Chapter Eleven: Sympathizing with Each Other's Fate

  "Isn't your sister-in-law also a local?"

  "No, same as you, I also grew up in an orphanage since childhood."

  "What?!"

  "Are you surprised?"

  "It's somewhat surprising."

  Looking at Yan Qingcheng's calm face, Cong Ye felt a inexplicable pang in her heart.

  "How can someone as beautiful as you also grow up in an orphanage?"

  Yan Qingcheng, who was amused by Cong Ye's words, looked at him and said:

  "Hehe, who says there aren't any pretty girls in an orphanage? Besides, I'm not pretty either."

  Congye didn't go argue with Yan Qingcheng about whether she was beautiful or not, but the news that she also came from an orphanage made Congye hard to accept for a while.

  "Sister-in-law, I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was..."

  Congye also didn't know what his own meaning was.

  "What is it?"

  The leaves rustle, and all I can do is smile silently.

  Yan Qingcheng looked at Cong Ye who was somewhat embarrassed in front of her and smiled slightly once again:

  "Actually, the orphanage is a place that makes people miss it. After adapting to the initial feeling of loneliness after growing up, and being with so many sisters and brothers, no one needs to compare with anyone else, nor is there an opportunity to be spoiled."

  Yan Qingcheng's eyes gazed out at the street outside, her gaze somewhat distant, clearly recalling the days and nights she spent in the orphanage.

  "Sister-in-law also went to the orphanage from a very young age?"

  "Was abandoned at birth and then was picked up by a kind-hearted person and sent to an orphanage."

  "Did your sister-in-law go back again later?"

  "After graduating from college, I went back once, and then went back again with Xiao Zhi. But after getting married, because I had to take care of my mom, I never went back again. Once things are settled here, I must go back and take a look."

  "Is it very far?"

  "Yes, Mountain City."

  "When sister was sent to the orphanage, didn't she have any marks on her body?"

  Yan Qingcheng's gaze was distant, and for a moment, her expression turned gloomy.

  "There is only one birth certificate with the name 'Yan Qingcheng' written on it."

  "My sister is stronger than me, I don't even have a birth certificate, and my name was given by the orphanage's mother. The person who sent me said that I was found under a clump of wintergreen on the street greening belt, so I was named 'Congye'."

  Yan Qingcheng knew that her name must have been given by her biological parents, and with this name, there might still be a glimmer of hope to find her biological parents in the future. Like Cong Ye, she probably didn't even have this glimmer of hope.

  "Thick foliage."

  "Sister-in-law."

  Originally, Yan Qingcheng wanted to comfort Cong Ye with a couple of words, but seeing that Cong Ye's face didn't have any disappointed expression, she couldn't think of what topic to use to comfort him for the time being. She looked at Cong Ye for a while before changing the subject and saying:

  "Cong Ye, tell me about your time in the orphanage, okay?"

  "What's there to talk about?"

  Cong Ye narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, saying:

  "When I was 4 or 5 years old, I gradually realized that I was an orphan. Every time I saw people coming to the orphanage to donate money and goods, sometimes with their own children, I would feel extremely envious and wish that I had a dad and mom too. From then on, I became somewhat introverted, unwilling to play with other kids, and liked to stay alone in a corner, imagining what it would be like if I had a dad and mom. At that time, I wasn't very clear about what abandonment meant. So, occasionally I would wonder why my parents sent me to the orphanage."

  Cong Ye couldn't help but glance at Yan Qingcheng's eyes with a hint of embarrassment.

  "Sister, at that time I was like a little girl, liked to cry secretly."

  "We all have such experiences."

  Cong Ye discovered that Yan Qing Cheng's eyes suddenly turned slightly red, and hastily changed the subject:

  However, I soon got better. By the time I went to elementary school, I had more or less adapted. At that time, I was very mischievous and didn't know why, but I always liked to fight with my classmates. Sometimes, just because of a simple sentence, I would get angry.

