Although Zhao Nuanyue dreaded her stepfather and was suspicious of her mother, her biggest worry about returning to Jincheng City this time was Zhao Nuanyang.

"Huh?" Zhao Nuanyang asked dubiously. "What is this?"

"This is called Dragon Bright Grass. It’s something special. But you can’t tell anyone else; it has to be our secret. If you tell people I gave it to you, or if they find out what this Dragon Bright Grass does, they’ll lock both of us up. They won’t just starve us—they’ll beat and yell at us too." Zhao Nuanyue deliberately scared her brother, hoping he wouldn’t reveal something so miraculous.

"Mm-hmm!" Zhao Nuanyang nodded. "I won’t tell. Nuanyang won’t tell."

To make the Dragon Bright Grass comfortable to wear around his neck, Zhao Nuanyue had even found a beautiful seashell in the Dragon Palace and had the Little Red Carp drill a hole through it to string the grass.

Her brother was very obedient, which made Zhao Nuanyue feel a little relieved.

Zhao Nuanyue took some money and fare tickets from her pocket and got on the bus. It was a long journey; they had to transfer three times before finally arriving at Zhao Jinghai’s work unit.

No one had come to pick them up when they arrived in Jincheng City. It was obvious that their family didn’t care about them, which put Zhao Nuanyue on high alert.

When they got to the work unit, the guard at the gate wouldn’t let them in. The brother and sister had been gone for half a year, and the soldier on duty was new and didn’t recognize them.

"Sir, could you please notify Zhao Jinghai’s family that we’re here? We’re his relatives," Zhao Nuanyue said softly. "Just tell them Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang have arrived."

Seeing that the siblings were polite and had given full names, the guard made a call inside.

A short while later, the guard came out and said, "Wait here. Someone will come to let you in."

"Thank you," Zhao Nuanyue said, pulling her brother to stand under the sun as they waited to be picked up.

But they waited from noon until dusk, and even after the sun went down, no one had come.

"Sis, I’m hungry." Zhao Nuanyang rubbed his stomach, looking up at his sister pitifully.

’Those people in Zhao Jinghai’s family are real pieces of work,’ Zhao Nuanyue cursed inwardly. ’We’re already here, and they’re still not letting us in, leaving us to freeze outside all afternoon.’

’If you dare treat me this way, I’ll make sure none of you get off easy.’

Zhao Nuanyue took two peach-kernel cookies from her bundle, giving one to her brother and keeping one for herself.

"Nuanyang, eat this first to tide you over. We’ll be able to go inside soon," Zhao Nuanyue comforted him in a low voice. "Once your tummy is full and you’re not hungry, you won’t be scared anymore."

Just then, soldiers’ family members who worked at the factory started trickling back from their shifts.

Zhao Nuanyue saw the crowd growing, and she spotted a few familiar faces.

"Aunt Wang, hello!" Zhao Nuanyue said excitedly, stepping forward to take the hand of a woman who looked to be in her forties.

The woman, startled to be called Aunt Wang, quickly took a step back. Seeing the grimy, country-looking girl before her, she assumed it was some relative from the village and asked awkwardly, "You are...?"

When Aunt Wang didn’t recognize her, Zhao Nuanyue quickly pushed up her hat and said, "Auntie, it’s me! I’m Xia Yingyu’s daughter, Zhao Jinghai’s stepdaughter! And that’s my brother, Zhao Nuanyang!"

"Zhao Nuanyue? Zhao Nuanyang?" Aunt Wang stared for a moment, then looked Zhao Nuanyue up and down before it dawned on her. "Goodness, child, why are you dressed like this? Where have you and your brother been?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

At Aunt Wang’s question, Zhao Nuanyue’s eyes welled up with tears. She choked out, "My stepfather and grandmother said my stepsister was in poor health, so they sent my brother and me down to the countryside and gave her the factory job instead. With the New Year coming, we came back... We missed home so much. Life was so hard."

’Since you dare to give me such a hard time, you’ll learn that I, Zhao Nuanyue, am not to be trifled with. I’ll make sure Wang Lianhua and Zhao Jinhai are utterly humiliated.’

’If it’s a contest of shamelessness, I’m not afraid of anyone!’

Hearing this, Aunt Wang was filled with sympathy for Zhao Nuanyue. ’Oh dear, this is what happens when you’re not their biological child—you get tormented! That Zhao Huilan is as strong as a calf, and they claimed she was in poor health? That’s a lie they could only get away with telling to kids like Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang!’

’The poor things. Zhao Nuanyue is only fifteen, and they kicked her and her brother out to the countryside. No wonder they look so grimy and dejected.’

"You poor children. Since you’ve arrived, why aren’t you going inside?" Aunt Wang asked. By now, others who recognized Zhao Nuanyue and her brother had gathered around. Some looked concerned, others sympathetic, but most were just there for the spectacle.

"The guard over there already called my family, but they told us to wait outside. We’ve been waiting since noon, and still, no one has come to get us." Zhao Nuanyue started to sob as she spoke. "We came over as soon as we saw you, Aunt Wang, hoping you could take us in. Otherwise, my brother and I are going to freeze to death out here in this cold. If I had known we were so unwelcome, we wouldn’t have come back. At least in the countryside... we had a shack to shelter us from the wind and rain."

"That Zhao Jinghai and Wang Lianhua are just shameless," Aunt Wang declared. She lived near Zhao Jinghai’s family, and their relationship was usually neutral. More importantly, however, her husband and Zhao Jinghai were rivals, constantly competing in secret and trying to get the upper hand.

Zhao Nuanyue had just handed Aunt Wang the perfect ammunition, and she would certainly use it to attack Zhao Jinghai.

At this, Aunt Wang’s eyes lit up. ’Well, I’ll be. That Zhao Jinghai and Wang Lianhua are truly shameless. They can’t blame me for getting involved, then.’

"You poor dears! Two good children left to freeze for a whole afternoon!" Aunt Wang’s booming voice rang out for all to hear. "After a long train ride with no good food or sleep, you get to your own front door and they won’t even let you in. If they won’t come get you, I’ll take you in myself! If they won’t feed you, you can come eat at my house! He’s not their real father and she’s not their real grandmother, after all. Your mother is pregnant and still working; she should be getting off her shift soon."

When the surrounding crowd heard this and looked again at Zhao Nuanyang and Zhao Nuanyue, they were all convinced.

They remembered how Wang Lianhua, when collecting her welfare benefits, used to boast about how well she treated the siblings. Turns out, "treating them well" meant sending them off to the countryside. Any benefits she collected likely never made it into the children’s hands.

Just then, Xia Yingyu appeared in the distance, a grocery basket on one arm and her other hand resting on her pregnant belly.

Seeing the crowd and worried about being jostled, she didn’t approach, instead choosing to detour around them.

At that moment, Aunt Wang spotted Xia Yingyu and yelled, "Yingyu! Your Nuanyue and Nuanyang are back! But they’ve been here for hours, and your mother-in-law still hasn’t let them in. The poor dears have been freezing out here all this time!"