Fall in love with your enemy

Continuing from the last time, Chengcheng had just been out for less than a day, and before I had enough free time, Yangyang got in trouble again. I thought his legs had gotten much better in recent years, and that he would be fine after another year or so, and after taking him to have his last surgery before elementary school, but I was afraid of this kind of sudden accident...

I quickly put on my clothes and went out to check. Yangyang was sitting on a small sofa in the lobby on the first floor wiping her tears. The doctor was cleaning the wound on his knee. He had just wiped off the dirt and was about to sprinkle medicine powder on it. When he saw me, he made room for me. I squatted down to take a look. Fortunately, Yangyang just broke the skin and would be fine in two days. Tong Hua was so distressed that she accidentally exaggerated. Seeing this, she was relieved. Then I confusedly tied up my long hair with a rubber band and applied medicine to Yangyang until he had cried enough and asked in a low and lonely voice.

"Sister, why do my legs always suddenly hurt and become weak? Is it the same for everyone? Or is it just me... Sister, do you feel pain? Will you suddenly fall down too?"

I looked up and saw Yangyang, who was too weak to cry, but with tears still on her face. She looked so old despite her young age. I couldn’t bear to look into her eyes and said, “Sister, sister, no, Yangyang is sick. She will get better one day. It’s okay…”

"That means I'm the only one who can do it. You can't, and neither can my brother." Yangyang lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

I didn't even have the strength to apply the medicine. If Gao Xinci hadn't supported me from behind, I would have almost collapsed on the ground. If I had known this day would come, I would have been so cruel that he would never exist in this world. I never thought that Cheng Cheng would act earlier than me. I wanted people to die quickly, but he wanted people to live a life worse than death.

Yangyang's legs were twisted when he was born. Conservative treatment left sequelae, and they did not heal completely on their own. It may be more and more difficult to heal in the future. Lu Zeqing asked me to be mentally prepared, but this is the most important thing that I should not be prepared for. Yangyang's family background is not good, and if he continues to use crutches for the rest of his life, I don't know what he will do in the future.

Gao Xinci saw that I couldn't do it, so he pulled me away and squatted in front of Yangyang with a smile: "Yangyang, in fact, everyone is born with some shortcomings, for example, your sister is weak and always sick, and your brother is stupid and not very smart, but they are all trying hard to overcome it, and gradually they have achieved results. Yangyang, do you want to be a coward? Do you want to push your pain to others? Do you hope that your brothers and sisters will get sick like you?"

I gradually felt something was wrong. Gao Xinci was right to teach Yangyang a lesson, but why did I feel like he was taking revenge? I quickly reached out and poked him, making Yangyang laugh.

The little guy swallowed hard, pouted and said aggrievedly: "I don't think that way. I just want to be the only one sick, and my brothers and sisters will be fine."

My heart softened all of a sudden, and I sat aside and held Yangyang in my arms. I knew that the child I had raised since childhood would not have bad intentions, so there was no need to ask him more questions and make him sad. Fortunately, Gao Xinci also had a way to save the relationship. He sat beside me and took out a lollipop from somewhere. There is no child who doesn't like it. Yangyang forgot the pain when she saw it, and quickly reached out to grab it and put it in her mouth. She stopped crying and didn't even feel any pain when applying the medicine.

Gao Xinci gently patted his little head: "That's right, Yangyang, I didn't tell you before because you were too young and afraid you wouldn't understand, but today I'm going to explain to you a word called stunted development, which is why it hurts, but don't worry too much, as long as you are obedient, go to the hospital with your sister on time, eat well, sleep well and take care of your body, you will definitely get better. Don't you believe in Brother Zeyun's medical skills?"

"I believe that Brother Xiaolu has saved many people."

"That's good, isn't it?" Gao Xinci smiled, hugged Yangyang to his arms and coaxed her, then suddenly leaned close to his ear and said, "Baby, I actually have a secret to tell you. Do you know the saying that like replenishes like? Your legs are not in good condition. Would eating more pig's trotters and chicken feet help?"

Yangyang touched her little head, and suddenly she jumped down as if she had suddenly realized something, and ran towards the west yard while shouting: "Auntie! I want to eat stewed pig's trotters for lunch! I want to eat chicken legs! I want to eat roast duck legs--"

I finally smiled, but Gao Xinci's words were just consolation after all. Yangyang's leg might not be healed, and Lu Zeqin was not a god. I couldn't be too demanding of anyone. I could only blame myself for not taking good care of Chengcheng and not protecting Yangyang. Gao Xinci couldn't bear to leave anymore, so he came over and wiped away my tears with his thumb.

"Everyone has their own destiny. It's not your fault. Don't blame everything on yourself. You've worked hard enough."

I also held Gao Xinci's hand, thinking that the next second would be an exciting and heartwarming scene? I was about to accept the setting of kissing, but who would have thought that the next second Brother Qingyun appeared from nowhere, happened to see the open door of my room, and clicked his tongue with joy.

