When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 176: Chapter 79: Top Star of the ’60s Cultural Troupe (18)

When she went to pick up the children, Xia Zhaoyun asked their teacher for half a day off.

The next morning, she woke up early to steam buns, fry fish and meatballs, steam a chicken, and make braised pork belly, packing it all into a food container. Breakfast was meat-stuffed buns—a few slices of cucumber, a dollop of bean paste, chopped green and red peppers, plus two tender pieces of braised pork, all sandwiched in a freshly steamed bun and served with a sour meatball soup.

A good mood for the day starts with breakfast, after all!

She hung the food container from one of her bicycle’s handlebars and a bag of fruit from the other. She also tucked a small bottle of Erguotou liquor, a pack of Mudan cigarettes, and a pair of work gloves into her bag. With the two children riding on the back, she pedaled to a nearby cemetery.

The cemetery was on a desolate mountain. Since the soil was poor and the ground rocky, many work units used it as a burial ground for their deceased employees. An old man was the sole resident at the foot of the mountain, living with a dog that he would take on patrols from time to time.

Seeing her arrive with the children, the old man just poked his head out and shouted, ”Comrade, you can’t burn paper offerings on the mountain...”

Xia Zhaoyun smiled, nodded in acknowledgment, and parked her bike. She carried her things in one hand and held a child’s hand with the other.

She followed the signs to the section for the Zhaoyang Clothing Factory, then searched by year until she located Huo Tianhao’s gravestone.

May had ushered in the summer, and weeds grew rampant among the cold, silent gravestones. Since the Qingming Festival had been in April, many graves had recently been tidied, so the undergrowth wasn’t excessively high.

But the weeds around Huo Tianhao’s gravestone were so high they completely obscured the inscription. It took her walking back and forth two or three times to finally find it.

Xia Zhaoyun’s eyes grew moist. She set her things down, told the children not to wander off, and gave them some snacks. Then, she put on her gloves and began to clean.

The weeds were not easy to clear. Besides ordinary grass, there were also thorny bushes, cockleburs, and black-jacks—plants that were deeply rooted and difficult to remove.

Even through the work gloves, her hands were pricked from time to time. Before long, blood had already stained them.

She pressed her lips together tightly. She had always thought her own fate was bitter enough, but Huo Tianhao was like a shooting star—brilliant for just a moment before being forgotten by all.

’The two elders of the Huo Family and Director Huo might say they remember him, but how sincere are they, really?’

’If they truly cared for him in the slightest, they wouldn’t have let his grave become so neglected, completely swallowed by thorns!’

After about an hour of work, she had cleared a small area around the gravestone.

She let out a heavy breath and pulled off the bloodstained gloves. The dried blood had glued the fabric to her fingers.

”Mama, there’s blood!” The two children had been sitting obediently for about an hour. Seeing the blood on her hands now, they both jumped up anxiously.

”It’s nothing,” Xia Zhaoyun said with a smile. ”The grass is full of mosquitoes. This is just blood from the ones I swatted.”

She took out her water canteen, unscrewed the cap, and had the children help her pour a little water over her hands.

The wet gloves slid off easily. Once her hands were clean, not a trace of blood remained, though a stinging pain seemed to linger.

Only then did the two children smile in relief.

She pinched their cheeks, then took out a handkerchief, wet it with water, and wiped the gravestone clean.

Her pale fingers gently traced the name ”Huo Tianhao.” A faint sadness filled her eyes as she began laying out the food, whispering in a voice so low only she could hear:

”Comrade Huo Tianhao, I’m sorry. I used your name to secure the stable and happy life I have now.”

”But I didn’t know any other way to protect myself...”

”A man can be a pillar of his organization but not necessarily a good husband or father. In this new life of mine, I can’t afford to take that gamble. So, I have to keep borrowing your name, Comrade Huo Tianhao, and I’ll have to do it for the rest of my life.”

”But rest assured, I will never bring shame to your name. On the contrary, I will make myself even more outstanding...”

”If there is a next life, I will certainly repay you!”

”From now on, I will come to see you often. These are my adopted children, Ruyuan and Little Ruyi...”

She patted the children’s heads. ”Kowtow to your Father Tianhao.”

The two children obediently knelt and kowtowed, calling out, ”Father!”

Xia Zhaoyun wove the wildflowers she had just pulled into a wreath and placed it before the headstone. She gazed at it for a long moment before packing up her things to visit the graves of the two children’s biological parents.

After returning from the cemetery, Xia Zhaoyun postponed her plan to visit the Huo Family elders and began to prepare for the Golden Microphone semifinals.

In a dormitory for the South City Supply and Marketing Cooperative’s transport team, Liu Mingkun found Huo Tianhao just as he was stepping out of the shower.

”Bro, you on a short-haul this time? Back in three or four days? Are you getting any time off?”

Huo Tianhao lazily lifted his eyelids. ”Can you just pretend you didn’t see me?”

”Hell no!” Liu Mingkun said with a cheeky grin. ”Don’t worry, I’ll cover for you. I’ll make sure those old geezers have no idea you’re back.”