The aunty took the two children back to school and Shu Yan and Feng Zeyu were left by themselves.

The two hadn't sat around and chatted for a long time. Shu Yan looked at Feng Zeyu and looked for subjects to talk about. "How come that girl just came to apologize out of the blue?"

Shu Yan wasn't going to buy that she would do that out of her own consciousness. It was too overly dramatic.

"A buddy of mine located her."

Feng Zeyu wondered about that as well. He found out later on that Mao Weiping looked for her and made her an offer that he would give her a sum of money if she would apologize to Feng Zeyu publicly and, the bigger the scene, the better. Yin Xueqin, who was at the end of her rope, accepted his offer. Apologizing could alleviate some of her guilt and made her a sum of money. She had no reason to turn it down.

And she did a good job at that – getting down on her knees and bawled, even dragging her own mother with her. And it worked like a charm. Nobody within 10 miles and 8 villages badmouthed Feng Zeyu anymore. Now everyone's focus had been turned toward Feng Zeyu's stepmother.

As for Yin Xueqin, with the money given to her form Mao Weiping, she was long gone with her mother. With her look and qualification, all she needed to do was to move to a city or province that was a little bit distance away and she would be able to get a decent job and marry a nice man.

Shu Yan nodded. She took a look over at Feng Zeyu and pulled a pillow into her arms. "My family valued boys over girls. They wouldn't let me go to school any more after third grade and I had been home helping out my parents working in the farm and around the house. The year I turned 17, a few individuals came to my house with marriage proposals. Old Man Ye from the village next to us offered the highest betrothal money so my parents picked them.

 I've only met him once before we got married. Two months after that, he said he wanted to give it a shot outside. I only learned that I was pregnant after he had left. My in-law family was valued boys over girls just like my own family. They didn't even give me my one-month rest after I had JingJing. My ex-husband worked as a general contractor in constructions and needed someone to cook for him. 

He remembered me and had me go cook for him, which was how we ended up with Tianbao. When I was too pregnant to cook, I returned to the village. And then, he ignored me for months when he wanted to marry the other woman. He started picking on me and fighting with me. I was tired of living with life like that so I divorced him."

Shu Yan didn't feel that that was anything wrong with her telling him that. The more she tried to avoid that, the more it would become an issue between the two of them. She was better off just telling him upfront. In addition, she also wanted him to know that she had no feelings for her ex-husband. The two of them were just paired up randomly.

Feng Zeyu understood what Shu Yan was trying to tell him. She would not have shared that with him had she still had feelings for her ex-husband.

That and pleasantly surprised Feng Zeyu. Truth was, he wasn't worried about being a stepdad. He worried more that she could not walk out from the pain of her last marriage.

"I think you have heard some about me as well. My father was an educated youth who was sent to countryside and ended up in the village that my mother was in. Life was hard so he wooed my mother to marry him. The educated youths were allowed back into the cities in the 80s and he disappeared. My mother scrounged up every penny and brought me with her to look for him in the city. 

Not surprisingly, he had remarried in the city. My mom did not take me back with her but left me here." Feng Zeyu's eyes flickered a little when he talked about how his mother was dumped. "I understood why my mom did what she did. I am a boy. Anyone who wanted to marry her would have to save up money to build a house for me to find a wife.

 Who would want to do that? Not to mention that she couldn't support me on her own either. It was better off to leave me in City Nan. At least I won't starve to death. Besides, having a household register in the city will still allow me a better future than back in the village."

Shu Yan listened to him quietly and couldn't imagine how he felt when he was abandoned by his own mother at such a young age.

"I've visited her after I have grown up." Feng Zeyu turned and smiled at Shu Yan. 

"She married a widower who was a neighbor. He lost his wife during complication from a childbirth and the lost the child as well. She didn't need to be a stepmother. She had given birth to two sons after she married him. 

The older one is one year younger than me. He was tall and stocky built. I heard that he did quite well in school as well. The younger one was naughtier and refused to go to school. His dad sent him to become an apprentice in carpentry after he graduated junior high school. It all worked out."

Shu Yan felt her heart ached when Feng Zeyu said that his half brother was just one year younger than him.

"I never regrated about helping out the girl but... I feel regretful that I could not see my grandparents one last time." Feng Zeyu's eyes reddened and moistened when he brought up his grandparents. "They would not have passed away so early if they weren't worried about me. They were both of good health."

"It's all in the past already." Shu Yan recalled her own parents. They must be really sad when they found out that she had died.

