NOVPUBWu Dahuo, as the leader of the logistics team, saw his salary increase from four thousand a month to ten thousand, with a handsome year-end bonus at the close of the year.
The Wu Lingyu family no longer had to scrape by every month to pay for medical bills, but the only downside was that Wu Dahuo no longer had time to care for Yu’s father.
Li Mei Juan, therefore, gave up her skewer stall business and made a special trip to Hong Kong to take care of Wu Suowei’s diet and daily routine.
As a result, a problem arose that needed to be addressed—whether Wu Lingyu should transfer schools and go to Hong Kong with her mother.
"Mom, I don’t want to transfer schools, I can board at school at night!" within the rental house in Qiujie Village, Wu Lingyu said to her mother, who was packing up.
"How could that be possible, what kind of child your age boards at school at night? I’m not at ease!" Li Mei Juan immediately replied.
"I... Mom, I like Experimental Primary School..." Wu Lingyu’s voice trailed off into tearful eyes.
Li Mei Juan, assuming her daughter’s childish nature, stopped folding clothes and stood up to say, "Going to primary school in Hong Kong means you can live with your father and grandfather, wasn’t it always your wish to live together as a family, Yu’er?"
"I... I... I don’t know..." Wu Lingyu found herself at a loss for words, her body trembling, and she fell silent.
Seeing her daughter stop talking, Li Mei Juan thought she had persuaded her and said earnestly, "It’s not like we’re leaving right away. Once you finish this term, say goodbye to your classmates properly, and then we’ll move to Hong Kong for third grade."
[Saying goodbye to everyone...]
The thought alone made a lump rise in Wu Lingyu’s throat, leaving her feeling as though her heart had a hole in it, empty and hollow.
Of course, she wanted to live with her father and grandfather, but she equally dreaded parting with everyone.
[Aunt Yao, Uncle Xu, Xia Xiaoxiao, Xiao Ruawen, Lin Wanning, Zhang Yiyi... and Brother Fan, I can’t bear to part with everyone!] she screamed internally.
Wu Lingyu, disheartened, walked out of the house and crouched by the door in silent tears.
...
It was another weekend, and the six little ones had arranged to climb the Reef Hill.
"Yu, what’s the matter with you? You’ve been looking down recently," Xiao Ruawen asked, noting Wu Lingyu’s somber demeanor on the bus.
Wu Lingyu bit her lip, not wanting to dampen everyone’s spirits by bringing up her transfer.
She shook her head and forced a smile, "I suddenly realized I made a mistake on a question on the final exam."
"Eh, don’t think about it after the exam, the results will be out in a few days." Lin Wanning, a firm advocate of not checking answers after a test, turned around and flopped onto the seat, commenting.
"So it was the exam, don’t worry about it, I didn’t know how to do lots either!" Xiao Ruawen reassured her with a smile.
"Mhm..." Just hearing everyone’s reassurances made Wu Lingyu feel even sadder.
Reef Hill was just a small hillock a little over a hundred meters high, but because it was free to climb, it was popular with the citizens of Licheng City.
The six of them took their time, stopping and going, and it took almost an hour to reach the summit.
After buying six bowls of sweet tofu pudding, they all sat in a row on the stone steps, overlooking houses that from this distance looked no bigger than ping-pong balls.
Wu Lingyu knew this was her last chance; in a few days, she would have to leave after participating in the school’s closing ceremony to move to Hong Kong with her mother.
"Everyone!" she suddenly exclaimed loudly.
The group was startled by her outburst since Wu Lingyu was usually soft-spoken.
"What’s wrong?" Xu Qingfan asked.
"I’m transferring to Hong Kong for school next semester to be with Mom."
"What?"
Wu Lingyu, not heeding the shock in everyone’s responses, continued with her head bowed, "I am really grateful that I got to attend Experimental Primary School and meet all of you. The time I spent with you all has been the happiest... You accepted me, helped me, and I’ll keep it in my heart. I will never, ever forget any of you!"
Tears streamed down Wu Lingyu’s face as she stood up to address everyone.
"Wuuuu~ Yu, please don’t go," Lin Wanning, moved by Wu Lingyu’s emotions, stood up and hugged her.
Zhang Yiyi and Xiao Ruawen also stood and joined the embrace, the four little girls huddled together at the top of the hill, crying a river.
Xia Xiaoxiao’s eyes were also red. She inherently disliked making a scene in public, but how could she be absent at this time?
