The next day at noon, the sky was overcast, as if it were about to rain.
Zhang Liunian and Xiao Zhou sat in the car, driven by Zhang Qian to wait opposite the only photo studio in the provincial capital for Gao Lijie to appear.
They waited for over three hours, during which Zhang Qian even went to the restroom once.
"Why isn't she here yet? Are we going to wait until evening?" Zhang Qian was a restless person. It was a real challenge for him to sit in the car for an entire afternoon without being able to move.
Sitting in the back, Zhang Liunian was also bored. He leaned to the side and looked at Xiao Zhou next to him, noticing that he was staring out the window.
"If my mother hadn't gone to the countryside, I would probably have grown up here too." Xiao Zhou, recalling a photo of this photo studio he had seen in his mother's hands, murmured unconsciously.
"Your mother was a sent-down youth? Impossible! You're only twenty, and the Down to the Countryside Movement only started a little over ten years ago." Zhang Liunian feigned surprise.
Xiao Zhou withdrew his gaze and replied, "My mother went to Pengcheng to work in the countryside in '66, one of the very first batches of sent-down youth. As for me, I am indeed twenty years old."
Zhang Qian, bored to death, blurted out, "You weren't picked up by your mother, were you!"
"..."
After speaking, Zhang Qian realized he had spoken out of turn and immediately apologized, "I'm sorry!"
Xiao Zhou, however, smiled wryly, unconcerned. "My mother went to the countryside after giving birth to me. I was already three or four years old then. Although I don't remember, I'm sure I'm her biological son."
"Then what about your father?" Zhang Qian, seeing that Xiao Zhou didn't mind his gossiping, spoke up again, as he was idle anyway.
"I don't know. I've never met him, nor has my mother ever mentioned him."
"..." Zhang Qian felt he had spoken too much again and apologized once more, "I'm sorry!"
Xiao Zhou still didn't take it to heart. "It's okay."
It was at this moment that Gao Lijie finally appeared outside. He alighted from a car and stood by the photo studio holding his hat. The people inside probably saw this often and brought him a small stool.
"It's him. Let's go down," Zhang Liunian said suddenly upon seeing Gao Lijie appear. He got out of the car first and walked towards the man.
"Comrade Gao, can we talk?" Zhang Liunian, with Xiao Zhou, approached Gao Lijie's side and suddenly spoke, interrupting his gaze.
Hearing someone call him, Gao Lijie instinctively turned his head. Upon seeing Xiao Zhou, he froze completely.
"Comrade Gao?" Zhang Liunian, knowing the man was suspecting Xiao Zhou's identity and was also shocked, pretended ignorance and called out again.
Gao Lijie didn't come back to his senses. He stared intently at Xiao Zhou, unable to look away. He looked so alike. How could this young man in front of him resemble his Zhu'er so much?
Apart from the difference in gender, he could truly be described as almost identical.
"What's your name, young comrade? How old are you? Do you have parents?" Gao Lijie truly hadn't expected to see the face of his first love again after twenty years.
Although this face was now on a man, it still stirred his heart, making him feel like a young boy.
"I... my name is Zhu Xiaozhou." Xiao Zhou was startled by Gao Lijie, who suddenly rushed in front of him, and reported his name dazedly.
Gao Lijie was not satisfied with just knowing his name. He didn't believe that two people with no connection could look so alike. This young comrade must have some connection to his Zhu'er.
"Do you have parents? What are their names?" Gao Lijie disregarded any impropriety in his questioning. At this moment, all he wanted was to quickly figure out who this young man was and if he had any connection to his Zhu'er.
"I only have a mother, no father." Xiao Zhou stammered his reply, truly unable to understand why this person was fixated on asking him these questions.
He didn't understand why, but Zhang Liunian understood perfectly. Gao Lijie had recognized that Xiao Zhou's face greatly resembled his first love, which was why he was pestering him for answers.
This had also happened in his previous life, but it was several years later than it was now.
"Only a mother? What is your mother's name? Is it Zhu Yu?" Gao Lijie, unable to wait for an answer, uttered his first love's name first.
Unexpectedly, his words caused Xiao Zhou to be stunned. "How do you know my mother's name?"
Boom!
Upon receiving confirmation, Gao Lijie was struck as if by lightning. His body staggered backward uncontrollably, nearly falling. If Zhang Liunian hadn't supported him, he would have fallen to the ground.
"What did you say?" Gao Lijie stared intently at Xiao Zhou, murmuring.
Seeing his strong reaction, Xiao Zhou's mind raced with possibilities. Could this person know his mother?
"Is your mother really named Zhu Yu?" Gao Lijie, looking at the oblivious Xiao Zhou, straightened himself and confirmed.
"Yes, why?" Xiao Zhou didn't understand why he was reacting so strongly.
"When were you born?" Gao Lijie, having received confirmation and coupled with the fact that the young man's face was identical to his Zhu'er's, was now one hundred percent certain that the young man before him was born to his Zhu'er. This face could not deceive him.
"I am twenty years old this year, born in the middle of summer."
Boom!
Hearing his words, Gao Lijie's body trembled uncontrollably. Then he wasn't his son?
Thinking of this, Gao Lijie excitedly hugged Xiao Zhou and said with a trembling voice, "Son, I am your father. Did your mother not tell you about me? Is your mother doing well?"
Hearing this, Xiao Zhou felt completely bewildered. What did he mean he was his father?
His mother had never mentioned who his father was or any man. He had always thought his father was dead.
But now someone appeared, claiming to be his father. He really couldn't process this.
"Are you mistaken? My mother never said my father was you." Xiao Zhou forcefully pushed Gao Lijie away, fearing he had mistaken his father.
Gao Lijie, however, was very sure that the young man was his offspring because the timing matched.
"I won't miscalculate. Your mother and I were both virgins, and it was only that one time. Your birth date matches. Quickly tell me where your mother is now and if she is doing well?" Gao Lijie was impatient to find his first love and grabbed Xiao Zhou to question him.
"..." Xiao Zhou was speechless. Having a child from just one encounter? How could that be possible?
However, if it were true, what should he do? He decided he would call and ask later.
"My mother is doing very well. She works at the Pengcheng Women's Federation."
"Give me her address and phone number. I need to verify it personally and ask her if she gave birth to a son for me." The thought of the woman he loved most having remained unmarried her entire life and giving him a son made Gao Lijie's heart burn with excitement, wishing he could fly over immediately to be with his first love.
However, thinking of his current wife and children, he knew this was impossible.
"..."
This reason was too compelling. Xiao Zhou could not refuse it at all, as he also wanted to know if he was his son.
An hour later, Gao Lijie wiped away his tears and looked at Xiao Zhou, saying, "You've heard it. You are my son."