Chapter 180 - Exposed
Chapter 180: Exposed
Translator: Lonelytree
After hearing about Xiao Lingyu’s dream, Mother Xiao burst into tears. Even Father Xiao’s eyes were red. They didn’t expect the Xiao Family in Xiao Lingyu’s dream would lead such a miserable life.
Xiao Lingyu said, “I was scared awake. When I woke up, I found myself in an unfamiliar bed, and my body pressed down by an unfamiliar man. I wanted to fight back, but my body was weak. However, there was a burning sensation. Then, it hit me. I was not dreaming. I was drugged. The dream was predictive.”
Her eyes were red. She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and continued, “I couldn’t fight back.
“When I woke up the next day, all I could think of was how to avoid that horrible future in the dream. First, I had to find evidence to stop Chen Ran and Zhao Wenman. So I asked the hotel for the video of me being drugged. Mom, Dad, I had told you the rest.
“Mom, the dream was too real. I knew I had to do everything to stop it from happening in real life. In a way, I feel that I owe this child. Mom, Dad, I beg you, let me keep him, okay?”
Xiao Lingyu practically begged her parents, “Xiao Tong… He is very sensible. Mom and Dad, you will like him. Mom, I can’t bear to part with him again.”
After hearing the story, the soft-hearted Mother Xiao didn’t have the heart to ask for an abortion anymore. Mother Xiao nodded. “Okay, we’ll keep the child. In the future, I’ll do my best to protect my grandson. We’ll see who dares to bully him!”
“Thank you, mom!” Xiao Lingyu said gratefully.
Mother Xiao laughed and then cried, “Silly child, I’m your mother. Why thank me?”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “Mom, no matter what, I’m very grateful to you!”
Mother Xiao sighed. “But you shouldn’t sneak around anymore. We haven’t done anything wrong, so why should we care about other people’s opinions?”
“Okay!” Xiao Lingyu nodded in agreement.
Father Xiao was a good man who obeyed his wife. He rarely objected to his wife’s decision.
He looked around and said worriedly, “Yu ‘Er, this place is still too strange. You mustn’t tell anyone about it, okay?”
“Right, don’t even tell your brother!” Mother Xiao immediately agreed. “He’s too young. I’m afraid that he’ll be easily tempted by the outside world and won’t be able to keep his mouth shut!”
“Okay!” Xiao Lingyu nodded. She never planned to tell anyone in the first place. The fewer people who knew about it, the better. The farming space was too inexplicable.
Father Xiao thought and said, “Yu ‘Er, you’re pregnant now. From now on, your mother will accompany you to the county town.”
Mother Xiao nodded. “That’s right. I’ll go with you to the county town. Fortunately, the road from Taoyuan Village to Xing An town has been repaired. Otherwise, it would be a bumpy and dangerous ride for you and your child!”
Xiao Lingyu didn’t refuse, “Okay, but mom, you can’t accompany me forever! Little brother will take his exams in a few days. After that, he’ll get his driver’s license, and then he can drive me.”
“That works too!” Mother Xiao said, “But try not to tell your brother about this place, okay?”
“I know!”
Father Xiao looked around, “Yu ‘Er, we should leave. I feel uneasy being here!” Father Xiao seemed to lack a sense of security in the space.
They were all in this space. If someone came to look for them, they would be suspicious.
Mother Xiao remembered that too. “Yes, Yu ‘Er. We should get out. Aren’t you hungry? I’ll cook you noodles!”
“Okay!”
They had been in the farming space for a long time, but in the outside world, only one or two minutes had passed. The water was still boiling and the fire was burning.
Mother Xiao thought it was magical. “What… What’s going on?”
Xiao Lingyu explained, “Mom, the flow of time in the space is slow. A minute outside can actually be half an hour inside.”
“Oh, that’s interesting!” Mother Xiao nodded. Then, she took out two eggs from the cabinet and found two green onions. Then, she continued to instruct Xiao Lingyu, “Yu ‘Er, that space is too weird. You shouldn’t use it too often. You mustn’t let anyone see you appear or disappear from thin air. Don’t you agree, Dear?”
“Yes! Limit your usage of it in the future!” Father Xiao nodded. “The thing is too strange. It will be horrible if it catches the wrong attention.”
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, “Mom, Dad, I’m not a three-year-old child. I know the severity of the matter. I will definitely make some observations before entering the space.”
“It never hurts to be careful!” Father Xiao reminded, “Chen Ran and the Chen Family are now in the past. Since we’ve decided to keep the child, he is our grandson. We’ll definitely treat him well.”
“Thank you, Dad, thank you, Mom!” Xiao Lingyu was really grateful that she was born into such a loving family. If she were born into another family, she would be beaten to death already. They wouldn’t be as understanding as her parents.
By the time Xiao Lingyu finished her supper, it was already three o’clock in the morning.
Mother Xiao and Father Xiao returned to their rooms. Once the door closed, their faces turned up with worry.
Mother Xiao asked in puzzlement, “Dear, what do you think of Yu ‘Er’s dream? Don’t you feel it’s too realistic? Plus, why do you think the dream comes to Yu ‘Er? Is it really, as she said, that it is a predictive dream? It’s a premonition?”
Mother Xiao was still trying to process the many information. However, what she cared about the most was her family, or rather her family in Xiao Lingyu’s dream. It felt too surreal.
Father Xiao also had a solemn expression on his face.
He said, “You’re right. Yu ‘Er’s dream is too real. If we didn’t know the truth, I would have suspected that Yu ‘Er had experienced that life herself… Perhaps it was not a dream, and she had already reincarnated once?”
Father Xiao had no idea how close his guess was. However, the rural villagers didn’t know about the common trope of webnovels, reincarnation!
