He Zhilan gradually ceased her sobbing amidst the conversation. The blurred faces from memory faded in her mind, yet the potent song sang by her grandpa remained the same.
Seeing the Red Army off, descending from the mountains,
A mix of autumn breeze and fine rain, drizzles unending,
Wild deer crying on the hilltops,
Tree after tree of firmiana, leaves falling clean,
Asking a family member, oh Red Army,
When will the troops, return to the mountains.
"Grandpa, why do you always lift your hand when you hear this song?"
"Miss Zhilan, you don’t like it? You still imitate me all the time though, to the amusement of others."
"Hmph! I won’t imitate you anymore! It’s not fun at all!"
"Granny, the grapes in the yard are so sweet and tasty! I will pick them for Mom and Dad when they come home!"
"Ah, our Miss Zhilan is truly filial."
"Miss Zhilan is our little princess, auntie’s darling girl. Every year, auntie sends many princess dresses, until our little princess finds her prince charming."
"Who says Miss Zhilan is plump and not pretty? My daughter is the most beautiful girl in the world! The most precious treasure of her parents!"
Thirteen years ago, these were her only family. How are they now? Do they miss her as intensely as she misses them? Tonight, could she really return to them after a long thirteen-year absence?
Downstairs, Zhou Hongjin called out for a while without any response. Zhou Chenyue then got out of the car alone to go upstairs, but as soon as she reached the stairs, she saw He Zhilan in a lake blue dress coming out accompanied by two roommates.
"I thought you didn’t hear me! Why didn’t you answer? Excellent, you look beautiful!" Zhou Chenyue ran up and circled around He Zhilan, "This outfit suits you! Do I have a good eye? Hey, your eyes are red? Have you been crying? Who upset you? Was it Gu En? It was that bastard Gu En, wasn’t it?"
He Zhilan shook her head. Fortunately, her makeup was fixed, so after calming her emotions a bit, she believed that by the time they reached Gu Mansion, it would no longer be noticeable.
Once they got in the car, Zhou Chenyue sat with He Zhilan in the back seat, and Zhou Hongjin took the keys and drove, glancing back at He Zhilan.
"Right, how come you came over, Zhou Chenyue?" Knowing that the siblings cared about her, He Zhilan steered the conversation elsewhere, "This isn’t Zhou’s car, is it?"
"His car was borrowed by his roommate temporarily, so I came to pick him up. I didn’t know you were going too, but it’s good. At least I’ll have some company when I get to Gu’s house!" Zhou Chenyue laughed.
"What about your sister? Will she be there?" He Zhilan had the impression that Gu En and Ding Long got along very well, so Ding Long was likely to be there, or more accurately, Ding Long would definitely be there.
"My sister will definitely not go. With her status, she would only feel awkward and lonely in such a place. But Ding Long will definitely be there." Zhou Chenyue did not bother to call Ding Long "brother-in-law" at this time, "My sister said that he is extremely opportunistic and would never miss such a good chance to curry favor."
The trio left the school at two o’clock, and only arrived at the entrance of Gu Mansion in the capital military district after three o’clock. Sure enough, Gu Mansion was bustling with people, and Gu En was standing at the entrance seeming to be arguing with Lin Deng, with a troubled look on his face.