Chapter 50: The Last Emotional Outburst

Among the five siblings in their family, she was the only one who had been prone to illness since childhood.

Although the frequency of her episodes decreased as she grew older, they would still recur whenever she became emotionally agitated.

Because it was a lingering effect of her premature birth, her parents naturally paid more attention to her.

Yet her eldest sister, second sister, third brother, and fourth brother never grew jealous because of this. Instead, they followed their parents’ example and cared for her with the same devotion as she grew up.

Their daughter (younger sister), who had been cherished like a precious pearl and raised with such difficulty, suddenly vanished without a trace after graduation, leaving no word behind.

For over a decade, even decades, as her family searched and searched, how much heartache must they have endured?

In the past, she never had the chance to cry her heart out and release her emotions. Now that a suitable moment had finally arrived, her tears and feelings surged forth uncontrollably.

Listening to the unrestrained, wailing sobs, Deng Yaxin had no mind left to scold her fourth son. Instead, she focused entirely on comforting the little daughter in her arms, who was crying in hiccupping gasps.

“Alright, alright! Our An An, don’t cry anymore!”

“Just now you said you were already a university graduate, so why are you crying so pitifully now?”

“Don’t worry, your dad and third brother will help you get revenge on your fourth brother for hitting you.”

“Be good now, our An An, don’t cry anymore. If you keep crying, you’ll attract the attention of all the neighbors.”

To prove they meant what they said, Shen Guozhong and Shen Junyue each gave Shen Junkai a solid kick in the rear.

The kicked one cooperatively let out a series of pained howls.

Hearing the commotion of ghostly wails and wolfish cries, Shen Yi’an, who had already vented most of her emotions, broke into laughter through her tears.

With eyes red and swollen from crying, she cast a gleefully malicious look toward Shen Junkai.

After making a scene for a while at the entrance of the Family Compound, the family of five finally picked up their large and small bags of luggage left under the streetlight and headed home.

Only after entering the house did Shen Junkai finally give up, spreading his hands and plopping directly onto the cement floor.

“Little sister, you really got me!”

“What on earth did you pack in this suitcase? It’s so heavy!”

“If it weren’t for your fourth brother having some strength, I might have collapsed halfway.”

Glancing at the number on the suitcase, Shen Yi’an explained with a smile, “Out of all these things, only the suitcase you carried contains the gifts I bought in Jingshi.”

“The ones Dad, Mom, and Third Brother carried are my luggage.”

“They’re very light!”

Hearing this, Shen Junkai lay flat on the floor, wailing continuously.

“I knew you were a petty little thing!”

“No wonder you insisted I carry this suitcase earlier.”

“Now I get it—you were getting back at me for flicking your forehead.”

“What a grudge-holding girl!”

Once the sibling bickering subsided, Deng Yaxin pushed Shen Yi’an toward the bathroom.

“Go wash your face quickly.”

“Remember to apply cold water to your eyes.”

“Otherwise, your eyes will be swollen when you wake up tomorrow, and then you’ll be too embarrassed to go out.”

Shen Yi’an acknowledged with a sound and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

Seeing this, Shen Shasha, who hadn’t had a chance to speak until now, finally found an opening.

“Mom, Dad, how did you get back so quickly?”

“And little sister, did you run into each other downstairs?”

In her understanding, the family had been gone for less than half an hour.

Subtracting the round-trip travel time, they couldn’t have spent more than twenty minutes outside.

If they hadn’t met downstairs, this speed was simply too fast.

Hearing this, Deng Yaxin waved her hand with a helpless expression.

“We could have returned even earlier, but all the time was spent moving these luggage.”

“It’s all that girl’s dormitory belongings.”

“Come, let’s mother and daughter-in-law help sort them out.”

As they spoke, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law began unpacking the luggage in the living room.

Personal items were placed in Shen Yi’an’s room, tableware was stored in the kitchen, and toiletries would be put in the bathroom later.

As for the box containing gifts, it remained untouched.

Since they were gifts for family members, it was only right for the gift-giver to distribute them personally.

Knowing they couldn’t be of much help, Shen Guozhong and his two sons went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

After returning from work and learning that their youngest daughter (younger sister) hadn’t come home yet, the family had no appetite for eating, let alone any motivation to cook.

