Chapter Nineteenth: Heart Like a Knife Cut

  Zhang Qigui stood with his hands behind his back, hunched over, wearing a pair of old glasses, looking at the woman in front of him who seemed somewhat familiar but couldn't quite place where he had seen her before. A hint of anger appeared on his face as he shook his head and said:

  "Stop joking around! Although I have presbyopia, I'm wearing reading glasses! If you were that dead woman, I would've taken off my shoes and slapped you with the sole by now."

  Dead woman?

  Nianhong's heart skipped a beat, and a hint of sorrow flashed across her eyes.

  Am I really that unworthy in Fourth Uncle's eyes? Is he blaming me for leaving suddenly back then? Is he angry with me?

  Slowly turning around, his gaze swept over the subordinates around him, and he said in a low voice: "You retreat a thousand meters away, without my order, just wait there."

  "Yes!"

  Eight men and three women followed suit, clenched their fists in response, and quickly walked towards a distant place.

  Nianhong's eyes shifted back to Zhang Qigui, and she said bitterly: "Fourth Uncle, I'm really Nianhong. Twenty years ago, I left with a heart full of grievances. Now I've come back. How are Pin...Pin Chao and Xiao Yi doing?"

  Zhang Qigui stared blankly at Nianhong, carefully examining her for over ten seconds. Only then did his aged face turn gloomy, his eyebrows furrowed, and he asked in a deep voice: "Are you really Nianhong? Zhang Pinchao's wife? Xiao Yi's mother?"

  "Yes, yes, yes, Fourth Uncle, it's me!"

  Rainbow nodded excitedly in response.

  Zhang Qigui's body trembled, he turned his head to look at the four Audi cars beside him, then looked back at the neon lights and asked in a much louder tone: "In all these years, have you been doing well outside?"

  Nian Hong hesitated for a moment before speaking bitterly: "Fourth Uncle, when I left all those years ago, it was also because I had no choice. This time I've come back to make up for..."

  Zhang Qigui didn't give Nianhong a chance to finish speaking. His hunched body spun around twice, his eyes scanning the ground before he darted several meters away and picked up a branch from the ground. Only then did he shout with a furious expression: "Make up for what? You're just a dead woman! Get out of here, get far away! I don't care how well you're doing or how capable you are, just get lost!"

  Nianhong took two steps back, although she could have easily crushed Zhang Qigui like an ant. But she wasn't that kind of person. Zhang Qigui was a distant elder of the Zhang family, and her face turned pale as she asked with a sorrowful expression: "Fourth Uncle, what are you doing? I admit that over the years, I haven't fulfilled my duties as a wife and mother, but I also have my own difficulties! This time I came back, it was to..."

  Zhang Qigui took two steps forward, waved the branch in his hand and shouted angrily: "What are you thinking? Want to use your money and material things to compensate for their losses? You're dreaming! I'll tell you. Pinchao doesn't care about it, Xiaoyi doesn't care either. Get out of here, they've suffered enough already. If you dare to harass them again, I'll break your legs."

  What?

  They... have had a hard enough life?

  Tears welled up in her eyes as she faced Zhang Qigui's anger and scolding, her heart felt like it was being cut by a knife. Her white teeth bit into her lower lip, and she turned to run towards home.

  Can't wait anymore!

  She can't wait another second!

  She wants to see her husband and son immediately!

  Zhang Qigui did not expect Ni Hong to be so shameless, she actually ran towards the village, and his anger ignited in his chest. A lifetime of straightforwardness could not tolerate this woman disrupting their father-son life, although he knew that no one was home, he still waved the paper strip while drinking and chasing after her:

  "Stop right there, you're not allowed to enter our village. You've already done a terrible thing by abandoning your husband and child, why are you coming back? Aren't you just adding trouble for the two of them?"

  The old courtyard, still has the shadow of that year, the house has also been renovated, and there are several more families next door, but Nianhong can confirm that this is her own home, where she spent a few years of her happiest time.

  Staring blankly at the locked courtyard gate, neon tears fell like rain.

  "Fourth Grandfather, don't run! Be careful not to fall, what's going on?"

  Several young men ran over from an alley, watching Zhang Qigui rush towards the neon lights, and they also quickly ran past.

  Zhang Qigui seemed to have not heard the shouts of several young people, and after rushing in front of Nianhong, he roared angrily: "This is not your home, where did you come from, get out of here!"

  Ni Hong looked at Zhang Qigui who was blocking her way, seemingly not hearing his scolding, and muttered: "Where are they? Why aren't they home?"

  Zhang Qigui looked at Nianhong, who had a sorrowful face and tears streaming down her face. His anger dissipated somewhat, but he still said gruffly: "They've all left! You can leave too!"

  "Whoosh..."

  Niang knelt down in front of Zhang Qigui, crying: "Fourth Uncle, please tell me, where did they go? It was all my fault back then, please, I beg of you, tell me, where are they now?"

  Several young men rushed to Zhang Qigui's side, curiously sizing up the rainbow. One of them asked, "Fourth Grandfather, who is she?"

