"You know," Ji Ying said as she took her hand and smoothed her bangs, "my daughter has grown up so much."
Her bangs had long been combed up, revealing a clear and bright forehead. Beneath that, a pair of lively eyes sparkled. From the tiny, frail baby she once was, she had transformed into a graceful young lady in the blink of an eye.
At nineteen, she was unlike any other girl in the village—kind and sensible, yet never causing trouble, endearingly so.
Zhong Juan was only a year older than Nianhua and seemed decent enough daily, but she did some embarrassing things in private with Gao Jianshe.
But Nianhua, in this regard, seemed like a blank sheet of paper.
"I know you want to thank Yicheng, and it's good to be grateful, but there are things a girl ought to be careful about when it comes to her reputation," she said.