Chapter 136: A Promise Before the Tombstone, I Am No Longer Alone

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: A Promise Before the Tombstone, I Am No Longer Alone

"Qinghe, dear, this young man must be your boyfriend, right? He’s so handsome!"

The old woman said with a grin, clicking her tongue.

Hearing this, Su Qinghe’s face instantly turned bright red. Gu Yifan, on the other hand, couldn’t understand the Minnan dialect and just looked confused.

"Third Great-Aunt, he... he’s not..."

After sneaking a glance at Gu Yifan, Su Qinghe whispered.

"Hah!"

"I’m just old, not stupid. You two are holding hands, and you still say you’re not? Who do you think you’re fooling!"

The old woman said nonchalantly, giving Su Qinghe a sidelong glance.

Su Qinghe: "..."

The blush on her face deepened, and she lowered her head shyly.

Gu Yifan looked quizzically at Su Qinghe, who had suddenly started blushing again. He asked, "Su Hanhan, what are you two talking about?"

"Huh?"

Su Qinghe froze for a moment, then quickly shook her head and stammered, "N-nothing... We weren’t saying anything."

"Hm?"

Gu Yifan frowned. "Really?"

"Mhm!"

Su Qinghe nodded emphatically.

"Oh, okay."

Though Gu Yifan was still suspicious, he didn’t press the matter.

"By the way, Hanhan, aren’t we supposed to go up the mountain later? Could you ask Third Great-Aunt if we can borrow a hoe, a sickle, or something like that?" he asked after a moment of thought.

"Oh, right."

Gu Yifan’s reminder brought Su Qinghe back to the task at hand. She turned to the old woman and said, "Third Great-Aunt, I’d like to go up the mountain to pay respects to my parents. Could you lend me some tools?"

"Oh, of course!"

"You can come with me to my place to get them in a little while!"

Third Great-Aunt agreed without a second thought.

...

「Fifteen minutes later.」

Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe started up the mountain.

Su Qinghe wore a straw hat and carried a rice-cutting sickle, while Gu Yifan shouldered a hoe. A basket filled with incense, joss paper, and other offerings was slung over the other end of the hoe’s handle. Together, they made their way up the mountain.

In truth, though it was called a mountain, it was more of a large, earthen hill in the strictest sense.

It wasn’t too high or steep, so the climb wasn’t very difficult.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived.

"Is this it?"

Gu Yifan asked, looking at the ground, which was covered in weeds.

"Mhm."

Su Qinghe nodded gently.

"Alright!"

Gu Yifan nodded, setting down the items from his shoulder. "Let’s get to work, then!"

With that, he started clearing the wild grass.

Seeing this, Su Qinghe put down her things as well and started clearing the area with him.

Half an hour later, they had finally cleared away all the surrounding weeds, revealing two headstones standing side-by-side.

Gu Yifan laid out the incense, joss paper, and offerings they had brought. Then, he spoke softly to Su Qinghe. "Alright, Hanhan, I’ll go over there for a smoke. You take some time to talk with your mom and dad."

"Okay."

Su Qinghe glanced back at him and nodded gently.

Seeing this, Gu Yifan didn’t say anything more. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, turned, and walked over to a gravelly patch nearby, giving Su Qinghe some space.

After he left, Su Qinghe, who had managed to remain calm until now, could no longer hold back her emotions. The rims of her eyes instantly reddened.

"Mom, Dad, I’ve come to see you."

She crouched before her parents’ graves, lighting the incense sticks one by one. As she did, she murmured softly, "Mom, Dad, did you know... a while ago, I almost came to join you. But then someone showed up, and I didn’t. He’s very good to me, and his family is very good to me, too..."

...

"He’s very handsome and wonderful... Sometimes, when I’m alone, I wonder if you two sent him to find me. Why else would he show up at just the right time? Whenever I need help, he’s always the first one there for me."

"Mom, Dad, he’s the one who came with me to see you today. You’ve seen him, haven’t you?"

"You’d like him too, right?"

Su Qinghe’s voice was soft and gentle, as if her parents were right there in front of her, chatting with her face-to-face.

「Half an hour later.」

Watching the last of the incense burn down to ash, Su Qinghe silently rose to her feet.

By then, Gu Yifan was already standing quietly beside her.

"Alright, let’s go," as the last wisp of ash fell, Su Qinghe looked back at Gu Yifan, managing a faint smile.

Although she was smiling, the sorrow in her eyes was a deep-seated ache that wouldn’t fade...

Gu Yifan saw it, and his heart ached for her.

He reached out and gently took her hand. "Hey..." he said, his voice soft and tender. "Do you want to stay a little longer?"

"N-no, that’s okay."

Su Qinghe said, shaking her head gently.

"Alright," Gu Yifan nodded.

After a moment of thought, he made her a solemn promise. "We’ll leave it at that for today, then. Next time you want to come back and see your parents, just let me know. Whenever you want to come, I’ll bring you."

Su Qinghe froze, looking up at Gu Yifan. Seeing he wasn’t joking, her heart swelled with emotion.

She didn’t say anything, only gave a firm, earnest nod.

Gu Yifan didn’t say anything else, either. He turned and quietly began to gather their tools.

Su Qinghe watched his retreating back, a warmth spreading through her chest. She turned to her parents’ headstones and whispered, "Mom, Dad, did you see that? He’s a really good person. Your daughter isn’t going to be alone anymore..."

After gathering their things, Gu Yifan shouldered the pole with the basket and walked over to Su Qinghe. "Alright, shall we go?" he asked softly.

"Mhm, okay."

Su Qinghe gave a small, compliant nod.

At her reply, Gu Yifan didn’t say anything more. He simply took her hand in his, and they turned to walk back down the mountain.

The moment they turned to leave.

A mountain breeze swept past, catching the ashes before the two graves and sending them swirling into the air...

...

"Su Hanhan, is this where you went to school as a kid?"

Gu Yifan asked, gazing at a row of squat, dilapidated buildings before them, completely overgrown with vines.

"Mhm."

"This is where I went to school when I was little."

"Later, after what happened to my dad, Mom went to Mountain City for work, and I went with her," Su Qinghe explained softly, nodding.

"Oh, I see."

Gu Yifan nodded. "Ah, so that means you went to middle school in Mountain City, too?"

"Mhm."

Su Qinghe nodded and replied in a quiet voice, "I went to No. 14 Middle School."

"No. 14 Middle School, huh?"

"I was at No. 1. No wonder I never saw you!" Gu Yifan said, nodding.

Suddenly, he asked, "Hey, Su Hanhan, if we’d known each other when we were kids, do you think we would’ve been good friends?"

Su Qinghe froze.

She was silent for a moment. Then, she lifted her head to look at Gu Yifan and nodded with a serious, determined expression.

"We would have."

...