The snow was everywhere, and the cold wind cut like a knife across her face. It wasn’t until she was squeezed onto the train by the crowd that Ye Ling’s lost eyes found focus, confirming this wasn’t a dream.

"Lingzi, come here." Her grandmother’s familiar voice came from the front in her memory.

Ye Ling looked up, and her grandmother in her fifties appeared to be in her sixties, looking just as she remembered. Her face was forever kind. Ye Ling didn’t understand what was happening. Her grandmother had clearly died in that rented room, after being mocked by her younger sister, and in her loneliness and guilt toward her ex-husband, Shen Bin, without a single family member by her side, she died at the age of twenty-two.

But how could she be here?

And on a train no less.

The cold wind from outside surged into the train door, jolting her awake. In her memory, her grandmother had died in the year she got married, yet now she stood living and breathing in front of her. Surrounded by the noisy crowd, pressed in until she was by her grandmother’s side, even her grandmother’s calloused hand clasped hers. She knew this was not a dream; everything was real. She was not dead, and neither was her grandmother. She looked down, Ye Ling slowly widened her eyes looking at her outfit.

Ye Ling was like a puppet as her grandmother dragged her forward, her whole being plunged into her memories.

Wasn’t this the dress she wore when she was fifteen years old, going with her grandmother to the city to spend New Year with her parents? Ye Ling remembered this outfit so vividly because it was associated with a bad memory of her sixteenth New Year. On the first day of New Year, she sat on the train with her grandmother heading back to the countryside. It wasn’t until after graduating middle school and needing to go to high school that she returned to the city because her family couldn’t afford for her not to study.

Ye Ling’s father was a professor, a man of high education in those days, but was fired from school for having a second child. Ye’s father was lucky; in an era when jobs were either official or inherited from parents, he was hired by a private development company to do research, primarily geological exploration, in the company’s logistics department.

Though a private enterprise, it enjoyed benefits similar to state-owned factories, with its own family quarters, surpassing some state-owned factories even in terms of accommodation, which was locally well-known. It was said that no one felt anything but envy working there.

Ye’s mother was pregnant and had just followed her husband to the new location, so they left their only one-year-old daughter, Ye Ling, at the old home. Ye Ling stayed in the countryside for fifteen years, only going to the city with her grandmother for New Year’s once. Although she was raised in the countryside, she was spoiled by her grandmother. Watching her parents favor the sister, Ye Qian, beside them, whom she was always reluctant to accept, she constantly compared herself to her sister. Ye Qian was sweet-mouthed and charming, beloved by everyone, and her sweet and delicate appearance was very likable. Moreover, she was always seen as yielding to her elder sister, Ye Ling, and everyone thought Ye Qian was sensible.

In contrast, Ye Ling was clumsy with words and inwardly weak, yet always openly revealing her resentment over her sister being liked and her discontent. Naturally, this didn’t endear her to people. Growing up in the countryside, she felt pushed aside when she returned to the company’s family quarters, making her even more timid. Disliking the familial bias towards her younger sister, she always contradicted her parents whenever they reproached her. Over time, this led to her parents, who were never close to begin with, disliking her even more.

This resulted in her family naturally siding with her sister in any sibling conflict.

Being squeezed by the crowd into the carriage junction by the door, Ye Ling’s thoughts gradually returned. As the year-end approached, many people were on the train, their clothes a singular blue or military green, perhaps gray—the early ’80s clothing had very monotonous colors.

Ye Ling and her grandmother managed to find a spot to stand because beside them was a chicken coop, with the carriage door behind them. With her grandmother’s age, she took advantage of her seniority to claim this corner.

"Lingzi, just hold on. We’ll arrive tomorrow morning. Your father mentioned in the telegram he’d come to pick us up," said Old Mrs. Ye, who looked quite spirited for her age.

Knowing her granddaughter was spoiled by her upbringing, the grandmother moved her body closer to the chicken coop, blocking the pecking chicken heads, so her granddaughter could lean against a cleaner corner.

