Character side story: An Mingyu · Loneliness

An Mingyu's name comes from her mother, whose name was An Yu, so her father named her Mingyu.

She wasn't originally surnamed An. Her parents died in a car accident when she was young. Since her father's side was completely destitute, this poor child had no choice but to be adopted by the An Family.

To prevent young Mingyu from suffering further harm from the outside world, the An Family changed her surname and claimed that she was the daughter of An Ning, the second son of the An Family.

An Ning was a carefree person who was obsessed with fortune telling and had no job. As a man, it was not easy for him to raise a girl, so An Mingyu was fostered by An Jing, the third daughter of the An Family, from a young age.

An Jing was quite young at the time, having just graduated and found a sales job. She thought her life was just beginning, but who would have thought that she would suddenly skip countless steps in between and become a single "mother" raising her "daughter".

However, An Jing had no complaints about this.

Her older sister An Yu, had always doted on her since childhood. After her sister passed away, she was in great pain. Mingyu's existence was like a comfort to her family, at least making An Jing feel that her sister might be accompanying her in this way.

And so, An Mingyu grew up under the care of his aunt.

As we all know, sales is a very demanding and busy profession. Even though An Jing tries her best to shorten her working hours every day and make time to accompany Mingyu, she is still inevitably drawn into the quagmire of the workplace in order to support her family. Not only does she make herself overwhelmed, but she also makes Mingyu finally found warmth from her aunt, understand the taste of loneliness even more.

Her only expectation each day was to talk to her aunt for a while when she came home from get off work.

However, after talking countless things outside, An Jing just wanted some An Jing after work. Her companionship with An Mingyu changed from being meticulous at the First, to daily reminders, then to smiling caresses, and finally to silence.

Gradually, An Mingyu also lost his desire for communication in this mechanical family affection, and gradually evolved into a step-by-step growth.

This was neither a good family atmosphere nor a happy childhood experience.

An Jing, she seemed to have adapted to this rhythm of busyness, never noticing anything amiss, until one day she dragged her weary body home and saw An Mingyu sitting blankly on the sofa, head down, ignoring her greetings...

At that moment, An Jing's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

Mingyu isn't like this. She's usually a strong and cheerful girl, so why is she suddenly silent?

An Jing stood quietly at the door, tears streaming down her face. She kept recalling all the experiences of the past few months, trying to find the reason why Mingyu had lost her smile amidst the busy past.

However, as she searched through her Memory, she discovered that Mingyu's smile did not disappear suddenly, but was gradually smoothed out by her "neglect" over a long period of time.

She realized she was wrong. Life shouldn't be like this, Mingyu shouldn't be like this, and she herself shouldn't be like this!

Looking at Mingyu, who was sitting silently on the sofa, she couldn't help but think: This poor child might also resent her.

My older sister had entrusted her to me, and I wanted to take good care of her, so why did everything turn out this way?

She slumped An Jing and helplessly at the doorway, hugging her knees and sobbing.

After a long while, she wiped away her tears, not because she had cried enough, but because she was afraid that Mingyu would see her helplessness and frighten the fragile man.

She looked up at Mingyu on the sofa again, only to see the little girl who had been silent just moments before now standing in front of her, looking at her timidly, and handing her a tissue, saying:

"Auntie, why are you crying? Did Mingyu do something wrong?"

An Jing burst into tears, hugging Mingyu tightly and sobbing uncontrollably, "No, Mingyu is fine, Mingyu is the best! It's all my fault, I was wrong, I'm so sorry..."

An Jing emotion swept over the bewildered An Mingyu An Mingyu Storm. She curled up in her aunt's arms, her body trembling slightly, biting her lip. She seemed somewhat afraid, yet she still mustered the courage to pat her aunt's back, comforting her:

"Auntie is fine, Auntie did nothing wrong, Auntie, please don't say sorry, okay?"

An Jing knew her disgraceful appearance must have frightened the child. She wiped away her tears again, placed her hands on Mingyu's small shoulders, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mingyu. Auntie has never been a 'mother.' It's Auntie's fault for neglecting your feelings. This should be the happiest and most joyful age for you, but Auntie has made you lose your smile... It's all Auntie's fault."

An Mingyu was taken aback, then said somewhat angrily:

"Auntie is right!"

My aunt is already exhausted from working so hard to support me. Home is a place to rest; my aunt needs to rest when she's tired. She only puts on a facade for outsiders; she should let her guard down with family...

"?"

An Jing was stunned. She had never imagined that young Mingyu could say such things. The clear logic even made her mind go blank for a moment. She asked incredulously, "Where did you learn all this?"

An Mingyu pointed timidly at the television. "That's what the television said, I... I only watched it for a little while..."

An Jing tears flowed again.

My own approach to educating my child is not as extensive or insightful as having a television...

Just as she was staring at the television in a state of confusion, Xiao An Mingyu spoke again:

"Besides, I'm always smiling. I smile when I see the little birds on the windowsill, when I'm sleeping soundly, when I peek at the TV, and when I see my aunt... I smile too."

But the TV show said that laughter isn't always the cure; when people are tired, a smile might make them put on their pretense again.

I didn't want my aunt to wear the disguise; I wanted her to rest at home, so I dared not laugh...

"..."

An Jing biting her lip, biting and biting until it bled, she finally couldn't hold back her emotions any longer and pulled Mingyu into her arms again.

This is Mingyu, this is her sister's daughter. She is just as kind as her sister, even though she is just a child, she is always thinking of herself.

But what about myself...?

An Jing, how can you face your sister? How can you face the sensible Mingyu...?

An Jing cried herself to sleep and sat by the door, drifting off to sleep An Mingyu, in her arms, struggled in vain, unable to move her aunt or save herself, so she simply found a comfortable position and fell asleep with her aunt.

This was the best they had slept in a long time.

One completely shed their pretense, and the other embraced family ties once more.