"Oh, come on, claiming she’s your granddaughter, give me a break! That little girl started taking care of herself when she was just ten. All these years, I haven’t seen any relatives from her family. If she’s your real grandma, would you really let your granddaughter fend for herself, living alone here? The neighbors are all watching, even the property management is warmer than the lot of you, giving the girl gifts during holidays and checking up on her. What kind of family are you? I see you more like enemies!"
The neighbor scolded the Hua Family harshly, then pulled the police aside.
"Officer, that child is really unfortunate. Her father killed her mother, and now he’s in prison. This family just abandoned her. If it weren’t for her mother’s friends dropping by every now and then to check on her, who knows how bad it would be. Such a young child, buying groceries and cooking by herself daily. Honestly, I’ve never seen a child so independent at her age. They say children from poor families grow up fast, but look at this whole household; none are poor. Visiting her? That’s laughable. They’re clearly picking a fight. You should teach them a lesson to prevent the girl from being scared!"
Upon hearing the whole story, the police officer’s heart instinctively softened. Everyone has their sense of right and wrong, and the neighbors spoke with facts. In contrast, the appearance of this family didn’t seem kind at all. The officer couldn’t help but ask, "Is the little girl at home?"
The neighbor shook their head, "Been knocking for a while; she’s probably out. That girl is an excellent student, got into Beijing Fourth Middle School, and even signed up for additional classes during every winter and summer vacation. She’s incredibly diligent and often stays at her guardian’s place. Doesn’t seem like she’s home."
The neighbor dared to say this because Hua Yan intentionally created this illusion and mentioned her vacation plans to them. She’s so young, frequently not home overnight; surely people would gossip. Though the neighbors usually keep their doors shut, any commotion gets observed through the peephole. To avoid misunderstandings, Hua Yan had wisely befriended the neighbors beforehand and often helped their kids with difficult homework.
So the saying goes, ’distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors,’ and see, they come in handy in critical times, right?
Needless to say, the police took those people away. The neighbors couldn’t be bothered with what happens next, as long as the doorway is clean and quiet, that’s what matters most.
Hua Yan was too occupied to notice until she crossed three levels, reaching level 19 after nine days, completely skipping Chinese New Year’s Day. It was on the fifth day of the first month, while she was cleaning and taking out the trash, when the neighbor informed her of the incident.
After hearing it, Hua Yan felt speechless but was deeply grateful and expressed thanks to the neighbor. Then, she checked her phone, filled with messages, mostly from Zhao Yun. That’s when she remembered forgetting to inform Zhao Yun, quickly dialing his number.
"Auntie, I’m sorry, I was out of town for a few days and met my grandma’s side of the family, got harassed, and had to turn off my phone. I got so busy I forgot all about it. I’m really sorry for having you worry for so long."
As kids grow older, holiday assignments pile up. Zhao Yun and his wife only stayed home for New Year’s Eve and the first two days before heading back on the third and fourth, only to return early on the fifth morning.
Zhao Yun was tidying up at home when he answered the phone.
"Glad you’re fine. Thanks to your cleverness, plus there were indeed some police inquiries about you before the New Year, I figured you might have turned off your phone because of that. Therefore, I waited for you to contact us. Now that you’re back, come over for a meal. It’s the New Year; you can’t spend it alone again."
Hua Yan felt warm inside hearing this, realizing she’s been lonely for years and could really use some family warmth.
So she didn’t refuse Zhao Yun’s kind offer. You can’t visit empty-handed on the New Year, so she rode her bike to the supermarket, bought fruits and milk, along with the braised beef Ning Hao liked, which she’d cooked earlier and preserved in space, and brought them over.
Hua Yan lived in building 8, Zhao Yun in building 6, not far apart, arriving under building 8 within ten minutes.
She had a key to Zhao Yun’s house but had never used it, instead becoming a backup when Ning Hao forgot his keys.