Half an hour later, He Fang took Gao Yue out.
Before leaving, she had carefully applied makeup and specially picked out a beautiful outfit for Gao Yue.
Her actions were a world apart from her state in the afternoon.
This discrepancy made Jiang Wuming feel that something was wrong, but he didn't tell Dongfang Xiaoyao. Instead, he took Dongfang Xiaoyao and secretly followed He Fang and Gao Yue.
He Fang took Gao Yue to a fried chicken shop, bought her fried chicken and cola, accompanied her until she finished eating, and then took Gao Yue to the amusement park in the mall for an hour.
By the time He Fang and Gao Yue came out of the mall, it was already dark.
"Mom, should we take a taxi back or walk?" Gao Yue asked with a smile.
"Let's... let's go for a walk by the river."
Looking at the happy smile on Gao Yue's face, He Fang's expression flickered for a moment, and her gaze drifted, but she quickly regained her resolve.
"Okay, Mom, we haven't gone for a walk in a long time," Gao Yue nodded excitedly.
Then, He Fang led Gao Yue along the road, all the way to the riverside, but they didn't linger in the bustling area for too long. Instead, they continued to walk along the river.
By now, it was completely dark, and it was late. There were not many people by the river.
He Fang saw all this, then suddenly stopped, crouched down, and asked Gao Yue, "Yueyue, shall we go find Daddy?"
"Ah—"
Gao Yue was a little stunned and instinctively asked, "Mom, isn't Dad already passed away? How can we find him?"
"Yueyue, we'll go find him in heaven."
He Fang smiled through her tears.
Gao Yue looked bewildered.
Young as she was, she didn't understand He Fang's meaning.
"Hoo..."
He Fang took a deep breath, then scooped up Gao Yue, preparing to climb over the railing and jump into the river to commit suicide!
However—
The moment He Fang picked up Gao Yue, a figure blocked her path.
Dongfang Xiaoyao.
She and Jiang Wuming had been secretly following He Fang and Gao Yue.
She had just heard what He Fang said to Gao Yue and knew that He Fang was about to commit suicide with Gao Yue. She suddenly appeared.
Jiang Wuming did not stop her.
"Who... who are you?"
Dongfang Xiaoyao's sudden appearance startled He Fang. She glanced at Dongfang Xiaoyao, vaguely feeling a sense of familiarity, but couldn't recall where she had seen her before.
"How dare you decide her life and death?!"
Dongfang Xiaoyao didn't answer He Fang, but coldly questioned her.
He Fang's actions reminded Dongfang Xiaoyao of her own abandonment years ago.
"You..."
He Fang's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. She didn't know how to answer. Then, a strange yet somewhat familiar face suddenly appeared in her mind, and that face gradually merged with Dongfang Xiaoyao's.
"You... you are Xiaorou?!"
He Fang's body trembled violently, causing her to release Gao Yue from her embrace.
Without answering, Dongfang Xiaoyao bent down and caught Gao Yue, preventing her from falling to the ground.
Then, Dongfang Xiaoyao took Gao Yue's hand and stared coldly at He Fang, saying word by word, "You abandoned me back then, indirectly deciding my life! Now, you want to decide her life and death—how dare you! You're too selfish!!"
"Xiaorou, it really is you!"
Hearing Dongfang Xiaoyao's words again, He Fang confirmed Dongfang Xiaoyao's identity. She was shocked and excited at first, then filled with guilt, not daring to meet Dongfang Xiaoyao's eyes.
"Mom, who is she?"
At this moment, Gao Yue asked, full of confusion.
"She is your older sister," He Fang said with a complicated tone.
"Sister, Mom, I have a sister?"
Gao Yue, hearing this, asked Dongfang Xiaoyao curiously, "Sister, why haven't I met you before?"
Dongfang Xiaoyao didn't answer Gao Yue's question, but stared intently at He Fang.
"Xiaorou, I..."
He Fang wanted to say something, but didn't know how.
On one hand, she didn't know how to tell Dongfang Xiaoyao about what happened back then.
On the other hand, with Gao Yue present, some things were inconvenient to say.
At this moment, Jiang Wuming walked over, "Xiaoyao, let the little sister stay with me for a while, so you two can talk more easily."
"Okay."
Dongfang Xiaoyao nodded subconsciously and let go of Gao Yue's hand.
He Fang's expression changed, and she looked at Jiang Wuming with suspicion and wariness.
"I am Dongfang Xiaoyao's friend. Well, in your memory, she should be called Mu Xiaorou."
Jiang Wuming noticed He Fang's change in expression, knowing what she was worried about, and took the initiative to say, "I brought Xiaoyao to find you. Because what happened back then left a huge shadow on her childhood, and I want to help her overcome it."
As he spoke, Jiang Wuming beckoned to Gao Yue, "Little sister, come here, big brother will play with you for a while so your mom and Sister Xiaoyao can talk, okay?"
Gao Yue didn't move, but looked up at He Fang.
He Fang looked at Jiang Wuming, then at Dongfang Xiaoyao, and finally said to Gao Yue, "Yueyue, you go over first."
"Okay, Mom." Gao Yue nodded obediently.
"Xiaorou, I wronged you back then!"
After Gao Yue walked away, He Fang finally mustered the courage to meet Dongfang Xiaoyao's gaze and said softly, "Although your dad was too much back then and ruined our family, you were innocent!"
"Back then, you only cared about running towards your happy life and never thought about me? When I hadn't eaten all day and asked you to buy me chicken legs, you told me to ask my dad to take me. I wanted to go to the park, and you said you didn't have time and asked my dad to take me..."
Dongfang Xiaoyao's tone became extremely low as she recalled the past, "You were busy dating your subsequent husband. And Mu Tiejun was busy gambling! Neither of you had time! Of course, you probably don't remember these things at all!"
"Xiaorou, I admit, I neglected you during that time. I thought he would take care of you when I wasn't home. Later, I realized it wasn't like that at all. He completely disregarded your life and death, and even gambled away all the support money I gave you, even handing you over to loan sharks! He's simply a beast!!"
He Fang's words were filled with hatred.
"Then what about you? You ran towards a new happy life, and you didn't think about my life or death, did you?" Dongfang Xiaoyao asked.
"—"
He Fang was speechless.
After she married her subsequent husband, they went on a honeymoon and had a happy time. When she remembered to visit Dongfang Xiaoyao, Dongfang Xiaoyao had already been taken away by loan sharks.
"You are a selfish person. Otherwise, you wouldn't have decided my life back then, and now you want to decide your second daughter's life and death!"
Dongfang Xiaoyao said coldly, "If it were just you wanting to jump into the river just now, I wouldn't have stopped you at all. I stopped you only because she is innocent—you have no right to decide her life and death! Do you understand?!"
By the end, Dongfang Xiaoyao's emotions became somewhat agitated.
"I... I'm sorry!"
He Fang instantly collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
"You are very pitiful, but you are even more hateful!"
Dongfang Xiaoyao looked at He Fang, who was sobbing on the ground, and reprimanded her with red eyes.
"Yes, I am a hateful woman! That's why heaven is punishing me like this!"
He Fang said, crying.
Dongfang Xiaoyao closed her eyes helplessly, not knowing what else to say.
"Let's go, to your home, Xiaoyao will help you solve all your problems!"
Seeing this, Jiang Wuming pulled Gao Yue's hand and walked over.
"Wh... what?"
He Fang looked up at Jiang Wuming in shock.
"She repays your maternal grace!"
Jiang Wuming said in a deep voice.
...