Chapter 281: He Jun
Chapter 281: Chapter 281: He Jun
Fu Xiaoxiao bore a seventy percent resemblance to the young Wang Xiuyue in the photo. The old man was so shocked he couldn’t speak, staring at Fu Xiaoxiao for a long time in silence.
"Chil... child, what’s your name? Is... is your mother still alive?" The old man, coming back to his senses, stretched out his hand tremblingly, wanting to touch yet not daring to.
"My name is Fu Xiaoxiao. I... I don’t know my mother’s name. I only know I was raised by foster parents. They said my mother left me at their home, gave them two hundred yuan, and left." Fu Xiaoxiao shared her story with the old man, exchanging a glance with Lu Feng.
"The resemblance is striking... how could I not have noticed earlier?" The more the old man looked at Fu Xiaoxiao, the more his eyes welled up with tears.
He had always remembered the way his wife looked when she left, but had forgotten her youthful appearance. If Fu Xiaoxiao hadn’t asked about it today, he wouldn’t have realized.
"Maybe it’s just coincidence! I don’t even know my mother’s situation. I only know she entrusted me to the Fu Family and left." Fu Xiaoxiao gazed at the old man, unsure of everything, and felt she couldn’t recognize the relation. At this time, there was no genetic testing to confirm if they were blood-related.
"Do you have this on you?" The old man pulled out a black cord from around his neck, tied to a jade piece with a yin-yang pattern, seemingly one of a pair. One piece was held in the old man’s hand.
Fu Xiaoxiao looked at the jade and shook her head. "My foster parents only said my mother left two hundred yuan, nothing else."
The old man’s eyes darkened, and he fell into a moment of suspended dialogue.
"Looking at this photo, I think this matter should be investigated thoroughly." Seeing the despair in Fu Xiaoxiao’s eyes, Lu Feng understood her fear that greater hope would bring greater disappointment.
"Your foster parents certainly hid something from you. Their attitude towards you and all you went through with them means you need to know the truth." Lu Feng looked at Fu Xiaoxiao, clasping her hand.
"Haven’t you always wanted to know why they treated you like that? This time, it’s a good opportunity." Lu Feng’s words made Fu Xiaoxiao lift her head and look at his encouraging eyes, feeling emboldened.
She wasn’t someone who liked to avoid problems; the Fu Family had to be hiding something.
"Alright." Fu Xiaoxiao looked up at the old man.
Hearing Fu Xiaoxiao’s decision to seek the truth, the old man’s face finally broke into a smile.
"I’ll help you." The old man stated earnestly, gazing at Fu Xiaoxiao’s face.
"Thank you." Fu Xiaoxiao looked at him. Although she wasn’t certain of his identity yet, if he truly was family, then he... might very well be her grandfather.
"Child, my name is He Jun." Seeing Fu Xiaoxiao looking at him, He Jun smiled gently, revealing his name to her.
"He Jun." Fu Xiaoxiao noted down the name. She only knew the old man was Lu Feng’s superior but didn’t know how powerful he was.
When Lu Feng heard the name, he lifted his head in shock.
"Commander..." Lu Feng tried to speak but was stopped by He Jun, shaking his head. "Here, there are no commanders, only Old Man He. If you’re willing, you can call me Grandpa He."
"Grandpa He." Fu Xiaoxiao and Lu Feng called out in unison, looking at He Jun.
"Could you tell me more about yourself?" He Jun looked at Fu Xiaoxiao, wanting to know more about her life.
What kind of environment nurtured her.
Fu Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, then started to speak from her childhood. "When I became aware, I knew I was the second daughter of the Fu Family, with an elder brother and a younger sister. However, Mom and Dad didn’t really like me. So I tried hard since I was young to help my mother with things, hoping they would notice me."
"Seeing that I could help, my mother was happy and rewarded me with a candy for the first time, even making new clothes for me from her old ones. That was my first piece of clothing that belonged to me. To make my mother love me more, I hoped to grow up quickly so I could help her more. Household chores, laundry, cooking—anything I could do, my mother was willing to teach me."
He Jun initially thought everything sounded fine, but the more he listened, the more peculiar it sounded.
"But later, my brother and sister went to school while I couldn’t, because my mother said my brother was the hope of the Fu Family; he needed to study hard to find a good job in the future. My sister was still young; she would hinder my work at home. Sending her to kindergarten would allow me to work in peace."
"I knew my mother didn’t want me to go to school, so I never asked. Later, a neighbor lady saw I wasn’t attending school and couldn’t stand it, so she spoke up for me. My parents, fearing others would think they mistreated me, enrolled me in school. I studied diligently. Every time my brother scored 100, Mom would be happy for a whole day, and I wanted to make her happy. But even when I scored 100, Mom would say, ’It’s just 100 this one time, nothing to be complacent about.’
Lu Feng frowned. Although Sun Ya disliked him, she never barred him from going to school.
Fu Xiaoxiao’s schooling opportunity came only because a neighbor couldn’t bear to watch and intervened.
He Jun clenched his hand into a fist, seeing Fu Xiaoxiao recount her past calmly, as if those words were as uneventful as her life back then, devoid of any excitement.
The Fu Family didn’t value her; she couldn’t gain any attention from them. She tried to fit in, her small body contributing so much, yet nothing changed.
From a warm-hearted and cheerful child, she gradually lost her smile, marginalizing herself, ceasing to seek acceptance from them.
Mrs. Fu’s demands were always on her; Fu Xiaocui and Fu Xiaojun were always exceptions. They could keep their wages, buy whatever they wanted, privileges she never had.
"No matter what I did, she wasn’t interested. Later, I got used to that life. Through the neighbor lady’s introduction, I found a temporary job. Each month, I handed over my wages, never daring to keep a cent. Until the resettlement policy came; my sister faced resettlement. Jobs in the city were scarce, and my mother demanded I give my job to my sister and resettle instead..."
Saying this, Fu Xiaoxiao looked at Lu Feng.
"At that time, I wanted to fight for myself. I didn’t want to resign to fate. Meeting Lu Feng was the greatest blessing of my life. He accepted me unconditionally, was willing to accept me even when I was penniless, and provided me with clothes. When I wanted to tell my foster parents about this, they thought I had resigned to my fate. My sister threw my things out the door, and my parents outright said they weren’t my biological parents. Under my persistent questioning, they finally told me the truth: back then, during the family’s escape, my mother, fearing I couldn’t endure the turbulence, asked the Fu Family to take me in."
Fu Xiaoxiao looked at He Jun, whose eyes were slightly red.