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Zhang Xiaohao, led by Li Jingru, entered an old-fashioned neighborhood in the suburbs.
"Is this your home?" Zhang Xiaohao asked, standing outside the door.
"Yes." Li Jingru nodded emphatically.
She pulled out the keys from her handbag, opened the front door, and rushed in.
"What is this?" Zhang Xiaohao asked, looking puzzled.
After entering, he closed the room door behind him.
The whole room was warmly decorated and meticulously cleaned.
From the worn wall coverings and the bleached white walls, it was clear the house had seen many years.
At least it hadn’t been refurbished in the recent decade or so.
Even the chairs and other furniture in the room carried the marks of passing years.
The room wasn’t big, just around sixty or seventy square meters.
One bedroom, one living room, with an attached bathroom.
After changing into slippers, Zhang Xiaohao walked toward the bedroom inside.
"Shh!" Upon seeing Zhang Xiaohao come in, Li Jingru gestured for silence with a hush.
"Mm." Zhang Xiaohao nodded and walked gently to the bedside.
Standing behind Li Jingru, he looked at the little girl lying in the bed.
The girl, around five or six years old with a tranquil expression and a sweet smile, had her eyes covered with a white cloth.
A strong scent of medicine emanated from the white cloth.
"Little Aunt, did a guest come?" the little girl asked sweetly.
"Tangtang, honey, there’s no one here," Li Jingru said gently.
"Little Aunt, you can’t fool me, my eyes may no longer see, but my nose still works, don’t forget, my nose is very sensitive!" Tangtang said proudly.
"Yes, it’s a co-worker of mine," Li Jingru replied.
"Little Aunt, it must be a man! Surely he’s a handsome man!" Tangtang spoke again.
"How do you know that?" Li Jingru asked.
"I can smell it, Big Brother has a very nice scent, and smelling it makes Tangtang feel as safe as with my parents," Tangtang explained.
"Be good, Tangtang, stay in bed; I’ll go and make some food," Li Jingru said.
"Mm," Tangtang nodded firmly.
"Let’s talk outside," Li Jingru whispered.
"Mm." Zhang Xiaohao nodded, ready to follow her out.
"Little Aunt, can you ask Big Brother to stay here and chat with me?" Tangtang suddenly asked.
"Oh! Well, we’ll have to see what your Big Brother thinks," Li Jingru said awkwardly.
"Big Brother, would you like to talk with Tangtang?" Tangtang asked sweetly.
"Mm." Zhang Xiaohao nodded, smiling.
He gave Li Jingru a reassuring look, signaling he had everything under control.
"Mm." Li Jingru nodded and turned towards the kitchen.
Zhang Xiaohao sat down by the bed.
"Big brother, I bet you’re not as young as my Little Aunt!" Tangtang said with a laugh.
"Why would you ask that, Tangtang?" Zhang Xiaohao asked.
"I can tell by the smell! Plus, given Little Aunt’s personality, over the years, she has never brought a man home, not even a child, unless you are Little Aunt’s boyfriend. If Little Aunt has truly accepted you in her heart, she would bring you here. Otherwise, even if you were rich and powerful, Little Aunt would not let you step inside the house," Tangtang sweetly explained.
"Haha," Zhang Xiaohao laughed.
"Big brother, you must be nicer to Little Aunt in the future! To take care of Tangtang, Little Aunt has suffered a lot and faced many difficulties! Otherwise, with Little Aunt’s qualifications, she could have gone abroad for further studies years ago. She gave up everything for Tangtang," Tangtang said.
"Don’t worry, Tangtang, I will take good care of your Little Aunt," Zhang Xiaohao assured her.
"Hmm! Tangtang believes you, big brother. I can smell whether someone is good or bad. You have a very nice aura, big brother; people with such an aura can’t be bad," Tangtang stated.
"Haha," Zhang Xiaohao touched his nose and gave a bitter smile.
He never thought he’d see the day when he’d be given a good guy label.
"Tangtang, can you tell me your story?" Zhang Xiaohao asked.
"Hmm," Tangtang nodded solemnly and began to recount her story.
As Tangtang spoke, Zhang Xiaohao gradually learned everything that had happened to her.
Five years ago, Tangtang was traveling with her parents when they were hit by a speeding bus.
In that accident, Tangtang’s parents perished, leaving only Tangtang as the survivor.
However, Tangtang had lost her most precious possession—her eyes would never see the light again.
To help Tangtang see the light once more, Li Jingru took her to the best ophthalmology hospitals across the country, spending all their savings in just one year.
Tangtang’s eyes still showed no sign of improvement, exhausting all their funds.
Dire for money to treat Tangtang and able to look after her as well, Li Jingru gave up a high-paying job overseas and worked for Nanhua City Airlines.
Recently, an ophthalmology hospital in M country called, saying they had found eyes that matched Tangtang’s, but since Tangtang’s blindness had lasted for so long, post-operation, there was only a slim chance of recovery.
At this point, Tangtang stopped talking.
"Tangtang really feels sorry for Little Aunt; she somehow came up with nearly four million RMB for the surgery. Tangtang knows Little Aunt must have made a huge sacrifice!" Tangtang said forlornly.
"Don’t be sad, Tangtang, that money was from me," Zhang Xiaohao said.
Recalling everything that had happened on the plane, it seemed Li Jingru had been desperate and had no other choice.
"Master Old Ghost was right! Fate has its own laws; sow the cause, reap the cause; sow the effect, reap the effect," Zhang Xiaohao suddenly remembered Master Old Ghost often saying this phrase.
"Ah! Big brother, are you serious? That money, was it really you who gave it to Little Aunt?" Tangtang asked excitedly.
"Yes, it was me who gave it. Since big brother is on a business trip and couldn’t come back, I transferred the money to your Little Aunt’s account," Zhang Xiaohao said with a smile.
"Yay! Thank you, big brother!" Tangtang thanked him.
"It’s what I should do," Zhang Xiaohao responded.
"Big brother, I know you’re a good person. Tangtang begs you to please take good care of Little Aunt in the future," Tangtang pleaded.
"I will!" assured Zhang Xiaohao.
Looking at the bandage near Tangtang’s eyes, Zhang Xiaohao spoke again.
"Tangtang, wouldn’t you like to see the light?"
"I don’t want to!" Tangtang shook her head.
"Why?" Zhang Xiaohao asked, puzzled.
"Tangtang doesn’t want to burden Little Aunt anymore!" Tangtang responded.
"Big brother here is a doctor, a very skilled one at that. Let big brother take a look at Tangtang’s eyes, okay?" Zhang Xiaohao asked gently.