The production team, fearing that Qin Sui and the others might linger in the county, came banging on the door early in the morning.
Qin Sui was quite cooperative, getting into the Maybach to pick up Li Xiaoya from the hospital.
Li Xiaoya had never slept in such a soft bed before, and hadn't even opened her eyes once until the production team barged in.
Li Xiaoya sat up groggily, wrapped in a small blanket, looking like a tiny figurine.
"Why such a rush?" Sheng Yuxiao glared at the staff disapprovingly.
The staff could only say, "Besides taking care of Grandpa Li, there are pigs and chickens at home to tend to..."
"Can't you feed them yourselves?"
"We can't do it properly."
"You can't even manage that?" Sheng Yuxiao frowned. "Are you less capable than a child?"
The staff wanted to argue but, after some thought, found they couldn't refute it.
Indeed, Li Xiaoya was more capable than these grown adults.
So, home couldn't do without Li Xiaoya.
"Wait, Li Xiaoya hasn't even washed her face or brushed her teeth yet," Sheng Yuxiao finally relented. After all, he thought his wound was almost healed, and he'd soon make a triumphant return, kicking Qin Sui out of his position.
Everyone waited for Li Xiaoya to brush her teeth and wash her face, then waited again as the young master Sheng, in a burst of enthusiasm, insisted on tying Li Xiaoya's hair into a ponytail.
"It's a bit crooked," Sheng Yuxiao said, not entirely satisfied as he put down his hands.
"But it's really getting late..." the staff said anxiously.
"Alright, go then," Sheng Yuxiao tossed aside the comb, the hostility in his eyes softening as he smiled slightly at Li Xiaoya, "Wait for me to come back."
Li Xiaoya nodded and turned to leave the hospital room.
Qin Sui was waiting in the corridor, and the staff was saying to him, "Thank you, thank you for understanding, Young Master Qin."
If Qin Sui had gone in to take Li Xiaoya away, it would have instantly provoked Sheng Yuxiao's defiance.
Qin Sui was willing to wait outside, which made Sheng Yuxiao much more agreeable.
The Maybach soon started up and gradually drove away from the county hospital.
Sitting in the car, Li Xiaoya took out some money and began counting it out to Qin Sui. Qin Sui had never handled such crumpled bills before. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Keep it for yourself."
"No, I can't," Li Xiaoya insisted, stuffing the money into his palm and whispering, "Now you can take this money and buy your own meals."
Qin Sui: "..." From the sound of it, she didn't want to deal with him and wanted him to take care of his own living expenses?
This little girl's heart was quite difficult to open up.
As the Maybach drove back to Li Family Village, just as they reached the village entrance, someone waved their arms, blocking the car and shouting, "Li Xiaoya! Li Xiaoya!"
"Someone's calling me," Li Xiaoya pressed against the window.
Seeing this, Qin Sui reached out and lowered the window. Li Xiaoya looked back at him and said softly, "Thank you."
The driver also slowed down at this point, and the person blocking the road immediately rushed up and said, "Li Xiaoya, your grandfather wants you to go to your Great-aunt's house right away."
"What for?" It was Qin Sui who asked this question.
The person hesitated for a moment, glanced cautiously at Qin Sui, and then said, "Her grandfather said she needs to fetch something, seems like... it's something that belonged to Li Xiaoya's mother."
Li Xiaoya's eyes lit up, "Mom's things?"
She happily agreed, "Okay, I'll go."
Qin Sui grabbed Li Xiaoya's arm and asked, "Whose house are you going to?"
The local accent was a bit heavy, and Qin Sui hadn't heard clearly.
Li Xiaoya said, "Great-aunt's."
"How far is it?"
Li Xiaoya counted on her fingers, "It takes more than four hours to walk there."
Qin Sui looked down at her thin arms and legs, "Walk for more than four hours?"
"Mm-hmm." Li Xiaoya nodded vigorously, looking at him expectantly, "I need to get out. Can you help me open the door?"
Li Xiaoya didn't know how to unbuckle the seatbelt or open the car door.
Qin Sui didn't move to help. Instead, he said to the driver, "Take her there."
The driver was about to agree when someone in the passenger seat pulled him back.
The show needed to create content, and they couldn't have the production team helping with everything.
Qin Sui noticed their hesitation and said, "I'll exchange points for it."
The staff member turned around with a grin, "The points have already been used up."
Qin Sui had only been here for a couple of days, so it was understandable that he didn't have enough points. After a brief consideration, he leaned down to open the door for Li Xiaoya.
The staff asked, "Young Master Qin, aren't you going with her?"
"I'm going back to earn more points."
