He Teng watched from the sidelines in silence, understanding in his heart that He Zhilan was a very decisive person. Back then in the hospital room, he had overheard snippets of conversation between Lin Chan and He Zhilan. It seemed that both had suspected that Shang Cunshu would run into trouble. He also knew that if He Zhilan dared to wear those clothes, she must be confident that there was nothing wrong with them. So, he did not get involved.
Tan’s mother had come all the way by train and was weary from the journey. After finishing their meal, Tan’s mother and her party returned to their hotel to rest, while He Zhilan and the others went back to their schools.
As soon as Chen Xiting returned to her dormitory, the first thing she did was open up the dried meat Tan’s mother had made herself. Sitting next to He Zhilan, she chewed her food while idly paging through He Zhilan’s book. Seeing that it was all in a foreign language, she complained, "Doesn’t it feel like trying to understand astronomy?"
He Zhilan shook her head, "I find these foreign books quite easy to read now~As long as I don’t come across any obscure words, it is just like you reading in Chinese."
Chen Xiting gave He Zhilan an impressed stare, flipped through her book, took out the photos from it, and asked, "Are these the photos Aunt Tan brought for you? They are tucked in your book! Oh my, look at this chubby little girl, I really want to pinch these chubby cheeks, He Zhilan, you must have been a great eater as a child, am I right? You must have eaten much more than I do now, no wonder Aunt Tan mistakenly thought I was you among us three, since I am the fattest."
Hearing about the photos of He Zhilan, Jiang Biyun, with a curious exclamation, went over to take a closer look. It was a close-up shot of He Zhilan alone. Due to the angle, her chubby face was on full display in the photo.
Biyun suddenly understood Aunt Tan. It wasn’t that Aunt Tan had poor eyesight. She was right, anyone who saw you now wouldn’t recognize the you of the past. Oh, except perhaps for your husband’s family since they’ve watched you grow up."
He Zhilan shook her head, "Even if they were shown the photo, they might not recognize me because by the time I got to the He family, I had already lost quite a lot of weight. After being taken away by human traffickers, I didn’t immediately end up with the He family. I spent quite a while on the road and was initially bought by another family before eventually ending up with them. I was young and frail, I lost weight quickly. So, by the time I got to the He family, I had become thin."
"Oh, you poor thing~" Jiang Biyun stroked He Zhilan’s head gently, "Don’t worry, as long as your family is still out there, you’re bound to find them."
He Zhilan smiled at the two of them. After Gu En’s manipulation, He Zhilan was no longer as desperate to find her family as before, because she understood that the more impatient she was, the more likely she was to be taken advantage of. Aunt Tan also said that they had already waited for twelve years, they didn’t mind waiting a few more.
The Shang Cunshu incident blew up nationally a couple of days after Tan’s mother left, becoming a household topic. He Zhilan and Jiang Biyun arrived at the classroom early and heard everyone around discussing the matter.
"Lin Chan must be laughing in her dreams right about now." He Zhilan chuckled, shaking her head and muttered under her breath. Thinking about the predicament Ding Long and Lan Song were about to face, she felt rather pleased. Especially Lan Song, who had thought he had profited from Ding Long, only to realize he had brought back a ticking time bomb.