As they climbed the stairs, neither of them spoke. Light streamed through the windows onto the stairs, but the hallway was still quite dim. Back home, An Yin cautiously lifted her head to observe the other person. "Is there something on my face?" An Ying, as perceptive as she was, could easily see through her daughter’s little thoughts. Before going upstairs, she had purposely wiped away her tears, but facing her daughter’s careful scrutiny, she felt somewhat guilty. "No." An Yin answered honestly, but didn’t look away. Her voice carried a hint of heaviness as she asked, "What have you been busy with lately?" An Ying’s evasive attitude made An Yin feel increasingly uneasy, constantly suspecting that her mother was hiding something from her. "Just staying at home." An Ying replied after a fleeting glance. "Have you been to the hospital for a follow-up recently?" Aside from her mother’s illness, An Yin couldn’t think of any other secret her mother might be keeping from her. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩 "Don’t worry, all the follow-up indicators are fine. Stop worrying about your mother’s health." An Ying said, looking at her daughter who had come with just a sweater, and quickly took out one of her quilted pajamas from the sofa to wrap around An Yin. Seeing her mother’s natural expression, An Yin’s tense heart gradually relaxed. "Remember to wear more clothes next time you go out." An Ying said, seeing her daughter standing still with a furrowed brow. "Got it." An Yin replied perfunctorily and then turned around, speaking awkwardly, "If you have something on your mind, you can tell me, Mom." An Yin stood beside the sofa, her clear eyes staring deeply at An Ying’s face. An Ying’s body stiffened a bit. She thought she had hidden her negative emotions well, but she hadn’t expected her daughter to notice. Even so, An Ying still lacked the courage to share her past with her daughter. "Okay." An Ying mumbled, worrying that her daughter might overthink, she quickly added, "I’ll go make dinner." With that said, An Ying turned and walked towards the kitchen. Seeing her mother’s evasive attitude, An Yin decided not to press further. Having relied on each other for so many years, An Yin understood her mother well; if she didn’t want to talk about something, no one could pry it out of her. An Yin sat on the sofa, scrolling through videos on her phone. In a short while, she noticed An Ying preparing to untie her apron. "What’s the matter?" An Yin put down her phone and asked. "We’ve run out of ginger at home, I’m going downstairs to buy some." "I’ll go instead." An Yin stood up, stopping An Ying from going downstairs. Thinking about the soup she was still brewing, An Ying looked at her daughter with a troubled face but eventually relented, "It’s cold outside, wear a scarf." "Alright." An Yin picked up the scarf and her phone from the sofa, then headed out. As she went downstairs, she happened to see the neighbor, and sweetly greeted, "Grandma Wu." "You’re back." Grandma Wu looked kindly at the young girl in front of her, warmly asking. "It’s a weekend, so I came home." An Yin leaned against the wall. "Where are you going?" Grandma Wu, being old, climbed the stairs slowly. "Going downstairs to buy some ginger." "Then go quickly." Grandma Wu urged. "Goodbye, Grandma Wu." An Yin said and then headed downstairs. Watching the well-behaved girl, Grandma Wu was deeply fond of her and then, holding onto the railing, moved forward slowly. Not far from the community, there were some fresh supermarkets that the residents usually liked to shop at. When An Yin went inside, there were only a few people. She walked past the snacks section, found the shelf with ginger, grabbed a bag from the side, and began picking and sorting, putting them into the bag. While she was carefully selecting, the woman behind her was deliberately lowering her voice, talking to someone on the phone. An Yin didn’t intend to listen, but since the other person was standing right behind her, it was hard not to hear. "Brother Liu, I really can’t make it tonight." Huang Yiyi stood in front of the supermarket shelf, her voice tinged with a hint of sobbing. Whatever was said on the other end, Huang Yiyi’s rosy face gradually turned pale. Subsequently, resigning herself, she said with a touch of bitterness at the corner of her mouth, "See you tonight!" After hanging up the phone, Huang Yiyi held her phone with a vacant look. It wasn’t until she noticed the array of products in front of her that she remembered why she had come out. After picking up a few instant noodle cups, Huang Yiyi turned around. Just as An Yin was also turning with the ginger. Their eyes met for a few seconds, and just as An Yin was about to greet her, she noticed that Huang Yiyi quickly looked away, swallowing her words. They ended up walking over to the checkout counter at the same time. An Yin slowed her pace, letting the other person go ahead. Huang Yiyi glanced at her from the corner of her eye, paid the bill, and left. Watching Huang Yiyi’s departing figure, An Yin then moved forward to the checkout with the ginger. On the way back, An Yin thought about Huang Yiyi. When she was little, because her mother’s bookstore was close to Doctor Huang’s clinic, the kids their age often enjoyed playing together. An Yin, having grown up without a dad, was often subjected to the prejudice of other children, while Huang Yiyi, having no mom, faced similar criticism. For a while, only An Yin and Huang Yiyi were left playing alone on that street. Once An Yin got sick and went to Doctor Huang’s clinic, she happened to see Huang Yiyi bored out of her mind, playing with a toy car. Driven by curiosity, An Yin timidly approached, trailing behind Huang Yiyi. From then on, their relationship gradually became familiar, and Huang Yiyi would occasionally visit the bookstore to play with An Yin. However, their friendship was short-lived. In the year Huang Yiyi started middle school, she told An Yin that they were no longer friends, and An Yin didn’t even know why. Subsequent meetings saw Huang Yiyi ignoring her completely, and that’s when An Yin realized, Huang Yiyi truly intended to cut her off. Thinking back to those past events, An Yin couldn’t help but feel a bit lost. Once home, she took the ginger to the kitchen. An Ying, seeing her daughter’s troubled expression, couldn’t help asking, "You went out. What’s wrong?" "Mom, I ran into Huang Yiyi." An Yin said, taking a piece of ginger from the bag, and began washing it by the sink. Upon hearing the name Huang Yiyi, An Ying paused for a moment, "I haven’t seen her in a long time either." Huang Yiyi was Doctor Huang’s daughter, and when they were young, An Ying often saw her. But as the girl grew up, An Ying could count on one hand the number of times she had seen her, not knowing if it was just her imagination or sensitivities, but An Ying always felt there was some disdain in Huang Yiyi’s eyes when she looked at her... "Do you know where she works?" An Yin asked casually. "Doctor Huang never mentioned it." An Ying shook her head, recalling how much Huang Yiyi used to enjoy playing with her daughter when they were young, but now that they had grown up, they’d become estranged. An Ying couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic. This little episode was soon put behind them by both.