Chapter 305: Chapter 305: The Painful Past (12) Chapter 305: Chapter 305: The Painful Past (12) Ji Tingyang and his siblings had been out wandering until the evening, and when they thought they would go home with their grandfather, Mr. Lin sent them back to Ji Yiyun’s house instead.

“I don’t want to live with Auntie, I want to live with Grandfather,” Ji Zeqiu clung to Mr. Lin’s arm, his eyes red, refusing to enter the house.

“Grandfather still has some things to deal with, but he’ll come pick you up to come home after he’s finished,” Mr. Lin said soothingly.

“When will Grandfather be finished?” Ji Zeqiu sniffed.

Mr. Lin was silent for a moment, “…in a few days.”

“Grandfather, you have to come and get us soon,” Ji Tingyang also said.

“Alright,” Mr. Lin paused, then he pulled several hundred-yuan notes out of his pocket and stuffed them into Ji Tingyang’s pocket, “Keep your pocket money safe, and don’t let your aunt know. If you want to eat anything, just buy it secretly.”

Ji Tingyang nodded.

“…Take good care of your brother and sister,” Mr. Lin advised before leaving.

After saying goodbye to Mr. Lin, Ji Tingyang and Ji Zeqiu entered Ji Yiyun’s house with their sister in their arms.

Days passed by, one after another…
Until Ji Yiyun received the inheritance she was holding in trust and with that money, she bought a villa. Ji Tingyang and his siblings still had not seen Mr. Lin come for them.

Even though they had moved to a spacious villa that spanned several hundred square meters, Ji Yiyun still only allotted them a small attic room that was about twenty to thirty square meters.

Ji Zeqiu lay on the floor, looking out through the small window set flush with the floor, muttering as usual, “Why hasn’t Grandfather come to take us home yet, has he forgotten about us?”

“Grandfather hasn’t forgotten about us,” Ji Tingyang objected, “He’s definitely still busy.”

Ji Lanyue also started making noises on the bed, as if to echo Ji Tingyang’s words.

“Is that so?” Ji Zeqiu’s mood dipped slightly.

Just then, a heavy knock echoed on the attic door, causing the dust on the ceiling to scatter down.

Without guessing, Ji Tingyang knew it was Wu Yanghui coming over again.

Annoyed, Ji Zeqiu went to open the door, “Stop knocking!”

“The stairs are dirty again, go clean them up!” Wu Yanghui said with a snort.

Even though Ji Yiyun had moved into the villa and hired servants and a housekeeper, they always liked to boss Ji Tingyang and Ji Zeqiu around, as if they resented letting them live in the house for free.

“Not going. Tell Auntie to sweep it,” Ji Zeqiu turned his head away.

“If you don’t go, I’ll tell my mom not to feed you,” Wu Yanghui, young as he was, had learned to threaten, slamming the door behind him as he left.

“We still have the pocket money Grandfather gave us; we can buy our own food,” Ji Zeqiu said, then his voice suddenly stopped short as he remembered something.

During the move, Ji Yiyun had found the money they’d hidden under the mattress and confiscated it.

They no longer had pocket money to buy food.

Ji Zeqiu glanced at Ji Tingyang, his lips quivering, and resignedly went downstairs.

Seeing the two descend, Wu Yanghui smirked triumphantly and pointed at the broom beside him, “Clean the stairs properly.”

Ji Zeqiu picked up the broom that was taller than him, and as he struggled to sweep the stairs, he mumbled, “When is Grandfather going to come and take us back home?”

Wu Yanghui heard his voice and gloated, “Your grandfather must not want you anymore; otherwise, he would have come over long ago.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw Ji Zeqiu’s angry eyes glaring fiercely at him.

“Grandfather would never abandon us!” Ji Zeqiu declared angrily.

Wu Yanghui, perhaps recalling how he had been bitten by Ji Zeqiu after saying this last time, felt his heart quake with fear, stopped drinking the milk in his hand, and immediately ran off to the front courtyard.

“Brother, don’t be afraid, Grandfather won’t abandon us,” Ji Zeqiu emphasized again.

Ji Tingyang silently looked at him.

But the one who was truly scared was him.

“That’s right!” Ji Zeqiu remembered something, and his eyes suddenly lit up, “It must be that Aunt moved houses, and Grandfather couldn’t find us, so he hasn’t come to pick us up.”

The more Ji Zeqiu thought about it, the more it made sense to him. He threw the broom aside and ran out excitedly, “I’m going to find Aunt, and have her tell Grandfather to come pick us up and take us home.”

However, when Ji Yiyun heard his words, she looked somewhat impatient and continued to paint her toenails with red nail polish, “He’s not going to come pick you up.”

“Why not? Grandfather said he would come get us after he was done being busy, he definitely will,” Ji Zeqiu pleaded, tugging at Ji Yiyun’s arm, “Aunt, please call Grandfather for us, I’m begging you…”

Ji Yiyun’s hand trembled, looking at the nail polish that had smeared on the sofa, her face abruptly turned cold, “Will you ever stop? He’s dead, he’s not going to come for anything!”

Ji Zeqiu was stunned for a moment, and it took him quite some time to grasp what she had said, “Grandfather is dead?”

“That’s right, he’s dead. He’s never going to come for you again, you might as well give up that hope,” Ji Yiyun said heartlessly.

“You’re lying! Grandfather wouldn’t die!” Ji Zeqiu said loudly, his eyes reddening in argument.

“You’re nothing but jinxes, causing the death of everyone around you. Get lost before you spread your bad luck to me,” Ji Yiyun scowled, waving her hand as though to dispel the bad air around her.

Tears slowly slid down from his eyes, and Ji Zeqiu burst into tears, “Aunt is a liar, a villain, Grandfather isn’t dead, waaaah…”

Before Ji Yiyun could say anything more, he ran off crying.

Ji Zeqiu ran back to the attic, buried his head in the quilt, and from within the bedding, there came a sound of muffled crying.

“Did Aunt scold you again? Don’t listen to her…” Ji Tingyang said frantically, trying to console him.

No matter how much Ji Tingyang asked, Ji Zeqiu refused to answer, only sobbing intermittently, “Brother, let’s go find Grandfather ourselves tomorrow.”

Ji Tingyang also felt some concern for Grandfather and, after thinking about it, nodded in agreement.

The next day.

Ji Tingyang and Ji Zeqiu left home with their backpacks, watching as Wu Yanghui passed them by, seated in a car.

They silently headed for the nearby bus stop. Line eleven was the bus that went to their school.

But today was different; they got on bus number twenty instead.

The butler had said to take the number twenty bus first, and then transfer to the forty-five route, but after how many stops did they get off again?

Ji Zeqiu’s head was a bit fuzzy, but luckily, Ji Tingyang had written all the details down in a notebook; all he had to do was follow his brother.

The bus swayed gently, like a cradle, and Ji Zeqiu soon fell asleep, as if hypnotized by the motion.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Ji Zeqiu was shaken awake by Ji Tingyang.

Just before the doors closed, the two children quickly hopped off the bus. After a walk of over ten minutes, with Ji Zeqiu nearly too exhausted to keep going, they finally arrived at the Lin Family’s home.