Now that she was back, everyone felt hungry.

With the two main cooks busy helping unpack, the three idle men naturally had to take on the cooking task.

Whether it would taste good was one thing, but it would definitely fill their stomachs.

By the time Shen Yi’an finished washing up and emerged from the bathroom, a simple meal of millet porridge with pickles was already on the table, accompanied by a plate of mixed-flour steamed buns.

Although the economic situation had improved considerably, daily life for ordinary people remained largely unchanged from before.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford pure white flour buns.

Mainly due to technical limitations, the milled white flour wasn’t as pristine as one might imagine.

In comparison, mixed-flour steamed buns were better suited for everyday life.

Seeing her appear, Shen Shasha smiled and waved her over.

“Little sister, come quickly!”

“Today’s dinner was prepared by Dad and your third and fourth brothers.”

Hearing this, Shen Yi’an went over and sat beside her. “Dad and my third and fourth brothers are quite skilled in cooking, so I doubt tonight’s meal will disappoint.”

“By the way, there are also some pickles I brought from Jingshi in the box, which would go perfectly with the meal.”

With that, she went to the living room and retrieved two glass jars from the box.

“This one is sweet eight-treasure pickles, made from seasonal vegetables.”

“Since we have steamed buns, these are especially delicious stuffed inside.”

“This jar is pickled cucumbers, specifically meant to be eaten with porridge, and they’re also very tasty.”

Seeing the glass jars on the table, Deng Yaxin tapped Shen Yi’an’s head affectionately.

“Such a foodie!”

“Alright, let’s taste how delicious Jingshi pickles really are.”

After all, they were family with similar tastes.

What Shen Yi’an found delicious, the Shen family naturally enjoyed as well.

After dinner, the family gathered in the living room to chat, and only then did the gifts in the box see the light of day.

“Dad, this is jasmine tea for you. It has a particularly rich fragrance.”

“You can drink it at home—it’s much better than smoking or drinking.”

“Mom, this is donkey-hide gelatin cake for you. It’s a nourishing supplement.”

“Let me know when you finish it, and I’ll buy more. This kind of thing takes time to show effects.”

“Third Sister-in-law, this is for you…”

The following half-hour was dedicated solely to Shen Yi’an distributing gifts.

There were delicious snacks and newly released toys.

Practical forward caps and collectible Jingshi fans.

In short, every family member, from the oldest to the youngest, received a gift that suited their preferences.

Not to mention the Shen family members who received gifts, even Shen Yijie’s troublesome sister-in-law and unreasonable mother-in-law, as well as Shen Yiqian’s quarrelsome sisters-in-law, turned green with envy when they saw the gifts brought home.

Knowing they couldn’t get what they wanted, they never missed a chance to make sour remarks.

But this didn’t affect the Shen sisters who had received the gifts in the slightest.

For the next ten-plus days, Shen Yi’an became the “unemployed loafer” at home.

The reason for this was because Father and Mother Shen had specifically emphasized:

Work arrangements would be handled by the family, and she just needed to set her mind at ease.

With her university student status, there was no need to pull strings—job opportunities were actively coming to her on their own.

Partly due to her family’s instructions, and partly because the late September weather was turning cooler,

On days when she truly couldn’t sit still, Shen Yi’an would go to the kitchen to experiment with so-called delicacies—the kind made with diluted Spirit Spring Water.

“Little Aunt, this cake is delicious!”

Little Shen Yi followed closely behind her aunt, holding a snack shaped like copper coins in her hands, her eyes squinting into happy slits.

Hearing this, Shen Yi’an explained with a smile, “It’s not cake—it’s called Golden Coin Cake.”

“If you hold it farther away, doesn’t it look like copper coins?”

“Little Aunt, what kind of money is copper money?” Hearing this strange term for money for the first time, Little Shen Yi’s eyes filled with confusion.

“I’ve seen red money, blue money, but I’ve never seen copper money.”

“Does Little Aunt have copper money? I want to see it!”

Hearing her little niece’s innocent, childish voice, Shen Yi’an turned around amused, intending to pinch her chubby little cheeks.

Perhaps she turned too quickly and her brain was deprived of oxygen—before she could steady herself, everything went black before her eyes.

Immediately after, she lost consciousness.