A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

The orthopedic ward at the Third People's Hospital of Beijing, the room at the end of the corridor on the third floor by the window.

When Su Nianci pushed open the door, there was only one person in the ward.

The old woman lying on the bed was so thin that she was just skin and bones. Her skin hung loosely on her cheekbones, and her left ankle was wrapped in a thick plaster cast and hung from the support at the foot of the bed.

The gray cloth was no longer used to wrap the hair, and sparse white hair clung to the pillow surface in clumps.

When Su Nianci walked to the bedside, the old lady's eyes were closed, as if she were asleep.

But her fingers clenched slightly on the blanket—she was awake.

Su Nianci pulled up a chair, sat down by the bed, and placed the bowl of medicine in her hand on the bedside table.

The bowl made a soft sound as it hit the countertop.

The old lady's eyelids twitched twice, and she slowly opened them.

His cloudy gaze fell on Su Nianci's face, lingering for a good dozen breaths.

Her lips began to tremble.

His lower lip trembled for a while, his upper and lower teeth chattered, and a very short breathy sound squeezed out of his throat before he withdrew it.

Su Nianci sat in the chair with her hands on her knees, not urging her.

The sound of nurses pushing trolleys past in the corridor could be heard from outside the ward window; the rumbling of the wheels over the floor tiles came and went, then silence returned.

Su Nianci spoke first.

"The pickled bamboo shoots are too salty. Next time, use half a handful less salt."

The old woman's body trembled.

Something welled up in those cloudy eyes, slowly rising from the bottom of the eye socket to the base of the eyelashes, lingering for a moment, and then sliding down the sunken eye socket, flowing into the wrinkles next to the temples.

Her mouth opened and closed, the sound breaking like stepping on withered leaves.

"You...you tasted it?"

Su Nianci nodded.

The old woman's hand emerged from under the blanket; her fingers were as dry as twigs, and her fingernails were embedded with dirt that couldn't be washed off.

She stretched her hand two inches toward Su Nianci, then pulled it back.

After pulling back, he clenched his fist and placed it on the blanket, his knuckles protruding and frighteningly white.

Su Nianci looked at the hand, but neither reached out to grasp it nor looked away.

She pushed the medicine bowl away.

"A prescription for promoting bone healing and improving blood circulation, taken twice a day, half an hour after meals."

The old lady stared at the bowl with her head down for a long time.

The medicinal soup in the bowl was a deep brown color, steaming slightly, with a bitter taste accompanied by a hint of licorice sweetness.

Her Adam's apple bobbed, and her voice sounded as if it had been dug out from a very deep and distant place.

"Nianci".

"Um."

"I received the ointment."

"Apply the rheumatism plaster twice a day, morning and evening, and cover it with a hot towel for half an hour after application."

The old lady's nostrils twitched twice, and her mouth opened wide, revealing her gums missing three front teeth. It was hard to tell whether she was laughing or crying.

"You will still see a doctor."

"Always."

The old lady nodded, then nodded again, and as she nodded, her head lowered, her chin resting on her chest, her shoulders shrugging.

Su Nianci sat there, listening to the old lady's suppressed sobs, one, two, three.

She neither offered any words of comfort nor stood up to leave.

Just sit there quietly.

The sunlight outside the window slowly moved past the edge of the bed and shone on the tips of Su Nianci's shoes.

The old lady cried for a long time before raising her head. She wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve, and after wiping, her face became even more wrinkled, with water stains all over the wrinkles.

"Nianci, I'm not here to ask for your forgiveness."

"I know."

"I just wanted to see if you were doing well. Once I saw it, that's enough. I won't come in, I won't disturb you, I'll just leave my things and go."

Su Nianci's fingers twitched on her knee.

"You saw it."

"I saw it."

The old lady's gaze returned to Su Nianci's face, and a blurry outline was reflected in her cloudy eyes.

"You look just like your mother when she was young."

Su Nianci's eyelashes trembled.

She looked down at her fingers resting on her knees.

Five seconds later, she stood up.

"I've already told the nurses at the front desk about the medical expenses. I'll stay until I'm fully recovered before being discharged."

The old lady stretched out her hand again, and this time she didn't pull it back.

He tremblingly grasped the edge of Su Nianci's sleeve, squeezed it for a moment, and then let go.

Su Nianci walked to the door and glanced back.

The old lady sat on the bed, her leg in a cast, her white hair disheveled, and a tear stain still wet on her wrinkled face.

Su Nianci turned around, opened the door, and went out.

Lu Xingzhou stood in the corridor waiting, leaning against the window with his hands in his pockets.

Su Nianci walked to his side and stopped.

"This is the last time in my life."

Her voice was so soft that it couldn't even be heard in the echoing hallway.

"It's not about forgiving, it's about letting go."

Lu Xingzhou took his hand out of his pocket, took her hand, and they intertwined their fingers.

They didn't say anything.

The two walked down the corridor. When they passed the nurses' station, Su Nianci placed an envelope on the table. Inside was the hospital fee, neatly folded.

After leaving the hospital, I got into the car.

Su Nianci reached out and rolled down the passenger window.

The autumn wind blew in, dry and cool, carrying the scent of crushed fallen sycamore leaves from the roadside trees.

The car drove slowly along the main road. Su Nianci leaned back in her seat, her face turned towards the window, her hair blowing back in the wind.

Her expression was neither sad nor relaxed, as if she had been carrying a small pebble for many years and had finally taken it out of her pocket and placed it by the roadside.

Upon returning home, Su Nianci paused for a moment as she pushed open the courtyard gate.

Two loud, clear voices came from the courtyard, making the ivy leaves on the wall tremble.

"Why do I look exactly like him?! How do I resemble him at all?!"

This is Zhang Chengzhi's voice.

"Go ask your grandson! What's the use of asking me!"

This is Lu Zhenhua's voice.

Su Nianci walked around the screen wall and saw two old men standing side by side in front of a stone table, with a drawing sheet spread out in front of them.

Hoshino squatted in the flowerbed next to him, pulling weeds without looking up, as if it were none of his business.

Su Nianci walked over and glanced down at the painting.

A group of people were drawn crookedly on the drawing paper.

The two adults in the middle are holding hands, with "Dad" and "Mom" labeled above their heads respectively.

A tall man next to him was carrying a model airplane labeled "Uncle".

The two children in front, a boy and a girl, are labeled "me" and "Sister Banxia".

On the far right of the screen, two old men are standing side by side.

Same height, same beard, same round face, same expression, even the color of their clothes is exactly the same.

One is labeled "Great-Grandfather", and the other is labeled "Second-Grandfather".

Su Nianci's lips curved into a smile.

Lu Zhenhua poked at the "great-grandfather" on the drawing paper, his face contorted with anger.

"I'm half a head taller than him! My eyes are bigger than his! My beard is whiter than his! What is this drawing?!"

Zhang Chengzhi, hands on his hips, pointed at "Second Grandfather" with even more dissatisfaction.

"I'm thinner than him! I wear glasses! This kid didn't even draw glasses for me!"

Lu Zhenhua slammed his hand on the table.

"He drew us as twins!"

Zhang Chengzhi also slammed his hand on the table.

"How do I resemble you at all!"

Hoshino squatted in the flowerbed, not even looking up, and replied indifferently.

"You two argue in exactly the same way, so I drew the same thing."

The courtyard was quiet for two seconds.

Su Nianci couldn't hold back her laughter any longer.