Chapter 127: Aunt Wu
Yu Linna gazed at the sky, then down at the bustling streets. The New Year holidays were over, and people were returning to the city. Guangnan City was experiencing the post-holiday rush.
Yu Linna had arranged to meet Wu Siyu, or Aunt Wu as she called her, at a coffee shop in the city center. Aunt Wu, excited to see her after so long, promised to spend the entire day with her. But Yu Linna had only one thing on her mind: her own past.
Since childhood, she had been alone, unaware of her origins. Whenever she asked Aunt Wu, she refused to tell her. Back then, too young to understand, she hadn’t pressed the issue. Now, older, she desperately wanted to know.
Ding-a-ling.
Pushing open the coffee shop door, the chime of the bell announced Yu Linna’s arrival. The café had a vintage charm, reminiscent of the 18th century, with classical décor and oil paintings adorning the walls, transporting visitors back in time.
Yu Linna looked around, searching for the familiar face.
Suddenly, a woman approached. She had shoulder-length hair, a prominent nose, bright eyes, and wore a brown coat and boots. Though she looked to be in her early thirties, she was actually over forty, wrinkles lining her face. Despite this, traces of her youthful beauty remained.
“You must be Nana! You’ve grown so much! If it weren’t for your blonde hair, I wouldn’t have recognized you~”
“…Aunt Wu.”
“Come, come, sit down! What are you standing there for? Let’s have a good chat.”
Aunt Wu, beaming, led her to a table and handed her a menu, urging her to order something she liked.
Aunt Wu had always been kind to her, even when she was a child at the orphanage. She shared her food, took her to the hospital whenever she was sick. Back then, with no family, Yu Linna had considered Aunt Wu her only relative. It was a shame she had only stayed at the orphanage for a few months before it was demolished, forcing her to live a nomadic life, moving from one foster home to another.
She hadn’t seen Aunt Wu in years.
Aunt Wu had more wrinkles now, her figure slightly fuller. Though still beautiful, time had taken its toll.
“Nana, how have you been all these years? We haven’t spoken since you left my house. Is anyone taking care of you now?”
Aunt Wu’s concern was genuine. She had always doted on Yu Linna; how could she not care?
Yu Linna felt a warmth in her heart. She hadn’t opened up to many people in her life; Aunt Wu was one of them. Besides Nangong Ying, Aunt Wu was the person she trusted most.
But that was in the past.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Someone took me in, and I have a place to stay now. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Nana, to be honest, I feel terrible about what happened. You stayed with me for a month, and I had intended to adopt you. But…”
Mentioning this, Aunt Wu’s expression became strained, her gaze averted. She still carried a sense of guilt.
After the orphanage closed, Yu Linna had briefly stayed with Aunt Wu, but she soon left, beginning her journey through foster homes, staying in one place for a month before moving on, drifting through several cities until she was finally able to live independently.
“That’s all in the past, Aunt Wu. Let’s not talk about it. Let’s not talk about that today.”
“Yes, you’re right. Nana, let me see how much you’ve grown. It’s been so long. Look at you, you’re taller! But you’re still so thin. You haven’t been eating properly…”
Aunt Wu stroked her head affectionately, and Yu Linna, docile as a kitten, leaned into her touch. She loved being treated this way, cherished the feeling of being cared for.
Wu Siyu had considered adopting Yu Linna. After the orphanage closed, she had lost her job and thought about taking Yu Linna in, giving her a home. But for various reasons, it hadn’t happened, and Yu Linna had left, disappearing from her life.
The other children from the orphanage had been adopted, but Yu Linna, with her mixed-race appearance, had been overlooked, unwanted, remaining alone all these years.
Seeing Aunt Wu so happy, Yu Linna felt a pang of guilt. But… thinking about her purpose for being here, her expression dimmed.
“Nana, you don’t have any plans these days, right? Why don’t you stay at my place for a couple of days? I’ll cook for you. I know you love my stew.”
“No, thank you, Aunt Wu. I don’t want to impose. Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about my parents. Do you know anything about them?”
“…”
Aunt Wu’s face fell, her gaze shifting uncomfortably, unsure how to respond.
“Nana, let’s order something. I’ll take you somewhere nice to eat later, okay?”
“Aunt Wu, do you know who my parents are? Please tell me. I’m grown up now; I have the right to know the truth.”
Yu Linna’s gaze was fixed on Aunt Wu’s face, her words firm.
But how could she tell her?
Wu Siyu didn’t know how to broach the subject. Staying silent would only lead to more questions, but telling her the truth might be too painful. She wished the girl had been a blank slate from the start.
She even wished she herself had never known.
But that was impossible.
“Nana, sit down. I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Yu Linna obediently sat back down.
Wu Siyu carefully chose her words, slowly revealing what she knew.
“You’re wondering why you became an orphan, right? You weren’t at the orphanage from the beginning. One day, the police brought you to us. You had no identification, nothing but a name, so they placed you in our care.”
It was a long time ago, a memory Wu Siyu hadn’t wanted to revisit. She didn’t want to upset Linna, but she couldn’t keep it a secret forever.
“You were about four years old, I think. You didn’t know anything, and you had a head injury. We didn’t know where you came from. You had a notebook with what we assumed was your name written in it, so we called you Yu Linna. We didn’t know what it meant. Perhaps your parents gave you that name.”
“Then… my parents… are they still alive?”
“…”
Wu Siyu didn’t know how to answer.
Seeing the hope in Yu Linna’s eyes, she sighed, continuing her story.
“I don’t know. I don’t know who your parents are. We don’t even know if they’re alive or dead, or what their names are. The police told me about you. They said you were rescued from a human trafficker’s den. They were apparently planning to raise you until you were older, then maim you and force you to beg on the streets. Because of your mixed-race appearance, no one dared to adopt you, so they…”
Her words triggered a faint memory in Yu Linna’s mind, a fleeting image of being in a trafficker’s den. But her memories from that time were hazy; she had suffered a head injury and forgotten much of it.
“When the police rescued you, your head was covered in blood. It was terrifying. They said you kept crying, clutching onto that notebook. The police couldn’t pry it from your hands. They brought you to the orphanage because you had been with the traffickers for a while, and they couldn’t find any information about your family or your address. They had no choice but to treat you as an orphan.”
“Then… what about my parents?” Yu Linna’s primary concern was still her parents.
Despite everything Aunt Wu had said, all she cared about was her parents.
“Nana, listen to me. I don’t know who your parents are, but there must be a reason why they left you. They probably had their own difficulties. Perhaps…”
“They sold me to the traffickers, didn’t they?”
“…Nana!”
“Just tell me, yes or no.”
“…I don’t know. When the police questioned the traffickers, they all insisted that the children were bought from clients, probably hoping to reduce their sentences. Don’t be too pessimistic. Perhaps you were simply kidnapped…”
“So, I was sold, right?”
“…”
Wu Siyu didn’t know how to comfort her, how to explain.
She only knew what she had been told. She didn’t know the details, how Yu Linna ended up with the traffickers, how they acquired her. Even the police didn’t know.
According to the traffickers, Yu Linna had passed through many hands, from the remote corners of the mainland to the central regions, then to the coastal areas. Because of her mixed-race appearance, no one wanted to buy her, so the traffickers kept selling her off, until she ended up in their hands. They had planned to use her for begging, but the police raided their operation.
With so many intermediaries, the police couldn’t trace her back to the original sellers, and the case remained unsolved.
So, who Yu Linna’s parents were remained a mystery.
Too much time had passed; the truth was lost.
“Nana…”
Wu Siyu was worried about her, but Yu Linna simply lowered her head, silent.
Her coffee had gone cold.
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