Please enjoy this new story I brought for all of you ...

This is “NOT MY WORK ” I found it good so I just wanted to share it with you all .....

Just a small gesture, yet it brought tears to Ye Ling’s eyes. In her previous life, she was truly too unaware, causing her grandmother to pass away without ever being at ease about her.

Sniffing, Ye Ling said crisply, "Grandma, put the bag down and sit. I’m young and standing doesn’t tire me. Besides, coming from the countryside, what’s there to be delicate about? It’s not like I haven’t seen chickens before. So just sit down."

Compared to the other kids in the village, she was indeed pampered. She never did chores, never worked in the fields, didn’t even clean up after meals, and never washed her own clothes. But all of this was nothing compared to her sister who grew up in the city.

Besides, girls from the countryside who can’t do any work only get looked down upon by city people. In her previous life, after returning to live in the family courtyard, Ye Ling suffered from such disdain. Yet she was innately stubborn and couldn’t tolerate any remarks, learning to do chores secretly and enduring the hardships.

Later, she was capable of almost everything, and her mother always praised her. Before getting married, she took on all the household chores, just for a word of praise from her mother, with no complaints, working tirelessly like an ox without feeling weariness. It was only when she lay alone in a rented room that she realized how ridiculous she was, no matter how well she did, she was forever like an outsider in her mother’s eyes.

Ye Ling’s thoughts were pulled back in an instant by her grandmother’s words, "Child, Grandma’s not tired. You sit down and rest a bit."

Saying this, her grandmother used her calloused hands to tug at her granddaughter’s jacket, "You child, I told you to wear that blue coat. Aren’t you cold?"

"Grandma, didn’t I bring the coat? I’ll put it on soon." The red-checked clothes she wore were sent from the city, unwanted by her sister.

In her previous life, Ye Ling always treated it like a treasure, even wearing it the first time she went with her grandmother to spend the New Year with her parents. But upon reaching the city and seeing her sister dressed even better, she got mad and, in front of her parents, threw the red-checked clothes to the ground. Ye’s father, with his fiery temper, slapped Ye Ling directly.

Old Mrs. Ye was furious back then, scolded her son’s nose, and directly took Ye Ling back to their hometown, not staying for the New Year.

Living anew, Ye Ling hadn’t figured out what happened, but she didn’t want to take the same path again. Although she wouldn’t do what she did in her past life, she also didn’t want to wear Ye Qian’s leftover clothes.

Ye Qian, although one year younger than Ye Ling, looked older than her. Ye Ling picking up Ye Qian’s clothes seemed like hanging out a sheep’s head while selling dog meat. While this top was big, it looked small when worn over a padded jacket.

Seeing her granddaughter suddenly being obedient, Old Mrs. Ye breathed a sigh of relief, "Just wear it for now. It’s crowded in this train, and it’s not warm inside, don’t catch a cold."

Ye Ling didn’t say a word, quickly took out the blue jacket from her cloth bag, and swiftly undressed the red-checked clothes, wearing a big padded jacket underneath, made of patched gray cloth, something Ye Ling always felt was embarrassing. Now living anew, she didn’t find patches bad at all and wasn’t afraid of being seen. Two or three moves and she put on the blue jacket. At the early eighties, clothes didn’t have any special style, all being small suit-like jackets with lapels.

Old Mrs. Ye, seeing her granddaughter change clothes swiftly, didn’t stop her. Ye Ling, after changing, stuffed the red-check clothes into the bag, helped her grandmother to sit down while she leaned against the bamboo-woven chicken cage to stand.

"Grandma, rest for a while, I’ll call you when we arrive." Ye Ling looked at her grandmother with white hair, determined to make her grandmother proud in this lifetime.

