The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 5 - 13

Chapter 5 - 13

The younger sister-in-law gave birth, and Yu Shuang had to take the two children back home along with settling all the subsequent affairs. Kang Long volunteered to go along. Although Yu Shuang felt somewhat embarrassed about continually troubling him, the niece and nephew could not live without Uncle Kang. Seeing that Kang Long was genuinely willing to help, Yu Shuang agreed to let him come.

The third child was a girl. The moment she was born, neither the sister-in-law nor her parents were particularly fond of her. Although there was no logical basis for it, they shared the exact same mindset as the people of Yuying Village, believing that this infant had brought a curse upon her father and living in absolute dread that she might next curse her mother.

The sister-in-law had no breast milk, and the baby wailed endlessly from hunger. The moment Yu Shuang arrived, she immediately purchased infant formula—imported brand—just to plug the third child's mouth first. With Yu Qing only just dead and a new life having arrived to greet his passing, the sister-in-law's mental and physical states were both in shambles. Facing a woman even younger than herself, Yu Shuang felt a tangled mix of bitter resentment and deep pity.

The reason for her resentment remained the same: she felt that her younger brother Yu Qing had been worked to death. The family burden was simply too heavy. As for the pity, it went without saying—with three children, how on earth was the sister-in-law going to manage from here on out? Yu Qing's wife could only let her tears drop in rapid succession while calling out to her elder sister-in-law.

This time around, Yu Shuang handed over a substantial amount of financial assistance, stuffing the cash directly into the hands of her mother-in-law. Stammering, the elderly woman said, "Xiao Qing's elder sister... this... this life..."

Everything dissolved into strings of tears.

Had this happened in the past, Yu Shuang undoubtedly would have berated them: "Who told you people to have three?!" But with the stark reality laid out bare before her eyes, she had no choice but to face it. What good would scolding do? If she scolded her too harshly and the sister-in-law closed her eyes and leaped straight into the lake, leaving the elderly behind with the infants...

It was simply too terrifying to imagine.

Offering comfort and persuasion actually yielded results. With great difficulty, the sister-in-law finally pulled herself together and explicitly declared that she would step out into the world and get a job. With the elderly growing older and the babies so young, she had to pick up Yu Qing's burden and hold the household together. Yu Shuang was moved nearly to tears—what a truly great mother! Deep down in her heart, Yu Shuang made up her mind: from now on, she would supplement her sister-in-law every single month—not for the sake of the sister-in-law herself, but for her three pitiful little nieces and nephews, the newest generation of the Yu family.

Kang Long entrusted acquaintances with inquiring about job opportunities, and he also called Yuanhai, who readily chipped in to help brainstorm solutions. Yu Shuang's sister-in-law was overflowing with overwhelming gratitude.

Once everything was settled, Yu Shuang prepared to leave; everyone had their own lives to lead. One could help with emergencies, but not permanent poverty, and she still had her own work to attend to. On this particular day, Yu Shuang and Kang Long were chatting in their hotel room about the aftermath arrangements.

Yu Qing's mother-in-law arrived.

"Madam," Yu Shuang greeted politely.

The mother-in-law cast a glance at Kang Long. Catching her drift, Yu Shuang quickly said, "Old Kang, go buy a couple of bottles of water."

Taking the hint, Kang Long excused himself, leaving only the two women in the room.

The mother-in-law sat down on the edge of the bed, looking somewhat fidgety.

"Madam, what is it?"

"Xiao Shuang's sister, thank you for everything during this period."

"Isn't that only right?"

"Xiao Qing leaving so suddenly... in my heart... it's just so hard..." Her voice trembled at the tail end.

Yu Shuang pressed her index finger against the inner corner of her eye; the mere mention of her brother threatened to bring tears.

With her hands folded over one another, the mother-in-law fell silent once more.

Assuming it was a matter concerning money, Yu Shuang asked directly, "Are there any other difficulties?" The mother-in-law waved her hand. Yu Shuang already reached into her bag to flip open her wallet.

Hastily, the mother-in-law insisted that wasn't it at all. Then what was it? There had to be something.

Yu Shuang had no choice but to sit back down properly and wait for her to continue.

The mother-in-law spoke again: "Back then, I advised against having another one, and Xiaofang was hesitant too, but Xiao Qing insisted on pushing forward, constantly talking about how more children bring more blessings, and how he needed to leave behind two more shoots to continue the old Yu family line. Your uncle and I both tried to talk him out of it, but you know what Xiao Qing's personality was like. He was the head of the household, and with his big mouth, who could ever win an argument against him?"

With a self-conscious laugh, Yu Shuang muttered, "It was indeed poorly thought out."

