"We're still young, and there's so ti before marriage, worrying about these issues now, a lot of things won't taste as good."
Xu Musen smiled as he placed the birthday combo into her hands, "Fried chicken should be eaten while it's still crispy."
Zhu Yulan looked at him with a touch of lancholy, but the scent of the fried chicken improved her mood slightly.
She took out the fried chicken legs and wings, not eating them, but instead placed them in front of the grave.
"Mom, big sister, you always told to eat less fried food, and I've been obedient, but it's all his fault for leading astray. Bla him if there's anyone to bla."
While Zhu Yulan spoke, she pointed at Xu Musen.
Xu Musen: ???
"I'm saying, Zhu beauty, this is not sothing to joke about..."
Xu Musen looked at the two tombstones in front of him, who complained to their parents like this?
"Haha, you have your fears too."
Zhu Yulan laughed happily, her gaze tenderly fixed on the tombstones, "My mother and big sister were very gentle people. I think if I had half their good temper and ability, they might not have been so worried about before leaving, and I might have been more likable."
Zhu Yulan's tone inevitably dipped, Xu Musen also smiled while looking at the tombstones, shaking his head, "Not necessarily. When a person behaves petulantly, there is definitely soone willing to spoil her. For your sister and mother, perhaps seeing you so carefree and willful is a sense of achievent for them.
The purpose of parents' efforts is to let their children live their own lives, right? You should feel lucky to have t such a good mother and sister, and moreover..."
Xu Musen's gaze moved to Zhu Yulan, chuckling lightly, "I think your personality right now is quite good; that's the confident and assertive Zhu family young lady I know."
Zhu Yulan silently listened to his words, her eyes shining slightly.
"Consoling words really roll off your tongue easily, no wonder Nuannuan and that childhood friend of yours can't leave you."
Xu Musen shook his head with a smile. Two young people chatting in a cetery always felt a bit strange.
"Today is my birthday, and also the anniversary of my mother's death every year," Zhu Yulan took the initiative to say, "My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer ten years ago, and by the ti it was discovered, it was already in the late stage. From entering the hospital for treatnt to her departure, it was all less than a few months.
In those few months, I watched my mother, once a gentle and virtuous lady, beco emaciated, confined to a hospital bed, barely conscious.
And at that ti, my father wasn't so powerful at ho yet, treatnt funds were not delivered in ti, and with him being caught up in a critical period of a family election, he barely returned ho. My mother, not wanting to distract him, kept it from him at first, until the hospital issued a critical illness notice. But by then, it was too late..."
Zhu Yulan's tone carried sadness, resentnt, and sorrow for her mother.
Xu Musen knew that Zhu Yulan's relationship with her family was not harmonious, but he hadn't expected it was like this.
Indeed, a father who doesn't show up when his family is in danger and needs companionship can't really make up for it later on.
"My mother told on her deathbed not to bla my father, that he had his reasons. I know... my father has always been a minor heir in the Zhu family, and to beco a person in charge of the Zhu family, there's no room for distraction or error... but I don't understand, is status and position really more important than family?"
Zhu Yulan's voice was mixed with sniffling, incomprehension, resentnt, and sorrow for her mother.
This was a question Xu Musen couldn't answer for her; every family has its own difficult issues, and these problems were bound to remain irreparable.
He didn't offer any consolation, because for emotions that one can't empathize with, consolation is useless.
Xu Musen looked at her and silently stretched out a hand, gently patting her shoulder.
Zhu Yulan leaned on Xu Musen's shoulder as if she had found support, her slender body still shuddering slightly with sobs.
Xu Musen didn't push her away, but instead gently patted her back, comforting her like a dear friend, "It's all in the past. Aren't you doing well now? You still have your loving sister, your own career, and friends like us. I believe your sister and aunt would be reassured if they saw this."
Zhu Yulan leaned on his shoulder for a long while before slowly lifting her head, her clear apricot eyes calmly gazing at Xu Musen for quite so ti.
Suddenly, she also pulled away a little, rubbing her eyes, a forced smile appearing on her face, "Really now... I clearly promised my mom that I wouldn't cry in front of her and my sister anymore, it's quite laughable..."
"No one will laugh at you, being able to cry shows you're a living person, unaffected by those people in the family. Isn't that also what your mother, sister, and you yourself would want most?"
Xu Musen's tone was gentle, he reached out to pick up the birthday cake that Zhu Yulan had brought. The cake wasn't large, just enough for two people.
"Today is your birthday, they would want to see you at your happiest. This birthday, I'll spend it with you."
Xu Musen spoke softly, and although he couldn't fully empathize, Zhu Yulan at this mont really resembled Yao Mingyue from that year.
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