While they were still talking, Li Xiaoya had already jumped out of the car and started walking down another road.
Her figure gradually became a small dot in the camera's view.
[Just thinking about walking for more than four hours makes my legs ache]
[Li Xiaoya is actually quite pitiful, sigh]
[She even shared money with Qin Sui, she actually has a good personality]
[Isn't the cameraman going to follow her?]
The audience raised questions, and then remembered that the original protagonists of this show were just Sheng Yuxiao and Li Qingqing. Now they reluctantly included Qin Sui. Li Xiaoya had nothing to do with the show at all; she was purely brought in by Sheng Yuxiao's insistence.
[Let's wait for Li Xiaoya to come back]
[+1, it's actually quite interesting to see Qin Sui struggling with her]
The show's direction was quietly undergoing a change.
The executive producer was monitoring online public opinion, thinking that if they had known it would turn out like this, why bother changing people? But now, it seemed they had stumbled upon a different kind of program effect!
At this moment, the associate producer also came over and asked in a low voice, "Should we let the cameraman follow her after all?"
The executive producer waved his hand, "Let them feel sorry for Li Xiaoya for a while, it's good too."
The associate producer hesitated, then said, "Those previous rumors about Li Xiaoya, were they... fake?"
The executive producer nodded, "It's possible, but that's not our concern."
"If Young Master Sheng wants to clear Li Xiaoya's name in the future..." the associate producer paused, suddenly realizing, "That would create even more drama for the show, wow!"
The executive producer smiled and nodded again.
The associate producer clicked his tongue, "As expected of you!" and didn't mention Li Xiaoya's matter again.
Li Xiaoya had walked quite far before she remembered that she had forgotten to ask them to help feed the chickens and pigs. But it should be fine for just one meal... She should be able to get back before dark.
Li Xiaoya quickened her pace.
The road to her Great-aunt's house was all dirt paths. By the time Li Xiaoya arrived, her shoes and clothes were splattered with mud.
She carefully pushed open a large iron gate and walked into the courtyard. The yard was paved with cement, and Li Xiaoya was hesitant to step on it, fearing that if her Great-aunt got angry, she might not give her mother's belongings to her.
"Little Duck is here?" Today, her Great-aunt was unexpectedly warm, coming out to hold her hand, "Come, come inside and we'll talk."
Li Xiaoya was led through the door, only to find the room shrouded in darkness.
Her great-aunt turned to close the door before feeling for the light cord on the wall. With a tug, the incandescent bulb flickered to life, its harsh glare momentarily blinding.
Li Xiaoya instinctively blinked a few times before her eyes adjusted, finally able to make out who was sitting in the living room.
Her scalp tightened with fear, and she immediately tried to bolt, but her great-aunt caught her in her arms. Lifted off the ground, Li Xiaoya's legs dangled helplessly as she struggled in vain to escape.
Her great-aunt chuckled, "Child, why are you running? It's been so long since you've seen your cousin uncle's family."
Every Chinese New Year, Li Xiaoya would encounter this distant cousin uncle.
He would smile warmly, pat her head, and hand her a red envelope, saying, "How about coming to live a good life with uncle?"
Back then, Li Xiaoya didn't understand what he meant.
Later, the village children would gather around her, pointing and laughing: "Oh! Oh! Li Xiaoya is going to be sold by her grandpa! Sold to be a child bride for a cripple!"
Terrified, Li Xiaoya told her teacher.
The next day, her cousin uncle returned, furious. He berated her, "That city teacher of yours is just here for a temporary program. Do you know what that means? She'll be gone in two years. I'm telling you, no one can protect you forever!"
With that, he slapped her hard across the face.
The force of the blow left her ears ringing.
Blood trickled from both her nose and ear.
She stood there, calling out "Grandpa," but Grandpa Li just leaned against the doorframe, puffing on his pipe, sighing, "Xiaoya, it's not easy for grandpa to raise you alone..."
After that, little Li Xiaoya became the one taking care of Grandpa Li.
Her cousin uncle never appeared again.
So much time had passed that Li Xiaoya had almost forgotten about him.
Until this moment.
The memory of that slap came rushing back, and Li Xiaoya's head began to buzz once more.
She clenched her fists and said, "I want to go home."
Her cousin uncle rose and walked over, taking her from her great-aunt's arms. He smiled, his eyes crinkling in a way that, at first glance, made him look like a kind elder.
"What home? You're coming to live in the city with your uncle. The car's waiting outside."
Li Xiaoya fought to keep herself from trembling. She raised her voice, "I want to go home. If I don't go home, someone will come looking for me!"
