Chapter 57: There Is a Home |
At first, Yin Xingyue really disliked her grandmother.
That was when her father had just passed away, and her mother sent her to the countryside.
She thought her grandmother was old and ugly, and even looked down on her for being a girl.
She remembered very clearly how her grandmother would often look at her, sigh, and say, "If only you were a boy…"
But she didn't know when she had started to like her grandmother.
Perhaps it was when she wanted to eat chicken, and in the dead of winter, on a freezing cold day, her grandmother woke up early to slaughter one for her…
Perhaps it was when she wanted a ballpoint pen, and on a rainy day, her grandmother trudged through the mud, stumbling her way to the town to buy it for her, even though she came back with a pencil in the end…
Perhaps it was when she threw a tantrum, and her grandmother never got angry, only using her rough hands to gently caress her cheek with a smile…
Perhaps it was in the summer, when she lay beside her, and her grandmother would close her eyes and gently wave the Palm Leaf Fan for her…
Yin Xingyue didn't answer her grandmother's question, and her grandmother didn't ask again.
The two of them went to the Town together, and as usual, her grandmother went to the Scrap Recycling Station to sell things.
But unlike usual, she didn't rush back home pulling the Small Pull Cart.
Instead, she went to a store in the Town and bought a Hair Hoop.
It was a very old-fashioned Hair Hoop, black, made of twisted iron wire, with no decorations at all.
Her grandmother put the Hair Hoop on her head and asked Yin Xingyue with a smile.
"Doesn't this look much neater?"
"Grandmother, you look very pretty," Yin Xingyue said happily.
Her grandmother chuckled and said, "I'm a little old lady, what's there to look pretty about?"
Then she took Yin Xingyue's hand, went to the Toy Store next door, and bought her a pair of Butterfly Wings that could be worn on her back.
She picked the biggest, prettiest one, which was naturally also the most expensive.
She took an old Handkerchief out of her pocket and counted the loose change for several minutes before she could pay.
"Grandmother, you still remembered?" Yin Xingyue held the Butterfly Wings, feeling a sting in the corner of her eyes.
Besides stationery and food, her grandmother rarely bought her toys.
She felt those things were useless, would eventually be thrown away, and were a complete waste of money.
Her favorite saying was, "Only what you eat into your stomach truly belongs to you."
The last time she had asked her grandmother to buy her Butterfly Wings was because she saw a child in the village wearing a very pretty pair.
But her grandmother always said, "Next time, I'll buy them for you next time…"
And then, there was no next time.
Yin Xingyue really wanted to tell her grandmother that she didn't like this anymore, that she had grown up and was no longer a little girl.
But—but for some reason, she still felt a little happy.
On the way back, her grandmother helped her put them on.
"So pretty, just like a Little Fairy," her grandmother said with a cheerful laugh.
"Grandmother, I'm dead.
I'm a Ghost now, not a fairy," Yin Xingyue said.
Hearing this, her grandmother fell silent.
She walked for a long while before saying, "But I feel like you're still alive. You don't look dead at all.
Your mother was lying to me, wasn't she?"
Yin Xingyue shook her head and then told her about Shen Siyuan.
"So you've met a Great Master."
Her grandmother was very happy for Yin Xingyue when she heard this.
"Then you must thank him properly." Her grandmother then asked in detail what the Great Master's name was and where he lived.
Yin Xingyue thought it was just casual chat, so she told her grandmother.
About two weeks later, Shen Siyuan came home after getting off work and saw a note on his door, saying someone was looking for him at the Residential Complex's gatehouse.
And so he met the old woman. She had arrived in the morning and waited until he got off work, carrying a cleaned chicken, a basket of Eggs, some loose change wrapped in a Handkerchief, and those Butterfly Wings.
He didn't know how she had found her way here, or how she had managed to carry all these things…
But that is a story for another time.
From beginning to end, her grandmother never asked Yin Xingyue why she had committed Suicide.
Instead, it was Yin Xingyue who couldn't help but ask her grandmother why she didn't ask.
Her grandmother said, "When people are alive, they often run into obstacles they can't get over.
When I was young, I often wanted to die too. But I was an adult, so I gritted my teeth and got through it.
You're still a child, so it's normal that you couldn't…"
Hearing this, Yin Xingyue burst into tears and wailed.
She hadn't cried like this for a very, very long time.
Her grandmother caressed her cheek, using her rough hands to wipe away her tears.
Through teary eyes, she said, "The thing Grandmother regrets most is giving you to your mom.
She's your mom, she should have helped you get over it…"
"I didn't want to either, waaah…"
—
"Mom, was Dad really in an Underworld Gang before?"
Seeing her dad go into the kitchen, Zhu Tingting quietly asked her mom.
Du Xiuzhi pulled her daughter into her arms, stroking her hair, and said softly, "Don't listen to outsiders' nonsense.
Your dad was a very honest boy when he was young."
"But… but…"
"Are you talking about the Tattoo on your dad's arm?"
Du Xiuzhi turned her daughter around to face her.
Zhu Tingting obediently nodded.
"That one, he got it on purpose to protect me.
I bet he was crying his eyes out at the time. When your dad was young, he was a real Little Crybaby, he'd cry at the drop of a hat…"
Zhu Tingting's eyes widened, her expression full of disbelief.
"Mom's not lying."
Du Xiuzhi smiled and started to tell a story from the past.
"Back then, your dad and I were neighbors. But your mom, I was good at studying, while your dad was a Muddle-headed Person, so he dropped out of junior high to work…"
"He worked, and when he had money, he would often buy me things…"
"Later on, some accidents happened in my family.
Your Maternal Grandparents passed away, and our relatives saw that I was just a little girl, so they thought I was easy to bully. They all came out of the woodwork, showing up at our door to cause trouble…"
"Your dad protected me, arguing with them, fighting with them…"
"To make them scared, your dad got a Tattoo, dyed his hair, and grabbed a Knife.
He was chopping away while crying, and he scared all those relatives of mine into scattering like birds and beasts…"
"Later, your dad got arrested by the Police and was locked up for a few months. But before he was taken away, he threatened those relatives of mine, saying that if they ever bullied me again, he'd kill their whole families when he got out…"
"And after that, no one ever dared to come and bully me again…"
"Wow, Dad is so amazing."
Zhu Tingting's eyes were wide.
She had never felt such admiration for her father before.
"So, you can't be too weak in life.
If you're weak, you'll be bullied. First, you have to learn to be strong on your own.
And some things, you shouldn't hide them from the people closest to you. You have to face them together and solve the problem.
You're still just a child…"
Du Xiuzhi gently tapped her nose, hinting at something.
"Then… then what happened?"
"Later… later your dad kept working, and I continued my studies.
After I graduated, we got married, and then we had you…"
A smile played on Du Xiuzhi's lips as she became lost in her memories.
Zhu Guangfa came out of the kitchen and saw the mother and daughter laughing happily.
He asked suspiciously, "You're not talking bad about me, are you?"
"Mom said you were a Little Crybaby when you were young."
"How could you tell her that? Don't I have a reputation to maintain?" Zhu Guangfa exclaimed.
The mother and daughter laughed even louder.