Not long after the verdict on the Jia family came down, news came from Ming City.
After evening self-study that day, Xia Mian went to Ning Shaobai's house to pick up Xiao Feng as usual.
She is now in the second half of her sophomore year, and her studies are becoming increasingly intense.
Of course, it's not just her. Except for the two children, everyone in the family is busy like clockwork.
Xia Wenyue was busy adding more production lines and had almost made the factory her home.
Mao Zhishan was spotted by a modern drama crew because of the advertisement he shot and was cast in another drama.
Mao Huimei barely passed the adult college entrance examination in September last year and was admitted to the accounting major of the University of Finance and Economics. Now she is enjoying her college life.
Xia Mian and Mao Huilan are in their second and first year of high school respectively, and their schoolwork is more stressful than before.
So the only two little ones left at home were Xiaofeng and Mao Huizhu.
They were both separated.
Last September, Mao Huizhu and Chenchen both went to primary school, leaving Xiaofeng alone in kindergarten.
Because of his special situation, his family members paid close attention to his emotions. After all, the shadow of childhood is not so easy to eliminate.
Xiao Feng was indeed very uneasy. Although he was sensible and didn't say anything, he smiled less often.
Every day when Xia Mian came back from evening self-study, he looked a little listless and felt uneasy when he slept at night, which was obviously a manifestation of his lack of security.
When Xia Mian heard Ning Shaoyun and Aunt Wei say that he was unwilling to go into the studio after coming back from kindergarten every day, and just squatted at the door of his house and waited for people at the entrance of the alley, he felt so distressed.
She didn't want the child to suffer any injustice.
So he asked Ning Shaobai to find someone to help him skip a grade, and he went directly to the first grade with Mao Huizhu and Chenchen.
Fortunately, the age limit for going to school was not that strict at that time, and Xiaofeng was a little genius, so he passed the first-grade entrance examination smoothly.
Afterwards, I reunited with my two friends.
Xia Mian still clearly remembers the first day of school. The little guy was very happy and talkative, which was unusual for him. He lay on the bed and told Xia Mian about the new class, new classmates and new teacher, and finally rolled over twice and rolled into her arms.
He looked at her with his big eyes like black grapes and suddenly said, "Aunt, I love you." No one knew where he learned this, but it was obvious that he understood everything.
At that moment, Xia Mian felt her chest swelling up, and she couldn't help but hold the child in her arms, "Auntie loves you, too."
In this life, your aunt will do her best to make you grow up happily.
This does not seem to be a difficult task, because Xiao Feng is a very easy to satisfy child. He will be very happy as long as he can continue to be with Mao Huizhu and Chenchen.
Not only studying, they are now also learning fighting together.
Ever since the fight between the three little ones, Xia Mian has been thinking about sending Xiao Feng and Mao Huizhu to learn martial arts.
Apparently, she was not the only one who thought this way. Within two days, Ning Shaobai hired a fighting coach to come home and provide targeted training to the three children.
After that, the three children practiced horse stance under the supervision of Uncle Li every morning, and went directly to Ning Shaobai's house after school in the afternoon to learn fighting from Uncle Han.
Ning Shaobai specially set up a fighting room for them, which was filled with cushions.
Although the three little guys were exhausted when learning fighting, especially Mao Huizhu, who screamed like a ghost, they liked to play in the room after learning because they could roll around anywhere they wanted.
Especially in the winter, when the heating in the house is very warm, the three of them can stay in there all day without coming out during the winter vacation.
Ning Shaobai didn't know what he was thinking, and he bought some more toys in the house. The three children became even more reluctant to leave, so that now the place they often stayed in was no longer Ning Shaoyun's house, but Ning Shaobai's house.
Every day, the children are picked up by their parents when it is almost time to go to bed. Chenchen is picked up by Ning Shaoyun; and in recent months, Xiaofeng and Mao Huizhu have been waiting for Xia Mian to come and pick them up after evening self-study.
So now Xia Mian goes straight to Ning Shaobai's house after coming back from evening study every day.
However, when she arrived today, the two little guys had already been taken away, and only Ning Shaobai was in the fighting room, apparently waiting for her.
Xia Mian didn't notice anything wrong at first, and said happily, "My second aunt or second uncle-in-law is back?"
"They are all back." Ning Shaobai said softly, "The court in Ming City has issued a verdict."
Xia Mian was stunned for a moment, and then she heard Ning Shaobai directly repeat the verdict: "Zhang Qiming is suspected of murdering Xia Chun, attempted murder of Xia Mian and Xia Yufeng, intentional injury, and insurance fraud (felony), and is sentenced to death with immediate execution."
"Huang Xiaojuan was convicted of abuse, theft, and harboring a thief, and was sentenced to seven years in prison."
When Xia Mian heard the news, the first feeling in his heart was not joy, but great sadness.
Xia Chun's voice, appearance and smile suddenly appeared in my mind, as clear as yesterday.
So what if the beast is executed? That gentle and serious girl will never come back...
If she were still alive, Xiao Feng wouldn't have suffered so much.
Thinking of Xiao Feng kneeling in front of the grave in a daze when the grave was moved, Xia Mian couldn't help but tear up.
