Wu Shuhui stood by the door, afraid that Ji Pianran would see her.
She hadn't seen anyone yet, but she could hear voices, and her temples were throbbing.
All her emotions were like a flood that had burst its banks, sweeping along every nerve and leaving her on the verge of collapse.
She clenched her white lips tightly, her expression agitated and sad.
Her hand on the doorknob began to tremble slightly, and there were no words to describe that state.
Yes, she had already decided when she was about to leave that this was her child.
It was her daughter.
Seeing his wife like this, Uncle Guang felt bad too. He reached out to support the trembling Wu Shuhui.
He was afraid that she had fainted.
Gu Chen glanced towards the door. Although he didn't see anyone, his face was a little solemn.
'Pianran, I'm fine. The matsutake incident was a misunderstanding. There's just one thing I want to ask you, so please tell me the truth.'
His eyes were filled with pain, and his tone was serious and earnest.
This was the first time Ji Pianran had seen Gu Chen like this. She pursed her red lips, and couldn't help but feel a little nervous. 'What's wrong?'
What had happened?
Why was he wearing that expression?
There was nothing she didn't want Gu Chen to know.
As long as he is willing to understand, she will never keep any secrets from him.
'In the past few years, you have never mentioned your parents. You...' Gu Chen thought for a long time, but still didn't know how to tell Ji Pianran about this.
Her mother was standing outside the door, waiting for her child to go see her father in his hospital bed.
'I ran away from home,' Ji Pianran suddenly blurted out, her face expressionless.
She was as calm as ever, and even Gu Chen was taken aback.
Outside, Wu Shuhui's heart was breaking. She didn't know if she had been forgiven after all these years.
Or would her daughter never forgive her in this life?
The only thing she could do at the moment was to listen quietly.
'Have you thought about going back to see them?' Gu Yuting asked gently.
Ji Pianran blinked, her watery eyes showing some helplessness.
She said in a light tone, 'I have actually thought about it, but I haven't gone back because I was having a hard time before.'
It was her parents, and she didn't want to go back was a lie.
She had simply left in a huff to prove them wrong.
Later, she married Gu Chen, and like all girls, she had hoped for a happy and fulfilling marriage.
But things didn't turn out as she had hoped, and reality was often disappointing.
Her husband was indifferent to her, they lived from hand to mouth, and their child was malnourished because of her. After living like this, her initial insistence had become a joke.
She had tried so hard to prove them wrong, but in the end, she had only proved herself wrong.
How could she face them when she returned?
The Ji family were stubborn people, and they were all people who refused to admit defeat, and Ji Pianran was no exception.
Afterwards, she glanced at Gu Chen, her eyes full of a smile.
'But I think that this year, during the New Year, we can go back. I'll take you and the baby, and we'll go back together. They should really like Tangtang.'
Gu Chen was working hard now, treating herself well. Her Tangtang was plump and white, sensible and cute.
Married to such a man and having raised such a child, she feels blessed in life.
This is her pride.
She can finally go home with a clear conscience and tell her parents that she is doing well.
Outside the door, Wu Shuhui finally couldn't hold back any longer. She used all her strength to push the half-closed door completely open, her voice shaking uncontrollably.
'Pianran, mommy has come to see you.'
Ji Pianran was taken aback, and for a moment she felt like she was hearing things, like she was dreaming.
She looked out the door subconsciously.
Then her eyes began to water, and her head began to pound.
She stumbled and could no longer take another step.
Standing outside the door was none other than her own mother.
It was the same person who always appeared in her dreams, taking care of her every need.
She looked thinner and older, her skin no longer as firm as it once was, and there were wrinkles around her eyes.
She had been such a beautiful person.
Ji Pianran always remembered how she would often sit at the stone table in the courtyard, holding a teacup, quietly watching her younger brother and herself reading in the courtyard. She had a smile on her face, and the stillness of time made her look like a picture scroll.
Her skin was fair and firm, not at all like that of someone in her forties.
Everyone who had met her said that her mother was a rare beauty.
But even such a beauty, time had still left traces of aging on her face.
Seeing her daughter looking at her, Wu Shuhui quickly reached up to run her hand through her hair, trying to look more energetic.
Ji Pianran's throat felt tight, and a throbbing pain came from the bottom of her heart.
'Mom,'
from the moment she became a mother, she had actually completely reconciled with her parents in her heart.
Or perhaps she wasn't angry with them, but with fate.
She felt that there might be another way to live her life.
The ten months of pregnancy and the birth of her daughter were not easy.
She watched her child grow up day by day, encountering all kinds of hardships.
Whenever she felt like she couldn't go on, she would think of her mother.
She remembered her standing in the sun, smiling at her and saying, 'Pianran, the most important thing about living is your attitude. You must look good.'
Behind her was a large expanse of gold, the colour of the sun.
Her words had, without knowing when, become her own life's credo.
Uncle Guang supported Wu Shuhui, who was shaking all over, and whispered to comfort her, 'You should be happy that you've finally found it.'
After saying that, he felt miserable about his own lack of achievement, and turned his head to rub his eyes.
The Ji Pianran in front of him overlapped with the elegant young lady in his mind, and she had become extremely thin.
This was the child he had grown up with, and now in such an environment, wearing such clothes, he was sad and miserable!
'Uncle Guang,' Ji Pianran said, choking back tears.
She had only just noticed Wu Shuhui, but not Uncle Guang, who was standing in the corner.
He had also aged, and had completely turned into a middle-aged man. His hair was no longer the grey at the temples as described in novels, but was white from the middle, with black hair mixed in. It was all grey, but he still combed it neatly at the back.
When she was little, she often fell asleep on Uncle Guang's back.
He was always the one who came to pick her up from school. She still remembered that one time when it rained, while all the other children were picked up by their parents, she was the only one picked up by Uncle Guang.
She threw a tantrum at him. Uncle Guang just smiled at her and said that it was the same with or without him.
He had no children of his own, and loved her and Jidou as if they were his own.
'Hey!' Uncle Guang smiled with difficulty when he heard the lady call his name.
But tears welled up in his eyes again.
The three of them looked at each other, their eyes red, and then suddenly they smiled at each other.
That smile seemed to span years.
Tang tang snuggled into her father's arms and watched everyone cry. She felt embarrassed and couldn't cry herself. She was the one who was most sad!
The little girl pouted, looked at Gu Chen, and curiously asked, 'Dad, who is that auntie?'
Her voice was young and sweet.
This sudden question made Uncle Guang smile again.
This child is Pien's daughter!
'Madam, you've become a grandmother!' He pulled the corners of his mouth, his expression bitter, but he was smiling from the heart.
I really can't take it anymore, writing is killing me!
The mother and daughter have recognised each other, I can finally go to sleep, goodnight~