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Hua Yu and Pedro agreed to meet in the reception room on the third floor of the exhibition hall.

It wasn’t the first time the two had met, so there was no need for formalities. Still, since Pedro was technically her elder, Hua Yu went home first, changed out of her casual work clothes into a slightly more formal suit, and after some thought, took a document bag with her as well.

Wei Yin was pressed against the door, peering inside with a listless expression. “What are you two going to talk about?”

Hua Yu found it amusing. “What do you think?”

“Me,” Wei Yin said through gritted teeth. “Can we not talk about me?”

“I don’t actually know much about what happened between you and Aunt Sun Bai,” Hua Yu said honestly. “The person I know best is you.”

In other words, the only thing Hua Yu could discuss was Wei Yin.

It might not have pleased the other side, but Pedro was a smart person. She could pick out what she wanted from the smallest clues. Making the trip over could be considered a gesture of courtesy.

Hua Yu’s thoughts were simple. Whatever she could take on for Wei Yin, if Wei Yin didn’t like it, Hua Yu would handle it.

Wei Yin was being raised under her watch; all she wanted was for Wei Yin to be happy.

Not having to see people she didn’t want to see. Not having to worry about survival. Not having to endure the torment of illness.

If she couldn’t even manage those most basic things, then she was far too useless.

Wei Yin didn’t know what Hua Yu was thinking. She could only vaguely sense that she seemed to be being spoiled, with someone shielding her from behind.

She had already prepared herself to be misunderstood, like Xu Ya Qing, or like many of the people who admired Pedro’s aura of glory. They would probably have told Wei Yin to think carefully, but Hua Yu said nothing.

If you don’t want to go, then I’ll go.

Wei Yin walked over and stood in front of Hua Yu.

“Anything else I need to know?” Hua Yu asked, looking down at her.

“Can I wait for you in the car?”

Wei Yin really wanted to cling to Hua Yu right now. It didn’t matter where; she just didn’t want to be apart from her.

Naturally, Hua Yu had no reason to refuse.

“I’ll buy you a little cake. You can watch a movie in the car; pick whichever one you like. I’ll be out after it’s over.”

—

Pedro had been waiting in the reception room for quite a while. The owner of Wuxi had stayed behind too, urging her not to rush.

“These days, children have their own ideas,” the owner said. “And so many years have passed. Don’t get anxious later.”

She knew Wei Yin wasn’t willing to see her, so she’d sent a friend over because she herself simply didn’t want to talk.

As Pedro’s friend, the owner could at least understand Wei Yin’s behavior a little.

After all, when a friend of a dead elder suddenly turned up, and Wei Yin cared so deeply about that elder’s death, it wasn’t easy to let go of the past and say hello.

What kind of hello could there even be? Was anyone doing well? No one.

Pedro was restless and couldn’t sit still.

“I’m not anxious, I just want to ask—”

Before she could finish, Hua Yu knocked and said, “Excuse me, is this the right place?”

Pedro stood up. The exhibition staff had already been dismissed by her, so the person here should be Wei Yin’s friend.

“Yes, it is,” the owner said, not giving Pedro a chance to move. She opened the door and welcomed Hua Yu in. “You two talk first; I’ll go downstairs for a walk.”

Pedro had met Hua Yu once before. Seeing her, she was a little surprised. “Dr. Hua? What brings you here?”

Hua Yu smiled. “Wei Yin is my friend; she’s a bit busy.”

That was enough. Pedro understood.

“Since you’re her friend, then sit down.”

She hadn’t expected it to be Hua Yu, who counted as a familiar face, so she wasn’t as tense anymore; that saved them a great deal of polite back-and-forth.

Pedro poured Hua Yu a pot of tea. “Taste it.”

Hua Yu’s manner was elegant. She took a sip and said with a faint smile, “Thank you.”

“How is it?” Pedro asked.

Hua Yu paused for two seconds and said plainly, “Honestly, the taste is average. It doesn’t seem like the sort of tea you drink.”

“Hahaha!” Pedro laughed at Hua Yu’s bluntness. The lines at the corners of her eyes deepened, making her look rather sharp. “Do I seem like the sort of person who drinks just any tea?”

Facing an authority figure with a strong presence, Hua Yu remained perfectly composed, neither flustered nor humbled. “There’s an old tea cake brought back from Tibet at home; it’s more expensive than gold. When I was young, I once drank it like a brute chewing peonies. Given your assets, the tea you drink should be no worse than that.”

The remark struck just the right balance of formality, flattery, and restraint; it preserved dignity without sounding false.

Pedro didn’t press further. Still smiling, she said, “Stop with the ‘you this, you that.’ I have a Chinese name too, Dang Hongmei. If you don’t mind, just call me Aunt Mei.”

“I also came from humble beginnings. The tea you’re drinking was my favorite when I was little. Old tea, coarse leaves no one else wanted, the crumbs at the bottom of the tea canister—I’d secretly gather them, pick them clean, and stuff them into a thermos before bed. If I sealed the cork tight enough, there wouldn’t be a crack left, and by the next morning I could drink a whole pot of hot tea.”

Hua Yu knew she was reminiscing and didn’t interrupt.