The mother-in-law continued, "And look at things now, right before our eyes—the two older ones need to go to school, and the little one just popped out. Xiaofang has no milk, the family can't afford to hire help or buy formula, and the baby cries out from hunger until it breaks my heart... Your uncle and I have already lived out our full shares; whenever we close our eyes for good, it won't be tiring anymore. But the children still have such a long road ahead of them! In the future, with Xiaofang all by herself and no magic multi-armed powers, how is she supposed to manage?"

Yu Shuang promised she would look after them and help manage things.

With a wronged expression, the mother-in-law said, "You can provide for a moment, but not for a lifetime."

Yu Shuang kept silent.

Suddenly summoning her resolve, the mother-in-law blurted out, "Xiao Shuang's sister, why don't we have the third one adopted over to you to keep you company?" Yu Shuang was utterly startled, her hands instinctively waving wildly in the air. Giving her no opportunity to refuse, the mother-in-law pressed on, "Don't you worry, the third one is still tiny and doesn't recognize faces yet. If you adopt her, you will be her mother; raising a child counts for more than giving birth, and none of us will ever run our mouths about it again. She will call you and you alone 'Mother.'"

Yu Shuang was so flustered and incoherent that she couldn't wedge a single word in.

Abruptly, the mother-in-law's expression shifted, her eyes welling up with tears. "Elder sister, who doesn't know how to cherish the flesh that drops from their own body?! But we truly have no other choice! An aunt is a blood aunt, and a niece is a blood niece. If you truly wash your hands of this... this child can only... only be given away to someone else..."

Ah!

Yu Shuang was so shocked that half her soul left her body.

Kang Long returned with the water and stepped into the room. The mother-in-law gave Yu Shuang's hand a firm squeeze, told her to think it over, and stood up to leave.

For a long, long time, Yu Shuang remained unable to collect her wits. Back when Yu Qing had stubbornly insisted on a third child no matter what, Yu Shuang had anticipated that collateral damage might occur. But she never imagined that the end result would be swapping out the donkey instead of taking off the millstone—she was the new donkey they had handpicked for the job. Judging by the mother-in-law's tone, if she refused to take in the third child, they genuinely might give the baby away to strangers. An aunt is a blood aunt, and a niece is a blood niece; her heart ached for the child to the very core. With her sister-in-law left all alone to care for two children and two elderly dependents, the burden was simply too heavy, and she could understand their "desperate resort." Yet everything had arrived with such suddenness.

It wasn't a matter of money.

Up until now, she and Kang Long had never formalized a covenant, consistently maintaining a loose relationship precisely to safeguard their individual freedom. What on earth would a child represent in the equation? That was a lifetime of entanglement! It wasn't as though she had never envied the bond between mother and child, but she truly was not prepared for this.

Kang Long asked, "What was she doing here?"

Yu Shuang answered directly, "They want to... have the baby adopted over to me."

Kang Long was left speechless. His world contained no such occurrences.

Gazing at Kang Long's blank expression, Yu Shuang deeply understood his shock. A free-spirited individual like him—how could he ever accept a child, let alone someone else's child? Taking it a step further, Yu Shuang knew that accepting this child would likely alter her relationship with Kang Long as well, and even if he were willing, she could not drag him into such a mess.

"What are you planning to do?" Kang Long asked.

"I don't know." At that moment, Yu Shuang was far more conflicted than Hamlet.

"What if you adopt her? What if you don't?" Kang Long offered a framework for thinking things through.

With a desolate expression, Yu Shuang replied, "If I adopt her, I've lost my mind; if I don't, they'll give the baby away."

Kang Long fell silent once more.

Shi Tongguang got married to that woman surnamed Liu, who came from a rather wealthy family. Desperate to announce it to the entire world, he plastered his wedding photographs everywhere. Unfortunately, Yu Rui caught sight of them and was left extremely displeased. Yet Shi's marriage provided Yu Rui with the driving force to push forward, telling herself she could not continue living like this.

Having rested enough and grieved enough, she remained a female warrior at heart. She intended to draw closer to Sister Meng and model herself after her. Yu Rui wanted to first sort out her network of personal connections; for instance, she needed to clear the air with Liangcai first. She also had matters to discuss with him, once again concerning work. She felt grateful when he first introduced her to the television station, but the moment she witnessed Yu Meng's privileged treatment, she felt a deep sense of grievance.

Back then, she had never received treatment of that caliber.

Although she could not be one hundred percent certain of the relationship between Yu Meng's beauty salon and Liangcai, many things were practically self-evident. Freshly divorced with no particular exceptional talents and family assets that were thoroughly ordinary, what reason did she have to suddenly rise to prominence?

