Chapter 155: Seeing Ghosts in Broad Daylight
Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Seeing Ghosts in Broad Daylight
Listening to the familiar voice, Li Sen and Li Lei exchanged a glance. "It’s Mom."
Fu Xiaoxiao listened to Chen Xiu’s suppressed sobbing and soft crying. The longing within those cries was deeply moving.
Both Li Lei and Li Sen had reddened eyes, wishing they could rush to Chen Xiu and hold her right at that moment.
At this time, the door was gently pushed open with a creak, and Li Yanan walked in, slowly approaching the bed and sitting down, gently patting Chen Xiu’s back. "Others might think something’s wrong with the kids, seeing you cry like this."
"...Mom." Chen Xiu was choked by her mother’s words and replied helplessly.
"If you don’t like what I’m saying, then stop crying. You cry like someone’s died every day; I’m afraid you’ll cry something bad into reality." Li Yanan said irritably, tapping her on the forehead. "If you had even a bit of that young girl’s temper, I’d let you go back. If you go back now, you can forget about having any dignity in the future."
"Mom, I just miss them so much that it hurts inside. I can’t sleep at night. Stone and Wood have never been away from me like this. I don’t know if they’re getting enough to eat or if there’s anyone taking care of them..." As Chen Xiu spoke, tears started flowing uncontrollably again.
"I don’t believe that Li Si is capable of taking care of the kids. But if you want to go back, I’m not willing either." Li Yanan felt the ache in her heart listening to Chen Xiu’s words, but as a mother herself, she couldn’t bear to see her daughter live without dignity in her husband’s family.
"Mom, what should I do..." Chen Xiu didn’t know what to do either. She knew going back meant never holding her head high again, but she couldn’t stop worrying about her children.
"Sigh..." Li Yanan sighed heavily and embraced Chen Xiu. "I wanted you to have a bit more backbone too. Letting you marry Li Si was my mistake from the start; I didn’t guard the gate well enough for you."
"Mom, how can I blame you? You did it for my own good. Who knew Li Si would turn out like this..." Seeing the guilt in Li Yanan’s eyes, Chen Xiu shook her head. "In the beginning, he treated me quite well too. But afterwards..."
Afterwards... It should have been after she got pregnant that Li Si’s attitude changed. When she was heavy and couldn’t turn over, needing to go to the bathroom often, she wanted Li Si to help her up, but he impatiently scolded her for being troublesome and interrupting his sleep.
Later, after Stone was born and her mother came to help her during her confinement, Li Si stayed away in the dormitory. Her mother took care of both her and the baby without him ever checking in.
Chen Xiu’s eyes darkened. There had been signs so early on, but she was so immersed in the joy of motherhood that she hadn’t noticed his change.
Going back was something she resisted, but the children... were her Achilles’ heel.
"I don’t even know how they’re doing now..." Chen Xiu lowered her head and took out a photo from under her pillow. It was the boldest thing she had done — taking the kids to get a photo taken despite Li Si’s opposition. In the photo were only her and the two children, without Li Si.
"Mom..." Upon hearing Chen Xiu’s words of longing from the other side of the window, Li Lei couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted toward the window.
"Mom, is Stone here? I heard Stone’s voice." Inside, Chen Xiu’s body froze as she heard her son’s voice. She stood up quickly, looking around.
Li Yanan shook her head. She seemed to have heard it too, but it wasn’t possible for the two children to be here. Only she and Chen Xiu were present. "You must be imagining it from missing them too much. How could they be here?"
"Yes... They should be at the military base now... How could they appear here..." Chen Xiu choked, covering her eyes.
"Mom." Li Sen shouted loudly.
Li Lei followed Li Sen’s lead and shouted again. "Mom! We’re here."
This time, both Li Yanan and Chen Xiu heard it. "Mom, I really heard it. It’s the voices of my Stone and Wood."
"Oh no, don’t tell me something happened to the kids? Are we seeing ghosts in broad daylight?" Li Yanan slapped her thigh heavily. The pain wrinkled her brow; there were only her and Chen Xiu in the room, and the thought that arose in her mind wasn’t good.
Could it be that the two children had become ghosts out of missing their mother too much and had come looking for her?
"Mom, we’re here! Mom..." Li Sen wanted to rush into Chen Xiu’s arms, shouting loudly, yet Chen Xiu didn’t approach the window.
"Oh, my babies, where are you? Come out and let mom see you, alright?" Chen Xiu also considered the possibility, yelling back, wanting them to appear and meet her. "Children, whether you’re human or ghosts, Mom is still your mom. Come on out. Is it because you can’t show yourselves in daylight? Mom will close the window for you now."
"Children, it’s Grandma — come out!" Li Yanan, too, was red-eyed, urging the children to come out.
Fu Xiaoxiao listened to the increasingly absurd conversation, unsure of what to say, covering her face with an amused smile.
What is this...?
A love affair between man and ghost?
Fu Xiaoxiao took Li Sen and Li Lei by the hand, signaled Lu Lin and Lu Chen to follow, and went directly to Chen Xiu’s place.
The door wasn’t locked, and the yard was empty. Fu Xiaoxiao looked at the only closed room, took the kids with wide steps to it, and knocked on the door.
As soon as she finished knocking, someone rushed over from inside. The door swung open powerfully. Fu Xiaoxiao was just about to speak when she saw Li Yanan, upon seeing Li Lei and Li Sen next to her, let out a scream and almost faint, about to fall.
Fu Xiaoxiao quickly let go and stepped forward to support Li Yanan. "Aunt, Aunt, don’t faint, wake up."
Chen Xiu stared blankly at Li Sen and Li Lei standing at the door. The two children she thought of day and night really appeared before her. Chen Xiu was choked with emotion, speechless, fearing it might be her imagination.
Trembling, she reached out, wanting to touch but afraid, fearing they’d disappear the next second.
"Mom." The two children didn’t care what Chen Xiu was thinking now. Their most direct response was to throw themselves into their mother’s arms, desperately wanting to feel her warmth.
Feeling the collision in her embrace, Chen Xiu realized that the two sons in front of her were living, breathing, warm people, and she immediately held them tightly in her arms. "Stone, Wood, my sons."
Fu Xiaoxiao and Lu Lin helped Li Yanan, who had fainted, to the bed to lie down, pressing on her philtrum, and Li Yanan slowly regained consciousness. Upon seeing Fu Xiaoxiao, she paused in surprise. "Young girl, why are you here?"
"Am I dreaming, or are my eyes playing tricks on me? I think I saw Stone and Wood..." Li Yanan thought she was dreaming, and without a word, slapped herself.
The "slap" startled Fu Xiaoxiao, who quickly grabbed her hand.
"Auntie, I’m Xiao Xiao, and this is real. I brought the kids back to Sister Chen Xiu." Fu Xiaoxiao quickly explained to prevent her from doing anything rash.
Hearing Fu Xiaoxiao’s words, Chen Xiu found it hard to believe and looked at Li Lei and Li Sen. "Did your Aunt Fu really say that? Did Li Si really agree to give you back to me?"