Ye Ling’s grandmother was forced to sit down by her granddaughter, and she couldn’t bear to let Ye Ling stand, wanting to get up. The person leaning nearby couldn’t stand it, "Old lady, your granddaughter is so filial. You should just sit. Considering your age, if you tire yourself, you won’t be able to care for your granddaughter."

People around coaxed in a chorus, and only then did Old Mrs. Ye sit back, her eyes squinting with a smile, nodding along, tightly holding her granddaughter’s hand as if afraid to lose her.

Ye Ling’s hand was warmed by her grandmother’s grasp, but thinking about her past life, her heart couldn’t warm up.

Frigid affectionate parents, in order to cater to the boss above, agreed to introduce a match for a nephew who came from the countryside and was divorced. But such conditions were hard to find in the city. Ultimately, Ye Ling’s parents focused on their two daughters. The younger daughter was cherished by them since childhood, naturally, they couldn’t bear it, and in the end, only Ye Ling, the one they didn’t favor, had to step up.

Ye Ling, originally growing up in the countryside, was always unbalanced with how the family favored her sister. Moreover, after returning to the courtyard, she secretly admired Liu Zhiyuan in the family courtyard. Yet, the family arranged for her to marry a divorced man from the countryside, eight years older than her, something her sister rejected and was passed to her. How could she willingly accept?

Resisting the marriage, but Ye Ling’s nature was weak and lacking in experience, she unwillingly married Shen Bin. After marriage, she didn’t live well, and couldn’t suppress the feelings of secretly liking Liu Zhiyuan. In an impulsive moment, she confessed to Liu Zhiyuan and was rejected, yet this was witnessed by someone, spreading everywhere. Eventually, it was the higher-up’s decision for them to divorce, and Shen Bin, who seldom spoke, never blamed her once.

Her parents severed ties with her, leaving Ye Ling with nowhere to go, having to work everywhere, solitary outside. At twenty-two, she fell seriously ill without money, precisely at her lowest point, she encountered her ex-husband Shen Bin on the street. Later, when living in a rental, Ye Qian found her, knowing that she must have learned of her whereabouts from Shen Bin.

No familial care, only sneering, finally leaving a hundred yuan behind and walking away high and mighty.

After that, Ye Ling knew she had died. Closing her eyes that moment, upon reopening, she was suddenly standing on the train, not even knowing how it happened.

Thinking of the past, saying Ye Ling was not resentful of her parents would be false, but she felt she should first blame herself. Though Shen Bin was older, he was indeed a good man, always cold but stable. In the early eighties, some couples saw each other only on their wedding day, so parental arranged marriages weren’t wrong. After the incident, Shen Bin never blamed her, showing him to be a decent man.

As for not living well, even confessing to another man after marriage, creating a stir, all of it was her fault. Ending up like that was deserved, but compared to her parents’ favoritism towards her sister, Ye Ling was indeed resentful.

Regarding the harm she caused to Shen Bin, remembering him, recalling their only encounter after divorce, along with his few words of concern, Ye Ling’s heart always felt warm. What she owed him in the past life, she would repay in this.

At this moment, she could confirm she indeed returned to her fifteenth year. After the new year, she would be sixteen, half a year more of school and she could attend high school.

Since heaven gave her another chance, she must cherish it, never again deceived by her mother’s superficial affection, absolutely not abandoning the opportunity for high school and college.

More than six hundred kilometers, taking the train takes an entire night, finally arriving at the station at around seven in the morning the next day. Half standing, half crouching, finally leaning against a chicken coop and falling asleep, if it were the Ye Ling from the past life, she would never endure this, but in this life, after spending a night leaning against a chicken coop, she only had one thought, which was that it was truly wonderful to have a chance to live again.

The northern winter is cold, a thick cotton-padded jacket and two pairs of cotton pants are still not enough, people’s heads are wrapped in thick hats, with straps fastening two cotton gloves together slung around their necks.

