The man shook his head: "I haven't heard anything specific, just some bits and pieces. I heard the two families are quite close. The family next door probably moved in earlier. When we moved in, the house next door was already quite deserted."
Upon hearing this, Ye Chu bowed slightly in gratitude, then slowly returned to the iron gate that was tightly entwined with ivy.
“I come from a single-parent family and live with my mother in G city.”
"It seems to be a single-parent family. The mother found a job elsewhere and then sold the house and moved away."
"I met someone I've always liked."
"You used to like clinging to a little boy next door."
"I think his surname is Gu, the Gu of 'taking care'."
Countless thoughts buzzed in her mind as Ye Chu slowly reached out. The leaves of the ivy brushed against the back of her hand, and finally, her hand touched the cold iron gate.
"Chu Chu?" It was Ye Jing calling her.
Ye Chu abruptly withdrew her hand, as if her soul had suddenly returned, and turned to see Ye Jing walking towards her with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong? Why are you just standing there like an idiot in front of the door?"
“Auntie.” Her voice was a little hoarse, and she spoke with difficulty: “I just asked the neighbor next door, and she said that the family that used to live there was originally surnamed Gu.”
Ye Jing was even more puzzled: "Yes, I also remember the surname is Gu, what's going on?"
Do you remember her child's name?
Ye Jing thought for a moment and shook her head: "I'm so used to calling him 'Little Gu,' I really don't remember his name. But his mother's name is Gu Yan, the 'Yan' in 'wild goose.' She's a... very strong and cheerful person."
“Gu Yan…” Ye Chu took a deep breath, her heart pounding, and she quickly retrieved the memories in her mind. She remembered the name of Gu Yingdi’s mother—Gu Yan.
"What's wrong with you?" Ye Jing frowned, grabbing Ye Chu's hand with some concern. "Why is it so cold? Are you feeling unwell?"
Ye Chu shook her head: "I'm fine."
"No, Auntie is worried. Let's go back and rest, and come again tomorrow."
Back at the hotel, Ye Chu, who had been holding back her feelings the whole way, immediately opened her phone and searched for Gu Yu's information as soon as she entered the room, hoping she hadn't misremembered.
Sure enough, the encyclopedia entry stated that Gu Yu's mother was Gu Yan, and her father was unknown. She practically jumped up in excitement, startling Ye Jing, who was packing her suitcase.
"What's wrong? Why are you making such a fuss?"
"Auntie!" Ye Chu rushed over and hugged her tightly: "I love you."
Ye Jing gave her a strange look: "That's so cheesy, what did you do?"
"I just remembered... something terrible!"
When Ye Jing asked again, she stopped talking and just kept laughing and telling Ye Jing how much she loved her. Ye Jing felt a little embarrassed and finally tapped her on the head to calm her down.
That night, Ye Chu dreamed of the scene that had flashed by in the car, and the dream was very vivid.
She saw herself dressed as a little dumpling, excitedly running to the neighbor's house to play. The little boy who opened the door for her was wearing a thick coat, smiling brightly as he took her hand and pulled her into the yard.
She saw the other person's appearance clearly; the chubby face and undeveloped features did not prevent her from recognizing Gu Yu.
The other person took her hand and showed her the big snowball they had painstakingly built up in the courtyard.
"Wow..." Ye Chu in the dream gaped, "Are you going to build a snowman?"
"Hmm." Gu Yu was very proactive in holding hands when they were little, but she always spoke in a rather aloof manner.
Xiao Yechu was different; her eyes lit up, and she tugged at someone's sleeve, saying she wanted to help build a snowman too.
The two little ones rolled and rolled in the snow, and after a long time, they finally rolled out a small snowball. The snowball was a bit heavy, so the two of them worked together to put it on top of the big snowball.
Xiao Yechu ran to break off a branch from someone else's bush and drew eyes and a mouth on a snowball.
"What should we call it?" Xiao Ye Chu looked at Xiao Gu Yu. The two little dumplings with their rosy cheeks from the cold decided not to name it yet, but to choose a name later when they found a good one.
Unfortunately, the little snowman didn't live to see the day it found a good name; it melted into water in late winter and early spring and seeped into the ground.
"Finished building the snowman?" It was Gu Yan, Gu Yu's mother, a very beautiful woman. Following behind her was Gu Yu's father.
Back then, they weren't divorced yet. Ye Chu vaguely remembered, half-asleep, that it seemed that not long after, this once loving couple divorced for some unknown reason, and Ye Chu had seen the man's departing figure when he left.
The dream continued. Gu Yan took out two sparklers from a pile of firecrackers and gave one to each of them to play with. But when she was clearing away the rest of the firecrackers, she left behind a small one. This small firecracker was picked up by Xiao Ye Chu…
Ye Chu, still half asleep, nervously scratched her palm because her hand was a little sore.
Sparkling wands are very beautiful when lit. In the snowy night, two little ones can huddle together to watch the light emanating from the sparkling wands. With a gentle stroke, they can even leave a trace in the air.
Ye Chu rummaged in her pocket and took out the small firecracker she had found. She didn't know that it would explode after being lit, and she lit it and handed it to Xiao Gu Yu.
Little Gu Yu actually took it without thinking, holding it in her hand like a fairy wand...
"Waaah..." A deafening cry came from the courtyard, startling both families. Ye Chu saw Gu Yu's parents and Ye Jing rushing over.
She looked at the anxious expressions on their faces, and saw Ye Chu crying loudly while holding Gu Yu's bleeding hand. Meanwhile, the person who was actually injured remained silent and even comforted the culprit.
It was supposed to be a beautiful New Year's Eve, but I ended up going to the hospital.
The figures disappeared in twos and threes, leaving only Ye Chu's ethereal image in the courtyard. She looked up at the second floor of the neighboring house; a light was on in one of the rooms, and she saw a blurry figure appear at the window…
Mother.
When those two words appeared, they sounded so awkward.
In the early morning, Ye Chu dressed neatly and had a simple breakfast with Ye Jing.
They brought a pair of scissors with them when they set off. Ye Jing handed the house key to Ye Chu: "I won't go in. I can't bear to see inside."
Ye Chu knew what Ye Jing was thinking, and she didn't want Ye Jing to go in either. She didn't want her aunt to remember those sad things. In the end, Ye Jing went back into the house across the street.
After cutting the ivy, the iron gate could finally be opened. Ye Chu turned the key, pushed open the iron gate, and it made a creaking, ear-piercing sound.
She walked into the courtyard, then into the house, thinking how long it had been since she'd seen this house that had witnessed her parents' burial.
The room was very dirty, dust was floating in the air, and it smelled terrible.
Ye Chu opened all the windows she passed to let the smell dissipate, and then carefully approached the rightmost room on the second floor.
She remembered that in her dream last night, she could see the window of this room from downstairs in the next building. That must have been her mother and father's bedroom.
The bedroom door was made of wood and was probably almost completely eaten by insects; it wobbled precariously when pushed open.
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