Chapter 20

Chen Nian’s tactics worked. Fang Zhi stopped packing her things and plopped down huffily on the edge of the bed, watching her little sister throw a full-on tantrum.

Seeing the moment was ripe, Liu Chunhua stepped into the room. She squatted down in front of Fang Zhi and said gently, “Zhizhi, even though the paperwork isn’t finalized yet, we truly see you as family. We have faith in this, and Auntie hopes you will too, okay?”

Fang Zhi lowered her eyes. It took a long while—long enough for Chen Nian’s knees to go numb from kneeling—before she finally moved her lips. “I don’t want to be added to someone else’s household register.”

Chen Nian scrambled to her feet and squatted down beside her mother, facing Fang Zhi. “The household register is just a little booklet. You don’t actually have to move there.”

Fang Zhi twisted her fingers. “I just don’t want to.”

Liu Chunhua reached out and patted Fang Zhi’s head. “All right, if you don’t want to, we can leave it under our family’s name…”

Chen Nian grabbed her arm. “Mom, listen to the kid. We need to ask for the real reason—get to the heart of it.”

Fang Zhi shot her a glare.

Chen Nian went on, “Mom, Sister’s practically grown up. We need to communicate with her properly.”

The corner of Fang Zhi’s mouth curved up ever so slightly.

“So,” Chen Nian continued, “Sister, what’s the main reason you don’t want to?”

Fang Zhi kept twisting her fingers and said nothing.

“Are you worried they’re bad people over there?” Chen Nian asked.

Fang Zhi shook her head.

“Are you afraid we’ll trick you and then ditch you later?”

Fang Zhi glanced up at Chen Nian, then shook her head again.

Chen Nian slumped, looking all dejected and pitiful in her clueless way. “Then what is it? I can’t guess anymore, Sister. Tell me.”

Finally, Fang Zhi spoke. “I don’t want to change my name.”

She paused. “My surname is Fang.”

She glanced at Liu Chunhua. “Auntie, can I skip changing the household register?”

Liu Chunhua froze. She realized that even after ten more years as a mother, she still might not fully unravel a child’s heart.

A child’s thoughts could be so simple one moment and so intricate the next. Their ways of coping could be as clumsy as a tantrum or as sharp and perceptive as an adult’s.

“Yes,” Liu Chunhua said. “You don’t have to change the household register. You don’t have to change your name. You’ll always be Fang.”

“But…” Chen Nian started.

Liu Chunhua now believed that any honest thought could be shared openly with children. “Zhizhi’s currently on the Welfare Institute’s collective household register. School districts might be a little tricky down the line, but it’s nothing major otherwise.”

“I want to go to the same school as… Sister,” Chen Nian blurted out.

Liu Chunhua’s hand came down on Chen Nian’s forehead with a sharp flick. “One thing at a time. Your mom guarantees both of you—I’ll take care of it.”

Chen Nian beamed. “Great! Then that’s settled too.”

Fang Zhi watched them, her eyes darting back and forth, her fingers twisting into what looked like a pretzel.

They… agreed? Just like that?

So easily?

She hadn’t been at the Welfare Institute long, but she’d heard plenty of adoption stories.

Adopting a child was like buying something. Putting them on your household register was like getting the receipt.

Only after changing the register, the surname—even the name—did the child truly belong to you. No matter what happened later, you held absolute rights over them.

Yet Chen Nian and her family had shelled out the money without taking the receipt. Fang Zhi felt stunned.

In the midst of her shock came a pang of discomfort—a sour, tender ache in her chest. It felt like she’d selfishly snatched away something that rightfully belonged to Chen Nian’s family.

After a long moment, she asked again, “Is it really okay?”

This time, Chen Nian answered. She gave Fang Zhi a hearty pat on the back. “Absolutely. My mom always keeps her word—she’s amazing. Don’t you want to go to the same school as me, too?”

Fang Zhi frowned. “I said the household register.”

Liu Chunhua burst out laughing. “Yes, yes! And it actually helps your uncle out. He’s been tearing his hair out over this one.”

It was true—he really had been at his wits’ end.

So when Liu Chunhua called Chen Junjie to report that she’d sorted the household register issue with the two girls—it would stay on the Welfare Institute’s collective register—he nearly burst into tears.

He sniffed hard, still a little reluctant to believe it. “Solved that easily? Zhizhi’s not upset?”

Liu Chunhua replied, “Nope.”

