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Chapter 50: Homecoming

Bai Luochuan asked him, “When are you leaving?”

Mi Yang said, “We bought a train ticket for early tomorrow morning.”

It was all too sudden. Bai Luochuan was completely unprepared and looked a little flustered, but he quickly composed himself and nodded. “Alright, I understand. You can go.”

Mi Yang took two steps, then turned to look at him. Sure enough, the little young master was standing at the door, not moving. He went back, hugged the young master Bai, and patted his shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.”

Bai Luochuan said “mm,” but his mood was still very low.

Mi Yang went back and packed his things. Cheng Qing didn’t pack many clothes for him. The Cheng family also lived in Shanhai Town. Not to mention the old Mrs. Cheng, his three aunts would prepare a lot of clothes for Mi Yang every year, so he didn’t bring much. But Mi Yang misunderstood. He thought that they weren’t bringing extra clothes because their stay would be short, so he wasn’t particularly worried.

The next day, just as they were about to leave, Mi Yang saw a small schoolbag hanging on their front door. He opened it and saw that it was full of his favorite snacks, and there was also a small green frog water cup. He didn’t need to ask to know that it was from Bai Luochuan.

The small schoolbag looked like it had been wet by the dew and had been hanging there for a long time. It must have been sent over last night.

Mi Yang held the small schoolbag and glanced in the direction of the Bai’s house. Cheng Qing, beside him, urged him, “Yangyang, it’s time to get on the car.”

“Coming.” Mi Yang withdrew his gaze, agreed, and followed.

This was not Mi Yang’s first time on a train, but it was rare for the whole family to be together. Usually, it was Cheng Qing who took him home by train during the New Year. This time, with Mi Zehai also there, Cheng Qing felt much more relaxed.

The train was crowded, and they had bought their tickets in a hurry, only managing to get one sleeper and one hard seat. Cheng Qing was worried about her husband’s health and wanted him to rest in the sleeper, but Mi Zehai refused. He settled Cheng Qing and their son and said, “I’ll go to the front and see if I can get another sleeper ticket from the conductor. You wait here. Don’t wander off.”

Cheng Qing couldn’t stop him and could only watch as his figure slowly squeezed to the front.

Mi Zehai’s luck was good. After two stops, he managed to get a sleeper ticket. He switched places with someone and came to find Cheng Qing.

The conditions in the sleeper car were much better than when Mi Yang had taken a hard seat back to his hometown before. There were fewer people here, and you could lie down and rest. The three-day, two-night journey to Shanhai Town would be bearable. On the train, Mi Yang mostly read cartoon books and looked at the scenery outside. Cheng Qing and Mi Zehai, beside him, were talking in low voices with worried expressions on their faces. They both had their brows furrowed and didn’t look very relaxed.

Mi Yang listened twice. They were both talking about the old lady’s illness. But his parents were deliberately speaking in low voices, so he was sensible and didn’t ask much.

When Mi Yang was tired of reading, he would lie down on the sleeper and sleep. He slept drowsily for a long time and was woken by the shaking of the train. He saw that it was already dark outside, and his ears were filled with the rumbling sound of passing through a tunnel.

He rubbed his ears. Cheng Qing saw him and said to him, “Yangyang, open your mouth. It’ll be more comfortable if you yawn.”

Mi Yang yawned, and his hearing cleared up a lot. He also slowly became more energetic.

Cheng Qing made him some instant noodles to eat. It was fried sauce noodle flavor, with a salty and sweet taste. Mi Yang hadn’t had this kind of junk food in a long time. The smell made his stomach growl, and he ate the noodles with a fork with great relish.

Cheng Qing also ate her portion and brought a bowl to Mi Zehai. Mi Zehai had no appetite, probably because he was anxious. He couldn’t sit still and stood up to walk around.

Mi Yang asked, “Mom, is Grandma very sick?”

Cheng Qing sighed and stroked his head. “Very serious. When we get there, Yangyang, we’ll be staying at Grandma’s house. You have to be good, you know?”

Mi Yang nodded.

He actually didn’t have a very deep impression of his grandmother’s house.

He only remembered that his grandmother had passed away when he was very young, probably in the first grade of elementary school in his previous life, which was about the same time as now. The old lady’s health had never been very good, and she had relied on Mi Yang’s grandfather’s careful care. She took a lot of Chinese medicine every year, and there were medicine bags hanging in the old house. You could smell the strong medicinal fragrance all year round.

The old lady was weak and would get sick every two or three days. She could hardly take care of herself, so she had to entrust Mi Yang to the Cheng family. But whenever she and her husband had something good to eat or play with, they would always send a portion to the old Mrs. Cheng. Although they didn’t say it, they knew it was specially for their little grandson. When the weather was good, Mi Yang’s grandmother would also come to see her grandson in person, but such times were really too few.

After his grandmother passed away, Mi Yang remembered that his grandfather didn’t interact much with people. He rarely had a smile on his face and had a very strange temper. Sometimes, during festivals, he wouldn’t even have a reunion dinner with his family, locking himself in that old house and ignoring everyone.

A strange temper, this was Mi Yang’s last impression of his grandfather. The old man had lived for another twenty years and finally passed away in the old house. But at the end, there was a faint smile on his face, and his expression was peaceful and relaxed.

As the eldest grandson and the only grandchild, Mi Yang had accompanied Mi Zehai to see him off on his final journey.

Thinking back now, it all seemed very distant.

Mi Yang looked at the flickering lights passing by the train window, slightly lost in thought.

