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One morning, Bai Tang won over five hundred yuan, covering the round-trip fare. The banquet was set up, and the waitstaff invited everyone to take their seats. Bai Tang found Bai Dad and Bai Ma, sitting beside them, while Xi sat between Bai Dad and Bai Ma, making it easier for the elderly couple to take care of him.
At this table, besides Bai Tang's family, there were also her Third Uncle's family and Aunt Er with Fourth Uncle's family. The three brothers chatted while drinking, while Bai Ma talked with Bai Ergu and the two sisters-in-law about women's topics.
"This child is really adorable and sensible!" Seeing Xi eat his food quietly without spilling anything on the table or his clothes made the women very fond of him.
"Second Sister-in-law, is this child your neighbor's?" Both Third Aunt and Fourth Aunt knew that Bai Dad and Bai Ma had a good relationship with their neighbors, having taken their neighbor's child as a goddaughter, which made the neighbor's child their god-grandson.
"No, this is Xi, who is also our god-grandson. Kang is at home with his mother and didn't come with us," Bai Ma said as she picked up a chicken leg and placed it in the child's bowl, reminding him to eat slowly.
"Another god-grandson?" Third Aunt laughed, "You all want grandchildren so much; why not let Tang Tang have one?"
"Auntie, if you want grandchildren, don't involve me!"
"Tang Tang, you're twenty-seven now; why haven't you found a boyfriend? Look at your brother and sister; they're still in school but have already dated several people."
"I have dated before; it just didn't work out," Bai Tang pouted. "I don't want to just find any man for the sake of getting married."
"This girl is too picky!" Bai Ma laughed as she defended her daughter. "We're not rushing her into marriage anymore; after all, finding someone she truly likes is more important. Let her take her time; we already have a grandson now."
"After all, he is someone else's child," Third Aunt remarked.
"Aside from not having the surname Bai, Xi is our child," Bai Ma said.
The three women were surprised, and Bai Ergu asked, "What about the child's parents?"
Although Xi was young, he was sensible. He understood his background and didn't mind others knowing about it. In his words, he lived openly and didn't care what others thought of him. Therefore, Bai Ma didn't mind revealing the child's background in front of relatives. They had adopted him, making him a member of the Bai Family, which needed to be recognized by other members of the family. This was also why Bai Dad and Bai Ma brought Xi to attend the birthday banquet—to introduce him to other members of the Bai Family.
"The child's mother is already dead, and his father entrusted him to Tang Tang, who is also no longer in this world. Now he only has the three of us as family," Bai Ma said. "He is the grandson of me and Old Bai."
Aunt Bai San, Aunt Bai Si, and Bai Ergu are all kind-hearted people. Upon hearing about Xi's background, they felt both pity and heartache for this lovely and sensible child.
Bai Ergu complained to Bai Ma, "You should have told us earlier so we could prepare a welcome gift for Xi."
Bai Ma smiled and said, "I didn't inform you in advance just to save you from spending money!"
"You are just too polite!"
As the topic shifted, Bai Tang put down her chopsticks and glanced at the child who was sitting quietly in his chair after finishing his chicken leg.
"Have you eaten enough?"
The child nodded.
Bai Tang raised her voice to the elders at the table, "You all take your time eating. I'll take Xi out for a walk to help with digestion."
"Go ahead, and after your walk, you can eat more," Aunt Bai San joked.
Bai Tang chuckled softly, picked up the bun, and walked out of the dining room.
"Auntie, I can walk by myself."
Bai Tang set down the bun and held his hand as they walked slowly together. At noon, there were few people in the park, and the sounds of birds chirping and insects buzzing were particularly clear.
“Sugar Figurine!” Baozi exclaimed in surprise.
“Do you want one?” Bai Tang asked.
Baozi nodded, blinking his big eyes cutely and said, “I don’t want to eat it; I just want him to blow a Pleasant Goat and give it to Kang Ge.”
“Good!” Bai Tang took Baozi to the stall where Sugar Figurine was being blown.
The vendor blowing Sugar Figurine sat behind a table, which had a wooden frame divided into two layers, each with many holes filled with already blown Sugar Figurine: there were mice, tigers, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and many cartoon character Sugar Figurines. The vendor took a bit of hot sugar syrup with a spatula, placed it on his talcum powder-covered hand to knead, then held one end in his mouth. After blowing it into a bubble, he quickly placed it in a talcum powder-coated wooden mold and blew hard. After a while, he opened the mold, and a goldfish-shaped Sugar Figurine was completed.
Baozi watched in awe and clapped his hands in approval.
The vendor was an elderly man who looked kindly at the child and smiled gently, asking, “Little friend, do you want to buy a Sugar Figurine? What kind do you want? Grandpa will make it for you.”
Baozi glanced at Bai Tang and said to the vendor, “Grandpa, I want a Pleasant Goat Sugar Figurine.”
