Beneath the Marriage Pact

Chapter 11: The Candy Wrapper Mystery, Childhood Fragments (2)

Neither of them spoke much at dinner, but couldn't help laughing at each other. When Uncle Zhao brought the sweet and sour pork ribs, seeing the two giggling at each other, he couldn't help asking, "Miss Shen, Mr. Ling, what's wrong with you two today? Did you win a prize?

"Pretty much." Shen Zhixia picked up a piece of pork rib and handed it to Ling Xu 'an's bowl. "I've won a prize for twenty years."

Ling Xu 'an took it with a smile and scooped up another spoonful of soup for her: "Eat slowly, no one will snatch it."

While she was eating, Ling Xu 'an's phone rang. It was Grandpa Ling calling. He picked up the phone and just said "hello" when he heard Grandpa Ling shout from the other end: "You brat! Did you find Mrs. Shen's granddaughter? !"

Ling Xu 'an was stunned for a moment and looked at Shen Zhixia: "Grandpa, how do you know?"

"How could I not know?" Grandpa Ling's voice was filled with excitement. "Mrs. Shen told me that back then! She picked up the candy wrapper I gave you! Say that when her granddaughter grows up, give her the wrappers and let her take the wrappers to the Ling kids!"

The chopsticks in Shen Zhixia's hand clanged down on the table.

Grandpa knew it too!

"When you were sent abroad, Mrs. Old Shen secretly came to see me and said, 'Don't worry the child. When the time comes, it will come naturally.'" Grandpa Ling laughed on the other end, "I looked for her for many years, and when I heard she was gone, I thought it was ruined - never thought, never thought! You actually found it on your own!"

After hanging up the phone, Ling Xu 'an looked at Shen Zhixia, his eyes brighter than the candle on the table: "Did you hear that?"

Shen Zhixia nodded, and tears fell again, but with a smile: "I heard."

It turns out that since twenty years ago, someone has been paving the way for their meeting. Foster mother keeps candy wrappers, grandma remembers old friends, grandpa waits for news... So many people's expectations finally allowed them to hold each other's hands again after twenty years.

Ling Xu 'an took Shen Zhixia to the old town in the evening. The convenience store at the entrance of the alley was closed, with only a street lamp hanging under the paulownia tree, and the dim light fell on the ground like a layer of frosting.

"I drew the stars for you right here that day." Ling Xu 'an pointed to the root of the tree, where faint traces of crayons could still be seen, probably because he had drawn too hard back then and it had seeped into the wood.

Shen Zhixia crouched down and touched the rough bark with her fingertips and suddenly laughed: "I picked up the maltose here that day and it fell to the ground and broke. I cried so hard."

"I know." " Ling Xu 'an also crouched down and fished out a maltose from his pocket, which he had asked Chen Mo to buy on the old street, still warm. "Here you are."

Shen Zhixia took it and took a bite. The sweet aroma of malt spread in her mouth, exactly the same as it tasted twenty years ago. She leaned on Ling Xu 'an's shoulder, looking at the shadows of the trees under the street lamp, and suddenly felt as if time had not passed - still the same tree, still the same person, only the little one back then had grown into a grown-up who could rely on each other.

"Ling Xu 'an." She suddenly spoke in a soft voice, "Shall we come here every year from now on?"

"All right." Ling Xu 'an pinched her hand. "Come every year, with wrappers."

The wind rustled through the paulownia leaves, as if someone were laughing.

Back from the old town, Shen Zhixia was still clutching half a piece of maltose in her hand, sticky sugar threads tangled around her fingertips. Ling Xu 'an patiently helped her wipe it with a wet wipes, and then suddenly laughed: "Was it the same when you were a child, eating sugar all over your hands?"

"Not at all." Shen Zhixia pulled her hand away, but her fingertip rubbed against his palm, warm. "My foster mother always says I eat in a refined manner, not like you - the account book still records' The young master of the Ling family is eating maltose, the sugar residue has fallen off the front of his clothes'."

Ling Xu 'an's hand, which was clutching the wet wipes, paused for a moment, and the tips of his ears turned red. He really didn't remember how embarrassed he was back then, but could recall the way the nanny chased after him and handed him a handkerchief. At that time, he felt annoyed, but now that Shen Zhixia brought it up, he felt a soft heart.

As soon as the car stopped at the entrance of the villa, it was seen that Grandpa Ling's car was already there. The old man, dressed in a moon-white silk shirt and leaning on a cane, waved to Shen Zhixia from a distance when they came down: "Xia girl!" Let Grandpa have a look!

Shen Zhixia was looked up and down by his hand. The old man's hand was rough but warm, like the one Aunt Zhang used to hold her hand. "Good, good." Grandpa Ling nodded his head, his eyes red-rimmed. "Just like your foster mother - Mrs. Shen must be very happy to see it."

"Grandpa, do you know my foster mother?" Shen Zhixia couldn't help asking.

