Jun Jianqing’s gaze settled on her. “You need to go to the hospital.”
Cheng Yan guessed her complexion must look terrible right now. She just smiled casually: “No need, I’ll just take some medicine later.”
Then she raised her wrist to check the time.
Jun Jianqing closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, she said flatly: “I won’t keep you then.”
The bodyguard behind her pushed her away.
The rhythmic friction of the rolling wheels resumed, growing farther and farther.
Cheng Yan quickly withdrew her gaze, looked down at the handkerchief in her hand, and frowned briefly.
But soon her expression returned to normal. She put the handkerchief away, found a random pharmacy nearby, bought her usual medicine, and directly used a disposable cup in the pharmacy to get some water to swallow it.
A while later, probably as the medicine took effect, she felt her stomach wasn’t cramping as much.
Smoothing her hair, Cheng Yan carried the medicine home.
“Oh dear, you’re finally back!”
Seeing Cheng Yan appear at the alley entrance, the woman who had been waiting there for some time hurriedly stopped her.
“Aunt Tian.”
The woman addressed as Aunt Tian was slightly plump, a look of urgency on her face: “Oh my, Yanyan, how could you take so long for breakfast? Come with me quickly, the contract-signing people are already here!”
As she pulled Cheng Yan along, she looked down and saw the medicine in the transparent plastic bag in her hand. Her brow furrowed, and she immediately asked with concern: “Are you sick?”
Cheng Yan let herself be led along: “Same old problem.”
Aunt Tian immediately asked: “Is your stomach hurting again?”
Cheng Yan smiled, which was an admission.
“But I’ve already taken medicine, so it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Aunt Tian sighed.
Probably because of the impending demolition, thinking that in a short while they’d have to move away from this place where they’d lived for decades, Aunt Tian had been especially prone to reminiscing about the past lately.
Or perhaps it wasn’t just Aunt Tian. Everyone who had lived in Gentle Wind Alley for over ten, twenty years, their favorite thing to do lately, after work, was to gather under any random tree in twos and threes, recalling old times.
They agreed to the demolition and relocation for a better future. But Gentle Wind Alley carried almost the entirety of their past. So many joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures were left here.
To them, wasn’t this also their homeland?
For Aunt Tian, this place wasn’t just homeland; it was filled with old friends.
Some old friends she could still say goodbye to. Others would never have the chance to say goodbye again.
“You, ah, you. This stomach problem of yours, you must take care to maintain it, eat meals on time, and absolutely don’t torment your stomach.” Aunt Tian chattered on. “I still remember that year, wasn’t it shortly after your tenth birthday? Your stomach condition flared up. This kid, you didn’t even know to find an adult. You just gritted through it alone at home and actually fainted from the pain!”
“It was Little He who went to find you to play, kept knocking on the door with no answer, and came to tell me that the ‘sister had gone out.’ I thought to myself, ‘I didn’t see her leave today,’ and hurriedly rushed over to find you.”
“I opened the door and—hah!—scared me half to death! Someone lying in the pitch-black living room! I almost stopped breathing!”
Aunt Tian recalled that day’s scene, her eyes still filled with heartache as she looked at her: “Your little face was so pale, covered in cold sweat. I was so frightened I quickly called your Uncle Tian, and we carried you to the hospital.”
“This kid has been stubborn since she was little. I said, you should move in with us. But you, you insisted you could handle it yourself. Such a small child, how could you possibly take care of yourself?”
Cheng Yan held her arm, smiling gently: “So all these years, Aunt Tian has worked hard. Not only taking care of Little He, but also worrying about me.”
Aunt Tian’s eyes reddened slightly. She patted her and sighed: “Your mother and I had a good relationship originally. Plus, back then, it was your father who was kind-hearted. When he saw your Uncle Tian couldn’t find work for a time, he asked around and found him a job. Your Uncle Tian and I slowly worked our way up to have the life we have now. So, this is all what I should do.”
She stopped, helping Cheng Yan tidy the stray strands of hair that had fallen. Her fingers weren’t delicate; instead, they had thin calluses from work. But her palm was broad and warm, making Cheng Yan feel dazed for a split second.
But she quickly came back to her senses, her eyes clear.
That woman’s hand was fair and delicate. The two were completely different.
Aunt Tian was still smiling: “But I haven’t really fussed that much. This kid, smart and sensible, so strong it makes people’s hearts ache.”
So young, yet unwilling to trouble others.
Not only mature and independent, but also smart, getting into such a good university.
Whenever Aunt Tian thought of these past events, her heart ached for Cheng Yan, and she felt regret for the child’s parents who had passed away so early.
“It’s all because of that damned fire…”
Without realizing it, Aunt Tian once again voiced that regretful, hateful disaster she’d spoken of countless times behind closed doors.
She paused, fearing Cheng Yan would be sad to hear it, and quickly stopped herself.
Cheng Yan, on the contrary, seeing her upset, smiled at her reassuringly: “It’s all in the past.”
Yes, it was all in the past. Ten years in a blink.
Aunt Tian rallied her spirits and asked: “I forgot to ask you these past few days. For this demolition compensation, are you planning to take the house or the relocation money?”
“The relocation money,” Cheng Yan said, clearly having thought it through already. “I took a look. The houses they’re offering, I’m not particularly fond of that neighborhood. I plan to keep the money for now and decide later.”
