He Tiantian sat on the ground, dazed and confused, lost in the pain of her memories, unable to pull herself out.

"Auntie, why are you sitting on the floor?" Zhou Zhicheng asked, looking at his aunt He Tiantian who was sitting on the floor. "Are you feeling unwell?"

He Tiantian woke up with a start and said, "I...I'm fine...I'm fine..." While she was talking, He Tiantian quietly put the recording pen into her shirt pocket.

Zhou Zhicheng helped his aunt, He Tiantian, to the living room to rest, and poured her a glass of water, saying, "Aunt, have some water. If you feel unwell, just let me know, and I'll take you to the hospital."

"I probably didn't sleep well last night, it's nothing serious. You're covered in sweat, go wash up quickly." He Tiantian kept her head down as she spoke, not wanting Zhou Zhicheng to see her helpless and resentful expression.

She's an outsider in this family; they won't side with her at all.

"Okay, I'm going to take a shower. Aunt, if you feel unwell, just tell me." Zhou Zhicheng grew up at his maternal grandmother's house and was very close to his aunt, He Tiantian.

After Zhou Zhicheng went to the bathroom, He Tiantian, her legs weak and sore, returned to her bedroom and listened to the recording again.

He Tiantian was in tears, sobbing silently, barely able to breathe.

She lived her whole life like a clown, living in a web of carefully crafted lies.

Only now does she understand why she never got to see her parents, leaving them with unfulfilled dreams and resentment in the afterlife.

Now she finally understands that her childhood sweetheart has not abandoned her.

Only now did she understand why the Qi family was harsh on others, but "generous and tolerant" towards her, an outsider who had no children.

Good heavens, what an incredibly stupid person she is!

He Tiantian felt incredibly guilty, her gaze unconsciously falling on the dressing mirror beside the bed. The woman in the mirror was no longer young; her skin was still fair, but her face had blemishes and wrinkles. Her once bright eyes were no longer clear and bright, and a few strands of white hair were faintly visible among her hair.

He Tiantian reached out and touched her face, muttering to herself, "I'm getting old..."

She had lived in lies for so many years, but suddenly she understood the truth. She hated herself and hated the Qi family who had deceived her even more.

He Tiantian felt suffocated by the lies here, and a voice in her head urged her to escape the cage made of lies.

He Tiantian put the recorder in her bag, picked it up, and left home.

My mind went blank, and before I knew it, I had arrived at the train station, bought a ticket to Nanshi, and boarded the train.

She wanted to go back to her hometown, the place where her parents had lived, to find her childhood memories, because only that time and place held the most authentic experiences of her life, and the happiest time of her life.

Nanshi is about a four-hour drive from what is now Huaishi. That's the speed of the high-speed rail; in the past, it would have taken a whole day and night.

He Tiantian sat in the car, her face buried in her hands on the small table in front of her, silently shedding tears. Her cell phone rang over and over again in her bag.

"Hey lady, your phone is ringing!" a middle-aged man next to her reminded her, thinking that He Tiantian was asleep.

He Tiantian lowered her head, took out her phone, and saw the two glaring words "Husband" on the screen. She suddenly felt utterly absurd and ridiculous, and without answering the call, simply turned off her phone…

Seeing this, the middle-aged man next to him realized that there was a conflict, so he pretended not to see it and continued talking to another person.

Looking at the black screen, He Tiantian felt a little less suffocated. She would never forgive the Qi family, no matter what.

The train arrived at the station, and He Tiantian followed the crowd off the train and out of the station. Nanshi was vastly different from what she remembered. It had been over a decade since her last visit to Nanshi.

Standing in the bustling square, there were business people rushing around, couples intimately discussing their itineraries, families sitting on newspapers waiting for their trains, and elderly people, children, and the disabled begging with small bowls.

This vast square reflects the myriad aspects of life. Some are there to survive, others to make a living. But whoever they are, no matter how hard or tiring their lives may be, they are all living in the real world.

