Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Yuan Yuan obediently curled up into a tiny ball in his blanket. He didn’t understand what his mother was rambling on about earlier but after playing for an entire day, he soon drifted off to sleep.
When he woke up, he found that he was inside a car and it was completely dark outside.
“Ma ma…” Yuan Yuan said as he rubbed at his eyes and looked at his mother in surprise. He clearly remembered that he was sleeping in his own bed, so why was he suddenly in a car?
This was what he thought but he didn’t know how to express his thoughts into words and could only look at his mother, then at the unknown man who was driving the car.
“Liu Zhi, do you think you could drive a little faster?” He Xiyan urged the driver. Liu Zhi was her university classmate and they weren’t that close, but after she gave him a huge sum of money, he immediately agreed to her request and sent her to a bus station at the county.
It was already daybreak by the time they arrived at the bus station and He Xiyan carried Yuan Yuan as she disembarked from the car. She didn’t take much with her and was only carrying a small travel backpack that was packed with food for Yuan Yuan.
She couldn’t use her identity card, so she could only rely on flagging down buses to get to get to her destination.
She waited more than 10 minutes for a bus, then flagged down a bus that was headed to Chuan City.
The county’s buses weren’t as strictly controlled as the buses at Ye City. As long as there were still seats on the bus, they would be able to stop in the middle of their journey to pick up passengers.
He Xiyan carried Yuan Yuan up the bus and she had wrapped herself up in many layers to prevent herself from being recognized. A thick scarf was wrapped around her neck and even her face was covered. The only parts of her that could be seen were her nose and area above it.
Yuan Yuan looked fearfully at the strange man and women on the bus and shrank into his mother’s embrace, holding her tightly.
He Xiyan patted her child’s back and said, “Don’t worry. We’re just taking a bus. Why don’t you go back to sleep? We would have arrived at your destination when you wake up next.”
Then, she coaxed Yuan Yuan to sleep.
Chuan City was around 600 kilometers away from Ye City and this was not where her ultimate destination was, but she was planning to stay a night at her classmate’s house, then book a car online to send her to her destination.
“Your child is so beautiful!” A woman who sat beside He Xiyan on the bus exclaimed in surprise. She had been staring at the child earlier and he was truly a lovely child. She had never seen such a beautiful baby in her life.
He Xiyan smiled awkwardly at the woman and said, “Thanks.”
“Hey, are you headed to Chuan City? Do you know how to speak their dialect?” The woman looked very friendly and she was very curious to know more about He Xiyan and Yuan Yuan. She longed to carry Yuan Yuan in her arms too since he was so beautiful.
He Xiyan shook her head awkwardly once more. She did not like speaking to strangers.
The woman felt a little disappointed when she saw that He Xiyan was ignoring her but she quickly found another topic and said, “Have you brought your child to get his fortunes told? I can do palm reading and bazi calculations. Why don’t you let me know his exact date and time of birth and I’ll tell his fortune for free?”
She said warmly. Then, she looked at Yuan Yuan who lay in He Xiyan’s arms.
He Xiyan was helpless against this woman’s continued badgering and she felt a sudden burst of irritation toward that woman. She looked around and quickly carried Yuan Yuan to the backseat when she spotted an empty seat at the back.
It was about 600 kilometers to Chuan City and so, they would only arrive in the afternoon after a five to six hour journey.