I'm back in 1990

Chapter 1070: Reluctance and Helplessness

Huang Xiaochuan originally planned to stay in the United States for about ten days, but a phone call from Shanghai made him immediately interrupt his trip.

He even made a phone call to his nephew, Maowa.

"I'm on my way to the airport now. Hurry up and get ready. I've arranged for someone to pick you up and take you to the airport. You'll come back to China with me."

On the other end of the phone, Maowa heard his third uncle's voice, which sounded different from usual. His voice was deep and much more somber than before.

Maowa asked cautiously, "Third Uncle, what happened?"

"We'll talk when we meet. You go and get ready." Huang Xiaochuan hung up the phone after saying that, and then dialed the next number.

He did all this because of a phone call from his uncle, Zeng Jiahua. Zeng Jiahua's voice sounded a bit off on the phone. He said that Huang Xiaochuan's grandmother had been asking him when he would come back these past few days. Moreover, the old lady had stopped playing mahjong and stayed at home all day. Besides asking her beloved grandson when he would come back, she also told her uncle that she wanted to go back to her hometown of Suzhou. These were the two things she kept repeating.

Upon hearing his uncle's words, Huang Xiaochuan's heart skipped a beat, and he felt as if something was stuck in his throat, unable to speak for a long time. He immediately cut short his trip to New York, left Zhang Sui's Wall Street office under her astonished gaze, and went straight to the airport.

A few hours later, the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport, where we filled up the gas tank while picking up the Russian baby.

With the help of the flight attendants, Mao Wa boarded the luxurious Gulfstream business jet, still somewhat bewildered. The cabin was quiet, with only the air conditioning system making a slight noise.

"Third Uncle!"

Huang Xiaochuan sat by the window, his brows furrowed and his expression grim. Upon seeing his nephew, he simply raised his hand and said, "Find a place to sit down yourself."

He then fell silent, turned to look out the window with an anxious expression on his face, and the plane began to taxi.

Seeing this, Maowa didn't dare to ask any more questions and found a seat to sit down under the guidance of the flight attendant.

After sitting down, he quietly observed his third uncle, only to find that his uncle's hand was still gripping his phone, as if he was waiting for an important call.

The flight, which lasted more than ten hours, felt like an eternity to Huang Xiaochuan. He barely slept and barely touched the exquisite meals prepared on the plane.

The sea of ​​clouds outside the porthole surged, but his heart had already flown back to Suzhou, and he couldn't wait to land.

Just as Huang Xiaochuan was rushing back, Zeng Lijuan and Zeng Jiahua, the elderly siblings, were escorting their grandmother to Suzhou with their respective spouses.

Huang Xiaochuan had instructed them to do this when he called from the United States, and the siblings understood that it seemed the time was approaching to part ways with their elderly mother. Some things didn't need to be said outright, but the weight of the situation weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

Zeng Jiahua's expression was heavy, Qian Jiazhen's eyes were red, and so was Zeng Lijuan's. The two sisters-in-law each held one of their grandmother's hands, as if afraid that she would suddenly disappear.

The old lady, however, was completely oblivious, and would occasionally ask the two girls when her little monkey would be back. After asking, she would mutter to herself, "Doesn't he know how to wear more clothes? Is it cold in America?"

Before returning to Suzhou, Yu Xiang, upon receiving the man's call, immediately took a doctor and nurse to her grandmother's home for a full-body checkup. The checkup revealed no major problems. By the standards of her age, her grandmother's health was quite good, with excellent cardiopulmonary function. The doctor also said that in addition to the elderly woman's own physical condition, her family had taken very good care of her.

Even so, they followed Huang Xiaochuan's suggestion and sent the old lady back to Suzhou.

Even if it's just a false alarm, at most it's just a trip back to our hometown, and there's no real loss. But right now, everyone is harboring that "what if" thought, yet no one wants to voice it.

"Jiahua, when will Xiao Husun ​​be back from his business trip?" The old lady asked her son about her grandson again, her already somewhat cloudy eyes filled with anticipation.

Zeng Jiahua quickly moved closer to his mother: "He's already on his way back, Mom. I've already told him; he's coming directly to our hometown in Suzhou."

"Oh!" Grandma nodded gently to indicate that she understood, then asked, "He came back by plane, right? Was the flight tiring?"

"He's not tired at all. He's on his own plane, so he can lie down and sleep," Zeng Jiahua explained patiently, though there was already some tingling in his eyes. .

The Huang and Zeng families, spanning three generations, were all heading towards their hometown of Suzhou after receiving the notification, except for Huang Zemian, who was unable to return due to a military academy-organized field training exercise.

The Coaster drove past familiar fields and small bridges, the spring sunshine streaming through the windows and bringing the fragrance of rapeseed flowers into the vehicle. The fragrance was sweet, carrying the scent of earth—a unique aroma of this land.

Smelling the familiar scent, Grandma felt very content. She squinted her eyes, watching the fields, the river, and the villages with their white walls and black tiles flash by outside the window, a smile appearing on her face.

But the Zeng siblings, Lao Huang, and Qian Jiazhen in the car were not in the mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery outside the window. At this moment, they didn't talk much to each other. They all understood each other's feelings, and only occasionally would they look at each other. In their eyes, there was sadness, reluctance, and helplessness.

After arriving in Shanghai, Huang Xiaochuan and Maowa transferred to another helicopter and headed straight for Suzhou.

