Beneath the Marriage Pact

Chapter 11: Candy Wrapper Mystery, Childhood Fragments (1)

A light rain fell in the middle of the night, pattering on the windowsill and waking Ling Xu 'an.

He glanced sideways at the man beside him. Shen Zhixia was sleeping soundly, her cheeks pressed against the pillow, and her long eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyes. Scattered on the bedside table was an open diary she had read before going to bed - an old one she had dug out while sorting through her foster mother's belongings a few days ago, with yellowed pages.

Ling Xu 'an tiptoed up, intending to help her close the diary. Just as his fingertips touched the pages, a crumpled candy wrapper slipped out and landed on the carpet.

It was a wrapper of White Rabbit milk candy, an old blue and white package with roughened edges and corners. When he bent down to pick it up, his fingertips suddenly stopped - on the back of the wrapper, there was a crooked star painted with red crayons. The crayon marks were long dry, but it could still be seen how hard it had been painted back then, with the tip of the star drawing the edge of the paper.

Ling Xu 'an's breath froze abruptly.

This star...

His fingertips, clutching the candy wrapper, began to tremble. His Adam's apple rolled and he subconsciously touched the inner pocket of his suit - inside was an old photo taken before he was sent abroad at the age of six. In the photo, the little boy was squatting at the entrance of an alley, clutching a red crayon in his hand, with an identical star drawn on the stone wall in front of him.

It was he who drew.

That year he was forced into a car by his parents to be sent to Europe. Before the car started, he sneaked out and ran into a little girl at the entrance of an alley in the old town. The girl, with two braids, was crouching on the ground crying and holding a broken piece of maltose in her hand. There happened to be a milk candy in his pocket, which the nanny had secretly stuffed into him. He stripped the wrapper and stuffed it into her, then hurriedly drew a star on the back of the wrapper with the red crayons in his pocket - at that time he always heard his grandmother say that stars could light the way, and by drawing a star, she wouldn't be afraid of the dark.

Later, when the car was in a hurry, he didn't dare to wait for her to catch the candy and ran away. The wrappers... How could it be in Shen Zhixia's hands?

"Um..."

Shen Zhixia beside her rolled over and groaned drowsily. Ling Xu 'an quickly folded the wrappers and gently placed them on the bedside table, deliberately making the side with the stars on it face up. When he lay down again, there was no more sleepiness. He stared at the shadow of the chandelier on the ceiling, and his mind was filled with the star just now.

When the sky was just beginning to brighten, he woke up.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, just as she was about to stretch, she saw candy wrappers on the bedside table. It was an old item she had tucked into her diary, which she probably didn't hold tightly when flipping through it yesterday. She picked it up and laughed -- the wrapper had been with her for nearly twenty years and was picked up by her foster mother.

"Awake?"

Ling Xu 'an's voice suddenly came from the side. Shen Zhixia turned her head to look at him and saw that he was already awake, standing by the window with his back to her. The curtain was drawn open a little, and the morning dew fell on his shoulder, making his profile look a little cold.

"Good morning." She pulled the wrapper back into her diary, her finger touching the photo of her foster mother on the page, and suddenly remembered something. "Oh, have you seen this wrapper? It seemed to have fallen to the ground yesterday."

Ling Xu 'an didn't look back, and his voice sounded calm: "Um." He paused for a moment, then turned around, holding a cup of warm water in his hand, his gaze fell on her face, but he didn't dare to look her in the eyes, "This candy wrapper... Where are you from?"

Just as Shen Zhixia was about to pull off the blanket and get out of bed, she was stunned upon hearing this: "From foster mother." She scratched her head and tried to recall, "I remember she said she picked it up - it seems she picked it up at the alley entrance of the old town? I was about five or six years old then, always clamoring for candy, and she gave me the wrapper and said, 'Keep it for fun, I'll buy you real candy later.'

At the alley entrance of the old town.

Ling Xu 'an tightened his grip on the cup, and water droplets trickled down the cup wall through his fingertips. He was silent for a moment, his Adam's apple rolled, and then he handed over the cup, his voice a little lower: "It doesn't matter."

"Ah?" Shen Zhixia took the water cup, a little confused. "Why suddenly ask this? Is there something wrong with the wrapper?"

"No." Ling Xu 'an turned his head away and looked out of the window again. The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the shadows of the distant trees were blurry. "It just looks a bit old. Just ask casually."

When he said this, his back was tense. Shen Zhixia stared at his back for a while and suddenly felt a bit strange. Ling Xu 'an seldom did this - when asked, he said "It doesn't matter" and avoided looking at her.

"Have you ever seen this wrapper?" She tentatively asked, placing the water cup on the bedside table, "or... Have you seen the person who painted this star?"

The red star on the back of the candy wrapper she had just taken a special look at was very ugly. It didn't look like a pattern sold on the market, but rather like something a child had drawn casually.

Ling Xu 'an's shoulders trembled slightly. He didn't look back, but raised his hand and loosened his tie, his voice muffled: "I haven't seen it." He paused for a moment and then changed the topic, "The kitchen must have cooked porridge. Go down and eat."