Needless to say, there was someone backing her from behind the scenes.

Yu Rui decided to use this opportunity to probe the situation.

They arranged to meet by the seaside once again, and Liangcai did show up. He was a good lover, a good friend, and a reliable elder brother. However, during this meeting, Yu Rui did not share the sentimental feelings she had experienced last time; looking back chronologically, by the time they met at the concert hall previously, Liangcai must have already become romantically entangled with Meng.

"You haven't changed much," he spoke first.

"You've changed quite a bit."

"Oh?"

"You look younger and radiant," Yu Rui smiled, before adding, "There must be some happy event."

"What do you want to say?"

"Congratulations on your promotion."

He chuckled softly without taking up the thread. He could sense the underlying irritation in her tone. Since she had requested this meeting so suddenly and with such a resolute attitude, it couldn't be for nothing. Liangcai surmised she was likely dissatisfied with her previous job and wanted a change.

That wouldn't be difficult.

"Thanks for making a special trip to congratulate me; I appreciate the trouble," he said.

She needed to lay her cards on the table.

"Yu Meng is my elder sister."

Liangcai felt a jolt in his chest. It was his first time linking the two Yus together. Pure carelessness on his part. Yu Meng rarely brought up her hometown, and whenever she did mention it, she always glossed over it casually. He did know Yu Rui's hometown, but so many years had passed that he couldn't remember the details clearly.

"Is that so?"

"Neighbors, childhood playmates."

"Same father and mother?"

"Not quite," Yu Rui said.

Lost in thought, Liangcai remained silent and took a sip of tea. He didn't actually consider this a difficult situation to handle; he believed that even if he laid the entire truth bare before Yu Meng, she wouldn't care. They were both people who had seen enough of the world—what did a little bit of history matter? Judging by Yu Rui's expression, however, she seemed to care deeply. That was understandable; she was still young and perhaps reluctant to acknowledge having been his mistress. In fact, back when they were together, it had been a complete secret. Only heaven and earth knew. Yu Rui reached out and made a zipper gesture across her lips with a smile.

Liangcai laughed. "I've always respected history."

"Sister Meng might not see it that way."

"She knows?"

"Probably not."

"Did you come here today just to tell me this?" Liangcai put away his smile.

"I want to reach a consensus with you."

"Oh?"

"Don't let Sister Meng find out about what happened in the past."

"As long as you don't say anything."

"Of course I won't say anything; she is my elder sister, and I respect her," Yu Rui stated.

Liangcai set down his teacup. "Originally it was nothing, but handling it this way makes it seem like we're intentionally hiding something."

"I'm just afraid she'll overthink things and let it affect your relationship."

"Thanks for your concern," Liangcai said. "Is there anything else?"

"I want to find another job."

Liangcai nodded thoughtfully.

"Nothing too exhausting," Yu Rui pushed further.

"Done acting?"

"Three parts effort, seven parts divine will—I've seen through it all."

"A thorough awakening."

After a brief pause, Yu Rui asked, "What are your plans?"

"Let me figure it out and I'll tell you." Liangcai stood up to pour more water.

"I mean you and Sister Meng."

"She's doing very well."

"And then?" Yu Rui asked, summoning her courage. This was what she truly cared about.

"Did she have you ask me this?"

"Of course not," Yu Rui said. "I already told you, she doesn't know about our past relationship, and it's best if she never finds out."

"Live in the present."

"You won't marry her," Yu Rui stated, hitting the crucial issue. She had understood this about him back when they were together. It wasn't something he had told her directly; rather, she had deduced it from his subtle words and actions. After parting ways with his first marriage, he had no intention of remarrying.

"Hard to say," Liangcai replied. That was the truth, but it was also a slippery formulation. In a broad sense, what in this world was ever certain? Nothing; nobody knew whether they'd still be alive tomorrow, and nobody knew whether planet Earth would still exist in the future. But in a narrow sense, "hard to say" meant an unwillingness to make a commitment.

Yu Rui stopped asking further. She knew that trying to extract a commitment from Liangcai was harder than ascending to the heavens; what he wanted to do, he had already done for you without you needing to ask, while what he didn't want or couldn't do would never materialize no matter how much you begged.

Walking the path of the world, he had his own unavoidable constraints.

"Always causing you trouble," Yu Rui remarked politely at last.

"Can we never see each other again after this?"

"We can stay in touch once we've re-established our acquaintance," Yu Rui said. She was completely determined to pave the way for Sister Meng's happiness. She refused to let Yu Meng feel as though she had picked up the leftovers discarded by a good girlfriend. She still needed to utilize Yu Meng as her stepping stone to the clouds.