Chapter 96 If you don't come soon, I'll start to think you eloped with him.

Recalling this moment, Pipa's heart tightened, and she involuntarily curled up.

The pain that pierced through my scalp seemed to resurface with the memory.

It's hard to tell whether it's a real feeling or a psychological effect.

[Mother—]

That morning, a bit chilly and shrouded in mist.

The child, rubbing his eyes and not seeing his mother when he woke up, got out of bed and staggered to the door, where he found his mother humming a familiar lullaby on the steps.

The mother beckoned Pipa over, then took her hand and lovingly hugged her in her arms.

"Poor child," the mother murmured softly, her breath warm, her tears falling hot and quickly condensing into cool dew in the air.

Loquat never felt sorry for herself before.

At that time, he didn't really understand the meaning of the word "pitiful".

But if his mother said that, it must be true, because his mother would never lie to him.

Pipa reached out and dabbed a tear from her mother's face, tasted it on her tongue, and then, for the first time in her life, was troubled by a huge question.

Even though I cry sometimes, when I have a stomachache from eating something bad, when I fall down from a tree while playing, or even when I'm just looking at the sky above me, tears will involuntarily stream down my face...

It's as if I was born without a valve to control my tears.

Therefore, loquats have naturally tasted the flavor of tears more than once.

It tastes salty, somewhat bland, and sometimes mixed with impurities like sand or grass clippings, usually after he falls face down.

But the tears on her mother's face seemed to carry a bitter taste, leaving a tingling sensation in her mouth.

The loquat then thought, this must be the taste of pitifulness.

"How pitiful..."

Before he could fully grasp the meaning of "pitiful," the word inexplicably slipped out of his mouth.

Upon hearing this, the mother seemed to pause for a moment, then smiled.

She reached out and used her somewhat rough fingertips to wipe under the child's eyes.

Pipa then realized that he had also started to shed tears without realizing it, but his tears were not bitter at all, as bland as well water in winter.

Then, Mother revealed the long-planned escape scheme.

After receiving a positive reply from Pipa, the mother smiled.

The smile seemed different from the one before; it was more like joy, or perhaps a sense of relief.

My mother was very happy that day. She picked up a twig and started scratching at the ground at her feet. She looked quite like the village priest who presided over the ritual and wrote on red paper with a flourish beforehand.

His movements were more refined and his expression more composed.

—Is Mother writing?

A thought suddenly flashed through Pipa's mind, but she immediately dismissed it.

How could that be?

None of the women in this village are literate.

But then he suddenly remembered what his mother had said, and he suddenly understood.

—By the way, Mother's old home wasn't here.

Since they came from outside, it's not surprising that the women in the village are different.

As Pipa was thinking this, her mother had already finished writing what she wanted to write on the surface of the soil, and then gently called Pipa to look at it.

“This is your name,” Mother said.

Pipa asked in confusion, "Isn't my name Pipa?"

The mother paused, thought for a moment, and then said, "This is your name here. And this—"

She pointed to the pattern on the ground with the tip of a twig: "This is your name when we go back, and it's also your real name."

As she spoke, her mother seemed to recall something, and her eyes crinkled into a gentle smile.

Pipa didn't understand why a person needed two names; the people he knew had at most only one name.

But he thought that no matter what, he just wanted his mother.

If Mother is happy, he can call her whatever he wants.

Because no matter what he is called, he is still his mother's child, and that is enough.

Pipa asked her mother curiously what her new name was.

Because he was illiterate, he couldn't understand what was written on the ground.

But his mother didn't tell him; instead, she gently put her index finger to her lips, making a gesture of secrecy.

My mother said she would tell him after they left.

It's like wearing new clothes.

Mother explained, "New clothes should be worn until the New Year to truly show their newness."

Pipa nodded as if she understood, then looked at the drawing on the ground. There were three characters in total, one with more strokes and two with fewer strokes.

His mother told him that surnames have more strokes.

My mother said that it's not just these few words; when we go out into the world, we'll need to hire a tutor to teach Pipa to read.

Those were memories as hazy and distant as a beautiful dream.

Now, as the loquat grows into a teenager and looks back through the mists of time, those pictorial, ambiguous characters suddenly become clear and distinct.

That is clearly...

It is clearly...

"The file also contained a portrait of the missing girl, and her features do resemble yours somewhat."

Once again, the deep, melodious voice rang in my ears.

Pipa, however, was speechless and could not utter another word.

“Back then, the Yu family had two daughters. If they had kept Yu Rou at home and then arranged for her to marry into another family, and if they had given birth to a boy, he would have been named Yu Qingzhou, barring any unforeseen circumstances,” Shen Yun said softly.

After a long while, Pipa seemed to finally find her voice: "But... something still happened after all, didn't it?"

“Indeed.” Shen Yun nodded calmly.

Then, looking down at the boy in her arms, she felt him trembling slightly and softened her voice.

"That's why when you asked me before, I said I might know him or I might not."

"..."

"If you're willing to call me by that name, then I'll know you."

Pipa lowered her head even further and said in a muffled voice, "What if I don't want to?"

"Then we don't know each other."

Shen Yun spoke casually, yet it felt like a heavy blow to the young man's ear.

Pipa's shoulders trembled, and the arms that were holding Chen Yun's neck tightened and then relaxed.

“Deep charm”.

"Um."

"Please promise me something, okay?"

"good."

Hearing Shen Yun agree so readily, Pipa couldn't help but pause: "You didn't even ask what it was about before you said yes?"

Shen Yun nodded in agreement: "Alright, go ahead."

"Could you..." Pipa asked cautiously, "you will always be Shen Yun, and I will always be Pipa. Let's not change, okay?"

As Pipa spoke, a hint of nervousness and anticipation, which she herself was unaware of, crept into her voice.

Shen Yun answered "okay" almost without hesitation.

Upon hearing the reply, Pipa felt that her heart, which had been in turmoil for so long, finally found its place.

Exhaustion mixed with a sense of satisfaction washed over him, and he finally leaned on Shen Yun's shoulder and closed his eyes in a daze.

She seemed to be asleep, but the hand holding Shen Yun's shoulder never let go.

The boy wasn't particularly heavy, but holding him in my arms felt very reassuring.

Shen Yun couldn't quite describe how she felt at that moment.

But for a moment, he suddenly felt that it would be nice if the two of them could just keep going like this forever.

However, every road eventually comes to an end.

—To live or to die.

After turning a corner, Shen Yun saw Lan Yunzhi waiting at the intersection.

The latter leaned gently against the wall, watching Shen Yun and the boy in his arms approach from afar, a mocking expression on his face.

"If you don't come soon, I'll start to think you've eloped with him."