She looked at the young man staring at her from the doorway and recognized him as the one who had come to her house a couple of days ago to deliver a message.
"Sister-in-law, do you know him?" He Xinglan stood beside her, and because there were many ancestral worship procedures and no one to talk to, she couldn't help but speak up several times.
"Yes, I came to the villa a while ago to explain some things."
At this point, He Xinglan took the initiative to talk about the background of the person outside: "He came here as a refugee, but fortunately he is a relative of Uncle Chen..."
From the moment Yu Lian looked over, the other person had already been called away. She felt like she'd seen this newcomer somewhere before, and if not, why was she looking at her with such a complicated expression?
"Sister-in-law, is something wrong?"
"No, I'm just curious, since I've never seen it before."
Yu Lian least wanted to cause any trouble at the He family's old house, so even if something happened, she wouldn't say anything. Lost in thought while waiting, she shut herself off from all the sounds around her.
"Sister-in-law? Sister-in-law? My brother is here." He Xinglan called several times before she finally brought the person back from her reverie.
"Okay."
Sensing that her sister-in-law, who had joined the family later, was distracted, He Xinglan decided not to bother her further. As the only member of the He family who harbored no hostility towards Yu Lian, her attitude was different—the ruthless person outsiders described wasn't actually that bad in her eyes. Others were half right, but not entirely. At least after joining the He family, what she saw with her own eyes differed greatly from what outsiders said. This sister-in-law showed no greed for the He family's status, wealth, or status; instead, she always appeared exhausted whenever she came to the old house. A closer look revealed that she didn't want to come here, and most of the time, her smiles were forced.
"Sister-in-law, let's go."
Following He Xinglan, Yu Lian was arranged to stand next to He Lin. Even with two people between them, she could still sense the other's unfriendly aura, and her feet involuntarily moved to the side. She stared intently at the altar directly in front of her, listening to the chanting of the He family elders, who mentioned her, but the focus was on the child in her womb.
The ceremony was simple, but the process was long. It started at noon and lasted until sunset, and only after the ancestors were sent off was the ceremony considered complete.
"Everyone's worked hard today. After dinner, please make your own arrangements." The family head, He Jianguo's words brought a sigh of relief to everyone. The kitchen staff had prepared everything in advance. Due to her pregnancy and having followed the procedures all day, Yu Lian was so hungry she had no strength in her hands. She ate very attentively, only picking at what was in front of her.
"Sister-in-law, eat some meat, don't let my little niece go hungry," Yu Lian whispered her thanks. He Xinglan shook her head slightly, and then silently served her sister-in-law a lot of food.
After dinner, Yu Lian said she had to leave, but only the driver had just left with He Lin. Li Ying wanted her daughter-in-law to stay overnight, but Yu Lian said she still had things to take care of, so she didn't say anything more.
"Uncle Chen, could you find someone to escort Yu Lian?"
Uncle Chen immediately made up his mind: "Xiao Jia and I will deliver it; it's not too late yet."
"Okay, just make sure you get to the villa safely."
"Let's go, Comrade Xiao Yu."
It wasn't dark yet, the sun was setting late, and there were quite a few people on the streets. To avoid attracting attention, the He family only had one car, not enough bicycles, and no suitable female companions to take her, so they had to send the old man and the young woman on their own.
"Oh dear, I'll go back and get a flashlight, so I don't have to come back in the dark."
During the brief pause, Yu Lian spoke up, "Excuse me, your name is Xiao Jia? But I don't know you."
He Lin remained silent for a long time, until he heard Chen Bo's movements in the distance before speaking: "Why do you say that?"
"You're looking at me deliberately, not like other people do. You know me, don't you?"
He Lin didn't know how to answer, and just then Uncle Chen arrived, so the conversation between the two stopped.
On the way back, the three took a shortcut, which was much faster than taking the main road. However, the conversation was limited to Uncle Chen and Yu Lian. Uncle Chen asked some questions about the work at the villa. As an elder of the He family, he was initially disdainful of dealing with Yu Lian, but after limited contact, he gradually realized that she was a pitiful person, not as the outside world described. Finally, he couldn't help but offer a suggestion: "You are now the master of the house. Since the master and mistress have let you live in the villa, they have handed over the rights of the villa to you, including the people."
"Thank you, Uncle Chen, I understand."
Uncle Chen sighed. After successfully delivering the person, Yu Lian entered the courtyard. Just as he closed the gate, Uncle Chen and Yu Lian hadn't gone far when they heard screams coming from inside the main house. Xiao Jia beside him quickly jumped over the wall and went inside, before Uncle Chen could catch up.
He ran closer and heard the two shouts clearly—it turned out a thief had broken into his house. He grabbed his most handy tool, intending to go in and deal with the thief, but when he reached the second-floor window and felt the wind rushing in, he realized the thief had already escaped. Looking at the open window and the mess in the room, he searched every possible hiding place on both the first and second floors to make sure it was safe before going out into the yard to warn others.
When he went out, he thought his fabricated identity was about to be exposed, but Uncle Chen said that one of them had been so frightened that he broke his leg, and the other had gone to the hospital with him and probably wouldn't be back tonight.
"Is it safe now?" Uncle Chen asked.
"Yes, I've checked everything, and the doors and windows are locked. It looks like the back door wasn't locked properly, and they climbed over the wall from the backyard to pick the lock."
Uncle Chen nodded. It was too late; the thief had already escaped, and they wouldn't get any results all night. After calling the old house for instructions, he told the two of them to stay. The old lady from the old house would be coming over soon. The three of them would take turns watching over Yu Lian tonight to ensure her safety. They wouldn't disturb the crime scene and would report it to the police first thing tomorrow morning.
Upon entering the room, the floor was slightly messy. Yu Lian bent down to pick up some items from the floor, but someone took them first.
"Comrade Yu, please go upstairs and rest. We'll take care of these tasks. Just let us know if you need anything."
"Alright, thank you for your hard work."
"It's getting late, you should go upstairs and rest. Grandma from the old house is coming soon, so you should go to sleep early."
Yu Lian understood the implication—going upstairs to sleep now would save her a lot of trouble. Listen to advice, after all, the person she frequently interacted with wasn't exactly gentle.
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