Free Web NovelChapter 284: Chapter 284: Dingzi’s Lethality
After eating the dumplings, Gu’er didn’t go back. Instead, she squeezed onto the kang with Grandma Sun, Li Hua, and Aunt Zhao. ’It was too cold to bother going back now, and she wouldn’t get more than a few hours of sleep anyway.’
It had been almost a year since Gu’er had shared a large kang with anyone. She found it quite warm, mostly because she was sleeping next to people she loved.
With these thoughts, Gu’er drifted off to sleep.
Gu’er was woken up in the morning by the CRACKLE POP of firecrackers. She looked outside; the sky wasn’t fully light yet. She wanted to go back to sleep, but the firecrackers were relentless, and she could hear voices from the living room. Gu’er stretched and got out of bed.
At 5:30, Aunt Zhao had the dumplings boiled. Meanwhile, Sun Jiaming had taken a few of the younger men outside to set off more firecrackers. It was tradition to set them off after the first meal of the New Year was ready.
After eating the dumplings, everyone got back on the kang to chat. There was nothing else to do. During the New Year, there was no work—just eating, drinking, and talking.
As she listened, Gu’er dozed off again. She had been so busy the past few days and hadn’t rested well.
"Shh, let’s be quieter. Don’t wake Gu’er."
Grandma Sun noticed and quickly motioned for everyone to lower their voices.
Sun Jiaming watched Gu’er with a look of tender affection. ’It would be so nice if we were married. I could carry her back to our room and let her sleep properly. But I can’t do that now. If I carried her in front of so many people, she’d be too embarrassed to face anyone.’ Sun Jiaming could only take something to cover her with.
Li Hua nodded in satisfaction. ’Jia Ming is so thoughtful toward Gu’er. It seems Gu’er has found the right person.’
Gu’er was sleeping soundly. When she suddenly woke up, she realized she had fallen asleep. She listened; the room seemed quiet. ’Weren’t they just loudly discussing someone’s new wife a moment ago?’
Gu’er opened her eyes and saw that the room wasn’t empty at all. Grandma Sun and Li Hua were both there, watching her with smiles.
"I don’t know how I fell asleep."
Gu’er wasn’t embarrassed. They were her family, and there was no need to be reserved around them.
"Why don’t you sleep a little longer? You went to bed so late last night, and you’re always so tired. Don’t wear your body out."
Li Hua’s words were full of concern.
"I’m not sleeping anymore. I have to go over to the other house soon to prepare a meal. My dad is coming back today."
At the mention of Lin Shan, a smile returned to Gu’er’s face. She hadn’t seen him in almost a month.
Li Hua’s gaze dimmed for a moment. ’The man Gu’er used to call Dad was Zhou Mazi... It seems she hasn’t called him that in a long time. Then again, Zhou Mazi really doesn’t deserve to be her father. I wonder how Feng’er, Du’er, and Cai Zi are doing?’
Gu’er looked at Li Hua and knew what she was thinking. She sighed inwardly. ’This is how mothers are. No matter how bad their children are, they still worry about them... just like how I felt about Zhang Juan.’
Come to think of it, she hadn’t thought about Zhang Juan in a long time. ’Maybe the memories of my past life are slowly fading.’
"What’s everyone planning to do today?" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Gu’er tried to distract Li Hua.
"There’s not much to do. It’s freezing cold outside, so we can’t go anywhere. We’ll just stay home, watch TV, and chat."
Li Hua had never imagined she would one day live such a leisurely life. But even though it was relaxing, she felt restless and unsettled. That was why she had wanted to go over to Gu’er’s place to help clean.
"Gu’er, I think it’s about time. Let’s head over."
Sun Jiaming called from the doorway.
"Okay."
Gu’er immediately got off the kang and put on her shoes.
"Is everything we prepared for my dad ready?"
Gu’er asked as she put on her coat.
"Don’t worry, I’ve got it all ready."
Sun Jiaming nodded.
"Thank you, Brother Jia Ming."
