Sheng Linlang placed the flowers she brought in front of Sheng Qinglin's tomb. The fine rain made the scene look desolate yet peaceful.
After a long while, Sheng Linlang beckoned Liang Shi and Xu Qingzhu over, and like a matriarch, she introduced them to Sheng Qinglin in a low voice, "Qinglin, this is Liang Shi, Qingzhu's wife. Isn't she beautiful? Just as beautiful as our Qingzhu."
"She's a very nice person, and Qingzhu likes her a lot. She didn't come to see you when they got married, but now that you've seen her, it's a relief." After introducing Liang Shi, Sheng Linlang called Xu Qingya over and talked about her grades, adding that Xu Qingya was nothing like her uncle and wasn't smart.
Xu Qingya pursed her lips, but did not refute.
Despite having the highest grades in the entire grade.
However, the Xu family all knew that there were three days in the year when they absolutely could not provoke Sheng Linlang: the anniversaries of the deaths of Sheng's parents and Sheng Qinglin.
Otherwise, her mother would become a completely different person, either crying endlessly or throwing tantrums.
Over the years, this has become an "unspoken rule" in the Sheng family.
After paying respects to Sheng Qinglin, I stood for a while in front of the graves of Sheng's parents.
After standing there in silence for a few minutes, Liang Shi raised his head and casually glanced around, then spotted a black figure.
It was just a silhouette, but it gave Liang Shi an unusually familiar feeling.
The other person was wearing a black cheongsam and walked gracefully out of the cemetery.
Liang Shi immediately tugged at Xu Qingzhu, gesturing for her to look in that direction. Xu Qingzhu's eyes widened instantly, and she mouthed, "Yang Jiani?"
Liang Shi nodded.
They watched Yang Jiani's figure disappear into the cemetery.
The conclusions I drew last night seem to be right before my eyes, ready to be verified.
Just as Xu Guangyao and the others were about to leave, Xu Qingzhu suddenly asked, "Mom and Dad, do you know President Qi of Qida Company? The one who is famous for taking care of his family."
Xu Guangyao frowned upon hearing this. "What's wrong?"
"It was just a casual question." Xu Qingzhu didn't reveal Liang Shi's past, and simply made up an excuse: "I recently met with his wife, and I feel that President Qi is not as simple as he seems on the surface."
"Is it Jia Ni?" Sheng Linlang suddenly asked.
Xu Qingzhu nodded: "Yes, yes, his wife's name is Yang Jiani. Mom, do you know her?"
In the bleak rain, a gust of autumn wind blew by, making people shiver.
As the rain intensified, Liang Shi tilted the umbrella slightly towards Xu Qingzhu, exposing half of her shoulder. Xu Qingzhu subtly moved closer to her, then took her wrist and straightened the umbrella.
Sheng Linlang nodded slowly, "We were very close when we were little."
"What kind of person is she?" Xu Qingzhu asked. "Are you still in contact?"
Sheng Linlang shook her head: "She hasn't contacted us since her family went bankrupt."
Xu Qingzhu frowned. "You haven't seen her again since?"
Sheng Linlang glanced at the cemetery. "Every year during Qingming Festival, I place a bouquet of flowers in front of her parents' graves, which are also buried in this cemetery."
"When are the anniversaries of her parents' death?" Xu Qingzhu asked.
Sheng Linlang said, "March."
Xu Qingzhu asked Yang Jiani where her parents' graves were located, and then planned to go and take a look with Liang Shi later.
A while later, Sheng Linlang suddenly said, "One year she called me in the middle of the night and said she had gone crazy and that her daughter had died."
Sheng Linlang shook her head: "But she hung up after only a few words. When I called her back, she didn't answer. Later, when she finally answered, she told me not to contact her anymore, so we haven't been in contact since."
"When was that?" Xu Qingzhu continued to ask.
Sheng Linlang recalled carefully: "You were about nine years old, I think. You were sick every few days back then, and I couldn't take care of her. When she called me, you still had a fever..."
Xu Qingzhu remained silent. "Alright."
Sheng Linlang has not socialized for a long time. She spends her time at home copying Buddhist scriptures and reading books, and occasionally goes out shopping to buy things for her husband and daughters. She is indifferent to worldly affairs.
Even when the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, he remained calm, thinking that the worst that could happen was that he would have to endure hardship.
After her parents and brother passed away, she began to cultivate her character and temperament.
In particular, her eldest daughter was kidnapped when she was young, and she has been sick frequently since then. Fate seems to be unkind to her.
After Xu Guangyao and the others left, Liang Shi and Xu Qingzhu went to the place that Sheng Linlang had mentioned.
That was also the direction Yang Jiani left in.
When they arrived, there were flowers placed in front of the two elders' tombstone.
It seems that Yang Jiani did come to pay respects to her parents, but... it's not a holiday or a day of mourning, so why did she suddenly come?
Liang Shi felt something was off, so he took a walk around the area and discovered that there were also four tombstones in the same row with flowers in front of them.
But this tombstone is special; it is an unmarked one.
The flowers are baby's breath, their purple and yellow hues appearing exceptionally clean and pure after being washed by the rain.
