jdhmnovel Chapter 257 Flowers Bloom in the South of the City, Time to Return 28
Chapter 257 Flowers Bloom in the South of the City, Time to Return 28
Under their gaze, Shen Shuwan took a deep breath.
"I..." she began, her voice slightly hoarse, but she quickly regained her composure.
"I didn't have a good time in Hong Kong at first."
She began to recount how she was separated from her family in the chaos and how she went to unfamiliar places to find any work she could to make a living.
Although the tone was deliberately plain, even occasionally tinged with self-praise and playfulness, the deeper dangers and despair were omitted.
But even these seemingly minor hardships were enough to stir up a storm in the hearts of the Shen family, with a dense, stinging pain spreading through their souls.
They talked for a long time, so long that the night outside the window had become so dark that it was impossible to see through.
In the living room, the orange-yellow light remained, but it seemed unable to dispel the heavy and oppressive atmosphere that gradually spread.
"It's all in the past now, everything's alright."
Shen Shuwan raised her hand, wiped her slightly reddened eyes, and tried to force a bright smile to dispel the oppressive atmosphere in the room.
Shen Yirou felt an indescribable ache in her heart, and hugged her daughter even tighter, resting her chin on the top of her head, her voice choked with emotion yet incredibly firm:
"Yes, it's all in the past! From now on, your mother will never lose you again! I'll take you with me wherever I go."
“Okay!” Shen Shuwan immediately lifted her face from her mother’s arms, her eyebrows curving into a sly smile.
Her gaze passed over her mother and landed on Shen Xiangyi sitting opposite her, her voice clear and crisp as she continued:
"Father, Mother said she'd take me with her wherever she goes, so you're not allowed to secretly trip me up or find excuses to 'kidnap' Mother away again!!"
As she spoke, she deliberately imitated Shen Xiangyi's usual slightly stern frown, making her appear quite serious.
Even Shen Yirou, whose eyes were still red, couldn't help but laugh through her tears and gently patted her daughter: "You have no manners! You even dare to talk nonsense about your father!"
Shen Xiangyi was taken aback by her sudden "accusation," but then the smile in his eyes finally came out: "Oh? We'll see."
Seeing her father's familiar mischievous smile on his face, Shen Shuwan felt a chill run down her spine for no apparent reason.
The long-absent "alarm bell" faintly rang.
But she still stubbornly snorted softly through her nose and looked back at him with feigned toughness.
However, his slightly unfocused gaze betrayed a lack of confidence.
Shen Shuwan quickly coughed lightly and changed the subject: "But how did you know I was in Hong Kong? And what a coincidence that you got in touch with Mr. Huo?"
“You forgot,” Shen Lezi’s voice was still a little choked up, “You pawned the jade pendant… and I just happened to see it.”
She paused, her fingers unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes. "Later, Jiang Che... the Jiang family also helped us find some clues, which made us think you might be in Hong Kong. Later, we tried to get in touch with the Huo family... and he also helped."
Mentioning that name, a complex and indescribable emotion flashed across Shen Lezhi's face: "I'm sorry, Bao'er, if it weren't for my relationship with him, you wouldn't have suffered so much outside... I... I..."
She couldn't continue, lowered her head, and her shoulders trembled slightly.
Seeing her sister's state, Shen Shuwan quickly took her hand and gently shook it.
“Sister,” her voice was soft but firm, “this is not your fault, and of course you can’t blame him either. It’s all the fault of those petty people who only dare to do bad things behind people’s backs.”
She pouted, her tone carrying a familiar, childlike disdain, "Although... cough, I still hate that he wants to kidnap you!"
“But one thing is one thing,” Shen Shuwan said reluctantly, continuing to speak up for her “arch-enemy,” her face slightly furrowed as if she had eaten a sour plum.
“If you take your anger out on him because of this and take the blame on yourself, wouldn’t that make us a laughing stock for those truly malicious people? I would feel bad too.”
