Chapter 99
◎Dark Green Qipao◎
Yu Juanfang had a private talk with Zhou Shunian. The Lu Junshan couple also wanted to take this opportunity to chat more with Tangtang, so they called her into the room.
“Dad, Mom.” Tangtang could now call them by these titles naturally.
“Hey!” Lu Junshan immediately responded, his eyebrows almost flying to his temples.
Sheng Ruiru’s eyes crinkled with a smile. Looking at the daughter she had finally acknowledged, she felt that she couldn’t get enough of her. “Tangtang, sit down. Let’s have a family chat.”
Tangtang thought for a moment and still decided to open her heart to them.
“Dad, Mom, thank you for your respect for my parents. To me, they are the most important people. Your respect for them is your respect for me. And… in the past twenty years, we have missed a lot of time. Even if it’s regrettable, there’s no way to get it back. In the future, I hope to have the opportunity to make up for our family relationship little by little.”
Tangtang could see that the Lu family had definitely treated her family with the highest standards.
This had undoubtedly reduced her dilemma. On one side was the endless debt of gratitude for raising her, and on the other was the blood-thicker-than-water grace of giving birth. If there was any conflict, she would be caught in the middle and be in a difficult position.
Hearing her words, Sheng Ruiru’s eyes couldn’t help but become moist. “Silly child, I should be the one to thank them. Your parents are rare good people, hardworking, kind, and simple… Especially your mother’s protection of you. As a mother myself, I can feel her thoughts and feelings. She is really a good mother.”
Lu Junshan also sighed on the side. “No wonder they were able to raise you so well, so sensible and considerate. To be honest, the fact that you met such good parents also makes your mother and me feel a little less regretful.”
Sheng Ruiru held her hand. “Tangtang, in that case, Mom also wants to hear your honest thoughts. Will you mind Youxin’s existence?”
Although Lu Youxin was not her and Junshan’s biological daughter, she had lived in the Lu family for so many years. And the conditions of the Wang family were a world of difference compared to the Lu family. Wang Shijin and Su Yandi were also people of such low character. Sheng Ruiru couldn’t bear to let her go back to Wang Shijin and Su Yandi.
Tangtang shook her head, her voice calm but firm. “I don’t mind. I’ve never thought of competing with her for anything. She has lived in this family for twenty years. It’s normal for her to have a place.”
Hearing her words, the Lu Junshan couple were both gratified and heartbroken.
“Tangtang, tell us about your childhood.”
“Alright.” She nodded, thought seriously for a moment, and decided to start from when she was brought back to the old Su family’s house by Su Huimin.
The yellowish light cast her shadow on the wall, slender, quiet, yet with a hint of resilience.
Lu Junshan and Sheng Ruiru listened quietly, their hearts feeling as if they were filled to the brim, yet also empty. It was both a belated heartache and the sour and sweet taste of finally being able to get close to their daughter.
…
“By the way, I almost forgot the main business.” As Sheng Ruiru spoke, she remembered something. She took out a blue velvet box from a drawer and stuffed it into her hand. “Open it and see.”
“What is this?” Tangtang’s eyes widened with confusion.
Sheng Ruiru’s gaze was loving. “This is a meeting gift that your dad and I specially picked out for you. We have owed you too much all these years. I’m so happy that you’ve acknowledged me and your dad.”
Hearing this, Tangtang opened the blue velvet box. Inside lay a pair of silver earrings. The main hoop was inlaid with small diamonds, and under the hoop were emeralds in the shape of petals. The surroundings were hung with teardrop-shaped emeralds and diamonds, dazzling, with a retro, exquisite, and noble air.
Her eyes widened. “This is too valuable. Grandpa already gave me a very valuable jade pendant last time. I haven’t found a chance to return it to him yet…”
“Keep it. This is a token of your parents’ affection.” Sheng Ruiru held down her hand that was about to close the box. “Just think of it as compensation from your parents. I’ll have to make up for a lot of things for you in the future.”
Lu Junshan also smiled and chimed in from the side. “Your mother spent more than half a month choosing this pair of earrings. Good child, just accept it.”
Tangtang looked up at her parents. Their eyes were full of sincere expectation. A smile appeared on her lips, and she nodded. “Then I’ll accept it. Thank you, Mom and Dad.”
“Hurry up and try them on.” Sheng Ruiru’s eyes crinkled with a smile.
There happened to be a mirror in the room, so Tangtang took the earrings out of the box and put them on in front of the mirror. Her ears were small and delicate. The green emerald earrings were very beautiful on her.
“They’re beautiful, but they don’t match your clothes.” Sheng Ruiru looked at what she was wearing. The style of these earrings was relatively retro. The clothes Tangtang was wearing today were relatively simple and plain, with a student-like air.