"I know! How not!" Grandpa Ling pulled her into the house, and Ling Xu 'an followed behind, watching the old man throw the cane to the servant and gesticating, "Your grandma always took me to the old town just to chat with your foster mother. Your foster mother's grocery store was the liveliest place in the alley - she was so skillful that her tiger-head shoes could attract children from half the street; The plum soup is just sweet, and your grandma brings back two POTS every time she goes there."

Shen Zhixia's eyes lit up as she listened. She remembered that her foster mother's shop had been demolished long ago, but vaguely remembered that there was always a smell of sugar in the house. It was so lively back then.

"Later your grandmother passed away early, so I went less." Grandpa Ling sighed, sitting on the sofa and patting Shen Zhixia's hand, "Then I heard that your foster mother was ill. I sent people to look for her but didn't find her -- now I know she took good care of you."

Shen Zhixia's nose stung. Just as she was about to speak, Grandpa Ling suddenly slapped her thigh and said, "Right!" I have something for you!" He fished out a small wooden box from his cloth bag and opened it to a silver hairpin with a small gardenia carved on it. "This was given to your grandmother by your foster mother, and your grandmother said on her deathbed that it should be returned to the descendants of old Mrs. Shen."

Shen Zhixia held the silver hairpin, the cold metal pressed to her palm, and the gardenia on the hairpin was so lifelike - she remembered that her adoptive mother had an identical one in her dressing box, but had lost it when she moved.

"My foster mother always said there was a hairpin that was' given to a good sister '." Shen Zhixia's voice trembled a little. "So it was for grandma."

"Exactly." Grandpa Ling laughed, "Your grandma wore this hairpin to the theatre and showed off half a street."

Ling Xu 'an came over with a cup of tea. Seeing Shen Zhixia's fingers rubbing the silver hairpin, his eyes welled up, he quietly stood behind her, said nothing, but gently touched her back - as if to say, "I'm here."

Grandpa Ling stayed until late at night and, before leaving, pulled Ling Xu 'an and instructed, "Don't bully Xia girl! Or I'll break your legs!" Then he turned back and laughed at Shen Zhixia, "If the girl is wronged, tell grandpa and grandpa will support you!"

Shen Zhixia saw him to the door, watched the old man's car go away, and then turned back. Ling Xu 'an was crouching beside the old storage box in the living room, rummaging through things, holding a photo album in his hand.

"Look." He looked up and waved at her, with an old photo in the album - of Grandma Ling and her foster mother standing at the door of the grocery store, both holding a child. The little girl in the foster mother's arms, with her braids, was reaching for the sugar figure in Grandma Ling's hand; The little boy in Grandma Ling's arms frowned, but secretly pushed the maltose in his hand to the little girl's mouth.

It was both of them.

Shen Zhixia crouched beside him, her fingertips gently touching the little one in the photo: "So we've been together long ago."

"Um." Ling Xu 'an pushed the photo album in front of her. "Grandpa said it was taken when you were three - that day I secretly gave you maltose and the nanny saw it and got scolded."

Shen Zhixia, imagining little Ling Xu 'an frowning and being scolded, couldn't help laughing. She turned to the last page of the album and dropped a yellowed note, written by Grandma Ling: "Xia 'an, taken from Zhixia and Xu 'an. If we meet again by chance, we will use this name."

Xia An.

Shen Zhixia suddenly remembered the gold chain that Ling Xu 'an had given her, and the character "Xia" was engraved on the pendant. Remembering the plain silver ring he had given her, which also had "Xia 'an" engraved on the inner ring. It was not a coincidence, but a name that had been predestined.

"Ling Xu 'an." She turned to look at him, her eyes brighter than the moonlight outside the window. "Did grandma give us our names?"

"Yeah." Ling Xu 'an pulled her into his arms, his chin against the top of her hair, and his voice was hoarse. "Grandma said that when we grow up, we'll be together under this name."

The living room was quiet, with only the ticking of the floor clock. Shen Zhixia leaned in his arms, holding the note in her hand, and suddenly felt that all the questions that had been hidden for twenty years had answers.

The foster mother left the candy wrapper knowing it was Ling Xu 'an's; Grandma wrote down the name in the hope that they would meet again; Grandpa kept the silver hairpin, waiting for the token to be returned. It turns out that the love of so many people is quietly waiting in time, waiting for them to grow up, waiting for them to meet again.

Shen Zhixia woke up again in the middle of the night, Ling Xu 'an was sleeping soundly, breathing evenly on the top of her hair. She got up gently and went to the living room to open the old storage box - wanting to look at the account book again, to see what the foster mother had written about "the young master of the Ling family".

Just as she turned to the account book, she saw a cloth bag at the bottom of the box, which was her foster mother's sewing kit. She opened it, and in addition to the needle and thread, there was a letter written by her adoptive mother to her.

"Xia Xia, by the time you see this letter, you must have found the Ling family's boy, right?"

Shen Zhixia's tears fell instantly and landed on the letter paper.

"When I picked up the candy wrapper that year, I recognized it - it was from the old lady of the Ling family for her grandson, with stars drawn by her grandson on it. I waited at the entrance of the alley for a long time before I saw the child running over, dressed in a little suit, looking like a little grown-up."

