Chapter 158: The Caged Bird Breaks Free from the Old Forest

Far from feeling relieved, a wave of disappointment first washed over her heart.

Immediately afterward, her chest felt as though a massive hole had been torn open, through which cold wind howled endlessly.

Chen Biqin instinctively took a few steps forward, extending a hand as if to call Yu Yan back, and her lips parted, yet no words escaped.

In a single instant, her eyes turned red.

"Bah! Chen Biqin, what are you putting on this pathetic act for?"

"Thirteen years ago, when you first asked her for money, didn't you already act as though you had never given birth to this daughter? Now that she simply no longer wants you as a mother, are you really going to throw a fit? Does the world only permit you to abandon your daughter, but forbid her from abandoning you?"

"Where on earth do you get such shameless skin?"

Chen Biqin muttered to herself, lowering her voice in bitter self-mockery.

Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face.

"Mom, what's wrong with you?"

Yu Wan looked at Chen Biqin’s tear-stained face, feeling rather puzzled.

Her mother was normally utterly thick-skinned and had never shown any genuine affection for her eldest sister. It made no sense for the eldest sister missing dinner to deal her such a devastating blow. Could it be that she had been wrong all this time, and had misjudged her mother?

"Uhm, Mom, if you really don't want the eldest sister to move out, maybe I should—"

"No need."

Chen Biqin waved a hand, utterly dejected.

"This time, no matter what you say, your eldest sister isn't coming back to eat."

She would probably still show up for holidays to fulfill her definition of "coming home for a meal."

It was just a pity that this home was no longer a real home, and that meal was no longer a family dinner. Perhaps from now on, Yu Yan would treat her with polite detachment, and would never again glare at her in anger whenever she did something wrong.

With a drooping figure and a desolate posture, Chen Biqin could no longer bring herself to say anything more.

At that moment, all she wanted was to retreat to her room, hide away, and have a thorough cry!

Yu Wan: "..."

Yu Wan walked over to Yu磊's side. "Little brother, Mom seems a bit off."

Yu Lei rolled his eyes. "I noticed."

"Should we go—?"

"Hey, little brother, wait for me! Why are you walking so fast?"

"Little brother, little brother..."

The two of them walked one after the other until they reached Yu Yan's residence.

Yu Yan had not been back for long and was busy setting up a bonfire in the courtyard to roast some ready-to-eat meat—though, of course, she only needed to give directions. Lou Yuhui was the one gathering firewood, and Lou Yuhui was the one preparing the spirit beast meat.

In addition, Yun Duoer was buzzing around the bonfire like a busy little bee.

One moment she was brushing honey onto the roasting meat, and the next she was sprinkling a layer of sesame salt.

Yu Yan's thoroughly chilled heart began to thaw, bit by bit, thanks to the bonfire and the bustling Yun Duoer. She felt that this small courtyard, accompanied only by Lou Yuhui and Yun Duoer, was far warmer than the large family household with Chen Biqin and the twins!

"Eldest Sister..."

As soon as Yu Lei stepped into the courtyard, his eyes locked onto Yu Yan, who exuded a cool, aloof aura, yet wore a slight upturn at the corners of her lips that showed her mood wasn't entirely terrible.

The words that had reached the tip of his tongue instantly vanished.

"Little brother, why are you blocking the doorway?"

Yu Wan pushed past the obstructing Yu Lei.

"Eldest Sister... Ooh, what smells so good?"

Yu Wan sniffed the air, and upon seeing the sizzling wild boar meat dripping with oil over the bonfire, her eyes instantly lit up. "It's wild boar meat! Eldest Sister, you're holding out on us. Refusing to eat the ground bear meat at home was all because you wanted to come back and roast wild boar meat."

Yu Yan: "..."

Yu Lei: "..."

Could her second sister ever figure out the situation?

They had come to persuade their eldest sister to return home, not to freeload a meal from her.

Still, that wild boar meat smelled utterly divine!

Yu Lei unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Back when Yu Yan had entered the "Fuzhu Rock Forest," she had hunted quite a bit of wild boar meat.

