Chapter 134 – Lin Wangshu Arrives
When Xu Jinning woke up from her dream, she found that the corners of her eyes were wet, though her lips were curved in a smile.
It felt really good.
As it turned out, she was the original owner, and the original owner was her.
She hadn’t taken anything from anyone; she wasn’t a thief. She also deserved to be loved.
At that moment, Xu Jinning suddenly heard footsteps outside.
Without knowing why, she instinctively closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
The door was gently pushed open, and Xu Jinning felt someone approaching. It seemed like they were afraid of waking her up, as their footsteps were very light.
As the person got closer to her, Xu Jinning smelled the familiar scent on her, her mother’s scent.
Xu Jinning felt her forehead being touched and then her blanket being tucked in. After that, the person quietly closed the door and left.
Xu Jinning opened her eyes, stretched out her hand, and touched her forehead, as if she could still feel the warmth from her mother’s hands.
Xu Jinning didn’t know when her mother started coming to check her temperature at night and tuck her in, because she hadn’t noticed before. If she hadn’t been awake tonight, she might not have realized it now.
Did it start from when she had a fever? Or had it started from the beginning…
But regardless, at this moment, Xu Jinning felt warmth in her heart.
At this moment, Xu Jinning suddenly felt like she wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.
Not afraid of Lin Wangshu’s arrival, not afraid of the unknown future, not afraid of the strange settings of this world…
Family’s love and care seemed to become a strength in her heart, supporting her to bravely face the unknown future, to pursue happiness courageously, even if she’s just cannon fodder, even if she encounters the unfairness of fate, she will still strive to make the best of every day, cherish the present, move forward courageously, work hard, and carve out a destiny controlled by herself, not by fate!
*
Lin Wangshu sat on the train for more than ten hours, then took a cart and finally arrived at Qinghe Production Brigade.
This place, where she had grown up for fifteen years, and now, having left only a few months ago, Lin Wangshu looked at everything in front of her and inexplicably felt that everything was very strange.
Lin Wangshu thought, perhaps, it was because she never really belonged to this countryside.
After her biological parents found her, she integrated into the big city, and soon, she didn’t feel any discomfort.
Perhaps she was naturally suited to living in the big city.
Because her parents were city people, so she, their biological daughter, should also be naturally a city person.
Blood ties and family affection, these things are hard to change after all.
“Hey, aren’t you Xu family’s Fangfang? Is it you?”
As Lin Wangshu was thinking, someone suddenly came up to her and spoke to her.
She took a look, it was someone familiar, a former neighbor.
“It’s Aunt Xinghua, your eyesight is amazing, I am Fangfang.” Although Lin Wangshu didn’t like the name Xu Fangfang, it didn’t stop her from admitting it now.
Lin Wangshu probably had a natural ability; what she said on the surface could be completely different from what she thought in her heart.
“Oh my, it really is you, Fangfang! With your clothes from the big city, I almost couldn’t recognize you.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be with your biological parents? Why did you come back?”
“My biological parents are my parents, and the ones who raised me are also my parents. I missed them, so I came back to see them and bring some things for them.”
“Oh, you brought so many things, canned fruits, milk powder, and clothes… I knew it, Fangfang, you’re a good kid, a good girl. Back then, I always wanted my son Dazhuang to marry you.”
Xu Fangfang smiled but didn’t say anything.
She would never like or marry someone like Xu Dazhuang.
…
Next, along the way to the Xu family, Lin Wangshu encountered many other people from the village whom she knew before.
Everyone came up to greet Lin Wangshu.
Of course, some people ran ahead to inform the Xu family.
“Xu family’s Fangfang is back.”
“She’s right outside, and she brought a lot of good things for you guys.”
“Oh, Fangfang is such a good child.”
…
The person who came to inform them looked at Xu Jinning on the side while speaking, probably wanting to know what Xu Jinning’s thoughts were upon hearing about Xu Fangfang’s return and what kind of reaction the Xu family would have.
Perhaps they were also curious and wanted to watch how things unfolded.
It was around noon.
Outside, everyone was coming back from the fields, walking on the way home, and coincidentally, they all met Xu Fangfang.
At the Xu family’s side, except for Xu Aiguo, who was working in the city, Xu Xiangdong, Xu Xiangbei, and Xu Fanghua were all there.
Zhang Ailian understood what this person was thinking, so she quickly sent them away.
The whole family immediately looked nervously at Xu Jinning; they were afraid, afraid that Xu Fangfang’s return would affect Ningning.
Xu Fanghua directly held Xu Jinning’s hand and said, “Ningning, don’t be afraid. No matter what she does, remember, you are my biological sister.”
“Yes, you are my biological sister.”
“We are from the same mother.”
Xu Xiangdong and Xu Xiangbei echoed.
Before they awakened, they definitely favored Xu Fangfang.
But after awakening, their minds gradually cleared, especially after learning about Ningning’s past from their parents and hearing Xu Fangfang’s slander against Ningning. Their affection for Xu Fangfang gradually diminished, and their feelings were slowly eroded.
So now, their attitude and feelings towards Xu Jinning and Xu Fangfang are definitely different.
Xu Jinning is their full-blooded little sister, someone to protect, care for, and love.
And Xu Fangfang was just a guest.
Of course, if Xu Fangfang’s parents, the Lin family, had intentionally swapped the children initially, then the nature of the situation would have been different.
If the Lin family deliberately swapped the children, then the Lin family became enemies of the Xu family.
And Xu Fangfang, or rather, Lin Wangshu now, was considered the child of an enemy.
Some might argue that even if the Lin family swapped the children, Lin Wangshu was just a baby in swaddling clothes at the time, so she didn’t know anything.
But things couldn’t be calculated that way.
Lin Wangshu might not have known, but she enjoyed fifteen years of happiness and stability that her parents specifically provided for her.
So, she wasn’t completely innocent.
If one were to argue that Lin Wangshu was innocent because she was unaware, then it would be incredibly unfair to Ningning.
Therefore, the Xu family’s attitude towards Lin Wangshu was unanimous.
For now, she was treated as a guest, but in the future, if it were confirmed that the Lin family had indeed swapped the children, then Lin Wangshu would become someone they couldn’t socialize with, someone they would have to distance themselves from and treat with indifference.
I don’t understand such logic. If you take someone else’s place through no choice or fault of your own, how are you “not entirely innocent”? It’s nonsense. However we know that she is not innocent at all because she took actions herself and her intentions were also bad. But these are separate things.
well, if you think about it, even though the fang girl didn’t do anything, she was able to live a very good life, unlike our mc. so even if rationally you know the person did nothing wrong, emotionally it would be hard to accept. to them being nice to the fang girl is equiliant of ignoring all the suffering her parents cause our mc.
You phrased it just perfectly! Even if uncontrollable factors were at work, the fact is that others were consequently negatively impacted because of them.
Imagine if you were Xu Jinning and you had to see your biological parents treating their adoptive daughter the same as you, even though she’s not related to them and all the care and love she received should have been yours originally; it’s hard not feel unbalanced when the real is treated the same as the fake.
Now imagine if you were the biological parents, knowing what happened to your real daughter all those years while you took meticulous care of someone else’s daughter; you would feel guilty toward your own child’s hardship even though it’s not your fault and you might even start to blame the child who took your daughter’s place, even though it’s not their fault either. Such things are just hard to rationalize, so it’s best if the real and fake daughters live separate lives and not interact with their adoptive families; they can start their lives anew and not be constantly reminded about the familial love they missed out on all those years.