On the other side, the Bai family.

Bai Luochuan also felt quite bored at home, especially after school. He always seemed to be in low spirits when he came home.

He would look at the small toothbrush in his bedroom, which was placed side by side with his own, and then at the empty small desk in the study. Although the desk was empty, Mi Yang’s books and notebooks were still there. Only when he saw these odds and ends did he feel a little more at ease.

With so many things here, he felt that Mi Yang would definitely come back.

Sometimes, Bai Luochuan would also be distracted in class. Mr. Wei would call him several times, and he would still be in a daze. Mr. Wei himself couldn’t stand it anymore. He knew that he and Mi Yang had rarely been separated for more than a few days since they were little. He sighed. “For today’s homework, let’s write a letter. The teacher will teach you.”

Bai Luochuan was not very interested.

Ji Bai’an, beside him, asked, “Can we also write a letter to Mi Yang? If we put a stamp on it, it can be received no matter how far away, right?”

Wei Xian nodded. “Of course.”

Only then did Bai Luochuan perk up a little and start to take out paper and pen to learn to write a letter.

Mrs. Bai watched from outside the study, her face also a little worried. It had been like this for two or three days, and she was afraid her son would get sick. After Bai Luochuan finished his evening lessons, Mrs. Bai took him to the small study downstairs and said to him seriously, “Luochuan, Mom wants to talk to you about transferring schools.”

Bai Luochuan looked at her with some confusion, but when he heard the words “transfer schools,” his brow immediately furrowed.

Mrs. Bai respected her son and didn’t try to fool him. She analyzed it for him frankly and told him about the transfer. She had always taught her son to wait for his elders to finish speaking before giving his opinion, so although the young master Bai was angry, he still waited until she was done before he immediately said, “I’m not going.”

Mrs. Bai thought for a moment. “Then let’s just go and have a look, okay? Isn’t your school having a spring sports meet recently? Mom will ask for two days of leave for you first, and we’ll go and see together. If it’s not good, we’ll come back. Oh, you’re waiting for Mi Yang, right? Mom has already asked. He’s going to be staying in Shanhai Town for a long time this time…”

Bai Luochuan was already in a bad mood because of this matter. Now, hearing this, he threw another tantrum. “Who said that! He told me himself that he would be back soon!”

Mrs. Bai sighed. Looking at the angry little child in front of her, she knew she couldn’t persuade him and could only coax him, “Mom also just heard about it. Anyway, it will take several days for Little Good Boy to come back by train. Why don’t you go to Shanghai with Mom first for these few days and have a look? If it’s good, we can also take Little Good Boy there, okay?”

Bai Luochuan snorted and turned his head away, not looking at her.

Mrs. Bai bent down and said seriously, “The teaching conditions there are good, and the basketball courts, soccer fields, and so on are also very big. Don’t you like to play soccer with Little Good Boy the most? You can play together when you go. You can have a look first, and when you come back, you can tell Little Good Boy. Mom will go and talk to Auntie Cheng. Let’s work together, okay?” Mrs. Bai said with great patience, but she still had her son nod first.

“No, I’m not going anyway.” Bai Luochuan refused, being very stubborn.

Mrs. Bai said, “Then what if Mom goes to Shanghai for work? You don’t want Mom anymore?”

Bai Luochuan said angrily, “Then you can go. I’m not going anyway!”

He then jumped off the chair and ran away by himself.

Mrs. Bai sighed and sat there, rubbing her temples to calm down.

Luo Jiangyuan, who had been secretly listening from the side, only came out of the small room next door after the little demon had left, patting her chest. She sighed. “I thought my one was hard enough to coax. Seeing Luochuan throw a tantrum just now really scared me. Brother-in-law looks so gentle. How can Luochuan have such a big temper?” She murmured a few words, then laughed in a low voice, “Maybe he’s like you, Sis. He’s had his own ideas since he was a child.”

Mrs. Bai was also smiling wryly now. She asked her, “What’s wrong with Bai’an?”

Luo Jiangyuan was worried. “What else could it be? Mi Yang didn’t come today, and he kept asking me where he went. I didn’t know either, so I just casually said he would be here tomorrow. Who knew he would go and ask around and find out that he had gone back to his hometown and would be staying for a long time. He came back and got angry with me. He hasn’t said a word to me all night!”

Mrs. Bai rubbed her brow. She felt that she had also found the root of Bai Luochuan’s problem. There was nothing else, just two words: “Mi Yang.”

And at this moment, Mi Yang, after a bumpy train ride, had finally arrived in Shanhai Town.

Mi Yang first went to his grandfather’s house with his parents.

The old house was still the same as in his memory. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he smelled a strong medicinal fragrance. Mi Zehai saw an old man in the courtyard, bent over and pouring out some medicinal soup. He immediately put down his luggage, went forward, and called out, “Dad,” carefully helping.

The old man looked to be in his fifties or sixties, with deep wrinkles on his face, and he looked like he didn’t smile much. It was Mi Yang’s grandfather, Mi Hong. Mi Hong frowned and didn’t let his son help, ordering him, “Go and wash your face. You can see your mother in a bit.”

When he turned and saw Mi Yang and Cheng Qing, the expression on his face softened a lot. He even took out a piece of candy from his pocket for Mi Yang. But before he could say a few more words, he heard a cough from the room and immediately went in with the medicine.

Mi Zehai took his wife and child in to wash their faces. Cheng Qing then changed Mi Yang into a set of clean clothes, and the family of three finally went to see the old lady.