"If you don't want your family to break your legs, you'd better behave yourself." Yang Qingxu glared at Xu Jing.

He turned to Yu Heng and explained, "Last year, he even wanted to drop out of school to go to the e-sports club's youth training camp, but Grandpa Xu caught him and gave him a good beating."

Yu Heng raised an eyebrow and looked at the restless young man.

"Well, I've always just been a little bit unlucky with studying, so I wanted to look for other ways out," Xu Jing said hesitantly, his head lowering further as he spoke.

In his heart, however, he started to berate Yang Qingxu. This guy had no respect for elders or children at all, showing such disrespect to his cousin whom he was meeting for the first time! Humph! Next time he went to his aunt's house, he would definitely expose Yang Qingxu for receiving a bunch of love letters at school.

"Hmph! If you don't put in the effort, even the strongest fate can be wasted." Yang Qingxu retorted mercilessly.

“It’s okay. If your parents agree, then come find me. My cousin has some connections in the entertainment industry.” Yu Heng spoke up to stop the two teenagers’ pointless argument.

Just then, Yu Heng saw a flower shop by the roadside and called the driver to stop.

After taking the bouquet of lilies that the florist had wrapped for him, Yu Heng hesitated for a moment before asking in a low voice, "Does she like lilies?"

Yang Qingxu turned to look at him: "I like it!" After confirming that Yu Heng was asking her, she added: "My mother really likes lilies."

Yu Heng looked at the lily in his hand, then lowered his head to smell the sweet fragrance emanating from the lily.

He had imagined many scenarios of meeting his sister. He thought he would give her a bouquet of lilies and tell her, "You are truly my sister, you are so beautiful."

They were ten years apart in age. Perhaps she would have been married and had children by then. As her uncle, he would have prepared longevity locks for her children and taken them to the amusement park.

Or if she's a staunch advocate of singlehood or a strong, independent woman, he might say, "Wow, you're so cool!"

But he never imagined that she would be quietly waiting for him in the cemetery.

The rest of the journey was uneventful.

The sky was covered with thick, dark clouds, like a plain gray cloth, completely blocking out the sun's rays.

The cold wind carried fallen leaves, adding to the bleakness of the gloomy weather.

Yang Qingxu and Xu Jing took the wet wipes prepared by Zhang An and wiped the dust off the two adjacent tombstones.

Yu Heng placed the flowers in front of the tombstone and stared at the woman's photo on it.

She looks a lot like her mother.

"Zhang An, light a cigarette for me."

Zhang An quickly handed the things in his hand to the driver next to him, took out a cigarette, lit it, and handed it to Yu Heng.

Yu Heng took the cigarette, took a deep drag, let the smoke pass through his lungs, and then slowly exhaled.

He hadn't smoked for a long time; he quit after his family members became unwell.

Looking up at the smoke slowly dissipating, Yu Heng felt that he must be sad right now, very sad.

Like a traveler adrift at sea, after weathering a storm, only a lone boat remains to shelter him, but suddenly, the boat falls apart, leaving him feeling lost and suffocated.

Perhaps clinging to the belief that he would find his daughter someday, Li Zhiyi would always tell Yu Heng about the funny things he and his sister did whenever he was lucid.

Although he was too young to remember anything at the time, his mother told him that he had a sister who loved him very much. He would also brag about his sister to his kindergarten classmates, and repeatedly urged his mother to bring her home amidst their envious gazes.

He had been looking forward to the day they would meet.

"Your mother, since you told her about me, why didn't you come looking for us?" Yu Heng's tone was a bit sharp. He couldn't help but want to blame her. Why? Why did she make them search for her time and time again? Why didn't she come looking for them even though she knew her maternal grandfather's address?

Yang Qingxu looked at Yu Heng. Although his uncle's tone was harsh, his expression looked like he was about to cry.

“At first, Mom was worried about Great-Grandma and the others, and she was also afraid… she was also afraid that if Grandma remarried, her presence would put Grandma in a difficult position.” Yang Qingxu explained slowly, “Later, after getting married and having children, she thought about saving some money and visiting Grandma when the family’s situation improved.” But that wait was never the last time.

Yu Heng wanted to curse, smash things, dig up her grave, and question her about why she had such messy thoughts.

Looking down, I met the eyes in the photo; those eyes were calm and embracing.

Yu Heng closed his eyes tightly to hide the tears welling up inside.

After a while, Yu Heng opened his eyes, squatted down and slowly wiped the photo with his hand: "She didn't remarry, Mom didn't remarry, she's been looking for you."

