Chapter 57: No Last Meeting [VIP]
As people grow up, they always put more and more shackles on their hearts.
The key to open your heart is only you.
——"Zhen Hao Diary"
Twenty-two years ago, when Zhen Hao was six years old.
She has a very good playmate, who was her only playmate before Shi Xu appeared, Ling Huan.
Ling Huan was an adopted child. Her biological parents lived only a few doors away from her current home, but the two flesh and blood could only see each other but not recognize each other.
This situation was very common in the backward mountain villages at that time.
Ling Huan is naturally optimistic and loves to laugh. She always wears two little pigtails. She is cheerful whenever she sees anyone and has a sweet mouth, which makes both adults and children like her.
At that time, Zhen Hao always kept to herself, and no one in the neighborhood, whether adults or children, liked her.
Over time, she accepted the fact that she was just not likable.
But Ling Huan is not among these people.
Ling Huan would take her hand, smile brightly, and say to her in a crisp voice, "Okay, let's play together, okay?"
Zhen Hao didn't even have time to be surprised, let alone refuse, before Ling Huan happily dragged her all over the mountains to have fun.
Ling Huan seemed to have endless energy and was full of energy all day long, and Zhen Hao also felt energetic.
She originally thought that Ling Huan was just playing with her on a whim, and when she woke up the next day, everything would return to normal like Cinderella's pumpkin carriage. However, she didn't expect the reality to be completely the opposite.
Not only on the second day, but also on the third, fourth, and fifth day, Ling Huan showed up at Zhen Hao's house on time at eight o'clock in the morning.
Zhen Hao was still a child, longing for someone to play with. Even if she was a loner, she always lived each day hoping to fit in with the other children.
The appearance of Ling Huan brought a touch of bright color to her impoverished childhood.
"Huanhuan, do you get up so early every day?" On the morning of the seventh day, Zhen Hao finally couldn't help but asked in surprise.
"Mom has to get up early every morning to feed the pigs and ducks, and I will get up to help." Ling Huan still smiled like a little sun.
"Huanhuan is so amazing. He can help adults with housework at such a young age." Zhen Yudong smiled and touched Ling Huan's furry head.
At that time, Zhen Hao's grandfather Zhen Yudong was young and handsome, and no one would doubt that he was a good father.
"Thank you, Mr. Dong." Ling Huan smiled so hard that his little fangs were exposed.
Zhen Yudong is a well-known figure in Min Town. Because he is handsome, well-educated, has beautiful handwriting, and understands the five elements and eight trigrams and has some "Kung Fu", everyone respectfully calls him "Mr. Dong".
It was also on this day that Zhen Hao did the thing he regretted most in his life.
"Huanhuan, can I take you to a secret base?" After breakfast, Zhen Hao blinked mysteriously at Ling Huan.
"Okay, okay. What secret base? Where is it?" Ling Huan's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Come with me and you'll know." Zhen Hao was always inspired by her, and seeing her smile made him feel a little better.
The two little girls crossed mountains and hills and came to a small hill. Although it was called crossing mountains and hills, it was actually only a fifteen-minute walk for adults.
There is a small river and mountain that has not been developed yet, but people have carved out a wide mountain road.
On days when Zhen Hao was alone, she liked to come here to feel the mountain breeze, talk to the dogtail grass on the mountain, and pour out the little worries in her little head.
That was the first time Ling Huan knew about Zhen Hao’s secret base, and it was also the burial place of Ling Huan’s short six years of life.
"If only I hadn't brought Huanhuan here." After Ling Huan's accident, Zhen Hao regretted it countless times, and as she grew older, the guilt in her heart grew stronger.
Every time she mentioned Ling Huan, the sadness in her eyes was so strong that it seemed to drown the world, but she always bit her lips tightly to prevent the pain from making any sound.
Shi Xu hugged her tightly, kissed her forehead lightly, and said distressedly: "Okay, don't be like this, you are not wrong, Huan Huan doesn't want to see you spend your life blaming yourself like this."
The two were almost at Ling Huan's grave, but Zhen Hao suddenly stopped and didn't dare to take another step forward.
Now, more than 20 years have passed, and Min Town has long since changed from traditional burial to cremation. The deceased have all moved into mourning halls planned by relevant units. Only some of those who were buried in the early years remain in their original locations.
Ling Huan, who died young, didn't even have his own grave. He only had a small mound next to the grave of an elder in his family who had passed away long ago.
When Zhen Hao saw the small grave from afar, tears suddenly flowed out.