Gu’er said her thanks.
"Look at you, why are you being so polite with Jia Ming? It’s what he ought to do."
Grandma Sun laughed. Everyone in the room laughed along.
Gu’er glanced at Sun Jiaming, her eyes full of sweetness.
Gu’er and Sun Jiaming had just gotten downstairs and were about to get on Sun Jiaming’s motorcycle when they heard a car horn HONK.
Gu’er looked up and saw Li Zhi beside a car, watching them smugly.
"What are you guys doing here?"
Gu’er and Sun Jiaming walked over to greet them.
"What? Not happy to see us?"
Li Zhi glanced at Gu’er, then added, "Isn’t Uncle Lin coming back today? We had nothing to do at home, so I went and picked up Dingzi and his grandma. We were planning to go with you guys to see Uncle Lin in a bit."
"Grandma’s here too? Goodness, why didn’t you come upstairs? Aren’t you worried she’ll get cold?"
Gu’er quickly opened the car door and helped Grandma Dingzi out.
"It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m not cold. I just didn’t want to disturb you if you were resting. Alright, don’t worry about me. I’m going to go chat with my old friend. You young folks go have fun, don’t mind me."
Grandma Dingzi got out of the car and headed inside as if she owned the place.
That’s what she said, but Gu’er still escorted her upstairs, saw her settled on the kang, and only then went back down to get in Li Zhi’s car and head to the Lin Family’s home.
When they arrived at the Lin Family’s home, Lin Shan hadn’t returned yet, and Chen Fengjiao was getting anxious.
Lin Sui’er was overjoyed to see Li Zhi. She grabbed his arm, looking like she wanted to throw herself into his embrace.
Li Zhi was completely embarrassed. He couldn’t break free no matter how he tried. When he told Lin Sui’er to let go, she acted as if she hadn’t heard him. He kept shooting desperate looks at Dingzi, hoping for help, but Dingzi pretended not to notice and wouldn’t even look his way.
"Did my dad call? What did he say?"
Gu’er checked the time. It was almost eleven. Even if the roads were bad, he should have arrived by now.
"He called this morning. He should be here by now. With no word from him, it’s making me sick with worry."
Chen Fengjiao was also anxious.
Back then, there were no cell phones, so there was no way to ask what was going on. Gu’er started to worry too. She turned to speak to Sun Jiaming and saw Li Zhi, whose arm was still being held in a death grip by Lin Sui’er. Li Zhi immediately shot her a look, pleading for her to help him.
"Why don’t we go meet my dad? There’s only one road, so we can’t miss him."
Gu’er said this partly because she was worried about Lin Shan, and partly because she couldn’t bear to see Li Zhi in such a state.
"Let’s go. I think meeting him on the way is a good idea."
Sun Jiaming said, standing up.
"Sui’er, let go. We’re going to pick up Uncle Lin. You wait here at home."
Li Zhi was internally thanking Gu’er profusely. ’This is the perfect excuse!’
"I’m going too. I’ll go with you."
But Sui’er wouldn’t let go of Li Zhi’s arm.
"No room."
Dingzi appeared at that moment, standing opposite Li Zhi and Lin Sui’er.
"Oh."
With just those two words from him, Lin Sui’er reluctantly let go with a pained expression. No one knew why Dingzi’s words carried so much weight.
"Mom, why don’t you let my sister stay home and cook with you? I’ll go with Brother Li and the others to pick up Dad, okay?"
Lin Sui’er didn’t dare to face Dingzi, so she tried to wheedle her way with Chen Fengjiao instead.
Before Chen Fengjiao could say anything, Gu’er had already put on her coat and opened the door. Chen Fengjiao could only swallow her words.
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Thank you to CreamyPearlRice, Melody Ranran, 6763hs, and Pacific Stone Monkey for the monthly tickets. Thank you all for your support. My child had a half-day of school today, and the parent-teacher committee was making bulletin boards, so I was swamped. That’s why the update is late. I hope you all can understand.
