Chapter 402
Back in their room, Zhao Ger wanted to comfort Fang Zichen, but when he turned around, Fang Zichen looked perfectly fine again.
That was just who he was — he never let worries weigh on his mind.
He took everything in stride. Even if the sky was falling, he’d sleep on it first and deal with it after he woke up.
Zhao Ger let out a breath of relief. The two of them fooled around for a while before drifting off to sleep.
But in the dead of night, half-asleep, Zhao Ger heard movement beside him—Fang Zichen murmuring in his sleep. Listening closely, he realized he was calling out for his parents.
Zhao Ger knew that "dad and mom" meant father and mother. He got up and lit the oil lamp, and saw Fang Zichen drenched in sweat, crying out for his mom in his sleep.
[Here Fang Zichen says 爸爸 (bàba) and 媽媽 (māma)—modern terms for father and mother, commonly used in the 20th and 21st centuries.]
This had never happened before. Zhao Ger quickly shook him awake. "Husband, husband."
Fang Zichen's eyes flew open, his breathing quick and tense. For a second he couldn’t tell the dream from reality, confusion flickering in his gaze. "Zhao Ger?"
Zhao Ger took a handkerchief and wiped his sweat, worry etched on his face. "Husband, were you having a nightmare?"
Fang Zichen came to his senses a little, propping himself up slowly with a hand on his forehead. "Yeah."
Zhao Ger paused for a moment, then said softly, "I heard you calling for your parents. Were you dreaming about them?"
Fang Zichen gave a low "Mm."
Zhao Ger took his hand and studied his face carefully, not missing a single expression. "Are you missing them?"
"Of course I miss them!" Fang Zichen said. "I just dreamed that my mom and grandma cried so much they went blind. My second brother gave them two bowls and took them under a bridge to start a side business as beggars."
"…"
Zhao Ger knew it must have been Guaizai's words earlier that triggered such a dream for Fang Zichen.
Fang Zichen rarely talked about his past before this. Because whenever he did, and he realized he couldn't go back, he'd get upset and eat half a bowl less at dinner. He missed home—his parents, his two older brothers, his grandpa and grandma—so much it hurt.
Zhao Ger could see that clearly, so he never brought it up on his own.
But now, on a whim, he asked, "Can you tell me more about your life before?"
Fang Zichen really did miss his parents, so he started rambling on.
After listening for a while, Zhao Ger said sincerely, "Your parents were so good to you."
It was rare for anyone to treat an adopted child with no blood ties as if they were their own.
Especially in a family like the Fang family.
What was even more remarkable was that his two older brothers, faced with a child who would divide their parents' attention and affection, and might even one day share in the family inheritance, held not a trace of resentment and loved him like a real little brother. The Fangs were just good people to the core.
They had taken in Fang Zichen and watched him grow from a tiny little dumpling into a fair-skinned, soft, adorable, stunningly pretty child.
More endearing than any child they'd ever seen. Add to that his obedience and cheerful nature—not to mention that even Eldest Brother Fang, who'd always been quiet since childhood, was fiercely protective of him.
What did it matter if he wasn't blood-related?
Probably because of the Fang family's influence, and also because of who he was, Fang Zichen had always doted on Guaizai even before he knew the boy's true parentage. When the villagers said things like "you can't raise a child that's not your own," he'd curse right back at them. If they said anything too nasty, he'd grab a wooden stick and loiter outside their yard, scaring them half to death, then lean over their fence and say, "Still talking? Say it again and I'm coming inside."
Later, when Xiao Feng came along, Fang Zichen treated him just as well.
It wasn't that he had too much love to give or too much money to burn—it was that Xiao Feng was worth raising.
The deep mountains were dangerous. As a mere child of only a few years old, Xiao Feng had braved those dangers to forage for a living. The wild fruits he brought back were literally won with his life—yet he gave them freely to Zhao Ger and Guaizai, again and again. Back then, Zhao Ger had nothing to offer, but Xiao Feng gave anyway, expecting nothing in return.
Later, when Fang Zichen gave him two eggs, Xiao Feng remembered it forever. When he learned that Fang Zichen was in trouble, he had nothing else to give, so he risked his life again—venturing into the mountains to find medicinal herbs for him.
Fang Zichen never asked about the hardship involved, because he didn't need to—he already knew. The deep mountains had no paths, only tangled undergrowth. He'd gone there once to chop firewood, and the experience was miserable. The grass sliced at the skin, mosquitoes swarmed everywhere, and he had to bend over and search patch by patch — like looking for a needle in a haystack. He’d push aside weeds and rotten logs until his hands were covered in cuts...
After Zhao Ger took Xiao Feng in, the boy dressed well and ate well. Whatever Guaizai got, Fang Zichen made sure Xiao Feng got too. The villagers started saying how lucky he was.
But that wasn't quite right. What Fang Zichen gave him was only a small portion—but back then, what Xiao Feng gave to Zhao Ger and Fang Zichen was almost everything he had.
That couldn't be measured in gold or silver. It couldn't even be compared.
Whether it was Xiao Feng or the three children, Fang Zichen undeniably loved them deeply. And it was this journey in Da Xia that made Fang Zichen truly understand what his mother had said to him all those years ago—a child is a piece of flesh that falls from your body. There isn't a parent in the world who doesn't love their child.
His mother had told him that when he was four years old.
People usually only remember what made them exceptionally happy, or exceptionally hurt.
Because memory is like a cup of water — it can only hold so much. So it filters out everything that isn’t important enough.
Guaizai's words tonight had struck Fang Zichen as vaguely familiar. Now he remembered—of course they were familiar. Because his mother had said the exact same thing.
Back then, his mother had always been secretly investigating his birth background. When Fang Zichen found out, he asked why—was she trying to send him away?
And his mother had said those very words.
Xiao Chen, there's no parent who doesn't love their child. Have you ever thought that maybe you weren't abandoned—but rather…
What if you were stolen?
She was happy raising a son—but while she was happy, wasn't someone else's world falling apart?
Once that thought took root, it wouldn't stop growing. Mother Fang grew uneasy.
The Fang family had never thought of it that way before—because the place where Second Brother Fang found Fang Zichen was full of all sorts of people. It was near a university town, with several technical schools nearby, and the rental apartments down the back alleys were mostly filled with young couples living together, small-time street vendors, and migrant workers.
Back then, child abandonment wasn't uncommon—in fact, it was fairly common. Young couples who weren't ready got pregnant, or broke up later, too afraid to go to a hospital and unable to support a child, so they'd give birth and abandon the baby—or the child had some illness.
But after the adoption, when the Fang family took Fang Zichen for checkups, everything was fine. And as he grew older, he only became more striking in appearance—lively and adorable. When Mother Fang had free time and wasn't traveling for work, she'd often take Fang Zichen out for afternoon tea with her friends. Those friends would look at him and ask—was he really ugly when he was first born? Mother Fang said no.
Not all of Mother Fang's friends were wealthy stay-at-home wives. One of them worked at the police station—she was the one who had personally "escorted" Second Brother Fang to identify the scene back then, so she knew Fang Zichen's story well. Now, Yu Ying chimed in, "I can vouch for that. This kid was dirty back then, sure—but even then, he was obviously a pretty one."
If he hadn’t been easy on the eyes, that troublesome second son of the Fang family wouldn’t have picked him up in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment