Chapter 23

Aunt Zhou held her tightly. “Really, really.”

“My silly child, how much suffering have you endured.”

Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao still tried to squeeze some money out of Aunt Zhou.

But Aunt Zhou was no pushover.

“Buying my daughter from human traffickers is illegal, and you’ve abused her all these years.

“You still want money? I’ll send you both to jail!

“My son studied law, he’s a lawyer. He chose this profession just so he could stand up for his sister in the future!”

Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao couldn’t have children at first, so they bought Shasha.

Later, after having their own child, they felt they had wasted their money, and so they kept mistreating Shasha.

It had been so many years, it was hard to convict them.

But Linlin’s brother filed a lawsuit, and just the court summons was enough to scare Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao out of their wits.

It was right before the exams, and it was hard to transfer household registration out of the province, even harder to change environments at will.

Aunt Zhou rented an apartment near the repeat school.

She picked up and dropped off Linlin every day.

Before the exam, Linlin complained to me, “My mom watches me so closely, she wishes she could stick to me every second.”

“I’m not a child anymore, I’m already an adult.”

Because she had lost her once.

She couldn’t bear the pain of losing her again.

That’s why Aunt Zhou was so anxious.

At the end of the call, Linlin said, “Xiaoxia, do you think I’m dreaming?”

“Sometimes I have nightmares, dreaming I’m still that Shasha who was beaten, despised, and could never see a future.”

I answered firmly, “It’s not a dream.”

“Linlin, this is the happiness you should have had long ago.”

“Thank you, Xiaoxia. If you hadn’t insisted on helping me find my family all these years, I could never have returned to my parents.”

“Between us, there’s no need to say thank you.”

With Aunt Zhou’s meticulous care, Linlin’s grades improved even more.

The only regret was, she didn’t have much time left.

Soon, the Gaokao arrived.

She scored 546, 14 points above the First-tier Cutoff.

I encouraged her to apply to the city where her parents lived.

All these years, Aunt Zhou had wandered everywhere to find her. Now, the family deserved to be reunited.

Linlin was a little disappointed. “But I wanted to go to the same school as you.”

“Would being at different schools affect our relationship?”

“Of course not.”

“Besides, we can go to graduate school together.”

Linlin’s eyes lit up. “Yes! How about we apply to Peking University?”

I almost fainted. “Spare me, sis.”

“Do I look like Peking University material?”

“Just work a little harder!”

“Peking University isn’t something you get into just by working hard,” I said loudly. “Sometimes I really don’t want to talk to you smart people.”

Linlin laughed.

I laughed too, out of exasperation.

Actually, it doesn’t matter what school you go to.

Because we are always twin lotuses growing out of the mud together.

Two blossoms, side by side.

Life and death, inseparable.

Epilogue

Later, I learned that many people in the village, including my parents, knew Linlin was bought.

But they all kept silent.

Mom said, “They paid money for her. Your Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao are that kind of people. If they found out I reported them, they’d tear down my roof.”

Fortunately, retribution always comes.

After Linlin returned to her birth parents, Aunt Zhao’s precious son suddenly fell ill.

A hospital check revealed it was pancreatic cancer.

This cancer is called the king of cancers, incurable.

He passed away quickly.

Aunt Zhao cried so much her eyes nearly went blind, her hair turned white overnight.

Uncle Zhao drowned his sorrows in alcohol, fell down and was paralyzed on one side.

Privately, the villagers said the couple were destined to have no children, but Linlin was fated to have a brother.

Her brother was brought by her.

Unfortunately, Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao didn’t cherish him.

So when Linlin left, the brother died too.

Maybe this incident moved my parents.

After that, they treated me much better.

Always giving me living expenses, calling often to ask about me.

It’s a pity.

I understand their difficulties, but I can’t get close to them.

So we just keep a distant relationship.

On the other hand, Uncle Song and Aunt Zhou treat me extremely well.

Linlin even tried to set me up with her brother for a while.

Unfortunately, her brother already had someone he liked.

Linlin’s family lived in a villa.

The third floor was her own space.

To make up for lost time, Aunt Zhou would bring home anything Linlin glanced at.

Gradually, I could no longer find any trace of that child who once cried at the Earth God Temple.

That day it rained.

We dazed out on the glass terrace.

She pointed to the lotus flowers in the pond below. “Look, Twin Lotus.”

The Twin Lotus bloomed in the pond.

As white as moonlight.

Linlin tilted her head and smiled at me. “They’re so beautiful, leaning on each other to grow, just like us.”

(The End)