Chapter 219: Twenty-eight years ago

Twenty-eight years ago.

K City's winter welcomed the first heavy snowfall, the cold wind howling.

At that time, the Fuli Yuan was an orphanage, merely a drafty little bungalow; they couldn't afford coal, so heating relied on burning firewood.

Tang Ying was the daughter of the dean at the time, following her mother up the mountain to gather firewood; on the way back she saw a child crying loudly in the grass by the road.

Twenty-three-year-old Tang Ying trotted over, cursing: 'Which heartless person dumped a child again!'

"Wait." Mother called out to her, "Maybe it was accidentally lost; did you see? The child's blanket is blue, not pink—look at the pattern on top, it's an airplane. This blanket has been selling hot in malls lately, not cheap."

Tang Ying exclaimed in surprise: 'Ah? You can't just leave it here—the snow's been falling, it's even gotten into his mouth; I'll pick him up and cover him first.'

With her mother's consent, Tang Ying picked up the child; the face looked nothing like a boy's, she felt doubtful and reached out to touch.

"Mom! Not a boy! A girl!"

Tang Ying's mother immediately came over and looked—sure enough, it was a girl.

"Mom, this is the abandoned one! Everyone dislikes girls; I'd rather they have boys—wait until there are only boys and no girls left, then they won't be able to find wives."

"Stop shouting, wrap him up tight—tomorrow take him to the police station to ask about the situation."

"Oh." Tang Ying held the child tight, muttering as she walked, "You think it's possible that the whole family was hoping for a son, even prepared the blanket, but when a daughter was born they just threw her away?"

Mother scolded her: 'Wild guess.'

Tang Ying: 'Not necessarily a wild guess—Mom, wasn't it because you gave birth to me, a girl, that Grandma and Grandpa drove you out?'

Seeing her mother's unpleasant expression, Tang Ying immediately shut up and said sorry.

Mother wasn't angry, just rubbed her head and said: 'Whenever you think of this, think of your name.'

Tang Ying followed her mother's surname; Ying means 'welcome.'

Her mother was very welcoming of her arrival.

The next day, Tang Ying took the child to the police station with her mother.

After reporting the found child, the police station also helped search and asked other precincts if anyone had reported a missing child.

Tang Ying shuttled the child daily between the police station and the orphanage for fifteen straight days.

During that time the snow kept stopping and starting again.

On the sixteenth day, Mother said to her: 'Tang Ying, don't go anymore—if there were any news, we'd have heard by now.'

Tang Ying's eyes welled with tears: 'Just because she's a girl?'

Mother sighed ambiguously: 'Maybe. Maybe in a few decades, girls' fates won't be like this.'

Tang Ying looked at Mother: 'Can she stay with me? I found her, I brought her back.'

"You're not looking for a match for her?" (meaning looking for a husband's family)

Tang Ying shook her head: 'I'm twenty-three already; in my situation, no one wants me.'

Mother let out a heavy sigh.

From then on, Tang Ying raised the little girl she had brought back.

Because Mother had given her a good name, she also wanted to give the little girl a good name, hoping for a bright future.

Not long after, Mother died from overwork; Tang Ying took over the orphanage, gradually turning it into a proper children's welfare institute, then step by step expanding it into a social welfare institute.

Still, children remained the majority; elderly widows and widowers now go to nursing homes.

"You pretty much know what happened after—you grew up in the Fuli Yuan, studied hard in elementary and middle school, took the college entrance exam early in high school, and went to university in A City before you came of age."

"During summer and winter breaks you worked to earn living expenses, later to pay off student loans, rarely coming back; once you started graduate and doctoral studies you got even busier, until after you got married, you came back once a year—and that's how it is now."

Tang Ying is short-statured; whenever she speaks she has to look up at Jiang Lai.

In fact, she always thought Jiang Lai grew too tall, not like today's kids who are tall simply because they eat and drink well and get good nutrition.

Jiang Lai's height exists among southerners, but it's rare.

It's more like a northerner's.

But back then, northerners going south meant heading to the southernmost tip of China's map, not this area.

Jiang Lai bent over to hug the Dean Mom: 'You never told me I was the first child you picked up—no wonder I'm the only one who calls you Dean Mom.'

Tang Ying patted her back, laughing: 'Back then I didn't dare bring these up in front of you; now that you don't ask, we won't readily mention them either.'

"Thank you for bringing me back, Dean Mom."

"I know, I know." Tang Ying let go and asked, "Do you want to look for your family? We registered the info back then—paper records are kept, and we later organized digital files—but from that era, too little information could be preserved."

Jiang Lai pursed her lips: 'Let it be fate.'

If it was truly intentional abandonment, there's nothing to look for.

If it was unintentional loss, they'd surely search the whole world.

As long as she stands a little higher and persists in seeking her family, they will surely see her, feel a sense of familiarity, suspect, and draw near.

If we talk about someone intentionally getting close to her, Jiang Lai suddenly thought of Gu Yinxue.

However.

Gu Yinxue is likely because of Ke Zhongyu.

A City.

Ke Zhongyu screenshot the address Jiang Lai had sent over and sent it to Ke Zhongying.

