Chapter 2
The turning point came when I was in high school. At that time, I was buried in my studies every day, hoping to enter the news industry for college.
High school required boarding, so naturally, I no longer had the chance to watch the news every day.
One day after self-study, I saw Grandma standing at the classroom door, leaning on her cane.
She had even put on new clothes for the occasion.
As soon as she saw me, she excitedly said, “Baby, your parents are back. Let’s go meet them.”
At that moment, the books in my hands fell to the ground, and the whole world was filled with a ringing sound.
I was going to see my parents. They were finally no longer just cold images existing on the screen.
I could throw myself into their arms and act spoiled, or hold their hands, sit beside them, and show them all the awards I had received over the years.
I grew up in the countryside and didn’t have any special talents. These certificates praising me for being top of the class every year were the only things I could proudly show them.
I wanted to know if they would be proud of me.
I hurriedly followed Grandma to the bus station.
While waiting, I fixed my hair countless times.
I also quietly bought a pack of wet wipes to clean my face.
Using the reflection from the steel armrests of the station seats, I kept adjusting my appearance over and over, constantly regretting that I should have washed my hair before coming out.
I was afraid that my first impression on them would be bad, but then I thought that since they were my parents, they shouldn’t mind.
By then I had entered puberty, and my vague sense of self-esteem had already taken root.
I thought, since my parents had neglected me so much when I was little, when I met them, I should also act a bit reserved. That way, we’d be even.
Grandma and I ended up not being able to wait for my parents.
After sitting at the station until late at night, my dad’s friend came to find Grandma. He said my dad had called him, saying they had landed in the capital and would only stay for a week. After finishing their handover, they would set off again, so there was no need to come back to the old home.
They told us not to wait anymore.
I listened to this news in a daze, my head buzzing. I felt they would indeed do something like this.
I just felt a bit of contempt for them in my heart.
I thought, Grandma is old, and even I know to be filial to her, but they let their own parents’ expectations fall through time and time again.
Perhaps they weren’t as wonderful as I had imagined. Perhaps… they weren’t even as good as me.
After returning home, I developed a high fever.
During my illness, I learned from my uncle who came to visit me about the reason for their return to the country this time.
The war zone they had been in was completely destroyed by artillery fire. The attack came too suddenly, and the journalists were slow to evacuate. Many people were injured.
My parents, in order to record the city under artillery fire in the first place, forcibly delayed until the last moment.
Their best friend - the photographer who had followed them through life and death - also lost his life because of this.
Bearing the life and expectations of their friend, they were even more unwilling to stop.
After returning to the country for recuperation, they quickly geared up to return to the front lines of the war.
As if to express their guilt, they had someone buy new phones for Grandma and me.
They even took the initiative to call me.
But we were indeed strangers, and after exchanging a few pleasantries on the phone, we had nothing more to say.
Before hanging up, Dad told me to study hard, saying that Mom and Dad were waiting for me at the front.
But my attention was all on the clear voice of a little girl calling “Dad!” from their end of the phone.
Yes, they had adopted their colleague’s daughter.
That girl, five months younger than me, was very pitiful.
Her name was Sophia. Her mother had passed away when she was very young, and now she had lost her father too.
My parents took her in.
War is cruel and dangerous, yet they kept Sophia by their side.