With that, he walked straight out of the door, at a pace that seemed like an escape.

Shen Zhixia sat on the bed, watching his figure disappear at the door, and then looked down at the candy wrapper in the diary. The star's crayon marks shone brightly in the sunlight, and she suddenly remembered what her foster mother had said before her death - "Xia Xia, don't throw away that candy writ. Maybe I can help you find it later... Find someone important."

An important person?

She held the wrapper for a moment in a daze and then laughed - probably her foster mother was senile, just an old wrapper, no one could be found.

When she came downstairs Ling Xu 'an was already sitting at the table with a bowl of porridge in front of her, but he didn't pick up his chopsticks and was looking down at his phone. Shen Zhixia had just pulled out her chair and sat down when she saw him suddenly look up and ask, "Your foster mother... Did you live in the old town before?

"Yeah." "She used to run a small grocery store at the entrance of the alley, selling needles and thread," Shen Zhixia scooped up a spoonful of porridge, with the heat on her face. Later the shop was demolished and she moved to another place." She paused, thinking of something and laughing again, "Right, she always says there was a particularly handsome little boy at the end of the alley who always sneaked out to buy maltose - do you think it could be you?"

Ling Xu 'an's hand, which was holding the chopsticks, gave a sudden pause.

It was him.

That year he always sneaked out of the house to the old town to buy maltose when the nanny wasn't paying attention - his parents were busy with business, the house was quiet, only the alleyways of the old town were bustling, with sugar figures and fried dough sticks, much more interesting than at home.

"Maybe." He mumbled in response, lowered his head and took a mouthful of porridge, but did not taste it. His mind was filled with what Shen Zhixia had just said - his foster mother ran a grocery store at the end of the alley, picked up candy writ, and saw the little boy who had sneaked out to buy maltose.

It all matched up.

The little girl who was crying at the alley entrance back then, was it her?

"What's wrong with you?" Shen Zhixia, seeing that he was eating porridge and still frowning, couldn't help reaching out and touching his arm. "Are you not feeling well?"

"No." Ling Xu 'an came to his senses, quickly put down his chopsticks, picked up his phone and stood up. "There's something going on at the company first."

He left in such a hurry that he forgot to take his coat. Shen Zhixia looked at the suit on the back of the chair and then at the porridge on the table that had hardly moved. She was even more puzzled - why did Ling Xu 'an look so strange today?

Ling Xu 'an didn't go to the company and asked the driver to take the car to the old town.

The entrance of the alley has changed for a long time. The former grocery store has become a convenience store, and the maltose stand is gone, except for the old paulownia tree in the corner, whose branches are much thicker than before. He got off the station and stood under the tree, looking up at its shadow, and suddenly remembered that day -

It was raining heavily that day, and he was crying as he was stuffed into the car. The nanny beside him advised, "Master, don't cry. You can learn a lot in Europe." While the driver was opening the trunk to put his luggage, he pushed open the door and ran towards the alley entrance.

Then he saw her.

The little girl with her braid was squatting under the paulownia tree, clutching a broken piece of maltose in her hand, with tears mixed with rain streaming down. The milk candy in his pocket was given by the nanny the day before, and he didn't want to eat it, so he quickly stripped the wrapper and stuffed it into her. When she looked up at him, her eyes shone like stars, and he was so flustered that he remembered the red crayons in his pocket and clumsily drew a star on the back of the wrapper.

"Draw a star... It won't be dark." He seemed to have said that, and then heard the driver call his name, so scared that he turned and ran away, not even daring to look back to see if the wrapper had fallen off.

It turned out that the little girl was Shen Zhixia.

Ling Xu 'an leaned against the paulownia tree and fished out the old photo from his pocket - the little boy in the photo frowned and held a red crayon in his hand, a completely different person from him now. But the star was exactly the same as the one on the candy wrapper.

He held the photo and smiled, but his eyes were a little hot.

After all these years of wandering around, the candy wrapper he had been looking for for a long time was actually in her hand.

When Ling Xu 'an returned to the villa in the evening, Shen Zhixia was rummaging through old things on the carpet in the living room. She emptied out all the boxes left by her foster mother, including faded handkerchiefs, broken enamel cups and a yellowed account book.

"You're back?" She held up her account book and smiled at him. "I found my foster mother's account book, you see - twenty years ago today, she remembered, 'Found a candy wrapper for Xia Xia to play with.'"

Ling Xu 'an walked over and crouched beside her, looking down at the words on the account book - neat little regular script, with a tiny candy wrapper pattern drawn beside it, exactly the same as the one in his hand.

"I remember that day 'The young master at the alley entrance came to buy maltose again, without any money, on credit.'" Shen Zhixia turned to the previous page, smiling and poking the account book. "Do you think this young master is really naughty?"

Ling Xu 'an didn't say a word. He reached into his pocket and took out the old photo, gently placing it on the account book.

Shen Zhixia's laughter suddenly froze.

