Memory scenes emerge.
The thin sunlight of the winter afternoon shines into the tea room, casting pale white spots that barely serve the purpose of lighting.
Minami Yuki and Mayu were sitting on cushions next to the tea table. Opposite them were Minami Yuki's mother Minami Haruna and her sister Minami Xin'ai.
Nan Chunnai came in in a hurry and didn't take off her coat. Xin'ai got up and helped her mother take off her thick coat.
After placing the clothes next to the tea table, Xin'ai raised her head and looked at her brother and Moyu with smiles in her eyes.
Nan Youxi glared at her and told her to wait for her revenge.
Moyu brewed the tea gracefully and placed it in front of the four people. She looked at Minami Haruna curiously. Time only left shallow traces on a woman's body. She thought, it seems that Yuxi's youthfulness comes from her family tradition.
"She looks a bit like Saki." Minami Haruna took a sip of tea and looked at the girl opposite her.
The more she looked at her, the kinder her eyes became. She had been looking forward to having grandchildren for a long time, and when she saw Moyu, who was of the right age, she couldn't help but cast her love and pity for her future granddaughter on the girl.
The girl was wearing a white sweater. Her fluffy clothes, cute cheeks, and quiet temperament made Minami Haruna's heart tremble.
She waved to the girl: "Come, come to grandma."
Moyu turned her head to look at Nan Youxi, and Nan Youxi nodded.
She stood up on the tatami and sat next to Minami Haruna. Minami Haruna put her arms around her waist. The girl's slender waist and her delicate face, which became more and more delicate when she looked at her closely, made her even happier.
This joy turned into resentment after seeing the son across from her.
Minami Youxi noticed that her mother's expression was not right, so she quickly changed the subject: "Mom, do you know Shagui?"
He didn't understand how his mother, who lived in Ino County, had seen Saki and knew that Mayu and Saki looked a bit like each other.
"Every time Saki and Koichi passed by Ino County, they would visit our house, and he had also met your father. I told you that you were abroad every time, but you didn't take it to heart." Minami Haruna glanced at her eldest son with a helpless look.
She and her husband were very satisfied with their eldest son's achievements. They had never thought that they, who had no artistic talent at all, could raise a famous painter. They were very excited every time they heard that their eldest son was admitted to Misaki University of Arts, won an oil painting competition, held his own exhibition, and was studied by critics.
After hearing what Saki, Yōta, and Nao had said, they were reassured about their eldest son's character, especially regarding the matter of Saki and Koichi. They felt that their eldest son handled it very well.
The only thing that makes them uneasy, and has escalated into anxiety in recent years, is the emotional problems of their eldest son.
In his hometown, Yuki's friends of the same age have children in elementary school and junior high school. The worst ones have married a widow and have an adopted daughter. However, Yuki, who makes them proud, is still single. Not to mention getting married, he doesn't even have a girlfriend!
Minami Haruna has been very panicked in recent years. She has looked up a lot of information about artists and wondered if her eldest son had come out as a closet artist. She was relieved when her husband took out the adult magazines hidden in her eldest son's room.
This time, she and her husband came to Misaki, determined to help her son's relationship.
They had a clear division of labor. She went to find Nao and the others to inquire about the situation and act as matchmakers, while her husband went to find Misaki's friends to see if there were other girls of the right age.
When she visited the studio, she saw traces of women's life and was very happy. She thought, at least she could be sure that her son was not out.
She took her beloved back to make a surprise attack, wanting to see the mysterious woman hidden by her son. She had already prepared herself mentally. It didn't matter if she was a married woman or a woman bought with money. As long as her son's physical desires did not decline, there were always more ways than difficulties.
She didn't expect that the person she met was actually the daughter of Shagui and Hongyi.
Even Saki and Koichi’s daughter is this big now!
"So beautiful." She stared at Mayu, and the girl's cuteness made her a little dazed.
She pinched the girl's cheek. The soft and smooth touch through her fingers made her heart itch. The girl's troubled expression was like a feather tickling her chin. She wanted to hug the girl tightly in her arms.
She did so, she let the girl sit in her arms, rested her chin on the girl's head, and smelled the smell of shampoo on her head.
This child is prettier than Saki, and more like Mitsuki than Saki, she thought.
Just now, when she saw the girl for the first time, she mistook her for Mitsuki's child. She thought that this was the illegitimate daughter of her eldest son and Mitsuki. She was angry that Yuki did not give Mitsuki a legitimate status, but was helpless about Yuki's behavior. Finally, she was happy that her family had a granddaughter.
Unexpectedly, things were not at all what she imagined.
