"Look, this is what your mother gave to your aunt. Do you recognize this bracelet?"
Zhou Lian recognized the bracelet, and she believed Lin Xinlan’s words.
The little girl’s eyes turned red in an instant. She pointed at the bracelet, opened her mouth, and cried out ’ah ah,’ but couldn’t say a word.
Lin Xinlan guessed her meaning: "Do you want it?"
She shook her head, still pointing at the bracelet, crying even harder.
"Are you asking where your mother is?"
She nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with tears and hopeful as she looked at her.
Lin Xinlan pulled her close and hugged her, whispering, "Your mother has gone to a faraway place, a place without pain, and she is very happy there. You will understand when you grow up. For now, do you want to go with your aunt? I will take you to a place to live where someone will take care of you. When your brother Zhou Xi comes back, he will take you home."
Zhou Lian was very reluctant to leave her small home, but she had to leave, as her mother wished, so she could only nod through her tears.
Reluctantly letting go despite not wanting to, Lin Xinlan was reminded of the time when she last left, of how Xiaocong looked back then.
He didn’t want her to go, yet had to let her leave, and cried as he begged her to go. How painful it must have been for him then.
Lin Xinlan couldn’t help but feel her eyes well up with tears, missing her son who wasn’t by her side all the more.
Fearing Zhou Lian would be too heartbroken, Lin Xinlan didn’t take her to visit Zhou Lian’s mother’s grave, nor did she go herself.
She simply bought Zhou Lian a lot of clothes and food, then took her to the orphanage.
She didn’t have the means to take care of the child herself and could only entrust her to others.
As she drove away from the orphanage, she took a detour to see Zhou Xi.
When Zhou Xi saw her, he was very surprised.
Lin Xinlan told him about his mother’s situation and then about his brother and sister.
After hearing it, Zhou Xi, despite his size, couldn’t help but cry vulnerably.
He was very grateful to Lin Xinlan for taking care of his mother and sister, but Lin Xinlan didn’t want his thanks. She just wanted to tell him so that he would know everything.
Not having much time to stay, after she had said what needed to be said, she left.
Back at the villa, seeing no one in the living room, she went upstairs.
Passing by Rong Shaoze’s study, she saw that the door was not completely closed and someone was talking inside.
As she approached, she happened to hear Gu Lao’s voice: "Young Master, this is your money. Here is the card. Apart from the hospitalization and burial fees, only ten thousand yuan was spent in total."
"What kind of grave did you choose that it’s so cheap?"
"It’s the cheapest plot. It was actually used by someone before. After that family became wealthy, they relocated the ashes, but since no one else wanted it, I bought it. I followed your order to dispose of that person’s ashes without wasting a single cent."
"Hmm, don’t let the Young Madam find out about this. She loves to meddle in others’ business, dealing with everyone’s problems. To spend ten thousand yuan burying her is more than benevolent. Even if we have money, we can’t waste it on someone completely unrelated. That ten thousand yuan is pretty much wasted."
"You’re right, Young Master. We have no relation to them. It’s already quite generous of us to do as much as we have."
Lin Xinlan’s face turned pale, and her hands trembled involuntarily.
She turned and ran downstairs, rushed out of the villa, and took a taxi to the graveyard.
Although she asked the tomb keeper for the exact location where Zhou Lian’s mother was buried, she still had to spend quite some effort to find it.