Chapter 347 Sis, Don’t Cry
Mankind’s memories fade gradually as they age, especially those from childhood. The older they grew, the blurrier the images become. However, there would always be some parts of their memories that would be stored in the deepest parts of their minds as broken pieces. When they return to a familiar environment, the memories would then resurface. Many people probably experienced this before.
When Qin Sheng once again returned to this place that he was absolutely familiarized with more than 20 years ago, the broken pieces of his memory all popped up instantly and resurfaced in his mind. The foreign place gradually became more familiar, making him feel like he once knew this place.
Besides, when Old Maser Qin brought Qin Sheng out of Beijing, he was at the age when he was just starting to remember things. Those memories have been buried so deep. If he were to be forced to recall, he would definitely not be able to do so. They would only resurface unintentionally, like right now.
Before Qin Ran told him anything, Qin Sheng already felt that this place was a little familiar. When Qin Ran told him that this was their home, Qin Sheng was shocked and he started to mutter to himself.
Qin Sheng was at a lost when he started to observe the surrounding. For some reason, his head hurt. More memories were resurfacing, but they came and went in a flash. He tried very hard to catch them and piece them together into a complete picture, but he failed to do so no matter how hard he tried. This caused him to be very frustrated.
However, Qin Sheng was not on Qin Ran’s mind at this moment. She was still staring at that familiar spot. Ever since Mother passed away and her brother left, they moved house. Qin Ran lost count of how many times she had come back. She came back alone each time. Sometimes she would come here suddenly in the middle of the night, sometimes when she was in a bad mood. During each festivals or Mother’s birthday and death anniversary, she would also come.
Because this place housed the only memory of their whole family. After leaving this place, there was no more. Hence, no matter how bad her mood was, she would always feel extremely calm when she comes.
However, every time she came here, she did not know how to face Mother. She was afraid that Mother would ask her, “Ranran, have you found your little brother yet?” She knew that in these 20 over years, Mother must definitely be worried sick about her little brother. Mother even wished that their whole family could reunite sooner. Today, her wish was finally granted, she finally got rid of the burden.
When Qin Ran snapped back from her thoughts, she found Qin Sheng’s eyes in a daze and his face was pale. His brows were even furrowed and he looked in pain. Qin Ran quickly held his arm and asked, “Brother, what’s wrong?”
Qin Sheng shook his head, “I’m fine. Can we go up now?”
Qin Sheng seemed to know that he could not piece his memory together because there was not enough of it. He urgently wanted to go up and look at the place where he stayed as a kid. Because if that was really the place, there would definitely be a large amount of memory that would resurface. By then, he would definitely be able to recall stories of the past.
“Okay,” Qin Ran nodded. She then held onto Qin Sheng while walking towards the corridor. The others did not follow along and waited downstairs. This was a moment for the two. It seemed like whether or not Qin Sheng could recall his childhood memories depended on this.
Both of them walked gradually towards the corridor. The tungsten lamp from the past that had already turned yellow had already been changed to voice-responsive LED lights, but the rest were all untouched. Qin Ran led Qin Sheng up the stairs while telling him stories of the past. For example, who lived here, who the kids were, what their relationship with them was. Qin Ran would especially Qin Sheng’s playmates when he was young.
They finally reached the level where they lived. There were two units here. Before Qin Ran told him which was theirs, Qin Sheng had already subconsciously walked towards the one on the left as memories of the past had already surfaced in his mind. He knew that behind the rusty metal anti-theft door was their home which Qin Ran talked about.
Qin Ran froze. She did not know if he had remembered or he guessed it, but she wished that it was the former. Hence, she walked over eagerly. In front of Qin Sheng’s eyes, she slowly opened the two doors with keys. She then entered first to turn on the lights.
Although this unit had been unoccupied for many years, it was still kept extremely clean, except for a little dusty smell. An old auntie in the neighborhood would come here every week to clean the house. She was Qin Ran’s mother’s old friend. She was extremely close to her, almost like real sisters.
As for the room’s arrangements, they were just like the old days, as if they had not been touched before. But the wall was now full of all kinds of pictures of the four of them; Father, Mother, Qin Sheng, and Qin Ran. Every time she looked at these pictures, she would smile very happily.
In the past when she was not yet sensible, she did not know why Father would never come here. She thought that he was too busy or that he had moved on and did not like to reminisce about the past. It was after she became older that she finally understood that it was because this place did not just house her memories, it also included Father’s. The reason why Father would choose to move out was because of the incident back then.
She had lost her Mother and her brother. Similarly, Father lost his wife and son. She always could not stop herself from coming back to look at this place. Sometimes she would even be so emotional that she burst into tears. And Father never came back because the familiar scenes would also send him into emotional despair. This placed housed his memories of his wife and son, but he was a man that was highly-regarded in Sijiu city. He did not wish to be beaten by his emotions. He could not show a single bit of vulnerability. This was the only for him to move forward in his career and not be afraid of enemies or setbacks.
