"I love playing the zither the most! Sister also loves listening, and I will play more songs for Sister in the future!"
"Sister, isn't it good? Why haven't you praised me?" Whenever she didn't praise him, he would look at her with a wronged expression, his pitiful voice still echoing in her ears.
The past flashed before her eyes, and Yi'er's proud, happy, and even wronged expressions seemed to have happened just yesterday, but today he was gone.
Gu Yitong wished she could rush onto the stage and bring her brother back to her side, but she couldn't. This was Yi'er's performance, and she had promised him she would listen from beginning to end without interruption.
When Muxiang finished playing, she could no longer hold back. She rushed to Muxiang's side, grabbed his hand tightly, and refused to let him leave.
This was why Lu Yu saw such a scene the moment she entered.
Seeing that he couldn't break free, Muxiang stopped struggling. He let out a long sigh and faced Gu Yitong, "Madam, I am very grateful for you saving me that day, but I truly don't know who this Yi'er you speak of is. Miss, you must have mistaken me for someone else."
He had to clarify these words here, with so many people watching the spectacle. If he took Gu Yitong aside, they didn't know what kind of gossip they would face.
"Please, Miss, do not pull and tug at me in public. It is not good for your reputation."
Reminded by him, Gu Yitong suddenly realized that a crowd had already gathered around them. If she continued to pester him, she feared rumors would spread throughout the town by tomorrow.
Lu Yu also appropriately pried Gu Yitong's hand away and apologized to Muxiang, "I'm sorry, Young Master Muxiang. She might have had too much to drink. I'll take her away now."
"I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else." Gu Yitong chimed in and bowed solemnly to Muxiang.
"What was wrong with you just now? Do you know him?" After they left, Lu Yu saw Gu Yitong's listless mood and asked.
"Do you remember I told you before that I had a brother who got separated from me? He should be him."
Gu Yitong sat dejectedly by the roadside, feeling the cold wind. It calmed her impulsive mood, leaving only regret.
"I shouldn't have acted like that in public. It would have ruined his reputation."
"Don't overthink it. You apologized to him and admitted you mistook him for someone else, which was a timely damage control," Lu Yu patted her back. "You can ask him carefully tomorrow."
Gu Yitong nodded. That was the only way for now. She was absolutely sure she wouldn't mistake the person.
"Alright, you should go back quickly, or your husband will worry."
Watching Lu Yu's retreating back, Gu Yitong slowly walked towards the west of the town.
Her home was a small house on the west side of the town, filled with bamboo dragonflies, kites, cloth tigers, and clay figurines she had painstakingly carved herself.
Pushing open the door, Gu Yitong stood at the entrance, looking at the room full of toys. She could no longer control her emotions. She stumbled to the table, picked up a clay figurine, and hugged it tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.
She had suppressed herself for too long. When her parents passed away one after another in her childhood, it was a devastating blow to her. But she couldn't fall; she still had her brother to take care of, and she had to learn to be strong.
Every time she was hurt or sad, she would grit her teeth and get through it.
She dared not show any vulnerability in front of her brother, for fear that he would be scared.
Later, her brother got lost and couldn't be found. She searched everywhere like a madwoman, shouting her brother's name on the streets until her voice was hoarse and she could no longer speak.
At that time, the townspeople thought she was crazy and avoided her, never truly listening to her pleas.
She searched for two full days and nights without time to drink water or eat. She feared that the time she wasted would lead to her brother being lost forever.
Her body finally gave out, and she fainted in a dilapidated temple. Fortunately, a kind old man rescued her, or she feared she would have remained in that temple forever.
She slept very soundly, as if she had a dream she couldn't quite recall. Perhaps she had taken a trip to the Bridge of Helplessness.
Waking up slowly, feeling the piercing sunlight, she wished she could continue sleeping and never wake up.
Her brother's disappearance was the last straw that broke her. Waking up this time, she knew her brother could never be found again.
"Why? Why would the heavens treat me like this, taking my loved ones away one by one? Just take me too."
"You shouldn't say that." The old man outside the door, about to enter, heard Gu Yitong speaking such disheartening words. "Child, you are still young. You must not have such thoughts. Living is your loved ones' greatest hope for you."
"This is just a hurdle in life. Those who overcome it become strong, and those who cannot are weak and incompetent, betraying the expectations of all your loved ones."
The old man's face remained calm, with no trace of joy or sorrow, yet he exuded a cold aura.
The old man lived a very transparent life, a rare understanding person in this world.
Through their subsequent interactions, Gu Yitong learned that the old man's life could not be described as merely unfortunate.
Her father died in childbirth, and her mother, disliking him for being a boy, abandoned him. Later, he was rescued but was raised as a child groom and married to the family's daughter as soon as he came of age.
However, the woman disliked him intensely and made his life difficult in every way. After becoming pregnant, she even spread rumors that the child in her belly was not hers, intending to accuse him of infidelity. She divorced him before the child was even born.
He was sent to the army as a military prostitute. It was a time of chaos, and he was fortunate to escape the army through his own efforts. However, he didn't know where to settle. Penniless, he slept in dilapidated temples daily and begged on the streets during the day.
His belly grew larger day by day. When it was time for him to give birth, he was alone. The child he struggled to give birth to died shortly after due to his malnutrition during pregnancy.
"At that time, I also wanted to die like you, resenting heaven for its injustice. But I met a kind person who saved me. She... was very good."
The old man spoke as if recounting someone else's experience, his face still calm.
However, when he mentioned the kind person saving him, his eyes finally showed sadness and longing.
He only said she was "very good," but Gu Yitong understood. This was a scar in the old man's heart, one he dared not touch even himself.
"So today, I want to be a kind person, to be her."
At this point, the old man finally smiled.
From then on, Gu Yitong never thought of ending her life again. She was determined to live with all her might, to live well for her family.
However, from that moment on, she began to wear a mask. Every day, she fanned herself, pretending to be profound, making many friends, always holding onto a sliver of hope in her heart.
Perhaps this was the price of growing up.
She lived with the old man for three years. He took good care of her. Sometimes she wondered if the old man saw her as his own child who had died prematurely.
The old man seemed to have let go of everything, but in reality, he kept everything bottled up inside, and his health deteriorated day by day.
Before he passed away, the old man looked at the ceiling and muttered.
"Father."
These two words instantly caught the old man's attention. "Is that my daughter? Have you come to find Daddy?" a hoarse voice came from the old man.
Gu Yitong could no longer hold back. She knelt by the old man's bedside, her eyes red, tears blurring her vision.
"Father, I am your daughter."
The old man was delirious. He reached out to grab Gu Yitong's hand, constantly replying, "Alas, Father is here."
He truly regarded Gu Yitong as his own child.
The old man was gone, completely gone.