Tian Guicang’s words sent a chill through Tian Aixiang’s heart. She stared at him for a long moment without speaking. Tian Guicang pressed his lips together, muttered, "You’re on your own," and quickly retreated back into the courtyard.

Tan Jinni sneered triumphantly at Tian Aixiang. "You saw your brother’s attitude," she said. "Listen up. You have nothing to do with our old Tian family anymore. If you have any shame, you’ll leave right now. You should think about it—you’re a woman who’s been locked up. Who would want you around? Hmph."

Tan Jinni scoffed at Tian Aixiang, spat on the ground, then turned and went back into the courtyard, shutting the gate with a SLAM.

Staring at the gate that had been closed in her face, Tian Aixiang felt dizzy and overwhelmed. She knew she could never go back to her family home. Clutching her bundle, she walked away, lost and dejected, toward the outskirts of the village.

The world was so vast, yet there was no place for Tian Aixiang to call her own...

Su Qing used the past two days to her advantage. She took a trip deep into the mountains and also found time to make a deal with Zhang Erlai. Only then did she pack her things and head to the county guesthouse to find Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo had been waiting for Su Qing at the guesthouse for the past two days. He breathed a sigh of relief when she finally showed up. He had grown anxious while waiting but hadn’t dared to rush her. For one, he was afraid of getting beaten again. For another, he worried that if he seemed too eager, he would arouse her suspicion.

The two went to Bingcheng and bought tickets for the trip to Li Aiguo’s home.

Li Aiguo’s home was in a second-tier city called Jia City. The journey required a transfer in Beijing. Two days later, Su Qing and Li Aiguo got off the train at the Jia City railway station.

Li Aiguo shot Su Qing a sidelong glance. ’Good grief,’ he thought. ’I’m the one who’s been paying for our meals these last two days. This damn girl hasn’t spent a single cent. Just great. I left with three hundred yuan, and now I’m down to my last bit of change—just enough for the two of us to take the bus home.’

Su Qing pretended not to notice Li Aiguo’s glare. After exiting the railway station, she looked around and said to him, "Uncle, so this is the place where my mom grew up. I’ve never been here before. I was supposed to have the chance to come with you all back then, but it’s a shame my body failed me. I got sick right before we were supposed to leave and missed out."

Hearing Su Qing bring up the past, a flicker of something crossed Li Aiguo’s eyes. He said, "That’s right, you couldn’t make it back then. But it’s a good thing you didn’t come along. Otherwise, you might have been hurt by those robbers."

Su Qing raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn’t be so sure," she said. "After all, Grandma is fine now, isn’t she? If you had been willing to wait a couple of days for me to get better, maybe we wouldn’t have run into any robbers at all."

Li Aiguo was at a loss for words. He fumed inwardly, ’This damn girl must be doing this on purpose.’

"Let’s go. The bus station is just up ahead. We should get home and rest." Li Aiguo quickly changed the subject. All he wanted was to get home and relax. After all the running around these past few days, he felt the old injury on his leg starting to ache faintly again.

"Alright," Su Qing said, not dwelling on the previous topic. She nodded and followed Li Aiguo to catch the bus.

The bus ride from the railway station to Li Aiguo’s home took over half an hour. After getting off, Su Qing followed Li Aiguo into a small alley and stopped in front of a courtyard house. Su Qing narrowed her eyes. Through the foliage in the courtyard, she could already get a clear view of the situation inside. It looked like Li Aiguo’s family lived in a pretty nice place. The courtyard was spacious, and there were quite a few rooms. They were clearly living comfortably.

"Liyue, I’m home!" Li Aiguo called out toward the house as he led Su Qing into the courtyard.

Su Qing saw a somewhat heavyset, middle-aged woman with high cheekbones run out of the house. The woman smiled at Li Aiguo and said, "Aiguo, you’re back."

Then, she turned to Su Qing, her face breaking into what seemed to be a kind smile. "Oh my, you must be Qingqing. You look so much like Xiao Wan. I’m your aunt."

"Aunt." The corners of Su Qing’s mouth curved, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She had seen it clearly. The moment this so-called aunt laid eyes on her, a flicker of shock had flashed in her eyes, as if something had caught her completely off guard. However, it was obvious this aunt was very skilled at hiding her true feelings, and the trace of surprise was quickly suppressed.

"Good child, come inside. You must be exhausted from the train ride." Zhao Li’e quickly took Su Qing’s hand and led her toward the house. "Oh, your grandma and your cousins have been so excited for you to come. Come to think of it, you’ve never even met them."

Su Qing raised an eyebrow and asked, "Aunt, where’s my mother? I want to see her."

Zhao Li’e paused, glanced back at Li Aiguo, and then smiled at Su Qing. "Of course. But you just got off the train, you should rest first. Your mother is sleeping right now. You can see her after she wakes up, alright?"

The corner of Su Qing’s mouth twitched into a smile. "Aunt, the whole reason I came was to see my mother. I want to see her first. It doesn’t matter if she’s sleeping. I just want to take a look."

"Ah, well, alright then." Zhao Li’e forced a smile. "Let’s go inside first. You can have a drink of water, I’ll take you to see your grandmother, and then I’ll take you to see your mother. How does that sound?"

"Okay." Su Qing’s lips were still curved in a faint smile as she gave a slight nod. "Then I’ll leave it to you, Aunt."

"Such a good, obedient girl," Zhao Li’e said with a smile. "Oh, right. I’ve prepared a room for you. Let’s put your things down first."

With that, Zhao Li’e led Su Qing to a room.

Su Qing surveyed the room. It was tidied up quite nicely. The bedding, table, and chairs were all in place. There was even a vase on the table with a bouquet of flowers in it.

Seeing the flowers, Su Qing’s eyes glinted. She looked at Zhao Li’e, and her smile grew even brighter.

Seeing Su Qing smile at her, Zhao Li’e smiled back. "So, what do you think? Do you like the room? You’ll be staying here for a while. If there’s anything you don’t like, just tell me. Don’t be a stranger."

"I love it. Thank you, Aunt," Su Qing replied with a beaming smile. "I especially like the flowers."

"Ah, I’m glad you like them," Zhao Li’e said, chuckling. "I just figured a young lady like you would surely like flowers and things, so I took the liberty of putting a vase of them in your room. I’m so glad you like them."

"I love them. You’ve gone to too much trouble, Aunt," Su Qing said, her eyes crinkling in a smile.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all. I’m just glad you like it." Zhao Li’e helped Su Qing put her wicker suitcase down in the room, then led her to the main hall.

A glass of water had already been poured and placed on the table in the main hall.