Upon arriving at Fenghe Village and reuniting with her family, she had naturally shared some for them to enjoy a rare treat.

However, the portion wasn't large, considering nobody knew when she would encounter such a beast again. Whenever Yu Yan ate it herself, she always conserved as much as possible. If she hadn't been in such a foul mood today and failed to touch a single bite of dinner, she wouldn't have been so generous as to roast such a large chunk of wild boar meat.

In the end, amidst the twins' internal struggles and casual attitudes, they sat down on either side of Yu Yan. Each of them was handed a large piece of roasted wild boar meat, and Yu Wan was soon eating with grease dripping all down her chin.

Yu Lei, on the other hand, nibbled off tiny pieces at a time, eating while glancing sideways at Yu Yan from time to time.

Yu Yan simply pretended not to notice Yu Lei's furtive glances.

The moment the twins stepped into the courtyard, she knew precisely why they were here. But since she had walked out of that household, she would never "return" in this lifetime. By returning, she did not mean a literal return.

She meant a return in spirit and willpower.

She no longer considered herself a part of Chen Biqin's family.

When this realization had first surfaced in her mind, she had felt a slight pang of distress—from then on, between heaven and earth, she would truly be alone, a person with no place of origin to call her own. But far outweighing that was a sense of utter relief and liberation!

It was much like a caged bird returning to the old forest, or a pond fish escaping its dried-up abyss.

No matter the nostalgia or the lingering attachment, none of it could rival the craving and yearning both held for a new life!

"Uhm... Eldest Sister."

Yu Wan wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth.

Having finished a massive piece of wild boar meat and finally appeased her gluttonous cravings, she remembered the purpose of her trip. "Are you really not planning to come back and eat with Mom anymore? Are you going to cook for yourself from now on?"

"Yes, is there a problem?" Yu Yan asked coldly and calmly.

"No problem at all!" Yu Wan stared intently at the remaining roasted meat on the bonfire. "If I got to eat this well every single day outside, I wouldn't want to go home for dinner either."

Yu Lei shot Yu Wan a look of utter exasperation.

Yu Wan rubbed her nose. "Well, anyway, Mom seems pretty upset about this. When we left, she had already gone back to her room and was crying under the covers. So maybe, Eldest Sister, you could..."

"Since I've chosen to do this, I naturally have my reasons."

"Oh."

Yu Wan instantly found herself at a loss for words.

Once her eldest sister made up her mind to do something, there was truly nothing that couldn't be accomplished.

It seemed her old mother stood no chance this time.

Yet deep down, Yu Wan felt that her eldest sister not eating at home was no big deal. In the past, when her eldest sister lived in the town, she only came home during holidays, and she hadn't seen their mother react in any special way then.

Perhaps this time, her mother simply needed a couple of days to adjust her mindset.

After a couple of days, Chen Biqin would probably be fine.

Thinking along these lines, Yu Wan saw that Yu Yan had put on an uncompromising expression, and pointed at the remaining meat over the bonfire. "Eldest Sister, you and Dodo must be full by now, right? Then look at this piece of meat—"

Yu Yan looked up at the sky. "Take it."

Yu Wan happily grabbed the roasted meat. "Then sister, get some rest early! Little brother and I are heading back first!"

"Second Sister!"

Yu Lei lowered his voice, trying to yank his arm free from her grip.

"Be a good little brother~ I know you still want another piece of wild boar meat, isn't that why Second Sister grabbed an extra large piece? I'll give it to you once we get home." Yu Wan blinked at Yu Lei. "Eldest Sister has been busy all day and must be exhausted."

"As her younger siblings, we can't be completely lacking in tact."

Yu Lei: "..."

His second sister was gripping him far too tightly.

If he wanted to successfully pull his arm away, he would have to use at least fifty percent of his strength.

Yet when Yu Wan grabbed him, she was merely using pure physical force without a shred of defense against him. If he suddenly unleashed half of his strength, his second sister would inevitably be dragged down and crash onto the ground...