The two held hands, laughing all the way. Everywhere they went, Mu Linjing would introduce it. They walked and stopped, and soon arrived at the fruit shop owned by Mu Linjing's family.
She originally thought she would see her father immediately, but to her surprise, when she pushed the door open as usual, the person standing at the door was not her father.
A strange man stood at the door. "Welcome, what kind of fruit would you like?"
She stared blankly at the man. "Where's my dad?"
The man looked at her, not understanding. After a long while, he realized. "You mean the previous shop owner? He's not running the shop anymore and sold it to me. You're his daughter, don't you know?"
Mu Linjing was clearly a bit dazed. After thanking the other party, she hurriedly took Zhan Yichen to her home. As soon as she entered the yard, she heard a violent coughing fit.
She sprinted into the house. She recognized it as her mother's voice.
"Mom..."
She was now by the bedside, looking at her mother's emaciated face, barely able to believe it. "Mom, what's wrong?"
Aunt Mu had been unwell since her trip to Pengcheng. It was all because she worried about her daughter, losing sleep, and her health deteriorating day by day.
She had been bedridden for some time. She thought she would never see her daughter again in this condition. Now, hearing her daughter's voice, she opened her eyes, her face full of disbelief.
"Jing'er... is that you back? Am I hallucinating? Is it really you?"
Mu Linjing's eyes reddened as she stepped forward, taking her mother's hand and placing it on her own face. "Mom, it's really me back. Touch me, it's really me."
Aunt Mu instantly burst into tears. "My daughter, you're finally back. Mom thought she would never see you again."
Mother and daughter were reunited after a long separation, overcome with emotion. Aunt Mu held her daughter and cried for a long time.
After a while, she calmed down, wiped her tears, and said, "Yichen is here too. Come and sit. The house isn't tidied up, and I'm afraid you've been inconvenienced."
When Zhan Yichen heard this, he immediately stood up. "Don't worry about that, Auntie. I'll tidy up right away. You and Linjing haven't seen each other for so long, talk properly."
Seeing his diligence, Aunt Mu smiled with relief. "Jing'er has good taste. Yichen is a good child and takes good care of us."
Mu Linjing had already learned from Wei Yumeng that her mother was very satisfied with Zhan Yichen. Of course, she also knew that her father did not think highly of Zhan Yichen. However, she understood that her parents would not be like Wen Yulan, who would resort to any means to achieve her goals.
As long as it was someone she truly loved, her father would always agree.
It was good for two people to be together and start a family. She naturally hoped to receive her father's blessing, so their relationship still needed to be adjusted.
"Mom, where's Dad?"
Aunt Mu sighed. "Since I fell ill, your father sold the fruit shop to take care of me. Today, he's gone to the hospital to get medicine for me again."
As she spoke, she lowered her voice. "It's my fault for being useless, being sick for months. All the money in the house has been spent on my illness."
As she spoke, she coughed again, causing Mu Linjing a pang of heartache. wap.kanshuwu.net
"Mom, don't say that. I still have savings, enough to treat your illness. When you're better, we can open another shop."
Aunt Mu quickly stopped her. "Jing'er, it's not easy for you to be working alone far from home. Keep your savings for yourself. The Zhan family's conditions are so much better than ours. If you really want to be with Yichen, Mom doesn't object, but remember, don't let them look down on you, or you'll be bullied later."
Father always thought of his children this way. But Mu Linjing's original intention for earning money was to be filial to her parents. Clearly, she had not succeeded.
Looking at her mother's frail body, sallow complexion, and dark circles under her eyes, her eye sockets deeply sunken, it was evident she hadn't slept well in a long time.
And she was the culprit who caused all of this. She was filled with self-reproach.
"Mom, please don't say any more. I've decided. You and Dad will come back with me, and I'll get your illness cured."
She believed that Zhan Yichen was not someone who judged based on wealth. Even if he knew her family was poor, he wouldn't dislike her because of it.
Aunt Mu knew her daughter had always been ambitious, so she said no more.
As a mother, she would rather suffer herself than let her daughter be mistreated while working outside.
Before long, footsteps were heard from outside the door. It was Uncle Mu returning with the medicine.
As soon as he entered the house and saw how tidy it was, he worried that Aunt Mu had forced herself out of bed to clean. He rushed into the house and bumped straight into Mu Linjing.
Mu Linjing, just like when she was little, threw herself into her father's arms. "Dad, I'm back."
The medicine in Uncle Mu's hand fell to the ground. He looked at his daughter before him, his eyes red. "This is really my Jing'er."
Mu Linjing forced back her tears and used her sleeve to wipe her father's moist eyes. "Dad, don't cry. Aren't I back?"
"Okay, Dad isn't crying. Dad is happy."
Her father never wanted to show any weakness in front of his daughter, even on this day of reunion.
Mu Linjing was accustomed to her father's stubbornness. "I knew it. Dad is happy to see me."
The family was finally reunited. Aunt Mu's spirits improved considerably. She kept talking to Mu Linjing, as if afraid that if she let go, her daughter would disappear.
After chatting for a long time, Uncle Mu praised her. "My daughter has grown up. She knew to help tidy up the house as soon as she came back, saving her father a lot of worry."
Mu Linjing then remembered Zhan Yichen, whose presence had been rather weak. She stood up and called out a few times towards the outside, but no one answered.
"Where did he run off to?"
Just as she was about to call Zhan Yichen, he called her instead.
"Where did you go? Why aren't you home?"
Zhan Yichen's slightly awkward voice came from the other end of the phone. "Linjing, can you come and pick me up? I... I'm lost."
Mu Linjing's eyebrows furrowed into a tight "川" shape. "Lost? Where did you get lost?"
Soon, she realized how silly her question was. If he knew where he was, would he be lost?
"Sigh," she sighed. "Dad, Mom, I'm going to find him. You guys rest."
Seeing her hurry out with a scarf, Uncle Mu was a little displeased. "Why did that kid come too?"
Aunt Mu glared at him. "Don't bring up what's not relevant. Yichen is a good child. It's rare for our daughter to be back. Don't say anything unpleasant later and make her difficult."
Although he felt they were not a good match, Uncle Mu knew Auntie was right. He nodded repeatedly. "I'll try my best, okay?"