Chapter 24: Currying Favor

She put away her phone. "Alright, whatever happens to Xie Yirou is none of our business. Remember to call Mrs. Lin in a bit to remind her, so she doesn't forget again."

Mentioning business, Yao Yao immediately dropped her gossiping expression and said, "I've already reminded her. She specifically asked me to remind her last time, so I notified her first thing this morning."

Sang Ye nodded and began preparing for the new day.

As she had said, it was indeed a quiet day. Aside from two or three scheduled appointments, only two other customers stopped by throughout the entire day.

Around four in the afternoon, Sang Ye received a message from Bai Changli on WeChat.

Bai Changli: [I’ve arrived. You can come out now; I’m parked in the lot next to your clinic.]

After reading the message, Sang Ye told Yao Yao, "I have something to take care of, so I'm heading out. If there are no more customers, feel free to close up early."

Yao Yao nodded, "Understood, Sister Sang Ye."

Sang Ye tidied up briefly, stepped out of the clinic, and walked to the nearby parking lot.

Bai Changli’s car was parked in the spot closest to the clinic. Seeing her approach, he honked twice, then opened the door and stepped out, calling, "Yezi."

Sang Ye walked toward the car upon hearing him. She hesitated for a moment about whether to sit in the front passenger seat or the back, as people with partners are often sensitive about other women sitting in the front. However, Bai Changli had already walked over and opened the front passenger door for her.

She obliged and sat inside.

Bai Changli wasn't naturally gifted at making conversation with women. They chatted for a few minutes about whether her business was busy or if she had any difficult customers, before falling into silence.

After about half an hour of driving, the car pulled into a villa estate. The Bai family villa was large, quiet, and appeared to have been built quite some time ago.

After parking in the garage, Bai Changli led Sang Ye inside.

"I don't know if you have any memory of this, but you were actually quite a handful as a toddler. You were only one or two years old, yet you were already climbing trees."

He pointed to a flower bed. "There used to be a tree right here, but after you fell out of it, Father had it cut down."

Walking a bit further, Bai Changli pointed to the wall. "And here, this is me, Bai Qi, and this is you. You were only this tall back then. I was seven or eight, and Bai Qi was five. One day, after I came home from school, Bai Qi—I don't know where he learned it—said the three of us looked like mobile signal bars, so he drew this."

He gestured as he spoke, his face full of smiles.

Sang Ye didn't look around excessively; firstly, she felt it would be impolite, and secondly, although she had reunited with her biological family, she had no plans to live here. She only glanced at things when Bai Changli pointed them out.

She looked at the faded drawing on the wall. Despite twenty years of wind and rain, the vague outline was still visible. But she had no memory of it. How could she remember anything from when she was barely two?

"If you hadn't accidentally gone missing during that trip when you were a child..." Bai Changli stopped mid-sentence, then waved his hand dismissively. "Let's not talk about the past."

At that moment, hearing the noise outside, Mr. and Mrs. Bai walked out of the house.

Mrs. Bai’s face was wreathed in smiles. "Yezi is here."

Sang Ye greeted them, "Mrs. Lin, Mr. Bai."

Both of them beamed, responding warmly. Mrs. Bai immediately said, "You must be tired after such a long drive. Come inside quickly; Auntie Wu has already finished cooking, we were just waiting for you."

Mr. Bai, usually stern, looked at her with a kind and gentle smile. "Your Auntie Lin has been talking about you since yesterday. When Changli went to pick you up, she wanted to go along, but I told her I was worried it might overwhelm you."

Sang Ye didn't know how to respond, so she offered a polite smile.

As they reached the living room, Auntie Wu was just setting the final dish on the table. Seeing them enter, she said, "Young Master, Miss Sang Ye, you’ve returned at the perfect time. The food is fresh and still hot."

Mrs. Bai introduced her, "Yezi, this is Auntie Wu. She’s been with our family for many years and is a wonderful cook."

Sang Ye looked at Auntie Wu and greeted her gracefully, "Auntie Wu."

"Oh! Miss Sang Ye looks so much like the Madam!" Auntie Wu replied with a smile. She had already heard from the Madam that this was the *real* Miss Bai. Unlike the previous impostor, this young woman, despite not wearing a single designer brand, had a clean and refreshing aura—a natural warmth that radiated from within. She was instantly likable, far more pleasant to be around than the fake Miss Bai. But it wasn't her place to comment on the family's affairs.

Hearing Auntie Wu say that Sang Ye resembled her, Mrs. Bai couldn't hide her joy. She told Auntie Wu, "Auntie Wu, Yezi has suffered a lot of grievances over the years. Please take good care of her from now on."

Auntie Wu nodded, smiling, "Of course. Don't you worry, I will definitely make sure Miss Sang Ye is well-fed and healthy."

Sang Ye didn't say much, simply smiling softly. "Thank you, Auntie Wu."

Bai Qi couldn't help but interject, "And me! Don't you worry, I'll have your back from now on; no one will dare to bully you. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself—I’m Bai Qi, the second child. I wanted to go pick you up, but I lost a game of rock-paper-scissors to my older brother."

He looked genuinely regretful, as if truly annoyed that he hadn't been the one to fetch her first.

Bai Changli frowned and muttered, "You’re just showing off. Keep quiet."

Bai Qi huffed, whispering under his breath, "You just want to earn points in front of Yezi; I want to as well!"

Though he didn't speak loudly, the room was so quiet that everyone heard him clearly. It wasn't just Bai Qi's thought—everyone felt the same. Sang Ye's life for the past twenty years had been so bitter, especially when compared to Xie Yirou. Every new detail they learned about her life only made their hearts ache more.

In the few hours she had spent with them since yesterday, Sang Ye could feel the sincerity in their treatment of her. From the attitude of Mr. and Mrs. Bai yesterday, to Bai Changli picking her up today, to Bai Qi's comment—they were all signaling the same thing: they knew she might not be ready yet, so they were restraining themselves, avoiding any excessive gestures, yet they were fully prepared to welcome her home.

Bai Qi could have gone along, and even Mrs. Bai had wanted to, but they had all chosen to wait for her at home instead.

A strange, unfamiliar emotion stirred within Sang Ye's heart.