Chapter 249: [My Mother] Receiving Gifts
The homeroom teacher was wiping her tears, utterly unaware of her surroundings.
Just thinking back to those words made her heart ache with sorrow.
“Sister Hong-mei, ah… you said so much just now, and truthfully, I used to harbor those exact same thoughts myself. But after your daughter uttered those words, I abruptly realized that those of us who are mothers need to be our true selves as well, don’t we?”
“We have our own names too, so why must we live constantly relying on the validation of others? At home, it was our parents; after getting married, it was our husbands; after having children, it’s our children. Sister Hong-mei, you need to think about yourself as well.”
Han Hongmei’s body trembled subtly.
The shadow she cast onto the ground had already mutated into that of a contorted monster.
Unable to see it, the homeroom teacher patted her shoulder gently.
She muttered silently in her heart, wondering why Mother Han’s body always felt icy cold and rigid, much like a stone.
Yet her mouth pressed on: “I understand that you grew accustomed to sacrificing everything for your child in the past. In truth, so did I. Sometimes I feel I ought to make a change, but changing is far too difficult. You have no idea—I constantly catch myself thinking how wonderful it would be if I could start over.”
“Sometimes I regret getting married and having children so early. If I could start over, I wouldn’t become a teacher; I would go chase my own dreams and live for myself just once.”
Stiffly, Han Hongmei slowly retracted her power.
“Still, that’s life. What’s past cannot be redone, nor can it be altered. But the present can still be changed, and the future can still be transformed—don’t you think?”
As the homeroom teacher spoke, she felt her own heart swell with hope and passion.
Over these past years, she had felt her life was set in stone.
Get married, have children, revolve entirely around the children, wait until growing old to help raise the grandchildren, retire completely, and then life draws to a close.
Reflecting on it now, there was no reason she couldn’t start doing things she deemed meaningful to herself from this very moment forward.
She was immersed completely in her personal state of emotion.
Beside her, Han Hongmei restored her normal appearance once more.
She fixated her stare onto every tree and blade of grass inside the school, refraining from uttering a single sound.
By the time the homeroom teacher snapped back to reality, she resumed pulling her along to chat.
The three hours had nearly drawn to a close, approaching the end of the school day.
Bai Cha hadn’t actually stayed out for the full three hours; the pair had returned after two hours and change.
Taking advantage of the gym class being empty, Bai Cha set the items down across the playground.
“Alright, Teacher, please go fetch my mom, but don’t tell her beforehand.”
The art teacher looked at her, sending a quick text message to the homeroom teacher.
Receiving the message, the homeroom teacher let out a breath of relief; during the latter half, she had essentially been talking one-sidedly.
Talking until her mouth felt dry and parched.
“Let’s go, Sister Hong-mei. Let’s stop talking about this—I’ll take you to look at something.”
Han Hongmei trailed behind her, her face void of expression.
Only now did the homeroom teacher discern something slightly amiss.
Earlier, she had merely assumed Han Hongmei was being silent because she was deeply moved by her words; looking at her now, her expression didn’t quite seem that way.
Hard to say.
Then again, one couldn’t rule out that she was simply worried about her child.
Pondering these thoughts in her mind, the homeroom teacher refrained from speaking up.
Meanwhile, the shadow Han Hongmei dragged behind her still bore wings and horns.
Those words spoken by the homeroom teacher made plenty of sense, yet Han Hongmei felt otherwise.
She held no path forward, no longer capable of changing; her life was already set like this.
She wished merely for her daughter to get better—was there anything wrong with that?
Why was everyone telling her that she was the one who needed to change?
Could it be that her persistence over all these years had been a mistake all along?
No! If it was a mistake, it could only mean she hadn’t done enough, hadn’t done even better!
Therefore, this place should still be destroyed…
Yet why on earth was she still hesitating?
They arrived at the playground.
“Sister Hong-mei, look down at your feet.”
The homeroom teacher’s words prompted Han Hongmei to lower her head and look.
Resting there was an exquisite, petite gift box, adorned with a simple line-art drawing of red plum blossoms drawn in colored marker.
“Pick it up and take a look!” Standing to the side, the homeroom teacher looked on with eager anticipation, entirely oblivious to Han Hongmei’s internal struggle.
Han Hongmei crouched down.
She opened the box.
Inside rested a pair of small bangles—the kind of longevity bangles usually gifted to infants upon birth or reaching their one-month milestone.
A letter lay pressed beneath them.
For reasons unknown, Han Hongmei’s fingers trembled with extreme violence, taking several attempts before she gently drew out the letter.
[Today is February 12th, 1976. You were born. Spring is fast approaching, though winter has not fully passed. May you be like the red plum blossoms—blooming with flowers of your own even in harsh conditions to welcome the impending spring. And so, you have been given a name of your own: Han Hongmei.]
The handwriting remained exceedingly childish.
Bai Cha had exerted every effort to mimic Han Yingying’s handwriting.
Truthfully, it didn’t look particularly similar, yet it likely didn’t matter.
Patter—
A tear struck the envelope, blurring the handwriting written upon it into a smudged haze.
Han Hongmei looked at the ground up ahead.
Spaced at equal intervals, a box rested at every short distance.
Struggling somewhat, she walked over and opened the second box.
Inside rested a tiny tiger-head shoe—the kind crafted for young toddlers to wear.
[Today, you turn one year old. This is your birthday gift—do you have any wishes? How about a piece of candy?]
Inside the shoe lay a milk candy.
The third box contained a rattle drum.
[Today, you turn two years old. Shake away all your unhappiness with the rattle drum! But you’ve already started growing teeth, so you can’t eat too much candy anymore—meaning no candy this year!]
Han Hongmei twitched the corners of her lips in a faintly amused smile, yet her vision blurred continuously.
Age three was a lovely dress.
Age four was a picture book of fairytales.
Age five was a dictionary.
Age six was a pink diary, bearing the words: Record your wishes—is there anyone you wish to become?
Age seven was a school invitation letter.
Age eight was a set of test papers, featuring a line of text written on the title section: Even when Mom goes to school, you can’t escape being handed test papers!
Age nine was a small butterfly kite.
Age ten was a sparkling butterfly hair clip.
Age fourteen was a package of sanitary pads.
Age sixteen was a rose blossom.
Age eighteen was a bouquet of roses.
Age twenty was an elegant, lovely short dress.
[Today, you turn twenty years old. You have reached the legal age for marriage. Wear a lovely dress, keep your eyes sharp, live your own life well first, and search for a suitable person. If you cannot find one, then simply be yourself.]
Age thirty was a set of skincare products.
[Today, you turn thirty years old. Though you are naturally beautiful, you must still treat yourself a bit better. Skincare products might not necessarily be the ultimate way to treat oneself well, but I simply want to tell you: you are still exceptionally beautiful right now, you can still care about your appearance, and you can still wear dresses openly and proudly, telling everyone that you are wonderful!]
Age thirty-one was a pair of stylish boots.
[Today, you turn thirty-one years old. Donning these combat boots, you can still fight for your own life for another twenty years!]
Age thirty-two was a small, white daisy.
[Today, you turn thirty-two years old. This is your daughter. She says that she loves you. You hope she possesses a beautiful future, and she hopes you possess a beautiful life as well.]
Boom—
Sunlight was devoured almost instantaneously, and the world plunged into pitch darkness in a single flash.
