Chapter 4

Yu Shiying was a little dazed looking at the old black landline phone in the clinic. How do you use this… dial-up phone?

“What’s wrong, Yu?” the old doctor asked with concern, “Did you call your family?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I forgot my home phone number for a moment.”

The Yu family’s financial situation was quite good. To be able to install a landline phone in 1990, one not only needed money but also connections at the post and telecommunications bureau.

Yu Shiying’s adoptive father, Yu Qianlin, is a middle-level cadre in a provincial department, and her adoptive mother, Sun Xiangping, is an English teacher at a key high school in Hangzhou.

The couple supports each other and has a deep affection. The Yu family lives a happy life and treats Yu Shiying as their own daughter.

At the beginning, Yu Shiying, who had just graduated from junior high school, had average grades, so her family spent a lot of effort to get her into Hangzhou Normal University so that she could be assigned a teaching job after graduation.

Yu’s father and mother are so kind to Shiying.

Therefore, the original owner Yu Shiying could only secretly hide her love for her brother Yu Jin, and was afraid that her adoptive parents would be sad when they knew about it.

Once the call is really connected, what should you say and how should you say it?

While thinking, Yu Shiying picked up the receiver and dialed the number in her memory.

“Hello?” The call was picked up after just one beep. The voice of adoptive mother Sun Xiangping came from the other end of the line, revealing anxiety and uneasiness.

“Mom, it’s me, Shiying.” After hearing Sun Xiangping’s voice, Yu Shiying let go of her previous nervousness and helplessness, and her voice suddenly choked.

“Shiying! Where have you been? I heard that you didn’t return to school all night. Your father and I were so worried.” Sun Xiangping’s voice in the receiver was obviously trembling, and it was obvious that he was very anxious.

“Mom, I accidentally got lost in the suburbs. I’m at the village clinic now and will be back soon.” Yu Shiying tried her best to make her voice sound calmer.

“Health Center, are you injured? Where are you now? I’ll ask your dad to pick you up!” Sun Xiangping asked a series of questions like a machine gun.

“I’m not hurt, Mom. Don’t worry. I’m really fine. I have to go back to school and report the situation to the teacher first.”

Yu Shiying explained patiently. After hearing what Sun Xiangping said, she felt warm in her heart. The adoptive parents were really good to the original owner.

On the night Yu Shiying was brought home, Sun Xiangping carefully made her bed and whispered softly, “This will be your home from now on.”

When she was in elementary school and her grades were lagging behind, Sun Xiangping patiently helped her with homework and even asked around for the best tutor.

Late at night when she was sick with a fever, Sun Xiangping’s hand gently stroked her burning forehead and stayed by her bedside until dawn…

The love her adoptive parents had for her was never expressed in words, but was long-lasting and silent.

Just like this time when there was no news from her all night, the first thing I worried about was her physical condition and whether she was injured.

What they gave Yu Shiying was not only a warm home, but also unconditional tolerance and love.

“Mom.” Her voice was soft and apologetic. “I’ll be home after school today.”

A slight sigh came from the other end of the phone.

“Then be careful on the road.” Sun Xiangping’s tone softened a lot, but still revealed a deep worry.

“I will be careful.” She looked at the sparrows flying outside the window, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and the aroma of her father’s braised pork in her memory lingered at the tip of her nose.

“Mom… I want to eat the braised pork made by Dad tonight.” Yu Shiying’s tone was coquettish.

My mother’s cheerful laughter came from the phone. “Okay, I’ll tell your father to get ready.”

After the call ended, Yu Shiying was all smiles. She remembered her parents as very kind people.

This short call of a few minutes also made her feel the most real warmth, like a ray of sunshine in spring, dispelling all confusion and anxiety.

Like the original owner, Yu Shiying never saw her biological parents and grew up with her grandmother. Relying on her good looks, she worked her way up the entertainment industry, taking on roles that others didn’t want to take.

When filming night scenes in winter, she wore thin ancient costumes and stood in sub-zero temperatures for several hours.

When she encountered fighting scenes that other actors disliked, she volunteered to do them. In this way, she started as a bit player and gradually moved up to the position of a third-tier actor.

With no resources or background, she went from being a young actress to an “old actress”. At the age of 28, she had almost no roles to play and could only take on short dramas, in which she played maids serving tea and water or vicious female supporting roles who bullied the heroine.

Yu Shiying never thought that filming a movie would allow her to travel through time.

Any tension and helplessness are futile. It is better to face the life of “Yu Shiying” in the 1990s on your own.

Now, with just one phone call, she truly felt the warmth from her mother, and she began to look forward to her future life.

She turned around and saw a girl with two pigtails and a floral shirt walking in, carrying an old thermos in her hand.

The girl’s cheeks were wet from the rain, with a few strands of hair sticking to her forehead, making her look a little disheveled, but her eyes were exceptionally bright.

“It’s classmate Yu, right? I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some porridge.”

This girl should be the Qiaomei that the village chief said he would send back to the city. Judging from her appearance, she seems to be a passionate and innocent girl.

After saying thank you, Yu Shiying took the thermos and noticed that the outer shell was mottled and peeling, revealing the rusty iron sheet inside. It was obviously an old item that had been used for a long time.

Qiaomei’s family background must not be very good.

Yu Shiying carefully opened the thermos, and a faint aroma of rice wafted out. The porridge was thick, the rice was soft, and there were a few red dates in it, giving off an alluring aroma.

The aroma of steaming porridge lingered at the tip of her nose. Yu Shiying took a bite carefully. The soft rice grains melted on the tip of her tongue, carrying the sweet fragrance of red dates, and the warmth spread along her throat all the way to her stomach.

“Is it delicious?” Qiaomei asked expectantly, blinking her bright big eyes.

“Mm, it’s delicious.” Yu Shiying nodded sincerely, “The rice is especially fragrant.”

Qiaomei rubbed her hands sheepishly. “I grew these myself. I don’t have much experience, so the yield isn’t high, but they still smell good when cooked into porridge.”

“You grew it yourself? You’re amazing,” Yu Shiying praised sincerely. Great! This must be pesticide-free, pollution-free rice.

Tasting the slightly sweet porridge, Yu Shiying began to look forward to the simple old-fashioned life in the 1990s.

“Ah…” Qiaomei was a little embarrassed by the compliment, “I don’t have any other skills. I’m still learning how to grow crops.”

Yu Shiying put down the thermos and said softly, “Actually, being able to farm and cook is a skill, and many people don’t have it.”

After finishing their porridge, the two walked out of the clinic. Qiaomei was pushing a battered Forever brand bicycle, the paint on it mottled, the rubber on the handlebars worn to the color of iron.

“I’m sorry, this is the only bicycle my family has. It’s an old one that I bought in exchange for ten bags of rice.” Qiaomei touched the seat embarrassedly.

Yu Shiying smiled and shook her head: “I’m very grateful that you can take me back.”

Just as she was about to get on the back seat, Qiaomei quickly wiped it with her sleeve: “Wait, let me wipe it clean for you first.”

The moment I sat in the back seat, the car made a creaking sound as if it could not bear the weight.

Qiaomei pedaled hard, and the bicycle wobbled out of the village.

The muddy country road was full of potholes. A bicycle carrying two young girls rolled over the muddy road, and the accumulated water splashed tiny drops of water as the wheels passed over it.

Yu Shiying looked at the two shallow tire tracks left behind her and felt that her previous life was like filming a movie, while the present was the most real existence.