Chen Junjie pressed, “No way. That girl’s so sensitive…”

“No, really not.” Liu Chunhua burst out laughing. “Hey, this kind of thing all comes down to who’s handling it. Hand it to some folks, and they’ll botch it every time. But stick it with me? That’s no big deal at all…”

Chen Junjie: “…”

Chen Junjie: “If that’s nothing, I’m hanging up.”

Liu Chunhua: “There is something.”

Chen Junjie: “????”

Liu Chunhua: “Hurry up and wrap up the paperwork, then get Zhizhi enrolled in school. North Temple, too.”

Chen Junjie: “…”

He was the family’s all-purpose handyman, ready to pitch in wherever he was needed.

Fortunately, the major hurdles had been cleared. What remained was just some legwork and a bit of fussing.

By the day the Welfare Institute procedures were fully completed, Chen Junjie had already sorted things out with the school.

The school district system was still in its experimental phase and not overly rigid yet. Rather than going through higher channels, Chen Junjie simply reached out to an old classmate who taught there, and that did the trick.

His classmate said they’d need to take an entrance exam; as long as the scores were good enough, they could transfer the student records and officially enroll.

The classmate even praised him as a real do-gooder for adopting a child from the orphanage—and a girl, at that.

After a few rounds of drinks, the man slung an arm around Chen Junjie’s shoulders and, thoroughly sloshed, started slurring recommendations for stamina pills.

Chen Junjie: “…………….”

No matter how much hardship and bitterness lay behind the scenes, Chen Junjie always wiped the weariness from his face and came home grinning ear to ear.

His wife had remarked that the two children were plenty smart and could join in on big family discussions, so Chen Junjie spread the adoption papers across the table and convened their first-ever four-person family meeting.

Four chairs—two for adults, two for kids—sat in neat rows.

Chen Junjie cleared his throat and slid the file toward Fang Zhi. “You’ve picked up a good number of characters by now; feel free to take a look. Zhizhi, if anything’s unclear, just ask your uncle.”

Fang Zhi opened the envelope, skimmed two lines, then set it down and shook her head.

Chen Nian asked thoughtfully, “What’s wrong?”

Fang Zhi: “No need to look.”

Chen Nian reached for the papers. “Is there a problem?”

Fang Zhi pressed her hand down and pushed the file back toward Chen Junjie. “Uncle, I’m fine.”

Chen Junjie and Liu Chunhua exchanged a glance, at last savoring the sweet taste of trust.

Chen Junjie brightened up and rubbed his hands together. “All right, then. Your uncle has something else to discuss with you.”

Fang Zhi nodded.

Chen Junjie: “Your auntie and I want to convert the study into a new bedroom for you—get you some nice furniture and things, so you’ll have your very own room.”

Chen Nian’s eyes went wide. Chen Junjie quickly added, “It’s getting cramped with your uncle, auntie, and Niannian all sharing a bed. Niannian kicks up a storm at night!”

Chen Nian: “You’re the one who kicks me!”

Chen Junjie: “Ask your mom.”

Liu Chunhua: “All I know is somebody snores loud enough to rattle the bedframe.”

The three of them dissolved into laughter. Fang Zhi tugged at the corners of her mouth, trying to join in.

But just as her lips curved upward, all three turned to look at her with utter seriousness. Her smile froze in an awkward half-grin.

Fang Zhi: “…”

Chen Junjie: “Laugh! Why’d you stop? In this house, laugh as big as you want—no holding back. Like this: hahahahaha!”

Chen Nian: “Hahahahahahaha!”

Liu Chunhua: “…”

Liu Chunhua: “Zhizhi, you don’t have to copy them.”

Fang Zhi: “That bedroom…”

Liu Chunhua: “We already talked about this—once the paperwork’s done, we’ll get you a bed, a desk, all that stuff. Don’t worry about the cost; these are things that’ll last you years. Most practical investment there is.”

Fang Zhi nodded and asked her, “So… what do I need to do?”

Chen Junjie and Chen Nian both turned to Liu Chunhua. Chen Nian winked exaggeratedly, trying to signal her; Liu Chunhua rolled her eyes right back.

Liu Chunhua said, “Nothing special. Just be yourself and grow up happy—that’s all.”

Chen Nian slapped the table. “Well said! Perfect!”

Chen Junjie slapped the table too. “My wife’s the best!!!”

Chen Nian: “Every other family has a motto. We need one for our little family too.”

Chen Junjie: “Let Dad think…”

Chen Nian: “Grow up happy.”

Liu Chunhua met her eyes and grinned. “Grow old happy.”