Aunt Tian nodded: “That works too. The people at Shihong are fairly reasonable. But you must save this compensation money well. Isn’t there some term online, ‘love-brained’? Auntie knows you’re smart and have good judgment, but you still have to remember: men are not to be trusted. Your own money must be guarded carefully.”
Some men, hearing a woman is holding such a large sum, their scheming thoughts—you don’t even know when they start. Especially when they see the girl has no capable parents to support her from behind. They want nothing more than to flay you, suck your marrow.
Terrifying.
Cheng Yan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Don’t worry, Aunt Tian. I won’t be cheated by some man.”
Aunt Tian nodded with satisfaction. After walking a bit further, seeing they were almost there, she tugged Cheng Yan’s sleeve again and seriously warned: “Some girls won’t do either.”
“…” Cheng Yan froze for a second.
Tian Qinghe had said her mother wouldn’t beat her up. It seemed whether she got beaten up or not was really up in the air.
But then again, that kid was already broken-hearted, so she didn’t need to worry about getting beaten up anymore.
At the meeting room where the agreements were being signed, since Shihong Company had prepared all the documents and compensation agreements thoroughly, and Cheng Yan had already had someone look into it beforehand, she now carefully reviewed the contract again. After determining there were no hidden linguistic traps, she signed her name.
The compensation for the residential building demolition was roughly about 4.7 million yuan. The contract also mentioned resettlement subsidies and potential incentive bonuses. All these added together came to about six million yuan in total.
Given Gentle Wind Alley’s situation, this sum was quite reasonable. Some demolition packages didn’t even include incentive bonuses, but Shihong offered them this time.
According to the contract, once all the procedural approvals were complete, this money would be deposited into her account.
Thinking of the future balance in her account, Cheng Yan’s mood improved slightly.
Though this money wasn’t much in Mingjiang City, even a mosquito’s leg was still meat.
Besides, six million—even just as mosquito meat, it was the fattest cut on the mosquito’s leg.
Even if she were to graduate and earn six million, it would still take quite some time.
Cheng Yan casually slipped the contract into the transparent plastic bag. Seeing her carelessly stuff the contract together with the medicine, Aunt Tian was taken aback. She turned back to find someone from Shihong and got a document folder for her.
“Here, use this to hold it. Wealth should not be flaunted.”
Cheng Yan laughed, complying with her wish and putting the contract into the document folder.
“Actually, it didn’t show anything just now.”
Aunt Tian’s face went stern: “This is worth several million.”
The two walked all the way back. Suddenly, Aunt Tian let out a sound: “Eh? Isn’t that Little He? What are she and her classmate doing playing over there?”
Cheng Yan also looked. It was indeed Tian Qinghe, wearing a white t-shirt and light blue jeans. Beside her was a girl in a light blue dress.
Looking closely for a couple of seconds, Cheng Yan realized she looked familiar.
Then it hit her—wasn’t this the girl who had broken Tian Qinghe’s heart yesterday?
The two were holding hands, looking like they’d made up.
Aunt Tian didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. She watched for a couple more moments, then lowered her head to send a message.
“I’ll ask her if she’s coming home for lunch.”
After sending it, she looked up and said to Cheng Yan, “Come over for lunch today. It’s been a long time since you’ve tasted Auntie’s cooking.”
The refusal swirled in her mouth for half a beat. Cheng Yan swallowed it and smiled, saying okay.
At noon, Tian Qinghe indeed didn’t come home for lunch. But Uncle and Aunt Tian had made a table full of dishes.
They were all light, easy-to-digest dishes, yet suited to her taste.
Cheng Yan ate until she was about eighty percent full, and Aunt Tian told her to put down her chopsticks.
“Your stomach was still upset this morning. Don’t eat too much. If you ever want to eat Auntie’s cooking again in the future, once we’ve moved, I’ll send you our new address. You’re always welcome.”
Cheng Yan felt warmth in her heart. Under Aunt Tian’s insistence, she promised repeatedly that she would definitely come in the future. Then, smiling, she bid them farewell and headed home.
Just before entering her house, she seemed to see Aunt Li and Uncle Li.
They were accompanied by a few strangers. Two were wearing uniforms identical to those worn by the Shihong Company staff she’d seen in the meeting room when signing the contract. There was also a woman, tall and graceful, wrapped in a white silk women’s casual suit. Her high heels clicked crisply. The woman had light golden, wavy hair paired with striking red lips, exuding a strong fashion sense.
Such a person appearing in the old, dilapidated Gentle Wind Alley was exceptionally eye-catching.
Cheng Yan looked a bit longer, guessing this was probably someone from Shihong’s upper management.
Shihong Company had taken on such a large-scale project, clearly intending to carry out an earth-shattering transformation of this land, building a famous international commercial district to make their mark and expand their influence further.
If so, they absolutely wouldn’t tolerate anyone sabotaging this plan.
In their eyes, the “stubborn” Aunt Li and Uncle Li were a problem urgently needing to be solved.
She just didn’t know what method they had used, that even Aunt Li, who this morning still had tears in her eyes, choked with emotion, and said she absolutely could not move, seemed to have softened her stance.
Watching their expressions, Cheng Yan felt a flicker of curiosity.
The fashionably dressed woman caught her gaze, looking over from afar.
Cheng Yan accidentally made eye contact with her. She curved her lips politely, then turned and closed the door, cutting off all lines of sight.
