Chapter 65 Weeping

After finishing a paragraph, Jiang Yining felt thirsty and got up to go downstairs to check if the chicken soup she had been simmering for half a day was ready. Just as she reached the corner of the stairs, she saw two somewhat familiar yet weathered figures standing in the entryway, staring blankly towards the kitchen.

"Ah—" Caught off guard, she let out a short scream, instinctively taking a step back and frantically trying to grab the self-defense baton from the corner of the living room. "Who are you? How did you get in?"

The exclamation startled Xie's parents, who had been standing there in a daze. They turned around abruptly.

When Xie's mother recognized the girl on the stairs—dressed in casual clothes, with slightly disheveled long hair and glasses that couldn't hide her familiar face—the vegetables she was holding, which she was about to put in the refrigerator, fell to the ground with a "thud." Xie's father's eyes widened instantly, and he caught his breath.

Jiang Yining finally saw their faces clearly; they were Aunt Li and Uncle Xie. They looked much older than she remembered, especially Aunt Li, whose temples were streaked with gray and whose wrinkles were deep around her eyes.

"Aunt Li, Uncle Xie!" Jiang Yining's eyes welled up with tears. She practically ran downstairs to them, her voice trembling with excitement and a sob, "You're back from your trip!"

"Ningning? Are you Ningning? Is it really Ningning?" Xie's mother's voice trembled uncontrollably, and her hands trembled as she reached out, wanting to touch Jiang Yining's face, but she dared not, afraid that what was in front of her was a phantom that would shatter at the slightest touch.

Mr. Xie stared intently at her, his Adam's apple bobbing, his eyes swirling with shock and disbelief mixed with hope.

“It’s me, Aunt Li. It’s me, Ningning. I’m back, I’m really back.” Jiang Yining could no longer hold back her tears. She stepped forward, opened her arms, and hugged Xie’s mother, who was stiff all over, tightly.

She could feel the trembling in her arms, a tremor of fear and sorrow suppressed for far too long. Like comforting a frightened child, she gently patted Xie's mother's back, her voice soft yet firm, "It's alright, Aunt Li, it's alright, I'm back..."

The warm, real touch, and the faint, refreshing lemon scent that lingered around her nose... all of this was frantically shattering Xie's mother's cognitive barriers.

"Ningning... my Ningning—" Xie's mother finally burst into a heart-wrenching cry, a release of eight years' worth of pain, despair, heartache over her son's zombie-like state, and ecstatic joy at the "miracle" before her.

She hugged Jiang Yining tightly, sobbing uncontrollably, releasing all the grievances and fears of the past years, repeatedly murmuring the name etched into her bones, "Ningning... Ningning... it really is you..."

Standing to the side, Xie's father, a man who was always calm and reserved, also had tears welling up in his eyes. He reached out and, trembling, pressed his hands tightly on the shoulders of his wife and Jiang Yining, feeling that this would confirm that this was not a dream.

Jiang Yining's tears also streamed down her face. She hugged Xie's mother, who was trembling with sobs, tightly, saying over and over again, "I'm here, Aunt Li, I'm here, I'm back, I'll never leave again..."

Xie's mother's crying lasted for a long time before gradually turning into suppressed sobs. Jiang Yining helped her sit on the living room sofa and patiently recounted her bizarre rebirth experience, as well as the story of "finding her lost daughter" fabricated by her mother.

When she heard that her daughter was working hard to prepare for exams and papers to "make up" for the gaps in her studies, Xie's mother's red and swollen eyes were filled with heartache.

"It's all your fault!" Xie's mother suddenly punched Xie's father beside her, her voice trembling with tears as she complained, "You insisted on taking me to such a remote place. There was no cell phone signal, and we couldn't contact you at all. You've ruined Ningning's life... ruined our..."

At this moment, Xie's father had no more grievances, only gratitude and relief. He repeatedly replied, "Yes, yes, it's all my fault, my fault. It's good that you're back. It's better than anything else."

He looked at his wife's face, which had shown a long-lost expression of life despite the tear stains, and the huge stone that had been weighing on his heart for eight years finally fell to the ground.

Seeing that Xie's mother's emotions had gradually calmed down, Jiang Yining asked, "Aunt Li, Uncle Xie, have you eaten yet? I made chicken soup and bought shrimp and vegetables. How about we eat here for lunch?"

"Okay, okay." Xie's mother nodded hurriedly, holding Jiang Yining's hand tightly. "Ningning can cook now? Is that boy Ayan... is he..." She was eager to know about her son's condition.

“Ayan is fine,” Jiang Yining smiled gently as she got up and walked towards the kitchen. “He’s just too anxious. He won’t let me drive myself, and he orders groceries online and has them delivered. He also arranges for a driver to pick me up and drop me off at school.” She took the chicken soup off the stove, and its rich aroma filled the air.

As Xie's mother listened, a relieved, tearful smile finally appeared on her face. The heart that had been hanging in suspense for eight years finally settled down.

Lunch was a simple home-cooked meal: delicious old hen soup, boiled shrimp, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, braised eggplant, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Jiang Yining's cooking was surprisingly good; the home-style dishes were filled with the warmth of everyday life.

Mrs. Xie had a hearty appetite and ate an extra bowl of rice than usual. Mr. Xie, seeing this, was overjoyed. After the meal, Jiang Yining looked at the striking white hair at Mrs. Xie's temples and felt a pang of sadness. She took Mrs. Xie's arm:

"Aunt Li, we're almost out of household supplies. I'd like to go to the supermarket. Would you and Uncle Xie come with me?"

"Okay, of course." Xie's mother immediately agreed, she now wished she could keep Jiang Yining by her side.