"Hey Shishi, are you up? I see no one in the room, including Gao Xinci. Did this despicable villain with a beastly face suddenly realize his heinous crimes and run away..." The voice stopped here, and Brother Qingyun appeared in front of the corridor, baring his teeth so that he could hardly retract them. He turned around and said in an inexplicably literary manner: "Run away, the son of a young peach tree, who is so beautiful and radiant, should return to his wife's home..."

Well, everyone was quite embarrassed.

Gao Xinci put his hand away, and my brother followed him out from the corridor. After all, he was a married man, so he was calm when he saw this scene, but being too calm inevitably turned into indifference. We were sad. He took a deep breath and paused for a while, then reached out to pull me and raised his chin to Gao Xinci: "Let's eat together when you wake up."

Gao Xinci didn't say anything and followed us to the west yard. It was still early and except for a few of us, the children were still asleep. The west yard was quieter than usual. Yangyang was particularly clinging to Gao Xinci and could make some noise. As for the rest, brother Qingyun and I abided by the rules of not talking during meals and not talking during sleep. My brother stared at me, and I didn't know whether he was expressing pity or some other emotion.

I lowered my head even deeper, Yangyang was still laughing in my ear, and soon she touched Gao Xinci's head: "Brother, I want to ask you a question."

"Ask." Gao Xinci agreed readily.

"How do you overcome your shortcomings? I can stand up after falling down. How can you cure what you just said about your stupidity and poor brain? Your sister told me that you are very good." Yangyang asked this question naively with her innocent big eyes blinking.

I couldn't help but choke on a mouthful of porridge and fell on my throat. I lay on the table and coughed madly. On the other side, my brother's aloofness was diluted a lot. Brother Qingyun played his devilish laughter as the BGM. In this joy, Yangyang was still innocent, while Gao Xinci was silent. Finally, he exploded in the silence, put the cub down and jumped up.

"I'm talking about your brother! Not me! Lu Chengcheng! Fu Shuyu! My brain is fine!"

Yangyang held her chubby smiling face and continued to attack: "But if I call you brother, will you agree?"

"I won't agree to that anymore! Remember, you only have one brother! I'm not your brother, you have to call me brother-in-law!"

"Brother-in-law? I have a brother-in-law. Although I don't remember him very clearly, I remember his surname is Jiang, not you." Yangyang said with a pout.

Very good, he forgot everything about running to Malaysia to find Gao Xinci, and even forgot that he didn't like Jiang Yinan that much when he was with me. I have heard that children don't remember things before they are three years old, but they can't forget so completely, right? Didn't this suck the soul out of Gao Xinci?

Gao Xinci almost died when he sat there.

I bit my lips hard and didn't smile. I went to help him after he finished coughing. Yangyang made him angry, and I would be the one who suffered in the end. Why bother? I quickly explained to Yangyang that he really had to call her brother-in-law. My brother across from me also slapped Qingyun to wake him up. Qingyun waved his hand to show that he would never smile again. At this time, something flashed by and almost dried me up.

Brother Qingyun is wearing my silk string on his hand.

I don't know where I threw this thing into. It should have been destroyed when I burned my brother's belongings, but I didn't find it at that time and spared it. Now it's in my brother's hands.

I was stunned for a moment and asked: "Brother, what is that on your hand..."

Brother Qingyun lowered his head and glanced at his left hand: "Oh, this is given to me by my father. He said you made it when you first came home, and the Taoist priest on the mountain blessed it. It would be bad for you if you lose it, so he asked me to wear it for you. You should keep your lost things with me."

I pulled the corner of my mouth, suppressed my thoughts and didn't say anything. I nodded and let it go. After dinner, I took Gao Xinci back to the room. It was seven o'clock. I should tell the children to go to school and arrange to take Yangyang for a follow-up checkup later. But my heart was in a knot and I was distracted when I was braiding Lingling and Yunyun. Gao Xinci couldn't stand it anymore and hit my hand with two fingers. It hurt, but Yunyun, the heartless little girl, was still laughing.

"The little lady is almost turning into a big devil, and you, as a mother, can't even comb her hair?" Gao Xinci gave me a look of contempt.

I thought it was purely a personal revenge, but when I thought about it carefully, I didn't have the energy to do it, so I just endured it and pushed the child to him, watching him concentrate on it, holding the comb in one hand and the rubber band in the other.

"Come, watch Dad show you his skills. Dad used to practice on Mom's head every day, just waiting for the day when he would have a daughter."

Yunyun looked at him in the mirror with a smile: "Dad, now you have me and my sister, are you happy?"

"Happy, why not? I think your two babies are the cutest!" Gao Xinci said to me with a pout.

I was speechless. Seeing Lingling still folding her arms and looking at me eagerly, I quickly pulled her to my side and said, "Come here, let mommy comb your hair for you."

The little guy pouted in dissatisfaction, took the little tiger rubber band and ran to Zhizhi: "I want my uncle to comb my hair."

Zhizhi was still in a daze, but now she came back to take care of the child. I was idle, fanning myself in the middle. I was bored when Tong Hua suddenly ran in and whispered in my ear: "Miss, Cheng Ling is here. I don't know where she heard about the young master falling down, and she insisted on coming to take care of him."

