Doctor Su was forty years old. His wife Mira was five years younger than him. In their family, besides marrying him, she had also married two other husbands.
He deeply wished for a soft and sweet daughter, but they only had one son. No more children were born afterward, which left the entire family feeling regretful.
Mr. Mo didn't know who he had offended. Even though he had been paralyzed, he'd been constantly suppressed throughout the past year. His son, Denim, was also bullied badly. He couldn't go to school, and no one dared to hire him for work. He could only find jobs outside the city.
Once, when he came to seek medical help, he met Mira.
Mira was kindhearted. When she heard about Denim's situation, she took the initiative to ask Doctor Su to collect some medicine for Mr. Mo. Even though she didn't say much, Doctor Su took it to heart.
Before Denim's family declined, he was one of the most outstanding young men in the city. Being the only child in the family, many had the idea of marrying him. Even though his family had fallen on hard times, he was still a fine young man. If he were to join their family, maybe he could bring them a daughter...
Because of this thought that he couldn't say out loud, Doctor Su treated Denim kindly the first two times they met and even tried to subtly test his opinion. He believed Mira was a wonderful person in every way. Denim wouldn't be at a disadvantage if he joined their family.
But unexpectedly, right after he returned home last time, he was summoned by the authorities for questioning. Someone had reported him for trying to abduct a young man and for selling fake medicine.
Doctor Su was shocked and scared. He had no idea who he had offended. He was detained for several days and only after some hints and inquiries did he realize it had something to do with Denim.
From that moment on, Doctor Su no longer dared to have any thoughts about Denim. That's why, when he saw Denim today, he was panicked and wanted him to leave immediately. He was just a small-town doctor — he didn't dare mess with powerful people.
He didn't expect Denim to be so stubborn today, refusing to leave.
Now seeing several wealthy and well-known people in the crowd offering to testify for him, even though Doctor Su was still uneasy, he stood up with Denim.
Mira said, "Doctor Su, uncles, aunties, you're all really kind people. You'll be rewarded for your goodness. I thank you all in advance."
"Oh, no need, no need."
Even though they said that, the onlookers all looked cheerful and pleased by the compliment.
Seeing that things had settled down, Mira clapped her hands, ready to walk away quietly. But the young man called out to stop her.
She had no choice but to walk a few steps with Denim. When he remained silent, she took the initiative to speak.
"I'll leave you here then. Denim, when you do things next time, don't be so stubborn, alright? There's a saying: 'If the green hills remain, there will always be wood to burn.' We need to be smart, understand?"
Denim touched his burning ears and softly thanked her.
She thought back to how Denim looked earlier.
Mira sighed and patted his shoulder. "There's this saying in a book: 'When all seems lost, a new path will appear.' Don't lose hope. No difficulty lasts forever. There will be a way."
She was used to comforting young people like this. In her previous life, aside from studying hard and working part-time jobs every day, she would dedicate one day a week to visit orphanages to check on the younger kids and encourage them. Motivational words came naturally to her.
Denim silently repeated the saying in his heart. It felt like a door had opened in his mind.
"Which book was that?"
He wanted to find the book and admire the author's other works.
"Huh?"
Mira's heart skipped a beat. Did this world not have that line of poetry? But when she recited it earlier, her father didn't say anything...
"Well, I forgot. It's from a famous poet's collection."
Mira tried to brush it off casually.
He nodded, blushing, and said, "My name is Denim."
"Oh... Hi, Denim. I'm Mira. We met this morning, remember? At the city gate, you helped me and the others..."
"I remember. Also, I'm already seventeen."
Denim spoke in a quiet voice. After he finished talking, his ears turned red, and even his face looked like it was burning.
Mira was a little confused because what he said seemed random. But then she saw him glance at her and say, "I'm older than you." He didn't like being called "young man." It felt strange to him, and even the name "Denim" didn't feel right.
Mira suddenly understood. Oh, so he just felt that he was older than her. What a shy and serious guy.
Mira said, "Oh, oh, I see. Then, Denim bro?"
She followed his idea easily.
What she didn't know was that when she softly said "Denim bro," Denim's heart skipped a beat.
They talked for a little while longer, and then Mira happily went back to Riyo.
"Dad, I'm done! Let's go."
Mira smiled brightly at Riyo.
Riyo smiled and gently tapped her head. "You clever little one. There's no one you can't win over. Now that everything is settled, we can leave with no worries."
Mira stuck out her tongue playfully. Her dad really knew her well. She helped him up and said to Old Madam Da, "Old Madam, we're leaving now. Thank you for helping take care of my dad."
Old Madam Da laughed kindly. "No problem at all. I wasn't busy anyway. Hurry and go, it's too hot today."
She pointed out the road again and then walked away smiling.
After everyone had left, a young servant boy saw that his master was still smiling. He was curious and asked,
"Sir, what's so funny? You've been smiling for a long time."
Earlier that day, when their carriage was halfway down the road, the master told them to stop. He also stopped the patrol officers from walking over to that side of the street. After he heard the lively girl speaking, he started smiling and didn't stop. Even after she was long gone, he was still thinking about her.
At that moment, Mira had passed by the carriage. Her clear voice said, "When mountains and rivers seem to end, a new village suddenly appears." The words floated into Isaac's ears. He repeated them again and again in his mind. It made him feel like walking out of a dark cave into sunlight.
Ruru spoke again, and when he saw Isaac didn't answer, he smiled and said, "But sir, that girl had a really pretty smile and a lovely voice. I wonder which family she's from. Will we ever see her again... Ow, sir, why did you hit me?"
Isaac narrowed his eyes that were full of charm and said in a lazy voice, "You deserved it. You're not doing your job and just thinking about pretty girls. Are you planning to get married already? Go tell Bonny to drive the carriage."
Ruru rubbed his head and grumbled quietly, "I wasn't. But sir, you were looking too, hehe."
Then he laughed and went off to call Bonny.
Isaac leaned against the soft cushions in the carriage. His eyes slowly closed as he tried to rest. But in his heart, he kept thinking about what the girl had said.
The boy's voice was full of sadness. He asked, "Will I see you again?"
The girl answered happily, "Ah, maybe! I'm going to the Lu family. Someone gave me directions. It should be just ahead. If we're meant to, we'll meet again."
She lowered her voice and said, "But I think I'll be looking for a job in the streets soon. Once we save some money, we'll move out. If there's a chance, I'll come find you to hang out!"
Isaac didn't hear anything else from the boy. The girl's soft and sweet voice stayed in his mind. It made his heart itch. He wanted to keep her close and hear more of her voice.
Mira and Riyo were sweating as they walked. Finally, they found the gate to the Lu family home.
Even the gate looked rich and grand. The sign that said "Lu Mansion" had big gold letters that were so shiny they almost hurt Mira's eyes.
They both looked at their old, faded clothes that had patches on them. Suddenly, they felt a little embarrassed.
But they still had to go in. Mira took a deep breath and got ready to knock on the door, but someone stopped her.
"Hey hey, what are you trying to do? Beggars stay away. This is the Lu family's place."