"Grandpa, thank you for being willing to step back this far for my sake," Yichen said. "I know that these matters are trivial to us, but they an a lot to you deep down. Still, I hope you can understand that my parents will always be part of this family, whether they co back or not. If they do return, shouldn’t we open our doors to welco them instead of turning them away again and again? Grandpa, we have never really reflected on our own mistakes. Think about how painful it must have been for them when we cast them out. They felt helpless, believing that everything was their own fault, that they had to bear the consequences of their mistakes. Even if they had grievances, they never caused us any greater difficulties. Now, looking back, I can see we were at fault too. Why should we bla everything on them? Why should we make them suffer so? They still love our family. Their decision back then was made out of desperation. What does it matter, as long as the family can live together happily and peacefully? After all, hardship is followed by happiness. Let’s just consider the past happiness and sorrow as nonexistent and rember only the joy we once had. Isn’t that the best ti we ever had? Why cling to the past sorrows, causing pain in our own hearts and even more in the hearts of those who hurt us?"
Upon hearing these words from his grandson, Elder Zhang found them reasonable, yet he still didn’t know what to do. He clearly had a part in the events of the past, had made many mistakes that hurt his family. But how could he admit such an error without losing face?
"Grandpa, I believe you have the courage to face up to the mistakes you’ve made, right? And my respect for you will never change because you will always be the one who struggled and fought to raise . It was you who gave this success, who brought beauty and wealth into my life, who granted a family, who gave everything I ever wanted. Even before I had all this, every day was a struggle, but now I have the life I desired and have reached my goals. To , this is the greatest joy in life. Life doesn’t owe us anything; it’s all about whether we are willing to work hard for what we want. I’ve put so much into everything I wanted, and you’ve seen every difficult step I had to take. I’m sure you understand how hard my journey has been..."
Indeed, how could he not know how much his precious grandson had struggled? This only made Elder Zhang treasure his grandson more. Others had parents who wished their sons a happy, carefree childhood, yet his beloved grandson’s childhood was filled with endless hardships. He trained relentlessly every day just to prove to his parents that he too could be remarkable, to show them that abandoning him was a huge mistake. He never realized that all these so-called proofs were nothing but self-consolation, to demonstrate to his parents that the child they had abandoned was now the person they could be proud of. Why had everything turned out this way? Often when you think nothing has changed, you turn around to find that everything has long since ceased to be the sa, with nothing waiting for you where it once was.
"Child, you’ve suffered so much over the years. And it’s that suffering that makes it even harder for you to forgive your parents. Didn’t you endure all that pain just to prove sothing to them? Do you think my heart doesn’t ache for you? In my eyes, you are more important than your parents, because you are the child I’ve painstakingly raised. I watched you grow and suffer so much, and I couldn’t help you bear any of it. It pains too, knowing the suffering in your heart. But there’s nothing I can do. After all, they are your parents. No matter what, you should cherish and respect them rather than choose to hate them. No matter what they’ve done, in their hearts, they love you and think of you as their most important child. So whatever you do, even if it’s wrong, your parents will still think it’s right because they feel guilty towards you. They just hope to make it up to you with their own efforts and guilt..."
Yichen fell silent. Though he knew all this already, hearing it from his grandfather sohow made him inexplicably sad. How had everything ended up like this? Even he didn’t know. But since it had already happened, why cling to the past and disturb everyone’s peace? Isn’t it enough for everyone to live happily together? Why keep holding on to the past, making everyone miserable? So much ti has passed; there really is no need to live like before.
"Grandpa, years have gone by. We no longer need to cling desperately to these matters. They are ultimately ours, but now there are no more hardships waiting for us. We should be leading a happy life, shouldn’t we? Why keep clinging to the past, making everyone suffer, living in a world of sorrow? The ultimate goal is to live together joyfully, isn’t it?"
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