Chapter 376: Chapter 138: The Green Tea Female Supporting Character in a Period Novel (25)

What should have been a two-day journey had stretched to three with all their stops. By the time they reached the Capital City and dropped off Chi Yun’er and the others, Jiang Yihua could only shoot her a hard look. "Wait for me," he said in a hoarse voice, then turned and led his team away.

Mr. Chi had borrowed a cargo van from the hospital and was already waiting there with Mrs. Chi.

Once the convoy was gone, Chi Yun’er turned to look at her parents.

After she had been stuck in Bian Family Village, they had come down to the countryside to visit her two or three times. Each time, they looked more worn and aged than the last. But for some reason, the image of her parents in her mind was forever frozen in time—the vibrant, middle-aged couple they were before she left.

However, because of her—their willful, unfilial daughter—that short year in the countryside had been enough to sprinkle a light frost of gray upon the hair of the parents who worried about her day and night.

With tears welling in her eyes, she threw herself into Mrs. Chi’s arms, feeling her mother’s warmth and breathing in a scent that was both familiar and reassuring.

Chi Yun’er couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out wailing. It was like a dam breaking as she poured out all her pent-up grievances at once.

Her daughter’s sobs made Mrs. Chi’s heart ache. She held her tightly, patting her back again and again in a soothing rhythm. "Good girl, we’re home now. From now on, Mom and Dad are here. No one will be able to bully you, and we won’t let you suffer even the slightest hardship!"

Hearing her mother’s gentle words only made Chi Yun’er cry harder. She was like an inconsolable child, and the sheer force of her emotional outburst was frankly terrifying.

In the end, Mrs. Chi was swept along and started crying too.

Mr. Chi had originally planned on reasoning with her once he saw her. She was an adult now; she couldn’t just act on her whims. She should think before she acts and consult her parents; that way, they could always come up with the best possible solution.

But seeing his daughter sobbing herself breathless and his wife wiping away her own tears, he forgot the entire speech he had spent days mentally drafting. He just paced around the tightly embracing mother and daughter like a flustered fly.

They were at a bus station, which was easy to find. The other educated youths who had hitched a ride could find their respective buses home from here.

But compared to the spacious, clean, and comfortable van, the public buses were crowded, filthy, and reeked of a pungent odor that was almost unbearable.

The young men weren’t so particular. After saying their goodbyes to the group, they grabbed their bags and hurried off, eager to get on a bus and head home.

But the young women dallied, hoping the Chi Family would make a polite offer of a ride. Then, they could brazenly accept and continue their journey in comfort.

Fang Yuying, who had spent the last three days traveling alongside Chi Yun’er, was particularly conspicuous. She stepped forward with a faint smile, bowed to Mr. Chi, and took the initiative to greet him. "Hello, Uncle Chi. My name is Fang Yuying. My father is an internist, so he’s technically a colleague of yours."

However, Mr. Chi was the vice president of Kyoto General Hospital, whereas her father was just a regular doctor at a district hospital in the Capital City.

’If her father had any real pull or connections, she wouldn’t have been assigned to some impoverished backwater that nobody else wanted. Why else would she have spent money and coupons in a desperate gamble to switch spots with someone, just to be in the same vehicle as Mr. Jiang?’

’What some people could attain so easily, and didn’t even cherish, was something she couldn’t reach no matter how hard she tried...’

Mr. Chi smiled and nodded. "Hello."

And that was all. Fang Yuying’s expression stiffened, but she quickly recovered and continued to smile as she asked, "I wonder, have you seen my father, Uncle Chi? I arranged to meet him here."

"I even told him a time that was two hours earlier than our arrival. Even if he got delayed, he should have been here by now, shouldn’t he?"

"Could he have gotten held up at work again?"

She furrowed her brow slightly, her expression a perfect picture of helplessness and distress.

"I’m afraid I don’t know," Mr. Chi said, shaking his head and glancing around. "You should probably wait here a while longer, so you don’t miss your father."

The moment Fang Yuying had stepped forward, Chi Yun’er’s crying had mostly subsided. Now, unbothered by the heat, she was nestled in her mother’s arms, hiccupping as her emotions settled, all while glaring at Fang Yuying like a wary tigress.

Fang Yuying sighed softly and raised her wrist to check her watch. "It looks like my father isn’t going to make it. He told me that if he wasn’t here by now, it meant he’d been pulled into an important surgery at the last minute and couldn’t get away."

"Uncle Chi, could I possibly..."

Before she could ask for a ride, Chi Yun’er tugged on Mr. Chi’s arm like a petulant child. "Dad, who’s your daughter? Me, or this strange woman whose name you don’t even know?"

"You weren’t the least bit excited to see me, but you’re having a fine time chatting with her."

"I was only gone for a little over a year, and your affections have already strayed? Am I not your precious little girl anymore?"

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