Chapter 168: Wings Have Hardened

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Wings Have Hardened

Li Hanchen drove back.

He hadn’t intended to make a show of it, but in this day and age, the mere sound of tires on a dirt road was enough to have people craning their necks over the walls for a long look.

In the adjacent courtyard, his older brother’s family had already heard the commotion.

Li Yuan was on his way out, carrying a basin of water he’d used to wash vegetables.

Before he could toss the water, he looked up and saw a large, military-green vehicle parked at his family’s gate.

His hand went slack, and SPLASH! All the water spilled onto the ground.

"Second Brother?"

He called out from a distance.

Li Hanchen had just stepped out of the vehicle. Hearing the call, he turned his head and immediately broke into a wide grin.

"Big Brother!"

Li Yuan strode through the gate, circled halfway around the vehicle, and then stopped short.

"From your unit?"

He looked up at Li Hanchen, his tone seeking confirmation yet laced with disbelief.

"Yeah. Song Yao’s pregnant and couldn’t handle the hard-seat train, so I just borrowed a vehicle to drive us back."

Li Hanchen’s voice was even as he spoke. His hand rested on the edge of the car door, his knuckles distinct, his posture ramrod straight.

Before he could finish, Wei Guilan and Li Ying rushed over, panting.

Wei Guilan stared at Li Hanchen, whom she hadn’t seen in a year. Her eyes began to burn, and the tip of her nose tingled.

"Where’s Song Yao?"

Just then, Song Yao pushed open the passenger-side door and hopped down.

The moment she appeared, her voice, clear and sweet, rang out as she called, "Mom!"

That one word, "Mom," left Wei Guilan completely stunned.

’It’s only been a few months. How can she seem like a completely different person?’

Li Ying had murmured something about it to her before.

"I almost didn’t recognize my sister-in-law when she came back!"

At the time, Wei Guilan had just teased her daughter.

"You’ve been reading so much your eyes have gone crooked!"

But now it was her turn, and she realized it wasn’t her eyes that were crooked—it was her mind!

The young woman before her had fair skin and bright eyes.

She radiated the kind of vibrant spirit you only saw in city girls.

’Is this really the same daughter-in-law who used to have a sallow face and dull, brittle hair?’

It wasn’t just Wei Guilan; even Li Yuan stood rooted to the spot, nearly biting his own tongue.

’This was no skinny beanpole.’

’This was a tender young seedling, freshly fertilized and flourishing!’

In truth, the original Song Yao had good features.

It was just that in the two years of her marriage, she had worn herself down until she was paper-thin.

They say doting on someone is like tending a flower.

Too bad she’d been foolish back then, treating pesticide like water and pouring it on her own heart for two whole years.

"Song Yao? Is that really you?"

Wei Guilan called out tentatively.

The moment Song Yao saw her mother-in-law, she broke into a wide smile.

"Mom! It’s me! I’m home!"

She rushed over to Wei Guilan in just a few steps.

Hearing the commotion, neighbors gathered in twos and threes, craning their necks to see what was happening.

"Well, I’ll be, isn’t that Song Yao?"

Their eyes held the kind of shock reserved for seeing something you never thought you’d witness in your lifetime.

Song Yao wasn’t shy. She greeted each person she recognized.

"Hi, Third Auntie! It’s me, Song Yao!"

"Fourth Auntie, you remember me, right? You’re the one who sewed a little belly wrap for me!"

"Second Uncle, your pipe is crooked again..."

She took half a step forward as she spoke.

Everyone noticed she was far more open and confident than before.

"I heard you’re the Shen Family’s daughter who was switched at birth?"

The question was a bit brazen.

But they couldn’t hold back; they were dying of curiosity.

Song Yao nodded, straightforward and decisive.

"That’s right!"

"Then your birth parents..."

"Work in the Capital City."

Song Yao’s reply was swift.

The crowd gasped in unison.

One of the older women couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her sleeve.

"Oh, this fabric! It’s so soft. It looks warm just to look at it!"

Before the hand could make proper contact, Wei Guilan quickly intercepted it.

"Careful, careful! Song Yao’s pregnant!"

They hadn’t announced it before.

Why?

Her eldest daughter-in-law, Wu Xixi, had just had a miscarriage. If she went around shouting that her younger daughter-in-law was pregnant, wouldn’t that be like rubbing salt in the wound?

