Chapter 125: Going Home Together

“Huh?”

Sun Mang froze completely, utterly unable to accept what Ma Chulong had said.

“That’s impossible. I’ve known Su Yan for so long; not only does everyone in my school know she is blind, but she admitted it herself. Her hearing and sense of smell are just more acute than an ordinary person's. She probably knows how to use sound to locate things and stuff like that. She’s also incredibly smart—if she’s walked a path once, she remembers it clearly.”

He argued incessantly, though it felt more like he was trying to convince himself.

The Ma siblings listened intently, but they clearly did not agree.

“Since Miss Su admitted it herself, then perhaps I was overthinking things. But as you said, little brother, she is so capable that she surely won't be in any trouble.”

Ma Chulong had his own judgment and did not wish to continue analyzing Su Yan's eyes with Sun Mang.

Moreover, from Sun Mang's words just now, he could tell that Su Yan was intentionally concealing the situation, so as an outsider, there was no need for him to pry.

Sun Mang felt they had been convinced. While satisfied, a small seed of doubt remained deep in his heart.

They walked and stopped, and only when the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon did the three exhausted and disheveled travelers finally reach the foot of the mountain.

Sun Mang felt as if his two feet were about to break; the pain made his whole body tremble.

However, when they saw that graceful figure sitting on a large rock not far away, they were all instantly filled with excitement.

Sun Mang, in particular, felt as if he had been resurrected with full health, and he limped over.

“Su Yan, you scared me to death! I thought you were lost in the mountains and was just about to go back to find someone to search for you.”

Looking at his face covered in dust, one might have thought he had been digging in the mud.

“If you could walk out, why couldn't I?”

Sun Mang nodded like a pounding garlic. “Right! You have no idea how harrowing it was last night; we were almost killed by a wild boar.”

“As long as you're okay now.” Su Yan looked directly at the Ma siblings.

“Miss Su, thank you so much for last night.”

The siblings thanked her once again, for they had no other way to express their gratitude.

Su Yan remained indifferent. “Don't mention it.”

The sun was up, the task was done, and it was time for everyone to return home.

“Sun Mang, can you still walk?”

Only then did Sun Mang remember his feet; his soles were a bloody mess. Although he had applied the medicinal powder Ma Chulong gave him along the way, the constant walking naturally rendered it ineffective.

“It might be a struggle.”

In his current state, he was destined to be a burden to her; she would surely have to support him as they walked back.

Or, they could use local materials to make a simple stretcher, so she could drag him along while he lay on it.

However, Sun Mang's beautiful fantasies were destined to remain unfulfilled with Su Yan.

Su Yan nominally reached into her cloth bag, pulled out a few wild fruits she had picked while descending the mountain, handed them to him, and said casually, “Then wait here for a moment. I'll go back and call someone to pick you up.”

Sun Mang: “...”

So, was he being abandoned?

“No, I can walk! No problem!”

To prove that he could indeed go back with her, he even excitedly hopped in place twice.

The piercing pain caused his expression to contort.

The Ma siblings watched this scene, caught between laughter and tears.

Ma Chulan seemed to suddenly remember something. She turned and walked toward the path leading into the mountain, and a moment later, she emerged carrying a bunch of wild grass.

“Could you wait for me for a little bit?”

Sun Mang didn't know what she was doing, so he looked toward Su Yan instead.

Su Yan didn't speak, but she didn't leave immediately either.

A few minutes later, a pair of somewhat coarse straw sandals appeared in Ma Chulan's hands.

Sun Mang stared blankly; he hadn't expected her to know how to weave straw sandals.

“Are these for me?”

Ma Chulan nodded shyly. The girl had helped them so much; this was just a small token of her appreciation.

Sun Mang's eyes curved into a happy smile; this was the first time a girl had ever given him a gift.

Without a word, he took them and put them on immediately.

Though they weren't as soft or comfortable as cloth shoes, for someone walking barefoot, they were like sending charcoal in a snowstorm.

“They fit perfectly. Thank you.”

After he bid farewell to the siblings, Su Yan finally rose from the large rock and began to walk away at a leisurely pace.

Sun Mang followed beside her happily, his mouth never stopping.

“Su Yan, the straw sandals the Ma girl made are so pretty. Actually, my grandmother knows how to weave them too, but I used to look down on them and refused to wear them...”

Ma Chulong stood in place, watching their receding figures with a complex and deep gaze.

“Brother, what are you thinking about?” Ma Chulan noticed his strangeness.

Ma Chulong still did not withdraw his gaze. He said, “Sister, have we been cooped up at home for too long?”

“Huh?” Ma Chulan didn't understand his meaning.

Ma Chulong let out a long breath, his entire being seeming to relax. He put his hands behind his head and smiled at Ma Chulan.

“Doesn't Dad always hope we go out to school and see the world? I suddenly feel that Dad's arrangement was right.”

Ma Chulan looked surprised. In the past, whenever their father mentioned this, her eldest brother had always refused very decisively. She hadn't expected him to change his mind now.

“Wherever Brother goes, I will go.”

Whether it was the private school at home or a school outside, she would simply follow her brother's decision.

By the time Su Yan and Sun Mang returned to the county town, it was almost noon.

Sun Mang left bloodstains with almost every step he took, yet he persevered nonetheless.

Although Su Yan did not ask about it throughout the journey, her unintentional slowing of pace was a way of looking after his injuries.

Upon reaching the city gate, Sun Mang collapsed directly onto the ground.

Su Yan found a rickshaw, intending to let him go home.

“Su Yan, for the sake of my injured feet, could you please take me back and explain things to my grandmother? Besides, once you go home, you'll just have to face Su Mo. How boring would that be?”

Sun Mang pleaded cautiously, his face full of anticipation.

“Explain to your grandmother?” Su Yan's voice rose slightly at the end.

Sun Mang hurriedly continued, “Yes! My grandmother is usually most afraid of me getting hurt. Now that my feet are like this, she'll surely be worried to death when I get back. She might not even let me go out in the future.”

“That sounds quite good.” Su Yan felt there was nothing wrong with that.

But Sun Mang grew a bit anxious. “Su Yan, just come back with me once. Actually, my grandmother has always wanted to meet you.”

“Why?” Su Yan still didn't understand; she didn't even know his grandmother.

Sun Mang shook his head seriously, indicating he didn't know either.

“Maybe it's because she often hears me mention you, so she wants to meet you. You wouldn't really want to disappoint a seventy-year-old grandmother, would you?”

He knew Su Yan had a cold exterior but a warm heart, so he said it intentionally. Sure enough, Su Yan hesitated.

(End of Chapter)