Chapter 8 Meow~~~~ Cuckoo Cuckoo......_1

The aroma of the meal in the air made He Jingyu's empty stomach growl even more.

He Jingyu was astonished at the sight of the bowl of tomato and egg noodles with good presentation before him. The tomatoes were cut into uniform pieces, and the eggs were of a perfect mix of yellow and white, with the noodles cooked to just the right level of softness.

From this bowl of noodles, He Jingyu now believed his daughter must have had a past life. With only one child at home, He Tiantian seldom cooked, and the bowl of noodles she made for him last month simply couldn't compare. The noodles were mushy, the eggs, and the tomatoes were overcooked.

He Tiantian also served a bowl for her mother, carrying it over. In this life, as in her past life, it was her first time making a proper meal for her parents.

While preparing the meal, He Tiantian struggled to hold back her tears, comforting herself that there would still be chances. In the future, she planned to cook for her parents often and take good care of them.

Wang Shuping, like her husband, hadn't eaten dinner either. The sight of the fragrant noodles in front of her made her eyes redden, and her heart felt sour— It was her daughter's past life's hard work that allowed her to make such delicious noodles now.

With the daughter making egg noodles, the family of three forgot the chaos outside. Each enjoyed a bowl of egg noodles, savoring every bite.

After eating, He Tiantian said, "Mom, pack everything that can be taken from home for me. There's no use leaving it behind. Even though these things are top-notch in the countryside, what I don't wear could be given to the villagers. It will foster good relations with them, so you don't need to worry about me being bullied."

As the only daughter in the family, there were many clothes of all sizes. At the end of the year, when material goods were scarce, these were valuable. Wang Shuping originally wanted to keep the smaller clothes for a future child but never got pregnant again and couldn't bring herself to give them away, so she stored them carefully.

"Oh, we have plenty at home. I'll continue packing," Wang Shuping agreed, knowing that getting along with people around you is always hugely beneficial, no matter where you are.

He Tiantian and He Jingyu were chatting, discussing future plans. After hearing about the situation ahead, He Jingyu no longer saw his daughter as a little child. He was utterly astounded.

He Jingyu was full of hope for the future. No matter what, he couldn't give up hope and had to find ways to overcome various challenges.

"Ding ding ding..." The clock in the house struck ten times, alerting He Jingyu that it was already ten o'clock.

"Shall we go see if your mom is done packing?" He Jingyu suggested, offering to go check with his daughter.

He Tiantian, seeing the four oversized green canvas bags on the floor, opened her mouth in surprise, saying, "Mom, this is too much. My small body can carry at most one on my back and two small ones in my hands. I can't possibly take all this."

"Yes, it's too much. Let's first sort out the clothes Tiantian can use now and bring less. Once Tiantian is settled, tell us the address, and we'll send the rest," He Jingyu also felt there was too much on the floor for his daughter to carry.

Wang Shuping had no choice but to reduce the load, preparing six sets of summer clothes, a winter coat, as well as shoes, hats, socks, underwear. Snow cream for girls, hair ties, sanitary pads, an enamel jug for drinking water, a portable water bottle, a lunch box, a wash basin, and even a slightly smaller basin.

Seeing all this, He Tiantian couldn't help but hug her mother, sobbing, "The only good is a mother, the child who has a mom is like a treasure."

In her past life, due to an unexpected event, coupled with He Tiantian's continual crying, her parents were worried and hastily prepared some things but didn't manage to cover everything as comprehensively.

Even though she was walking the same path as in her previous life, there were many crossroads and opportunities along the way. She had to keep her eyes peeled and seize every chance to gradually change her own life and the destiny of her parents.

"Hey," He Jingyu, seeing his wife and daughter like this, said lamentably, "Only the mom is good, does that mean the dad is not?"

"Dad is also good, the child who has both a mom and a dad is the best," He Tiantian said cheerfully. As long as her parents were with her in this life, she was content. That was her mission after being reborn.

As for Huo Yingjie, she would love him wholeheartedly.

He Jingyu wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter, saying softly, "We're all good, all good."

It was already late at night, and He Tiantian was hurried to bed, for she had to get on a train tomorrow and couldn't be without energy. Yet He Tiantian couldn't sleep—last life, she and Huo Yingjie couldn't be said to have let each other down. Just considering his deep regard for the old city area back in his hometown, it was evident that he wasn't indifferent to her.

It was fate playing tricks; this life, she didn't want to be a turtle anymore, withdrawing into her shell at the first sign of trouble, letting others control her destiny.

With that thought, He Tiantian opened the gauze window, stood on a chair, and stealthily climbed out.

On the other side, He Jingyu and Wang Shuping heard the noise but didn't stop her; the young girl was probably saying goodbye to Huo Yingjie.

He Tiantian arrived at the corner of the wall, standing by the persimmon tree.

"Meow~~~~meow~~~~~meow~~~~~" He Tiantian imitated the call of a kitten; this was her secret code, hoping that Huo Yingjie in the next yard could hear her.

Just when He Tiantian thought Huo Yingjie would not come out, the neighboring yard echoed with "cuckoo cuckoo... cuckoo cuckoo...".

When He Jingyu and Wang Shuping heard this, they had a bitter-sweet expression on their faces; these two kids were being so secretive. There's no such thing as cuckoo bird calls in the middle of the night at this time of the year!

"Tiantian, is that you?" Huo Yingjie whispered, fumbling to get dressed on the other side.

"It's me," He Tiantian whispered back, "Brother Yingjie, my dad signed me up, and tomorrow I'm taking the train to leave."

Hearing this, Huo Yingjie became anxious, saying, "You're so young, how can you go to the countryside?"

"Something happened at home, and my dad is worried about my safety, so he's sending me away," He Tiantian said. "Don't worry about me, I've grown up, and I can take care of myself."

"If something happened, then find my dad, and we'll solve it together... You..." Huo Yingjie's breathing hastened; he turned, intending to find his dad, hoping he could keep Tiantian from leaving.

"Brother Yingjie, don't go, my dad is doing this to protect me," He Tiantian said. "It's just leaving the city, it's not like I'll never come back. Once I'm there, I can write to you."

"Is there no way to change this?" Huo Yingjie felt a bitter taste in his heart, "How will I manage not seeing you anymore?"

"Brother Yingjie, in another month you will start working at the unit, and it won't be easy for us to meet each other either. But we've agreed to write to each other regularly," He Tiantian spoke. "Let me tell you our secret code for writing letters now; the last character of the first three paragraphs of the letter, when combined, will spell out the sounds of our respective names. These three characters don't have to be in order, and their positions can be swapped. For instance, if the last word of the first three paragraphs of a letter I write to you represents the same sound as the characters in Huo Yingjie, remember that, okay?"

He Tiantian didn't want to leave any more room for misunderstandings in letters nor let Qi Jianguo take advantage of the situation. That was why she had called Huo Yingjie out.

"Okay, I'll remember that. I will write the sounds of the characters He Tiantian," Huo Yingjie said. "I'll come to see you off tomorrow." Huo Yingjie reached out to pull at a persimmon tree leaf that grew into his yard, expressing his reluctance to let go.

The same scene, at different times, carried two distinct moods.

"Okay," He Tiantian responded. In this lifetime, she wouldn't avoid his gaze anymore; instead, she wanted to stand with him.