First Clues Emerge

I. Daily Life in the Temporary Refuge

After escaping the frenzied pursuit of Gu Yanting's men, Ah Yu and Lin Wanqing hid in a secluded cabin. The cabin was hidden on the edge of the forest, surrounded by lush trees, with only a winding path leading to it; it was rarely visited. The furnishings inside were simple: a slightly worn wooden bed, a rickety table, and two chairs with chipped edges. In places, the paper pasted on the walls had peeled off, revealing the mottled earthen walls beneath.

That morning, sunlight streamed through a tear in the window paper, falling on Ah Yu and Lin Wanqing. Lin Wanqing woke up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and saw Ah Yu already up, squatting in the corner tidying up their few belongings. "Good morning," Lin Wanqing said softly, her voice still languid from just waking up. Ah Yu turned her head, revealing a gentle smile, "Good morning. How did you sleep last night? This bed is too simple, I'm sorry you had to make do." Lin Wanqing got up, walked to the window, and looked at the scenery outside, "It's alright, having a place to stay temporarily is good enough."

In the days that followed, the two relied on each other for survival. Every morning, Ah Yu would go to the nearby mountains to find wild fruits and edible vegetables, while Lin Wanqing would tidy up around the hut, occasionally repairing any damage to the hut with twigs and dry grass she had gathered. One day, Ah Yu went out to find food as usual, returning with some bright red wild fruits in his hands, his face beaming with the joy of his harvest. He entered the hut and saw Lin Wanqing sitting on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at an old handkerchief. The handkerchief was embroidered with some blurry patterns, but upon closer inspection, one could discern what appeared to be a plum blossom. The embroidery of the petals was exquisite, and even after the passage of time, the care and attention of the person who embroidered it was still evident.

II. An Unexpected Discovery

“This handkerchief looks quite old,” Ah Yu said, placing the wild fruit on the table and sitting down next to Lin Wanqing. Lin Wanqing looked up, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. “Yes, I’ve carried this with me since I was little. I don’t know why, but I always feel it’s very important to me.” Ah Yu picked up the handkerchief, examining the plum blossom pattern closely. Suddenly, a thought struck him; the embroidery style seemed familiar. He remembered that when he was little, his neighbor’s older sister also had a handkerchief embroidered with plum blossoms, and the embroidery style was extremely similar to this one. Back then, he had always pestered his neighbor’s older sister to show him how beautiful the plum blossom embroidery was.

"Do you remember anything from your childhood?" Ah Yu asked tentatively. Lin Wanqing frowned slightly, trying hard to recall. "I only remember some very vague fragments, like playing in a large courtyard, and a big fire... After that, I can't remember anything at all." Ah Yu's heart tightened; the description of the fire deepened his doubts. When he was little, his neighbor's house was destroyed by fire, and his older sister disappeared afterward. Could Lin Wanqing really be connected to his neighbor's sister?

To verify his suspicions, Ah Yu began to pay closer attention to more details about Lin Wanqing. One day, while the two were tidying up some odds and ends they had collected from outside, Lin Wanqing picked up an old wooden comb and gently combed her hair. Ah Yu noticed a small "Lin" character engraved on the comb and was startled again. He remembered that his neighbor's surname was Lin, although it had been so long that he couldn't recall her full name, but this "Lin" character made him increasingly convinced that Lin Wanqing's background was not simple.

III. The Intertwining of Memories

As time went by, Ah Yu and Lin Wanqing grew closer and their trust in each other deepened. One night, a sudden downpour began, the raindrops pattering against the roof. The small house was a bit chilly, so Ah Yu and Lin Wanqing sat close together on the edge of the bed, trying to keep warm. Lin Wanqing gazed at the rain outside the window, her thoughts seemingly drawn back to the distant past by the sound of the rain.

"I think I've remembered something again." Lin Wanqing's voice sounded somewhat ethereal in the rain. "There was a little boy who always followed me around. We fed the fish together in the yard, and caught butterflies together in the flower bushes..." Ah Yu's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't this exactly what he and his neighbor's sister had experienced when they were little? He looked at Lin Wanqing, his eyes filled with excitement and anticipation. "Think carefully again. What did that little boy look like? And was there anything special about that yard?"

Lin Wanqing closed her eyes, trying hard to search her hazy memories. "That little boy, with big eyes and two dimples when he smiled. There was a big osmanthus tree in the yard, and every autumn, the whole yard was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus." Ah Yu's heart suddenly raced; these details were exactly the same as in his memory. He couldn't help but grasp Lin Wanqing's hand. "Wanqing, the little boy you're talking about might be me! You could very well be my long-lost neighbor!"

Lin Wanqing opened her eyes, her gaze filled with shock and disbelief. "Really? But... all of this is too unbelievable." Ah Yu recounted in detail to Lin Wanqing the fire that struck their neighbor's house when she was a child, and how her older sister had disappeared. As Lin Wanqing listened, tears streamed down her face involuntarily. "If this is true, then we've been through so much all these years..."

IV. The Determination to Discover My Origins

After a night of conversation, Ah Yu and Lin Wanqing were both convinced of a deep connection between them, and the mystery of Lin Wanqing's background urgently needed to be solved. The next morning, the rain stopped, and sunlight shone on the damp earth. Ah Yu and Lin Wanqing got up early and sat at the table, earnestly discussing their next plan.

“We need to find some people who know the inside story; maybe we can get more information about what happened back then from them,” Ah Yu said, her eyes resolute. Lin Wanqing nodded in agreement. “But, so many years have passed, is it still possible to find those people?” Ah Yu pondered for a moment. “No matter what, we have to try. I remember there was an old housekeeper next door who always took good care of my sister and me. If he were still alive, he should know quite a bit.”

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