I was shocked when I heard that and lowered my voice: "Who let her out? Didn't I tell her not to leave the Southwest Courtyard?"

Li Xi shook his head and said he didn't know.

"Where is my second uncle?" I asked again.

Everyone was confused for a moment. He came back with great fanfare last night, but disappeared this morning. No one mentioned it, and everyone forgot about it. Lingling raised her hand and said, "Second Grandpa hugged us yesterday and left. He said he had something else to do in Huangyang and couldn't stay with us for long."

"Leaving now?" Zhizhi frowned and turned to look at Gao Xinci and me, but unfortunately we couldn't give an answer.

I thought about it and sighed, "Forget it, just let her in. I can't take care of Yangyang for a while. As a mother, I won't be stupid enough to harm my own child. You can ask the housekeeper to attend the social event and take Yangyang to the South Courtyard. Don't let Jinjin have any contact with her again."

"Okay." Li Xi nodded and left.

After washing and packing, Zhizhi went to send Lingling, Yunyun and Jinjin to school, and also took Xiao Hanqing who was left behind by Wang Jinglei last night. Yaya had a housekeeper, and her brother was here, so Zhou Yi and Zhou Zhi would naturally be taken care of by him, so I didn't need to worry about them. After checking the daily documents for Chengcheng, I went to the South Courtyard. Logically speaking, even if she wanted to, two or three hours wouldn't be enough for Cheng Ling to teach Yangyang bad things, and Yangyang never listened to her. But when I went there, I happened to run into Cheng Ling crying, which changed to a more novel angle and attracted Yangyang's attention.

“Who else in this family cares about you except your sister? Your father has three children, why do you have the hardest life? He has no conscience and left nothing for us mother and daughter…” Cheng Ling cried while hugging Yangyang’s legs and wiping them: “And your legs, what if they are broken? You will have no hope at all. It’s all your mother’s fault for being useless and unable to protect you…”

Yangyang tilted her head and leaned over to hold Cheng Ling's hand: "Mom, my sister said that you have tried very hard. You shed a lot of blood to give birth to me. My legs are natural. I don't blame you."

"What do you mean by natural? If that's true, why is God so unfair to you? How am I lower than Lu Yinyin? She was able to give birth to Fu Shuyu, but my child doesn't even have the right to walk properly." Cheng Ling threw down a teacup in anger.

I watched her immediately climb onto Cheng Cheng, and hurriedly pushed the door open and put on a flawless smile. Yang Yang rushed over to me when she saw me coming, and Cheng Ling quickly wiped her tears and stood up. I glared at her and didn't say anything for the time being. I just picked Yang Yang up and said, "My dear, we should leave for the hospital. Your brother-in-law is waiting for you outside. Your sister will talk to mom for a few words. Can you go find your brother-in-law to change clothes first?"

"Okay, then sister, please come quickly." Yangyang nodded.

He ran away as soon as I put him down. I knew he didn't want to stay with Cheng Ling any longer. Superficial relationship was already the bottom line I set for them. After the door was closed, I turned around and stopped smiling. Cheng Ling knew he had said the wrong thing, so he naturally lowered his head and waited for his punishment.

I took a deep breath and asked, "Who let you out?"

Cheng Ling trembled all over, and shook her head after a while: "I don't know, no one told me, I just couldn't sleep at night and went out for a walk, and saw that the gatekeeper of the southwest courtyard was gone, so I thought of taking a look at Yangyang from a distance, and when I got to the door, I heard someone say that he fell and was injured."

"Besides the few words I just heard, what else did you say to him?"

Cheng Ling shook her head more like a rattle: "It's gone, it's really gone, I know my limits, I just let it slip out in anger..."

I smiled, "That's good to know. Old Master is dead, and there's no one in the family to support him. He's just an ignorant child. If he wants to survive, he has to stay ignorant. Since you've given him to me to raise, I will cherish and protect him. But if something really happens one day, between Chengcheng and Yangyang, I will definitely choose Chengcheng. If there's no choice, I'll make sure the three of us die together with my last breath."

Cheng Ling gritted her teeth and nodded vigorously.

"Okay, take Mrs. Cheng to eat something and send her back to the Southwest Courtyard. Don't see Yangyang again until she wakes up." I turned and left. The managers rushed in and advised her in a gentle voice.

It was not until we returned to the Central Courtyard that I put down my airs and saw Yangyang playing with Gao Xinci in the house. I knew it was impossible for me not to feel heartbroken. I raised Yangyang. I call her my sister, but she is no different from his mother, except that I did not give birth to him myself. He smiled so happily, and he was still so young, how could he bear the pain of reality?

So this secret must be swallowed, and it is best to keep it hidden for the rest of your life.

But I really don’t know whether Cheng Ling’s words left a shadow of doubt in Yangyang’s heart. A six-year-old child can already remember things...

I am really confused. Seven years have passed and things have changed. How could I be soft-hearted and let Cheng Ling go? She will always be a hidden danger.

No, that's not right. It wasn't her. It should be the person who deliberately let her out, a coward who ran away in the middle of the night.