"..."
On the weekend, Su Wan went to the cemetery.
Her family was considered a literary family; her grandparents were both scholars, and in their youth, they were professors at a university, dedicating almost their entire lives to their students. Her father was once the principal cellist of an orchestra, but later resigned to provide Su Wan with a stable life, choosing to become a violin craftsman and focusing on teaching her the cello. Her aunt was a civil servant, and her uncle was a high school teacher.
As for her mother, she left the country alone after divorcing her father when Su Wan was three years old.
On the day her mother left, it was raining.
She stood in front of the windowsill, silently watching her mother's figure holding a black umbrella, without turning back. She knew that this woman had left her.
The next time she saw her mother was six years ago at her father's funeral.
The thirty-eight-year-old woman's skin was still well-maintained and radiant. She wore a black long dress, and her face, free of the traces of time, bore a hint of weariness. She said, "Wanwan, I am your mother."
Su Wan looked up at her, and the pair of bright eyes identical to her mother's held some unclear emotions.
Was it hatred? Resentment? Or disappointment?
She had heard that her mother had become a world-renowned pianist, surrounded by glory;
She had heard that her mother had long since married someone else, becoming another person's mother, and was enjoying family bliss;
She had heard that her mother now lived happily with her new family of three.
"Heh..." Su Wan smirked coldly, feeling the warmth of tears in her eyes. She turned away to stop them from falling.
She spoke, her words cold and weak, "Since you left, why did you come back?"
In the eyes of others, Su Wan had always been a gentle and obedient girl. She didn't like to talk, was quiet, and had never thrown a tantrum or acted willfully all these years. Her resolute and cold demeanor at that moment caught her aunt by surprise, rendering her speechless.
At that time, Su Wan thought, let it be like this. There was no reluctance to leave, so what was it when she came back now?
Her father, whom she had respected all her life, had also left her. The road ahead, she would have to walk alone, unwilling to ever look back again.
Later, Su Wan moved to Yi City with her aunt. At that time, her aunt suggested relocating her father's grave to Yi City for easier visits in the future, but Su Wan did not agree.
Yanchuan was her and her father's memories. She knew her father would also prefer to rest in peace in the pure land of his hometown. Thus, with excellent college entrance examination scores, she applied to Yan University, returning once again to this place, to the hometown she shared memories with her father.
...
When she arrived at the cemetery, it was already noon.
The security guard at the cemetery was Uncle He, a man nearing fifty, with kind eyes and a gentle disposition. He always squinted when he smiled, and was a congenial person. Over the years of her college education, Su Wan visited the grave every month, so she had gotten to know Uncle He quite well.
"Oh, little girl, you're here again?" He sat in the security booth, poking his head out from the window and smiling at Su Wan.
"Yes, Uncle He, have you had lunch?" Su Wan stood beside the window, nodding slightly, and replied with a soft smile.
"Yes, yes, I've eaten." Uncle He asked her, "Girl, you're about to graduate, aren't you?"
Su Wan nodded: "I'm in my fourth year now, preparing for an internship."
"Internships are good, you'll be able to start working soon." He raised his hand to check the time on his watch, "Wow, it's already after one? Girl, you better hurry, it might not be safe to return late."
"Okay, goodbye, Uncle He."
"Go on, go on." Watching Su Wan's slim and graceful figure, Uncle He murmured with a sigh, "This child, really has a kind heart."
After simply dusting off the tombstone of her father, Su Wan placed the newly bought lily flowers in front of the monument, and softly spoke:
"Dad, I'm about to graduate and will soon start my internship."
"I submitted my resume to the orchestra, and will go for the second round interview next week."
"Dad, what piece do you think I should play for the second round?"
"I want to play 'Amazing Grace'... although, of course, it wouldn't be as good as how you played it..."
"Dad, I miss you so much..."
The breeze lifted the strands of her hair by her ear, gently and softly, yet it felt so desolate and silent. Su Wan rubbed her red eyes and bowed slightly to her father.
When she left the cemetery, it was already past three in the afternoon.
As evening approached, she was not eager to return to campus, but instead, took a car to the old house where she and her father used to live. The house had already been sold. Standing in front of that small villa, she stared at the old vermillion wooden door and felt a momentary daze.
Back then, she would always stand in the entrance waiting for her father to come home, then happily hand him his slippers. She would also always sit on the swing in the yard, appreciating her father's near-perfect performance.