After she finished speaking, as if afraid her sister would misunderstand, she quickly raised a finger and added a statement with a serious expression:
"But sister, I'm not saying I agree to him being with you! He's still under observation in my eyes! Whether he passes my test depends on his behavior! If he treats you badly, or causes any trouble..."
She waved her little fist, looking like she was the first to disagree.
Looking at her younger sister's adorable expression—clearly feeling awkward but still trying to be "fair"—Shen Lezhi felt a bit of the gloom dissipate in her heart and couldn't help but smile, softly replying, "Okay."
But a lingering sense of complexity and sadness remained in that smile. She lowered her eyes, her voice as soft as a sigh, "But... he and I might really be... not a good match."
She was clearly unwilling to talk about her own romantic entanglements, and quickly shook her head, steering the conversation back to her sister: "Okay, let's not talk about me anymore, Bao'er, has that strange sound you heard before still appeared?"
“Yes, Bao’er,” Shen Yirou was reminded and immediately held her daughter’s hand with concern, “Do you think it’s because… because you leaked the information that you… suffered the backlash and were separated from us for so long?”
She recalled her daughter's almost prophetic warning before she went missing, and felt a chill run down her spine. "Isn't it said that revealing heavenly secrets will bring retribution? Is that why you've suffered so much?"
Shen Xiangyi and Shen Yicheng's expressions also became serious.
They naturally had their doubts, but at the time they hadn't found the person and didn't want to think about it. Now, upon careful consideration...
Shen Shuwan's heart tightened. For some reason, after spending a few days with 0077, she subconsciously chose to believe in it and didn't want to reveal the existence of the system to her family anymore.
She deliberately avoided mentioning anything related to the system, and even the lunchbox was thrown into the sea after she boarded the ship.
【Ding!
Task 1: Return home safely (long-distance teleportation items are prohibited), 10000 points, completed;
Task 2: Family safe and sound, 10000 points, completed;
Task 3: Maintain your persona, 5000 points, completed.
[Cumulative points: 119300.]
Please choose to leave or stay.
The system's voice sounded in her mind again, and her memories from the previous worlds suddenly returned. Shen Shuwan was slightly taken aback, then looked at the concerned gazes of the Shen family members and smiled, "Of course not!"
At the same time, silently recite it in your mind.
(Leave.)
"And... that 'voice' never appeared again! If there's any retribution, it'll probably have to bear it itself!"
She wasn't wrong, was she? Before 0077 left, she said she was locked in a dark room.
Moreover, now that the mission is complete, it will no longer appear in this world.
"Okay, okay, don't worry."
She grasped her mother's and sister's hands, shook them vigorously, her eyes curving into crescents, and said with absolute certainty, "It will definitely not appear again! I'm perfectly fine now, I can eat and sleep well, and I can even annoy Dad and Uncle!"
Shen Shuwan deliberately puffed out her small chest, raised her chin slightly, and winked in the direction of Shen Xiangyi and Shen Yicheng, her words full of provocation.
"Hey! You little rascal!" Shen Yicheng was the first to "lose his temper," pretending to roll up his sleeves and get ready to teach her a lesson. "You just got back and you're already climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles, huh? Are you itching for a beating?"
"Mother, save me!" Shen Shuwan immediately shrank her neck and snuggled closer into her mother's arms.
Shen Yirou chuckled and patted her back gently, then turned to her younger brother and said, "Alright, you're all grown up, don't argue with a child."
Although Shen Xiangyi didn't move, the slight raising of his eyebrows and the sudden deepening of the light in his eyes were more intimidating than Shen Yicheng's "threat".
Shen Shuwan was nestled in her mother's arms, making faces at her uncle, when she suddenly met her father's gaze. The little bit of smugness she felt, which she had been "bullying" others with, instantly deflated like a balloon punctured by a needle.
Oh no... I got carried away and forgot that Father is the one who holds the grudge the most!
The good days are over...