Chapter 88: The Road of Exile, Part Thirty

After crying it all out, Lu Li grew even more attached to Shi Xianyu.

Shi Xianyu, true to her word, also began earnestly asking Ye Liuyun about every aspect of life in the oasis. Ye Liuyun happened to be on leave at home these days, so while teaching Shi Xianyu, she also taught Lu Li by the way: which oasis had the largest population, which mutated beasts were most dangerous, what conditions had to be met to become a warrior, why there was such a profession as a songstress, how women who could not serve as surrogates lived, and so on.

The three of them stayed home, spending three leisurely days of vacation in the company of cool air conditioning, potato chips, and soda.

During that time, Madam He came once more.

Because He Su, heartbroken, was drowning his sorrows in liquor at home, Madam He cast aside all dignity and pleaded bitterly with Shi Xianyu to go persuade her son. When Shi Xianyu refused, Madam He flew into a rage, accusing her of standing by and doing nothing. In the end, the neighborhood security staff forcibly drove her out.

After Madam He was sent away, Lu Li wrote in her drawing book: She must love her child very much.

Shi Xianyu thought for a moment, then said, “Maybe she does, very much. But that kind of love may not be what He Su needs. I think that as a mother, one should give a child the right amount of love. Too little, and the child will lack warmth; too much, and the child will only feel suffocated.”

After speaking, she gave Lu Li a playful wink and smiled. “I don’t even know if what I’m saying is right. If Little Li wants to be a mother when she grows up, we can learn together and make progress together.”

Lu Li smiled back and winked at her too.

Three days later, Ye Liuyun’s leave ended.

No one knew how she managed it, but she took on the task of training new recruits, and for at least the next half month she would not need to go on any missions; she only had to go to the camp every day to drill the newcomers.

In this way, although it was still work, the strain on her body was much lighter. When Shi Xianyu heard, she let out a huge sigh of relief.

Now only Lu Li’s problem remained unresolved.

The children’s home had suggested moving Lu Li into a new class, full of five- and six-year-olds who had just advanced from the nursery class, but Shi Xianyu felt that although Lu Li looked six, her actual age and mind were probably above eight. Keeping her with such young children somehow felt inappropriate.

But the children’s home was not a place where one could choose freely, and Shi Xianyu was still worrying over how to discuss and negotiate with them when news suddenly came from Lin Yuan: they had found Yu Jing.

The news came so abruptly that Shi Xianyu, upon hearing it, could scarcely react for a long while.

She had almost made up her mind to send Lu Li to the children’s home. She had even been telling herself over and over to adapt to local customs, to let Lu Li accept the oasis’s rules and the children’s home’s philosophy. And now — Yu Jing had been found.

Lin Yuan said, “I found several people with the same name, and the last one was confirmed to have moved from Qinghe Oasis to Longyan three years ago. She also has a three-year-old son, which basically matches what Chen Hao said.”

Shi Xianyu stared blankly and asked, “Then why… why had she never shown up before? Didn’t she see the missing-person notice?”

“Yu Jing said she did see it, but thought it was just someone with the same name, so she didn’t pay attention,” Lin Yuan replied.

“Why did she never look for Little Li?” Shi Xianyu asked again.

Lin Yuan frowned slightly and explained on Yu Jing’s behalf, “She said she thought her daughter was dead.”

Shi Xianyu was even more shocked. “How could she think that…”

“She said that at the time Lu Li was gravely ill and had already stopped breathing. She was also in a rush to leave Qinghe, so she took her son and left first. She even asked whether we were the ones who saved her daughter,” Lin Yuan said. “In any case, let’s take the child over first and let her see her.”

Shi Xianyu hesitated a little. “...She’s willing to take her daughter back now, right?”

Lin Yuan gave a slight nod, his gaze moving to Lu Li beside her. In a low voice he said, “Let’s send her over tonight. The sooner mother and daughter reunite, the better.”

Shi Xianyu thought for a while, then looked down at Lu Li and asked cautiously, “Little Li, do you want to go see your mother?”

Lu Li looked at Shi Xianyu, then at Lin Yuan, and finally nodded once.

She did not seem to object to seeing her mother.

Come to think of it, wasn’t finding her mother exactly what Little Li had always wished for?

And yet, suddenly having to part like this, Shi Xianyu still felt unprepared. Her heart was heavy and sour.

She packed the clothes Lu Li had worn during this time into a backpack, along with her favorite cloth dolls and toys, her cartoon water bottle, drawing albums, notebooks, colored pens... everything went in. One backpack was not enough, so she added a suitcase. Lu Li liked having her hair braided, so hair ties and clips had to come too. And her familiar pillow should be brought as well, just in case she couldn’t sleep in a new place...

Shi Xianyu busied herself from start to finish. Compared with her, Lu Li was much calmer, quietly lying across the table and drawing.

Seeing this, Shi Xianyu felt a little like laughing. Why was she even more nervous than Lu Li?

Ye Liuyun drove the car out of the garage.

Shi Xianyu and Lin Yuan took the child into the car.

Ye Liuyun teased Lu Li with a smile. “Little Li has to think of us in the future~”

Lu Li pursed her lips in a smile and, with her pen, wrote swiftly in the drawing book: I will come back to see you.

Shi Xianyu gently stroked her hair, and with a bitter tightness in her heart thought: This child still doesn’t know that after she goes back, it will be very hard to see each other again.

Perhaps sensing Shi Xianyu’s worry from the rearview mirror, Ye Liuyun said while driving, “That neighborhood is the residential district for the oasis’s upper-ranking officials’ families. Only the rich and powerful can live there. Don’t worry, Little Li will live very well there.”

Shi Xianyu slowly nodded.

At worst, the other side would not be willing to raise Lu Li, and she would be sent to the children’s home.

So there would always come a day when they had to part.

Only now, because Yu Jing had been found, that day had come early...

...

Ye Liuyun parked the car in front of a villa and got out to press the doorbell.

After waiting a moment, a woman came out of the house. Her features were somewhat similar to Lu Li’s, so she should be Yu Jing.

Shi Xianyu quietly sized her up: she had smooth long hair, wore a thin silk nightgown, and her skin was fair and delicate, untouched by harsh sunlight. One could tell she lived a life of comfort and privilege.

Since her living conditions were so good, Lu Li should not suffer too much following her.

When Yu Jing saw them bringing the child over, her gaze fell on Lu Li.

“Thank you for bringing my child to me,” Yu Jing said, opening the courtyard gate and smiling politely at them. “Come in and sit down.”

Shi Xianyu lowered her head to glance at Lu Li, then silently took her little hand and walked in with her...

Besides Yu Jing, there was also a little boy in the villa, sitting on the polished floor building blocks. Children’s toys were scattered everywhere in the living room, and a family portrait of three hung on the wall.

In fact, Shi Xianyu also had a family portrait in her hands, taken from the apartment where Lu Li had originally lived.

Only that family portrait had long since grown old and yellowed, its faces blurred beyond recognition, whereas the one before her was brand new and clear, every face shining with smiles.