Ling Huan must be terrified to be in such a small room, as she is so afraid of the dark.
"Huanhuan's throat felt like it was blocked by wet cotton, and she could no longer utter a complete sentence.
With the help of time, she finally...
"Huanhuan, I'm here to see you." After calming down for a long time, Zhen Hao finally found his voice. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see you until today."
There is no photo on the tombstone, only a line of small words, hers is playful.
Six-year-old Ling Huan has long teeth and crescent-shaped eyes. His voice sounds crisp and sweet, which makes him very likable.
But all her good things came to an end with that rainstorm that only happens once in a century.
Zhen Hao will never forget that day.
She sat at home, watching the rain pour down from the patio in strings of raindrops, wondering when it would stop. She heard Grandma Zhen's voice, full of regret: "What a pity for such a good child like Huanhuan."
Zhen Hao didn't understand, but when she heard it was related to Ling Huan, she immediately stood up from the small stool and asked, "Grandma, what happened to Huan Huan?"
Grandma Zhen looked at young Zhen Hao, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Grandma, please tell me quickly!" Because of the heavy rain, she couldn't see Ling Huan that day. She was already feeling uncomfortable. When she suddenly heard someone mention Ling Huan, she naturally wanted to ask for clarification.
"Huanhuan she..." Looking at Zhen Hao's expectant eyes, Grandma Zhen couldn't bear to say those two words.
The two children had been going in and out together every day for the past few days, and their relationship was as close as sisters. She had seen it all, so how could she tell them the cruel truth?
"Grandma! What happened to Huanhuan? Please tell me quickly!" Zhen Hao was really anxious now.
This wasn't the first time she'd seen Grandma Zhen's expression. If she wasn't mistaken, it was the look that would appear when an elderly person in the village...
Thinking of this, Zhen Hao didn't dare to think any further.
"Huanhuan... is gone." Grandma Zhen couldn't resist her granddaughter's nagging, so she finally told her the news she had heard.
"It's gone..." Zhen Hao was stunned, his brain feeling numb. "What does 'it's gone' mean..."
She had heard the same words just last month.
Grandma Zhen's expression then was the same as now, with a hint of pity mixed in with a sigh: "Uncle Zhang has passed away."
"Grandma, what does 'pass away' mean?" This was the first time Zhen Hao heard this word.
"It's just..." Grandma Zhen didn't know how to explain for a moment, "It's just gone."
"What does it mean if it's gone?" Zhen Hao asked questions one after another.
"Gone is..." Grandma Zhen racked her brains and finally came up with an explanation to comfort the child, "He will just turn into a star in the sky. From now on, we can only see him in the sky."
As she spoke, she pointed to the blue sky above her head.
Zhen Hao looked up at the sky, confused.
The stars in the sky?
The stars are so beautiful, it must be a wonderful thing that person passed away.
This was the only description that Zhen Hao could think of in his young mind at the time.
But this idea only lasted a few days before disappearing, because she later saw Uncle Zhang being put into a square wooden box, buried in yellow earth, and finally turned into a round, pointed mound of earth.
Uncle Zhang's family was related to the Zhen family. On the day of the funeral, nearly a hundred people came to see him off. There were many playful children among them, and Zhen Hao was one of them.
The adults thought that the children were ignorant and did not avoid them during certain ceremonies, which allowed Zhen Hao to see many things he had never seen before.
She still didn't understand what death was, but she had nightmares for several days after that.
In the dream, there were paper money flying in the air, and Uncle Zhang and the huge wooden box were buried in the loess.
She gradually realized that when a person is gone, he is really gone.
She would never again see Uncle Zhang's kind smile, nor would she ever again hear Uncle Zhang kindly call her to eat sweet mangoes and longans...
It was also from then on that she began to fear the lonely graves on the mountain and the thought of standing alone in an empty place surrounded by trees and grass.
After hearing Grandma Zhen's narration, Zhen Hao learned the whole story of Ling Huan's "disappearance".
Due to the influence of the typhoon, Min City experienced heavy rain for several days in a row, and the rural areas were particularly affected.
It was not until yesterday that the rainstorm stopped suddenly. The washed sky and earth were clean and fresh, and everything seemed so clear.
After getting up, Ling Huan didn't see his parents, so he went to look for his family's fields alone, but found nothing.
On the way home, she suddenly felt inspired and turned to Xiaojiang Mountain to see if the stream at the foot of the mountain looked more beautiful after the rain.
After this trip, she was never able to leave Xiaojiangshan again.
