Tan Heqian also agreed with his mother’s opinion. He felt that, if he were to be in the shoes of He Zhilan’s husband, his father had painstakingly raised a girl and treasured her for over a decade, and then he marries this girl. But one day, the girl says she wants to find her birth parents, and moreover, these birth parents live in the city and have some status. In Tan’s position, he too, would worry the girl might leave this family for good.
He Zhilan was somewhat hesitant. She didn’t know whether hiding the fact that she was looking for her biological parents from He Teng, waiting until she had really found them to tell him, would anger him? Would he think she was being petty? Believe that she was keeping secrets from him?
And if she informed her family? Would her adoptive father worry she might truly leave the He family? What about her aunt? Would they believe her to be ungrateful, using the He family as a stepping-stone?
Public opinion was to be feared. She was all too familiar with the mindset of people in the countryside. They might certainly accuse her of being ungrateful, right? After all, the love her adoptive father showered on her was well known in the entire village and furthermore, she was now a married woman.
Upon considering this, it seemed He Zhilan didn’t really have any other choice, other than to keep it a secret from her family for the time-being, only telling them when she had truly found her relatives.
He Zhilan’s affairs were indeed very private ones. Therefore, she and Tan Heqian took advantage of the mid-day break and left the school, heading to a small shop nearby with a public telephone.
Once the call was connected, the emotions of Tan’s mother were much more agitated than they had imagined. Tan’s mother, being a mother herself for many years, and having helped raise He Zhilan when she was a girl, her heart genuinely ached for Zhilan.
When it came to Zhilan, Tan’s mother could only sigh, "Due to adjustments in our work, our family had to move. Many years later, we had lost contact with the good neighbors of the past. Every time we moved, I couldn’t bear to throw away that old photo album. I’d always look at your pictures and think about how many years have passed, wondering what you children from then are now like. I’d inevitably sigh while reminiscing fondly."
Regarding the memories of her childhood, He Zhilan’s mind drew a blank. She no longer remembered the appearance of Tan Heqian’s mother or the taste of her cooking dishes. However, listening to Tan’s mother recount all these things, she couldn’t help but feel a deep familiarity and was moved to tears.
"Miss Zhilan, do you remember? When you were little, that’s how we used to address you. Don’t worry, Auntie will do her best to try and find people who still have contact. When I have time, I’ll make a trip to F Province, visit the old place where we used to live and see if I can find old neighbors to ask for information."
"Auntie Tan, thank you." He Zhilan choked up.
"What are you thanking me for? Isn’t it a matter of destiny that after twelve years, you and Tan Heqian still ended up being classmates? You surely have a connection with our family. In twelve years, this connection has not been cut. You just study well in the capital. If there’s any news, Auntie will notify you immediately." Tan’s mother consoled her, as a mother herself, her heart ached deeply.
A phone call which lasted nearly twenty minutes was finally hung up. On the way back to school, Tan Heqian kept casting glances at He Zhilan, as if he was still caught in the unexpected reunion and couldn’t come back to his senses.
He Zhilan had class beginning at half-past two in the afternoon. After returning to the dormitory for a rest, she noticed a lot of people gathering around the large school bulletin board while carrying her books. People were talking fervently, she didn’t need to squeeze in to know the new content of the bulletin board.