Stars In His Eyes
Chapter 1079: Value 9

Chapter 1079: Chapter 1079: Value 9

And what a coincidence it was. He Teng appeared by Lan Li’s side, while the first relative He Zhilan encountered after arriving in the capital turned out to be Lan Li—the very person who saw her last. But not only did Lan Li fail to recognize He Zhilan, he misunderstood her due to some subtle gestures she made, perceiving her as a vain woman.

It was like an intricate knot—one wrong step leading to a cascade of errors thereafter.

In reality, when He Zhilan arrived in the capital, if only Lan Li hadn’t been so arrogant and aloof, and so indifferent to He Zhilan—if he had merely asked her one more question, "What’s wrong?" Perhaps then, He Zhilan might have told Lan Li that her father was also in the military, and that as a child, she used to ride cars with that same sort of license plate to go home.

But then again, could anyone say He Zhilan herself wasn’t at fault?

She too had made mistakes over the past decade. Harboring resentment in her heart, she tormented the He Family for years, even acting obstinately in front of He Teng’s comrades who visited the He Family. This left a very poor impression on He Teng’s comrades, leading them to conclude that He Teng had a troublesome, unreasonable "adopted little sister." This in turn caused Lan Li, upon hearing all the negative rumors about her, to assume her to be an unreasonable woman the moment he saw her.

Describing this as a series of ironic twists and turns couldn’t be more fitting.

"Brother, whether Lan Li feels guilt or not—that’s his own matter," He Zhilan finally spoke after a long pause. "As for him and Ding Jinshi, it was ultimately his own decision to let go first that led to neither of them finding happiness."

"I didn’t intend to persuade you of anything; I just thought you should know," He Teng explained briefly. Indeed, he wasn’t trying to use Lan Li’s predicament to urge He Zhilan to let go of her grievances against Lan Li. Nor did he intend to persuade He Zhilan to reconcile with the Gu Family. From the start, he never planned to interfere with He Zhilan’s choices or decisions.

After all, life belongs to oneself. He had no right to meddle in it.

Just as He Zhilan had begged him once before: don’t presumptuously act on things you believe are for her own good. Sometimes, what others think is good can be nothing but harm to the person directly involved.

The following afternoon, He Teng and He Zhilan finally managed to purchase train tickets for their final destination. Three days later, the two of them finally arrived at the small town of Niu Rang’s hometown.

As He Teng had described, the weather here was pleasantly cool. Even though it was already past 10:30 in the morning, people still wore long sleeves and trousers.

Xiaojia was there in town to greet the two of them. "Brother He, sister-in-law."

In truth, it had been only half a year since they last saw Xiaojia, but He Zhilan felt that Xiaojia seemed to have changed significantly.

"Brother He and sister-in-law coming to see Niu Rang will surely make him happy when he hears about it," Xiaojia remarked warmly, but her smile soon faded as she added, "If the timing works out, Brother He and sister-in-law might even be able to attend my wedding with Niu Li."

"You’re getting married?" He Zhilan exclaimed in surprise. "Who is Niu Li?"

"Niu Rang’s younger cousin," Xiaojia nodded. "I’ve reached the age—it’s time to get married."

He Zhilan fell silent, unsure of what to say. Indeed, before Niu Rang passed, he had hoped that Xiaojia wouldn’t let his death hold her back from living her own life. Those who are still alive must continue moving forward.