According to an eyewitness, "I was busy fertilizing the rice when I saw Huanhuan playing in the stream from a distance. I told her to go find someone else quickly."
Unfortunately, the flood was merciless. The water level in the stream rose sharply after the rain and almost overflowed the stone bridge.
It is called a stone bridge, but in fact it is just two large stones piled on top of each other. The yellow stream water occasionally overflows it, making it slippery and very dangerous for people to walk on, not to mention that Ling Huan is only a six-year-old child.
No one knew when Ling Huan fell into the stream. The witness only said that he disappeared from the child's sight the moment he looked up, but he thought that the child was short and was hidden by the trees in the mountains, so he did not pay much attention to it.
Who knew Ling Huan's parents were not nearby, who knew it would turn into such a tragedy...
The search and rescue team searched for three whole days but found no news of Ling Huan.
No matter where Zhen Hao went, he could hear people talking about this matter—
"I heard that the Ling family's uncle and aunt turned gray overnight, and Ling Huan's mother was crying..."
"I hope Huanhuan can be found soon, otherwise who wouldn't be sad to see someone young send someone off..."
"Such a small child, I'm afraid I can't find him again, alas..."
Zhen Hao felt a pang of frustration as she listened to the adults' words. She wanted to rush over and argue with them, but she couldn't utter a single word.
She could only pray to the mountain, praying that the mountain god would send the kind-hearted Ling Huan back to the person who loved her.
Uncle Ling and Aunt Ling, unable to have children of their own due to health problems, finally had Ling Huan, a well-behaved and adorable daughter. Although Ling Huan was adopted, the couple doted on her and cared about her in everything. How could they bear the pain of losing their daughter?
Zhen Hao didn't quite understand these complicated feelings, but she knew in her heart that if Ling Huan really "died," he would be placed in a huge wooden box and buried underground like Uncle Zhang. The underground would definitely be dark and dirty, so how could the clean-loving Ling Huan bear it...
When she thought of this, Zhen Hao ran home crying, repeating "I want Huanhuan, I want Huanhuan", and then threw herself into Grandpa Zhen's arms, refusing to raise her head no matter who called her.
Zhen Yudong patted Zhen Hao's back gently to comfort him, and couldn't help sighing.
He knew in his heart that Ling Huan would most likely never be found, and even if he was...
The facts were consistent with Zhen Yudong's expectations. Three days later, Ling Huan was found by the search and rescue team.
Just when the Ling couple were almost in despair, Ling Huan "returned home".
Even though they had been with Ling Huan day and night, they could not recognize that the person whose body was swollen from being soaked in water and whose facial features could not be seen was their own daughter Ling Huan.
All they saw was a strange, cold corpse.
Aunt Ling fainted on the spot.
On that day, a new typhoon No. 1 arrived in Min City, and strong winds and heavy rains once again swept across the entire coastal area.
Zhen Hao heard everything that happened afterwards; she never had the chance to see Ling Huan in person.
She couldn't even see her good friend for the last time.
When talking about this past event, Zhen Hao seemed to have exhausted all his strength: "A Xu, I dreamed of Huan Huan last night. I dreamed that she was soaked in water, crying and begging me to save her, but I couldn't do anything. I didn't even dare to go into the water..."
As she spoke, she knelt down on the dew-soaked grass, feeling exhausted. Tears finally flowed from her dry, sore eyes: "Huanhuan, I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I miss you so much, Huanhuan..."
Ling Huan was her first friend in life, the first person to teach her what death and regret felt like, and the inner demon that she had always thought she could not face.
During her vacation in Nanxi Town, she tried to walk to the shallow beach to play in the waves like everyone else, but failed every time.
It was also there that she rarely dreamed of Ling Huan.
Over the years, Ling Huan rarely appeared in her dreams, but recently he had appeared frequently, so she wondered if it was time for her to face all this...
She needed to give Ling Huan an explanation, and she also needed an outlet for her shackled heart.
Looking at Zhen Hao's grief-stricken look, Shi Xu squatted down with heartache.
It was the first time he heard Ling Huan's story, and he finally understood why Zhen Hao was so afraid of water.
He gently put his arms around her shoulders, giving her strength to lean on, but he never said a word.
He thought she needed to talk and vent quietly.
He just needs to stay with her all the time.
Whenever she needs him, he's there.
He will always be there.
A cool mountain breeze blew in the early morning, and the two small daisies blooming beside Ling Huan's grave swayed in the wind, like two little girls holding hands, smiling and dancing gracefully.
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