  Yan Qingcheng naturally knew why Cong Ye was like that, because she had also experienced it. There were always some classmates who liked to say they were orphans, unwanted children, and those with inferiority complexes couldn't tolerate it.

  "After fighting, will the orphanage's mom punish you?"

  "Uh-huh, every time I have to stand in punishment, and sometimes I'm not even given food to eat."

  "Haha, same here. I was also punished by my mom once, and didn't get any food for a whole day."

  "Impossible, sister-in-law is so obedient, how could she make mom angry?"

  "I was not obedient at all, and I had a somewhat radical personality back then. My mom was very frustrated with me."

  Seeing Cong Ye's suspicious gaze, Yan Qing Cheng said:

  "It's true, several times I took advantage of when no one was paying attention and ran out of the orphanage. Once, I spent a night on the streets and almost got taken away by a stranger."

  "Why run?"

  "For a while, I kept thinking of going to find Dad and Mom, and asking them that since they gave birth to me, why didn't they want me."

  That day, the two of them didn't go out to look for work again, knowing that there was a mysterious developer who was interfering, and it would be difficult to achieve their goal. So they sat at home, talking about some past events. Two people with the same fate easily produce a sense of closeness. Not only did Cong Ye feel closer to his sister-in-law, but also a ripple appeared in Yan Qingcheng's heart. Looking at the healthy and sunny Cong Ye, although not handsome, he was very pleasant to look at.

  "Cong Ye, did you have a secret crush on a girl while reading books?"

  Yan Qingcheng didn't even know how she suddenly asked such a question, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she could only try to act like it was just a casual inquiry.

  "I secretly liked a girl in private, I don't know if that counts as unrequited love?"

  "Of course I counted, what about afterwards? Did you find a chance to confess?"

  "How dare I?"

  This should be the common psychology of children from orphanages.

  "Sister-in-law is so beautiful, shouldn't many boys like her?"

  "Maybe there was, but I never paid attention to it. At that time, all my thoughts were on studying, always thinking that I must study hard and find a good job in the future."

  "How did sister-in-law and Pai Zhang get to know each other?"

  "That was the second spring after graduation, a fellow soldier of your brother's from military school came to our hospital and found a female nurse. That female nurse happened to be my colleague, and one time she mentioned casually that her boyfriend had a fellow soldier who was Guan Hai Cheng."

  Yan Qingcheng's eyes wandered again, turning her head towards the street outside, recalling as she spoke:

  "At that time, there was a young master who always came to the hospital to find me. To get rid of him, I had the idea of finding a boyfriend. So I joked and asked someone to ask if he had an object, if not, introduce one to me. Coincidentally, my mother's body was not feeling well, and Xiao Zhi took leave to come back and visit. Just like that, through the introduction of that nurse, we got to know each other."

  "Hehe, those who pursue Sister-in-law shouldn't be just that young master, right?"

  Yan Qingcheng smiled and said:

  "I said I've liked being a soldier since I was little, do you believe me?"

  "I believe."

  Cong Ye replied immediately, and at the same time, a thread of indescribable pleasure was triggered in his heart by Yan Qingcheng's words.

  Cong Ye also chimed in, asking:

  "What's the background of that young master?"

  "The background is not small, I heard from colleagues that his grandfather was a high-ranking official at the ministerial level, and his father was also at the departmental level."

  "What's next?"

  "After getting to know Xiao Zhi, I publicly revealed that I already had a boyfriend in front of him. Who would have thought, after Xiao Zhi left, he still kept bothering me from time to time at the hospital. It wasn't until after we got married that he stopped showing up. Later, I heard from colleagues that he was arranged by his father to work at the provincial committee office."

  "Some people are born to enjoy life."

  Cong Ye had never had such thoughts before, but the things that happened in the past few days made him feel a bit down, even finding a job would be hindered by others, and similar feelings arose in his heart.

  "Fate is indeed something that's hard to grasp."