Seeing Ning Shaobai looking at her, Xia Mian took a deep breath and wanted to say, "Let me take it easy here," but as soon as she opened her mouth, tears inexplicably fell.
Ning Shaobai said nothing, he just took a step forward, raised his hand to wipe away her tears, and gently touched her head.
Xia Mian's tears became even more unruly. She choked while crying, "What are you doing? I have to see Xiao Feng soon. I can't cry."
Ning Shaobai paused, and finally stretched out his long arm to press her head on his shoulder, "Finish crying first, then go see him, so that you won't be unable to hold back when you see the child."
The scene in front of her eyes suddenly became dark, but she felt a strange sense of security, causing her tears to flow uncontrollably. Xia Mian couldn't help but reach out and hug the person in front of her, crying heartily.
Xia Mian didn’t cry for long, after all, Xiao Feng was still waiting for her.
Ning Shaobai seemed to have been prepared. He used a towel soaked in cold water to apply to her skin. "It will be almost unnoticeable when we walk back."
"Thank you." Xia Mian was listless.
Ning Shaobai didn't say anything, just reached out and touched her head.
When Xia Mian returned, Xia Wenyue and Mao Zhishan were there as expected, and Mao Huimei had also returned from school.
Xia Wenyue's eyes were red, and she had obviously cried. "You came from Dr. Ning's house? Then you know the verdict of the Ming City Court."
Xia Mian nodded to show that he understood.
"Huimei and Huizhu are with Xiaofeng, so go wash up first." Xia Wenyue was a little worried that she would have a mental breakdown and scare the child.
She obviously thought the same as Xia Mian. She didn't want Xiao Feng to hear any news about Zhang Qiming and Huang Xiaojuan. It would be best if these two people disappeared completely from the child's world.
Xia Mian was also worried that she couldn't hold it in, so she went to the bathroom.
Xia Wenyue followed in and said, "I'll prepare some paper tomorrow, and I'll take Xiaofeng to the intersection to burn it for my sister in the evening."
Xia Mian covered her face with a towel and uttered "hmm" softly.
Xia Wenyue wiped her eyes and went out. Xia Mian took a while to relax before returning to the east room.
Mao Huizhu and Xiao Feng were sitting on the bed playing checkers, while Mao Huimei was sitting beside them in a daze.
Seeing Xia Mian coming in, Xiao Feng immediately dropped the checkers and stood up, saying in an uneasy tone, "Auntie!"
Xia Mian reached out and hugged him. For a moment, she wanted to cry again. Fortunately, she had vented her anger before, so she barely managed to hold it back. "It's okay, baby."
Mao Huimei took Mao Huizhu away silently.
Xiao Feng touched Xia Mian's eyes with her little hand, pursed her lips and cried, "Aunt, what's wrong with you?"
Xia Mian felt helpless. This child was too sensitive and could not hide any emotion that was even slightly stronger from him.
Xia Mian simply didn't hide it. Xia Chun was the child's mother, and he had the right to be sad for her.
"Aunt is fine." Xia Mian said, "I just thought of my mother."
"Mom." Xiao Feng murmured, and her eyes soon filled with tears.
This may be the magic of his mother. Even if he doesn't remember anything, he knows that his mother is the person who loves him most in the world.
Xia Mian kissed his little face and took out Xia Chun's stamp album and a few photos from the box.
Then I hugged my child and got into bed, remembering that gentle and serious girl:
"… "
"These are your mother's favorite stamps. The house we live in was also bought for us with your mother's stamps..."
"Yes, mom has always been protecting you."
"This is you when you were just born, your mother was holding you. Yes, you were so tiny when you first came out."
"How small? Um... your second uncle's shoes are so small that you can put it in them."
Xiao Feng finally widened his eyes in surprise, and the hair on his head stood up.
Xia Mian couldn't help but stretched out her hand and pulled it. Xiao Feng didn't know what he remembered, so he stretched out his arm and pulled a small bunch of hair on Xia Mian's head, "Mom has it too."
"Hmm?" Xia Mian leaned over quickly and saw Xiao Feng pointing at a photo of Xia Chun with short hair, "This..."
"It's true!" Xia Mian said in amazement, "Xiao Feng, you are amazing."
Her hair is now longer than her shoulders. Before, when it was neither long nor short, she had a tuft of hair on top of her head that was exactly the same as Xiao Feng's, and it was always sticking up. Xiao Feng would laugh every time he saw it, but Xia Mian could never understand his funny point.
Later, when my hair grew longer, it was not so obvious, and it only stood up occasionally when I got up.
Every time Xiao Feng saw her, he would ask her to hold him and look in the mirror together, and then start smiling at the mirror. He felt that this alone could make him happy for the whole day.
Now that I think about it, this is probably a feature that clearly proves the deep bond between them.
Xia Mian thought about it, got out of bed and cut the hair short with scissors.
Xiao Feng sat on the bed and looked at the tuft of hair sticking up on Xia Mian's head. She touched her own hand again and immediately giggled again, "Same."
Xia Mian got on the bed and hugged him, "Yes, the same, mom, aunt and Xiao Feng are all the same."
"Mom will protect you in heaven, and your aunt will protect you by your side. Xiao Feng, just grow up happily, okay?"
Xiao Feng stretched out his arms and wrapped them around Xia Mian's neck, saying softly, "Okay."