Chapter 9

An urn, a small luggage bag.

I boarded the plane hastily and awkwardly.

The plane shook and jolted in the turbulence, and after my first experience, I felt sick and vomited for a long time after landing.

Everything was unfamiliar.

A brand new identity, a brand new phone, a brand new ten million.

The old phone that stored everything related to Jiang Huaixu was left in the soil of the slums, now a wasteland.

Cutting off all past ties there.

This country across the ocean had already entered daylight saving time.

Winter snow drifted down, reflecting a world gradually brightening.

Perhaps at some moment I had felt sadness, unwillingness, but now, I sincerely thanked Jiang’s Mother.

But I hadn’t forgotten her words.

“Miss An, you’re really not presentable, just a letter of recommendation is enough to make you so grateful.”

“If you truly had self-awareness, you shouldn’t have followed Huaixu back from the start.”

“The Jiang Family appreciates you, but you shouldn’t rush to bring disgrace upon us, it’s too ungrateful, I’ve been lenient enough, haven’t I?”

At that time, I didn’t reply, just carefully kept that charity-like letter of recommendation.

Now, for this hard-won opportunity, I was determined to relearn English.

My English had never been poor.

In the past, a yellowed textbook I picked up, a black pen wrapped in tape.

That was enough for me to shine on the grade ranking list.

Back then, the teacher always said I was smart, she gave me her unused old textbooks, a fountain pen with words carved stroke by stroke-

“The family shadow does not hinder the ambition of the azure sky, write vigorously to break through the thorns. Someday, when your name is on the golden list, spring breezes will bloom along the path.”

I didn’t want to disappoint that expectation again.

I studied tirelessly, yet with the thought in mind, I didn’t feel fatigued.

Only once, while packing, a small, old vocabulary book fell out of my bag, reminding me of Jiang Huaixu, whom I had sealed in the layers of memory for a long time.

I recalled speaking English with a poor accent in class and being mocked.

When I went home to cry secretly, Jiang Huaixu frowned slightly, looking displeased, yet he wrote down all the words at the back of my textbook.

He corrected my pronunciation one by one.

His youthful voice was indifferent, and at that time, I secretly looked up, feeling he was a bright, clear moon.

Only later did I realize, in the densely packed slums, one wasn’t meant to be bathed in moonlight.

The rich kids from Hai City still sneered at my unpleasant accent.

After much ridicule, Jiang Huaixu also said, “An Qin, if you can’t learn it well, don’t speak English outside, you should feel ashamed.”

The day I stepped out of the exam hall, I heard news from Hai City after a long time.

They said a few months ago, a place on the outskirts collapsed during construction, the whole area sank and became unrecognizable.

But fortunately, only an unnamed person was buried underneath.

The news had long been buried in the corners.

What people were more eager to talk about was the Jiang Family’s Young Master.

He had disappeared for a while, yet attended the wedding with Lin Xiran as usual.

I felt no waves in my heart.

Looking up, spring was in full bloom.

Just like my future.