Chapter 206 - 205

"Call me when you get home."

Wen Ci reached out and hugged him. "I will."

-

Wen Ci slept exceptionally well on the plane. Huo Jingyuan had prepared an eye mask for her. She leaned against the window after boarding and didn’t wake up until a flight attendant called out to her.

Most of the other passengers had already deplaned.

Wen Ci hailed a taxi after leaving the airport. The fare to the Beijing Military District Family Courtyard was eight yuan. She clicked her tongue. ’In the past, I would never have been willing to spend this much.’

Eight yuan.

That was a whole month’s food budget for a single-income family.

The driver asked, "Is your husband a soldier?"

Wen Ci gave a friendly nod. "Yes."

"In that case, I’ll only charge you seven yuan for this trip. Soldiers protect our country, so you, as a military family member, should enjoy some benefits."

"Huh?"

Wen Ci blinked.

’Military families already get benefits at a time like this?!’

"Is this a company-wide policy?"

In the eighties, the screening process for taxi drivers was extremely strict. It required multiple levels of approval from the higher-ups, and both family background and driving skills were essential. Many retired military drivers ended up driving taxis.

"No." The driver shook his head and explained, "My son is a soldier too, stationed up in the Northeast. It’s a tough, tiring life."

Wen Ci nodded.

-

Two hours later, the taxi arrived at the Beijing Military Region.

Just as Wen Ci got out of the car, she ran into Su Guilan and Jiang Ye. The two were walking arm-in-arm, talking and laughing, looking just like a real mother and daughter.

Jiang Ye had sharp eyes and was the first to greet her. "Sister."

Wen Ci acted as if she hadn’t heard.

Jiang Ye pulled Su Guilan over to Wen Ci, a wide smile on her face. "Sister, where did you just get back from?"

Wen Ci remained silent.

She didn’t even spare Jiang Ye a glance.

Su Guilan frowned. "Your sister is talking to you."

Hearing this, Wen Ci’s gaze shifted to Su Guilan. She gave a faint smile and a helpless shrug. "Since when did you have two daughters?"

The single sentence left Su Guilan speechless.

She knew Wen Ci resented the fact that she still acknowledged Jiang Ye.

But back then, Jiang Ye had just been a baby in swaddling clothes. She knew nothing about the switch; she was an innocent victim too.

Wen Ci’s tone was distant and cold. "Is there anything else?"

"Come over for dinner tonight."

"I don’t want to."

Jiang Ye slowly lowered her head and asked in a self-reproachful tone, "Sister, is it because of me that you don’t want to come home for dinner? I can go stay at my brother’s place."

Her words were a masterful play, casting herself in a considerate and understanding light.

"Ah Ci, can you please not be like this..."

"Like what?" Wen Ci’s eyelids lowered slightly as she spoke, word by word. "Weren’t you the one who made me marry in her place? I’m your biological daughter, but what about you?"

Jiang Ye cut in, "But aren’t you very satisfied with Huo Jingyuan?"

"Heh!"

Initially, the Jiang Family had only thought Huo Jingyuan was a low-ranking grunt in the Northwest. Although he had a connection to Old Commander Huo, those relationships didn’t mean much after someone died.

It was Wen Ci who admitted she was satisfied.

That was just her good luck.

Wen Ci took a long, deep breath, slowly exhaling the bitterness in her heart. She said bluntly, "Since we’re laying it all out, I want to cut ties with the Jiang Family. Let’s act like we don’t know each other. No need to greet one another if we meet."

Before Su Guilan could react, Jiang Ye covered her mouth, her feigned concern only serving to fan the flames. "Sister... how could you be so cruel as to say something like that?"

"Ah Ci, you..."

Needing to get it all off her chest, Wen Ci continued, "Do you have any idea what my life was like when I was five? At five years old, no one cooked for me. I had to climb onto the stove myself to find enough to eat. The auntie next door took pity on me and would help me out sometimes."

