Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 177 - 176 Not Completely Lost

Chapter 177: Chapter 176 Not Completely Lost

Feng Wei hugged Niuwa, somewhat questioning life.

Those words he had never heard before.

Was he being left out of the loop for crucial tasks?

Lin Nianhe glanced at them, gave them a wave, and then chatted with Brother Li like catching up with family: "Old Man Niu has no children or grandchildren, this child was picked up by him; although he’s not his biological child, after all, he can still be considered a connection... Ah, actually, I just brought him here to give it a try; it’d be great if he could be controlled, if not, just drop it."

Brother Li felt he just heard something extraordinary, and actively analyzed: "Even having a dog can foster some affection, this old casket bound to cherish someone who could see him off in his last days at least a bit."

"Brother Li, to be honest with you, I actually feel quite guilty... This child is also unlucky, with no father or mother, and now he’s caught up in this."

"Ah, really not so great."

"He’s indeed obedient; I told him this was to help the comrades from Public Security, and the little guy came without hesitation."

"That’s really rare, good shoots do come from a rotten bamboo."

"Not necessarily, after all, there’s no blood relation."

"Right, right."

Lin Nianhe finally heaved a sigh of relief and pushed all the remaining sunflower seeds into Brother Li’s hands, smiling: "Well, Brother Li, you go about your business, we’ll take him away now."

"Ah, okay, take care on the road." Brother Li pocketed a bag of sunflower seeds, warm and proactive.

Lin Nianhe waved goodbye to him with a smile, walked up to Feng Wei, and took Niuwa from his arms to hold herself.

She tilted her body slightly, turning her back to Brother Li, and whispered into Niuwa’s ear: "Be good, don’t ask any questions, I’ll explain it to you slowly once we’re out."

Niuwa gently nodded, reaching out tentatively, and wrapped his arms around Lin Nianhe’s neck.

Lin Nianhe inwardly sighed, gently patted his back, and said to Feng Wei, "Brother Feng, let’s head back."

Fatty Feng was feeling sentimental at the moment, hearing her suggestion, he nodded without saying much and followed Lin Nianhe out.

A dozen meters away from the prison gate, Wang Shumei and Wen Lan leaned against their bicycles, waiting helplessly.

Not that they were annoyed by the wait, but rather Lin Nianhe’s prattle was getting on their nerves a bit.

"Leaving now, Brother Li, see you next time!"

Lin Nianhe didn’t forget to maintain the relationship before leaving.

On the way back, Niuwa still clung to Lin Nianhe’s neck without letting go.

Lin Nianhe simply held him and sat him on the rear seat, while Wang Shumei moved to the front bar.

With an extra little fellow, Sister Lan rode the bicycle as if she didn’t feel the added weight, speeding along effortlessly.

Looking valiant and brave, she nearly dazzled Feng Wei’s eyes.

The little fatty couldn’t resist saying, "Um, Comrade Wen, how about you switch places with someone else on my rear seat? Like this, it must be tiring, right?"

Wen Lan glanced at him: "Who do you look down upon?"

Feng Wei: "I... look down upon myself."

Wang Shumei suddenly burst into laughter.

In the rear seat, Lin Nianhe ignored their bantering, and whispered to the little Niuwa, explaining why his grandfather was distant towards him.

Lin Nianhe thought perhaps the child might not understand the complicity, but to her surprise, after she explained only once, Niuwa grinned.

"Sister Lin, I understand, grandpa is afraid of getting close, that it wouldn’t be good for me." He blinked his moist eyes and earnestly said, "I get it, when grandpa kicked me just now, he specifically avoided hitting me."

The little guy seriously narrated the evidence of his grandfather’s affection for him.

"Yes." Lin Nianhe nodded, pinched his cheek, "So Niuwa, you be good at home, eat well, study hard, and wait for grandpa to come home, okay?"

"Mm!" Niuwa nodded vigorously, but then quickly looked dejected.

He subconsciously pressed his chest and said quietly, "Sister Lin, I don’t have the money to go to school."

His voice sounded somewhat hollow, clearly, he wasn’t used to lying.

He was rich.

Grandfather had hidden money in his clothes, but he dared not spend it. He was afraid Grandfather would get sick, and wanted to save it for him.

Lin Nianhe saw through his unease but did not expose it.

It was normal for a child who had gone through so much to feel insecure.

She said, "It’s alright, our Ten Miles Team’s primary school offers scholarships. If you can come first, not only will your tuition be completely waived, but you’ll also get a reward."

Niuwa’s eyes suddenly lit up: "Really?"

"Really," Lin Nianhe nodded earnestly, "You must study hard to make something of yourself, so you can later give Grandfather a good life... Do you want to go to school?"

There were few things that could move Niuwa more than the phrase "give Grandfather a good life."

The little guy’s eyes brimmed with tears as he nodded vigorously.

Lin Nianhe hugged him a bit tighter, wondering how she was going to approach Principal Wu with the news that she had picked up someone else.

That... wasn’t necessary to say.

Somehow, Principal Wu had heard about a kid from Nine-miles Team named Niuwa who was an orphan with his grandfather also sent to prison.

She immediately stopped her big undertaking of sewing schoolbags and ran to He Aimin’s house, incessantly nagging:

"Captain He, look at this, Niuwa has no parents, and I have no children. Why don’t you let me adopt him? I’ll take care of his schooling and meals... I can’t promise a lavish life, but as long as I have a bite to eat, I can make sure the child won’t starve," she said.

He Aimin was very distressed.

He opened his mouth several times, and finally got a word in edgewise when Principal Wu paused to drink some water: "Principal Wu, I of course believe in your revolutionary consciousness, but the problem is... Niuwa ran away a while back, we’ve searched for two days and haven’t found him, we don’t know where he could have gone."

Principal Wu’s hand trembled, and half a bowl of water spilled onto her clothes.

"What? The child is missing? Have you reported it to Public Security?"

"We did, but you know..."

"Ring, ring, ring—"

A bicycle bell sounded from outside the courtyard.

Accompanying it was the sharp Beijing accent: "Is Uncle He home? I’m Lin Nianhe."

Before He Aimin could react, Principal Wu, as if she had found her pillar of support, no longer cared about propriety and stumbled outside: "Nianhe, Nianhe! Quick, take me to the town, Niuwa is missing!"

Lin Nianhe: "Missing... well, not entirely missing."

When Principal Wu came out and saw a little boy in Lin Nianhe’s arms, she was somewhat taken aback.

"Principal, this is Niuwa. He heard about Uncle Niu’s situation and went to town looking for his grandfather. We happened to come across him," Lin Nianhe explained, "You don’t need to worry."

"Oh my..." Principal Wu turned pale with fright, quickly walking up to Niuwa and checking his little hands and rolling up his sleeves to see if he was injured.

Niuwa was a bit confused, timidly extending his hand to wipe away the tears at the corner of Principal Wu’s eyes.

Principal Wu grabbed his hand and pressed it against her face, then tapped his forehead: "Why didn’t you tell someone if you were looking for Grandfather? You want to give someone a heart attack?"

Although her words were reprimanding, her tone was gentle like a breeze in May.

Niuwa blinked, and said softly, "I was wrong."

Principal Wu wanted to hug him, but her frail body wouldn’t allow it.

She resorted to the next best thing, holding onto his hand and asked, "Niuwa, I’m Principal Wu from Ten Miles Team’s primary school. Would you come with me to Ten Miles Team? I’ll teach you."

Niuwa looked at Lin Nianhe, bewildered.

Lin Nianhe looked up at the sky.

All the arguments she had been considering all the way here were in vain.