He Tiantian used to think she was lucky, but now she realizes that she is the most tragic one, like a shadow puppet, manipulated by others, without freedom or a sense of self.

He Tiantian looked around and her eyes fell on the huge LCD screen hanging in the square, where a host was interviewing the richest man in Jiangsu Province.

This person is Huo Yingjie. He Tiantian also knows him, or rather, she knows Huo Yingjie when he was young.

This person's appearance hasn't changed much. Time seems to have been particularly kind to him, leaving no heavy marks of hardship on his face. He still has a handsome, square face, thick black eyebrows, a straight nose, and his eyes are still so wise, as if they can see through people's hearts. His unintentional smile can always warm people's hearts.

The death of her parents caused her immense grief. When she needed comfort the most, she received a letter of severance written by someone imitating Huo Yingjie's handwriting, which Qi Jianguo had hired. She hated herself for being useless and hated Huo Yingjie for being heartless and ungrateful.

In those times, emotions were far more insignificant and base than life itself. She chose distrust, chose to give up, and fell completely into the trap of lies.

All these years, in the dead of night, she still hates Huo Yingjie, hates his heartlessness, hates his breaking of vows, and his fickleness.

Now she knows she hated the wrong person.

Once you miss it, it's for a lifetime!

Staggering, I walked out of the square, hailed a taxi, and called out a place name in my now-distorted local dialect: "Driver, to Big Elm Tree Lane!"

The taxi driver was an experienced driver. He could tell from He Tiantian's accent that she had been away from her hometown for many years.

"Haven't been back for many years, have you? That Big Elm Tree Lane is about to be demolished. Huo Yingjie, the richest man in Jiangsu Province, is going to build a villa there." The taxi driver was very talkative, explaining the changes in Nanshi over the years as he drove.

He Tiantian watched the buildings and trees receding into the distance, so different from the low-rise buildings in her memory, that she was overwhelmed with their beauty.

Even though He Tiantian didn't speak, the taxi driver was still very talkative.

Hearing the familiar local accent and seeing the different environment, my restless and resentful heart calmed down.

"We're almost there," the taxi driver said. "The most famous thing about Dayushu Lane is the two big elm trees at the entrance. I heard they're hundreds of years old, dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Now Dayushu Lane is going to be demolished. When the local people were negotiating the demolition, they specifically included these two trees in the contract, saying that these two trees are hundreds of years old and have become spirits, blessing the local people. Demolition is fine, but these two trees cannot be cut down."

The taxi turned a corner ahead, and the two tall elm trees, as always, were lush and verdant, growing strong and upward.

When I was a child, in the summer, many people would move their small dining tables under trees to cool off while eating.

On ordinary days, these two big elm trees were also a favorite playground for the children. The little boys would roll iron hoops and marbles under the trees; the girls liked to play games like beanbag toss, hopscotch, and handkerchief drop.

In the evening, the adults would come out to chat, brag to each other, talk about this family and that family, and it was very lively.

Except when it rains, there is always a lot of laughter and joy under these two big elm trees.

"Ma'am, we're here. That'll be twenty yuan in total," the taxi driver said with a smile. "These two elm trees are even bigger now, aren't they?"

He Tiantian nodded and said, "It's very big! Thank you!"

He Tiantian paid the fare and got off the bus.

Walking under the big elm tree, looking up at its graceful canopy of branches and leaves, I saw that the elm tree was still the same strong and weathered tree, but the people there were no longer the same.

Things have changed, but people are no longer here!

She now has a much deeper understanding of this word!

He Tiantian entered the alley between two large elm trees. The alley was still as narrow and long as before, but the bluestone slabs on the road were not as shiny as before, and layers of dark green moss grew near the walls.

The bustling crowds and laughter of my memories are gone. The families on both sides have all moved away, leaving only dilapidated old houses and weeds covering the ground.

He Tiantian's eyes stung with tears. Looking around, she saw that the desolation of Dayushu Lane, like her own life, had lost its luster and vitality.