My Youth Began With Him

“Yup.”

“Are you tired? I feel like you’ve been running around a lot recently.”

Huo Mian shook her head. “No, I’m not as busy as you think.”

Yang Meirong took out an apple, washed it clean, and handed it to Huo Mian.

“Thanks Mom.” She smiled sweetly.

“Zhixin called me, he’s there already… He told me it’s really beautiful there.”

“Yeah, he sent me a WeChat message too. I saw the photos, New Zealand is really pretty… Mom, don’t worry about him, technology is really advanced these days, and video calls are very convenient.”

“I know, I’m not worried about him, I’m more worried about you. Why aren’t you pregnant yet? It’s driving me crazy.”

Yang Meirong was constantly worried by the fact that Huo Mian wasn’t pregnant yet and brought the topic up every chance she got.

“Mom… Lingling took me to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, and I’m drinking the herbal tea the doctor prescribed me. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll happen soon. The doctor said that my body is a little cold, so it’ll be harder for me to get pregnant. But it doesn’t mean that I won’t get pregnant. It’s not a big deal.”

“That’s good, drink the tea on time and take care of your body… Oh, and tell the hospital to not make you work night shifts anymore, staying up all night isn’t good for your health.”

“I know, Mom… Oh, right, Mom… who named me? Why did they name me Huo Mian?”

Yang Meirong sat down beside her, trying her best to remember…

“I remember that I named you Huo Yunyun in the beginning.”

“Pfft… that’s such a lame name.” Huo Mian almost choked on the apple in her mouth; if her name was Huo Yunyun, Qin Chu would probably laugh at her.

“Yeah… Uncle Jing didn’t like the name and said that it wasn’t unique enough… He said that your name had to be special.”

“Why did… Uncle Jing want to give me a unique name?” Huo Mian looked at her mother, confused.

Uncle Jing seemed to have many secrets… why didn’t she notice this before?

Were the Huo people right? Was Uncle Jing really cunning?

“Who knows? He only briefly mentioned it, and back then… you always cried… it was really weird, I fed you my breast milk, but you still caused a lot of trouble. Zhixin, on the other hand, fell asleep right after I fed him. Before you reached 1 month old, you cried all the time, and your cries were so loud that neither of us got enough sleep. Later, Uncle Jing suggested that we call you ‘Huo Mian’, ‘Mian’ as in sleep, so that you would get more sleep in the future. That’s how you got your name.”

“Mom… when you gave birth to me, didn’t you give birth in Dong Tao Town with Dr. Lan? Then… after my birth, did Uncle Jing keep in contact with her? You told me that they were distant relatives.”

Yang Meirong nodded. “Yeah… they kept in contact. When I was recovering from childbirth, Uncle Jing went to Dong Tao Town once and brought Dr. Lan some local specialties.”

“What happened then? Did Uncle Jing go back to Dong Tao Town often?” Huo Mian continued asking.

“I guess? He went back quite often because you had to get all sorts of documents. Who knows? Anyways, while I was recovering from childbirth, Uncle Jing kept running back and forth.” Yang Meirong didn’t seem to know much about these things.

She basically believed everything Jing De told her…

“Mom… do you still have Uncle Jing’s things? I want to take a look at them.”

“Why would you want to see them? It’s bad luck,” Yang Meirong said unhappily.

“I’m a doctor, I’m not superstitious. Mom, can you find them for me? I really miss Uncle Jing.”

“Wait here… let me go look for them. I don’t think there’s much left, just a little box.”

Then, Yang Meirong went upstairs. Shortly after, she brought down a little box.

Huo Mian smiled. “Mom, can you warm up a glass of milk for me? I’m thirsty.”

“Okay, wait here.”

After Huo Mian sent her mother away, she quickly opened the little black box and began looking through Uncle Jing’s possessions.

She wanted to see if there were any clues… She was now more curious than ever – what in the world happened all those years ago?