Chapter Five Memories of Past Events

  "My leaves have really grown into a big girl." Yu Youyue said with emotion, looking at Xing Ye who was busy running around. The little girl who used to wear two braids in her memory had suddenly grown up to be as tall as herself. But thinking of what Auntie said this afternoon made her heart ache.

  "Leaf"

  "Uh, mom, what's up?" Xīng Yè put down the rag in his hand and came to his mother's bedside.

  "Do you know what Grandma said to Mom today?" Yu Youyue asked Xing Ye.

  Xīn Yè shook his head and asked: "What did you say?"

  "Auntie wants to introduce you to someone, from Xiahe Bay, I heard he's a pretty good young man."

  "Tell me? How old am I?" Xīng Yè had seen many women in their late twenties who were still not married, and she couldn't help but laugh at the idea of someone proposing to her when she was only sixteen.

  "Xiaoxia, Jinfeng and the others were all engaged at around 17 or 18 years old. Grandma also wants to take advantage of my presence to arrange a marriage for you. I heard he's a good person, do you want to meet him?"

  In the quiet of the night, I thought about it and realized that in this town, many girls are indeed arranged to be married off by their families after graduating from junior high school. They get married at 18 or 19 and become mothers before they're even 20 years old. Grandma was also coming from a good place, fearing that if my mother passed away, I would be left all alone with no one to rely on, so it's better to find a good husband's family for me. Thinking about this, I felt a chill run down my spine. Although I yearn for a simple and happy family life, I also don't want to fall in love too early or get married too young, and then spend the rest of my life in a daze in this small village.

  "Mom, stop teasing me. Didn't you want me to go to college? In college, people don't want a young wife with a family to drag along." Xing Ye looked at her mother's smile and knew she was joking around.

  "She's really grown up, can't fool her anymore." Yu Youyue looked at her daughter with a smile like a little fox, knowing that her daughter didn't take Grandma's words to heart. Looking at the face that resembled her own youthful appearance, she sighed: "I don't know if that young man is lucky enough to marry my precious daughter."

  "Mom, your daughter is smart and lovely, gentle and cute, she can go out to the hall and enter the kitchen, although she only inherited seven points of beauty from you, but she is still a little beauty. There will definitely be a long line of people chasing after her, at that time, we mother and daughter will take a magnifying glass to slowly pick, don't want those who are not handsome, not knowledgeable, and not rich, must find one that is perfect in every way."

  Yu Youyue was amused by her daughter's words and knew that her daughter understood things, so she intentionally made jokes to make herself happy.

  "Let me see when did your face become so thick, dare to say anything, are you ashamed or not?"

  At night, I saw a hint of blush on my mother's smiling face, and she deliberately leaned in to coax me, saying: "Look, look, isn't it very cute?"

  "You" patted Yōgetsu's daughter on the forehead and couldn't help but burst out laughing first, which led to a fit of coughing.

  She helped her back in the midnight, and then held water for her to drink, before slowly stopping her cough.

  Yu Youyue held onto Xing Ye's hand and wouldn't let her be busy anymore.

  "Actually, mom wants you to go to college and get a good job, but she also thinks that you will be very hardworking, sometimes she thinks, if you can live a simple life like me and your dad in this small town, it's not bad either."

  "Mom, going to college isn't just about fulfilling your dreams, it's also my own wish. No matter how hard or tiring it is, I'm willing to accept it."

  Yu Youyue gazed intently at her daughter, with an unprecedented firm determination on her delicate face.

  "Leaves, on the other hand, are growing more and more like your grandmother."

  "Grandma? Is Grandma like Mom?" Xing Ye asked cautiously as his mother mentioned their family again.

  "Your face shape and eyes are a bit like your grandfather's, but your round face is more like your grandmother's, even your voice is 70-80% similar. You don't know, your grandmother was a famous actress in her generation, she became famous before liberation. Otherwise, why would your grandfather, a wealthy young master who studied abroad, chase after her so hard? And also..."

  Yu Youyue was like opening the door to the depths of memory, completely immersed in happy memories, listening quietly to her mother's narrative on a starry night, with images flashing in her mind.

  My maternal grandfather's family was prominent, with several generations of ancestors being imperial merchants. My maternal great-grandfather was also a successful tycoon before liberation, not some nouveau riche, but a typical Confucian merchant. However, my maternal grandfather did not inherit this business acumen, and from a young age he was intelligent and studious, always ranking top in his studies, and even went abroad for further education. After returning to China, he taught at a university, with countless students benefiting from his teachings throughout his life.

  My grandmother was an orphan, who followed her adoptive father and master to learn singing from a young age. She wandered around the world making a living, then followed one of her master's friends to learn opera. At 16 years old, with her beautiful appearance and moving voice, she became famous overnight.

  One was a noble son, whose family disagreed with marrying a lowly singing girl. The other was an opera actor, but was advised by relatives that the wealthy family would not have true intentions. Their love had to overcome many difficulties, but they persisted strongly. This marriage, which was not approved by either side's relatives, lasted for fifty years through thick and thin.

  They had two sons and a little daughter, the children inherited their good talents. Although the turmoil of the times caused some troubles, they all grew up one by one and achieved success in their careers and studies.

  "Big brother cares about me the most, second brother is a bit mischievous but listens to me, this little sister's words, and also Hui Fen's wife, and Little Mao Mao."

  "Mom, you miss grandma, right? I can go find them for you, they must also want to see you." Xing Ye saw her mother suddenly close her eyes and stop talking, the smile on her face turned into a deep sense of loss, and said.

  It had been a long time since I heard my mother's voice, so long that I thought she was already asleep on this starry night. But then I heard her say in a low and mournful tone: "I hurt them deeply back then, now seeing them like this will only bring them pain. Meeting them would be awkward, not knowing what to say, better not to meet, better not to meet."

  The starry night saw his mother really fall asleep, no longer speaking, silently covering his mother with a quilt.

  I didn't expect my mother's family background to be so good. It turns out that a university dropout, a young girl who came alone with her newborn child, settled in this small town for over a decade and never contacted her parents or relatives, there must be a reason for it.

  What reason would make a mother leave home, Xing Ye probably guessed some of it too, and it must have something to do with her own life. A family from a good background had an unmarried pregnant daughter, the daughter chose the unborn child without hesitation between her parents' home and the child, gave up all the better life, and left her hometown alone to make a living.

  Believe that mother experienced an extraordinary and unforgettable love.

  But what about the man who got her pregnant? Where is her biological father? Why hasn't he come forward to accept them, mother and daughter? Is it a case of abandonment or something unexpected, or has he passed away?

  At night, she thought of all the possibilities and felt a pang of sorrow for her mother. She would rather that man be dead than not be with her mother, otherwise she would never forgive him.

  Xing Ye didn't even want to know who he was, in his heart, his father was that simple and kind-hearted small town man, this lifelong irreplaceable person, the feelings between them could not be erased.

  Xīng yè gèng xiāngxìn, mǔqīn duì jì fù shì yǒu zhēn zhuó de gǎnqíng de, huòxǔ bú huì yǒu chūliàn bān de jī qíng, huòxǔ bú huì yǒu hǎi mèng shān mèng de làng màn, kě nà zhǒng nuǎn nuǎn de qíngyì shì shēnrù gǔ suǐ de, wú xū yánbiǎo de, huà rù shēnghuó zhōng de diǎndiǎn dīdī zhòng de.