A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

"Nuan Nuan, don't be afraid, it's me!"

The large hand that had been covering the mouth loosened its grip.

Nuan Nuan was carried on her shoulder, and by the dim moonlight, she could see that anxious face clearly.

It's Gu Xiaoan.

He was sweating profusely, his chest heaving violently, and his lips were covered in dry skin from blowing the bamboo whistle.

He put Nuannuan down from his shoulder and was about to speak when a tall shadow rushed over from behind.

Gu Jianguo.

He burst out of the darkness with terrifying speed, taking two steps to reach her, snatching Nuannuan from Gu Xiaoan's hands, and pulling her into his arms.

The arm was gripped so tightly that Nuannuan's bones ached from the force.

Nuannuan smelled her father's familiar scent, nestled against his shoulder, pouted, and burst into tears.

She cried so hard she could barely breathe, her little body trembling violently.

Her fingers gripped Gu Jianguo's clothes tightly from the back, creating a crease.

"Daddy... Waaah... Nuannuan is so scared..."

Gu Jianguo remained silent.

He supported Nuannuan's bottom with one hand, pressed the back of her head with the other, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down several times, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Her eyes were red, but she didn't shed a tear.

Gu Xiaoan stood to the side, the light from her flashlight shining on the ground.

He sniffed and wiped his face hard with his sleeve.

"Little sister, let's go home."

-

On the way back, Gu Jianguo rode his bicycle with Nuannuan sitting on the crossbar in front of him.

His arms wrapped around Nuannuan from both sides, his hands gripping the handlebars, the wheels creaking on the dirt road.

Gu Xiaoan sat in the back, stretching out his arm to shine a flashlight to light the way.

The night breeze was chilly, and Nuannuan nestled against her father's chest, where most of the wind was blocked.

She stopped crying, sniffled, and took out a brown paper envelope from her pocket, holding it up on the bumpy train.

"dad."

"Um."

"Nuan Nuan took all of Grandma's things."

Gu Jianguo tightened his grip on the handlebars.

"There are three silver dollars, some copper coins, and half a bag of cornmeal," Nuannuan counted on her fingers, getting more and more excited as she spoke, "and that envelope too."

"What envelope?"

Nuannuan held the envelope up high: "Bad Grandma said it's a letter from Nuannuan's real father, telling her to cure Uncle and then her real father will come back."

The car lurched.

Gu Jianguo didn't respond for a while before finally speaking: "You believe it?"

"No way!" Nuannuan angrily slapped the envelope. "Xiao Lü said the letter is fake. The ink smell is gone. It's been half a year since it was written. It's not like it was just sent back."

She paused, then her voice trailed off.

"But... there were other things in the envelope that Nuannuan didn't have time to look at."

The bicycle bumped on the dirt road, and Nuannuan almost slipped off the crossbar, but Gu Jianguo caught her in time.

He didn't ask about the envelope again.

When I arrived at my doorstep, the lights in the yard were on.

Su Xiulan stood at the door, holding Gu Da'an's arm. When she saw the bicycle, her legs went weak and she almost rushed forward.

Gu Jianguo handed Nuannuan to Su Xiulan, who took her and held her in her arms.

She squatted on the ground, burying her face in the crook of Nuannuan's neck, her shoulders twitching but making no sound.

My voice is ruined; I can't cry anymore.

Nuannuan reached out and patted her back: "Mommy, don't cry, Nuannuan is okay."

Su Xiulan cried even harder.

Gu Jianguo parked the car, walked over to Su Xiulan, squatted down, and whispered in her ear.

"Xiulan, there might be something going on tomorrow."

Su Xiulan raised her head.

"No matter what happens, don't be afraid of anything."

Gu Jianguo glanced at the envelope in Nuannuan's arms and said something else.

"I'm here."

-

The next day, just as the sun was rising, the gate of the Gu family compound was nearly falling apart from being pounded on.

Bang bang bang, bang bang bang.

Su Xiulan was preparing warm porridge for Nuannuan in the kitchen when she almost dropped the iron spoon.

