The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Gu’er lowered her head in silence. She couldn’t tell Sun Jiaming. What could she say? Could she tell him that in a little over a year—within two years, anyway—Liu Yuan would die? Or could she tell him that she missed her granddaughter, that sweet child, Yueyue?

Leaving aside whether Sun Jiaming would believe her, if he asked how she knew, or who Yueyue was, what could she possibly say?

’That I’ve been reborn?’

Gu’er couldn’t bring herself to say it.

"Did someone bully you? Or did something happen? Gu’er, if you can trust me, just tell me. Two heads are better than one."

Sun Jiaming’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a reassuring strength.

"It’s nothing, really. I ran into Brother Liu Yuan’s mother on the street today. She was with some woman, and for some reason, I just couldn’t stand the sight of her. I don’t like her. I just feel like if she marries Brother Liu Yuan, something bad will definitely happen."

Gu’er thought for a moment before saying this. In truth, she believed Liu Yuan’s accident probably wasn’t related to Huang Mingyu, but she really couldn’t explain the other things.

Actually, she was wrong. In her past life, Liu Yuan’s accident really did have something to do with Huang Mingyu. The day of the accident wasn’t Liu Yuan’s shift; it belonged to a friend of hers. That person needed to take leave but couldn’t find anyone to cover for them, so she asked Liu Yuan for help. Liu Yuan didn’t want to go. He was already exhausted from working a full day. Besides, he didn’t like that friend of Huang Mingyu’s, who always slacked off and was sneaky at work, so he refused.

Huang Mingyu cried and begged, and finally made such a scene that she forced Liu Yuan to agree, saying she had already promised the other person.

Liu Yuan was good-natured and a man of few words. In the end, he couldn’t stand her pestering and went.

As a result, a little after two in the morning, a factory explosion occurred due to a worker’s negligence. Twelve people died, and many more were injured. The losses were immense. The incident even made the newspapers. After Gu’er moved to the city, she heard people talk about it, but she didn’t know these details yet and hadn’t connected Liu Yuan to the event.

Hearing Gu’er’s words, Sun Jiaming, who was stir-frying vegetables, paused.

’Gu’er said she saw Liu Yuan’s mother with a woman, and it made her uncomfortable, that she didn’t like her. What does she mean by that?’

’She doesn’t want Liu Yuan to marry someone else?’

’Could it be that Gu’er has taken a liking to Liu Yuan?’

Sun Jiaming knew Liu Yuan was handsome. In terms of looks, he couldn’t compare.

He had always thought Gu’er had some feelings for him, too. But after hearing what she said today, Sun Jiaming was starting to feel uncertain.

"Gu’er, is it that you just don’t like the girl you saw today, or is it that you don’t want Liu Yuan to find another girl at all?"

Still, Sun Jiaming was happy that Gu’er had confided in him. It showed that she trusted him. He had to ask and understand what she was really thinking.

"I just don’t like the one I saw today. It’s not that I don’t want Brother Liu Yuan to find a girl. If he can find a good one, I’ll be happy for him."

Gu’er truly meant it. She had no romantic feelings for Liu Yuan, but she did like him and thought he was a good person.

Once Gu’er said that, a weight was lifted from Sun Jiaming’s chest. It seemed Gu’er didn’t have those kinds of feelings for Liu Yuan; she simply disliked the woman she had seen.

"This is something we really can’t get involved in. After all, we’re not related to Liu Yuan. If we say too much, his parents will probably get upset."

Sun Jiaming didn’t quite approve of Gu’er getting involved. Gu’er might not like the woman, but who’s to say the Liu family wouldn’t? To the Liu family, Gu’er was an outsider. Whether she liked the woman or not was unimportant.

Gu’er fell silent. There was so much she couldn’t say.

"Brother Jia Ming, Brother Liu Yuan seems to have started working at a factory. Do you know which one?"

Gu’er remembered this and asked Sun Jiaming.

"I don’t know. If you want to find out, I can ask around for you."

Sun Jiaming looked at Gu’er, a little unsure of her intentions.

"Okay. I’ll have to trouble you then, Brother Jia Ming."

Gu’er nodded. She didn’t stand on ceremony with Sun Jiaming.

She didn’t know where Liu Yuan lived, so she couldn’t see him. Otherwise, she would have just gone and asked him directly.

She had to find out which factory Liu Yuan worked at first. Only then could she think carefully and see if she could remember anything else.

"Don’t be silly. It’s no trouble at all."

Sun Jiaming said as he dished out the food from the wok. His expression was the same as usual, but his eyes held a deep, profound look.

After the meal, Gu’er exchanged a few words with Grandma Sun and then went home.

Lying on the kang, Gu’er’s eyes glinted in the darkness. She couldn’t sleep. She felt that as soon as she closed her eyes, her mind would be filled with the image of Little Yueyue’s face covered in blood.

After being reborn, she had forced herself not to think about it, to erase the image from her mind. But seeing Huang Mingyu today, she could no longer suppress the pain buried deep in her heart.

Gu’er’s arms moved into a hugging motion. She missed Little Yueyue. She wanted to hold her.

Tears streamed from Gu’er’s eyes and into her temples.

After a long while, Gu’er turned over. ’I can’t keep thinking about this. Little Yueyue is never coming back. I have to look forward.’

Gu’er thought of Liu Yuan. In her last life, she didn’t even know him, so there was nothing to be said. But since their paths had crossed in this life, she had to save him.

’But when exactly did Liu Yuan’s accident happen?’

Gu’er thought hard.

’Huang Mingyu said that Liu Yuan died three months after they got married.’

’Six months after that, she married her next husband.’

’Huang Mingyu wasn’t pregnant when Liu Yuan died. Chen Tao was the son of Huang Mingyu and her later husband.’

’I seem to vaguely recall Zhang Juan mentioning that Huang Mingyu was already about two months pregnant with Chen Tao when she married her second husband.’

Gu’er calculated Chen Tao’s age.

Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and she sat up.

’According to Huang Mingyu, Liu Yuan died next May.’

’It’s the end of July now, almost August. That’s less than a year away.’

’Next May... what factory explosion was that?’

Gu’er immediately thought of the big explosion at the powder factory. She had moved to the city the year after the explosion. Not far from where she lived, there was an auntie who was mentally unstable. People told her that the auntie’s son, her only child, had died in that explosion. Her husband was also gone, so the shock was too much for her, and her mind broke.

That person had told Gu’er all about it, saying it had been a huge incident at the time.

Gu’er lay back down. Because she had felt so sorry for the auntie at the time and the story was so tragic, Gu’er remembered the name of the factory. She would wait for Sun Jiaming to ask around. If Liu Yuan really worked at that factory, it would mean her fears were real.

Even though Liu Yuan might not marry Huang Mingyu in this life, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t still be on duty that day. Even if he wasn’t, she still had to be on guard. It would be best to tell Liu Yuan about it. The accident was huge—the deaths, the injuries, plus the financial losses—it was terrifying. After all, a death in any family is a devastating blow. If only they could avoid this disaster.