Chen Junjie slammed the table. “My daughter and wife are the best!”

Fang Zhi finally broke into a real smile, a shallow dimple appearing as her eyes sparkled like they were brimming with stars.

Chen Junjie kept right on slapping the table. “Zhizhi’s the best too!!!!”

Fang Zhi: “????”

I don’t think I did anything special.

They really didn’t ask anything of her. After half a month with the Chen family, her uncle hadn’t required a thing from her, nor had her auntie.

Only Chen Nian would chatter endlessly at her side, begging her to read together, play games together, and do chores together.

But these weren’t things Fang Zhi hated. How could they possibly be?

Back when Fang Zhi had a dad and mom and a real home, doing these very things had turned her into her parents’ little darling.

Now, Fang Zhi even felt she might still have a shot at becoming one. Maybe pies really did fall from the sky, right onto her little head.

The next day, the whole family headed out together to pick little furniture for Fang Zhi’s new room.

Chen Nian charged ahead, wielding her hopelessly outdated sense of style to hunt for the trendiest of the trendy—stuff so cutting-edge it could survive two full fashion cycles.

She clashed hard with her parents on this. Dad was forever stuck on that stern old-cadre vibe, Mom on quaint pastoral florals, while Chen Nian favored bold solid colors. They bickered even over a trash can, leaving Fang Zhi giggling on the sidelines.

Naturally, the final say rested with Fang Zhi.

Round one: Mom. Round two: Chen Nian. Before round three could wrap, Dad swooped in with some ultra-fancy KFC—the height of sophistication back then—and set it before her.

Fang Zhi scrunched up her little brow, agonized over it forever, and still picked Chen Nian.

“Hahahahahaha! Not bad, Sis Zhi! Sis Zhi nailed it—true to herself, no bribes gonna sway her. Model citizen of our house!” crowed Chen Nian.

“Niannian, your Chinese is coming along great lately,” Dad said. “After New Year’s, how about Dad signs you up for the little writers’ class and Math Olympiad prep together?”

“…Mom!!!!!”

By day’s end, Chen Nian tallied the votes: hers came out on top.

She was thrilled, smug, blessed beyond measure—practically bubbling over with joy.

Liu Chunhua had already scoped out the big-ticket items ahead of time. She knew all the shops with unbeatable value, styles that matched the house perfectly.

Today was just for settling the final payment. By the time the family of four got home, the furniture had arrived right at the door.

Why not go all in? They revamped the whole place top to bottom.

Dad and Mom collapsed into bed, wiped out.

Fresh from her shower, Chen Nian spotted the light on in the new room. Towel-drying her hair, she wandered over. The door stood ajar, so she gave a soft knock anyway.

“Come in,” said Fang Zhi.

Chen Nian pushed inside. Fang Zhi perched on the bed’s edge amid crisp new bedding, the bedside lamp spilling a soft, warm glow.

The light played over Fang Zhi’s hair, bathing her in cozy warmth.

“Don’t crash here just yet,” Chen Nian told her. “Everything’s brand-new—give it a couple days to air out.”

Fang Zhi nodded. “Auntie mentioned that.”

Chen Nian drew closer and plopped into a chair, swinging her legs. “Just making sure you remembered.”

“I did,” said Fang Zhi.

“So you like the room, then.”

Fang Zhi pressed her lips together, silent.

Chen Nian grinned. The old Fang Zhizhu had worn her likes on her sleeve, chattering about them endlessly.

This Fang Zhi fought tooth and nail against anything she disliked but clammed up tight over her favorites. You had to coax it out—spot it in her eyes, her fidgeting fingers, ask and probe until it surfaced.

Chen Nian didn’t mind a bit. With her eyes locked on Fang Zhi, she could unearth every flicker of delight and pile it all right in front of her.

“Missing something,” Fang Zhi said abruptly, venturing a request for once.

“What?” asked Chen Nian.

“Flowers.”

No more words needed—Chen Nian got it instantly. “Tomorrow, wanna sneak back to the Welfare Institute and dig up our flowers?”

Fang Zhi nodded.

“Anything else?”

She shook her head.

Chen Nian hopped down, stepped forward, and bent to meet Fang Zhi’s gaze, flashing a dazzling smile. “Then be a good girl and hit the hay, okay? You were running around all day—you must be beat.”

Fang Zhi’s fingers twitched. She reached up and snatched the towel off Chen Nian’s head.

“I’ll dry your hair,” she said. “Little sisters sleep earlier than big sisters.”