She felt warm and fuzzy, delighted that someone was there to give her strength when she needed it most. She let out a small smile.
Twenty minutes later, someone arrived at B City’s penitentiary, a looming fortress built in the middle of nowhere. Its steel gates were tough, imposing, and impenetrable.
The last time Lin Xinyan was here to see Zhuang Zijin, her sentence wasn’t out yet.
As he stood before the gates, Lin Xinyan could feel his heart tremble. Her mother was right behind these gates, locked up for her crimes, doomed to have a stain on their life after she was released, like all the ex-cons. From then on, society would look at her like she was trash.
Zong Jinghao stood beside her, holding her freezing hand. “Let’s go in.”
Lin Xinyan nodded in assent.
Shen Peichuan was waiting for them at the guard’s pitstop. When they came, he went to welcome them and led them inside. Thanks to Shen Peichuan, nobody stopped them when they entered.
Zhuang Zijin was placed in a solitary meeting cell with nobody standing guard outside. It was the perfect place to meet Lin Xinyan alone. Well, as perfect as a jail cell could be.
They went past the corridor, where layer after layer of steel doors awaited them, but finally, they reached their destination.
“She’s in there,” Shen Peichuan said.
Lin Xinyan took a deep breath, preparing herself mentally one last time before the meeting. She looked back at Zong Jinghao. “I’m fine. Let me meet her alone.”
Zong Jinghao pursed his lips. He didn’t like the idea, but still, he let her go. “I’ll be waiting outside then.”
“Thanks.” She went to the door and took another deep breath. She then opened the door.
The room was stark. There was one fluorescent light on the ceiling and a rectangular table in the middle in the full white room. Aside from Lin Xinyan, there was only one other person there—Zhuang Zijin. She was sitting behind the table. When Lin Xinyan entered, the woman looked up.
The sight of her mother made Lin Xinyan’s heart skip. Contrary to the old her, she was gaunt. Her face had darkened and she had visibly aged. Lin Xinyan used to think she looked young for her age, but not after she saw her this time.
“You’re here.” Zhuang Zijin smiled.
Lin Xinyan sat on the chair across from her and stared at her mother’s face. “I missed you.”
Zhuang Zijin’s started crying, but she quickly wiped her tears away. She missed her children too. Ever since they were born, she was always there for them. Never once did she get separated from them for this long.
“I heard you’re sick.” Lin Xinyan thought she would be crying inconsolably when they met, but her resilience proved to be stronger than she thought.
Zhuang Zijin wiped her tears away. “I’m fine. I think I know my condition the best.”
“But you don’t look fine. Let’s take you to the hospital for a checkup.”
“I am fine, girl. I just—” Zhuang Zijin covered her mouth and started coughing.
“You’re going to the hospital today,” Lin Xinyan stated adamantly.
Every time she coughed, Zhuang Zijin could feel her chest bursting in pain. She calmed herself down after another bout of coughing before asking, “I want to see Ruixi and Xichen before that.”
She knew her body better than anyone. Even though she never went for a checkup, Zhuang Zijin could feel herself slowly wasting away. She knew her days were numbered, but she wasn’t afraid. She did have one regret though – not being able to see her grandkids grow up.
Lin Xinyan agreed to her request. “I’ll ask Shen Peichuan to do it. You’ll see them today.” She then left the room and saw Shen Peichuan talking to Zong Jinghao.
It was about the case of the deputy mayor’s crime – everyone involved had been arrested. “Don’t worry. Nobody can pull anything now,” Shen Peichuan reassured.
Zong Jinghao was worried that someone might get back at them. Even though all traces of Lin Xichen had been erased, she did see Lin Xinyan before her arrest.
That woman didn’t know that Lin Xichen was the one who had uploaded the video, but she knew her confrontation with Lin Xinyan started the whole ordeal, so she would try to get back at Lin Xinyan.
However, Lin Xinyan had reacted calmly and tried to call the police, so she had no choice but to hide. She had never expected the police to locate her hiding place that quickly.
“Those guys are doubling down on crime and corruption, so he’s unlucky to be arrested this time. They aren’t going to let him off easily.” The light overhead shone on Zong Jinghao, creating a long, slender shadow behind him.
They didn’t notice Lin Xinyan come out until she called out to Shen Peichuan.
They looked back at her, and she closed the door before coming up to them. “I need your help.” She looked at Shen Peichuan expectantly.
“Anything you need,” Shen Peichuan replied readily.
“I want to take her with me on a little excursion.” Lin Xinyan couldn’t bring the kids here, but she needed her mother to get a checkup.
The woman looked gaunt and pasty, almost deathly even. Lin Xinyan was worried for her health.
Shen Peichuan had asked her to come for this visit to persuade Zhuang Zijin to go for a checkup, so he had prepared for this. “You can take her for the checkup right away,” he said.
“Thank you,” she thanked him genuinely.
“Don’t mention it.” He smiled. Zong Jinghao was his buddy, so helping him this much wasn’t a problem.
Lin Xinyan took Zhuang Zijin back home with her that very same day, and she called Cheng Yuxiu to ask if the kids were at home.
She was worried Cheng Yuxiu might take the kids on some fun trip since that would mean Zhuang Zijin wouldn’t see them when they got home.
“They are. Do you want to see them?” she asked.
“Yeah, and my mother too. I am bringing her back.”
Cheng Yuxiu could understand why. “I see. I’ll make the arrangements then.”
“Thank you.” Lin Xinyan hung up after that.
A short while later, they returned to the Zong residence. Zhuang Zijin knew this was Zong Jinghao’s villa, though it was her first time coming here.
The fact she was a convict made her feel inferior, but Lin Xinyan went to hold her arm reassuringly. “This is where your kids live. Feel at home.”
As Zhuang Zijin looked at her daughter and Zong Jinghao, she teared up. “Thank you.”
Thank you for giving my daughter a home.
Zong Jinghao still looked stoic as ever, and he pushed a strand of hair out of Lin Xinyan’s face. “I should be the one thanking you for entrusting your daughter to me.”
Lin Xinyan smiled. She loved it when he was gentle.
Zhuang Zijin was happy to see her daughter smiling in bliss. Her last, lingering concern was finally gone. Lin Xinyan and her husband seemed loving, and that was all she wanted – for her daughter to find a good husband, and for her kids to grow up safely.
The villa’s door groaned open, and out came Cheng Yuxiu. “Come in, you guys. We’ll be alone. Most of the guys aren’t here.”
Zong Qifeng and the servants had gone out thanks to Cheng Yuxiu, so only the kids were in the villa. Zhuang Zijin was thankful for that. She didn’t want too many people to be around, for being a convict was shameful.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. We’re family.” Cheng Yuxiu gazed at Zhuang Zijin. “If anyone should be saying thank you, it’s me. You raised a good daughter.”
