Stars In His Eyes
Chapter 1065: Searching for the Truth 10

Chapter 1065: Chapter 1065: Searching for the Truth 10

"Zhilan, my Zhilan, Mommy is so sorry, I’m so sorry, how could it have been me who hurt you like this?" Mrs. Gu cried out in agony, beating her chest repeatedly, as if trying to lessen the unspeakable pain in her heart.

"Covered in bruises and scars, she returned." Grandma Gu whispered this phrase over and over, wondering just how much the Gu Family must have hurt He Zhilan back then for such a young girl to speak words that cut so deeply into the heart.

"And yet, you still have the face to look for her?" He Da really felt that He Zhilan deserved better and also felt pained for her.

"We, we’re sorry to her."

It was quite a while before Gu Hengyuan spoke in a low voice, so soft that it was almost as if he was talking to himself.

"Brother He, thank you for raising her for us. She’s turned out well, truly outstanding. If it wasn’t for you, perhaps she wouldn’t be the He Zhilan she is now," Gu Hengyuan said. "When we came here, the locals told us about how Zhilan was especially stubborn as a child, and it was you who always tolerated and cherished her. Brother, our Gu Family thanks you."

"Thank me for what? I was caring for my own child, as I should," Mr. He sighed. "As a child, Zhilan always had so much hidden inside her heart. No wonder she was always unhappy, never smiled, never talked much."

"Dad, my sister-in-law says that’s because Zhilan was ignorant as a kid and thought dad was like the child traffickers, all bad people, which is why she hated us all the time. When she was a child, she would just keep tormenting us with that tenacity. Later, when she grew up, she realized we were not bad people." He Da also understood the feelings of He Zhilan.

At just six years old, she was taken away by child traffickers, traveled far, and left her family behind, subject to the traffickers’ beatings and scolding. Even at that young age, she had already developed a wariness of people, especially when she first came to the He Family with wounds all over her body, which were simply heartbreaking to see.

Back then, she probably didn’t dare to trust anyone in the world, so when she arrived at the He Family, she never dared to talk about anything regarding her past. Instead, she kept it all in her heart, constantly thinking and yearning.

"Dad, do you remember how Zhilan often wasn’t home when we were kids? People in the village said they saw Zhilan frequently standing at the entrance to the village, all alone, looking silly, regardless of whether the sun was beating down or it was raining. She would stand there," He Da’s voice became choked with emotion, "My sister-in-law said, back then, she was foolish, always hoping that one day, by some miracle, her mom and dad would suddenly appear at the village entrance and find her."

He Da’s voice was choked with emotion, "Zhilan never gave up looking for you for thirteen years, so much so that when she went to the capital, misunderstood and bullied, she gritted her teeth and bore it all. What for? Just to find her own family. And you, even if you weren’t her real family, what right did you have to bully a defenseless girl like that? To bully a poor girl who was holding onto the dream of finding her kin?"

He Da deeply empathized with He Zhilan’s feelings.

During those years in C Province, he too had hoped for a miracle, he too had tried hard to return home. As a result, he lost a leg, but what He Zhilan lost was the belief that had sustained her for thirteen years.

When she finally found her relatives and yet resolutely left again, her feelings at that time were just like how he felt when he lost a leg and could no longer stand.