"It is all over." He had already sent each and every single one of them to jail.

The two sat round quietly and finally regained their peacefulness after a long while.

They felt closer to each other after sharing their past.

Shu Yan leaned against the couch languidly and, holding onto one of the pillows, asked, "What's your plan for the future?"

"I had planned on taking good care of the grandmother next door after I have avenged myself. When she passed away after she was 100, I will find a place with a nice scenery and live out my life peacefully, just me by myself." Feng Zeyu, looking at Shu Yan, said in a very serious manner.

 "Changes had outpaced my plans. I've met someone that I am interested in and now I want to marry her and live the life that she wants to live."

Shu Yan's face started to burn when he stared at her like that.

"Marrying her is no easy feat." She gave him a stare. Where did he learn all these mushy words from?

"I will overcome all difficulties, as long as she is willing to be with me," said Feng Zeyu as he continued to look at Shu Yan.

Shu Yan tightened her lips a little and looked up at Feng Zeyu. "Are you sure you are prepared for this? I trust that those around you had already given you advices. It is not easy being a stepfather."

Feng Zeyu sat up straight and said determinately, "I know that you have kids since the day that we have met. I don't see that as an issue. I trust that they kids will be able to tell that I am genuine toward that. 

After they are grown and have their own families, we can stay with them if they want; otherwise, we can live our peaceful days just the two of us. If you want, we can travel and look at all the sceneries in this country. If we feel up to it, we can even travel overseas and only return when we are finally tired of it."

Shu Yan's heart throbbed violently. That was her dream in her previous life. She wanted to retire by the time she was 60 and have a loved one who would travel the world with her. And they would only return when they were too old to travel.

"Don't you want to have your own child?" It didn't seem like there is a child in his plans.

Truth be told, Shu Yan would like a child of her own. Just one would be enough. She did, however, worried that once she had another child, she would focus too much on the youngest one and neglect the two older ones.

 That was a balance that would be difficult to strike. Not having another child is not a realistic option either. If she planned to remarry, and that this would be his first marriage, it would be very unfair to Feng Zeyu to not have a child with him.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to have a child of his own. Feng Zeyu had been abandoned by his father when he was a child and then by his mother. He would probably have died of starvation if it wasn't for his grandparents. 

He had always thought to himself that he would be a very good father when he had his own child. He would protect her, take good care of her. But this is fine as well. JingJing and Tianbao were good kids and he would treat them as if they were his own.

"It's alright, having JingJing and Tianbao would be the same." And Feng Zeyu meant it when he said that.

Shu Yan raised her brows. He said it was alright; not that he didn't want it.

"If, and I mean, if, I get remarried. I would like to get JingJing and Tianbao's blessings before having another child."

Feng Zeyu looked at Shu Yan, surprised. That meant she had not yet had her tubal ligation? And that she was willing to have another one if JingJing and Tianbao were okay with that?

"As for getting remarried, I have talked to both JingJing and Tianbao already. Perhaps Tianbao is still young and he doesn't have too much problem about it. In fact, he somewhat looks forward to having a new father. JingJing is older and she sees more. I wouldn't say she objects to it, but she lacks the sense of security. 

She worries that I would not want her anymore if I get remarried. So you will need to work on her more." When Shu Yan was done talking, she turned and looked at Feng Zeyu when she didn't get a response from him. "Problems?"

Feng Zeyu looked at Shu Yan for a long time, dazed. Stuttering, he said, "You... ... you agree to... ... to go out with me... ..."

"We are not young anymore and we have been through a lot. There is no point in playing games anymore. It isn't easy to meet something that you like. So why not give it a shot bravely?" Shu Yan had dated in the past. Now that she was 30 years old, she looked forward to a pair of strong arms and a warm harbor.

"I am not as brave as you." Feng Zeyu truly feel that he was not as magnanimous and brave as Shu Yan when it came to matters of the relationship.

Had Shu Yan didn't just talk about it point blank, he would still be wrecking his brain trying to figure out how to pursue her instead of just letting her know in an open manner.

She had already taken the first step so there was no reason for him, as a man, to hesitate anymore.

"Shu Yan, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Shu Yan put the pillow down and walked upstairs. "The summer vacation will be starting soon. Let's think about where to bring the children to have fun."

That very moment, Feng Zeyu felt that fireworks were going off in his heart and they were incredibly magnificent.

He could barely walk when he got up to go home.