A howl came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Gu Jianguo, Su Xiulan, your whole family is heartless! Hand over my things!"

Old Mrs. Lin.

She stood at the gate of the courtyard, her cotton-padded coat unbuttoned.

Her hair was sticking up, a big bump was bulging on the back of her head, and all the wrinkles on her face were squeezed together. Wang Guixiang followed closely behind, keeping her head down and not daring to make a sound.

Her originally plump body now looked like that of a wronged young wife.

Following behind was Li Qiaozhu, head held high and chest puffed out, looking at everything with curiosity.

As soon as Old Lady Lin entered the courtyard, she plopped down on the ground, stretched out her legs, and began to wail, slapping her thighs with her withered, tree-like hands, "Everyone come and see! The Gu family has a thief. He sneaked into my house in the middle of the night and stole all my things and money!"

She has a loud voice; most of the village can hear her.

"My life savings from Yuan Shikai's funeral! Half a bag of life-saving cornmeal, all gone."

She wailed and cried, her words flowing like a well-reasoned tale.

Before long, a crowd gathered at the entrance of the Gu family compound.

"What happened?"

"Was it really stolen?"

"I've heard that family is dirt poor, how could they possibly have a Yuan Shikai silver dollar?"

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Su Xiulan rushed out of the kitchen, her apron still on, and a large iron spoon clutched in her hand.

Seeing the old woman rolling around in pain, I felt a surge of anger.

She felt a lump in her throat, but she gritted her teeth and swallowed the words back.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Old Lady Lin wailed even louder.

"Your whole family are thieves! Even your adopted daughter is a thief!"

"They stole something in the middle of the night and ran away, even bringing a snake to scare me. I'm a woman in my sixties, I was almost scared to death!"

She patted the ground and pointed her finger at the yard.

"You have no conscience! Not only did you kidnap my granddaughter, but now you're even after my life savings!"

More and more villagers are gathering outside the courtyard gate.

Several aunties whispered among themselves, their expressions towards the Gu family changing.

"Tsk tsk, three Yuan Shikai silver dollars is quite a lot..."

"Surely this old lady isn't going to lie like that, given her age?"

Li Qiaomei stood at the edge of the crowd, a slight smile playing on her lips, without uttering a sound.

Just then, a soft, sweet voice came from inside the house.

"grandmother?"

Everyone turned to look.

Nuannuan stood at the entrance of the main room, wearing the little jacket that Su Xiulan had changed for her last night. Her hair was tied in two small buns, and there were still red marks on her face.

She was holding a yellowed kraft paper envelope in her hand.

Nuannuan tilted her little head, took short steps to Grandma Lin, squatted down, and held the envelope in front of Grandma Lin.

"Grandma, is this the letter you're talking about?"

The sound effect of Grandma Lin's howling paused for a moment.

Nuannuan blinked her eyes, her sweet little voice clear and distinct.

"Grandma gave this to Nuannuan yesterday."

Grandma Lin's face froze.

The whispers in the courtyard suddenly stopped.

For warmth?

Grandma Lin opened her mouth, about to speak, when Nuannuan stood up and turned to face the villagers gathered at the gate of the courtyard.

She held the envelope high, her little arm outstretched.

"Uncles and aunts, this is a letter that Grandma showed to Nuannuan."

Nuannuan's voice was still a little hoarse and soft, but the courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, so every word went straight to everyone's ears.

"Grandma said that Nuannuan's biological father is not dead, but still alive. He wrote a letter to Nuannuan from a very far place."

She paused for a moment, her little mouth pursed, and her nose turned red again.

"Grandma said that as long as Nuannuan heals Uncle's leg, Dad will come back to pick her up."

The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze.

Nuannuan raised her other hand, her little finger pointing at Gu Jianguo standing behind her.

"But...isn't Nuannuan's dad here?"

This statement caused an uproar at the entrance of the courtyard.

"What do you mean? Using a dead person's letter to deceive children?"

"Good heavens, weren't that child's biological parents killed in the flood? Is she using dead people to make up lies to fool a five-year-old girl?"