  Zhang Qigui looked at Nianhong's appearance, feeling very uncomfortable in his heart. He was very clear that when this woman disappeared without reason, Pinchao's child was anxious to the point of madness and fell seriously ill for nearly half a month before recovering.

  With a complex glance at several young people, Zhang Qigui angrily shouted: "Get out! Get out! This is none of your business. Go play wherever you should go!"

  Shivering with both hands, he took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it and took two deep puffs before looking at Nian Hong who was kneeling in front of him and sighing: "You can go! You are not worthy to be Pin Chao's wife, nor are you worthy to be Xiao Yi's mother, because you simply do not know how much suffering the father and son have endured over the years."

  Tears welled up in his eyes, and he sat down on the stone pedestal beside the door, sighing softly: "It's been twenty years, I've even forgotten what that kid Pin Chao looked like when he smiled. And I don't remember how many times Xiao Yi was scolded as a child for being a motherless little brat."

  Nianhong knelt on the ground, listening to every word and every sentence of Zhang Qigui, as if countless knives were cutting her heart, making it bleed profusely. The pain was like a tidal wave, causing her body to tremble, her teeth biting through her lower lip and bleeding, yet she didn't feel any pain at all.

  A few young people nearby, who had overheard Nianhong's identity, looked at her with disdain. One of them snorted and said: "So you're Xiao Yi's mother? You're really something else. I've never seen anyone abandon their own son before. It's a wonder that Xiao Yi has kept your photo in his wallet all these years."

  Another young man nodded and said angrily: "It's all because Xiao Yi's family is poor, they can't afford the betrothal gifts, so her mother dragged her to Xiao Yi's home to break off the engagement and humiliate him. Xiao Yi used to like her so much, he even had her photo in his wallet. I really don't understand why Xiao Yi still misses you, a woman like you doesn't deserve to be someone's mother."

  What?

  Nianhong lifted up her tear-stained face and looked at the young people in front of her with an unbelievable expression, hardly daring to believe what she had just heard!

  Can't afford the betrothal gift?

  Being jilted at home? Humiliation?

  In his son's wallet, was... his own photo?

  Rainbow's heart was bleeding, grief and regret biting her heart like a poisonous snake, making it hard for her to breathe. Big drops of tears fell from her eyes, sliding down her white face, wetting her collar, and dripping onto the ground.

  "Hmmph..."

  A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out from her mouth, and the chaotic breath in her body caused her to suffer internal injuries instantly.

  "Spit... spit blood? Are you okay?"

  Several young people changed their faces and squatted beside Ni Hong, with worried eyes asking.

  Zhang Qigui suddenly stood up, looking at Nianhong's pale face and the blood she spat out, his anger disappearing completely.

  "Get up... you get up!"

  Zhang Qigui let out a deep sigh and said.

  Nianhong shook her head with a bitter expression and asked in a trembling voice, "Fourth Uncle, you scolded me rightly, it's all my fault, tell me, where are they?"

  Zhang Qigui sighed: "Pin Chao followed Old Mo out and said he was going out to treat his illness, but I don't know when he'll be back?"

  Nianhong suddenly stood up, her eyes wide with anxiety, her fists clenched tightly, and a look of tension on her face. "Fourth Uncle," she asked urgently, "is Pinchao... is he ill? What's wrong with him? Is it serious?"

  Zhang Qigui shook his head and sighed, "I don't know, he didn't look like he was ill, but he told me he's going out to see a doctor and asked me to keep an eye on the house for him."

  Nihong took a deep breath and asked: "Where's Xiao Yi? Where did he go?"

  One of the young men standing beside him said, "He went to Jingnan City to study, seemingly at a medical college or something like that. In recent years, he has been studying traditional Chinese medicine under Master Mo."

  Reading books?

  Jingnan City Medical College?

  Nianhong's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately grabbed her phone, wiping away the blood from the corner of her mouth. She dialed a number and said in a low voice: "Chen Rui, investigate all medical schools in Jinan City... no, investigate all schools in Jinan City, find a student named Zhang Yi with ID information xxxx as soon as possible."

  "Yes, boss!"

  A calm and steady voice of a middle-aged man came from the phone.

  Nianhong hung up the phone and turned to Zhang Qigui, saying: "Fourth Uncle, can you tell me about Pinchao and Xiaoyi's affairs over the years?"

  Zhang Qigui's anger in his heart had dissipated, but he still didn't want to see Nianhong, so he coldly said: "If you want to know, ask them later, I have something else to do. You few, hurry up and get out of here! All day long not doing anything proper, just knowing how to wander around everywhere. If you had half the determination of Xiao Yi, your parents would probably be burning incense for good fortune!"

  That's it!

  He threw the branch in his hand on the ground and walked away with his back facing afar.

  Several young people exchanged a glance, all revealing bitter smiles, and without greeting Nihon, they walked away with their shoulders slumped.

  PS: New week, seeking all kinds of tickets!