She sighed.
"Grandma is also very beautiful." Moyu responded to Minami Haruna's words.
She leaned into Haruna's arms and got close to her. The girl had been worried for days whether Yuuki's mother would like her, but now she could rest assured.
"This child is so sweet." Nan Chunnai was even happier.
She put her arms around the girl and asked some questions. Originally, she was only asking about the girl's family affairs, but after accidentally learning that the girl often went to the studio, she tried to find out about her eldest son's living conditions in a roundabout way.
Moyu didn't doubt it and told him everything she knew.
Minami Haruna was certain that, apart from the cook who was in her fifties and Yuko and the others who came over occasionally, her son had no contact with women at all!
This gave her a headache. Aren't artists said to be either out or promiscuous? How come her eldest son didn't do either
She glanced at her daughter beside her, and Xinai knew what she meant, so she stood up from the tatami.
"Come on, Moyu, let's go buy ingredients for dinner. How about I cook dinner with you tonight?" She patted the girl's head.
"Yes!" Moyou stood up happily and waved goodbye to the mother and son in the tea room: "I'm leaving now. Goodbye, brother and grandma."
"Wait, I wanted to ask just now, why does little Moyu call Youxi brother? Did he force you?" Minami Haruna looked at her son in confusion, then at Moyu.
"Because my brother looks very young, and my mother asked me to call him that," Moyu replied.
Nan Chunnai smiled and looked at her son: "He is very young. It is because of this face that his father and I neglected him. We always thought that he had not grown up yet and did not push him at all."
Hmm? Moyou was confused. What did she mean by not urging her brother at all? What was she urging him to do
"let's go."
Before she could think about it, Xin Ai took her hand and pushed the door open to go out.
The paper sliding door closed, the footsteps of the two women faded away along the corridor, and the surroundings became quiet.
Only Nan Youxi and her mother were left in the tea room.
"Moyu-chan is very cute." Minami Haruna took a sip of tea, "The brewed tea is also delicious."
His mother's gentle voice lowered Nan Youxi's vigilance. He leaned back and changed his sitting position to a cross-legged position, with one hand on the ground and the other on his thigh.
The girl was resting her head on his lap before her mother came in.
"Yeah," he replied, "I can also clean and cook."
"She's much more sensible than you and Xin'ai when they were little. I envy her so much." Nan Chunnai said, "You asked her to come here in the first place because you wanted to take care of her, but you didn't expect that she would be taken care of instead."
"Um."
The past flashed through Nan Youxi's mind. He had indeed received a lot of care from Moyu, and... Before he could think further, his mother spoke it out for him.
"Although you have a cleaner and a cook, and Mayu-chan's cooking is no better than the cleaner and the cook, but the feeling is just different."
The scroll in Minami Haruna's hand is about to reach the end, and a dagger is about to appear, about to pierce into Yuki's heart.
"Go to hell!" Minami Haruna reached out to hit Yuki on the head, but Yuki dodged with a smile.
The mother dropped her hands helplessly: "Am I saying this to ask you to keep an eye on little Moyu? I'm asking you to get married quickly and give birth to a daughter as cute as Moyu, so that you can be happy!"
Without waiting for Nan Youxi to answer, she continued, "Forget about the other women, what about Nao and Yuko? Don't think I can't see, they are all waiting for you! And Saki, I heard from Xin'ai that Saki was very attached to you when she was a child. If you work harder, Saki will be your wife and Mayu will be your real daughter!"
"Why is Saki involved?" Nan Youxi lay on the tatami, avoiding her mother's gaze.
"Because I'm jealous. Moyou is so cute. If she were our Nan family's granddaughter, your father and I would be so happy!"
"That's easy. I'll take Moyou in as my goddaughter."
"Whatever you say is what it is? Saki and Koichi..." Minami Haruna paused. If Yuki spoke up, Saki and Koichi might really be willing.
She changed the subject and said, "No matter how close we are, Moyou is still someone else's daughter!"
"Don't worry so much about my affairs."
"How can I not worry? I don't understand why you don't want to get married!"
"Marriage is the grave of love."
"Then can you just date without getting married?"
"Love without marriage is hooliganism."
"Okay, I'm talking to you about serious matters, and you're telling me jokes!"
The mother and son talked intermittently for a long time. Yuxi's diesel didn't come in, leaving Minami Haruna exhausted.
Outside the house, Xin'ai drove back. She parked her small electric car in the garage and went into the house with Mayu, carrying the supermarket bags.
In the entrance hall, Mayu quickly took off her boots and ran into the corridor carrying the supermarket bag.