Without a word, Ke Zhongying immediately understood and sent a voice message back.

"Childish."

【Broken Defense】

"You're the one who's broken! You've totally broken! You've completely broken!"

Ke Zhongyu put down his phone, summoned Assistant Zhou and two secretaries.

"I need to go to G Province, keep the exact itinerary secret, send an email if anything comes up, and move all meetings online."

He again reminded Assistant Zhou: "Pay attention to what's happening on Shen Xun's side."

Assistant Zhou: "Understood."

After giving the instructions, Ke Zhongyu called his sister, but the line was busy.

A short while later, Ke Zhongying came back.

"Did you get possessed? Call me."

Knowing she had just been on the phone with Jiang Lai, Ke Zhongyu directly instructed: "The matter of my trip to G Province is strictly forbidden to be told externally."

Hearing her older brother's stern voice, Ke Zhongying immediately complied: "Understood!"

"Mm." Ke Zhongyu hung up and set off light‑heartedly.

He doesn't have the habit of bringing luggage; one reason is that a secretary handles business trips, the other is that money can buy anything.

Ke Zhongyu landed at the capital airport of G Province, and Secretary Guan, who had rented a Kylin South, was already waiting for him.

Ke Zhongyu declined to have a driver accompany him.

He started navigation and drove himself for two and a half hours.

Jiang Lai received Ke Zhongyu's itinerary share, and at the same time checked the Ping'an information from Dean Mom, looking at how to go, transportation, accommodation and other issues.

She could handle all of that; her main concern was Ke Zhongyu.

After organizing for a while, she went to talk with the elders again.

Since they were her own people, Jiang Lai got straight to the point and asked, "What did the photographer who arrived recently ask you all?"

The gatekeeper elder, the canteen aunt, the dormitory supervisor aunt, the childcare hall aunt… each of them mentioned two points.

One was the development history of the Fuli Yuan, the other was whether the Fuli Yuan had produced any famous or notable people, such as those who appeared in the news.

The others only spoke of the former and shook their heads at the latter.

Only the childcare hall aunt said, "I mentioned you; Dean Tang showed me an article about you and let me read it to the children. I thought your matters were kept secret before, but now your affairs can be released, so I couldn't hold back and I said it."

Jiang Lai frowned.

"When did you say that?"

"The day before yesterday."

"The day before yesterday…" What did Gu Yinxue say this morning when she greeted me, not expecting this was the place she grew up?

To avoid misunderstanding, Jiang Lai asked many more details.

"Did you show her the article?"

"No."

"Did you tell her the name?"

"I didn't say, but a child said, 'It's A Lai sister!'"

"Did anyone ask again later?"

"No, after that she spent the rest of the time playing with the children, and the children were also very close to her."

Jiang Lai thought Gu Yinxue was like a maze.

One could say she was angry at Ke Zhongyu, yet didn't, like Lin Shutong, rush to provoke; this can be understood as a different personality.

But Gu Yinxue was still very attentive to her.

Jiang Lai asked the people around whether they had seen Gu Yinxue; someone pointed in a direction.

The archive room was also over there.

Jiang Lai walked over and saw Gu Yinxue holding a camera, shooting around; the lens was aimed at the archive room, then she shot elsewhere, as if just passing by.

"Miss Gu."

Gu Yinxue turned, put down the camera, and said, "Dr. Jiang, looking for me?"

She waved the camera in her hand and asked, "Any interest in being my model?"

Jiang Lai looked at her camera and asked, "May I see your material?"

"Of course." Gu Yinxue generously showed her, smiling brightly without saying anything.

Jiang Lai looked through it, found nothing private, and handed the camera back.

"Miss Gu, have you lately been researching the development history of the Fuli Yuan and whether any famous deeds have occurred?"

Gu Yinxue was startled.

Her question was very vague; only if Jiang Lai had asked everyone and then compiled and summarized could she have asked that.

People from the science and engineering fields are really hard to deal with.

"The development history is inevitable; as for famous deeds, Dr. Jiang wouldn't be unaware of the celebrity effect, would he?" Gu Yinxue said, "I'm also doing it for publicity."

Jiang Lai: "Did anyone mention me to you?"

Gu Yinxue nodded: "Yes, there was."

Jiang Lai: "Miss Gu, using me for publicity, you must be ready to meet the State Security Bureau; the interview with me was conducted by official media."

Gu Yinxue's smile froze on her face.

The next second, her smile blossomed again: "Thank you, Dr. Jiang, for the reminder; I won't act recklessly."

Jiang Lai returned with a faint smile, officially saying a wish for her smooth filming.

When the person left, Gu Yinxue, who had just been smiling and saying thank you, instantly darkened, her gaze at Jiang Lai's back becoming shadowed.

She had come here early to gather information, and the entire Fuli Yuan kept silent about Jiang Lai's affairs.

After finally getting familiar enough to ask a bit, hoping to stay longer to learn more, Jiang Lai returned.

She neither came back early nor late; yet she returned at this exact moment, directly disrupting her plan.

Is Jiang Lai no longer in a hurry to sue Lin Shutong?

Gu Yinxue decided to call Lin Shutong to ask about the situation—how did Jiang Lai suddenly run back to G Province?