Chapter 215: Backer

“I just got here this afternoon. The neighborhood committee contacted me and told me to come back here to live. When I got to the door, I found it locked. I didn’t have a key, so I called a locksmith.”

“I came in and saw the place was neat and tidy, and all my things were still here. I figured it had to be you, Mom.”

‘She hadn’t really had to figure it out.’

‘Didn’t everything just scream Yao Yuzhen?’

When Yao Yuzhen heard she was back, her first instinct was to rush into the room and rummage for her few tin boxes.

Inside were a few valuable watches. If she sold them, she could at least get some money to live on. She couldn’t let anyone just walk off with them.

She was crouching under the bed, pulling out the boxes, her fingers fumbling in the cracks between the floorboards.

Shen Shuangshuang poked her head in, looking completely bewildered.

“Mom, what are you looking for?”

“Ah… well…”

In truth, Shen Shuangshuang hadn’t taken anything.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to; she simply didn’t dare.

Freshly released, her soul was still trembling. She was afraid to even make the floorboards creak when she walked.

A single trip to a place like that was enough to give you nightmares for the rest of your life. How could she possibly dare to steal again?

Yao Yuzhen pulled out the boxes, lifted the lids, and counted. They were all there!

Her heart settled back into her chest. She quickly tucked them back where they were, dusted off her hands, and looked up. “I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow. I already packed my things, I was planning to move out first thing in the morning.”

Hearing this, Shen Shuangshuang immediately rushed over and grabbed her arm.

“Mom! Why would you move? We can just squeeze in together, can’t we? I’ll sleep on the inside, you sleep on the outside. It’ll be warmer!”

Her eyes sparkled, and her tone was incredibly sincere.

Yao Yuzhen stared at her for a few seconds.

“You… you really don’t mind me being here, getting in your way? Then… then I won’t go.”

When Shen Shuangshuang saw her mother’s eyes turning red, a stone in her heart fell with a THUD.

‘It worked.’

She knew Yao Yuzhen wouldn’t run off now.

To be honest, she was panicking herself.

She had just gotten out, and her pockets were cleaner than her face. She couldn’t even afford instant noodles.

She had no idea where her next meal was coming from.

‘I have to grab onto a backer first.’

And right now, Yao Yuzhen was the most reliable one she had.

She might not have cash, but she still had the Shen Family behind her.

As long as she could stay connected to that, she could catch her breath.

So Shen Shuangshuang nodded vigorously, her voice crisp and clear.

“Mhm! Mom, from now on, we’ll get by together. I’ll take care of you in your old age!”

Yao Yuzhen’s nose tingled, and she nearly burst into tears.

“Are you hungry?”

She raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye and asked.

Shen Shuangshuang pouted and shook her head.

“Haven’t eaten. The little bit of money they gave me when I got out was just enough for the bus fare and the locksmith. I don’t have a single cent left… I came back on an empty stomach.”

“You haven’t had a single bite?”

Yao Yuzhen was stunned.

Shen Shuangshuang nodded her head like a chicken pecking at grain.

“Isn’t there rice in the pot? The stove is also…”

“I was thinking, what if it wasn’t you living here? It would be wrong for me to just go using someone else’s things.”

She lowered her head, her voice soft.

A pang went through Yao Yuzhen’s heart. “Silly girl…”

She reached out to pat Shen Shuangshuang’s shoulder, but then pulled her hand back.

She felt her pocket—she still had about twenty yuan—and turned to walk out.

“The wonton stall at the end of the alley probably hasn’t closed yet. I’ll bring you back a hot bowl.”

Shen Shuangshuang didn’t stop her. She just sat obediently on the edge of the bed, her hands folded in her lap, waiting quietly.

When Yao Yuzhen pushed the door open and came back in,

Shen Shuangshuang shot up from her chair, sniffed the air, and blurted out,

“Oh wow, that smells incredible!”

The words had barely left her mouth when her eyes turned red.

“I… I can barely remember what a hot meal tastes like!”

She sniffled, but didn’t raise a hand to wipe her eyes.

Yao Yuzhen lifted the lid off the insulated container.

“It’s hot. Hurry up and eat!”

Steam immediately billowed out, hitting her eyelids with a gentle heat.

