In the frame was a child's crayon drawing.

The most eye-catching thing in the painting is a large round table with several unidentified objects drawn on it with crayons.

The man and woman holding hands at the table were smiling faintly. The little boy sitting next to them was reaching out to the table. On the other side, on the baby chair, a little girl with pigtails was drooling while sucking on her fingers. Next to her, the woman in an apron was smiling gently.

The drawing paper is obviously quite old, and the edges have been eroded by time and have become a little yellow.

It’s just that the owner obviously cared about this crayon painting very much. He framed it carefully and hung it on the wall of the tea room which can be seen as soon as the door is entered.

Shi Jin's eyes swept across the painting so quickly that it seemed as if they never stopped.

His eyelids drooped and he picked up the kettle.

Boiling water poured into the cup. Under the strong impact, a few drops of water popped out of the cup, splashing around and leaving a few red marks on the cold white fingertips.

Shi Jin seemed unaware of it.

He quietly filled the cup with water and walked out of the tea room carrying the tray.

In the living room, Shi Guang smiled and replied to Wang Ma: "Don't worry, my grades are very good. My tutor praised my design talent two days ago, and I even got a place for further study."

At this point, Shi Guang suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Mother Wang, I haven't told you yet that I will be going abroad for further studies in a while, and it will probably take half a year before I come back."

"Further study is good." Aunt Wang patted her hands and said gently, "Further study can help you learn a lot. You should study hard and strive to become a great designer when you come back."

Shi Guang raised his chin and pretended to be proud: "Of course, when I come back, I will be a great designer!"

"And I've thought about it." Shi Guang turned his gaze to Shi Jin who came out of the tea room, and smiled with his hands covering his mouth: "When I learn it, the first thing I will do is to prepare a wedding dress for my brother!"

Mother Wang smiled and nodded her forehead: "You."

Shi Guang smiled and cracked a walnut at Wang Ma: "Wang Ma, why don't you ask me where I'm going to study?"

Mother Wang raised her eyebrows, glanced at Shi Dong who looked well behaved, and followed her words and asked, "Where is our daughter going to study?"

Shijian smiled and handed the peeled walnut kernels to Wang Ma: "I'm going to Country A for further studies."

“Pah—”

The walnut kernel passed through my palm and fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.

Wang Ma's hands trembled, and her first reaction was to look at Shi Jin.

Shi Jin calmly placed the tray on the table.

Shi Guang looked at Wang Ma's face with some worry: "Wang Ma, what's wrong with you?"

It was Mother Wang who always talked about Country A. Why did she react so strongly when she heard that she was going to Country A this time?

Wang Ma picked up the water cup from the table. The hot wall of the cup made her feel a little relieved: "No, it's okay."

"Your brother also knows about this, right?"

She held the cup and asked the time, but her eyes involuntarily looked at Shi Jin.

"I know." It was Shi Jin who replied.

He closed his eyelids and said calmly, "I agree."

Aunt Wang paused while sipping the water. She was a little surprised: "Xiao Jin, please forgive me..."

"Mother Wang."

Shi Jin interrupted her, his calm voice carrying a hint of coldness: "The doctor said that you shouldn't get too excited."

The fingers on the cup wall curled up twice, and Wang Ma nodded hesitantly: "Okay."

"Oh, right." She suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to the time: "Nannan, I cooked mung bean soup and put it in the kitchen. Can you help me get it?"

Time responded, got up and went into the kitchen.

As soon as Shi Jian disappeared in the kitchen, Wang Ma couldn't help but speak: "Xiao Jin, have you forgiven your parents?"

Shi Jin looked at her calmly: "Auntie Wang, my parents unfortunately met with a plane crash 17 years ago and died."

"Since there are no parents, how can we forgive them?"

Wang's mother's eyes were red: "Xiao Jin, don't be like this, your parents, they are not..."

She couldn't say anything more.

Not what?

Didn't you deliberately abandon your two children and go abroad with them to seek freedom?

Didn’t you leave on purpose? Why have you only received bank transfers and no phone calls over the years?

Mother Wang couldn't say it because she knew that these were the facts.

Shi Jin loosened her fingertips that had turned white from pinching them: "Mother Wang."

The young man's straight back was like an unyielding green bamboo, slender and firm.

His voice was calm, like still water, as if even the wind could not stir up any waves: "They died 17 years ago."

Hot tears suddenly slid out of her eyes, and Wang Ma hurriedly wiped them away: "Okay, Wang Ma won't force you."

"It's just..." She glanced at the kitchen and said, "It's very likely that Nannan will run into them when she goes to Country A this time."

Both of them studied art. They were romantic and free-spirited by nature. So they left their children behind to go abroad. A big reason for that was that they wanted to find the art they were looking for while traveling around the world.

After many twists and turns, the two finally settled down in Country A.

This time I will go to Country A for further studies for half a year. Country A is so small that you can ride a bike around it, so it is almost certain that I will meet them at some point.

She was too young to remember anything when her parents left, so all these years she always thought that her parents died early.

Although she has no memory of the time when she was old, there are still photos of her father and mother at home. If she meets them in Country A this time...

Wang Ma looked at Shi Jin with some concern: "How are you going to tell Nannan?"

"What do you mean?" Shi Guang came out of the kitchen carrying mung bean soup. When he heard his nickname, he poked his head out curiously: "Are you talking about me?"

"Yes." Wang Ma was a little flustered, but she quickly reacted: "We are talking about your going abroad, what can we prepare."

"Oh." Shijian placed the mung bean soup on the table: "You don't need to prepare anything. I'll just buy it over there."

Shi Guang also got himself a bowl of mung bean soup: "I plan to travel light, so just some clothes will do."

The soft mung bean soup was chilled in the refrigerator. One sip of it would relieve most of the heat.

Just as he had taken a sip of the drink, he heard his brother's indifferent voice: "It's a little bland."

"Is it bland?" Shi Guang took another sip: "It's OK. I think it's quite sweet."

But she also knew that her brother was a sweetheart.

Shi Guang put down the bowl: "Then I'll go to the kitchen to get you some sugar."

The girl's white skirt disappeared into the kitchen.

Shi Jin retracted his gaze: "Auntie Wang, I am not qualified to stop Shi Shi from pursuing his dream."

"As for what happened next."

Shi Jin took a sip of the cold mung bean soup, his long dark eyelashes drooped, blocking the look in his eyes: "She has the right to make her own choice."