Chapter One There was a girl named Su Mu Zhe

  Su Yisu saw that magazine after work on her way home. It was already past eleven, and there were hardly any pedestrians left on the road, with only the streetlights along the way emitting a dim yellow glow.

  This street has not changed for many years, the streetlights have been repaired and broken, broken and repaired, replaced several times, but still remain a dull yellow that cannot be shaken. Every time night falls, the entire street appears desolate and exceptionally bleak.

  But Su Yisu liked this feeling, so for many years she lingered here, falling asleep every night under the company of streetlights and waking up when the light gradually weakened, starting a new day.

  Many things Su Yisuo had already forgotten, intentionally or unintentionally. But when she saw the three big "Su Mu Zhe" on the cover of the magazine, she was stunned.

  The old man at the newsstand had only casually called out to Su Yisou to try to make a sale; he hadn't really expected her to buy anything. In this fast-paced city, where even eating breakfast required precise time management, who would bother to look at these literary magazines that did nothing for one's quality of life?

  However, the other party stopped and stared at the magazine with a thoughtful expression. The boss suddenly felt that there was business to be done and quickly regained his spirit, continuing: "Girl, if you like it, buy a copy! This is a new type of publication created by a newly established publishing house in recent years. As you can see, the title is called 'Su Mu Zhe', which specializes in collecting literary and emotional works. Of course, its biggest feature is that it has a column dedicated to a little girl named Su Mu Zhe, who writes stories for each issue, full of childlike innocence... I guess the founder must have loved this little girl named Su Mu Zhe very much."

  Su Yisuo listened carefully and was moved to the end. She gently stroked the cover of the book, and past events surged up in her mind.

  Su Mu Zhe... Back then, I really liked this title and even threatened Su Yi Xing that in the future, I would name his daughter or niece after it. Hehe... As she thought about it, Su Yi Su couldn't help but laugh out loud, causing her boss to become even more perplexed - could a small magazine really have such great charm?

  But how could he understand? Su Yisu ignored the old man's inquiring gaze, bought it and hurried away, without having time to appreciate the dim yellow lights along the way.

  Back home, after a hot bath, Su Yisou hastily opened the magazine. She went straight to the "Su Mu Zhe" column, and the content inside made her heart skip a beat, and she couldn't calm down anymore.

  The title is "That Aunt Called 'Suey Sue'"

  "Tell me your story." One day, Dad suddenly said this to me.

  Yes, I am a person with a story. However, this story is only related to my name and an aunt whom I have never met.

  Dad often tells me the origin of my name. Many times, I am very curious about what kind of woman that aunt named Suyisu is, and why Dad and Mom miss her so much and feel so sad.

  Dad often encouraged me to create, he said, maybe this name will attract her attention one day.

  About mom, dad never lets me mention it. He says, I must wait until aunt comes back to see for herself what kind of person made him walk out of that traumatic experience...

  ……

  There is no innocence in the boss's mouth, perhaps it is heavy for anyone to write.

  Su Yisu's fingertips repeatedly swept across the paper, those lead characters, seemingly ordinary, yet stirring up ripples in her heart.

  Su Yixin, is my niece really named Su Muzhe? But who's her mother?

  The next day when Su Yisou went to work, she passed by the newspaper stand again. The old man always got up early, so the newspaper stand was also opened early. Su Yisou walked forward and asked tentatively: "Old man, that issue of 'Su Mu Zhe'... do you still have any previous ones?"

  The old man was busy sorting books, heard the sound and looked up to see Su Yisuo, smiled and replied: "Oh, it's you. Are you looking for the overdue 'Su Mu Zhe'? I have it, let me find it for you... Not many people read these magazines nowadays... Ah, they're all covered in dust, luckily I didn't get rid of them..."

  For the old man's nagging, Su Yisu just smiled faintly, neither talking back nor showing impatience. People who have aged like to nag, actually, having someone nagging in your ear isn't necessarily a bad thing...

  Hugging a thick stack of magazines, Su Yisuo walked into the coffee shop, exhausted. Fortunately, it wasn't too far, and she put the books down next to the counter, not even noticing Jiang Zhen's eyes widening in surprise, as she gulped down several cups of water.

  Jiang Zuo finally couldn't help but ask, flipping through the magazine: "Su Yisou, have you gone crazy or gotten water in your brain? Why are you buying so many magazines? Are they literary ones? It seems like our coffee shop doesn't need these."

  Su Yi gave her a disdainful glance and said, "Common! Did I say I was going to put it in the store? It's for my own viewing!"