“I remember I have some of my old clothes in a box. I don’t know if they’ll fit.”
Sheng Ruiru rummaged for a while and, sure enough, found a dark green qipao from a box.
Tangtang took the qipao and went to the bathroom to change.
This was the first time Tangtang had worn a qipao, but fortunately, it was not complicated, so she was not clumsy.
A young face was reflected in the mirror. Her lips were rosy, and her skin was snow-white. Retro emerald tassel earrings hung by her ears. She had braided her hair into two three-strand braids today, which didn’t match this qipao.
Tangtang thought for a moment and then undid the braids. She used her hands as a comb and coiled her hair into a simple and casual style.
When she came out of the bathroom, both Lu Junshan and Sheng Ruiru were stunned.
“What do you think?” It was her first time wearing a qipao, and she was inevitably a little uncomfortable and awkward.
“Beautiful.”
After a long while, Lu Junshan finally said, “You look just like you did when you were young. You’re a carbon copy of each other. Our daughter is as beautiful as you.”
Even Sheng Ruiru couldn’t help but sigh. “I feel like I’m seeing myself from twenty years ago.”
Sheng Ruiru had also thought of leaving her old clothes for Lu Youxin to wear, but Youxin’s frame was a bit wider, and they didn’t fit. So she had given up the idea.
The clothes that didn’t fit Youxin were like they were custom-made for Tangtang.
“Really?” Tangtang blinked.
“Really, they’re exactly the same.” Lu Junshan patted her head and looked at his wife. “By the way, I remember I seem to have taken a picture of you back then. You were wearing this qipao at that time?”
When he mentioned it, Sheng Ruiru also had an impression. “I remember that photo is in an album. Maybe we can still find it.”
As Lu Junshan spoke, he got up and quickly walked to the cabinet. After a while of rummaging, he had an old photo album in his hand.
“This is when your mother was young. I took this picture of her at the Summer Palace.”
Lu Junshan carefully opened the photo album and, sure enough, saw the photo he had taken of Sheng Ruiru before. Tangtang leaned her head over to look and was also surprised. The young woman in the photo was wearing the exact same qipao as her. Her eyebrows were relaxed, and her wrists were fair. Her features and expression were simply a carbon copy of hers.
She caressed the woman’s eyebrows and eyes in the photo and slightly opened her mouth. “So I look so much like Mom…”
A hearty smile appeared on Lu Junshan’s face. “Tangtang, we have a camera at home. Dad will take a picture of you. This has to be properly commemorated!”
“Alright.” Tangtang looked around. “This is not a suitable place to take a picture. Let’s go to the stairs to take it.”
Tangtang rarely took pictures and was inevitably a little uncomfortable. Seeing this, Sheng Ruiru took two yellow roses from a vase in the living room and handed them to her. “Tangtang, hold these to take the picture. Just think of it as adding some color to the photo. Don’t be nervous. Just be natural.”
The rich fragrance of the roses lingered in her nose. Tangtang held the roses, and her tense shoulders quietly relaxed a little. She looked at the camera and adjusted her posture, a natural and sweet smile on her face.
The camera at home hadn’t been used for a long time. Lu Junshan pressed it twice, but the camera seemed to be out of order. Seeing this, Zhou Shunian quickly went up and said, “Uncle Lu, let me do it.”
Lu Junshan laughed twice and readily patted his shoulder. “Then you can do it.”
Zhou Shunian wiped the sweat from his hands, feeling his heart skip a beat. “Are you ready?”
Tangtang looked at Zhou Shunian in front of the camera, her ears a little hot. She nodded lightly. “Mhm.”
Zhou Shunian held the camera. The girl in the lens had curved eyebrows and eyes. The dark green qipao and the goose-yellow petals complemented each other. The emerald earrings by her earlobes and her fair and delicate neck complemented each other. She was like a dark green painting of a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, walking into his heart.
With a click, Zhou Shunian pressed the shutter, freezing this frame.
…
After taking the pictures, Tangtang and Zhou Shunian went back to school.
Before they left, Sheng Ruiru specially told the three children to come over for breakfast tomorrow morning.
“Soy sauce eggs?” Seeing the eggs soaked in the soy sauce, Tangtang’s eyes couldn’t help but light up.
The soy sauce eggs that her mother, Yu Juanfang, made were particularly delicious. The egg yolk had a sandy, glutinous texture. The soy sauce eggs were particularly flavorful, savory, and mellow. Every bite was full of the aroma of soy sauce.
But Tangtang hadn’t had them for a long time.
“Mom, did you make this?” Tangtang asked her mother.
Yu Juanfang shook her head and smiled. “Your mother specially learned it from me.”
