Tang Youru’s condition improved day by day.

At first, she could only make indistinct sounds, her words unclear and mumbled.

After a couple of days, she began to speak individual words.

It took half a month before she could string words together into simple sentences.

By then, Tang Hong’en finally found an opportunity to come to Hong Kong.

He had no choice but to come – with Tang Youru’s condition improving, Xia Xiaolan had already discussed with You Li about sending Tang Youru to the United States for follow-up treatment. They would transfer directly from Hong Kong to America, and if Tang Hong’en didn’t come now, it would be a long time before he could see his sister again.

The siblings hadn’t even had a proper reunion yet!

Tang Hong’en was the last to arrive; even Ji Jiangyuan had visited Tang Youru several times before he came to Hong Kong.

When she learned that Tang Hong’en was coming, Tang Youru made one request – she wanted to look presentable, as she didn’t want to meet Tang Hong’en lying in bed.

So they moved her to a single armchair in the hospital room, tucking cushions into the gaps. They arranged her hands on her lap, and to anyone unaware of her condition, her posture would merely appear formal rather than immediately revealing her high-level paralysis.

Of course, such a pretense couldn’t fool Tang Hong’en.

But as Xia Xiaolan said, when someone wants to live, they always try to preserve some dignity.

This self-deception was Tang Youru’s way of maintaining her dignity!

Since she could express her wishes, Xia Xiaolan and You Li naturally respected them.

It was almost noon when Tang Hong’en arrived.

Sunlight streamed into the premium hospital room, which didn’t smell of disinfectant but rather had a subtle fragrance. Tang Youru sat there, clean and neat, facing the doorway, watching Tang Hong’en enter.

She seemed to be trying hard to match him with her memories.

Unfortunately, childhood memories were too distant, becoming increasingly blurred with time.

She couldn’t remember what her second brother looked like before.

Was this her second brother?

Could there have been a mistake?

But if he wasn’t her second brother, why would this man who just entered look so moved?

“Xiao Ru!”

Tang Hong’en appeared somewhat awkward and uncertain.

Tang Youru’s eyes inexplicably reddened.

“…Please sit.”

Tang Hong’en sat across from her, the siblings facing each other. He had so much to say, yet couldn’t voice anything!

What should he say?

He had investigated everything about Xiao Ru’s experiences over the years.

Bringing up the past now would only reopen his sister’s wounds.

If he were to ask how she’d been all these years – well, there was no need to ask, as it was clear she had suffered greatly.

After a long while, he could only carefully apologize:

“Xiao Ru, Second Brother lost you, Second Brother couldn’t find you, Second Brother is so sorry…”

A man’s tears don’t fall easily unless the heart is truly wounded.

Tang Youru’s earlier doubts vanished completely.

She and her daughter had lived in poverty, and she was seriously ill. If he weren’t her second brother, who would willingly take on such burdens?

Years of anger and grievances seemed to find an outlet.

The siblings went from feeling strange and distant to crying together, and after their tears, much of that estrangement dissipated.

Tang Hong’en wasn’t in a hurry.

He had been absent from his little sister’s life for 29 years.

Now that the siblings could reunite, and his little sister had miraculously awakened, there would be plenty of time ahead to make up for their lost sibling bond.

“Xiao Ru, you will get better, and I won’t let those who hurt you go unpunished.”

Tang Xianzhong was already dead.

Shi Surong had been sentenced.

This couple not only betrayed their brother but also sold their sister – Tang Hong’en felt their punishment was too light!

He asked Tang Youru why she hadn’t gone to the police when she made it back to Beijing.

Tang Youru said she had forgotten about her childhood.

“I only remember wanting to go to Tiananmen Square, but I don’t know why. Those things are in the past, and since the bad people have been caught, there’s nothing more to pursue… Second Brother, I can let it go, and you should too. Don’t blame yourself anymore.”

She naturally didn’t want to recall the experience of being trafficked.

Including her “husband” in the mountains – none of these were pleasant memories.

But in her life, she still had something precious – her daughter.

She had been sold by her family.

But she would never abandon her daughter, and would never let her daughter fall into the same situation as herself, so she always kept her daughter by her side as they made their way north from Yunnan Province, finally settling in Beijing.

She wasn’t particularly capable, but she had tried her best to give her daughter a stable life.

Tang Hong’en hadn’t expected his little sister to be so open-minded, or should we say “understanding”?

This kind of understanding was forged through life’s hardships.

Tang Hong’en would have preferred his sister to show anger rather than see her being so “understanding and forgiving”!

And telling him to let it go.

How could he easily let go when he thought of all the suffering his sister had endured?

“Go to America and focus on your treatment. I’ll wait for you to come home – wherever I am is your home.”

Tang Hong’en patted her head.

He knew it was difficult for Tang Youru to maintain this posture while meeting him, and he needed time to compose himself, so he temporarily left the room.

Tang Youru watched him close the door before lowering her head to cry.

She remembered everything.

She remembered her name.

She remembered having a second brother.

She remembered her brother and sister-in-law were supposed to take her to watch the celebration at Tiananmen, but then sold her to a man.

Her sister-in-law didn’t even try to hide it, counting the money from selling her right in front of her, then telling her:

“Your second brother needs to go to school, and we don’t have money, so we sold you for his tuition!”

“Of course, your mother knows.”

“Your second brother knows too, that’s why they didn’t come. They were afraid you’d cry, afraid you wouldn’t want to leave.”

“Little girl, you’re lucky someone’s willing to buy you. During famine years, a girl like you would only be worth a bag of chaff…”

Her usually smiling sister-in-law spoke these cruel words viciously.

She was carried away by the man while her eldest brother stood beside his wife, saying and doing nothing.

Tang Youru remembered that when she was first sold, she still hoped her family would come for her.

She was disobedient, she cried and tried to escape.

But what awaited her was starvation and beatings as punishment.

Disobedient children become obedient after a beating, and when not fed enough, they lack the strength to run away.

Gradually, she became afraid to say she remembered her family.

After pretending to be stupid for so long, she did start to forget.

Including her surname – even remembering her surname “Tang” would result in beatings. Having been sold by her brother and sister-in-law, she didn’t want to keep the surname “Tang” anymore, so after escaping from the mountains, she discarded the name given by the traffickers and changed it to You Ru.

You Ru, Tang Youru.

Though her family had sold her, in her heart she still longed to find her way back home.

She wasn’t just worth a bag of chaff.

But why say these things now and make Second Brother feel worse?

It was better to say she didn’t remember.

Tang Youru forced back her tears with all her might.

“…It’s so good to see you,” she mumbled softly.