Ge'er and Tiantian both received calls from Jiang Nanfang. Hearing that her sister had started dating a man she'd just met and was staying out all night, they were very worried.
However, Ge'er was busy wrapping up a project and was stretched thin. Luckily, Tiantian had already started her holiday break and had more free time. So, she and Chen Dongyang took on the task.
The two didn't delay, quickly driving to Nanshan Villa.
Upon entering the house, Chun Chun was indeed not there.
After questioning the nanny and housekeeper, they learned she had gone next door to help. The couple then turned and headed to Chen Jiaojiao's house.
At the Chen residence, Chun Chun was wearing an apron, and Peng Fei had a plastic trash bag draped over him. They wore paper hats and were using shovels to scrape black soot off the walls.
Hearing a knock at the door, Peng Fei ran out to answer it.
He was quite surprised to hear that the visitors were Zhan Jingchun's elder sister and brother-in-law.
Zhan Jingchun also hadn't expected her second sister and brother-in-law to actually come help them, without even a word beforehand.
"Sis, why are you two here? We said you didn't need to help..."
Tiantian's first action upon entering was to size up Peng Fei. She found the young man to be quite good-looking and well-built, giving him a good first impression, though his character remained to be seen.
She suppressed her questions and pretended as if nothing was amiss.
"Your brother-in-law and I weren't busy, and this is your first time renovating a house. As professionals, how could we not help? Didn't you say you were renovating it yourself? Why are you at Xiang Siyuan's place?"
Tiantian then recounted the story of the house fire, omitting unnecessary details.
"So that's what happened. Those brats were really malicious. But is it really okay not to tell Jiaojiao?"
Zhan Jingchun replied, "The deed is done. What's the use of telling her now? It would only lead to Xiang Siyuan receiving further punishment. He already knows he was wrong; let's give him a chance."
Was it truly for Xiang Siyuan's sake? Her words sounded very high-minded.
Tiantian didn't expose her. She and Chen Dongyang also donned plastic trash bags and began to help.
Chen Dongyang deliberately stayed close to Peng Fei, chatting with him casually.
Through his intuition as a man, he found the young man to be quite diligent and spoke plainly, without any major flaws. Crucially, he was good-looking and young, a good match for Chun Chun.
No wonder Chun Chun had taken a liking to him.
If he passed an evaluation and his character was good, even if his family was a bit poor, it would be acceptable.
The Zhan family's financial resources were already more than sufficient; they didn't need to be too concerned about economics.
As long as the two loved each other and Chun Chun was happy, that was all that mattered.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, the children had finished their homework for the day. Seeing the four of them dressed up like this was quite amusing, and they all wanted to join in.
Everyone was given sandpaper and gloves. Each person took a section to work on. With many hands, the black soot on the walls was completely sanded off by noon.
At noon, Peng Fei invited them to stay for lunch, offering to cook himself.
Tiantian and Chen Dongyang did not refuse.
Peng Fei went into the kitchen. Seeing him busy after a morning of work and now preparing a meal, Zhan Jingchun felt concerned and wanted to help, but Tiantian pulled her back.
"At home, your brother-in-law cooks too. What's the big deal? This is one of the basic qualities of a man nowadays. I say, why are you so concerned about him? Don't tell me you like him?"
Zhan Jingchun felt embarrassed to admit it, especially since her past with Peng Fei was not honorable. She wondered if her sister and brother-in-law would accept Peng Fei if they knew.
Even though their family was open-minded, they didn't understand Peng Fei and couldn't empathize with the sense of powerlessness that poverty could bring.
She was afraid that knowing those things would make them reject him.
Just as she had initially prejudged Peng Fei as a bad person.
Chen Dongyang casually wandered into the kitchen to help. Seeing Peng Fei's quick and practiced movements, and his rough hands, he asked if he often cooked at home and where his hometown was.
Peng Fei, being guileless, answered everything truthfully.
Chen Dongyang was very surprised.
"Your hometown is in Y Province? Which city? Which county?"
Peng Fei didn't know, nor could he imagine how deeply the Zhan family had searched through every province, every county, even every town and village in the country to find Zhan Jingchun.
He also didn't know that his hometown had been visited by Tiantian.
He honestly stated the names of the county and town, and Chen Dongyang was surprised again.
Could it be that such coincidences truly existed in the world? He also came from that place? Did he know that family?
Did he know what Chun Chun had experienced? Did Chun Chun know that he also came from that place?
If neither party knew, and it was revealed later, their relationship would be ruined.
But if they did know...
He couldn't figure it out. Wouldn't Chun Chun be reminded of painful memories when facing him?
Chen Dongyang suppressed his surprise and quietly called Tiantian outside.
Upon learning that Peng Fei also hailed from that place, Tiantian was equally astonished.
"No way? Dad personally visited their village later and even went to that family's house, but he ran off. Could it be..."
They dared not believe it. If Peng Fei was the one who had hurt Chun Chun back then, why was he here?
Did Chun Chun call him over?
Why would Chun Chun do such a thing?
She was the one who had actively fled, and she had seemed so distressed recently. She clearly hated that past, so why was she still in contact with him?
They could only comfort themselves, telling themselves it was a coincidence, that Peng Fei was not that person.
However, when Tiantian opened her laptop to check past visit records, she found, to her regret, that Peng Fei was indeed that person.
Tiantian had imagined the person's appearance countless times, never expecting him to be so young and appear so normal.
And they had been separated for so long, yet they were getting back together?
Could it be that Chun Chun was ill? Suffering from Stockholm Syndrome? Developing a psychological dependence on her abuser? Did she feel unworthy of liking anyone else and believed she had no other choice but him?
The lunch was very abundant. Peng Fei's cooking was good, and all the children ate happily. But Tiantian found the food tasteless.
She couldn't show her emotions on her face, burying them in her heart. In the afternoon, she stayed and helped for another half day.
In the evening, Peng Fei invited them to stay for dinner again, but she couldn't wait any longer. She called Chun Chun back home.
Zhan Jingchun had a fulfilling and happy day. After showering, she was like a carefree girl, sharing her recent creative ideas and showing Tiantian her drawings from yesterday.
Tiantian couldn't focus on anything. After much hesitation, she spoke to her sister.
"I don't know if it's the psychological pressure lately, but I feel like my career has reached a bottleneck. I'm very lost and can't find happiness. I'm also suffering from insomnia at night. Am I going to become depressed? Chun Chun, will you accompany me to see a psychologist tomorrow? I don't want your brother-in-law to worry."
Zhan Jingchun had no idea about the turmoil in her sister's mind.
She thought her sister was genuinely under a lot of stress and comforted her warmly, agreeing to accompany her.