There was no creaking sound, only a faint hint of stiffness could be heard.
The door was already open, and an old, musty smell wafted out from inside.
She hadn’t been here in a long time—partly because she didn’t dare come this far alone, even if this was the place where she grew up as a child; partly because there was no real reason to return.
But now, she had come back, and she decided to step inside.
Su Yao opened her eyes wide and looked inside. After taking a deep breath of the cold air, she walked into the house.
The moment she entered, she felt her heart stir as if something had tugged at her emotions, instantly filling her with sorrow.
Probably… it was the scenery stirring up old feelings?
In the entrance hall, a pile of items was stacked—mostly farming tools, along with some dark, mold-covered things. Su Yao guessed they were some fruits and vegetables picked and left here for a long time, now rotting and covered in mold. These were the silent witnesses of time.
After looking around the entrance hall, Su Yao went upstairs, following her memory to a door.
This was the room her parents used to sleep in when they lived here. She tried pushing the door, but it didn’t budge; it was locked.
Su Yao frowned. She hadn’t expected it to be locked, but if it was, it must mean something important was inside.
Releasing the doorknob, she glanced at the gloves on her hands, already coated with dust. After brushing them off, Su Yao decided to look for the key first.
Her memories of the old family home were vague. She had lived here only before Elementary School, and now she was already in university. So many years had passed; even when she came back once or twice, it was only after careful thought that she could recall faint impressions.
With so little memory, Su Yao could only search room by room.
She walked from the innermost part of the house to the outside. Among the three doors, two couldn’t be opened.
Finally, at the door closest to the stairs, she didn’t even have to push—the door was half open. Inside was a desk, a wardrobe, and an empty bed frame. Besides dust on the floor, there was also some trash.
She kicked it lightly and saw bottle caps, pull tabs, and a small plastic packaging bag—the kind used for bread. The printed date on it was from several years ago.
At that moment, Su Yao suddenly remembered—when her grandfather passed away, she had come back once. Some relatives she didn’t know helped bring things back here.
At that time, they had been discussing whether or not to hold a Funeral. They had naturally asked for Su Yao’s opinion, but she was completely stunned and couldn’t remember what she said. The Funeral was held, and then she returned to her own home.
It was only now that she truly recalled those memories. Looking at everything before her, it was like stepping back into that painful, unbearable night, watching the events unfold as a bystander.
“I think the Funeral should be held. Everyone helps a little; it won’t be too much trouble.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“Old Su lived a full life until now. It’s only right.”
“What about Yao, though? She’s alone. Maybe it’s better to save the money for herself so she can live better.”
“Then let’s all pitch in for it.”
Su Yao watched as they all talked and argued noisily, eventually sending one or two representatives to ask the pale-faced girl—several years ago—whether the Funeral should be held or not.
That girl’s eyes were red, and the sorrow she carried was palpable even after all these years.
Su Yao could still feel the unease and fear that girl had back then.
She looked at the girl whose eyes held terror and despair, and gently sighed.
Su Yao knew exactly what that girl was thinking.
She just wanted the torment to end quickly.
She just wanted to go back inside that house, lock herself away, and never come out again.
Su Yao walked to the desk and looked at the leftmost of the three drawers below.
She hooked her finger into the groove and pulled it open. The drawer was a little heavy and needed some force.
Inside were all sorts of miscellaneous items—pliers, magnets, springs, batteries, small flashlights.
From among them, Su Yao found a small key. She used it to unlock the middle drawer.
The drawer contained many papers and various documents.
She wasn’t in the mood to look at what those documents were; her whole mind was set on finding the key to her parents’ room to see what had become of her past.
In the drawer was a suitcase. Opening it, Su Yao saw a bunch of keys. It seemed she had found the right ones.
This was an easy, simple puzzle—nothing could stump her!
Just as Su Yao felt a small surge of joy, she spotted two red Marriage Certificates.
Her heart immediately tightened.
Picking one up and opening it, she looked at the two names. There was no doubt—they belonged to her parents.
The photos on the certificates were familiar—her mother looked very young then.
But that only stirred a flicker of doubt in Su Yao’s mind.
She took out her phone and flipped through her photo album to compare.
Comparing the two side by side, a cold sweat broke out over her entire body.
“…”
Su Yao’s pupils trembled slightly.
She swallowed hard.
Though she didn’t want to believe it, they just didn’t look like her mother or father.
What was going on?
Could it be because of her transformation? But she clearly remembered she looked like that before.
At most, her facial features had softened a bit, but the difference wasn’t that big. If she had short hair, she should still be recognizable at a glance.
Panic crept in, and she couldn’t even hold onto the things in her hands properly.
The keys slipped to the floor with a crisp clink.
Her heart pounded wildly.
She breathed heavily and sat down on the bed frame nearby, as if a great weight had been lifted.
Once she learned certain things, there was no going back to the past.
After resting for a long while, Su Yao finally stood up again.
She returned to the corridor and looked at the rooms.
She realized she wasn’t as shocked or terrified as she had imagined.
Actually, Su Yao had already had a faint premonition before, which was why she had come back here.
Looking out the window, she saw it was already dark outside.
She tried turning on the light switch, but there was no power.
After searching for a while, Su Yao found the main Switch—it was off.
She pushed it back on, restoring electricity to the house.
Now she needed to prepare herself for how she was going to spend today here.