The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 179 - 178: She’s My Responsibility Now

"Okay."

That was He Yun speaking.

Liu Jian Country glanced at He Yun, looking like he wanted to say something but held back. His fists were clenched tightly, but after a moment, he lowered his head as well.

No one noticed Daya huddled in a corner, biting her finger as tears streamed from her eyes.

He Lang was hardly surprised. His eyes were simply filled with even more scorn.

Mrs. He gritted her teeth, her eyes fixed deadly on He Yun.

Mr. He nodded. "Since you both agree, do as the third son said. Go back and get it signed and stamped."

He Yun slowly got up from the floor and dragged Liu Jian Country away.

After He Yun and Liu Jian Country left, He Lang went over and pulled Daya to her feet.

"Let’s go. We’re going home."

Daya was completely silent, her head bowed, letting He Lang lead her away.

He Nan looked at his father in surprise. "What’s with our third brother?"

Mr. He glanced at him. "Don’t worry about him."

He Nan was baffled. ’This is getting even more confusing.’

Liu Jian Country was silent the whole way. He Yun tried to persuade him, sounding resigned. "It’s not that I’m cruel. I’m still terrified about Daya setting the house on fire. If it happens again, who knows what could happen? Besides, your parents can’t stand her anymore. From what your mother said, if we weren’t firm about leaving Daya with my family, they might really send her off somewhere. Have you forgotten what happened to Erya? We’d really never see her again for the rest of our lives."

Liu Jian Country said flatly, "What’s the difference between this and giving Daya away?"

He Yun sighed. "Well, what’s your solution? You agreed to it too, didn’t you?"

Liu Jian Country opened his mouth, but no words came out. ’It’s true,’ he thought. ’I let it happen.’

He Lang brought Daya back home. Shiyi and Ruanruan ran over as soon as they saw her.

"Big Sister Daya!"

"Big Sister Daya, I missed you so much," Shiyi said in his soft little voice.

Daya smiled and patted his head, but then she saw her own filthy hands and quickly pulled back.

Seeing Daya’s state, Xue Yue said with a pang of heartache, "Daya, are you alright? I heard from your uncle that he was the one who told you to pretend to be a fool. It must have been so hard on you."

Daya shook her head.

Speaking of pretending to be a fool, Daya recalled waking up late last night, thirsty. She had opened her eyes to find herself in a hospital. Her father was slumped over the side of the bed, snoring loudly, while her third uncle sat nearby. When he saw she was awake, he came over.

"Daya, how are you feeling?"

Daya shook her head. "Much better."

Then, Daya looked at He Lang and asked in a small voice, "Third Uncle, can I really not go to Beijing City with you all?"

He Lang glanced at Liu Jian Country, who was fast asleep, then leaned close to Daya’s ear and whispered for a long time.

"Pretend to be a fool?" After saying this, Daya immediately clapped a hand over her mouth.

He Lang chuckled. "That’s right. Can you do it?"

Daya hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I can. There’s a fool who lives on the street in front of our house. I’ve seen him lots of times."

"As long as you can do it. If you can’t imitate it perfectly, just act out and cause as much trouble as you can. Don’t be afraid of the trouble you might cause; Third Uncle is here for you. But I have to tell you in advance, if the Liu Family finds out you’ve become a fool, they will very likely abandon you. When that happens, I’ll take the opportunity to ask for you."

He Lang explained it all very clearly. After a moment of silence, Daya agreed. But a part of her still held onto a sliver of hope that even if she became a fool, her parents wouldn’t truly abandon her. Clearly, she was disappointed.

"Auntie, I want to take a bath."

Xue Yue nodded, patting her shoulder. "Go ahead."

In the bathroom, Daya squatted on the floor, letting the water pour down over her. Shielded by the sound, she could finally cry her heart out without holding back.

Daya stayed in the bathroom for over an hour. When she came out, Xue Yue saw her red, swollen eyes but didn’t say anything to expose her.