"Later the Ling family moved to a new house and the child was sent abroad. I was always afraid that you would not meet him. I'll keep the candy wrappers and keep the account books, thinking that when you grow up, I'll tell you slowly - there's someone in this world who has long had a connection with you."

"Xia An was told to me by the old lady of the Ling family. She said that when you meet again, we'll live under this name. I always felt that there would be such a day."

"Xia Xia, don't think about me, just live with him. The paulownia tree at the entrance of the alley is still there. Go and see it when you have time. Just think I'm still there, watching you."

Shen Zhixia pressed the letter paper to her chest and wept, her shoulders shaking. It turned out that the foster mother knew everything but never said anything, just kept the secret in silence, watched her grow up, waited for the day when fate would come.

"Why are you crying?"

Ling Xu 'an's voice suddenly came from behind. Shen Zhixia turned to look at him and saw him standing at the door in his pajamas, with a dazed look in his eyes, but full of worry.

"Not crying." She handed him the paper, smiling and wiping away tears, "just feeling... The foster mother is amazing."

Ling Xu 'an took the letter paper, read it, and then held her in his arms, gently patting her back. "Um." His voice was hoarse. "She's always been amazing."

Ling Xu 'an held her and sat on the sofa for a long time until Shen Zhixia's crying gradually stopped, then he pulled out a tissue to wipe her face. As his fingertips brushed against the red corners of her eyes, he suddenly whispered, "Let's go to the cemetery tomorrow."

Shen Zhixia was stunned for a moment and looked up at him.

"Go and see your foster mother." Ling Xu 'an's voice was soft. "Talk to her, say we met, say we'll be fine."

Shen Zhixia nodded and buried her face in his arms. The foster mother's grave was in the cemetery on the outskirts of the city, and she went there every year. Before, she went alone, but now she could go with two.

When she went to the cemetery the next day, Ling Xu 'an deliberately bought a bunch of gardenias. The white petals, drenched in the morning dew, were just like the ones my foster mother had planted in front of the grocery store before. Shen Zhixia placed the flower in front of the tombstone, along with a piece of maltose she had just bought - her adoptive mother had always said that the sugar was just sweet.

"Foster mother, this is Ling Xu 'an." She crouched in front of the tombstone and laughed, and the sunlight fell on the top of her hair. "That's the little master you wrote in the account book. We met, just as you had hoped."

Ling Xu 'an, standing behind her, bowed deeply to the tombstone: "Thank you for keeping the candy wrappers for me back then, thank you for taking such good care of her. I will take good care of her in the future. You can rest assured."

The wind rustled through the pines and cypresses in the cemetery, like a foster mother smiling. Shen Zhixia touched the words on the tombstone and suddenly felt that the empty place in her heart was filled - before, she always thought that her foster mother had passed away early and had many words left unsaid, but now she knew that what she wanted to say had long been hidden in the candy writ, in the account book, in that silver hairpin, and had accompanied her for so many years.

As she came down the mountain, she saw an old man selling sugar paintings at the entrance of the cemetery. The old man's sugar spoon was spinning fast, and in no time he drew a little rabbit with its red ears drooping, very cute.

"Would you like one?" Ling Xu 'an asked her.

"Yes." Shen Zhixia nodded, looking at the old man handing over the sugar painting, and suddenly remembered something, "My adoptive mother used to bring me here to buy sugar paintings, saying that if you eat sweet, life won't be hard."

"I'll buy for you every day from now on." Ling Xu 'an took the sugar painting and carefully handed it to her, "Not just the sugar painting, but maltose, milk candy, sesame candy... Make up for what you didn't have enough of when you were a child."

Shen Zhixia took a bite of the sugar painting, and the sweet taste of the sugar spread on her tongue, warming her heart. She led Ling Xu 'an's hand down the mountain. The sunlight stretched their shadows long, and between their clasped fingers held the old wrapper - Ling Xu 'an had asked her to bring it this morning, saying she would show it to her foster mother, and they had kept it well.

On the way back to the city, Ling Xu 'an suddenly turned the car into the old town. Under the paulownia tree at the entrance of the alley, a group of children were sitting on the ground playing marbles, making a lot of noise, just like twenty years ago.

"Stop for a moment." Shen Zhixia tugged at his arm.

Ling Xu 'an pulled the car over to the side of the road. The two of them sat in the car and watched the group of children. There was a little girl with a braid who lost a pinball and crouched on the ground to wipe her tears; The little boy in the white shirt beside him hesitated for a long time, pushed the biggest marble in his hand over, and awkwardly turned his head away: "For you to play... "Stop crying."

Shen Zhixia couldn't help laughing: "Look, how much like we did back then."

"Um." " Ling Xu 'an held her hand and drew a star on her palm with his fingertip. "Braver than we did then." He didn't even have the courage to hand out candy wrappers back then; he just sneaked them in and ran away.

Shen Zhixia turned her head to look at him. The sunlight shone through the window and fell on his face, making his eyelashes distinct. She suddenly remembered what her foster mother had said in her letter - "There is someone in this world who has been meant to be with you all along." It turns out that fate is truly amazing. Through twenty years, through so many people and things, what is meant to be met will eventually be met.