"You actually did this, Old Lady Lin!"

The voices all clamored and drowned out the rest.

Grandma Lin's face flushed red and then turned pale, her lips trembled, and she sat on the ground for a long time, unable to stand up.

She didn't expect it.

She never expected that this five-year-old girl would take out the letter in front of the whole village.

This girl clearly promised to stay last night, clearly drank brown sugar water, and clearly slept obediently.

As a result, they stole the letter when she wasn't paying attention, emptied her belongings, and ran away.

Now they're turning around and biting back.

Wang Guixiang's face was deathly pale. She took two steps back, wishing she could disappear completely.

Li Qiaomei's smile vanished; she hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

"Nonsense!" Old Mrs. Lin jumped up from the ground, pointing at Nuannuan and yelling, "You stole that letter! You little thief—"

"Grandma Lin."

Gu Jianguo spoke up.

He took a step forward, stood in front of Nuannuan, and shielded his daughter behind him.

"You're saying we stole your things?"

His voice wasn't loud; he spoke one word at a time.

"My family just received severance pay for our jobs and bonuses from the military. Why would we care about your moldy cornmeal?"

Grandma Lin opened her mouth slightly.

"As for Yuan Shikai silver dollars—"

Gu Jianguo stared at her, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"Tell me, where did you get three silver dollars, you poor old woman who can't even afford to eat?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers at the courtyard gate also realized what was going on.

"That's right, both of Lin's sons are paralyzed, where did she get those silver dollars?"

"Could it be that it came from an illegitimate source?"

Old Mrs. Lin's face twitched.

Gu Jianguo didn't give her a chance to catch her breath.

"Should I go and ask Captain Gao and the police officers to come over right now and investigate where this money came from?"

He paused for a moment.

"While you're at it, look up what crime false accusation and framing is."

The moment the word "police" struck, Old Lady Lin's legs visibly went weak.

She took a step back, bumping her back into Wang Guixiang behind her.

Just then, a figure in military uniform walked out of the alley.

It is exactly what I just mentioned, Gao Yuan.

He gripped the holster at his waist, his face grim, and strode into the courtyard.

"Who should call the police?"

He glanced around and his gaze settled on Old Lady Lin.

"Grandma Lin, I warned you, if you come to the Gu family to cause trouble again, or fabricate facts to make false accusations—"

He didn't finish his sentence; he just patted his hand on the holster.

The slap wasn't loud, but Old Lady Lin's body trembled uncontrollably.

The sound of the gunshot from last night was still echoing in her ears.

Her mouth opened and closed, the carefully prepared sobs and reasons stuck in her throat, unable to be uttered or swallowed.

The villagers at the entrance of the courtyard were already smiling.

Some people covered their mouths, while others pointed and whispered rudely.

"Serves her right! Using a dead person to fool children, what kind of grandmother is this?"

"Your two sons stole wood and got paralyzed, and you still have the nerve to come out and whine?"

"Get out of here, you're a disgrace!"

Old Mrs. Lin's face turned purplish-red.

She gritted her teeth, scrambled to her feet, grabbed Wang Guixiang's arm, and dared not say another word. With her head down, she squeezed towards the courtyard gate.

Wang Guixiang was pulled so hard that she stumbled and almost fell.

Li Qiaomei had long since disappeared; she was nowhere to be seen.

When Grandma Lin squeezed out of the crowd, there was laughter and cursing from both sides.

She gritted her teeth, turned her head without looking back, and scrambled away.

Nuannuan stood behind Gu Jianguo, her little hands clutching her father's clothes, peeking out half her head, watching Grandma Lin's dejected figure grow further and further away.

"Little Green," she called out in her heart.

"Um?"

Will that mean grandma come back again?

Little Green's ginseng whiskers swayed, his tone unusually serious.

"Human brat, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart: this kind of person is indestructible. You can chase her away a hundred times, and she'll come back for the hundred and first time."

Her little hands gripped her father's clothes tightly.

"What about Nuannuan?"

Xiao Lü was silent for two seconds.

"You haven't seen what's inside the envelope yet."