dhibooks Chapter 2 He really owed Jiang Xinlan and the two children too much.
Chapter 2 He really owed Jiang Xinlan and the two children too much.
They've gone to heaven.
It turned into stars.
These words, like a knife chilled to the bone, pierced Shen Yu's heart.
He seemed to see Jiang Xinlan unable to find him, surrounded by rumors, and overwhelmed by the pressures of life.
Faced with two children who constantly ask for their father, she felt wronged and helpless, but she didn't want to hurt their young hearts, so she could only make up a kind lie, saying that her father had become a star in the sky.
And these two children in front of me, from childhood to adulthood, have listened to others' ridicule, clutching this blurry photo, secretly missing their father.
For a moment, Shen Yu felt extremely heartbroken and remorseful.
He really owes Jiang Xinlan and their two children far too much.
Perhaps this is why, in some mysterious way, he did not die after failing his tribulation but instead returned to this world.
Even God felt he should come back and make amends to them.
Shen Yu's eyes welled up slightly. He squatted down again to be at eye level with the two children.
He didn't rush to get closer, but simply reached out his finger and gently tapped the photo inside the metal box.
She then pointed to her face, speaking in a very soft and gentle voice, as if afraid of frightening the two children:
"Niannian, Guigui, I'm your father. Don't believe me? Look at the person in the photo, doesn't he look just like me?"
Niannian hugged the box, looked at the photos, then at his face, her little head nodding, her eyes widening.
Gui Gui also took a half step forward and carefully compared the photos for a long time. She even matched the location of the mole on the boy's face with that on Shen Yu's face. The wariness in her eyes instantly dissipated, replaced by a hint of undisguised anticipation.
But she still pursed her lips and asked warily:
"So what if we look alike? Mom said Dad's not coming back, you must be lying!"
"I'm not a liar."
Shen Yu looked at the little boy who was clearly full of anticipation but was stubbornly protecting his sister, and his heart melted completely.
"Your names are Shen Nianyu and Shen Sigui. Nianyu means 'missing Shen Yu,' and Sigui means 'missing the returning one,' right?"
Shen Yu pointed to the names embroidered on the two children's kindergarten uniforms and spoke gently.
"And my name is Shen Yu."
Upon hearing this, both children were stunned.
The meaning of their names was something their mother secretly told them while crying at night; she never told anyone else.
Niannian's eyes lit up instantly. She took half a step forward, her little hand cautiously touching Shen Yu's sleeve, her voice trembling violently:
"You...you're really Dad? Didn't you become a star? You've come back from heaven to see us?"
"Yes, I am Dad."
Shen Yu's voice was barely perceptiblely hoarse as he slowly opened his arms to the two children.
"I'm sorry Daddy came home late, and I'm sorry you and Mommy had to go through that. Daddy will never leave again; I'll always be with you and protect you, okay?"
Gui Gui stood there, her little body stiff for a long time, her eyes quietly reddening. Her little hands, which were clutching the hem of her clothes, loosened and tightened again, but in the end she couldn't help but take a small step forward.
Looking into his gentle eyes, Niannian couldn't help but burst into tears.
She threw herself into Shen Yu's arms, her little arms tightly wrapped around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck, calling out again and again:
"Daddy! Daddy! You're finally back! I missed you so much!"
The little girl's soft body carried a faint milky scent, and her hot tears soaked his collar.
Shen Yu's heart was instantly filled with joy. He carefully tightened his arms around his daughter, holding her firmly in his embrace, gently patting her back and soothing her softly.
"As long as Daddy is here, Daddy will never leave again."
He then looked at Gui Gui, who was still standing in front of him, and extended his other hand towards her, his eyes full of tenderness and apology:
"Guigui, come to Daddy. I'm sorry, Daddy missed six years of you and your sister's life. From now on, Daddy will be there to watch you grow up."
Gui Gui pursed his lips, and the tears he had been holding back for so long finally fell. He couldn't hold back any longer, and quickly ran forward, placing his little hand in Shen Yu's large palm.
The warmth from his fingertips made him tense instantly, yet he gripped his hand tightly, refusing to let go. After a long silence, he finally whispered the words he had kept hidden for so long:
"dad."
