Chapter 120

### Under the Same Sun

At this time, the person sitting in front of the house basking in the sun was not the only one; there was also Sophia, who was sitting outside the kitchen of the commune, looking equally sickly.

She closed her eyes under the sun, occasionally letting out a light cough.

Sophia hadn't fallen ill just today; she had been sick for three days. Three days ago, when Henry, Charlie, and Gabe returned from their re-education labor, Sophia, who had held on for three months, could no longer endure and collapsed.

Illness struck her like a mountain.

Now that Henry, Charlie, and Gabe were back, Sophia was no longer alone and didn't need to hold on by herself. She took leave to stay at the commune and recuperate.

With Henry, Charlie, and Gabe's return, Ken's harsh treatment of the others also ended.

Everyone returned to their previous way of life, working alongside the locals, under the same supervision, and no longer daring to slack off like before.

When Henry, Charlie, and Gabe returned, the first thing they did was have a confrontation with the others. However, it was just a verbal argument, as the others were too intimidated, and Henry, Charlie, and Gabe did not want to cause more trouble and risk being sent back to re-education.

After the argument, the group of ten split into three factions.

Lily, Grace, and Cecilia formed one group; Mike, Jack, and Sun formed another; and finally, Henry, Charlie, Gabe, and Sophia formed the last group.

Sophia thought this was a good arrangement.

Previously, Henry and his group had to manage the affairs of the other six people, shouldering any trouble that arose, especially helping Lily and the other girls with issues they couldn't handle themselves. This dragged them down quite a bit.

Now, Henry and his group only needed to take care of her.

If one man can take care of a family, three men taking care of her alone meant she didn't have to worry about food and drink as long as they didn't slack off.

Sophia basked in the sun until dusk.

The other nine people returned in three separate groups.

Previously, Sophia had to fight for a spot in the kitchen to cook first. Now, with Henry, Charlie, and Gabe around, Lily and Mike's group voluntarily let them use the kitchen first.

Seeing Henry, Charlie, and Gabe entering the yard, Sophia struggled to get up from her bench and, coughing lightly, greeted them, "You're back."

Henry responded, "Why don't you go inside?"

Sophia looked at him and said, "I was sunbathing outside in the afternoon and felt too weak to move."

Henry, Charlie, and Gabe helped her into the kitchen.

After washing their hands in warm water, Charlie and Gabe started the fire and heated the buns, while Henry poured Sophia half a bowl of hot water and helped her sit at the table.

Sophia drank the hot water and looked at Henry, saying, "I took my medicine today and feel much better. Maybe I should join you at work tomorrow. I can't keep holding you guys back like this."

Henry took the bowl from her and placed it on the table, saying, "No need to work. Wait until you're fully recovered. You're not holding us back, so stop worrying."

Sophia's expression turned sad as she continued, "If I hadn't been so bad at farm work and dragged everyone down, I wouldn't have been isolated after you left three months ago."

Hearing this, Henry was still upset.

He said, "It's not your fault. Now that I'm back, I won't let anyone bully you or make you suffer. Just focus on getting better."

Hearing this, Sophia felt more reassured.

She nodded at Henry and added, "Let's just live our lives honestly from now on and not take risks for others. It's not worth it."

Henry nodded in agreement, "I know."

Sophia took a deep breath and softly said, "Henry, I always believed that if you wanted, you could do anything better than Logan. You just never cared to compete with him. If you took it seriously, he wouldn't stand a chance."

Hearing Logan's name reminded Henry of the morning when he saw Summer rushing to the clinic to buy medicine for the feverish Logan, and he sneered.

Charlie and Gabe agreed with Sophia.

Gabe said, "Logan is just an opportunist. He doesn't deserve to be compared to Henry. Henry doesn't even consider him a rival."

Henry indeed didn't see Logan as a rival.

He interrupted Charlie before he could respond, saying, "Let's not talk about irrelevant people."

With that, Charlie and Gabe stopped talking.

Sophia didn't continue either. After dinner, she took Henry out for a walk and finally voiced her true thoughts.

She spoke sadly, "Henry, I really miss home. I don't know how I got through the last three months without you guys. I was so afraid I wouldn't make it and would die here, never seeing home again."

Henry comforted her, "It's all over now. I won't let you suffer anymore."

Sophia nodded and said, "Now that we've gotten through the hardest part and the ten years of turmoil have ended, I believe the organization will give us more opportunities to return home. Let's work hard and apply for the quota to go back together, okay?"

Two months ago, the internal turmoil ended, and everyone knew it.

But how the country would develop next was unclear to those at the bottom.

Henry never thought much about these things. He always believed that "when the car reaches the mountain, there will be a way."

He calmly told Sophia, "If we get the chance, we'll go back. No one wants to stay here forever. But don't get too fixated on it. Things will work out as they should."

Sophia nodded, "Yes."

She believed things would work out because her dreams felt more real than reality.

However, she might not be able to go back with Henry.

But that didn't matter. She would wait for him in the city.

With policies becoming more lenient, Henry would return eventually.