Strawberry Pop Pop Pop chapter 15
Han Yang’s life in the mountainous village was simple. He attended the small village school during the day and helped with farm work in the evenings.
Education here was lacking, with only two classrooms in the entire school. There weren’t many students, and if you added them up, the whole school had just over twenty students, divided into a lower grade and an upper grade, all taught by one teacher.
Han Yang, having studied in a big city before, often helped the teacher with the homework of the younger students.
For the first two days, his life was quite peaceful.
Han Yongnian had not returned home, and Han Yang was living with his grandmother. His grandmother wasn’t particularly thrilled about his return and asked with a stern face if he could go back and find Li Li again.
Han Yang sat at the door, weaving a bamboo basket, and replied, “she won’t take me back.”
“She abandoned her own child, heartless,” his grandmother’s words weren’t pleasant, “You followed your father, but what future can you have with him?”
“…”
“Back then, I thought that if your father married her and settled down, he would behave. Who would have known she was just as unfaithful!” The unworldly old woman harbored resentment toward Li Li, not blaming her son at all.
Han Yang remained silent, letting her ramble on, and only spoke when she had exhausted herself.
“Gurgle, gurgle…”
Inside the house, potatoes were cooking in a pot, and Han Yang occasionally checked the fire. He could prepare some simple meals, and the responsibility for cooking at home fell on his shoulders now. After all, the elderly woman was getting old and had difficulty moving around.
As night fell, Han Yang had dinner and squatted by the courtyard sink, washing dishes.
Outside in the yard, there was a commotion, with the neighbor’s dog barking endlessly. Han Yang curiously got up to take a look, and at first glance, he froze in place.
Han Yongnian, drunk and staggering, pushed open the yard’s gate, glancing at Han Yang emotionlessly. His actions were light, but they made Han Yang feel like he had fallen into an unending nightmare.
Before the age of seven, he had lived through Han Yongnian’s violence. Day after day, he endured endless beatings and scorn.
“I was wondering why there was a scent of mint in the house, almost forgot it was you who came back,” Han Yongnian, holding a bottle of liquor, approached and, upon seeing Han Yang trembling, burst into laughter. “Are you still so afraid of me?”
Han Yongnian was tall, but his appearance was rather unsavory, and luckily, Han Yang had taken after Li Li, not him. He grabbed Han Yang’s collar, examined him, and then suddenly kicked him hard. “You still haven’t learned to hide your pheromones? Smells just like that wretched woman Li Li. I’ve had incredibly bad luck.”
Han Yang curled up on the ground, convulsing and shivering, covering his stomach that had just been kicked.
This was why he detested his own pheromones. Whenever Han Yongnian caught even a hint of mint, he would be beaten. Li Li’s escape had left Han Yongnian extremely displeased and helpless, and all his resentment was vented on Han Yang.
The memories left on his body were deeply ingrained, and since he was a child, Han Yang had learned to suppress his pheromones. Even when he was near Li Li, he made sure to hide them.
Most underage alphas couldn’t achieve this level of control. He should have had a natural talent for manipulating pheromones, but unfortunately, he had used this talent to suppress his own strengths.
…
Han Yongnian didn’t pay him any more attention, crossing over him and shouting inside, “Old lady, I’m hungry!”
Han Yang, still unable to get up from the ground, exhaled silently, his face pale.
After a long time, he finally struggled to his feet and limped back to the sink to continue washing the dishes.
As he washed, he thought of Gu Nuan, the only friend who would actively care about him and ask if he was in pain. Now that he was back here, he probably wouldn’t be able to see Gu Nuan again.
Tears finally welled up in Han Yang’s eyes and fell into the ripples of the sink.
He missed Gu Nuan, shamelessly yearned for Gu Nuan.
People who had never experienced warmth in the midst of winter didn’t know what it was, but once they did, they would become addicted, unknowingly longing for that warmth.
Only two days after his arrival, Han Yang had countless dreams of Gu Nuan in his short-lived dreams.
The dream scenes were simple, repeatedly showing Gu Nuan handing him candies.
He would call him “big brother, when are you coming to play with me again? Didn’t we agree to meet tomorrow?”
Han Yang rubbed his eyes and cried as he apologized, “I’m sorry, I can’t come play with you anymore.”
He thought, I need to endure, I’m good at enduring.
When he grew up, he could go work, and then he would go find Gu Nuan. He would return scarves, backpacks, and candies to Gu Nuan tenfold or a hundredfold.
He wanted to play with Gu Nuan.
But reality dealt a heavy blow to Han Yang. Han Yongnian’s violent behavior was worse than before. He vented all his failed life and his hatred for Li Li onto Han Yang.
Han Yang began to seclude himself, like a bear hibernating in its den. Han Yongnian forcefully took his new backpack and coat and sold them for a good price in the village.
No matter how much Han Yang pleaded with him, he remained unmoved. “Li Li bought you such nice clothes and a backpack, she must have left you some money, right?”
Han Yang shook his head in terror. He hadn’t accepted Li Li’s card. If Han Yongnian found out, it would be a clue to finding Li Li, and Han Yang couldn’t allow that to happen.
“That woman doesn’t want you anymore, and you still defend her?” Han Yongnian sighed in frustration, patting Han Yang’s pale face. “Aren’t you my son?”
From that day on, he began to torment Han Yang relentlessly, from the initial punches and kicks to eventually grabbing Han Yang’s head and forcing it into a cold water tank.
Death brushed past Han Yang time and time again, and time seemed to stand still for him. The scars on his body began to fester beneath his clothes, rotting into his flesh.
Nobody wanted him, and nobody liked him.
Winter was bitterly cold, and he seemed to deliberately try to forget Gu Nuan, hoping it would ease his pain.
Therefore, when a week later, when Ji Mu and Gu Yuanchen arrived at this impoverished mountain village, Han Yang seemed like a completely different person.
Ji Mu and Gu Yuanchen had traveled through various transfers to reach this remote mountainous village. They brought along several bodyguards, a lawyer, and a suitcase full of cash.
They came prepared.
The winding mountain roads were bumpy, and Ji Mu’s expression wasn’t pleasant. He sighed, “It’s all my fault for being negligent and letting this matter become so complicated.”
Ji Mu recalled the scene from a few days ago when he went to find Li Li, and it gave him a headache. As a father of a child, he couldn’t understand how Li Li could bring herself to send the child back to such a dreadful place.
Clearly, they had found the most suitable way to support Han Yang. If Li Li didn’t want to take care of the child, she could have simply allowed Han Yang to live at a private school, and they wouldn’t have to meet at all.
Gu Yuanchen spoke solemnly, patting Ji Mu’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, we’ll see him soon. I’ve already made all the necessary arrangements, and today we’ll take him with us.”
Author’s Note:
Chapter 17 will return the normal timeline.