The little boy in the photo is standing under a paulownia tree, holding a red crayon in his hand. Behind him is her foster mother's grocery store - the blue curtain hanging at the entrance of the store, which she has seen countless times in old photos.

"This is..." She looked up at Ling Xu 'an, her eyes wide open.

"It's me." Ling Xu 'an's voice was a little hoarse. He picked up the candy wrapper and pointed to the star on the back. "This star was drawn by me. That year when I was about to be sent abroad, I ran into a little girl squatting under a tree crying at the entrance of the alley and gave her the candy wrapper."

Shen Zhixia's heart gave a thud.

The entrance of the alley, the paulownia tree, the little girl crying...

It was her.

That year she crouched under the tree crying because the maltose in her hand fell to the ground and broke - it was the money her foster mother had saved for a long time to buy for her. Later a little boy gave her a milk candy and drew a star on the back of the wrapper, saying, "Draw a star and it won't be black anymore." Before she could say thank you, the boy ran away, and she held the wrapper in her hand for many days.

"Turns out..." Her hand, which was holding the wrapper, began to shake and tears suddenly fell. "So it was you that day."

Ling Xu 'an reached out to wipe her tears, his fingertips rubbing against her cheek so lightly that he was afraid of breaking her: "It's me." He pulled her into his bosom, his chin against the top of her hair, his voice as low as a sigh, "After all these years of searching, it turns out you're right beside me."

Shen Zhixia buried her face in Ling Xu 'an's shoulder and rubbed it, her tears wetting his shirt, but with a smile: "No wonder you looked at me strangely this morning, so you recognized me?"

"I didn't dare to recognize." Ling Xu 'an patted her back and combed her hair with his fingertips. "I'm afraid it's just a coincidence." He paused for a moment, then thought of something and laughed, "You had two braids back then, and your nose was red when you cried, not at all like it is now."

"Then you say I don't look good when I cry now?" Shen Zhixia pinched his waist and suddenly remembered something, "Right! Why did you run so fast that day? I haven't said thank you to you yet!"

"I'm afraid the driver will catch up." Ling Xu 'an's voice was a little lower, with a bit of the panic of the past. "I sneaked out of the car. If caught, I'll be scolded."

Shen Zhixia imagined the little Ling Xu 'an running with a crayon in his arms and laughed until he was shaking. She pulled out a milk candy from her pocket, which she had taken from the kitchen in the morning, peeled off the wrapper and put it to his mouth: "Here, I'll give you a new one."

Ling Xu 'an opened his mouth to hold it, and as the sweetness spread, he suddenly lowered his head and kissed the top of her hair: "No need to return it." He folded the wrappers into small squares and stuffed them into her palm. "Keep this."

They crouched on the carpet, hugging each other, watching the setting sun warm yellow the contents of the old storage box. Shen Zhixia found a peeling tin box and opened it full of little trinkets her foster mother had left for her - glass marbles, a little tiger made of cloth, and a yellowed note.

It was written by the foster mother: "The young master of the Ling family at the alley entrance came again today. He wore a small suit and looked like a little grown-up." He said he was going to a faraway place to leave the wrapper for Xia Xia, saying he would come back to look for it."

Ling Xu 'an's finger touched the note and he suddenly stopped.

Young Master Ling?

He did live in the old town when he was a child, but moved to the new house when his parents' business grew bigger. How did the foster mother know he was from the Ling family?

"Your foster mother..." He looked up at Shen Zhixia, with a hint of doubt in his eyes. "Does she know the Ling family?"

Shen Zhixia was also stunned. She had always thought her foster mother was just an ordinary grocery store owner. How could she know about the Ling family? She rummaged through the tin box and found an old photograph - of the foster mother and a woman in a cheongsam standing at the door of the grocery store, laughing hand in hand, and the woman looked somewhat familiar.

"This is..." Shen Zhixia held up the photo in front of Ling Xu 'an. "Do you know it?"

Ling Xu 'an's pupils constricted sharply.

It was his grandma.

The woman in the photo was like his grandmother when she was young, holding a string of beads in her hand, the one he had always coached.

"It was my grandma." "My grandma did go to the old town when she was young - she said there was an old friend there who ran a grocery store." His voice tightened as he picked up the photo and looked closely.

Shen Zhixia's heart was pounding.

Is the foster mother an old friend of grandma's?

Did she know it was Ling Xu 'an's when she picked up candy wrappers back then? Did she know it long ago... Will they meet again?

"No wonder... She murmured, suddenly remembering the appearance of her foster mother before her death. At that time her foster mother was lying in bed, holding her hand and saying, "Xia Xia, don't worry. What's meant to be met will be met." She thought it was a consolation at that time, but now she understood - her foster mother had known it all along.

Ling Xu 'an held her tighter, his chin resting on the top of her hair without saying a word. The setting sun shone on the photo, warming the smiles of the two women. He suddenly felt that there weren't so many coincidences in this world; it was someone who had been secretly connected by fate behind the scenes.