1
Mother Xiao tapped on the wooden table. “Yu ‘Er is clearly fine. How could she have died once already? It’s just a predictive dream!” Mother Xiao emphasized, perhaps to herself. Of course, it was also hard to believe that Xiao Lingyu could come back from the dead.
“Dear, do you think things would have been as bad as the situation in her dream if Yu ‘Er didn’t find out about Chen Ran’s plan?” Father Xiao suddenly asked.
Mother Xiao immediately fell silent. The silence was the best answer. It was a yes.
Father Xiao sighed heavily. “It seems like we really need to thank Mr. Yan, who helped Yu ‘Er. If it weren’t for him, Yu ‘Er wouldn’t be able to fight Chen Ran and his powerful in-laws.”
When they thought back to how they had treated Yan Siming when he came to Taoyuan Village, they felt ashamed. That was his first visit to Taoyuan Village, and he had helped them immensely, or else, things wouldn’t have ended so well with Chen Dahua and his family.
Mother Xiao was silent for a while before saying. “Mr. Yan is a good person. We didn’t get the chance to thank him before he left. I heard he is a big character and a very busy person!”
“We should thank him properly when he comes next time. Why don’t you cook for him?” Father Xiao suggested with a smile.
1
“Okay!” Mother Xiao replied without thinking.
“It’s still early. We should get back to bed.” Of course, the couple couldn’t sleep. They tossed and turned in bed.
The next day, three pandas appeared in the Xiao family’s courtyard.
Xiao Lingyu felt guilty when she saw the dark circles under her parents’ eyes. They couldn’t sleep because they were worried about her.
Mother Xiao saw her daughter and read her thoughts. “Silly child, don’t blame yourself. We couldn’t sleep because it was information overload. We’ll be fine after a while. Are you hungry? I’ll go make you some porridge and steam two eggs. You need to have more nutrition during this period. Later, I’ll make a chicken stew. Today is Marketfair Day. I’ll go to town to buy some chicks to raise at home. We’ll need to make sure you get all the nutrients you need!”
“Thank you, Mom!” Xiao Lingyu said gratefully. She was lucky to have such a wonderful family. However, in her previous life, her emotions clouded her mind. It caused her parents and brother to suffer greatly. Even though she and her brother grew stronger, there were things that couldn’t be healed.
Mother Xiao smiled and said, “I’m your mother. Who is going to take care of you if not me?”
Father Xiao woke up early. He did not go to walk around the village as usual. Instead, he sat in the courtyard with his brows tightly knitted, as if he was thinking.
Then, he stood up and began to observe the flowers in the courtyard.
Ever since the news of the expensive flowers in his yard had spread through the village, many villagers came to visit his yard. They studied the flowers and asked Xiao Zhengyang for their origins.
Even though Xiao Jun was bitten by a snake, many people still wanted to try their luck. Of course, the number was not as large as before. Plus, they took a better protective measure. For example, many people wore gloves and rain boots to prevent snake bites.
Yesterday, the villagers dug up more flowers and dropped them off at the old master’s. They wanted the old man to identify them, but in the end, they just wanted t the old master to buy the flowers from them.
Xiao Zhengyang was sure the old master was just being kind. It seemed like he needed to discuss this matter with the village chief.
The villagers couldn’t keep on treating the old master like a sucker. The old master was a benefactor to Taoyuan Village. They couldn’t afford to offend him. Furthermore, the old master moved to Taoyuan Village to recuperate because of his poor health. How could he do that when the villagers disturb him daily?
Father Xiao called Xiao Lingyu over and said, “Yu ‘Er, many people went up the mountains to dig for flowers since the night before yesterday. Then, they went to drop them off at the old master’s place. They said they wanted the old master to help them identify the flowers, but in the end, the old master always bought all of them. Later, you should come with me to visit the old master.”
When she heard that, Xiao Lingyu’s heart shook. She didn’t want to be so close to Old Master Gong. If he found out about Xiao Tong’s identity, there would be unforeseeable consequences. However, the villagers had also crossed the line by forcing all their worthless finds on the old master.
The old master was her friend’s grandfather.
Xiao Lingyu thought for a moment and said, “Alright. After breakfast, I’ll go with Dad!”
When Mother Xiao heard this, she said, “I’ll make some breakfast. You should bring some over. Also, invite the old master and the others to come over for lunch!” Everyone could see that the old master liked Mother Xiao’s cooking.
The old master was Yu ‘Er’s friend’s grandfather, and he was a benefactor to Taoyuan Village, so they should treat him well.
When Xiao Lingyu and her father arrived at the old master’s place, they saw a large group of villagers gathered at the gate. There were all kinds of wildflowers and weeds on the ground. Old Master Gong was bent over studying them.
“Zhengyang, Lingyu, you’re here!” Someone greeted them.
Xiao Zhengyang said, “What are so many of you doing here so early in the morning?”
Someone answered, “We dug up the flowers from the mountain. We want to keep them fresh, so we came early in the morning.”
Xiao Zhengyang didn’t say anything.
When the old master heard Xiao Zhengyang and Xiao Lingyu coming over, he immediately raised his head to take a look. When he saw the box in their hands, he immediately became excited and walked over like a child. He asked, “Is this breakfast for me?”
He smelled an alluring fragrance.
When Xiao Lingyu saw Old Master Gong, she thought of Xiao Tong. With that in mind, she found it hard to face Old Master Gong. Xiao Lingyu would smile at everyone, but she couldn’t smile at Old Master Gong no matter how hard she tried.
When Xiao Zhengyang saw how stern his daughter looked, he quickly said, “That’s right, old master. My family prepared this for you. Old Master, you should finish the breakfast when it’s hot!”
“Okay!” Old Master Gong replied happily, as if he didn’t notice Xiao Lingyu’s impudence.