After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

The jeep drove to the foot of the mountain, and the group got out and began walking towards the back of the mountain.

Having just climbed halfway up the mountain, I could see a new burial mound in the distance, with bare yellow earth exposed and lush green grass covering the grave.

Lan Yujuan thought for a moment, then stopped and turned around, saying:

"Or, why don't you go back to the car and wait for me?"

"We're not far ahead. I'll take Xiaoman there."

The hill behind Xiahe Village is where the Liu family's ancestral graves are located.

She was somewhat worried that Chen Mo might feel uncomfortable leading him up the mountain so hastily.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of firecracker sounds came from the direction of the nearby graves.

Judging from the situation, it seems that some people, like them, chose to come to the back mountain on Sunday morning to pay respects to their ancestors.

Lan Xiaoman didn't understand what they were doing in the back mountain. She was happy all the way and treated it as a sightseeing trip.

The little guy was so frightened by the sudden sound of firecrackers that he shrank into Chen Mo's arms and turned pale.

After a few seconds, she suddenly cried out "Wah!" in fright.

Seeing this, Chen Mo quickly bent down, picked up the little one, and comforted him, while turning to the other two and saying:

"You guys go down the mountain and wait in the car first."

"We'll come down the mountain to meet you after we finish our business."

The driver and Li Le looked at each other, then nodded and went down the mountain together.

Fortunately, the little guy was relatively easy to coax. Chen Mo simply took out a lollipop from his pocket and that was enough to appease him.

Lan Yujuan saw this and a smile crept onto her lips. As she continued walking up the mountain, she softly asked with a laugh:

"When did you buy the candy?"

"How come you can always produce snacks from your pocket, just like Doraemon's pocket?"

Chen Mo held the child in his arms, lifting him high above his head, letting the child ride on his shoulders.

Seeing this, Lan Yujuan quickly stopped her.

"Put her down quickly, or you can hold her, otherwise the candy will stick all over her hair."

To everyone's surprise, Chen Mo simply smiled and said indifferently:

"It's okay, I'll take a shower when I get back to the hotel anyway."

"This mountain path is difficult to walk on, so I let my daughter ride on my shoulders. She can eat candy and enjoy the scenery at the same time, and I don't have to worry about her getting bored."

Lan Yujuan looked helpless. Seeing that she couldn't persuade the man, she looked up at her daughter and said:

"It's so tall, aren't you scared?"

"The mountain road is difficult to walk, and it's even more difficult for Dad to walk carrying you like this."

"Sweetie, Xiaoman, come down. Mommy will hold your hand, okay?"

To everyone's surprise, the little guy shook his head and refused, with a lollipop in his mouth and his hands tightly holding Chen Mo's head, refusing to get down no matter what.

"Dad carried me on his back, I wasn't scared at all!"

Lan Yujuan couldn't persuade the father and daughter any further, so she gave up and said, "Fine, then let's walk slower!"

As she spoke, she reached out to take the things hanging from Chen Mo's arm.

Seeing this, Chen Mo slightly shifted his body to the side and smiled as he avoided it, saying, "You don't need to carry it, it's not heavy."

After walking for about 10 more minutes, the family of three finally arrived at their destination.

Lan Yujuan looked at that familiar face, now a black and white photograph, pasted on the cold stone tablet.

After all, for the past four years, without knowing much of the inside story, she genuinely respected him as an elder and treated him like a father figure.

The last time I came here was during the Qingming Festival, when I came with my family to pay respects to our ancestors. Liu Defu was the head of the family.

I never imagined that things would change so drastically.

At this moment, it would be a lie to say that I felt no emotion at all when looking at the black and white photograph on the stone tablet.

A rare serious expression appeared on Lan Yujuan's face.

She knelt down in front of the grave, preparing to place the offerings, incense, candles, and wine cups, but unexpectedly discovered that the damp patch in front of the grave smelled strongly of alcohol.

"Huh, it seems like someone came to offer sacrifices just now?"

Chen Mo, holding Xiao Man's hand, stood beside her and softly replied, "Yes, they must have just left."

"The string of firecrackers we heard halfway up the mountain must have come from here."

As he said this, Chen Mo glanced at the pile of bright red firecracker paper scraps on the open ground next to him, which were still faintly steaming.

The two exchanged a glance, and both understood what was going on.