“She could endure any hardship; she just liked tea. She loved that one taste and never cared whether the tea was good or bad,” Pedro said softly. “Back then, that was the best thing I could give her.”

The room fell quiet. Hua Yu blew the froth from her tea and waited silently for Pedro to come back from her memories.

Five full minutes passed before Pedro came to herself, shaking her head with a bitter smile. “Sorry. I’m old; it’s easy to drift off.”

Hua Yu smiled. “It’s nothing. If I’m not mistaken, ‘she’ was Aunt Sun Bai, right?”

At the sudden mention of that name, Pedro froze for a moment before nodding. “Yes. Did Wei Yin tell you anything?”

“Just a few old stories,” Hua Yu knew Pedro cared, so she recounted them as carefully as she could. But Wei Yin had spoken with so much feeling that the factual details were sparse. After stripping away the extras, the whole account still took no more than three minutes from start to finish. “That’s all.”

Pedro listened with complete focus, as though she didn’t want to miss a single word.

“She only lived thirty-five years. Too short,” Pedro murmured. Her plump features seemed to sag all at once, as if she had aged ten years in an instant. “It’s already been this long.”

Hua Yu did not respond.

She could roughly guess the relationship between the two. Since they were both orphans, perhaps they had known each other since childhood. Pedro’s words after they met also confirmed as much.

Pedro had a different name before she was adopted. Though her nationality changed after the international adoption, she no longer had a Chinese name in the formal sense; still, “Dang Hongmei” and Sun Bai were clearly different.

If an orphan had originally had parents and was later taken in by an orphanage after those parents died unexpectedly, their name usually wouldn’t change.

But if it was an abandoned infant with no written record of a name, they would take the surname of the country or the Party.

One had once had a home only to end up with nowhere to go; the other had never had a home at all and could only take the nation as home. Whatever their origins, the two of them must have spent some time relying on each other in an orphanage or welfare home.

Friends who had leaned on each other through dark times would naturally have deep feelings for one another, not to mention that in those days, social welfare institutions were unevenly distributed. If they had ended up in a poor one, it really could have been a matter of clinging to one another to survive.

“My condolences,” Hua Yu said.

“Let’s not talk about me,” Pedro said, quickly smoothing away the expression on her face. “How did Dr. Hua become Wei Yin’s friend?”

That was a topic Hua Yu liked. She briefly explained her relationship with Wei Yin. “She’s recovering at my home now. She’s been in poor health since she was little, but her personality is good. She rarely loses her temper.”

After praising Wei Yin from the heart, Hua Yu added modestly, “She’s still young, after all. If she ever says something inappropriate, I’ll apologize for her first.”

Pedro waved a hand. “It’s my fault. Truthfully, I stopped doing art many years ago. Later, when I looked closely, I realized the zodiac patterns on Wei Yin’s twelve pieces were very similar to the ones in the archive, though there were some very subtle modifications. Those changes were exquisite; it was my own carelessness, and my skills had grown rusty..."

Hua Yu almost nodded along, but still hurriedly said, “Not at all. A wise person can still miss things after thinking a thousand times. That’s normal.”

“No need to flatter me,” Pedro sighed. “That child Wei Yin has spirit. She looks quiet and introverted, but her work is full of life. She’s suited to this line of work.”

Hua Yu felt the same way.

“She’s running a studio now with my cousin,” Hua Yu said. “I’ll do everything I can to let her do what she wants in peace.”

“A studio?” Pedro considered it, then shook her head. “Art can’t be made behind closed doors. China has a long ceramic history; she should go out and see more masters’ work.”

Hua Yu had wanted to say it should depend on Wei Yin’s wishes, but she also felt Pedro had a point.

“Then how about this,” Pedro said, handing over a business card. “There’s a training conference being held in the capital soon. Ceramic artists from across the country will come, and there’ll be quite a few intangible cultural heritage inheritors too. If she’s willing, she can go take a look and broaden her horizons.”

Hua Yu looked down at the matte business card but didn’t take it.

Pedro was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

“Aunt Mei,” Hua Yu changed to the more familiar address. She lifted her eyes and met the woman’s gaze, saying seriously, “Xiao Yin may not accept it.”

Pedro said nothing.

Hua Yu said, “She looks obedient, but when it comes to things she cares about, she gets very stubborn.”

Wei Yin rarely mentioned the past. Even when she visited her mother’s grave, she went alone. When Hua Yu occasionally heard her mention her mother and Aunt Bai upstairs, the words were always full of longing.

She could let her own life be sloppy and perfunctory, even to the point of not caring much about life itself. But for the people she cared about, she wouldn’t tolerate even a grain of sand.

If Pedro gave her nothing but a business card and Hua Yu took it back, Wei Yin would definitely not accept the kindness.

Pedro remained silent, and Hua Yu couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

Maybe it was because more than forty years of time were simply too heavy; maybe it was because the people in that story were already bones and yellow earth. All those memories had taken on a faded, yellowed texture, letting a person remember them quietly but not speak of them easily.

It was as if those memories, worn thin by the years, were held between the teeth and lips; the moment you opened your mouth, a bitter taste would rise.

