Zhang You, exhausted from a long night's journey, returned to the wedding. She forced herself to attend. She wanted to help, but every time she tried, her grandmother would deliberately push her away. She didn't want her, a foreigner, to be an eyesore or to attract gossip from her aunt and her family, so she did everything she could to squeeze her out.
Zhang You saw her intention and simply went back to rest for a while.
When she returned home, she found that the house key had been changed and she couldn't open the door.
A neighbor aunt happened to see her on her way home and greeted her in surprise: "Xiaoyou, you're back! Are you back for your brother's wedding? I heard about it, congratulations! I've seen the bride before, she's so beautiful, you're so lucky!"
"Yes, Auntie Sun," Zhang You replied politely. She had a good relationship with the neighbors nearby. They knew her background and were very sympathetic. Furthermore, since she had been smart and well-behaved since she was a child, they were very kind to her.
"Oh! I guess your aunt was busy and forgot to tell you that the lock on your door was changed some time ago. Why don't you come to our house and sit down?" The neighbor aunt saw Zhang You wandering outside the door but couldn't open it. She suddenly remembered that they had changed the lock not long ago, so she enthusiastically proposed to Zhang You.
Zhang You thought about it and declined, "Thank you, Aunt Sun. My aunt and the others will be back soon. I just need to go downstairs to look for them."
"Okay! Then go ahead." Zhang You exchanged a few more words with her, then waved goodbye to her.
As soon as Zhang You arrived at the bottom of the community, she met her brother and sister-in-law who had just returned. She went up to them and smiled politely and gently, congratulating them. However, the new sister-in-law's malice towards her was exactly the same as her brother's.
"Hey! Isn't this your good sister? She wasn't helping out at the wedding, but now that it's over she's rushing up to congratulate you. Isn't she looking for a red envelope? How could someone be so sneaky and cunning? Grandma was still helping out at her age, but she's so good, she just went back home and enjoyed her free time!"
"Sister-in-law, you misunderstood. It's not me. I just came back..." Zhang You's smiling face suddenly froze. She hurriedly explained, with visible panic in her eyes.
But they obviously didn't give her the chance.
"Don't you have a heavy workload? The wedding is over, you should go back as soon as possible." Today was her wedding day, and her brother didn't ridicule her with vicious words like before, but the words he said were still cold and distant.
Upon hearing this, the new sister-in-law glared at Zhang You mercilessly, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust. She grabbed her brother's arm, ready to pull him away, and before leaving, she taunted Zhang You: "After all, my surname isn't Wang, and we're not family. There's no point in always staying here. Besides, we're adults now, so we should have some self-awareness."
Her voice was not loud, and when she passed by Zhang You, all those words poured into her ears. Zhang You's eyes were filled with shock. She looked up at her brother, but he just looked straight ahead, as if what his sister-in-law said was what he meant.
They didn't stop. After the sister-in-law finished speaking, she passed by Zhang You, leaving Zhang You alone, standing there with a pale face for a long time.
Maybe I really shouldn't come back.
Zhang You's back was filled with loneliness and desolation as he slowly walked out of the community and disappeared here.
That evening, she took the high-speed train back to school.
Fortunately, there were still tickets available on the train at this time, so she bought a seat by the window. As night fell, it was a quiet night outside the window. As the train moved at high speed, thousands of lights flashed by, and the occasional words rang out in the carriage, making it seem peaceful and beautiful.
If this beauty also befell her...
Zhang You rested her forehead lightly against the car window, lights flashing before her eyes, but not a single one stayed in her gaze. Loneliness and loss followed one after another, filling her entire heart.
The train was running non-stop, which made Zhang You have some ridiculous thoughts for no reason.
How ironic.
She thought blankly.
In the morning, she got on and off the return flight with great enthusiasm and rushed back home. But in the evening, she was sitting alone on the high-speed train, leaving her "home" where she had stayed for less than three hours. Oh, now it is no longer her "home".
Zhang You suddenly felt a little sad.
It was as if she was abandoned again and she was left alone.
But the sister-in-law was right. She was an adult now and couldn't stay at her aunt's house forever. She would have to leave eventually. What's more, her brother had a family now and would have children in the future. That was their home, not hers.
There was a sound coming from his abdomen, and Zhang You's wandering thoughts finally came back to his senses.
I'm a little hungry.
Zhang You raised his hand and rubbed his stomach. Just as he was thinking about whether to go to the food truck in front to see if there was anything to eat, a hand reached out from the side, holding a bag of sandwiches.
Zhang You looked in the direction of the white hand and met a pair of smiling eyes.
She is a very pretty young lady, wearing a pink long skirt and a white windbreaker. She is dressed very beautifully and looks like she is out for a trip.
"Hey! I see you are hungry, eat something. This is a specialty I brought from City X, it's delicious." She was a very enthusiastic young lady.
Zhang You took it with a smile and thanked her.
She was really hungry.
I didn't eat anything in the morning because I was in a hurry to travel. I had a couple of bites for lunch, but I was so tired from traveling that I felt full without eating much. As a result, I am very hungry now.
Just eating the sweet and soft bread in her mouth and hearing the warm words of strangers in her ears, Zhang You's tears, which she had been holding back for a long time, finally slipped quietly away under the kindness of the strangers.
She raised her hand to wipe it away in a panic, not wanting to be seen.
The young lady was still immersed in the joy of her travels. She couldn't help but share her experiences along the way with Zhang You, and kept recommending her to go out and see the world when she had time.
Zhang You suppressed the sadness that surged in his chest, and cheered himself up to agree with the young lady.
She was sad. Any stranger would ask if she was hungry or wanted to eat something. But her aunt and the others, who had been with her day and night for so many years, wanted to drive her away.
She agreed. It was this sunny young lady who would enthusiastically share delicious food and beautiful scenery with her, telling her that only by seeing the world could one escape the confines of a small world. Her seemingly casual words of guidance touched Zhang You, and she didn't want to let her kindness go to waste.
With this young lady talking to him on the way back, Zhang You felt less sad.
Zhang You arrived at school in the early morning. Since she couldn't get into the school at night, she found a hotel nearby and stayed there for the night. After a tiring day, she lay in bed for a short while before falling asleep with a heavy heart.
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