Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Seeing his son’s resolve, Hua Zhiqiang nodded. ”Sigh, you’re grown up now, with your own ideas. I can’t control you anymore. Since you’ve even been through life and death, you’ve naturally figured a lot of things out. If you think being with that woman makes it all worthwhile, I won’t stand in your way. But you have to promise me you won’t break off the engagement now. You must wait until after Elder Gu is in power, or until the Guo Family proposes to end it. Can you do that?”

Hua Yusen knew the stakes were high and that this was indeed not something he could be willful about. He nodded and said, ”Yes, Father. Thank you for supporting and understanding me.”

”You’re my son. You’ve risked life and limb for the Hua family. If I don’t agree, you’ll just mope around and slack off. Besides, what you think is good now, you might not think is good later. After the engagement is broken off in two or three years, if you still feel you like her and want to be with her, I won’t stop you.” Hua Zhiqiang was a man, and he had been young once himself. He understood that feelings were unreliable things that faded with time; perhaps his son would fall for another woman. Matters of the heart could be set aside for now; career came first.

Hua Yusen already had a plan: he would ask Elder Gu for help once this period was over. He nodded and said, ”Yes, Father!”

After discussing the situation and potential strategies with his father, Hua Yusen returned to his room to write a letter to Zhao Nuanyue.

Hua Yusen didn’t just send Zhao Nuanyue a letter; he also used his own salary to buy fabric, leather shoes, vanishing cream, and other things to send along with it.

He hoped Zhao Nuanyue would wait for him. Once he finished handling matters in Jincheng City, he would break off the engagement and bring Nuanyue, Nuanyang, and Little Red Carp back.

After Wang Yuan returned to Jincheng City and saw her parents, she broke down in tears again, releasing all her pent-up tension and anxiety.

Doing something terrible had left Wang Yuan’s heart in torment. Even with the joy of completing her mission, her conscience screamed that she had caused someone’s death—and a remarkable person at that.

However, no one else knew. So, Wang Yuan collected herself, left the low, cluttered communal courtyard, and headed for Shijia Lane, which Guo Dongmei had mentioned before. She had to find Guo Dongmei and make her fulfill her promise. Wang Yuan wanted to return to the city; she wanted a job.

So, Wang Yuan wandered around the vicinity of Shijia Lane, asking about the Guo Family, and waited at their gate.

Finally, just as it was getting dark, a green jeep pulled up to the Guo Family’s gate, and Guo Dongmei got out.

”M-Mr. Guo!” Wang Yuan mustered her courage and stepped forward. She never wanted to go back to Nianqiao Village again; she wanted to stay in Jincheng City. ”Can... can we talk?”

Guo Dongmei turned her head and saw Wang Yuan.

Thinking of her recent run of good fortune, Guo Dongmei was very pleased. She gave Wang Yuan, who had performed this service for her, a few extra glances and said, ”Heh, it’s you. Come in.”

Wang Yuan hadn’t expected Guo Dongmei to be so gentle. It was a stark contrast to the vicious and cunning woman she had met that night in Nianqiao Village. Guo Dongmei’s smile, in particular, sent a shiver of fear through Wang Yuan.

”Thank you!” Wang Yuan said softly, following behind Guo Dongmei.

Once inside, Guo Dongmei met with Wang Yuan in a side courtyard and said, ”Heh, you did a good job.”

Wang Yuan was taken aback, then lowered her head and waved her hands dismissively. ”You’re too kind, Mr. Guo! You’re the one who gave me the opportunity!”

”Remember, I never gave you any opportunity.” Guo Dongmei’s lips parted as she spoke slowly, deliberately.

”I remember, I remember!” Wang Yuan replied hastily, fear gripping her heart. ”But what you said before...”

”You can return to the city, and a job will be arranged for you,” Guo Dongmei said slowly. ”However, no matter who asks or if an investigation comes your way, you will say you did nothing and that you have no connection to me. If you run your mouth, you and your family won’t see the sun rise tomorrow.”

Wang Yuan’s face went pale with fright. She nodded repeatedly. ”I didn’t do anything. Really. No matter who asks, that will be my answer.”

”You’re a smart girl. You know what to do.” Guo Dongmei smiled faintly. ”Alright, you can go now.”

As Wang Yuan stumbled away from the Guo Family home, dazed and covered in a cold sweat, she couldn’t tell if cooperating with Guo Dongmei had been the right decision or a terrible mistake.

After returning home, she came down with a cold and didn’t recover until after the New Year. She lost a lot of weight. However, while at home, Wang Yuan received some good news.

She could return to the city. What’s more, she had somehow gotten a logistics job at the large nearby textile mill with a monthly salary of thirty-eight yuan—more than her own father made.

The fear in her heart had faded with time. Now, hearing these two pieces of good news, she was beaming with joy.

Wang Yuan’s mother was baffled. She asked Wang Yuan in private, ”Yuan, we spent so much effort and couldn’t get you transferred back. How did you get transferred back now for no reason? And with a job in such a good textile mill, too?”

Of course, Wang Yuan didn’t dare tell her family about Guo Dongmei, so she had to find another excuse. ”I ran into an old classmate of mine,” she said. ”His family has connections. He said he’d arrange it for me, but I didn’t believe him at the time. I can’t believe he actually did it.”

”A classmate?” Her mother was taken aback for a moment, then quickly asked, ”A boy or a girl?”

”Mom, just stop asking. The point is, I have a job now, I can come back to the city, and I never have to go back to a place like the countryside again. Don’t you worry. With your daughter’s looks, I can definitely find a good husband. You don’t have to worry about a thing.” After saying this, Wang Yuan felt even happier.

Those words were meant to comfort her mother, but weren’t they also meant to comfort herself?

’I did it for my future, so I was forced into it. I absolutely don’t regret it.’

Back in the city, Wang Yuan used her saved-up money and ration coupons to buy and make new clothes and shoes, preparing for her new job as a proud worker.

However, Wang Yuan didn’t forget about Li Qiong and Zhao Nuanyue in Nianqiao Village. She sent them a letter telling them she wasn’t coming back and invited them to come visit her in Jincheng City someday.

One after another, Zhao Nuanyue and Li Qiong received letters from Hua Yusen and Wang Yuan.

”Nuanyue, Wang Yuan isn’t coming back,” Li Qiong said softly. ”She completed the formalities to return to the city and got a job. Even though I’m happy for her, I suddenly feel even more pitiful.”

Hearing Li Qiong’s words, Zhao Nuanyue found herself liking Li Qiong’s personality even more. ’It wasn’t easy to be so honest about one’s true feelings.’

”Heh, you’re a little envious, aren’t you?” Zhao Nuanyue chuckled. ”It’s normal to be envious. Being able to leave this place is a good thing for Wang Yuan, isn’t it? She always felt insecure after losing her innocence. Leaving this place of painful memories might let her live a little more freely.”