"And another thing."

Wen Ci’s eyes reddened as memories of her childhood flooded her mind. Her early life had been so bitter that she had even considered jumping into a river to end it all.

"She knew she was the one switched at birth back when she was in middle school, but she kept it a secret, using her allowance every month to support her biological parents.

They took that money to eat out at restaurants in the county town, while I was at home gnawing on tree bark!"

In the sixties and seventies, every household needed ration tickets for almost any purchase. Whenever the Wen Family parents had money, they would take Wen Yaozu out to eat.

She survived by growing snake gourds.

Snake gourds grew quickly, but they had little flavor or nutritional value.

Wen Ci spent her entire adolescence living off snake gourds. In that house, only a young Wen Yaozu felt sorry for her, secretly hiding bits of meat behind their parents’ backs to let her satisfy her cravings.

Jiang Ye retorted, "No, I didn’t! I didn’t know!"

"Your biological parents have a ledger. It clearly records the amounts you gave them and the money they saved up!"

Panic flashed across Jiang Ye’s face. After everything, she had only just gotten to enjoy a couple of days as the family’s young miss. Her eyes reddened, and she shook her head, completely lost.

"That’s not it, that’s not it! I was threatened too!"

"Threatened?" Wen Ci sneered, her gaze as sharp and cold as ice. "Threatened that if you didn’t give them money, they would expose your identity as the fake young miss?"

"No..."

Jiang Ye’s mind was a tangled mess. She worried she would say the wrong thing in her panic and never be able to return to the Jiang Family. Her eyes darted toward the crowd of onlookers that was gathering.

As a minister in the military region, Mr. Jiang was constantly under scrutiny. As soon as a crowd formed, Mrs. Jiang would get flustered and want to leave.

Listening to her daughter’s grievances, Su Guilan’s tears fell instantly. She pounded her own chest in remorse. She had known her daughter suffered a great deal in the countryside.

But she never knew she had suffered this much.

The Wen Family had deliberately neglected her, even denying her food.

"Ah Ci..."

Wen Ci felt nothing as she watched the tears stream down the other woman’s face. Noticing the growing crowd of onlookers, she said coolly, "I’m leaving. Don’t let this affect your husband’s military position."

’Huo Jingyuan’s childhood friend’s nephew still depends on Minister Jiang. Cutting ties is one thing, but I have to remember the favors owed.’

-

On the way home, Wen Ci’s mood lightened considerably.

She had said her piece and didn’t care how Mrs. Jiang felt. Her own peace of mind was what mattered most.

In the courtyard, Wen Yaozu was practicing kicking a shuttlecock. With his chubby frame, he was already dizzy and disoriented after just a couple of kicks.

Just as Wen Ci reached the gate, Wen Yaozu’s voice rang out. "Sis, you’re finally back! I missed you guys."

Wen Yaozu ran to the gate. Seeing his sister was alone, he asked quizzically, "Sis, how come you’re the only one back? Where’s my brother-in-law?"

Wen Ci looked at the shuttlecock in his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Training my Spiritual Power."

Wen Yaozu blinked at her, rubbed his hands together, and asked, "Where’s my brother-in-law? Didn’t he come back with you?"

"He’s not back yet. I told him to spend a couple more days with his elders in Hangzhou."

"Oh." Wen Yaozu wasn’t disappointed. Then his gaze fell on the single bag his sister was carrying, and his eyes widened. "Then... Sis, you didn’t bring the computer back?"

"No."

"But I already told all my friends at school that I was going to learn how to use a computer and be the first elementary schooler in our county to ever touch one."

Wen Ci was speechless.

Wait a minute.

Wen Ci tilted her head, her face full of confusion. "How did you contact your friends at school?"

Wen Yaozu was an elementary school student, and he normally wouldn’t be allowed to take the long-distance bus back to the county by himself. She had just been in touch with him yesterday.

"On the phone, of course."

"Your school has a landline?"