"An unmarked tombstone," Liang Shi murmured, guessing. "Was this placed by Yang Jiani?"
Xu Qingzhu shook her head: "I don't know."
But she felt it was very likely.
Given Yang Jiani's morbid infatuation with Qi Jiao, it's impossible that she wouldn't bury Qi Jiao after her death.
But since Qi Jiao is still alive, it's impossible to erect a monument for her, so there's a high probability that an unnamed monument will be erected for her.
He buried her in the same cemetery as his parents, and each time he came to pay respects to his parents, he was actually paying respects to his daughter.
"So what special day is it today?" Liang Shi asked.
Xu Qingzhu suddenly raised an eyebrow: "Perhaps we could ask Rainbow?"
Liang Shi: "..."
Liang Shi thought it was a good idea.
So she stood there, called Zhou Li, and then had Rainbow answer the phone.
Liang Shi asked tactfully, "Rainbow, do you know what an important day today is for Teacher Qi?"
Rainbow flipped through the calendar. "It's her birthday, according to the lunar calendar."
Liang Shi felt that this made sense all at once, and exchanged a few pleasantries with Rainbow, only to be teased by Rainbow, "Sister Liang, you're so fake."
Liang Shi: "?"
“I’m just a tool,” Rainbow said.
Liang Shi: "..."
This kid's self-positioning is a bit too trendy.
Unfortunately, what she said today wasn't wrong, so Liang Shi could only helplessly say, "I'll treat you to something delicious another day."
Rainbow bargained with her, "Can you take just me?"
"Sure," Liang replied.
After hanging up the phone, Liang Shi checked the date; it was the end of the eighth month of the lunar calendar.
She marked the date, bowed before the tombstone, and then prepared to leave with Xu Qingzhu.
But on their way out of the cemetery, they passed by a mother and daughter.
Having just seen what might be Qi Jiao's tombstone, Liang Shi felt downcast, holding his umbrella low and having no interest in looking around.
So, it was just a simple passing by.
//
The woman was wearing a black trench coat over a white shirt and high-waisted black trousers. Her hair was casually tied up, and she was still wearing sunglasses. She was holding a child's hand with one hand and holding a large black umbrella with the other.
The child, dressed in all black, obediently followed the woman into the cemetery, and then stopped in front of a tombstone adorned with flowers.
The woman took off her sunglasses, revealing a lifeless eye.
She half-squatted down, took out the flowers and placed them in front of the tombstone, then looked at the person in the photo, tears welling up and falling down her cheeks.
The child immediately went to her and reached out to wipe her tears, saying, "Mommy, don't cry."
"Mom's fine," the woman said. "She just misses your dad a little."
Children pursing their lips probably don't understand the concept yet.
For her, she had never seen her father since she was born.
I don't know what it feels like to suddenly lose my father.
She just felt sorry for her mother.
"Shengyu, bow to your father." The woman wiped away her tears and said gently, "Introduce yourself to your father, and also give your summary."
Sheng Yu looked at the photo on the tombstone and whispered, "Mom, why is this photo in black and white? It's not as nice as the one in our house."
Su Yao's tears fell again, but she still patiently explained to Sheng Yu, "This is Dad's last photo, but this photo was taken when Dad graduated from university; it's his graduation photo."
It was simply photoshopped into black and white.
Sheng Yu gave a half-understanding "oh," then faced the tombstone and her clear voice rang out: "Dad, hello, I'm Sheng Yu. I'm five years old this year, and this is my first time visiting you. I'm so curious about what you look like, but Mom said I'll never see you again because you're in another world. So please be well in that world. Don't get sick, and don't be sad. Most importantly, could you please bless Mom so she won't cry anymore?"
"And one more thing," Sheng Yu paused, puffed out her cheeks, and said, "If I go to another world in the future, will I be able to see you?"
Su Yao squatted in front of the tombstone, the large black umbrella enveloping her and Sheng Yu's figures, as if creating a small, isolated world for themselves.
Looking at the photo on the tombstone, she suddenly smiled bitterly and said, "I've cried so much for you that I've gone blind in one eye, so why do I still shed tears when I see your photo?"
"Sheng Qinglin," Su Yao called his name gently and tenderly, "You must take good care of yourself there. I keep dreaming about you lately, do you miss me?"
Su Yao shook her head: "Then I won't go with you. I need to take care of Sheng Yu as she grows up."
“Do you remember? We used to dream that if we had a daughter, we would name her Shengyu. Although this promise was made many years late, I have kept it.” Su Yao said, “This is the bloodline I risked my life to leave behind for you. I almost went to find you in the delivery room.”
"But you seem to have quite a bit of foresight, freezing your sperm abroad. Look how much your daughter looks like you."
Su Yao squatted there, rambling on and on: "But I always feel like I've forgotten something. My older brother said that it's already amazing that I've recovered to this point. I can still remember you and raise Sheng Yu."
"But I always feel like I've forgotten some important person, some important thing, and I sometimes cry for no reason when I'm spacing out. If you can hear me, can you tell me what I've forgotten?"
...
//