360 Live Well
When the two of them got out of the mountains, they immediately saw Yu Ling squatting at the end of the path. She was holding a stalk of foxtail grass and drawing something on the ground in boredom.
Upon seeing her, Zhao Yuyan’s eyes flashed with reluctance. But there was more relief in her look than anything else.
“It is good that Yu Ling could get out and be free. It is good that she didn’t have to bear the burden of being the daughter of a criminal. It is good that she didn’t have to stay by her mother’s side. It is good that she was alive and well.”
Hearing their movements, Yu Ling looked up and quickly threw down the foxtail grass. She ran over and shouted, “Mother…”
As she ran, her bangs bounced along with each step. She looked extremely cute.
“Sigh…” Zhao Yuyan opened her mouth silently and looked at Yu Ling greedily, as if she was trying to remember her appearance.
Xiaoguo stood at the side and felt a lump in her throat again. Then, without disturbing anyone or saying a word, she left in the other direction.
Yu Ling ran over and saw her leaving. She asked curiously, “Mother, why did Madam leave?”
Zhao Yuyan did not answer her. She just touched her face and body and said softly, “Let’s go back.”
When Yu Ling heard her mother’s gentle tone, she was instantly stunned. It sounded so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. This feeling made her feel like she had returned to a few years ago. At that time, her mother was always gentle. She always had a smile on her face and would always stroke her with affection. Whenever she was sad, her mother would comfort her patiently.
Her mother… was finally back!
After Yu Ling came back to her senses, she smiled sweetly with tears in her eyes and nodded firmly. “Let’s go back.”
In the dead of the night, all was quiet and still. Yu Ling, who had just finished her work, dragged her tired body anxiously towards her residence. She was filled with joy as she thought about her mother, who was waiting for her.
Earlier on, her mother had told her to come back as soon as she was done with her work. She said that she had a gift for her.
From afar, she saw the house that was lit with a warm glow. Yu Ling was delighted and quickened her pace home.
“Mother…”
Yu Ling pushed open the door and called out to Zhao Yuyan happily. Because of her excitement, her voice was higher than usual. If this were any other time, her mother would definitely not allow it.
But today, Zhao Yuyan was exceptionally gentle and tolerant towards Yu Ling. It made Yu Ling feel like she had returned to the past, which was just a couple of years ago.
At that time, life was hard. They could barely afford to have three meals a day. They ate in the wind and slept in the open. Every day, they were chained up and made to walk for dozens of miles. However, with her mother by her side, she never felt that life was hard. Instead, after she arrived here, although she had food, water, and shelter, her mother suddenly stopped kissing her. That made her feel worse than having to swallow nails.
Zhao Yuyan turned around and looked at Yu Ling. She reached out and beckoned to her a few times. “Come, come here.”
Although Yu Ling was a sensible child, she was still young. Although she felt that her mother’s change was a little strange, she did not think too much about it. She thought that her mother was being so gentle towards her because of her recent good behavior.
Yu Ling sat obediently at Zhao Yuyan’s feet, her eyes filled with love and admiration.
Zhao Yuyan stroked her child reluctantly. The injustice in her heart was almost erupting into the sky. Even when her family was being destroyed, she did not feel it this strongly.
Looking at the child who had unknowingly become a grown girl, she was both happy and sad. Why didn’t the heavens give her a few more years to live? She only had to guard Yuling until she reached adulthood. Even such a small wish couldn’t be fulfilled in the end…
“Yuling, from now on, you have to live well and do your job responsibly. You must learn to make judgments on your own and be tactful with your words. The human heart is unpredictable so be careful with what you say. Don’t trust the other party just because they look like good people. You don’t judge a person by his appearance. You look at his heart. And in the future…”
At this point, Zhao Yuyan choked up. She suppressed the blood in her throat and continued, “Live well in the future. Keep your eyes open. You don’t have to be rich in the future. I only wish for you to lead a peaceful life. Do you understand?”
Yu Ling did not answer. She felt inexplicably sad. An indescribable sense of sadness made it difficult for her to speak. She felt like she would lose her mother if she nodded.
Zhao Yuyan didn’t care if the girl nodded or not. She continued speaking, “I made this bag of clothes a long time ago. Although these are not quality fabrics, they are the best fabrics that I can afford right now. Don’t mind them. Also…”
Yu Ling took the bag with trembling hands. Looking at her mother who kept talking, tears flowed uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
Yu Ling felt like her mother was saying her last words. This conjecture made her feel uneasy. She pleaded, “Mother, can you stop?”
Zhao Yuyan shook her head gently and continued talking in a low voice. From conducting oneself to handling things in life, and all other matters after she reached adulthood, Zhao Yuyan explained everything in detail, afraid that she would miss out on something.
These were all the things that she could think of that had not happened or could happen in the future. She used her failed life experience as a negative example. She was afraid that Yu Ling would follow in her old path. In the future, her child would have no mother. The girl would have to etch out her own path in the future.
Zhao Yuyan seemed to have endless things to say. No matter how much Yu Ling cried and threw a tantrum, it did not affect her at all. She was feeling uneasy and felt that whatever she said was not enough. After all, no one could predict the future. There would still be regrets no matter how prepared one was.
At dawn, Zhao Yuyan finally stopped moving her dry lips. A wave of fatigue suddenly washed over her.
“Yuling, I’m a little tired. I want to rest for a while…”
“Mother? Mother! Mother!”
Yu Ling panicked and pounced over. When she heard the faint sound of breathing, her heart calmed down. She knelt on the ground and trembled uncontrollably.
For some reason, at that moment, she suddenly thought that her mother had passed away.
Before she could think about how this feeling came to her, from the corners of her eyes, she saw the bag that had slipped from her hands earlier. She took a quick glance at her mother, who was sleeping. Then, she got up and picked up the bag from the ground. When she opened it, she saw that it was filled with brand new colorful dresses. They were all neatly folded in a stack.
Yu Ling felt a lump in her throat. She wiped the sweat off her palms and carefully picked up one dress. She unfolded it and placed it against her body. When she realized that the size was about right, she carefully put it back. She had never dared to imagine herself in a colorful dress before this.
For as long as she could remember, her mother had never allowed her to wear brightly colored clothes, let alone dresses. She had always been asked to wear oversized and ill-fitting clothes. The styles and colors of her clothes were all mannish-looking. If the legs of the pants were too long, they would be rolled up a few times. She had been wearing all these clothes until now.
When Yu Ling was younger, she was beaten up by her mother after she curiously tried on a dress that some other people had thrown out. After beating her, her mother hugged her and cried remorsefully. However, she was still told to never wear a dress.
At that time, she didn’t understand her mother’s intentions. Later on, when she was a little older and had seen more things, she completely understood her mother’s good intentions.
She remembered the time when she was ten years old, a young lady who was on good terms with her, was suddenly dragged away by seven or eight people in military uniforms.
When she saw her again, the girl had been thrown into the livestock shed. Her body was covered in blood and injuries. Some of the blood had congealed, and some of her wounds were still bleeding. Her once beautiful dress was now draped over her body in a mess. Her exposed skin was covered in crisscrossing scars and bruises.
Everyone avoided her, except for Yu Ling. She walked over and gave her a sip of water. At that time, a drop of blood and tears flowed down the girl’s mangled face. She used all her strength to say a few words before she stopped breathing completely.
Even now, Yu Ling has not forgotten those words. “Never wear a dress.”
The young lady at that time should be about 13 years old…
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