"My little sister is still so beautiful," Grandma Yun said with a smile as she looked at the person in front of her.
Dean Han had to watch not only his wife but also his aunt, fearing that she, being old, might faint from excitement.
At her age, the chance of having a stroke from fainting was quite high.
Grandma Yun pulled Professor Ning aside to sit, and the two sisters began to talk.
Watching Yun Xiaoxiao on the side, everyone was somewhat puzzled.
"Grandma, Professor Ning, why did you recognize each other upon meeting after so many decades? Isn’t it harder to recognize each other with such big changes?"
The sisters looked at each other and smiled.
Professor Ning explained, "First is the feeling, second is the birthmark, and third is the sound of your grandma calling me, which I have always remembered."
Yun Xiaoxiao was perplexed.
She truly felt that some people change so much that even twins, one raised in the south and the other in the north, would look different when they meet.
"Xiangxiang, did you seek refuge with your uncle after you went abroad?"
Professor Ning began to talk about her experience of going abroad years ago.
"My nanny and I went to seek refuge with my uncle, who treated me very well. Knowing the tense situation back home, he urged me to stay put while he inquired about our family’s situation."
Years ago, Grandma Yun had sent her sister to their uncle abroad, also because this uncle was their biological uncle, who was very kind to them and not much older than them. Although somewhat unreliable, staying with him was still better than staying at home.
"But he could never find any news, and I couldn’t return home either. My uncle had no choice but to stop inquiring about you all. At that time, I decided to focus on my studies, thinking that by the time I returned home, everything would have settled down."
She had not expected it to drag on until she graduated from university. She insisted on returning to her homeland, and with no choice left, her uncle pulled some strings to send her back.
But she had not anticipated that upon her return, her home would no longer exist.
She had no idea where her siblings had gone, nor where her parents were.
She couldn’t find them.
She inquired everywhere until she was nearly out of the money she had brought back from abroad; then she had to find a job to support herself.
Having returned from studying abroad, she took up a teaching position at a university, where she met the man who would become her love.
"Big sister, it should have been me facing it all with you, but I turned out to be a deserter," she said.
Grandma Yun patted her hand, "No, you are outstanding. My Xiangxiang is a scholar who studied abroad, and now a professor—truly amazing."
Then she turned to Dean Han, "This must be your husband?"
Grandma Yun, who had been educated among the elite Eight Banner descendants, asked.
Dean Han immediately introduced himself, "Big sister, hello, my surname is Han."
He was of humble origin and knew that his wife had come from the prestigious Eight Banner descendants, and that his father-in-law had once been an official, his wife a lady from an official family.
Seeing his wife quite circumspect, Professor Ning just smiled.
Grandpa Yun was still reserved, "Little sister, hello, I am your brother-in-law, my surname is Li."
"Hello, brother-in-law," Professor Ning nodded.
That constituted their formal greetings.
"Big sister, you don’t know, when I first saw Xiaoxiao, I felt like I was seeing you, she really looks a lot like you," he said.
Grandpa Yun agreed, saying, "She does look very much alike."
Back then, it had been a stroke of great luck for him to marry into his wife’s family.
Professor Ning continued, "At that moment, I wondered if she could be my niece. I wanted to ask her, but I was also afraid to ask. If I didn’t ask, you all would still be living, big sister, I was truly afraid."