Tomb sweeping is something that is done every year, but in the past, we only paid our respects in the cemetery and never revisited the place.
This time was different. Ye Chu, pulling a small suitcase, waited for Ye Jing at the station. After they met up, they boarded another high-speed train together, transferring to G City.
When the high-speed train announced its arrival in G City, Ye Chu got off the train with her luggage, thinking as she walked. She never imagined that she had lived in the same city as Gu Yingdi when she was a child.
The escalator was almost at the end, but she was still lost in thought.
"Watch your step." Ye Jing noticed her distracted and quickly reminded her, "What are you thinking about?"
Ye Chu shook her head: "It's nothing serious, I just suddenly remembered what you told me about my childhood."
Mentioning Ye Chu's childhood, Ye Jing smiled gently: "We'll be able to visit your old place later. That house has always been in your name and hasn't been sold, but it hasn't been maintained for a long time."
"Under my name?" Ye Chu was somewhat surprised; she didn't remember such a thing.
“You were still young then, so I became your guardian and kept it in your name until you came of age. You signed it back then. But it’s been a long time, so you’ve probably forgotten about it.”
Having been caught red-handed, Ye Chu stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
After dropping off their luggage at the hotel, the two took a car to the cemetery, which was located at the foot of a quiet mountain. The graves of their father and mother were placed side by side. Ye Jing put down the bouquet she had been holding, clasped her hands together, and whispered something to her brother and sister-in-law.
"Alright, let's go." Ye Jing opened her eyes, her eyes red-rimmed. She took Ye Chu's hand, and the two walked out of the cemetery step by step: "We can just take a taxi there."
Ye Jing hailed a taxi and gave Ye Chu the address with practiced ease. Ye Chu silently memorized it. The driver took them to the location and stopped in front of the iron gate of a small white villa, where ivy had already taken over the area.
After the two got out of the car, Ye Chu heard the driver call her name: "Aren't you that actress named Ye Chu? I played Cheng Jie in the movie with her."
Ye Chu was somewhat surprised that the other person recognized her: "Yes, it is. Are you... a fan?"
"Oh, no, but my daughter is a fan of yours. Around February, she dragged me and her mom to the cinema to see a movie. The little girl acted so well, there was a scene... where she was eating jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes). My wife and I used to eat jianbing guozi from a street vendor near our school on our dates, it felt so real." As he spoke, the driver rummaged around in the car for a while and handed out paper and pen through the window: "Could you sign this for my daughter?"
"Of course." Ye Chu took the pen, wrote her name on the paper, handed it back to him, and waved goodbye to him with Ye Jing.
“Our Chu Chu is a big star now.” Ye Jing sighed with pride. Ye Chu blushed and retorted softly, “Which big star is like me?”
Ye Jing looked at her with a "what?" expression: "You have to wear a mask and hat when you go out, what else could you be but a big star? A private investigator?"
"Auntie!" Ye Chu gently touched her earlobe. She wouldn't have reacted this way if anyone else had said it, but Ye Jing's words made her feel inexplicably ashamed, like a child who has achieved some success in their career being ashamed to talk about their achievements with their parents.
"The place is deserted, and the plants have taken over." Ye Jing reached out to pull at the ivy on the iron gate, but it was too tightly wrapped and she couldn't pull it off. "Looks like we can't get in today."
Ye Chu shook her head: "It's okay, we can just look around nearby. We'll bring a pair of scissors and come back tomorrow."
"This is the only way." Ye Jing looked helplessly at the stubborn ivy on the door, then looked up at the small villa inside.
Ye Chu was also looking around the villa. To be honest, she had no feelings for this place where she used to live.
Squeak—
The sound of an iron gate being pushed open came from behind them. The two turned around at the same time and saw a woman who looked to be about the same age as Ye Jing walk out.
The other person seemed surprised that someone had lingered in front of the house across the street for so long. After looking at Ye Jing more closely, they exclaimed with delight, "Ye Jing? You're Ye Jing, right?"
"Yes." Ye Jing nodded, not remembering who the other person was: "Who are you?"
“Jiang Yun! I used to come to visit you often when you came to play, and we even swung on the swings together.”
Ye Jing stared at the other person in surprise, her eyes wide: "Wait, you're not married?"
"I got married, and later my parents passed away, leaving the house to me. So I came here with my husband and kids to live. It's quiet here." Childhood friends who hadn't seen each other for many years suddenly reunited, and the two had endless things to talk about.
Jiang Yun invited Ye Jing to sit inside the house, but Ye Chu kindly gave the two of them some space to catch up: "I'll just walk around nearby, Auntie, you can come in and chat."
"This is...?" Jiang Yun looked Ye Chu up and down, lingering on her eyes for a moment. "Your brother's daughter?"
"right."
"Ah! I've held her before, no wonder!" Jiang Yun smiled and looked at Ye Chu for a while longer: "Hmm? I feel like I've seen her on TV too?"
"Our Chu Chu is a big star now, I'll tell you about it in a bit." Ye Jing pulled the other woman into the house, not forgetting to turn back and call out to Ye Chu, "Don't go too far!"
After the two entered, Ye Chu could no longer hear any sound. With her hands in her pockets and a pout, she stared at the dusty windows of the Western-style house for a while before walking a little further.
This area seems to be full of Western-style houses, one after another. To the right of her small Western-style house, separated by a low wall, is another Western-style house, and the courtyard alone looks very homey.
There are white swing chairs in the courtyard, a barbecue grill on the small lawn, and unwashed dishes on the table next to it.
Just as she was wondering, someone came out of the house to collect the dishes. Ye Chu suddenly remembered what Ye Jing had told her before: that she used to play well with the neighbor's children when she was a child.
"Hello." She stepped forward and spoke to the person inside through the low bushes and iron bars. Hearing her voice, the person carrying a plate came over and asked, puzzled, "Is there something you need?"
"Sorry, I used to live around here, but I moved away. I came back to visit these past few days and happened to run into you. I don't think this used to be where people lived..." She smiled apologetically, "so I came to ask."
"Oh, you're asking about that? You've been gone for quite a while now, haven't you?"
"Yes, I was quite young when my family moved away, so I don't remember clearly and am not sure, which is why I asked."
“You’re not mistaken, this wasn’t where we lived before, it’s been over ten years.” Perhaps it really had been too long, because she paused for a moment before continuing, “The family that lived here before was… surnamed Gu? Yes, Gu. The Gu who took care of us, it’s a rather rare surname, which is why I still remember it now.”
"..." Ye Chu stared blankly at the other person: "Is your surname Gu?"
“Yes, I remember my husband mentioning that the family’s surname is Gu, and it seems to be a single-parent family. The child’s mother found a job elsewhere, which is why they sold the house and moved away.”
"Okay, thank you." After thanking her, Ye Chu turned around stiffly, then suddenly asked, "Do you know the family next door?"
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