By the time Hua Yu came out, two hours had passed.

Wei Yin was sitting on a bench in the parking area, tilting her head up to soak in the sun. Beside her sat the owner, holding a paper bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts.

“I told you you’re no ordinary person,” the owner said. She didn’t bring up Pedro at all; she wasn’t interested in those tangled grievances and only wanted to pull Wei Yin to her side. “From now on, your stuff won’t have to worry about not selling. If you’re still willing to leave it in my shop, I’ll only take five percent!”

Wei Yin squinted lazily through a slit in her eyes at the owner and raised a hand to shield herself from the sunlight above, looking confused. “I’m very worried about not selling.”

“You still don’t know? Pedro bought your twelve zodiac pieces,” the owner said delightedly. “After the exhibition, your name will be worth money.”

“Oh.” Wei Yin turned her head away. “That’s not something I can control either.”

“You don’t sound very happy about it?” the owner laughed.

Wei Yin was so lazy she looked like a fried egg flattened into a puddle. “Heh heh.”

Then she spotted Hua Yu and immediately, like a fried egg flipped over, sat up straight.

“Why aren’t you waiting in the car?” Hua Yu stood beside Wei Yin, blocking the light for her.

Wei Yin rubbed her arms. “The air conditioning was too strong. I came out to get some sun.”

“Don’t get sunburned.” Hua Yu took off her sun hat and put it on Wei Yin.

The owner’s smile only grew brighter as she watched from the side.

Wei Yin turned her head. “I’m heading home now. Want a ride?”

The owner shook her head. “I still need to stay a while.”

Hua Yu nodded at her. “Then we’ll head off first.”

On the way home, Hua Yu drove a little faster than usual. She even stopped to buy something on the way, and in the end they got home ten minutes earlier than it had taken to get there.

“You go upstairs first. I’ll make a phone call downstairs,” Hua Yu said.

Wei Yin didn’t think much of it; she did whatever she was told.

After getting home, Wei Yin started sorting through the ingredients in the fridge. She found two fish and planned to use one for soup and the other to make fish balls.

She didn’t feel like cooking much today; they’d have fish ball noodles for dinner.

Just as Wei Yin was scraping fish paste from the blender, Hua Yu came back.

Wei Yin didn’t turn around. “We still have to wait a little while before dinner.”

Hua Yu’s footsteps came closer, and Wei Yin caught a burst of floral fragrance.

“Wow,” Wei Yin turned around, and what met her eyes was a huge bouquet of bright yellow sunflowers, blazing and lively, their vivid color instantly filling the whole room. “Is this flower for me?”

She took it with delight, looked at the flowers, then at Hua Yu, stroking them once, then again, unable to put them down.

Seeing her able to be so happy over a bouquet of flowers, Hua Yu nodded, her voice slightly hoarse. “Mm. For you.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Wei Yin said, hugging the flowers and flashing her a brilliant smile. For a moment, it was hard to tell whether Wei Yin was prettier or the flowers were. “I really like you so much, Dr. Hua!”

Hua Yu looked away, her throat tightening. In a low voice, she said, “...Am I not good enough for you?”

Wei Yin didn’t hear clearly. “What?”

Hua Yu said nothing.

Wei Yin leaned closer. “Mm?”

Hua Yu closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them again, her gaze settling on Wei Yin and moving over her face as if carefully carving it into memory.

Then she lifted her arms and pulled Wei Yin into her embrace.

Hua Yu’s hold was strong, but the kiss she pressed to the top of Wei Yin’s head was very light.

So light that Wei Yin didn’t notice it at all; instead, Hua Yu only made her ticklish. “Ah, hahaha, Dr. Hua, don’t tickle me, hahaha!”

In her heart, Hua Yu silently repeated: I will definitely be good to you.

“Dr. Hua, you’re acting a little strange today,” Wei Yin said, still not struggling out of her embrace. She settled down, leaning against Hua Yu’s chest, then deliberately rubbed against her in a teasing way and burrowed closer, speaking muffledly, “Did that person say something to you?”

Wei Yin was slow to react, but she was perceptive. She instantly sensed where the problem lay.

Hua Yu said softly, “Nothing. I’m just very grateful.”

Compared with Pedro—no, compared with Dang Hongmei and Sun Bai, one had given up the chance to be adopted for the other, and one had worked herself nearly crazy to earn money so the other could go to school. They had loved each other deeply, yet never imagined that one separation would last more than ten years, until there was no chance to see each other again.

In a foreign land, that had become a parting for life.

The money for Sun Bai’s art studies had been paid by Pedro. Pedro’s adoptive parents had not been as kind as the rumors suggested; she had been restricted in her personal freedom and simply couldn’t come back. She could only work and save money desperately, and later she had nearly been shot.

After hearing all that, Hua Yu could only think: how could their lives have been so bitter?

And yet, at the same time, she felt a strong wave of lingering fear and gratitude.

Grateful that she and Wei Yin still had the chance to meet again.

Grateful that their fate had not yet run out.

Grateful that between the accident and their reunion, reunion had still come first.

“I’m very lucky,” Hua Yu said softly. “And I really like you too.”