Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
From the very moment Chen Yao got out of the car, Yun Nan knew that this person must be her motherâs biological mother!
It was because they looked too similar. Yun Nan finally understood why Hai Hua had immediately thought of her aunt based on an embroidered portrait. It was because the figure in embroidery looked exactly like her aunt when she was young. Just as Hai Hua had recognized her aunt from the portrait, Yun Nan also recognized Chen Yao at a glance because she looked like her mother, just aged several years.
Yun Nan was in as much pain as Chen Yao was. The two shared a connection via an unfortunate woman named Xiao He. Chen Yao pulled Yun Nan close and sized her up before softly saying, âWhatâs your name, dear child?â
âYun Nan. My name is Yun Nan. My mother refused to take her adoptive parentsâ surname, so she took my adoptive fatherâs surname, Mo. Her name was MO Xiao He,â Yun Nan answered.
Chen Yaoâs eyes filled with tears. âXiao He? Xiao He? Was her name really Xiao
Yun Nan nodded. Chen Yao sobbed, âHer birth name was Gu He. We welcomed her birth with exultant joy and thought it was a day worth celebrating, so we gave her the nickname âXiao He,â meaning âlittle celebration.â I didnât expect that she would actually remember.â
Yun Nan also burst out crying. The name Xiao He was probably the only memory her mother had left of her original family. Therefore, after she met her adoptive father, she changed her name to MO Xiao He. It was her husbandâs surname with the name in her memory. âSo, did she feel slightly comforted when others called her name? Yun Nan wondered.
Shi Nian stepped forward and gently patted Yun Nanâs shoulder, indicating for her not to be too sad. Hai Hua also held and helped keep Chen Yao on her feet as she said, âAuntie, Yun Nan said that when her mother was still alive, she had once drawn her a piece of jade. Try and recall. Did my cousin wear a jade pendant when she went missing?â
Gu Bei and Chen Yao nodded without hesitation. âYes, yes, she did! We put a piece of jade on her when she was born. It was a protection charm; she never took it off. â
Hai Hua nodded. âAuntie, why donât you and Yun Nan each draw the shape of that piece of jade?â
Gu Bei instantly understood Hai Huaâs intention and nodded in approval. Yun Nan and Shi Nian also understood. Xiang Yang and Fang Xi quickly brought out pens and paper, and then Yun Nan and Chen Yao drew shapes on the paper with their backs to each other.
When Yun Nan handed the paper to Hai Hua, she nervously stated, âWhen I was a kid, my mother told me this was her only keepsake. Her adoptive parents snatched it away, saying they wanted it for their sonâs betrothal gift in the future. My mother couldnât find it when she escaped from that family. She said it was a pity she couldnât take it with her, so she drew it out for me based on her memory.â
Chen Yao looked at the drawing and tearily covered her mouth. She passed the drawing to Gu Bei and said, âDear, look! She truly is our Xiao He!â
Gu Bei took the sketch and burst into tears after a glance at it. Hai Hua handed Chen Yaoâs drawing to Yun Nan. Yun Nan felt sad when she saw it; if only her mother was still alive! She had finally found her biological parents.
Chen Yao reached out and pulled Yun Nan into her arms. âDear child, youâre her daughter, which means youâre our granddaughter! Oh, my poor, unfortunate child!â
Chen Yao and Yun Nan hugged each other and cried. Shi Nian couldnât help but worry. He went to Hai Hua and uttered, âHai Hua, please calm Madam Gu down. I fear her body canât take it if she keeps on like this.â
Hai Hua was crying along with Chen Yao and Yun Nan. Even a person with a heart of stone wouldnât be able to withstand such a scene. Gu Bei heard Shi Nianâs words and muttered, âLet her cry. Her heart had broken into pieces. Itâs better to let her cry than keep it in her heart.â
Seeing Shi Nianâs worried face, Gu Bei was grateful and patted his shoulder. âYoung man, Iâve brought a doctor with me. Donât worry.â
Only then did Shi Nian heave a sigh of relief. After all, he didnât feel completely reassured with only the small townâs doctor present. He could tell by how well-prepared the Gu family was that they were used to traveling around and searching for their daughter with medical help on hand, just in case. However, out of the many, many trips they must have made, only this one gave real results. However, this result was too cruel.
The world was impermanent. The joys and sorrows in the world donât change as a result of anyoneâs will. The mother and daughter whoâd searched for each other for more than 40 years had no chance to see each other again in their lives. After all the ups and downs theyâve gone through, they could only look at each other across the skies, separated by death. Their love was forever frozen in time, unable to reach the other.
Chen Yao didnât want to leave Yun Nan for even a moment. Yun Nan insisted on making a tableful of her fatherâs specialty dishes for Gu Bei and Chen Yao. They were also her motherâs favorite dishes. So Chen Yao followed her in and out of the kitchen, and her eyes could see only Yun Nan.
Gu Bei looked at her and sighed, âShe transferred all her feelings for Xiao He to Yun Nan. It has been so hard for her all these years. Itâs a miracle that she hasnât already gone mad.â
Everyone couldnât help but sizh..