The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Chen Fengjiao was so angry she wanted to slap Liu Fang across the face.

"You say you trust my father, and that’s because he does his job well enough to earn the people’s confidence. My mother and I are both very proud of him. But if you insist on staying in our house like this, it will cause ugly rumors. People who know the story might say you came here to work as a nanny to make a living. But those who don’t will think my father is having an affair and bringing women home. You know what kind of man my father is—he couldn’t be more upstanding. He would never, ever think of doing something like that. Since you trust him so much, you shouldn’t be trying to ruin his reputation, right?"

Gu’er watched Liu Fang, waiting to see what she would say.

"I... I don’t want to harm Brother Lin. Brother Lin is a good man. He helped me, he saved me. If it weren’t for him, I would have died long ago. I just want to repay him. I just want to serve him. For the rest of my life, I am his. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. I’ve chosen him."

As Liu Fang spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, making her look incredibly pitiful, yet her gaze held a stubborn resolve.

The conversation had come full circle. Liu Fang was offering herself to him.

"We don’t need you to repay us! We’ll be thanking our lucky stars if you just stop causing trouble."

Chen Fengjiao retorted sharply.

"I really don’t want to harm Brother Lin. I just want to serve him for the rest of my life. If he doesn’t want me, then I have no reason to live."

This was all Liu Fang would say; she had latched onto this one idea.

"If you have no reason to live, then go die!"

Chen Fengjiao couldn’t hold back anymore and exploded.

"If Brother Lin also tells me to die, then I’ll kill myself on the spot. When the time comes, I’ll have to ask Brother Lin and you, ma’am, to take in Chun Ya. If you can’t, then you might as well kill Chun Ya too. At least we’ll have each other for company on the road to the underworld, and she won’t have to suffer being bullied as a motherless child."

Liu Fang replied to Chen Fengjiao through her tears.

Chen Fengjiao was trembling with rage. She turned her head away, refusing to look at Liu Fang. She was afraid that if she looked at her for another second, she’d die of anger.

"I don’t want Mommy to die! You’re all bad people! You’re bullying my mommy!"

Chun Ya suddenly screamed and burst into tears. Liu Fang hugged her daughter and cried as well, acting as if they were the ones who had been terribly wronged.

"Enough. Stop crying."

Gu’er’s sudden, sharp rebuke made Liu Fang flinch. She looked at Gu’er with blurry, tear-filled eyes. Chun Ya hiccupped and sobbed quietly but didn’t dare to cry out loud anymore.

"Since you say you don’t want to harm my father, what if he were the one to talk to you about this? My father would never allow you to stay in our house like this. Think of the rumors it would start. If everyone my father has ever helped tried to repay him this way, our house wouldn’t be big enough even if it were ten times its current size. It’s his duty to serve the people. You don’t need to take it to heart. We aren’t looking for any repayment. You need to listen to my father. What if he told you to find a job and raise your child properly?"

Gu’er was questioning Liu Fang. ’You said you’d listen to my father, didn’t you? So will you listen if he tells you this?’

"If Brother Lin doesn’t want me, if he won’t take me in, then that’s just our fate. We’ll accept it. We’re homeless anyway. We’ll accept it even if we freeze or starve to death on the streets."

Liu Fang said this with a tragic expression, looking as pitiful as could be. She had made her stance clear: she wouldn’t go anywhere but the Lin Family’s home. If the Lin Family wouldn’t let her stay, she would take her child and wait downstairs, even if they froze or starved to death. She wasn’t going anywhere else, no matter what they said. It was no use even if Lin Shan told her to find a job. The only path she would walk was the one that led to her staying with the Lin Family.

Gu’er had finished probing, having said everything she could. But Liu Fang absolutely refused to budge. She was completely shameless, with an attitude of, ’Say what you will, I’m not changing.’

"Gu’er, do you hear that? She’s latched onto our family. It’s not that she has nowhere to go. She’s just shameless! She can’t find a man, so she’s dead set on clinging to your father."

Chen Fengjiao spat in Liu Fang’s direction.

But Liu Fang sat there quietly. ’Shameless? What face do I have left? I lost my dignity long ago, stripped away by my mother-in-law and the entire village. Since I couldn’t survive there, I have to find my own way to survive now. I don’t care what other people say, and I don’t care how they treat me. No matter how hard or difficult it gets, I’ve heard the ugliest words imaginable. I’ve set my sights on Lin Shan, and I’ve set my sights on the Lin Family.’

She glanced around the Lin Family’s home. ’I’m going to live here from now on,’ she thought. ’If Chen Fengjiao says no, and Lin Shan says no, I’ll just wait downstairs with my child. I don’t believe they can be so heartless. If they hit me, I can show everyone what they’re like. If they force me into a car and dump me somewhere else, I’ll just find my way back, as long as I’m not dead. I don’t believe they’d dare to sell me. So, I’ll just stick to the Lin Family. No matter how I get in or what my status is, as long as I’m obedient and willing to work, I’m sure that over time, Lin Shan will eventually develop feelings for me. When that day comes, my suffering will finally be over.’

In truth, there was a reason why Liu Fang had come looking for Lin Shan.

Liu Fang had been beautiful since she was a little girl. But in a village, being beautiful wasn’t always a good thing. Her life became difficult from the moment her sister-in-law married into the family. Her sister-in-law couldn’t stand her and made her do all sorts of chores. In the villagers’ eyes, a daughter would eventually marry out and belong to another family, while a son was the one who would care for you in old age. Because of this, her parents valued her brother and sister-in-law more. When her sister-in-law treated her poorly, her parents didn’t intervene. She could only endure it, hoping that things would get better once she married a good man who would treat her well.

As she grew up, her beauty and capable, nimble nature attracted many matchmakers. One family was particularly promising. She had secretly taken a look at the young man and found him quite handsome. She was very satisfied. The two families agreed she would marry him when she turned seventeen. But just one month before the wedding, the man died. The story was that he had gone into the city to buy her something and was killed by a falling object on the street.

When the news reached her, she was completely stunned. Afterward, the man’s family came to her home and cursed her, calling her a jinx and saying their son would never have died if not for her.

The betrothal gifts were all returned to his family, but they still wouldn’t let it go, causing several more scenes. Her sister-in-law cursed her daily, and from then on, she was known as a jinx.

With such a reputation, it was hard for her to find a husband. The only proposals she received were from much older men, widowers, or families so poor they couldn’t find a wife for their sons. Time dragged on until she was twenty. Eventually, she married Chun Ya’s father, You Ping.

You Ping didn’t have much family. He originally had two older brothers, but they hadn’t survived childhood, leaving only him. There was also his paralyzed, elderly mother. But no matter what, You Ping was a young man in his prime, far better than her other suitors. For the first two years of their marriage, she didn’t get pregnant, and her mother-in-law began to despise her. No matter how capable she was, her mother-in-law treated her poorly.

However, You Ping was good to her, and their relationship was strong. Later, when she had Chun Ya, her mother-in-law’s attitude, while still poor, improved slightly upon knowing she could bear children.

When Chun Ya was two, her mother-in-law, wanting a grandson, nagged them about it constantly. One day, You Ping came home exhausted from work, but the two of them still did the deed—twice, in fact—hoping to have a son sooner.

But for some reason, You Ping didn’t get up the next day. He fell ill and lingered for several months before finally passing away.