Xiao Yu Ying shook her head, unwilling to say more. "It's all in the past."
She didn't want to talk about it.
Shen Qing Qing held her hand, which hung by her side. It was cold from the wind, as if devoid of any warmth. She frowned slightly. "Aunt, perhaps if you told me, I could help you."
Xiao Yu Ying remained silent for a long time.
She gazed into the distant void, her eyes vacant.
Shen Qing Qing knew she must be thinking about the past, so she stayed quiet. After a while, it seemed as though Xiao Yu Ying had come to terms with it herself, and finally spoke.
"Actually, there's nothing much to say. It's a very cliché story. I fell in love with a man who was wild and unrestrained, dashing and free as the wind. My mother, who had lived a life of composure and caution, how could she possibly agree?"
She had never taken a liking to Chris.
Her usually gentle and steady mother had vehemently opposed something for the first time.
Xiao Yu Ying had always been obedient since she was young, doing as her mother said and never defying her. She was the most well-behaved child in the family, listening to her elder siblings and her parents.
However, this time, she was resolute.
No matter what her mother said, she would not agree and was determined to be with Chris.
No one had expected Xiao Yu Ying to be so stubborn.
Everyone thought she was possessed. What kind of spell had that foreigner cast on her?!
Unfortunately, there was no answer to that question.
In the end, Xiao Yu Ying left with Chris. Despite Madam Xiao's attempts to stop her, she couldn't. Frustrated, she finally uttered a harsh threat.
"If you leave with him today, never come back again. I don't have a daughter like you."
Everyone in the Xiao family at the time tried to persuade Xiao Yu Ying not to defy her mother further.
But Xiao Yu Ying refused to listen.
She was determined to be with Chris. She thought her mother, who doted on her so much, wouldn't really fall out with her over this. She believed her mother's anger was just temporary.
She married Chris, and they stole her household registration book from home.
But she never imagined that when she returned home with the marriage certificate, Madam Xiao's eyes were filled with disappointment. She immediately ordered a servant to pack her clothes.
"You may leave. Don't come back again."
"Mother?"
Xiao Yu Ying's eyes widened in disbelief. She thought her mother was just speaking out of anger.
But Madam Xiao's actions proved she was serious.
Xiao Yu Ying was truly driven out. Chris, concerned for his wife, wanted to find Madam Xiao, but she stopped him.
Chris also had family, and they were already married. He couldn't stay away forever, and furthermore, his family kept urging him to return. The couple had no choice but to go back.
But Xiao Yu Ying never expected that this departure would be permanent.
Madam Xiao wouldn't allow it.
Even after returning to the country, Madam Xiao heartlessly refused to see her.
Xiao Yu Ying gave a bitter smile. "If I calculate it, I haven't seen my mother in many years. Since getting married, this is the first time I've seen her in all these years."
Her heart was filled with an indescribable excitement. She was truly happy.
"Aunt, I can help you."
Xiao Yu Ying was taken aback. "Qing Qing..."
"Grandmother is here now, isn't she?" Shen Qing Qing felt this was an excellent opportunity.
If they didn't seize this moment to mend their rift, who knew if another chance would come.
Madam Xiao was so stubborn. Once she left here, she might never return.
"How will you help me?"
Xiao Yu Ying suppressed her excitement.
It was a heartbreaking thought that, to her mother, her niece was more influential than she was.
"You and Uncle Chris have been married for many years; you must have taken quite a few photos, right?"
"We did."
Although Xiao Yu Ying didn't particularly like taking photos, her husband loved to document their happy moments.
They had four or five photo albums just for their own.
They took photos every year because they had many anniversaries to celebrate.
"Find them and give them to me."
"What are you going to do?"
Shen Qing Qing smiled faintly. "Aunt, surely you don't doubt my ability to handle things?"
Xiao Yu Ying immediately stopped asking. "I'll go back and ask Uncle to find them for you later."
"Then you should go back and rest early," Shen Qing Qing said, checking the time. They had been out for an hour and a half. "You're still weak; you must not catch a cold."
"I know."
Xiao Yu Ying thoroughly enjoyed her niece's concern. Unlike her闷闷 (mèn mèn - dejected, gloomy) mood when they came out, she was in high spirits on the way back.
Chris waited anxiously on the bed for his wife to return. He had been wondering how to coax her, but to his surprise, she fell asleep within a minute of lying down.
Chris: ...
A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; hard to find and hard to understand.
The next day, after breakfast, Shen Qing Qing took Madam Xiao to the pavilion in the back garden. On the stone table in the pavilion, pastries and tea were laid out.
Madam Xiao sat in a recliner. "Aren't you supposed to be out on business today? How do you have time to sit here with me?"
"The business I need to attend to isn't urgent. It's rare to have such good weather."
Shen Qing Qing poured Madam Xiao a cup of tea.
Madam Xiao took a sip. The tea was fragrant. She closed her eyes slightly. "It's truly rare for us to have such a leisurely time."
Everyone had been living under a lot of stress lately. Without a cure, no one could truly relax.
"Once we have the cure, we'll book our flight back home immediately."
Madam Xiao seemed to have no desire to stay here any longer.
Shen Qing Qing smiled and picked up a photo album from the table.
"Grandmother, look what this is?"
Madam Xiao glanced at it and paused slightly. The album contained photos of her daughter and Chris.
They were a handsome couple, tall and petite, looking very well-matched.
But Madam Xiao looked away after just one glance.
Xiao Yu Ying, who had been following them and hadn't spoken, had her eyes dim slightly.
Shen Qing Qing placed the album on her lap and began flipping through it, nodding with satisfaction. "It seems Aunt has had a very happy life these past few years."
Whether a person is living well or not can be seen from their expression and demeanor.
The happiness in their eyes was undeniable.
In every photo, Xiao Yu Ying wore a gentle and content smile.
Shen Qing Qing handed the album to Madam Xiao. "Grandmother, please take a look."
Madam Xiao turned her head away, uninterested.
"Grandmother~"
But she couldn't resist her granddaughter's persistent cooing. Madam Xiao reluctantly turned her head, glanced at it, her expression unchanged, making it impossible to tell if she was satisfied or not.
Shen Qing Qing gave Xiao Yu Ying a look and deliberately asked, "Aunt, tell me about you and Uncle Chris."
Xiao Yu Ying glanced at Madam Xiao. Perhaps because Shen Qing Qing was present, her mother, despite appearing uninterested, didn't leave.
Xiao Yu Ying slowly began to tell her story.
Actually, there wasn't much to say. Chris, although a citizen of country H, was naturally unrestrained, loved freedom, and was also very romantic.
He would accompany her on holidays and festivals, even if many of these festivals weren't celebrated there.
But Chris was willing to accommodate her.