“Tiantian, Tiantian…”
The auntie was quite sturdy and strong, easily restraining the person with her strength.
It was then that Gu Jianing got a clear look at the person.
It was a woman, appearing to be in her early twenties.
Her hair was disheveled, tangled and messy, as if it hadn’t been washed in ages—frizzy and sticking out in all directions.
Her face was also smudged with dirt.
The woman was painfully thin, her patch-covered clothes hanging loosely on her frame.
Even as the auntie held her tightly, restricting her movements, the woman’s eyes remained fixed in Yueyue’s direction.
The emotions in her eyes were too complex for Gu Jianing to decipher in that moment.
However, Gu Jianing felt that if the auntie were to let go, this woman would likely rush straight toward Yueyue.
Moreover, it was clear that the woman wasn’t in a stable state of mind.
Just then, a few more villagers from Qianye Village passed by, and the auntie called out to them, asking for help to restrain the woman.
“Isn’t this Lin Shu? Wasn’t she fine before? What’s going on?” the villagers asked.
The auntie glanced at Xingxing and Yueyue, hesitating to speak.
The others followed her gaze and looked at the two children, their eyes lingering especially on Yueyue, who was dressed in pigtails and clearly styled as a little girl. Suddenly, they understood.
“It’s her, she really looks like her.”
Meanwhile, the woman named Lin Shu was still staring intently in Yueyue’s direction, calling out, “Tiantian, Tiantian…”
“Auntie Zhao, what’s going on? Who is this person?” Gu Jianing asked.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, comrade military wife. She must have scared you,” Auntie Zhao quickly apologized with an awkward smile before sighing as she looked at Lin Shu.
“Don’t blame Lin Shu. She’s had a hard life.”
“If it weren’t for that typhoon back then, she probably wouldn’t be like this now…”
Auntie Zhao began explaining the reason.
The incident had happened three years earlier.
Three years ago, Lin Shu wasn’t like this.
She was originally from Qianye Village but later married into the Li family in the neighboring village.
After marriage, Lin Shu didn’t conceive for years, which led to mistreatment in the Li household. At one point, her husband even threatened to divorce her.
Then, three years into the marriage, Lin Shu finally became pregnant.
She had placed great hope in this long-awaited child.
The Li family, meanwhile, hoped she would give birth to a son—and then many more sons after that.
However, after ten months of pregnancy and the pains of labor, Lin Shu gave birth to a daughter.
“Not only that, but she also had a difficult labor when delivering the girl.”
“The Li family initially refused to send her to the hospital, afraid of the cost, but eventually relented—hoping for a grandson.”
“At the hospital, she gave birth, but it was a girl.”
Because it was a daughter, the Li family resented Lin Shu deeply. Even her mother-in-law refused to help with her postpartum recovery.
The three-day hospital stay was only possible because the villagers of Qianye Village pooled money together to cover the expenses.
This act of kindness was tied to Lin Shu’s parents.
In the past, Lin Shu had parents who doted on her.
But when she was eight, a massive typhoon caused seawater to flood the island.
During the three-day storm, Lin Shu’s parents, who were strong swimmers, saved many villagers of Qianye Village.
However, they eventually exhausted their strength and drowned in the rising waters.
Eight-year-old Lin Shu was left an orphan.
The villagers of Qianye Village were grateful—Lin Shu’s parents had died saving them. How could they abandon her?
From that day on, Lin Shu relied on the kindness of the villagers for food and was able to attend elementary school.
Later, when she grew up, she began seeing the eldest son of the Li family from the neighboring village.
“That Li family was truly good at pretending.”
“They seemed like decent people with a good reputation, but in reality, they were a nest of heartless, inhuman beasts.”
When Lin Shu married the eldest Li son, the villagers of Qianye Village pooled money again to prepare a dowry for her.
After giving birth to a daughter and suffering complications that left her unable to have more children, the Li family treated both Lin Shu and her daughter coldly.
Even the eldest Li son was the same.
He refused to even give the child a name.
In the end, it was Lin Shu who named her daughter—Tiantian.
“Lin Shu truly loved Tiantian, even though…”
Even though her husband and the rest of the Li family treated her worse after the birth.
She still adored Tiantian and never blamed her.
To Lin Shu, this little girl was the child she had longed for.
A blessing from heaven.
No matter what, she loved her daughter unconditionally.
“Tiantian looked just like her mother—beautiful and adorable.”
“Her eyes were just like your daughter’s—bright, sparkling, as if they could speak.”
“That’s probably why Lin Shu mistook your girl for Tiantian.”
Though Lin Shu and Tiantian were mistreated in the Li household, the mother and daughter relied on each other, making life bearable.
“But the tragedy began three years ago…”
“Back then, Tiantian was only three years old…”
By then, Tiantian had grown into a sweet, well-behaved, and lovely little girl.
Lin Shu had raised her to be polite, and whenever they returned to Qianye Village, the villagers—young and old—adored her.
They would often give her small gifts.
One summer night three years ago, a typhoon suddenly hit Huansha Island.
Though not as severe as the one from over a decade earlier, it was still strong, with seawater flooding the shores again.
Everyone was scrambling to weather the storm.
The Li family ordered Lin Shu to help with the preparations.
“The winds were fierce, and Tiantian was still so small. Lin Shu was afraid it wouldn’t be safe to take her outside.”
“So she told Tiantian to stay home.”
“And Tiantian agreed.”
“But…”
Auntie Zhao and the other villagers’ eyes filled with sorrow.
Meanwhile, Lin Shu continued staring at Yueyue, calling out for Tiantian.
Auntie Zhao paused before continuing.
“When Lin Shu returned after working, she couldn’t find Tiantian anywhere in the house…”
She searched over and over but found no trace of her.
She asked her mother-in-law, but the old woman claimed she didn’t know.
With no other choice, Lin Shu braved the typhoon and rain to search outside, stumbling and falling repeatedly.
“Finally, Lin Shu found Tiantian, but…”
Tiantian was dead.
Her body had washed up near the shore. A fisherman had spotted something floating in the water and went to check—only to find a child.
When they pulled her out, it was Tiantian.
But she was already gone.
Drowned.
“The wind that night was relentless, and the rain poured down, cold and harsh against our faces.”
“But no matter how cold the storm was, it couldn’t compare to the chill of Tiantian’s lifeless body in Lin Shu’s arms.”
“And nothing could ever be as cold as Lin Shu’s heart after that.”
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