Born at the Right Time

When Xia Chun took Gu Yiran back to the compound by bicycle, there were almost no people watching the excitement in front of Xia’s house, and Xia Ying and Xia Xuzhen’s fight seemed to be over.

Xia Chun got off the bicycle and turned her head to look suspiciously at Gu Yiran, who jumped down from the back seat.

Xia Chun lost her father and her fourteen-year-old brother in a car accident when she was still in her mother’s womb.

Her mother had decided to raise her alone, but it was not easy for a widow with a daughter to live in such a small village. Her grandfather, who was still alive at the time, made his own decisions and introduced her stepfather, Xu Guoan, who was working in the Xiajia Auto Repair Factory, to Xia Ying.

Xia Ying looked down on Xu Guoan at first.

Xu Guoan was an honest countryman who didn’t even finish elementary school, and his wife had died early, leaving a thirteen-year-old daughter with him. But even so, Xia Ying married him because he was willing to work hard and be honest.

Xu Guoan came to live at Xia’s house and even embedded an extra surname in front of his biological daughter’s name to show respect.

Ever since the two got married, Xu Guoan couldn’t hold his head up in front of Xia Ying. Almost everything at the house was decided by Xia Ying. He didn’t dare go against his wife, but his step-sister, Xia Xuzhen, was not like her father.

Xia Xuzhen was a rebellious thirteen-year-old who didn’t like studying. She even fought, smoked, drank, and fell in love.

Xia Ying didn’t like this stepdaughter in the first place because she had a lot of bad habits.

Xia Xuzhen also hated her stepmother very much. In addition, she had a bad temper, sharp teeth, and a sharp mouth. If they disagreed with each other, there would always be a quarrel.

In Xia Chun’s memory, the quarrel between her mother and her stepsister continued until she was five years old.

At that time, seventeen-year-old Xia Xuzhen was fooling around with a gangster and accidentally became pregnant, which caused the family to fall into trouble. People began to point fingers secretly, and finally, Xia Ying’s patience wore out. She beat her stepdaughter with a stick, and Xia Xuzhen spat viciously on Xia Ying’s face. Then she ran out of the yard without looking back.

Unexpectedly, she did not come back.

The stepfather called the police and asked relatives and friends to look for her, but to no avail, even the gangster Gu, who had a good relationship with Xia Xuzhen in the backstreet, disappeared.

So everyone said that Xia Xuzhen really eloped with the surname Gu.

Nine years passed in a flash, and there was no news at all.

Xia Chun had almost forgotten about this elder sister until today.

“Let’s go in first.” Xia Chun pushed the bicycle and walked towards the door of her house.

Gu Yiran was still a little scared, but he could only bite the bullet and walk in with Xia Chun.

Seeing Xia Chun coming back, the neighbour next to her house hurriedly waved. “Xia Chun, go in and see your mother. Your mother is going to be mad at your sister!”

“I see, thank you.” Xia Chun parked her bicycle, led Gu Yiran into the house, and then closed the door smoothly.

The living room was in a mess, as if it had just been ransacked by a thief.

Xia Chun led Gu Yiran through a pile of broken porcelain and saw her stepfather, Xu Guoan, sitting in a corner smoking a cigarette. It seemed he had smoked nonstop, with a considerable amount of cigarette butts scattered at his feet.

Xia Chun went up and called out softly, “Father Xu?”

Xu Guoan was in a daze and came to his senses when he heard someone calling him. “Ah, baby girl. Are you back?” And he looked at Gu Yiran next to her and asked, “Child, how did you meet your aunt?”

Gu Yiran didn’t relpy.

“I met him on the way back from school. There are many alleys near our house, and he seemed to be unable to find his way back,” Xia Chun said.

When Xu Guoan heard that Gu Yiran was lost, he quickly grabbed his arm with both hands and hugged him distressingly. “Lost? Did something happen to you?”

Gu Yiran was still in shock and only shook his head.

Xu Guoan breathed a sigh of relief, pointed at Xia Chun, and smiled lovingly at Gu Yiran, saying, “Of course, this is your mother’s sister, your aunt. Come, call her aunt.”

Gu Yiran stared at Xia Chun with a pair of dark eyes. For a long time, he didn’t call out the word “auntie”.

Xu Guoan was a little embarrassed, but Xia Chun didn’t care. She just looked around the living room and saw two suitcases beside the dining table and a pile of nutritional gift boxes that had been destroyed. Her step-sister was nowhere to be seen.

“Father Xu, is sister here?” Xia Chun asked doubtfully.

Xu Guoan responded, “Well, yes.”

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“Then where’s my sister?”

Xu Guoan: “Just now, a phone call came saying that a friend in this town had something to do with her, so she left in a hurry. She should be back in a while.”

Xia Chun said, “Oh, what about my mother?”

