When Su Rui heard those words, a thousand question marks instantly popped into her mind.
A daughter? Lin Yueying has a daughter?
She had lived in Lin Yueying's staff dormitory and never once seen anything related to a "daughter"—no photos, no letters, not even the faintest trace.
And now, Aunt Xiu Hui's question was like a stone tossed into the still waters of her heart, stirring up ripples she couldn't ignore.
Perhaps… this was one of Lin Yueying's wishes?
Su Rui quickly steadied herself and decided to go along with the topic to dig out more information.
Her eyes softened, and she put on the face of a grieving mother from a melodrama who had lost her child for many years. With a sigh, she said,
"Sigh… not yet… After all these years, there hasn't been a single day I didn't think of her."
Sure enough, it worked like a charm.
Xiu Hui's expression immediately softened, as if someone had pressed her sympathy button.
"Lin Po, everyone in the village knows about you looking for your daughter," she said, her words coming faster now. "I remember it was when she was five—you sent her away for some reason. After that, you cried every day. Even as a matchmaker, you couldn't focus on your work. When introducing matches, your child's name would still slip into your words. Later, maybe ten years ago, you even divorced your husband and went out to work on your own, just to find news of your child…"
Su Rui was momentarily stunned.
She hadn't expected the past of this body to hide such a story.
Yet her heart grew heavy—
How could a mother bear to give away a child she had carried for ten months?
Whatever the reason, it was something she struggled to accept.
The minibus rattled its way into Chijiao Village.
It was a small village embraced by mountains, with sprawling rice paddies and lush bamboo groves along the way. The rice was already in ear, swaying gently in the breeze. Most houses were old two-story buildings of grey brick and tile, their courtyards hung with dried vegetables, salted fish, and strings of bright red chili peppers glistening in the sun. Chickens and ducks occasionally darted across the paths, flapping into the yards.
When they arrived at the stop, Xiu Hui eagerly grabbed her arm. "Come on, come on, let me make you some tea!"
Su Rui smiled and waved it off. "Next time, next time for sure."
But her mind was already working—switching into "Lin Yueying mode."
As she walked along the village road, the villagers greeted her warmly.
An old man handed her a bag of freshly picked cucumbers, saying they were "Lin Po's favorite to crunch on."
A farmer paused in his work and called to her from across the paddy, "You're back!"
A young wife teased, "Lin Po, back again—who are you matching up this time?"
Su Rui slipped seamlessly into her role.
To the elders, she smiled with gentle warmth.
To the young wife, she patted her arm and joked, "Oh, you won't be needing my help anytime soon—your mother-in-law's got more skills than I do!"
When the old man handed her cucumbers, she made a playful show of inspecting them. "Hmm, is there enough juice in these? Don't let it be like last time, all seeds and no crunch."
Step by step, she played the part so well that the curious stares turned into genuine warmth and familiarity.
Eventually, she stopped in front of an old grey-brick house.
This had to be Lin Yueying's home—
But when she reached into her pocket for the keys, she realized… she didn't have them.
Damn.
She started knocking on the wooden door—politely at first, then harder when there was no answer, until she was practically pounding like a war drum.
"Open up! Open the door!"
Creak—
The door swung open from inside, and there stood a dripping-wet teenage boy, steam still rising from his bare shoulders and chest, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist.
He blinked once, then broke into a bright grin, calling out naturally and cheerfully,
"Mom—you're back!"
Su Rui: "…"
She froze on the spot, wondering if she'd knocked on the wrong door—
But this was definitely Lin Yueying's house.