Yu Heng's voice was low and hoarse, and it took him several moments to swallow the feeling of obstruction stuck in his throat.

"Me too, sis."

The howling wind gradually subsided, and a golden leaf drifted gently down onto Yu Hengfa's hair.

After taking a few deep breaths, Yu Heng calmed himself down.

I got up and looked at the tombstone next to me. The man on the tombstone was not bad-looking, but his skin was dark. The photo was obviously taken when he was young. I wondered if he had gained weight in middle age.

Is he good to your mother?

Yang Qingxu looked at his uncle's critical expression as he looked at his father's photo and was a little speechless. "Dad and Mom fell in love on their own, and their relationship has always been very good."

After he finished speaking, he saw Yu Heng still staring blankly at his father's tombstone. He felt that if his father were standing there, he would be worried sick for him.

"Light some incense for him!" Yu Heng gestured to Zhang An, raising his chin.

Zhang Angang took out the incense and lit it, but Xu Jing, who was standing behind him, quickly took it from him: "Let me do it, let me do it." What kind of afterlife ordeal is this for my cousin-in-law! He must never marry a woman with brothers. His small frame can't withstand the beatings from his wife's brothers.

Once back in the car, the heater finally warmed my frozen hands and feet a little.

"Why don't you call home? Your great-uncle and the others don't know I'm here," Yu Heng gestured to Yang Qingxu.

"No need, no need, I just texted my brother, they're waiting at home right now!" Xu Jing quickly stopped Yang Qingxu.

At that moment, there was a "knock knock knock" outside the Yang family's door. Xu Tai was knocking on the door, and his parents followed behind.

"Uncle Tai, Grandpa Xu, Grandma Xu, come in quickly, have you eaten? Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa are both home right now." Yang Qingyan opened the door and, like a little sparrow, said, "Please sit down, I'll make you some tea."

"Grandpa, Uncle Tai, Grandpa Xu, and Grandma Xu are here!" After calling out to Grandpa's room, she turned and went to the kitchen to make tea.

"Hongzhi is here!" Yu Jiaming came out of the room. He was born with a foot disability, so he always walked with a limp.

"I just came back from my parents' house, and I brought some dried goods to give you." Xu Hongzhi's wife, Li Fang, put the bag she was carrying on the coffee table: "How is Auntie's health?"

"Fangfang's here! Why did you bring so much stuff again?" Grandma Yu heard the voice and came out of her room, leaning on her cane. Xu Hongzhi quickly got up to help her.

She lost her husband early in life, her son in middle age, and her beloved granddaughter unexpectedly passed away in her later years. She has shed too many tears, and her eyesight is already quite poor.

Although they were all a little hunched over, they were dressed neatly and their full head of silver hair was combed meticulously.

"Atai's here too? Have dinner here tonight, Auntie will make your favorite cola chicken wings!" Grandma Yu said with a smile as she approached and saw Xu Tai. "When Ajing comes home from school later, call him over too!"

Li Fang also got up and helped her husband to sit on the sofa: "He's such a big man, he can cook for himself if he wants to eat. Why do you have to cook for him? He's useless at everything and eats everything. A couple of plates of vegetables are enough to satisfy him."

Xu Tai remained unfazed by his mother's disapproving remarks, having long been accustomed to them.

"Grandpa Xu, Grandma Xu, and Cousin Tai, please have some tea." Yang Qingying brought the brewed tea to the group.

Seeing Yang Qingying come out of the kitchen, Li Fang asked, "Is Yingying preparing dinner?"

"I'll just wash and chop the vegetables, so Grandpa can have an easier time cooking later!"

Yu Jiaming usually cooks dinner, but sometimes Yang Qingxu cooks it when he's busy late. However, Yang Qingying also helps with some of the preparations after school.

She was just washing vegetables in the kitchen, but worried that her younger sister might get burned while making tea, she took over the tea-making task and asked her sister to wash more vegetables, since they were probably going to be hosting guests for dinner tonight.

"Oh my, Yingying is really amazing. I hope your cousins ​​Tai and Jing can learn from you sometime, then I can have an easier time." Li Fang's way of praising someone is to always put down her own son in every three sentences.

Yang Qingying covered her mouth and laughed as she ran to the kitchen to get busy.

Sitting next to Grandma Yu, Xu Hongzhi cautiously observed his great-aunt's expression and asked, "Great-aunt, do you still remember Aheng?"

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