197 Memories of Two People
After leaving Granny Zheng's house, Huo Yanxi's small basket was filled up again.
Grandma Zheng stuffed them with lots of food, including the pickled vegetables that Xie Yaoyao loved to eat when she was little.
Grandma Zheng said, "I know you are rich now and probably look down on these shabby things..."
"Grandma Zheng, please don't say that. I used to love your pickled vegetables the most."
“I remember once when I was sick, I just wanted to eat this. My grandma came to your house in the middle of the night to ask for it, and you even made your signature braised pork belly for me. I will remember it for the rest of my life.”
Xie Yaoyao couldn't help but tear up when she mentioned the past.
Now, when they mention their maternal grandmother, all they see is that vivid person who once existed in their memories.
Grandma Zheng also said with emotion, "Your maternal grandmother is really good to you and loves you from the bottom of her heart."
Xie Yaoyao said, "I know."
So even though she knew that her maternal grandmother's daughter had stolen her out and switched her with her own granddaughter, she didn't report it and never resented her.
The poverty was real, but so was the family bond.
"Child, please be well."
Xie Yaoyao leaned down and hugged Granny Zheng, then left the Zheng family home with Huo Yanxi.
The two walked hand in hand on the beach, the sea breeze blowing Xie Yaoyao's long hair.
Her black hair would occasionally get tangled around Huo Yanxi's arm and be ruffled by the sea breeze.
Huo Yanxi said, "Don't be sad, Manman."
Xie Yaoyao tilted her head to look at him. He was really perceptive, observing her emotions with great detail.
She took a deep breath. "Yes, I'll just be sad these next few days, Huo Yanxi. I really miss Grandma."
As I delivered the invitations and heard everyone mention my grandmother, those forgotten memories seemed to resurface.
She remembers when she was a child, her classmates bullied her because she didn't have parents, locked her in the toilet, and dumped trash on her chair.
They called her an unwanted child.
Grandma knew she had been bullied, so she took her to school, found the group of kids, and spanked them.
A group of little brats were crying loudly. The school called the parents, and the grandmother confronted them all by herself. She was fierce and domineering, which shocked the parents.
Since then, no one in the class dared to bully her, because they knew that she had a very fierce grandmother who would hit people and even scold the principal.
Xie Yaoyao's childhood was protected by Grandma Chi.
When those memories resurfaced from the depths of her mind, she realized how many memories she shared with her grandmother.
Later, Huo Yanxi appeared in my memories.
"Huo Yanxi, do you remember when we were little, a classmate once smeared ink on my new skirt, and you chased him for several blocks, eventually getting him to use his allowance to buy me a new skirt?"
In the past, everyone used ink-filled fountain pens, and you could easily get ink all over yourself if you weren't careful.
Xie Yaoyao really liked white dresses back then, and begged her grandmother for a long time before her grandmother finally bought her one.
She wore her new dress to school, and when the student behind her was inhaling ink, it splashed all over her.
She was so angry that she burst into tears.
But the boy refused to pay compensation, saying that it was her fault for wearing a white dress to school.
She was upset and looked dejected when she left school. Huo Yanxi asked her for a long time before she finally admitted that someone had dirtied her skirt.
Huo Yanxi shoved the schoolbag into her arms and went to confront the boy.
At that time, Huo Yanxi was short and thin, while the boy came from a well-off family and was chubby and plump.
The two got into a fight, and Huo Yanxi won in the end, so the chubby guy had to pay compensation.
Huo Yanxi remembers everything.
Over the past five years, he has carefully recalled and cherished everything about Manman.
"I remember that the chubby boy would avoid me whenever he saw me later."
Xie Yaoyao couldn't help but laugh as she recalled the past. "Yes, after graduation, he came to apologize to me, saying that he was ignorant when he was young."
When Huo Yanxi and his friends were young, they attended the same primary and junior high school.
I had to go to Chengde High School, which is dozens of kilometers away, for high school.
At that time, the atmosphere in the small fishing village was not very open, but junior high school students already knew what puppy love was.
He remembered that the chubby boy had given Manman a love letter.
Huo Yanxi said, "He even wrote you a love letter back then."
Xie Yaoyao had already forgotten about it, and paused for a moment, "Really?"
"Yes." Huo Yanxi remembered it clearly. "You were so happy when you received the love letter. Later, I snatched it and threw it into the sea. You even went to retrieve it. I carried you home, and after we got back, you gave me the cold shoulder for a week."
Xie Yaoyao genuinely didn't remember. "Did I?"
Huo Yanxi said, "You said that was the first time you had ever received a love letter in your life, and you asked me to compensate you, so I wrote you a long and detailed love letter."
Xie Yaoyao did have some recollection of it.
Huo Yanxi wrote her a love letter, a short essay of eight hundred words.
He spoke earnestly, urging her not to start a relationship too early.
Xie Yaoyao was so angry when she saw this love letter that it wasn't actually a love letter that she cried, and she gave him the cold shoulder for another week.
Xie Yaoyao said, "You were really annoying when you were a kid."
"That's because I'm afraid you'll be snatched away. If I don't keep a close eye on you, you really will be taken away by those people."
Xie Yaoyao pouted, "How could that be? The person I like is you."
Huo Yanxi stopped and turned to look at her.
Xie Yaoyao's cheeks flushed slightly. She said, "The person I've always loved is you, so no matter who sends me love letters, there's only one ending."
Huo Yanxi: "When did you start liking me?"
Instead of answering, Xie Yaoyao asked, "Then when did you fall in love with me?"
Huo Yanxi: "When I was about to be beaten to death on the roadside, you gave me a warm steamed bun."
At that time, in his eyes, she was a little angel descended from heaven.
Xie Yaoyao: "So early? Then your feelings for me back then definitely weren't romantic feelings between a man and a woman."
Huo Yanxi was so young back then, struggling to survive, how could he know what liking someone meant?
Huo Yanxi said, "But at that time I told myself, in this life, you are the only one for me."
Xie Yaoyao didn't want to question his sincerity. She said, "Actually, I liked you when I was 13 years old."
Before this, she was completely clueless and only regarded Huo Yanxi as her brother.
At the age of 13, she had her first period later than other children her age. She knew what was going on, but the sudden bleeding from her stomach still frightened her.
She thought she was going to die, and even left a will for Huo Yanxi, asking him to take good care of her grandmother and not tell her that she was going to die.
Huo Yanxi discovered the suicide note that very night and learned of her physical changes.
He was so angry he was stunned, so he went to the convenience store and bought her sanitary products.
She didn't know how to use it, so he learned from Aunt Wang at the convenience store who taught him, helped her put it on, and then handed her the underwear so she could put it on herself.
Later, he gave her a stern lecture, telling her that no matter what happened in the future, she should tell him immediately and not to overthink things on her own.
Throughout her childhood, Huo Yanxi has always been by Xie Yaoyao's side during every moment of panic.
Until they separated.
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