“Pleasant Goat? Alright, wait a moment; Grandpa will make it right away.”
“Make two Pleasant Goats,” Bai Tang said.
Baozi looked up at Bai Tang in surprise.
Bai Tang smiled and patted Baozi’s head: “Two Pleasant Goats, one for Kang and one for you.”
“Thank you, Auntie!” Baozi laughed happily, his eyes curving like two crescent moons, looking extremely adorable.
The vendor smiled and took out two molds, starting to make Sugar Figurines. A few minutes later, two different forms of Pleasant Goat Sugar Figurines were in Baozi's hands. Baozi loved them immensely and sweetly thanked the vendor. A woman, attracted by Baozi's smile, walked up to the stall.
"Make me a pair of New Year painting dolls."
"Ling Xin?" Bai Tang recognized the woman as her university classmate.
"Bai Tang?" Ling Xin also recognized Bai Tang and greeted her with a light smile.
Leaving Baozi to play on her own, the two classmates who hadn't seen each other for years found a spot to sit down and catch up.
"I heard you went to work in Magic City after graduating from university. Are you back to visit your parents?" Bai Tang asked. She knew Ling Xin had an older brother, so there was no need for her to quit her high-paying job in Magic City to return home to take care of their parents.
"No, I quit my job. I won't be going back to Magic City anymore," Ling Xin sighed, a look of unresolved confusion and melancholy on her face.
"Really?" Bai Tang was surprised. She had heard that Ling Xin's workplace was a very famous foreign company with excellent benefits; she couldn't believe she would give up such a job.
Ling Xin forced a smile, "For personal reasons, I didn't want to stay at the company anymore. Plus, I have some doubts that I need to ask my parents about."
"Oh!" Bai Tang responded but didn't press for details. Instead, Ling Xin opened up herself; perhaps it was too difficult to keep everything bottled up inside. She really wanted someone to talk to, especially an old classmate whom she trusted, so she poured out all her troubles.
"I actually suffer from selective amnesia."
"Huh?" Bai Tang was surprised; she hadn't noticed that Ling Xin had amnesia. After all, she remembered her old classmate whom she hadn't seen in years—how could she possibly have amnesia?
"It's true. I've lost a year of my memory. I'm actually one year older than you, but during the year after graduating from high school, I have no recollection at all. It wasn't until the second year when I attended university with you that I thought I had just graduated and gotten into college!" Ling Xin said, furrowing her brows.
"Are you now recovering the memories from that year?" Bai Tang guessed.
Ling Xin nodded, her gaze drifting into the distance, her eyes lost in thought.
"That year, I was eighteen, just starting my senior year of high school. There was a high-end hotel near my home, frequented by wealthy people and foreigners. One day, while riding my bike and thinking about the exam questions my teacher had discussed, I accidentally knocked someone down. That person was called Fudao Tsu, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, tall and slender, handsome with a clean demeanor. His sunny smile made my heart race. I thought our connection would end with that collision, but unexpectedly, he began to pursue me. At that time, I was too young and had never experienced first love; I simply fell into his web of affection..."
"He was sincere and attentive; even my parents and older brother were moved by him. After graduating from high school, I married him and moved to his country to live..."
"He took me to explore every corner of Kyoto, visiting Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu Temple, Sanjusangendo; dining on Royal Cuisine at the Kyoto Imperial Palace and tasting authentic Sake at an Izakaya; he took me to enjoy Kabuki performances and went to Asahikaika at Royal Plaza South to watch original Japanese dramas. He promised to take me to Arashiyama every year, to see cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves in fall..."
"Unfortunately, life is not a fairy tale. Even princes and princesses have their troubles; how much more so for a duckling that isn't even Cinderella? Cinderella could become a princess because she was of noble birth and shared the same status as the prince. But Fudao Tsu and I were from completely different worlds."
"Fudao Tsu enjoyed Noh theater and opera; I would fall asleep at those performances. He liked classical music while I preferred pop music; we had huge differences in our tastes when it came to food. Fudao Tsu loved traditional dishes from Neon Country, but aside from ramen, I didn't enjoy anything else... Beyond lifestyle habits and cultural differences, I also disliked the countless family rules of the Fujiwara Family and their condescending relatives. The Fujiwara Family is an old noble family from Neon Country, wealthy and powerful; all their relatives came from prestigious backgrounds and naturally looked down on me, a foreign daughter-in-law with no family background. They always deliberately made things difficult for me, forcing me to perform tea ceremonies and flower arrangements that I didn't know how to do while mocking me incessantly; they would discuss Milan fashion shows in front of me, flaunting their earnings from Sotheby's auctions to remind me that someone like me could never enter their upper-class society... Ha ha, it's a wonder I endured it for so long."
"And then?" Bai Tang asked. She believed Ling Xin would separate from her husband or even forget him over such matters; this girl had a resilient character, and those setbacks wouldn't easily defeat her.
"And then..." Ling Xin revealed a sad smile.
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