It's neither a holiday nor a festival, and the only people who can come here to pay their respects, besides them, are Liu Zhiyuan.

It looks like he came back this morning too.

After Lan Yujuan arranged everything, she lit incense and candles, while Chen Mo set off firecrackers beside her.

After the firecrackers stopped, Lan Yujuan released her hand from her daughter's, handed her the three lit incense sticks, and whispered:

"Good boy, kowtow three times to Grandpa."

Lan Xiaoman took the incense and obediently kowtowed as instructed.

Although the little guy's memory of his biological father is becoming increasingly vague.

But she still remembers the photo on the stone tablet very clearly.

This is her grandfather.

He was neither good nor bad to her, never hitting or scolding her, and occasionally carrying her around the village to buy her candy.

After the memorial service on the back mountain ended, the family of three went down the mountain.

Then, she drove straight to the Liu family home, where she had been trapped for four years.

The jeep was parked on the roadside in front of Liu's house. After Lan Yujuan got out of the car, she felt her breathing become difficult.

The pond in front of the Liu family's house has been haphazardly fenced off with old railings.

However, all the fish in the pond had been caught, revealing the muddy bottom, and the water was almost dry.

In my memory, the smooth and tidy ground in front of the Liu family's house is now overgrown with sparse weeds.

The tall foxtail grass was as tall as an adult's waist. There were also patches and patches of toad grass lying on the ground.

Only a narrow path, barely wide enough for one person to pass, remained in the middle leading to the gate.

It must be because people walk by and trample on it every day, so there hasn't been time for grass to grow.

The rammed earth walls revealed large cracks, making the old house look like it could collapse at any moment.

As Lan Yujuan walked to the front door, she was so tense and stressed that she could hardly breathe.

Now, she can hardly imagine how she could have endured in such a place for four years.

Just then, a large hand gently embraced her from behind, and his steady, powerful voice came from above her head.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here for you!"

"After this, we will never come here again."

Lan Yujuan was touched and slowly turned her head away.

That unwavering gaze seemed to give her a constant source of strength, while gradually easing her tense emotions.

"Who's talking outside?" A male voice suddenly came from inside the house.

Then, a familiar figure emerged from the shadows inside the house.

"Yujuan?"

"You, you actually came back with the child!"

The person who came out of the house was Liu Zhiyuan.

The moment he saw Lan Yujuan standing at the door with her daughter, his eyes instantly welled up with tears.

Even his voice began to choke up.

"I knew it! You're always so soft-hearted; you'd definitely come back with the child!"

Lan Yujuan stood quietly at the doorway, the threshold separating the two of them, one in the light and one in the shadows, their eyes meeting.

"You're overthinking it," Lan Yujuan immediately rejected the idea. "I don't want to come back."

"The only reason we came back is because of Xiaoman."

"This is the first time, and it will be the last."

Liu Zhiyuan lowered his head, choking back tears. He clearly wasn't taking these words to heart. Wiping away his tears, he said emotionally:

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"

"Don't stand outside, come in!"

"Mom's lying in the house, you know which room. You must be thirsty after your journey, right? I'll go to the kitchen now and make you some tea!"

Throughout the entire process, Liu Zhiyuan did not glance at anyone else, as if everyone else were invisible.

However, as Liu Zhiyuan turned to walk towards the kitchen, he subconsciously clenched his fist.

Chen Mo observed this and gently reminded him:

"Are you thirsty? I'll have Ah Le go to the car and get you some water."

Lan Yujuan smiled slightly and shook her head gently. "I'm not thirsty. I drank some water when I got off the bus."

"Let's go in and take a look, then we'll leave."

The driver and Li Le stood in the yard waiting.

Chen Mo accompanied the mother and daughter to the room where Tian Xiuhua was staying.

The door to the room was tightly closed, and despite talking for a long time outside, there was no response from inside.

If it were in the past, Tian Xiuhua would have lost her composure and rushed out first.

Pushing open the door, a stench hit me. The room was completely silent, with the doors and windows tightly shut.

Looking towards the bed from afar, there was only a emaciated body lying there quietly, its face ashen.

Hearing the door open, the person lying on the bed finally lifted their eyelids.

Then he turned his head slightly to the side and looked towards the door.

"Juan, Juan'er?"

"Is that you...?"