Because he was called Qin Changan. He was the man of the Qin family, the pillar of the Qin family.
Qin Ran knew that Father had women outside, and not just one, but she never said a word. Father was a normal man, she could understand. But more so because not one single woman had ever stepped foot into the family. This was the line that Father had drawn for her, and it more so symbolized his love for her.
Sometimes when she was in a good mood or did not come for a long time because she was busy, she would also come and take a look. She would sit silently on the sofa and listen to Li Ronghao’s ‘Old Street’ as she recalled the memories of when she was young. She would fall asleep unknowingly with a faint smile on her face.
That was all that was going on in her mind as she entered the house. She seemed to have completely forgotten Qin Sheng who was behind. However, upon stepping into the house, Qin Sheng seemed to have turned into a completely different person. He observed the things before his eyes with a blank expression and all of the memories started to resurface. The memories in his mind were accumulating and there were more familiar scenes, as if he was playing an old movie from decades ago. When he saw the family picture on the wall, his body shivered as he was electric-shocked. He stared deadly at the woman in the picture that had turned yellow.
The background of the picture was an old siheyuan. There were a few trees planted in the yard, as well as a number of other plants. Judging by the clothes they were, it seemed to be taken in summer. The time was probably in the afternoon, as the sun was not as glaring. In front of the woman, a little girl was holding the hand of a little boy. The two children smiled very brightly. A handsome man stood beside the woman.
The woman was extremely beautiful. Even contesting against those in this cosmetic and plastic surgery world, she was still a breathtakingly beautiful lady. She wore a white one-piece and tied up her silky black hair casually. The corners of her lips were slightly curled. Some strands of her hair were a little messy yet giving her a mature look. Her cheeks were narrow, not fat, not thin, just nice. Her nose was so tall it could reach the heaven. The tip of her nose was full and round and both sides were symmetrical. Her eyes were the most beautiful. They were neither big nor small yet they were extremely lively and feminine. The white and black parts of her eyes were separated clearly like black ink on a white paper. Those who studied faces would say that such women were kind and pure. Besides, her eyes were so clear you could see the end of it. It gave people peace. Her brows were curled like a willow leaf, a perfect match with her alert eyes. As for her height, she did not look short, as she had already reached the man’s ear while wearing heels.
Any man would be fascinated by a woman like her. Her temperament was like none-other as if it did not belong to this world. But at the same time, it fitted so perfectly into this world.
Qin Sheng just stood there and stared. At an unknown point in time, his eyes started to become blurry and then moist. Immediately after, his tears fell out of his eyes and flowed straight down to the corners of his lips and chin. However, he could not stop them at all. It was like an open water tap.
Qin Sheng just teared silently without saying a word nor making a sound. He let his tears fall uncontrollably. It was as if time had come to a standstill.
Why?
Because he had already recognized who that woman in the photo was. It was the woman whom he had seen countless times in his dreams yet each time her image was blurry and she could not see how she really looked like no matter how hard he tried. Even more so, for countless times, he had tried chasing after her back view as she left and then crying out the word with a broken heart: Mother.
Yes, she was that woman in his dream. She was the one who would always comfort and encourage him in his dreams. She was his mother.
“Mother,” Qin Sheng finally blurted out.
Since an unknown point in time, Qin Ran had already snapped back from her thoughts. She noticed Qin Sheng standing in a daze in front of the family picture and crying silently. He looked really sad.
Qin Ran was slightly shocked before a happy smile formed on her face. She knew that Qin Sheng had already recognized the family of four in the photo; She knew that Qin Sheng had finally remembered his childhood.
When she heard him call out ‘Mother’, she could not hold it back anymore. Instantly, her face was full of tears. At this moment, it seemed like all these years’ of waiting was worth it, everything was worth it.
Qin Sheng stared at the photo and cried, Qin Ran looked at Qin Sheng and cried. Her cry caused him to become alert. Qin Sheng looked at the woman before him and the corners of his mouth turned into a warm smile. He found those memories and he had pieced them all together. He finally believed completely that this woman before him was his older sister. He had finally found his family members whom he had been separated from for many years. He had finally returned to a home that truly belonged to him.
Qin Sheng did not wipe away his tears, because they were tears of happiness. He was no longer an orphan. From now on, his soul would have a safe harbor and he no longer needed to roam around with no home to return to.
Qin Sheng gradually walked towards Qin Ran, his older sister. He then stretched out his slightly-shaking arms. Qin Ran looked at him, full of expectation and shock. He hugged her tightly and then said gently in her ears, “Sis, don’t cry.”