"Oh right, Auntie Li is going to Hong Kong, and Yu naturally has to go with her," Xu Qingfan realized belatedly.
He was moved by the children’s genuine emotions, but in the end, he felt too embarrassed to be hugging and crying with five little girls in broad daylight.
He took out the camera he always carried with him, took a few photos, and then switched it to video mode.
"Imagine playing this at one of their weddings in the future; the scene would be amazing," Xu Qingfan thought to himself.
After a good cry, everyone took their seats back in their original spots.
Lin Wanning hugged Xu Qingfan, sobbing and smearing her tears on his white shirt, "Qing... Brother Qing Fan... can you make it so Yu doesn’t have to transfer schools?"
Xu Qingfan, with an adult’s perspective, naturally understood Lin Wanning’s feelings, but in reality, people’s ability to adapt is much stronger than anyone can imagine.
Perhaps it wouldn’t take a month for Wu Lingyu to adapt to the new school, and their group of five would also adjust to Wu Lingyu’s departure.
Wu Lingyu would make new friends at her new school, and eventually, they would lose touch. The next time they met, an invisible barrier would have formed, never to return to their original closeness.
Of course, he wouldn’t voice these disheartening thoughts. "Yu is just going to study in Hong Kong, not leaving the province. We can visit Yu on weekends; Hong Kong has so many more fun things than Li City."
"Don’t, Ningning doesn’t want Yu to leave; you have a way, don’t you, Brother Qing Fan?" Lin Wanning pleaded like a pitiful little kitten, her gaze filled with hope as she looked at him.
What he didn’t notice was the look of expectation also brimming in Wu Lingyu’s eyes as she watched him.
All eyes turned expectantly toward him, and Xu Qingfan truly couldn’t withstand such pleading looks from the little girls.
Xu Qingfan recalled the trip he and Wu Lingyu took to her former home during last year’s Lunar New Year. "Reunion with family must be the little girl’s biggest wish, she must also hope to transfer, right?" Xu Qingfan thought from Wu Lingyu’s perspective.
If that was the case, he couldn’t forcefully advocate against the transfer. To ask Wu Lingyu directly if she wanted to transfer would seem too much like moral coercion.
They had just cried over her; could the little girl really say she wanted to?
"But if Yu goes to Hong Kong, she can see her dad and grandpa, and if she doesn’t transfer, there will be no adults to take care of her here," Xu Qingfan tried to persuade everyone from Wu Lingyu’s standpoint.
Xiao Ruawen nodded in agreement, as her father was a military officer and she only got to see him a few times each year. Although their time together was brief, it was precious.
"Brother Fan is right, Yu can see her dad every day if she transfers, not like now!"
Seeing Xiao Ruawen also take this stance, Lin Wanning sulked and pouted without further comment.
Xia Xiaoxiao and Zhang Yiyi both looked unconvinced, both believing that having their mother and friends was enough; as for a father, he was unnecessary.
"Let’s head down the mountain, or we’ll miss the noon bus and will have to call Uncle Xu for a ride," Xia Xiaoxiao checked the time on her watch and said.
"Okay, everyone, gather the trash and make sure to take all your belongings before we head down," Xu Qingfan said after stacking the bowls they used for tofu pudding.
The atmosphere walking down the mountain seemed somewhat somber. First, the novelty of ascending the mountain was gone, secondly, Wu Lingyu’s transfer cast a shadow over the mood.
Everyone tied their jackets around their waists and walked down the cement pathway.
The hike at Reef Ridge wasn’t as rugged and steep as Mount Huang, easy to go up, even easier to come down.
Half an hour later, the six little ones were back at the bottom of the mountain.
A few more steps forward, and they would reach the archway of Reef Ridge. Suddenly, Wu Lingyu stopped in her tracks.
She felt as if something extremely important was slipping away from her, like a fish out of water, struggling to breathe.
The others didn’t notice that Wu Lingyu had stopped and continued walking onward. Just as they were about to step out of the archway, Wu Lingyu’s cry came from behind them.
"Brother Fan, I don’t want to transfer schools!"
Everyone turned around upon hearing the voice only to see Wu Lingyu running toward them with abandon.
"I don’t want to transfer schools!"
As Wu Lingyu ran and spoke, she finally got to Xu Qingfan, hugged him tightly, "I don’t want to transfer... Brother Fan..."
The little girl’s voice was choked with sobs.
