Jiang Biyun and Chen Xiting were also seeing He Zhilan’s photo for the first time. And honestly, the little girl in the photo didn’t look much like her at all.
"I was a bit chubby because I loved to eat when I was a kid," He Zhilan said with a sheepish grin. There was indeed a huge difference between how she looked now and when she was a kid. She was a bona fide chunky child, but she lost a lot of weight after being kidnapped and suffered a lot. By the time she arrived at the He family, she had lost quite a bit of weight, and she kept getting thinner until now.
"Well, if you hadn’t said it, I would have never recognized you from the photo!" Huang Cai said, leaning in to take a look at the photo. Then she added, "He Zhilan, your home is so beautiful!"
"This isn’t my home, it’s his home." He Zhilan pointed at the little Tan Heqian in the photo. Everyone knew she was from a village, so, who would believe that she had such a beautiful home?
"So, this is Tan Heqian when he was young, right? I wouldn’t recognize him unless I take a close look, but if you pay attention to his facial features, it’s still noticeable! But, He Zhilan, you were really adorable when you were little, even if you were roly-poly. Look at you now, you turned into a beautiful woman!" Chen Xiting didn’t hesitate to compliment He Zhilan. He Zhilan was indeed adorable when she was little. She was chubby, but her happy smile was so comforting.
"Cute? So a pig-like fat is called cute?" Gu En mocked, casually asking, "Looking at these decorations, was it somebody’s birthday when the photo was taken? He Zhilan, was it your birthday? Oh, when is your birthday anyway?"
"No, it was Tan Heqian’s birthday." He Zhilan shook her head.
"So when is your birthday, then?" Gu En pressed on.
Perhaps, the question of when her birthday was should be straightforward for others. It’s as simple as asking an adult their age and their name, but for He Zhilan, that was an answer she simply couldn’t pull out.
She vaguely remembered that her birthday was in the winter, during the snowing season. But as for which day it was, He Zhilan simply couldn’t remember.
He Zhilan remained silent and didn’t answer. She lowered her head to look at the photo, pretending not to hear the question. She carefully put the photo away, thanked everyone again and then took her clothes to the public washing pool.
Perhaps others hadn’t noticed anything unusual about He Zhilan, but the observant Jiang Biyun did. She grabbed a piece of clothing and followed He Zhilan out, catching up with her.
The lunch break wasn’t long, and during this season, everyone was more inclined to nest and rest in their dorm after lunch, so only He Zhilan and the later following up Jiang Biyun were by the pool.
"Zhilan, what happened just now? Why didn’t you answer Gu En when he asked about your birthday?" Jiang Biyun knew He Zhilan was pretending not to hear and she noticed He Zhilan’s hand, which was holding the photo, tremble slightly.
At Jiang Biyun’s question, He Zhilan sighed and shook her head, "I was abducted when I was six. I don’t even remember my parents’ names, let alone my own birthday. I just remember it was on a snowy day."
"You haven’t celebrated your birthday at all in the past twelve years?" Jiang Biyun was shocked.
He Zhilan shook her head, "In our countryside, we usually don’t celebrate birthdays, we only celebrate when reaching a new decade. When I was ten, my father celebrated for me once. But because I don’t know my actual birthdate, my father celebrated my birthday on the day I arrived at the He family. We were poor, so my father exchanged some rice for a little flour and boiled two eggs for me."