Chapter 13 Meeting 3
She knew that her appearance and her mother's words alone couldn't shake her father's deeply ingrained beliefs. She took a deep breath and, facing her agitated father downstairs, spoke in a clear and calm voice, revealing a deeply private detail known only to her family:
"Dad, I know you don't believe me. Then tell me, that 'old friend' of yours that you've used for almost twenty years, with the handle all worn smooth, do you always secretly hide it in the leftmost drawer of the bathroom mirror cabinet after you use it? Just because you think it's bad feng shui to put it on the sink and Mom will nag you. Even Yunting doesn't know about this habit of yours, does he?"
Jiang's father was struck dumb; all his questions and anger froze on his face, and his pupils contracted sharply. That habit... that little quirk that only he knew about, that even his wife had only vaguely noticed but never pointed out.
Every time he finished shaving, he would indeed, like a thief, quickly stuff his old razor into the deepest part of the leftmost drawer of the mirror cabinet. This habit had been maintained for more than ten years and was a trivial yet extremely private mark on his life.
How could the girl at the window know? This is not something that can be reached through investigation or imitation; it can only be... only through close interaction, careful observation, and even a touch of childlike curiosity that one can discover the secrets of life.
Jiang's father swayed slightly, then suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed intently on the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar face at the window.
The sunlight was blinding, and he squinted, trying to penetrate the halo of light to see what was deep in his daughter's eyes. The affection, the grievance, and a hint of mischief and smugness in her eyes... were just like how she used to secretly hide his glasses when she was little.
All doubts crumbled in the face of this tiny yet incredibly private detail.
“Dad…” Jiang Yining looked at the overwhelming shock and wavering in his eyes, and tears finally broke through her dam again, her voice choked with sobs, “I’m back… I’m really back…”
Father Jiang opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He staggered forward, one step after another, his vision completely blurred by tears. He reached out his hand, trembling uncontrollably, as if wanting to touch the phantom in front of the window, yet afraid that it would shatter if he touched it.
Jiang's mother was already sobbing uncontrollably. She rushed over, grabbed her husband's trembling arm tightly, and cried out, "Old Jiang, it's her, it's our Ningning, she's back."
Just then, the tightly closed door of the flower shop creaked open from the inside.
Jiang Yining stood at the doorway, backlit, her figure slender yet ramrod straight. Tears streamed down her face, but she forced a smile upwards, a cautious one filled with endless longing and anticipation.
Sunlight streamed in from behind her, illuminating the glistening tears in her eyes and the small patch of ground beneath her feet belonging to "Lemon Language Garden".
"Dad, Mom..." Her voice was soft, with a barely perceptible tremor, yet it clearly pierced through the noise of the street and landed on her parents' hearts. "I...I'm home."
This cry completely shattered Jiang's father's last defenses. He could no longer stand; his tall body suddenly squatted down, his hands covering his face, and the sobs he had suppressed for eight years, like a landslide and a tsunami, finally burst forth from between his fingers.
Jiang's mother also rushed over, crying, and hugged her husband who was squatting on the ground tightly. She then reached out her trembling hand to her daughter at the door.
Jiang Yining could no longer hold back. She ran down the steps from the doorway and, like a fledgling returning to its nest, plunged into her parents' arms.
Eight years of time gap, eight years of separation by life and death, eight years of unforgettable longing, are all filled and melted away at this moment by this belated, tight embrace.
The warm sunlight shone on the family of three who were embracing and weeping. Several pots of lemon mint at the entrance of the flower shop swayed gently in the breeze, emitting a refreshing and slightly sour fragrance that lingered in the air.
Behind the tightly closed doors of the flower shop "Lemon Language Flower Shop," the narrow wooden staircase leading to the attic creaked. Jiang's tall and imposing father had to bend over, almost hunching over, to barely squeeze into the low attic entrance.
Jiang's mother and Jiang Yining followed lightly behind. The small attic space was used to its fullest potential. The layout of two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen was compact but not cramped, exuding the atmosphere of a single girl's carefully managed life.
Jiang's mother pulled her daughter to sit on the small fabric sofa, her gaze carefully tracing the face that was both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar, worry like fine vines coiling around her heart. "Ningning," she said softly, her voice hesitant and tentative.
"Do you feel... uncomfortable anywhere? Or... not used to it?" The thought of being reborn into another person's body is enough to make one uneasy.
Jiang Yining nestled against her mother, feeling the long-lost warmth. She suddenly remembered the silhouette she'd seen in the mirror that morning, an silhouette increasingly resembling her original self, and a thought flashed through her mind. "Mom," she whispered in her mother's ear, a hint of childlike mystery in her voice, "You...you can see for me, is that...butterfly-shaped birthmark on my bottom still there?"
Jiang's mother was taken aback, then a look of surprise flashed in her eyes. She immediately got up, pulled her daughter into one of the small bedrooms, and closed the door behind her.
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