She simply led her into the room and handed her a bowl of chicken soup.

"Drink up. Your uncle told me you caught a cold and had a fever. Even though the fever’s gone, you still need to be careful."

Daya looked at the chicken soup in her hands, her lips pressed together. "Mm."

Xue Yue then handed Daya a red envelope. "This is your New Year’s money. Everyone got one."

When Daya heard everyone got one, she accepted it. "Thank you, Auntie."

"You’re welcome. Don’t think about anything. Go get some sleep."

Daya nodded.

After she finished the soup, Xue Yue had her go rest. Daya hadn’t fully recovered yet, so Xue Yue told her two children not to disturb Big Sister Daya, because she was sick.

Shiyi raised his hand and promised, "Mom, I won’t disturb Big Sister Daya! I won’t say a word." As he spoke, he covered his mouth.

Xue Yue smiled.

「After He Yun and Liu Jian Country returned.」

"What a hassle! What are they so worried about? Are they afraid we’re going to fight them for a fool?" Liu Jianwei said.

Mrs. Liu looked at Liu Jian Country. "Is the He Family really willing to take in Daya? They didn’t ask for anything?"

Liu Jian Country shook his head. "The only condition was what I just said: they want us to write a formal statement, sign it, and add our thumbprints."

Although Mrs. Liu was a bit suspicious, she was also relieved to be rid of such a burden, so she no longer found the hassle of signing and fingerprinting to be a problem.

The next morning, Liu Jian Country delivered the stamped document to the He Family.

He Lang took it and looked it over, then nodded. "This will do. From now on, Daya is my responsibility."

Liu Jian Country asked, "Can I see Daya one more time?"

He Lang shot him a sideways glance. "What’s there to see? Daya lived with you for years, and I never saw you show her much affection. What are you pretending for now?"

He Lang turned and left after speaking.

’Liu Jian Country and He Yun are both worthless.’ He Lang looked down on them from the bottom of his heart.

Liu Jian Country left Da Liushu Village, disappointed.

After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, it was time for Xue Yue and the others to return to Beijing City.

This time, He Zhendong was also going with them.

Because He Lang’s group was getting off halfway to transfer to a train for Yangcheng, and not returning to Beijing City with Xue Yue, they were taking He Zhendong along for the trip.

Before boarding the train, they called Xue Xingzhou and asked him to pick them up.

「Two days later.」

Xue Yue arrived in Beijing City with the children. Xue Xingzhou was already waiting outside the train station early.

"Uncle!"

"Uncle!"

Ruanruan and Shiyi hugged Xue Xingzhou’s legs affectionately for a good while. Xue Xingzhou laughed and asked them, "You were gone for so many days. Did you miss your uncle?"

"We did! I missed you so much I couldn’t sleep or eat," Shiyi said.

"Silly Shiyi, the saying is ’tossing and turning all night, too anxious to eat,’" Ruanruan corrected him.

Xue Xingzhou raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So Shiyi missed his uncle that much, huh?"

Shiyi nodded. "Yep! I missed you lots and lots."

Xue Yue shook her head, thinking to herself, ’Kids these days are such clever little devils. Who was it just a couple of days ago, hugging Xiao Yang and the others, crying that he didn’t want to leave? You’d never be able to tell now.’

"Alright, let’s talk more when we get home!"

Xue Yue was exhausted. Ever since He Lang’s group got off the train halfway, she had been traveling with several children and hadn’t dared to sleep at night. She was afraid a thief might break in during the night like last time, especially since it was just her and the kids.

Xue Xingzhou could see Xue Yue’s exhaustion and quickly drove them home.

As soon as she got back, Xue Yue went to catch up on sleep. He Ziqing was also a bit tired. The three children, on the other hand, seemed to be in high spirits and went with Xue Xingzhou to his place.

Zheng Guofeng had also spent the New Year at Xue Xingzhou’s new house and hadn’t gone back to work yet.