Xu Nianhua silently observed the beautifully cultivated wisteria flowers, thinking that without the meticulous care of their owner, could the wisteria be as beautiful as it was today?
These wisteria flowers couldn’t do without Aunt Jin’s careful attention, but even more so, they couldn’t do without Pei Yicheng and his sister pouring their deep longing for their mother into them.
Whether it was Pei Yicheng or Pei Yining, whenever they saw this patch of wisteria flowers, joy was unmistakably reflected in their eyes, a joy that was truly impossible to conceal.
"Yicheng, I believe that if Auntie’s spirit is looking down from heaven, she would definitely feel consoled," Xu Nianhua said while looking at the vast stretch of wisteria flowers, imagining Pei Yicheng’s mother to be a woman tender as water and full of sentiment.
"Mmm, my mom was very gentle. I remember that she spoke softly and had a gentle voice. No matter when it was, her face always had a faint smile," Pei Yicheng recalled his mother Du Ya when she was alive, singing nursery rhymes that sounded like whispers by his ear, which were his favorite songs to listen to.
Unfortunately, as he was often not at home later on, his mother gradually changed. Although she never showed any discomfort in front of him, in his childhood, he had seen his mother wiping away tears in secret.
"Auntie was so kind; she will surely have a lifetime of happiness in her next life," Xu Nianhua said, not knowing how else to comfort him.
She had also experienced the pain of losing a family member.
People say the dead cannot come back to life and one must accept and move on, but who can truly understand without having gone through it themselves?
In this world, there’s no such thing as true compassion.
Pei Yicheng stopped what he was doing and smiled slightly at the corners of his mouth when he heard her words. He nodded and said, "She will."
His mother was kind and gentle; the heavens would surely treat her well.
At seven o’clock sharp, Xu Nianhua and her party of four arrived at Beining University.
The main entrance of Beining University was exceptionally tall and imposing, standing in front of it made one feel so insignificant.
"Is this the university?" Xu Nian’an gazed at Beining University, eyes trailing inward. Compared to County No. 1 High School, this place was at least more than ten times bigger.
Having Pei Yicheng, an alumnus, acting as their guide, he mixed school introductions with leading them to the registration office.
Xu Nianhua had arrived early and had already registered and been assigned to a dormitory.
"Your school is really big," Xu Nian’an, carrying his belongings, couldn’t help but express as he went up to the third floor.
"Don’t worry, your school will definitely not be small either."
Xu Nianhua said with a smiling expression. With Pei Yicheng and Xu Nian’an, two men there, she didn’t need to lift a finger to move the heavier items.
Xu Nianhua carried a bucket, a thermos, and a washbasin, while Pei Yining also helped carry some snacks.
At the school gate, they had specially bought two large suitcases with locks so they could secure their belongings inside.
One suitcase was for winter clothing, and the other was for the clothes she was currently wearing.
In the dormitory, there was no one else yet; Xu Nianhua was the first to arrive.
"Nianhua, this lower bunk looks good," Pei Yining pointed out a lower bunk in the middle while looking at the dormitory and invited again, "Why don’t you come and live with me? It’s the place we stayed at yesterday, really close to the school."
"Thank you for the offer, but it’s more convenient for me to stay in the dormitory," Xu Nianhua declined once more, choosing an upper bunk instead of a lower one.
Despite the upper bunk being a bit harder to climb onto, the lighting was better, and she didn’t like the lower bunk, where opening her eyes first thing meant staring at the base of the upper bunk.