Song Xinya brought Song Tingyou to the village house in the urban village where their grandmother lived.
The small alley couldn’t accommodate parking, so Song Xinya parked the car in a roadside spot.
Next to the Porsche was a police car.
Red and blue police lights flashed incessantly, and the shrill wail of the siren echoed urgently.
Passersby buzzed with chatter.
“Whose family is in trouble?”
“Just now, several uncles in police uniforms and caps jumped out of the police car.”
“Such a big commotion, and so blatant—it seems the suspect is already confirmed.”
The moment Song Xinya saw the police car, she guessed what was happening.
She walked into the alley and stood at her grandmother’s doorstep. Sure enough, several police uncles were standing in the yard.
Her grandmother was stooped, her thin back like a bent bow, her white hair withered and disheveled, her eyes deeply sunken. Surrounded by the police, she stood alone, facing their questions.
Song Tingyou rushed into the yard in panic: “Grandma!”
The moment her grandmother looked up and saw Song Tingyou, her cloudy eyes brightened: “Yiyi!”
She shuffled unsteadily toward Song Tingyou.
Song Tingyou ran toward her as well.
Grandmother and granddaughter embraced.
Grandma’s trembling hands clung tightly to Song Tingyou: “Yiyi, you’ve come to see Grandma.”
Song Tingyou looked at her grandmother’s face, which had shrunk significantly, and tears fell with a plop: “Grandma, I’ve come to see you. Grandma, Grandma.”
Grandma’s vision blurred with tears, which streamed down her face: “Yiyi, Grandma has missed you so much.”
Song Tingyou cried even harder, tears falling uncontrollably: “Grandma, I’ve missed you too.”
Grandma reached out to wipe Song Tingyou’s tears: “Meeting is a happy thing, let’s not cry.”
Song Tingyou tried hard to hold back her tears: “Grandma, I’m just so happy to see you, that’s why I’m crying.”
Grandma smiled kindly, her eyes filling with even more tears: “Grandma is crying from happiness too.”
The sudden reunion, without any warning, brought a flood of excitement, joy, relief, and a sense of peace that surged like a tide, making tears impossible to hold back.
Song Xinya stood to the side, handing tissues to both Grandma and Song Tingyou.
After the grandmother and granddaughter wiped their tears, their emotions settled somewhat.
The police continued questioning Grandma: “Is Jian Shuibing your son?”
Grandma: “Yes.”
Police: “Your son has been arrested for child abduction and intentional homicide. As his family member, were you aware of these matters?”
Grandma: “Officer, I knew nothing about these things.”
When Jian Shuibing had brought Song Tingyou home, he told Grandma the excuse was that Song Tingyou was a girl who had been abandoned by someone.
In their remote mountain area, men were the main breadwinners, and some people clung stubbornly to patriarchal ideas. Some families, after having several daughters in a row, found them a burden and would abandon the girls.
Police: “Your son’s crimes have clear evidence, and the trial is about to begin. Do you have anything to say on his behalf?”
Grandma clutched Song Tingyou’s hand tightly: “I only worry whether Jian Shuibing being sentenced will affect our Yiyi?”
Police: “No. Jian Yiyi is not Jian Shuibing’s daughter; she is a victim of abduction and will not be affected by Jian Shuibing.”
Grandma: “Good, good, that’s good.”
Grandma looked at the police and said firmly, word by word: “Please, punish Jian Shuibing with the utmost severity!”
The police were all stunned. This was very different from the tearful pleas for mercy they had expected from a mother for her son.
Grandma knew that once Jian Shuibing was released from prison, he would surely harass Song Tingyou again. She hoped he would never come out. She wanted Song Tingyou to live a good life and enjoy a happy future.
After a moment of shock, the police collected their notes and left.
Grandma studied Song Tingyou closely. Her skin was fairer, her complexion better, and the clothes she wore were more vibrant.
She then looked at Song Xinya, who was standing beside Song Tingyou: “Teacher Song…”
Song Xinya: “I am Song Tingyou’s older sister.”
Earlier, as Song Xinya had stayed by Song Tingyou’s side, constantly helping her, and now accompanied her everywhere, Grandma wasn’t surprised to hear Song Xinya say she was Song Tingyou’s sister.
Grandma: “Miss Song, Yiyi and I haven’t seen each other for a long time. Could I cook a meal for Yiyi?”
Song Xinya: “You have raised and protected Youyou. I won’t refuse your request.”
Without a doubt, Song Xinya hated Jian Shuibing.
This heinous man had separated the three siblings across distant lands and made her younger sister endure so much suffering.
At the same time, Song Xinya clearly saw how deeply Grandma loved Song Tingyou.
If it hadn’t been for this old woman’s genuine protection in that harsh, remote area, Song Tingyou would have long lost her innocence. Like other young girls there, she would have married early, given birth, remained trapped in the mountains her whole life, stuck with a filthy man, living in a daze until death.
Hatred was one thing, affection another—each accounted for separately.
Grandma took Song Tingyou’s hand and led her into the kitchen, while Song Xinya waited outside.
Time was short, and no one could be kept waiting for long. Grandma said: “Yiyi, let me make your favorite mapo tofu, alright?”
Song Tingyou: “Alright, Grandma. I love the mapo tofu you make the most.”
There was tofu at home, which Grandma often used to make this dish for Song Tingyou, so the meal was ready quickly.
At the small dining table, the grandmother and granddaughter sat facing each other, each holding a bowl of rice.
Grandma knew that such ordinary happiness—sitting together and sharing a home-cooked meal—would become rarer in the days ahead.
The little girl she had raised since childhood was destined for a better place now. She no longer had to endure a hard life with her. Grandma felt happy for her.
Even though she felt immensely reluctant, even though tears threatened to fall at the thought of the child she had raised leaving her, she had to let go, to let her little girl pursue a better life.
Being old, she dreaded loneliness most. Living alone in an empty room made her feel that everything around her was steeped in a sense of lifelessness.
But Grandma knew she could not use the bonds of family and the debt of upbringing to trap a child with a bright future by her side.
That would benefit herself.
It would not benefit her little girl.
She wanted what was best for her little girl.
Her little girl mattered more to her than herself.
