yi stand up and silently pick up a broom from behind the door.
Instantly, all of Cheng Fei’s childhood fears returned. Her whole body tightened, and even her butt started hurting from phantom pain.
Then she looked at Lu Shengdong.
Usually, her old father always stood on her side. But now, he simply lowered his eyelids and looked at her calmly, showing absolutely no intention of stopping Qin Yi.
Cheng Fei quickly turned to look at Gao Ming.
Her meaning was obvious. There’s a guest here, can’t you at least help save some face?!
Qin Yi simply walked over and smiled at Gao Ming.
Gao Ming was extremely clever. He slowly stood up and moved aside.
That alone was not enough to make Cheng Fei collapse.
What truly broke her was that Gao Ming even made a polite “please continue” gesture like a hotel waiter.
Damn it!
What a beast!
Earlier he was acting all loving and romantic, but now he just sat there drinking tea and watching her get beaten without helping at all?!
Cheng Fei fiercely glared at Gao Ming, swallowed hard with difficulty, and shakily stared at the broomstick in Qin Yi’s hand.
“A loving mother’s stick falls upon the wandering child!”
“Mom! Even a tiger wouldn’t ea— Ahhh!!”
Smack!
A loud, crisp sound echoed through the room.
Cheng Fei jumped off the sofa like a grasshopper, covered her butt, and ran for her life toward the courtyard.
Her parents had originally forced themselves to stay strong. Lu Wei was their only emotional support in the family. They had nobody else to comfort them and could only rely on each other during all this pain.
Yet Cheng Fei had made them suffer for so long for no reason. Naturally, resentment had built up in their hearts.
As the saying went, since everything turned out fine in the end, then a little punishment should still be given so the child learns a lesson.
If Cheng Fei could not emotionally understand their suffering, then her body could at least help her experience it properly instead.