Shen Shuangshuang had barely sat down and hadn’t even gotten a firm grip on her chopsticks before she scooped up a wonton and stuffed it into her mouth.

It was fresh from the pot, so hot it made her tongue curl. She spat it back out in an instant.

Without even taking a breath, she immediately grabbed another and shoved it in.

This time, it was so hot that tears streamed down her face.

But she clenched her jaw tight and stubbornly refused to spit it out.

Her lips were red from the heat, and the tip of her tongue was numb, but she just kept chewing, her cheeks puffing in and out.

Yao Yuzhen’s heart ached watching her. Without a word, she turned, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it over.

“Chew slowly. Don’t rush.”

Shen Shuangshuang nodded furiously. She slurped down the entire bowl until not a drop of broth was left, and only then did she suddenly remember.

“Mom, have you eaten?”

Staring down at the empty bowl, her voice suddenly sounded weak.

“I… I was starving.”

Yao Yuzhen placed the glass of water in her hands.

“I ate a while ago. I work at a restaurant, so I get to eat my fill every meal. There’s always plenty left over.”

Shen Shuangshuang held the glass, her fingers trembling slightly. After a few seconds of hesitation, she asked the question.

“You and Shen Zhenwu…”

“We’re divorced. As soon as that thing happened, we went through the procedures immediately. I’m doing pretty well for myself now.”

Yao Yuzhen said this while wiping up a puddle of water by the stove.

Shen Shuangshuang nodded over and over.

“Good, good. That’s really good.”

‘More money means your stomach doesn’t grumble. She was crystal clear on that point.’

Afraid that Yao Yuzhen would see her as a burden, the current Shen Shuangshuang knew exactly how to behave.

As soon as she finished eating, she rolled up her sleeves, cleared the table, and wiped the bowl and chopsticks clean.

As Yao Yuzhen was squatting by the stove to boil some water,

she hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

“You just got out. What are your plans now?”

Before, she could still manage, but now she was barely scraping by herself. How could she afford to support a grown daughter?

Fortunately, Shen Shuangshuang understood immediately and quickly chimed in.

“I’ll go out first thing tomorrow and look around. It doesn’t matter if they’re hiring or not. Sweeping floors, moving goods, washing dishes… I’ll do any kind of work!”

Yao Yuzhen didn’t say any more, just replied softly,

“Finding work takes luck. You can’t rush it.”

Shen Shuangshuang nodded again.

The kettle had just started to whistle when Yao Yuzhen realized something.

‘Oh no!’

When she lived alone, the small room was cramped, but it was manageable.

But now with Shen Shuangshuang here, what were they going to do about bathing?

She glanced out the window. The sky was still light, and a hot breeze blew in her face.

“Shuangshuang, I’m going to take a quick rinse. Could you… go sit outside for a bit?”

“Sure, you got it!”

Shen Shuangshuang immediately got up and headed outside.

When it was Shen Shuangshuang’s turn to bathe, Yao Yuzhen had to go out as well.

She gently closed the door and stood in the hallway, leaning a hand against the cool concrete wall.

Mosquitoes buzzed around and bit her, and she repeatedly raised her hand to scratch.

But her mind was a tangled mess.

She couldn’t say why she was so irritated, just that her chest felt tight and her head was throbbing.

Thankfully, Shen Shuangshuang was quick. The sound of water stopped soon, and with a CLICK of the lock, she came out.

Yao Yuzhen breathed a sigh of relief. As she started walking back, the feeling of irritation dissipated.

There was only one bed in the room.

That night, as she lay down, she was aware of another person’s body heat and the sound of their breathing beside her.

Yao Yuzhen tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She finally sat up and stared blankly at the ceiling in the dark.

Her mind was like a movie, playing back the last half of her life frame by frame.

Especially the days after she’d gotten her marriage certificate with Shen Zhenwu.

He was rarely home, and when he was, he always brought with him the cold scent of cedar.

From the day they registered their marriage, she had never truly liked the man.

She always felt he wasn’t worthy of her.

It wasn’t that he was poor or incompetent; there was just something about him that was all wrong.

‘If it weren’t for running into people like them, her family would have been just fine.’

‘Why else would she have ended up having to walk on eggshells just to breathe?’

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Shen Zhenwu marrying her was no different from a bandit in the old days kidnapping a maiden.