"I’m getting married this summer. The groom is my foster father’s eldest son, also a military man." He Zhilan smiled awkwardly and sighed, "I am an adopted daughter-in-law of the He family. My family is poor, and when my foster father adopted me, it was to marry me off to my elder brother. But don’t worry, my foster father treats me well, he loves me dearly. Otherwise, how could I, coming from a poor rural family, have had the chance to study at the capital’s university? After the human traffickers took me away, they told my foster father that my own parents had sold me because they didn’t want me. My brother and sister know that I was kidnapped, and I have asked them not to tell my foster father for now. He is a nice man, very honest. If he knew the truth, he’d blame himself terribly. He’s getting up in years now and I don’t want him to bear that kind of psychological torment."
This time, He Zhilan shared her genuine story. She dropped the pretense of childhood sweethearts, even though it was a bit hard to admit her real status as an adopted daughter-in-law. But that’s the truth.
"Mr. and Mrs. Gu must feel heartbroken if they knew their precious daughter became someone else’s unwanted child." Tan Heqian sighed.
Tan Heshu shook his head, "Knowing that their beloved daughter has become a rural adopted daughter-in-law to someone else would probably hurt them more. Their daughter is married, and they don’t even know about it, let alone participate in the wedding. This...this is just cruel to them."
"It’s been twelve years. During these years, I’ve been studying hard to get here to the capital. Because, I vaguely remember growing up in the capital when I was young, before I moved to a city in the south. I remember my grandparents are from the capital. Before coming here, I thought, once I arrived, I would definitely find them. But after I got here, I realized it’s not as easy as it sounds to locate them. I don’t remember their names, what they look like, where they lived. Twelve years have passed, and I dare not even think, whether my grandparents are still in this world. If they were, they would be in their sixties, approaching seventy now."
After He Zhilan finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Nearly seventy years old... Indeed, no one could guarantee if they were still living in this city, or for that matter, still alive.
"Zhilan, don’t worry, if the good Lord allows our paths to cross again, I’m sure He will lead you to your parents. After I go home, I’ll ask my family if we have any way to contact the neighbors from back then." Tan Heshu felt truly sorry for the little girl next door from childhood. Once adored by everyone as the Little Princess, she was now a rural adopted daughter-in-law, married off to a man arranged by others. Tan Heshu dared not ask her, how has she really been these years? He dared not ask her, how her husband treats her?
He feared that one question would inadvertently shatter her carefully constructed facade of lightness, and the tears she had just managed to hold back would spill over once again.
Since He Zhilan had a class to attend, she didn’t have much time to elaborate. After giving Tan Heshu her dormitory phone number, she rushed back to her dorm to grab her textbooks and hurry off to the classroom.
"Zhilan? How come you’re only just arriving? I thought you were going to be late today!" Jiang Biyun had been waiting specifically in the dorm for He Zhilan to go to school together. When she saw He Zhilan come in, she hurriedly handed her books over and said, "A woman called for you. She asked you to call her back when you got in. She has something to tell you. Oh yeah, she said her name was Bian Xiulin."