Wei Guilan had tossed and turned several nights, staring at the roof beams and counting the tiles.

Every time she pictured Wu Xixi staring blankly out the window, she would swallow her words.

The wife from the Zhang Family would surely explode upon hearing the news. An explosion would lead to a fight, and a fight would mean her eldest son would be caught in the middle.

As a mother-in-law, she couldn’t do such a thing.

But now Song Yao had returned safe and sound, and Wu Xixi was out of her postpartum confinement.

Just yesterday afternoon, Wei Guilan had specifically dug out the brown sugar she had been saving for three years.

"Drink something warm. It’ll help you regain your strength."

"Pregnant?"

The eyes of the surrounding crowd nearly popped out of their heads.

"But I thought..."

Wei Guilan knew perfectly well what they were about to ask.

She quickly cut in with a smile to smooth things over.

"The wind is bone-chilling, and these two just got out of the car. They haven’t even unpacked inside yet..."

Everyone understood her meaning immediately.

The Li Family’s third aunt immediately chimed in.

"That’s right, that’s right! It’ll be dark soon. You two should hurry and get settled so you can rest well tonight!"

Her voice was loud, the ends of her words lilting upwards.

"Especially you, Song Yao. That belly of yours is precious. Quick, get inside and sit on the warm kang!"

"Oh dear, I’ve got soup on my stove!"

"I still haven’t fed my chickens!"

"I’ve got to get back too—"

Third Auntie led the way, and the others immediately turned to follow.

Just then, Wu Xixi pushed aside the thick cotton curtain of the main room and stepped out.

"Li Yuan! Where the hell are you slacking off?!"

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

In the blink of an eye, only the members of the Li Family were left in the courtyard.

"Well, well~ And who might this be? Dressed like you just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Such a rare guest, indeed~"

Wu Xixi took two steps closer, peering at her.

"Oh? The second brother’s wife?"

Song Yao’s appearance had changed too drastically.

It wasn’t just her. Even Wei Guilan, her mother-in-law, stood frozen at the door to the main room, clutching a cleaning rag.

Before Song Yao could even nod, Wu Xixi’s mouth was already running.

"I hear your birth father is some high-ranking official?"

"Just how high-ranking?"

"Does he have enough clout to call the shots in our county?"

"If he’s so powerful, how did he manage to lose you all those years ago?"

"Did they abandon you because you were a girl and they couldn’t afford to raise you?"

The corners of Song Yao’s eyes lifted, her enchanting peach-blossom eyes curving slightly.

"And?"

"Huh?"

That single word, "And?", left Wu Xixi speechless.

Before Wu Xixi could recover, Song Yao twisted the knife.

"What does any of this have to do with you?"

Song Yao didn’t even deign to look at her. Wu Xixi instantly bristled.

"Oh-ho! Feeling cocky now, are we? Spend a few days in the city and suddenly you think you’re a golden phoenix?"

"Then why bother coming back to our poor little nest for the New Year?"

The corner of Song Yao’s mouth curled.

"You’ve misunderstood. It’s you I look down on, not this family."

"Besides, I came back to the Li Family home. I didn’t come back to your house, did I?"

Wu Xixi choked, a retort stuck in her throat.

"You... you..."

Before Wu Xixi could get the words out, Song Yao turned to walk away.

"I don’t like to pretend, unlike you, Sister-in-law. You’re such a good actress. I remember you smashing my head against the wall. It split open the back of my head, the skin torn and seeping blood. Yet today, you can cozy up to me and call me ’sister-in-law’ like we’re close."

"Anyone watching would probably think you’re so magnanimous you could race horses in your heart!"

The moment Li Hanchen heard this, his gaze snapped toward Wu Xixi.

Wu Xixi flinched, swallowing hard.

"You... you pinched Li Tian’s arm! I was protecting my own child. Was that wrong?"

As she spoke, a dusty-faced Li Tian came tearing toward the courtyard gate, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"A car! A big car is here—"

When he got closer and saw his parents, he started jumping up and down and shouting. ℯℯ𝑙.

"Mom! Mom! Whose car is that?"

The moment he appeared, Wu Xixi’s expression changed in a flash, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Li Tian, come here! Your Second Uncle and Second Aunt are back!"

"Your Second Uncle works for the government, and your Second Aunt is now the precious daughter of a rich family! See that big vehicle behind them?"

Her arm was stretched out so far it was almost straight.