“I brought this for you.”
She picked up a dumpling with the chopsticks and placed it in front of the gravestone. “You see, my dumplings are still perfect as usual. If you were still alive, then you would have eaten a lot for sure.”
After she put a dumpling in front of the gravestone, she picked up another dumpling and put it into her mouth.
“You cannot eat it, so I will help you to finish it.”
One by one, she ate the dumplings, but after a while, she could taste her own tears. The dumplings were delicious, it tasted like those she had before, it was Lu Yi’s favorite taste, and the taste that she was most familiar with.
However, for some reason, she tasted bitterness.
It was bitter and was difficult to swallow.
The container was full of dumplings, and she ate all of them, but it was too full for her, and it made her cry. She put down the container, moved forward, and sat on the corner of the gravestone. She wrapped the gravestone around tightly with both of her hands.
The gravestone was cold, without any warmth, like the flood that almost drowned her last time.
She kept her face close to the gravestone, it was the only way for her to be nearer with him, nearer.
“Don’t worry, I will fulfill what I had promised you before. I will drink the soup obediently, have my meals properly, and I will take care of your parents well, I will treat them as my own parents.”
“Let me watch by your side for the rest of life, okay?”
“I will watch by your side forever, even if it’s just your gravestone.”
When Yan Huan came out, she saw Yi Ling’s car in front of the cemetery entrance. She stopped her pace for a moment and walked slowly toward it.
It was impossible that she did not bear any grievances. However, many things were destined in the beginning. She could not put the fault completely on someone, that would not be fair to anyone.
As she said before, it was not Yi Ling’s fault, it was hers.
However, she still needed some time to let go of herself, and also others.
She got into the car and put the empty container on her lap. Unconsciously, she rubbed it softly with her fingers.
“Huanhuan, where should I take you: to the Lu family or your house?” Yi Ling stopped the car and looked at Yan Huan. It would be the house of Lu’s family if she turned left, and it was Yan Huan and Lu Yi’s house to the right.
“Just go to my house.” Yan Huan held onto the container tightly. She felt uncomfortable since her stomach was too full as she was in the car, and she felt like vomiting. She laid herself on the seat behind and hugged the container tightly in her arms.
Yan Huan entered the kitchen after she changed her shoes and washed the container. Then, she came out and turned around, walking into the bedroom that belonged to Lu Yi and her.
She removed her shoes and laid on the king-sized bed. There seemed to be a whiff of Lu Yi, the smell with the fragrance of Bombax, it smelled good, but also painful.
She curled up her body, to feel more, to recall more. However, too much time has passed. What was left was the smell of detergent. It had a nice smell, but it did not belong to Lu Yi.
Not knowing how long she lay on the bed, she stood up finally, folded the blanket tidily, and she tidied the sheet, too.
She opened the wardrobe, it was Lu Yi’s clothing inside. She took out one of them and smelled it under her nose.
It was the fragrance of detergent.
She took another piece of clothing, and it had a similar smell as the one before. After she took the third one, disappointedly, she hung back all of them. In fact, none of them smelled like him.
She closed the wardrobe and entered the study. There was a huge bookshelf, most on the books on it had been read by Lu Yi. On the table, was the pen that he used to write with, some files, and a photo of the two of them.
Yan Huan picked up the photograph, wiped it with her sleeve softly, and put it back onto the table. She sat on the chair and turned on the laptop on the table. It was a present from her to Lu Yi, and he always used it. Every morning, he would bring it to the procuratorate, and brought it back when he returned home. It was nearly inseparable from him.
She turned on the laptop and found out that it was locked by a password.
She thought for a while, laid her fingers on the keyboard, and typed some numbers, numbly.
It was her date of birth.
Lu Yi excelled in mathematics, but she was not. She was forgetful, sometimes she even could not remember her mobile phone number. Therefore, all the passwords in their house, the bank card password, the mobile phone card password, every single of the password that was in use, was her date of birth. That was what Lu Yi told her.
Yan Huan pressed the ‘Enter’ key.
The screen of the laptop had already lit up. She started to go through the documents that were in Lu Yi’s laptop. They were some complicated notes related to his work that she did not understand. Then, she found a photo album.
The album was locked. Once again, she entered her date of birth. Yeah, it was unlocked.
There was plenty of photographs in the album, all of them were her photos. She took a look at the date of the photo, seemed like it started from the moment she acted as the ‘Little Golden Silkworm’. However, only now she realized that he had paid attention to her for such a long time.
She flipped the photos one by one. Without her knowledge, he had stored quite a number of her photographs.
She flipped until the last one, there were some words under the photograph.
In my years, I wish that I could keep them until your hair turns grey.
All of a sudden, she covered her face. At that moment, she wept.
Yes, you would, she told herself, and also to the man that had long gone. For sure, I will snap photographs until my hair turns grey. I will continue the rest of the journey for you; I will snap the rest of the photographs for you.
She closed the laptop, she would definitely bring it back. Lu Yi did not leave much, and this laptop was used by him previously, that was why she wanted to keep it with her. Whenever she sees it, she would think about him and would remember him.
She carried the laptop in her arms. When she returned to the Lu family, she brought someone along with her.
She was the maid that she hired for her family.
“Why did you bring her here?” Ye Shuyun looked at Yan Huan as they already had a housekeeper in their house. At first, they hired a young girl, but later, she left. Then came another one who was older, who was kind and attentive. Was there any lacking in her work? Besides, the maid from the Lu family was aghast. Did she do something wrong before? Even if it was so, why did they not tell her? So that she could do better. They did not have to fire her!
“She knows how to prepare herbal soups,” Yan Huan held the laptop more tightly, “I promised Lu Yi that I will drink the soup she prepares for me.”
Ye Shuyun was suddenly rendered speechless. She tidied Yan Huan’s hair with her outstretched hand.