  Jiang Zuo's eyes widened in disbelief, staring at her left and right, finally nodding heavily and concluding: "Huh! She must be mentally abnormal." What a joke, Su Yisou knew what she was made of, after graduating she never touched magazines again, why would she suddenly hold up a big stack of outdated issues and say she wanted to read them herself?

  Su Yisu ignored Jiang Zhen's changing expression, picked up the stack of magazines and walked towards the rest area, saying: "Hurry up and attend to the guests, you're on duty today."

  "What's going on with me being on duty?" Jiang Ya shouted loudly, "Don't you have a share in this coffee shop?"

  Su Yisu turned back with a sweet smile, "Miss Jiang, you're also at that age, being someone's wife and mother, so why don't you stop learning from those young girls who shout and yell?"

  "Hmph," Jiang Zhe let out a discontented hum, muttering under his breath, "At your age, you still don't see fit to marry yourself off."

  Su Yisu could no longer hear anything and walked into the rest room.

  As she flipped through the musty old magazines, Su Yisou's emotions were as complex as a mixture of five flavors. Her niece, Su Muzhe's daughter, lived in a certain city, with a lively life and happy childhood, doted on by her father and mother. At an age when she was still half-understanding life, she was deeply influenced by her parents, and with her childish brushstrokes, she longed for the aunt she had never met.

  What kind of feeling is this? Su Yisu didn't know. She only knew that she wanted to go find them, to retrieve the relationships she had once abandoned with her own hands. Over the years, she had almost avoided all the people she used to be familiar with, hiding in a small ancient town, opening a coffee shop and running it casually, living a life that was neither warm nor cold. But she had never felt this way before, not even when things were at their toughest, she had never thought of going back to find them, to pick up those memories that were covered in scars. Playing the family card... Alright, Su Yisu, you win.

  A month later, Su Yisu appeared in the city where the magazine company was located - Jiangcheng. Jiangcheng, a place where she had lived for more than 20 years, this southern city was still so noisy, so familiar yet so strange. Walking along the streets of memory, those shops that entered her eyes were no longer the same as they were in her memories.

  It's all changed after all. Su Yisuo silently sighed, as if everything was still just yesterday, but it had already been ten years.

  A group of children were walking towards them, chattering and laughing. The little girl in the front was either running too fast or playing too enthusiastically that she didn't notice the stone on the ground. When she reached Su Yisou's side, she tripped and fell. Su Yisou quickly squatted down to help her up, dusting off her clothes with a somewhat awkward dialect from her hometown, "Little friend, be more careful when walking in the future, okay?"

  The little girl said "thank you, auntie" in a milky voice and then skipped away with her companions. Su Yisuo sighed and stood up, watching them leave. I'm really getting old, every time I go out, I'm called "auntie". I don't know how old my niece is, but she can write so much, she must be quite big now!

  After several turns, Su Yisuo finally found the address of the magazine company left on the book. Standing outside the gate of the magazine company, she savored the few large characters written in a flamboyant style above her head: Su Mu Zhe Magazine Company. Su Yisuo couldn't help but smile wryly, this Su Yixin was indeed crazy to make such a big deal out of the three words "Su Mu Zhe".

  After explaining the purpose of her visit, she was directly taken to the editor-in-chief's office. Editor Xu was a middle-aged man with a slightly literary temperament, wearing glasses, and his thin face looked even more frail under their support. When Su Yisou entered, he was working with his head down, and only when he heard the knock on the door did he look up, looking at Su Yisou with a puzzled expression. Su Yisou repeated her intention again, but unexpectedly, this refined middle-aged man suddenly stood up, walked straight to Su Yisou's face, looked left and right, and finally burst into tears, "Miss Su, you've finally appeared! These years, Mr. Su has been searching for you in vain!"

  Su Yi smiled wryly and didn't know how to respond.

  Xu continued without looking at Su Yisou's expression: "I met Mr. Su by chance, and at that time I was worried about the name of our magazine. Mr. Su suggested 'Su Mu Zhe' and told me the story behind it. He also asked me to help him find you with this name. I was deeply moved at that time, so I agreed. It's been five years, and you've finally appeared...I'll call Mr. Su right now..."

  Su Yisu hastily stopped Editor Xu, who was about to dial the phone number, and said: "Editor, thank you... but please don't tell my brother for now, just give me his address, I want to surprise him."

  "Ah, you..." Editor Xu chuckled and said, "Don't scare Mr. Su too much." Although he said so, he immediately picked up his pen and wrote down an address, handing it to Su Yisou.

  Su Yi took the address, smiled and thanked again before leaving. As she walked out of the gate, she looked back at the sign that was decorated with unparalleled luxury, and smiled secretly: "Su Yi Xin, it turns out this isn't your magazine company after all. But then again, if it really were yours, that would be even stranger."