"slower!"
Xin Ai called her from behind, and she answered and walked faster.
Placing the supermarket bag on the kitchen island, the girl quickly walked towards the tea room.
While shopping, she kept thinking about what Haruna's grandmother said. She wondered what her grandmother meant by not urging her brother. Did she mean she was urging him now? What was she urging him for
The text broke and tangled in her mind, turning into a mess of characters that were spinning. She stared at the characters, feeling dizzy and unwell.
Approaching the tea room, she slowed down her pace and adjusted her rapid breathing.
The light green pattern on the paper sliding door of the tea room gave people a sense of security. She stood in front of the door and looked at the pattern for a while. Yuxi was behind the door. Her heart calmed down and she reached out and pressed on the door frame.
The sound of two people talking could be heard from behind the thin paper sliding door.
"I don't want to think about it."
Moyu's hand stopped. This was her brother's voice. Was her brother saying that he didn't want to think about something
"You're already old enough to think about this. I know your generation is under a lot of pressure and wants to just lie down and do nothing, but that pressure has nothing to do with you. You can support two, three, four, five, or six families, let alone one!"
This is Haruna's grandmother's voice. What do you mean by one, two, three, four, five, six? Do you want your brother to take care of you
"It's not a question of whether I can afford it or not, it's a question of not wanting to be involved in this relationship at all."
"Why, do you still want to be a monk like in ancient times? Even monks have families nowadays!"
"I did want to go to the other side of the sea and become a monk or Taoist priest."
Eh? Are you going to the country across the sea
“…Xin Ai said you’ve never been in love.”
in love
"No."
"If not, why are you acting like you're heartbroken and want to give up all feelings? You're scaring me to death!"
"It's good now, and I have Moyu to accompany me."
Me? Moyou smiled, she wanted to push the door open, and answered in a firm tone that yes, she would accompany her brother!
But what Haruna's grandmother said next made her realize how naive she was.
"Mayu is the daughter of the Asagiri family. Saki and Koichi are busy now, so they left their daughter with you. When their jobs are stable, do you think they will take Mayu over? Or when they have saved enough money, do you think they will come back to Misaki? Will they take Mayu home?"
The girl's hand that was touching the door frame suddenly withdrew. She took a step back and the blood disappeared from her delicate face.
She had never thought about her parents. She thought that she would always stay in this house, stay with her brother, clean the house for her brother, cook weekend dinners, and take a nap next to her brother.
She never thought that she would leave one day.
"Besides, Moyou is young now, so she just likes to stick with you. When she goes to middle school and college, she will be busy hanging out with her friends and boyfriend. How can she be with you? You should give birth to a daughter of your own as soon as possible so that she can have someone to accompany her."
not like this.
I won't abandon my brother.
The words from behind the paper sliding door stabbed into the girl's chest like a series of unfounded accusations. She felt aggrieved and her eyes were filled with tears. She bit her lip.
"If you don't get married, that girl you love will use you as a shield. Nao, Yuko, Reina, Mitsuki, Kazumi, aren't they all good? They are suitable in every way. Yuko is not much taller than Mayu, Mitsuki and Mayu are very similar, and the daughter born to Nao and Kazumi must be very similar to Mayu in character..."
Moyu didn't listen to the rest of the words. She heard the footsteps of her beloved aunt. She wiped the tears from her face, not wanting her beloved aunt to see her like this.
She ran away to the other side.
Xin Ai turned the corner and came to the tea room. She pushed open the door and poked her head in: "Is Moyou here?"
"No. Didn't the child go out with you?" Nan Chunnai said in a bad tone.
"She's back, but I don't know which room she went to." Xin'ai shrank her neck, knowing that something was wrong, and quickly closed the door.
Turning around, she looked to the other side of the corridor and started walking.
The brown soles of her cotton slippers crushed the crystal tears on the floor that were illuminated by the light.
[Xin'ai pulls Moyu out and leaves you to talk to your mother. Your mother doesn't want you to be alone for the rest of your life, so she, who is always gentle, now speaks in a coercive tone.]
[Moyou came back and heard the end of your conversation. Your mother said she would leave you. This accusation made the girl feel wronged, and this future possibility made the girl sad.]
[Xin'ai was looking for Moyou at home. She went to the entrance and found that the girl's shoes were missing. Moyou sent you a message when she got home, saying that she suddenly had something to do. In the evening, your father had dinner at a friend's house, and only you, your mother, and your sister were there for dinner.]
[Your beloved pokes you with chopsticks and says that you have committed many sins, but you are confused.]
(End of this chapter)