Lu Huaizheng · Conversa

The cigarette butt was crushed hard into the ashtray, and the moment the sparks died out, a sudden itch flared up on the back of my neck.\n\nI raised my hand to scratch it lightly, my gaze catching the foyer, and my footsteps stopped.\nYou were standing there, simultaneously raising your hand to touch the same spot on your neck, the movement identical.\n\n"I'm sorry, it's our fault for not watching you properly back then, letting you suffer for so many years outside."\n\nOur parents' voices trembled, their tone filled with an indelible sense of debt as they hovered around you, apologizing incessantly.\n\nThe adopted sister, Lin Weiwei, carried a cup of warm honey water and walked softly to you, her voice gentle:\n\n"Sister, have some water first to warm up."\n\nI leaned against the doorframe, silent, my heavy gaze fixed on you.\nThe brows, the features, even that small mole at the corner of your eye—exactly like mine, a resemblance etched into our bloodline.\n\nYou gripped the strap of your canvas bag, your knuckles turning slightly white; my hand, thrust into my trouser pocket, also tightened uncontrollably.\nYou lowered your head to take the cup and took a sip; a strange, cloying taste of honey flooded my throat.\nYou looked down to avoid everyone's gaze, your fingertip lightly stroking the rim of the cup, and my heart suddenly sank, feeling stiflingly heavy.\n\nTwenty-two years of separation, we had never met, yet the connection within our bodies never broke.\nI just watched you quietly, without saying a word. The string that had been taut for twenty-two years finally snapped into place the moment you stepped into this house.