Xu Guoan pointed to the bedroom. “Your mother is not feeling well. She went to sleep. ”

Xia Chun nodded and didn’t ask further questions.

Xu Guoan put his arms around Gu Yiran, smiled, and said softly, “I didn’t expect today to be such a disaster. If you didn’t bring Ranran back, I would be really worried to death.”

Xia Chun pursed her lips and shook her head, grinning, and said, “It’s okay, I didn’t expect to meet my nephew on the road.”

Xu Guoan also smiled and glanced at the clock next to him. “Oh, it’s already four o’clock, I’m going to get ready to cook.” Then he stood up, stroked Gu Yiran’s hair, and said kindly, “Of course, you watch TV in the living room with your aunt first, and Grandpa is going to cook for you. Be good.” And looking at Xia Chun, he said embarrassedly, “Ninny, I’m sorry to trouble you.”

Xia Chun patted her chest and smiled. “It’s a small matter.” Then she went to take care of Gu Yiran, “Let’s go, your aunt will take you to watch TV.”

Gu Yiran was held by Xia Chun, but he didn’t move, as if he were stuck in place. He looked at Xu Guoan and raised his head. His immature face was full of suspicion and anxiety. “Is my mother really coming back soon?”

Xu Guoan was taken aback, stopped, and bent down to look at Gu Yiran. “Of course, she will.”

Gu Yiran lowered his head slowly, his voice was like a mosquito’s. “Really? But my mother was going to throw me so many times like this, and I was the one who cried and begged her…”

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Xia Chun didn’t know what had happened to this eight- or nine-year-old before. But just listening to this sentence, she still felt a little sad.

Xu Guoan sighed softly, didn’t know what to say for a while, turned around, and went to the kitchen.

Xia Chun held Gu Yiran’s hand, and said as gently as possible, “Let’s go, I’ll take you to watch TV.”

Gu Yiran’s eyes were glued to the two suitcases, and his eyes were covered with a layer of water. However, after a few seconds, he followed Xia Chun to watch TV like an abandoned kitten.

The two were nestled on the sofa, watching Naruto.

Xia Chun had a big heart, she didn’t care about what had happened at home at all, she only cared about laughing along with the plot. After a while, a pack of white rabbit milk candy that was originally intended to comfort Gu Yiran, also unknowingly transferred from Gu Yiran’s hand to her own.

Eyes glued to the TV, Xia Chun touched the bag twice but couldn’t find any candy. She took a look at the candy bag and saw it was already empty, and there was a mountain of candy wrappers piled up on the coffee table in front of her.

Seeing this, she scratched her head and looked at Gu Yiran with some embarrassment. “I have eaten it all up.”

Gu Yiran still had the first candy in his mouth, and with a dull expression, he ignored Xia Chun.

“You don’t like watching Naruto?” Xia Chun was a little confused. “I thought you boys would like to watch this.”

Gu Yiran still didn’t speak, like a delicate puppet.

“What’s the matter with you? Tell me if you don’t like to watch it!”

Gu Yiran kept silent Xia Chun became a little anxious. “No, did you just say something? Don’t like watching this show? Or are you angry with me for eating all the candy?”

Gu Yiran remained silent.

“Let me get you another bag of candy!” Xia Chun stood up, went to get him a bag of candy, ran back and sat beside him again, and stuffed the candy bag into Gu Yiran’s arms.

Gu Yiran took the candy passively but remained silent.

Xia Chun became a little impatient. “What do you want to do?”

Gu Yiran raised his head slightly, and muttered, “I don’t want candy…I want to find my mother ”

Xia Chun was stunned. “No, my sister will be back in a while.”

Gu Yiran held the bag of candy in his arms, and shook his head silently, as if he were full of thoughts.

“It’s okay… Hey, don’t think too much. Your mother will definitely come…” Then she heard the door of her mother’s bedroom open with a loud noise. “Mom,” Xia Chun cried out in astonishment and turned around.

She saw her mother, who was supposed to be sleeping in the room, walking towards the sofa with a cloudy face, and then, like grabbing a chick, she grabbed Gu Yiran by the collar and rudely lifted him off the sofa.

Gu Yiran didn’t have a chance to react, Xia Ying grabbed him and dragged him out of the door like she was dragging garbage, leaving white rabbit toffees scattered all over the floor.

“Mom…” Xia Chun had never seen such a terrifying expression on her mother’s face. She was so frightened that she didn’t dare move for a while.

Hearing the commotion in the living room, the stepfather hurriedly ran out of the kitchen with the kitchen knife in his hand. Seeing Xia Ying dragging Gu Yiran, he threw the kitchen knife to the floor, ran, and pulled Gu Yiran towards him. “Xia Ying! What are you doing!?” Xu Guoan furiously yelled at Xia Ying while hiding Gu Yiran behind his back.

Xia Ying sneered and fired back. “What are you asking me for? I’ll clean up my house!”