Ji Xingmi sat down and saw the tea laid out on the table, momentarily stunned. But she quickly came to her senses, "Grandpa Hua, are you planning to have a good chat with me here? You've even prepared tea, and almost some snacks."
Old Master Hua didn't speak. He took out a medicine bottle, poured out two pills, and put them directly into his mouth. "It's alright, I can eat candies. You can handle it yourself!" Ji Xingmi had nothing more to say and could only pour him some more tea to cover her embarrassment.
"What does Grandpa Hua want to tell me?"
Hua Lao looked up at her and asked, "What's wrong today? Your guard looked worriedly outside your door, so I naturally had to come and ask."
"It's nothing, just thinking about some things and feeling a bit conflicted!"
"Conflicted about what?"
Ji Xingmi thought for a moment and told Hua Lao everything. Hua Lao listened and sighed before saying, "Then what are your thoughts now?"
"I don't know, I'm just bothered because I can't figure it out! Actually, in my memories, Dad was very good to me. It's just that he had his duties, and couldn't pay attention to me!"
"Do you blame him?"
Ji Xingmi shook her head. She didn't blame him, actually. By the time she arrived, he was already gone, so her feelings weren't that direct. She had only faced the Cheng family! She knew their greed and shamelessness. She felt Cheng Xingmi's despair!
"Then what are you conflicted about? You are Ji Xingmi now, you have a different life. Let the past go! I believe he would want you to live well!"
"I changed his surname and erased the past that contained him. Am I being very unfilial?"
"His existence will be remembered by the country, by the military. Are you planning to forget?"
Ji Xingmi didn't reply. She didn't know how to reply because, from the beginning, she knew she wasn't the original owner. She was just herself. She had wanted to forget the past and start anew. She had even considered finding a mountain to live on, as it didn't matter to her. She could just lie low until that day.
The reason she decided to change her surname, besides Grandpa Ji opening her heart, was to avoid trouble. If she had continued to use the surname Cheng, she might have been pestered by the Cheng family. To put it bluntly, it was to reduce trouble. Another reason was that she knew when the original owner's mother remarried and wanted a daughter, she felt a layer of restraint lifted. It was probably the original owner's last tie that had completely dissipated after she learned this. She was an orphan herself and had never experienced so-called family affection since childhood. Her survival had always depended on herself. Without this layer of restraint, she decided to be completely cold-hearted and change her surname, which could solve a lot of trouble.
Her personality was like this naturally: whoever was good to her, she would be good to them. Perhaps she would never change in this lifetime. But now she was starting to get conflicted. Was it because too many people here cared about her, and she was starting to change too?
"Xing'er? What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking if the decision I made before was right. I can't deny that I had this thought before!"
"Alas~ You're clearly soft-hearted to the extreme, why do you wrap yourself up as an unfeeling person? When living in this world, it's enough to understand yourself; don't listen to others' evaluations! Back then, everyone looked down on us. Some mocked us, some stood by and watched. Even many of our own compatriots didn't believe us. Those who sacrificed their lives didn't know we could reach this point with victory. If we had been afraid of what others said, your grandfather and I and a few other old men would have died long ago."
Ji Xingmi took a sip of tea and then looked up at Hua Lao, who was watching her, and smiled at him. Hua Lao saw that Ji Xingmi was fine now and stood up to leave. Don't think he didn't notice the person standing not far away. He might as well leave some space for the young people! He, an old man, shouldn't be a nuisance here!
Gu Jingyi bowed slightly and saw Hua Lao off after he left. He then walked towards Ji Xingmi. Gu Jingyi sat down beside her and said nothing, just silently kept her company. Ji Xingmi quickly emerged from her thoughts and looked at him, "Do you think I should go see him?"
"Who?" Gu Jingyi was a bit taken aback. He didn't know what had happened. He just saw she looked a bit unhappy and was worried.
Ji Xingmi told him about receiving the item today and her current thoughts. She didn't know what to do!
"If you're asking for my advice, I might not suggest you go in the near future!"
"Huh?" Ji Xingmi looked puzzled.
"Ms. Lin's child wasn't saved in the end, and things aren't going too well for her now! She's trying to find you. If you go to Uncle Cheng's place now, aren't you walking into a trap?"
Ji Xingmi fell silent after hearing this. So, her previous thoughts weren't wrong. If she hadn't made that choice before, would she be entangled now?
"How about I handle this for you? There are many people in the military with similar experiences to yours. We can choose to help them!"
Ji Xingmi nodded after hearing Gu Jingyi's words, agreeing with him.
"Thank you for helping me!" Ji Xingmi said, looking at him, then turned her gaze into the distance. The sun was setting, and its light slowly disappeared, dyeing the sky a beautiful crimson.
Gu Jingyi was also looking at her. He had always known Ji Xingmi was beautiful, but at this moment, Ji Xingmi possessed an ineffable charm.
After dinner, Ji Xingmi returned to her room and entered her space. She spent some time in the medicinal garden. She hadn't tidied it up properly in a long time and decided to do so. She also checked if there were any usable herbs to make some new medicines. However, she couldn't do business yet, otherwise, she could make money by producing cosmetics. But she didn't know much about cosmetics. She remembered she seemed to have a prescription for a beauty-enhancing pill. Maybe she could try making that, as it was her specialty.
After making it, she could also give some to Grandma Hua and Mother Ji to try. She realized that she couldn't be idle, otherwise, she would always be thinking about random things, causing herself distress and making others worry about her. She needed to find something to do.
In the end, she was the first to return to her room but the last to go to sleep. Before sleeping, Ji Xingmi silently recited a wish in her heart before falling asleep.
May Father Cheng and Cheng Xingmi have peace and joy in their next lives, and a smooth journey. I hope they can be father and daughter again, and I hope this time, you will meet a mother who loves you just as much.