With Niannian in one arm and Guigui by the other, Shen Yu stood up and walked toward the neighborhood the child had indicated.
The setting sun cast long shadows of the three of them. Niannian perched on his shoulder, chattering away about things at home.
She said her mother worked very hard, going to film sets every day, leaving before dawn and returning home in the middle of the night.
Grandpa is in the hospital, and Grandma has to take care of him every day.
They said they were very well-behaved, that they would wash their own socks, massage their mother's back, and never cause her any trouble.
Gui Gui held his hand, secretly glancing at him the whole way. The wariness on her little face gradually faded, and the light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
at the same time.
In the open-air filming location of "The Wind Rises in Chang'an" at the suburban film and television base, Jiang Xinlan had just gotten up from the scorching hot bluestone ground, propping herself up on her arms.
She was the stand-in for this scene, replacing the lead actress, Lin Weiwei.
She has already filmed the scene where the young lady from a wealthy family is pushed and falls down eight times under the sun.
"Jiang Xinlan, you're still not right this time."
The assistant director's voice carried through the heatwave, laced with undisguised impatience, the megaphone in his hand crackling loudly.
"Teacher Lin is playing a young lady from a scholarly family. Even if she falls, she can't let her posture falter. What you did just now was too timid; it was completely wrong. Let's do one more take. If you still can't get it right, you can forget about getting paid today."
Under the private awning not far away, Lin Weiwei was slumped in the director's chair, enjoying the breeze from a high-powered fan, holding an iced milk tea in her hand, and slowly glancing over.
"Assistant director, don't push us too hard. After all, we're not from a formal acting background, and it's not easy for us to make a living. It's not sustainable for everyone to just keep going like this, taking one take after another under the sun."
The surrounding staff chuckled softly, their gazes falling on Jiang Xinlan with a hint of disdain, as if watching a spectacle unfold.
Everyone knew that Lin Weiwei was deliberately making things difficult for Jiang Xinlan, but Jiang Xinlan had no background or support, so she could only endure it.
Jiang Xinlan bit her lower lip, swallowing back the rebuttal that was on the tip of her tongue.
She needs this money urgently; her father's medical expenses in the hospital and her two children's tuition fees for next month are all waiting for this money.
This bit of harassment and humiliation is nothing compared to the hardships I've endured over the past six years.
Jiang Xinlan took a deep breath of the scalding hot air, enduring the soreness and heat all over her body, and was about to walk back to her position to continue when her phone in her pocket suddenly started vibrating wildly.
She hurriedly pulled it out, and the screen displayed the number of her kindergarten teacher, Peach.
Normally, Ms. Momoko wouldn't call unless there was something important to say.
Could it be that something happened to Niannian Guigui?
Jiang Xinlan's heart tightened, and she quickly retreated to the side of a pillar to answer the phone.
"Mommy, something terrible has happened!"
Ms. Peach's panicked voice came through the receiver.
"Niannian and Guigui secretly ran out of the kindergarten this afternoon when the teacher wasn't looking. We checked the surveillance footage, and they were in the old alley, being led by a man towards your house."
"We've already searched the neighborhood. You should also go home and check if the child has returned home yet..."
"I'm going home right now!"
Jiang Xinlan hung up the phone with a pale face, ignoring the assistant director's stern reprimands behind her, and without even taking off her heavy costume, she rushed out of the film set.
It was practically like robbing a taxi parked on the street. Jiang Xinlan's voice was trembling as she gave out the address of her residential area.
Throughout the journey, she sat in the back seat, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her eyes fixed on the rapidly receding street scene outside the window, her mind filled with the soft faces of her two children.
Countless terrifying thoughts churned in her mind, but she forcefully suppressed them.
She kept telling herself that the child would be alright, that everything would be alright.
The taxi ran two red lights before finally stopping in front of the old apartment building.
Jiang Xinlan scanned the QR code for 100 yuan without even asking for change, and rushed upstairs after opening the car door.
On the third floor, the door was ajar, with a crack left in the door.
Jiang Xinlan's heart leaped into her throat. She pushed open the door, her muscles tensing, bracing herself for the worst.
But the scene in the living room made her freeze in place.