Amidst the deafening roar of the propellers, Huang Xiaochuan kept looking out the window. The mountains and rivers rushed past his feet, his palms were sweating, and his heart was beating much faster than usual.

The helicopter landed quickly, and the car that was picking him up had been waiting for a long time.

The entire journey proceeded without a single delay. Ten minutes later, Huang Xiaochuan saw his grandmother, and only then did he feel a little relieved.

"Aunt, why did you suddenly decide to have something from Suzhou?" He tried to keep his voice steady.

"Little monkey, you're back?" Upon seeing Huang Xiaochuan, the old lady's originally cloudy eyes suddenly lit up.

"I missed you, so I came back right away." Huang Xiaochuan gently held his grandmother's hand.

Those hands were thin and dry, covered with wrinkles and brown spots, the skin so thin it was almost transparent, revealing the bluish veins beneath.

But those hands were still so warm, making Huang Xiaochuan feel exceptionally safe.

Grandma looked out the window, then looked at him, and smiled with relief. Her smile was warm: "Little monkey, do you still remember when you were little? You were so naughty, climbing trees and not being able to get down, crying and calling for your great-aunt."

Huang Xiaochuan's eyes immediately welled up with tears: "I remember, how could I not remember?" He continued his grandmother's words, his voice choked with emotion, "You even held a bamboo pole and scolded me under the tree. After you finished scolding me, you were afraid I would fall, so you paced around anxiously under the tree. In the end, it was my uncle who came back and carried me down."

"That's right!" Grandma laughed. "You were all dirty when you came down. When I gave you a bath, you told me you wouldn't do it again, but you climbed back up the next day."

The grandfather and grandson chatted and laughed, bringing up old stories one by one, their laughter masking their reluctance to part.

Huang Xiaochuan knew that his grandmother was reminiscing, but also saying goodbye.

Later, at his grandmother's request, Huang Xiaochuan accompanied her to see the old street in the town and then to the arched bridge outside the town.

Huang Xiaochuan pushed the wheelchair slowly, the wheels of the wheelchair twisting back and forth on the bluestone slab.

Grandma would occasionally tell Huang Xiaochuan some local anecdotes, such as how old the osmanthus tree was, and which family in town had produced a scholar who passed the imperial examinations.

The family members followed from a distance, and no one went up to disturb them.

Zeng Lijuan and Qian Jiazhen quietly wiped away their tears. Seeing the grandmother and granddaughter like this, they wept even more.

Huang Xiaochuan then personally escorted the old lady to Huyin Garden.

At the foot of Lake Hidden Peak, Grandma softly called out to Huang Xiaochuan: "Little monkey."

"Hey, Auntie, I'm here!" Huang Xiaochuan quickly bent down.

"I'm quite happy."

"As long as you're happy, as long as you're happy." Huang Xiaochuan tried his best to hold back, but tears were already welling up in his eyes.

"Little monkey, your aunt is content!" Grandma raised her hand and gently stroked his head again with all her might. The movement was exceptionally gentle, just like many years ago when she coaxed him to sleep. Back then, he was so small, lying in her arms, and she would stroke his head gently, humming a soft, Wu dialect nursery rhyme.

Huang Xiaochuan nodded heavily, tears streaming down his face, but he dared not cry out. He held his grandmother's hand even tighter, as if he wanted to remember the warmth of these two lifetimes.

"Little monkey."

"Auntie, I'm here!"

"You're a good child, it hasn't been easy for you." Grandma's voice grew softer and softer, as if it could be blown away by the wind. "Don't always think about your mother, uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters. They have their own blessings. Just live your own life well."

Huang Xiaochuan nodded vigorously, tears streaming down his face, falling onto the cobblestones paving the flower-lined street. "I know, I know!"

With her last ounce of strength, the old woman wiped away her grandson's tears. Her fingers were already icy cold, but her movements were still so gentle, filled with a love that would never change in her lifetime: "Don't cry. Birth, old age, sickness, and death are inevitable. I'm so relieved to see you so successful."

Huang Xiaochuan quickly asked, "But what?"

"I still want to hear you call me 'Your Majesty' (Grandma)!"

Huang Xiaochuan finally couldn't hold back any longer and knelt down with a thud, "Your Majesty!"

He hugged his grandmother's legs and cried loudly like a child. He had been suppressing his emotions for a long time, and at this moment he could no longer hold back.

At that moment, he realized that in his grandmother's heart, he was her own grandson, and it was only at this moment that she finally expressed her deepest wish.

He was filled with regret and reluctance; in two lifetimes, he had failed to fulfill his grandmother's wish.

This is the person who has loved him the most since he was a child! In his heart, he has always secretly and foolishly hoped that this day would never come.

But it still came.

Springtime was in full bloom, and a gentle breeze was blowing. The water in the pond rippled in the breeze, and Grandma peacefully closed her eyes in his arms.

At that moment, Huang Xiaochuan felt as if a piece of his heart had been ripped out.

The person who always loved him is gone.

The person who would always wait for him and think of him no matter how far she went is gone.

He knelt there, holding her tightly, not wanting to let go for even a moment.

A gust of wind blew by, ruffling Grandma's gray hair.

He heard sobbing and footsteps behind him; his family was coming. But he still didn't want to move, didn't want to let go. He didn't want to admit that his grandmother was really gone.