The photo was about the size of a palm, black and white, its edges slightly yellowed due to the passage of time.
He Zhilan’s gaze fell on the photograph, but it took her a while to come back to her senses.
Gu Zhilan, a name she hadn’t heard for twelve long years, suddenly invoked by someone, hit her like a bolt of lightning, causing her heart to ache.
He Zhilan didn’t know if it was a coincidence or whether God had finally started pitying her, empathising with her almost endless longing.
In the yellowed black and white photo, on the green lawn in front of a two-story villa, a young girl’s innocent face, her brilliant smile, was more breathtaking than the capital’s sunshine. The pigtailed girl was laughing so heartily then.
"What if I told you I am Gu Zhilan in this picture, would you believe me?" He Zhilan’s trembling hand took the photo from Mina. Her fingertip gently stroked the picture. "Was I around five years old in this photo? Could it be? When you took this photo, was it your birthday? Or was it Tan Heqian’s birthday?"
Twelve years had passed, but never before this moment did He Zhilan want to cry more. For the first time, she felt that her parents were within reach. It took her twelve years to come across a piece of her childhood and someone who remembered the name Gu Zhilan.
"Holy shit! Seriously? This can’t be just a coincidence?" Tan Heshu’s eyes almost popped out of surprise. "You are Gu Zhilan? Is Lan Lin also in the capital? That guy has been in touch with me for nearly ten years! Wait, you just said your surname is He. That doesn’t match, right?"
"I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t even know where my parents are now!" Eventually, He Zhilan could not help it. Holding the photo, she began to sob uncontrollably. "When I was six, I sneakily ran out of the house while nobody noticed and ended up being kidnapped. For twelve years, I’ve been searching for my family, waiting for someone who still remembers the name Gu Zhilan. It’s been twelve years! I don’t remember anything else from these twelve years, except that my name is Gu Zhilan, a name I dared not forget even for a second. My dad’s surname is Gu, my mum’s surname is Lan, so my name is Gu Zhilan!"
An old photo seemed to break down the twelve-year barrier in an instant, making her feel that she could reunite with her parents once she overcame it.
The collapse of her emotions and tears shocked Tan Heshu, the excitement of meeting a familiar face from his past vanished. The coincidence had excited him excessively but He Zhilan’s words froze him as if he had fallen into an ice pit. He felt extremely upset, not for himself, but for He Zhilan, or rather, Gu Zhilan.
"Girl, what’s your name?"
"My name is Gu Zhilan! My dad’s surname is Gu, and my mum’s surname is Lan, that’s why my name is Gu Zhilan! My parents said I am their Little Princess, their precious Baobei!"
He vaguely remembered the childhood conversation, the clearest part being this dialogue. The pride on the little girl’s immature face, something others could not understand, as if she was proud just because her name included her parents’ surnames. Whenever someone asked her name, she would never forget to mention the origins of her name.