Chapter 4: A Shocking Discovery
The little boy froze for a moment, caught between hope and stubbornness, before stepping forward to Su He. Soon, he too was pulled into her embrace.
Now she had a kid in each arm—life was complete.
After a moment of thought, she said, "Mommy woke up today not remembering lots of things. Can you tell me about them? If you answer all my questions, you'll get candy."
Struggling a bit, Su He fished out the lollipops she had exchanged earlier and showed them to the two children.
Candy! They hadn't had any in forever.
"Mommy, I'll definitely answer everything!" Niu Niu replied, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Su He.
The boy stayed quiet, but his hungry stare at the candy said it all.
"Alright, let me ask you first—what's your name, and how old are you?" Su He started with Niu Niu.
Niu Niu answered quickly, "My name is Niu Niu." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she added, "I don't know how old I am."
"We just turned three," the quiet boy piped up to help.
It seemed the boy knew more, but precisely because he was more mature, he was also more guarded than his sister.
"And what's your name?" Su He asked him.
"I'm Zai Zai."
The serious tone with which the little boy said such an adorable name nearly made Su He burst into laughter, but she managed to hold it in.
"If you were hungry, why didn't you go to Grandpa or Grandpa's house?" Su He continued.
"Going to Grandpa's means walking down a small path, and there are snakes there—we're scared. And you never let us go to Grandpa's house. You said since Grandpa doesn't acknowledge you anymore, you won't let them acknowledge us either."
Hearing this, Su He let out a sharp breath. Holy cow—had the original owner really disowned her own parents? In this day and age, for things to escalate to that point—how serious must it have been? Su He didn't even dare to imagine.
"Mommy, do you really not remember anything?" Niu Niu tugged at Su He's sleeve and asked nervously.
"I don't remember, but I know I'm your mommy," Su He replied, gently patting Niu Niu's head.
When they realized Mom really didn't remember, both kids let out relieved sighs.
So did that mean she also didn't remember hitting them or starving them? So, from now on, she wouldn't do those things anymore?
"Mommy, can you promise not to remember the past anymore? You were awful to us before," Niu Niu said, her voice shaky with held-back tears.
"Okay, okay, Mommy won't remember. I won't ask anything else. Here, Niu Niu and Zai Zai, each of you take a lollipop." Seeing how scared they looked, Su He couldn't bring herself to press further. Plus, what do three-year-olds really get anyway?
Fine. If she truly had no memories of the original owner, she'd just play the amnesia card from now on. It would also explain why she'd changed so much.
Once she'd calmed the kids down, Su He started poking around the yard.
The house had a decent-sized backyard, but it had been completely neglected—nothing but weeds—not one veggie planted. No surprise the kids had gone hungry since last night.
Their household was probably at the very edge of the village, with empty fields between them and the nearest neighbor. The nearby paths were skinny too, which explained why the children were too scared to go to Grandma's house for food.
The kids found her again in no time.
"Mommy, whatcha looking at?" Niu Niu asked.
"We don't have any firewood left at home. Later, Mom needs to go up the mountain to fetch some," Su He replied.
"But there are bugs on the mountain. Niu Niu is scared," Niu Niu said, clinging to Su He's leg and whining.
Now Su He could tell something was off. Judging by the children's reactions, they clearly weren't used to country living. So she asked, "Have you never been up the mountain before?"
"No, we just moved back to the countryside recently. You never let us go anywhere, saying there are snakes all along the mountain paths," Zai Zai explained.
Su He fell silent.
Well, having no memories was such a hassle. Everything was a complete mystery now.
"Where did we live before?" Su He asked.
"We lived in Dad's staff dormitory," Niu Niu answered.
A staff dormitory—that had to be in the city.
So, her husband—no, the original owner's husband—was someone with a government job?
"Then why did we move to the countryside?"
"It was because Dr. Xie next door accused you of stealing. You argued with her, got too angry, and then escaped to the countryside with us," Zai Zai chimed in.
Oh my god, so they had fled back to the countryside? Su He couldn't help but cover her face. She had truly lost all face in front of the children.
"What about your dad?" Su He asked again.
"Dad was sent with the army. He's been gone for a long, long time," Zai Zai said dejectedly.
Both children were still young, and they didn't remember things well, so they easily forgot. But they distinctly remembered their father as a gentle and handsome man who always talked to them so gently. Though he was busy, he would spend time with them whenever he could.
"Your dad is a soldier?" Su He frowned.
He'd been gone for a year already—who knew whether he was alive or dead?
"No, our dad is a doctor. He can help so many people," Niu Niu said proudly.
No wonder they said she argued with the neighbor, Dr. Xie. So the original owner's husband was a doctor? Since he had followed the army, he must be a military doctor, right?
"Do you remember your dad's name?" Su He asked.
"I know this! My dad's name is Fu Tinghua," Niu Niu quickly answered.
That name… why did it sound so familiar?
Fu Tinghua?
It suddenly hit her. Before coming here, she had read a historical novel where the father of the main villains—a pair of twins—was named Fu Tinghua.
Oh no! If this was true, then these two adorable kids in front of her were the novel's villains, Fu Hanzhi and Fu Xinyi.
Looking at the two little cuties gazing up at her with curious eyes, she recalled their fates in the book.
The villain Fu Hanzhi was eventually cornered by the hero and died in a raging fire, his body blown to bits—not a single intact piece was found.
As for Fu Xinyi, after her brother's downfall, she was captured by his enemies and sold abroad. Her exact fate wasn't detailed, but Su He had a feeling it must have been absolute hell.
Why did the novel mention their father, Fu Tinghua? Because as the country's top surgeon, he had saved countless high-ranking officials during his military service.
Even after Fu Tinghua's death, many powerful figures, out of loyalty to him, were willing to support Fu Hanzhi, which eventually allowed his power to grow.
But in the end, villains are villains—how could they ever beat the hero? In the end, Fu Hanzhi got involved in arms and drug dealing, crossing the country's bottom line, and the country could no longer tolerate him.