Su Huimin said with a cheerful smile, “After you went back to school last night, your mother specially asked your mother about your dietary preferences and specially learned how to make this soy sauce egg from her. Your mother and your mom get along very well. They talked until two or three in the morning before they rested. In the morning, your mother taught your mom how to make soy sauce eggs, and your mom taught her how to arrange flowers and make tea. You know your mother’s personality. She’s usually not one to take the initiative to talk to people. She’s cold on the outside and warm on the inside. But she gets along with your mom very well!”
“My cooking is average. It’s definitely not as good as your mother’s. You can just have a taste for my sake.” Sheng Ruiru came out of the kitchen with a smile, holding a bowl of noodles. Originally, the Su family had a great kindness to their family. After really getting to know them, her good impression of the Su family had risen several degrees. Su Huimin was a gentle and educated person, and Yu Juanfang was strong on the outside but kind and soft on the inside. Especially Yu Juanfang, Sheng Ruiru felt that she saw another version of herself in her.
Breakfast was soy sauce eggs with noodles, pumpkin and millet congee, and also buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk, a large table full of steaming food.
Tangtang took a bite of the soy sauce eggs with noodles. The noodles were refreshing and chewy, and the soy sauce eggs were savory and soft. She took another sip of the mellow soy milk and heard Old Mr. Lu say with a full voice, “After we’ve finished eating, Junshan and Mingbai have to go back to the army. Ruiru and I will take you out for a walk. We’ll first visit the various scenic spots in the capital, like the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace. We’ll go to all the places we should go. At noon, we’ll go to the Ronghe Tower for a good meal, and in the afternoon, we’ll go to the shopping mall!”
“That’s too much trouble for you. We can just walk around by ourselves.” Hearing this, Su Huimin said, holding his glasses. Old Mr. Lu was an elder. How could he let an elder accompany and entertain them?
“It’s no trouble, no trouble at all! You don’t know, I’m often cooped up at home. Just let me, an old man, accompany you.”
Sheng Ruiru also smiled. “Big Brother Su, Sister-in-law Yu, just let us accompany you. Since my father-in-law retired, this is the first time he has been so active in going out!”
The school was already on summer vacation, so Sheng Ruiru didn’t have to go to work now. She had plenty of time.
It was difficult to refuse such a warm invitation. Seeing this, Su Huimin and Yu Juanfang also smiled and agreed.
So after breakfast, the group of people went out with a great fanfare.
Old Mr. Lu, Sheng Ruiru, Su Huimin, Yu Juanfang, Tangtang, Zhou Shunian, and Su Juesheng, a total of seven people. This trip was both crowded and lively. Anyone who didn’t know would have thought it was a tour group.
Zhou Shunian had also brought a camera and took pictures of them along the way as souvenirs.
Originally, the Su Huimin couple had planned to go back after finishing their business, but they couldn’t resist Old Mr. Lu’s insistence and the Lu family’s repeated warm invitations. The couple stayed in the capital for more than half a month before they went back.
This trip to the capital was a great pleasure for both the hosts and the guests.
In front of the Capital train station, Tangtang reluctantly said goodbye to the couple. “Dad, Mom, be careful on the road. My brother and I will be back for the New Year.”
“Alright, Tangtang. You and Juesheng should also take care of your health at school. Don’t be too tired. Everything is fine at home. You don’t have to worry.” Yu Juanfang reminded her.
Zhou Shunian went up. “Uncle and Auntie, these are all the photos I’ve taken these past two days. I’ve put them in a photo album. You can take them back and look at them when you’re bored on the road.”
Yu Juanfang looked at the thick photo album. It was clear that a lot of effort had been put into organizing it. “Little Zhou, you’re so thoughtful.”
Tangtang held her mother’s hand. “Mom, when Dad retires in the future, and my brother Juesheng and I have also graduated and been assigned a job, you and Dad can come to the capital and enjoy a good life.”
Hearing this, Yu Juanfang and Su Huimin couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, alright. At that time, we’ll come to the capital. Who let my son, daughter, and son-in-law be so promising?”
Hearing the word “son-in-law,” a bright light suddenly flashed in Zhou Shunian’s eyes. This meant that the two of them had agreed to his relationship with Tangtang. The corners of his lips couldn’t help but curl up, and even his gaze towards her was as sweet as honey.
Tangtang blushed to the tips of her ears. “Mom, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Su Huimin and Yu Juanfang were very satisfied with this future son-in-law, Zhou Shunian. It was difficult to find such a son-in-law with a good family background, good character, good image, and outstanding ability even with a lantern. He was originally Juesheng’s good friend and brother, and now he had directly become their son-in-law. It was a double blessing!
Yu Juanfang turned her head to look at Zhou Shunian, her eyes crinkling with a smile. “Right, son-in-law?”
A sparkling smile appeared in Zhou Shunian’s eyes. Hearing this, he quickly responded, “Hey, Mom is right!”