Chapter 207.2
Editor: Jodi
Yu Hanshuang was resting at home. She had caught a cold in the past few days and had been coughing badly. When she heard the knock on the door, she just asked casually, “Who is it?”
“It’s me.” Lin An Lan said in his soft, sweet voice.
Yu Hanshuang hadn’t expected it to be him. She walked over to open the door and saw Cheng Xiao standing there too.
“Why are you here?” She asked Lin An Lan.
Lin An Lan stepped inside, looked at her tired face, and said, “Mom, I have something to tell you.”
Seeing him act all serious like a little grown-up, Yu Hanshuang smiled. “Alright.”
She pulled Lin An Lan inside, nodded at Cheng Xiao, then closed the door.
“I’ll take An An inside to talk.”
After saying this, she led Lin An Lan into the bedroom.
Lin An Lan stared at her, hesitating on how to start.
Yu Hanshuang didn’t rush him either. She sipped her water slowly, waiting for him to speak.
“Mom, are you still not better?” Lin An Lan asked her.
“Almost.” Yu Hanshuang answered, just like she always did.
“You said that last time too.” Lin An Lan muttered.
Yu Hanshuang chuckled. “So, An An, is this what you came to talk about?”
Lin An Lan shook his head. Then he asked, “Are you going to divorce Dad?”
Yu Hanshuang was stunned for a moment. “Why are you asking that?”
“Big brother thinks you two are about to get a divorce.” Lin An Lan said honestly.
Yu Hanshuang sighed. “That won’t happen, don’t worry. I’m not divorcing your dad.”
“Then mom, why won’t you come home?”
Lin An Lan really didn’t understand adults. “You don’t go home, Dad doesn’t go home, and big brother is always so upset. But neither of you seem to care. Do you not want him anymore?”
“How could that be?” Yu Hanshuang didn’t understand. “Baby, what are you thinking?”
“If you don’t want to leave him, then why won’t you or Dad come home? Every day, big brother only sees me and Grandpa. Sometimes Grandpa isn’t even there, and then it’s just me. But I’m just a little brother. I’m not a mom or a dad. I can’t be a mom or a dad for big brother.”
Lin An Lan thought Cheng Yu was really pitiful. “Big brother isn’t happy at all. When I first met him, he was still happy. But now, he’s not happy at all. Back at the orphanage, even though there were no parents, there were lots of kids. We could all play together, eat together. But at home, there’s only me. Big brother can only play with me, eat with me.”
“Mom, isn’t this the same as abandoning him?”
Lin An Lan grabbed her arm and pleaded, “Go back home, Mom. I’m not even your real child, yet you still took me in. But big brother is your real child. Why won’t you take him back? Kids without parents are really pitiful. Big brother shouldn’t have to be so pitiful. Don’t you love him anymore? Why did you leave him?”
His eyes were filled with tears. Even though he was just a child himself, he still wanted to protect another child. “Dad is the one who did something wrong, not big brother. If you don’t want to talk to Dad, then just ignore him. But why are you ignoring big brother too? If you don’t care about Dad, he can choose not to come home. But if you don’t care about big brother, he has no choice but to go home. He doesn’t have anywhere else to go. He doesn’t have another mom or dad.”
Yu Hanshuang looked at the tears in his eyes and wanted to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she was hit by a violent coughing fit. She grabbed a tissue to cover her mouth, but when she pulled it away, she saw a shocking streak of red.
She stared in shock. She thought she was seeing things, but no—it really was blood.
She suddenly remembered what the doctor had told her. Her body seemed to be in worse shape than before.
“Blood.” Lin An Lan whispered.
Yu Hanshuang quickly hid it away. “No, baby, you saw wrong.”
Then she pulled him onto her lap, looked at his shocked little face, and asked, “Do you really think I don’t want you and your big brother anymore?”
Lin An Lan finally looked away from the tissue and asked, “Isn’t that true?”
“Of course not. How could I not want you two? I just… wanted some time to rest.”
“But that’s what big brother thinks.” Lin An Lan said in a low voice. “Big brother even asked me, if Mom and Dad got a divorce, who would I go with?”
“Who would you go with?” Yu Hanshuang asked.
“I’d go with big brother.” Lin An Lan’s voice was firm. “Mom can stay here and not come home. Dad can live wherever he wants and not come home either. But big brother has no choice—he can only go home, eat with me, and talk to me. So I’ll stay with him. I won’t leave him. I’ll always be with him. Grown-ups might abandon kids, but I won’t. I’ll never abandon him.”
Yu Hanshuang smiled silently.
In that moment, she realized that what made children children was their innocence and purity.
Their world was simple. They couldn’t understand the conflicts of interests and emotions between adults. They just liked each other, purely and wholeheartedly.
She hugged Lin An Lan tightly and reassured him, “I won’t divorce your dad, don’t worry.”
“Then can you come home?” Lin An Lan asked.
Yu Hanshuang looked at him in silence for a long time before finally nodding.
She never meant to abandon Cheng Yu. She just wanted some time alone. But to Cheng Yu, her leaving was already the same as abandoning him.
That was why her son thought they were getting divorced. That was why he asked Lin An Lan who he would go with.
A child’s world and an adult’s world were completely different. Adults lived in a world full of complexities, but a child’s world was small—it only revolved around their home.
She couldn’t keep living like this anymore. Wasting away for a man who never loved her, for someone she had always known would never give her love. This wasn’t worth it.
Her child was still young, and her health was already deteriorating. If she let it continue, then she really would be abandoning Cheng Yu. She really would leave him for good.
She didn’t want to leave Cheng Yu behind. Cheng Feng was not the kind of person she could trust to raise her son, so she had to do it herself.
At the very least, she had to make sure he got everything that rightfully belonged to him in the Cheng family.
“I’ll go back with you.” She kissed Lin An Lan. “An An, can you promise Mommy something?”
Lin An Lan nodded without hesitation. “Okay.”
Yu Hanshuang couldn’t help but laugh. “You haven’t even heard what it is yet.”
“No matter what it is, I’ll agree. As long as you come home with me.”
Hearing this, Yu Hanshuang’s heart ached. She cupped Lin An Lan’s face, gently stroking it, then kissed his forehead again with tenderness.
She had never met such a sensible child before. Every word he said tugged at her heartstrings.