The Same Person

HAPPY NEW YEAR! There'll be an announcement tomorrow.

The next morning, Yang Chen woke up slightly earlier than usual. He wasn’t sure if it was the stress or other things that was keeping him awake. Sleeping had never been a necessity for him. He would rather spend the time solving his problems than wasting it by sleeping.

Wang Ma was busy in the kitchen when he went down for breakfast. Lin Ruoxi was still asleep. Boss Lin exhausted herself working all day yesterday.

Zhenxiu and Guo Xuehua were seated at the dining table. Guo Xuehua treated Zhenxiu like her own daughter. She kept feeding Zhenxiu and it did not look like she was going to stop anytime soon.

Guo Xuehua saw Yang Chen and cheerfully said, “You’re up early today. I could really use your help now.”

Surprised, Yang Chen replied, “Help with what?”

“Recently, Zhenxiu had started to attend class on Sundays. Please send her to school after breakfast since you’re free. It will reduce the hassle of her taking the bus,” said Guo Xuehua.

Zhenxiu shook her head immediately and said, “Aunt Guo, it’s okay. I can take the bus. I won’t be late anyway.”

“It’s not about being late or not. You’ve lost so much weight recently due to your constant revising. Brother Yang usually has nothing to do, so sending you to school would be no problem.” Guo Xuehua smiled at Yang Chen and asked, “Am I right, my great son?”

Yang Chen couldn’t reject this request. He was willing to send Zhenxiu to school. Moreover, he wanted to get on Guo Xuehua’s good graces before her meet up with Ma Guifang. So he had to agree.

Zhenxiu didn’t say anything after seeing that Yang Chen was quick to agree so she gave Guo Xuehua a sweet smile.

Yang Chen quickly finished his breakfast along with Zhenxiu. He drank a bowl of porridge and ate several steamed buns.

Guo Xuehua walked the two of them to the courtyard while thoughtfully reminding Zhenxiu to come home early for dinner.

Yang Chen felt gloomy to see how much Guo Xuehua cared about Zhenxiu. His mother cared about him constantly when they were still developing their relationship. Now, that their relationship was steady, Guo Xuehua cared less about him but more about Zhenxiu.

Yang Chen started the car engine and smiled. “I see that you’ve truly become my sister. Everyone would think I am adopted whereas you’re my mom’s true child, judging from the way she treats you.”

Zhenxiu puffed her cheeks and glanced at Yang Chen, dissatisfied. She said, “Unlike you, I am obedient. You’re always causing trouble for Aunt Guo.”

Yang Chen smiled shyly and scratched his face. He knew what her words implied but had nothing to rebut with so he stayed silent. He pulled out of the house and made his way to Zhenxiu’s school.

Guo Xuehua turned around and made her way back to the house. As she was walking back, she saw a middle-aged woman walk out from Rose’s house.

The unfamiliar woman dressed plain and simple. However, Guo Xuehua as a woman herself could tell that she must have been a beautiful woman in her youth.

This unfamiliar woman was Ma Guifang who was temporarily living with her daughter Mo Qianni in Rose’s house.

Ma Guifang had come to Zhonghai for quite some time. They never met before because Guo Xuehua didn’t visit the Rose’s house recently.

At this moment, Ma Guifang was walking into the courtyard and coincidentally saw Guo Xuehua.

Their stared at each other for awhile. One was graceful and elegant whereas the other was simple and pure.

Being neighbors, it was common etiquette for them to greet each other.

Guo Xuehua walked up towards the fence with a smile and said, “Hi, my name is Guo Xuehua. Elder Sister, I have never met you before. Have you just moved here recently? Are you the child Rose’s relative?”

Ma Guifang felt her heart melt when she heard Guo Xuehua refer her as ‘elder sister’. She was unfamiliar with Zhonghai, but unexpectedly felt connected when she met a neighbour of her age. Besides, having met countless people, she could tell that Guo Xuehua was a nice person.

“Oh, my name is Ma Guifang. I’m not Rose’s relative, but Mo Qianni’s mother,” Ma Guifang replied with a smile. “I recently moved here for health reasons. Living alone became rather difficult.”

Guo Xuehua knew that Ma Guifang came from Sichuan after hearing her accent. Thus, she lowered her guard. Ma Guifang indeed looked similar to Mo Qianni after taking a close look.

Smiling, Guo Xuehua said, “Oh, so you’re Qianni’s mother. I heard from Qianni that her mother lived back at her hometown. Sister Ma, you came at the right time. The young ones from both our homes are always out working. Sister Wang and I are usually the only ones at home. Sister Ma, please do come on over for tea.”

Ma Guifang laughed and replied, “Since you’re calling me sister, I will call you Sister Xuehua then. So you know my daughter. My silly daughter didn’t even mention our neighbours.”

“It’s only because Qianni is busy. That girl is pretty and thoughtful. Sister Ma, you have a really good daughter. I bet Qianni only looks so fine thanks to your gorgeous appearance,” Guo Xuehua praised.

Ma Guifang’s biggest pride was her outstanding daughter, so Guo Xuehua’s compliment was one that she truly appreciated. She grinned and replied, “Sister Xuehua, you’re such a sweet talker. I am just a peasant from the mountains. Her success is all credited to her. Oh, by the way, do you have any children?”

Originally, Ma Guifang wanted to head to work at Madam Xiang’s restaurant. At this moment, she was engrossed in chatting with Guo Xuehua and forgot about working.

Women at that age loved to chat. Especially if they meet someone with similar interests.

Guo Xuehua was more than willing to share about her children. Due to the fact that the Yang clan’s background was unusual, it wasn’t a topic that people brought up too often. She only mentioned that she had a son and she was currently living with him and her daughter-in-law.

When Guo Xuehua said that her daughter-in-law Lin Ruoxi was a close friend of Mo Qianni and the CEO of Yu Lei International, Ma Guifang was shocked yet again. She secretly blamed Mo Qianni for not informing her that Lin Ruoxi lived next door.

After all, the Old CEO from Yu Lei graced Mo Qianni. Naturally, Ma Guifang was aware of the current CEO.

It wasn’t that Mo Qianni dared not tell her that Lin Ruoxi lived next door—she was worried that Ma Guifang would find out that Lin Ruoxi and Yang Chen were married!

During the conversation, Guo Xuehua intentionally avoided several topics of conversation whereas Ma Guifang had nothing to hide.

When Guo Xuehua asked about when Mo Qianni would find a partner, Ma Guifang grinned and said, “That girl has found a good man. He is quite decent in m eyes. He doesn’t look down on our background. Just two days ago, they mentioned that both parents should meet up . Maybe the parents of my future son-in-law are busy so they haven’t set a date just yet.”

“That’s great! I have always thought that Qianni is a good girl. If my son wasn’t already married, I might have matched him up with Qianni. She didn’t tell me that she had someone in mind. I recently just asked her about it but she refused to tell me,” replied Guo Xuehua.

A few days ago, Guo Xuehua felt rather regretful, as she found Mo Qianni more suitable as her daughter-in-law than Lin Ruoxi. However, Lin Ruoxi had changed her mind these past few days.

Ma Guifang couldn’t stop adulating her future son-in-law, even though she didn’t mention any names. She described him so perfectly that he sounded like the perfect, loyal, and one-and-only man!

From Ma Guifang’s description, Guo Xuehua too felt that he was a good man. Mo Qianni would naturally pick him over any other man. He must be infinitely better than my playboy son! she thought.

Guo Xuehua who was full of admiration would never know that the ‘perfect man’ in Ma Guifang’s words was her much treasured son—Yang Chen!

All along, they were talking about the same person!