Old Mrs. Ye had lived through the wartime years, her legs bowed with the passage of time, standing like two semicircles. Wrapped in black cloth from the ankles to the outside of the knees, it prevents cold wind from penetrating from below. Wearing those high-faced shoes typical of old women in the 70s and 80s, simple in design yet warm.

On the upper body, she wears a teal cotton jacket with slanting lapels and loops, reaching all the way to below her buttocks, and a sheepskin hat with a turned-up brim on her head.

As for Ye Ling beside her, she wears a similar teal coat, grey trousers on the bottom, with black velvet cotton shoes, and a red plaid scarf around her neck. This kind of scarf is very popular now, usually only newly-wedded brides would have one, and Ye Ling’s was bought after she had a spat with Grandma Ye. Grandma Ye took out the money saved from a year’s worth of selling eggs to buy it for her.

When Ye Ling wore this scarf around the village, who among her peers didn’t envy her? That feeling of being above others, when thought back upon now, only makes Ye Ling feel ashamed. She was truly foolish for not understanding anything, how could she spend the hard-earned money saved by her grandma over a year on something, and still feel it was deserved?

Her parents acted as if they didn’t have a daughter; all these years, she was raised by her grandma.

Against the cold wind, Ye Ling tightened the scarf around her neck. In this life, she still wants to wear this scarf properly, not because it’s beautiful, but as a constant reminder to herself, not to be as foolish as she was in the past life.

Ye Ling took the initiative to grab the bag, supporting her grandma as they walked over the overpass with the crowd, reaching the exit. Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar train station exit, she didn’t expect to be back here again. However, Ye Ling remembered in her past life, she stood here for more than half an hour before dad came to pick them up. The reason, naturally, was to first take the younger sister who learned dance and mom also stayed with her, so only dad came alone.

The two grandparents stood side by side at the train station for more than half an hour. Ye Ling knew nothing had changed, just like in the past life, her dad was late, while she and grandma stood in the cold wind for so long, all because of that pampered little sister at home.

Ye Ling remembers feeling angry in the past life too, but seeing the pastries her dad bought for her, she easily put the matter behind her. Although grandma was also angry at dad, seeing she wasn’t angry, she didn’t pursue it further.

From afar, finally seeing the familiar gray Zhongshan suit approaching, Ye Ling took a deep breath, helping her sitting grandma back on the bag, "Grandma, my dad is here."

"Here, huh?" Grandma Ye, after all, had aged, with her body unable to endure after sitting an entire night on the train.

Standing for more than half an hour in the cold wind, she couldn’t stand anymore, the north winter falling over thirty degrees, standing outside for a while would chill one to the bone, no matter how thick the clothes, and with Ye Family’s conditions not too well-off, Grandma Ye’s cotton clothing was made years ago, inadequate for the cold winds.

Seeing grandma shivering in the cold wind, eyes full of distress, Ye Ling understood why her dad was late, making her even angrier.

Ye Ping rushed over with big strides after getting off the bus, steps a bit frantic, obviously quite anxious too. But Ye Ling thought he brought it on himself, turning her head directly away without speaking when he arrived.

However, Grandma Ye, words tinged with helpless complaints but also joy seeing her son, said, "Ye Ping, why did you come so late? Look at Lingzi freezing."

At the end of it all, Old Mrs. Ye’s heart ached for the granddaughter she raised.

Ye Ping guiltily said, "Mom, I first took Ye Qian to her dance lessons, held up on the road for a bit."

Turning to his daughter, Ye Ping’s face already bear a serious look, "Lingzi, why didn’t you take your grandma to the waiting room when you saw I hadn’t come?"

Ye Ping, who taught students in school, appeared more strict than the ordinary person, coupled with a lack of patience, resulting in a bit of an explosive temper.

Seeing her son scolding the granddaughter, Old Mrs. Ye became disgruntled. Before she could speak, Ye Ling intercepted, "Dad, I wanted to take Grandma to the waiting room, but she was worried you couldn’t find us insisted on waiting outside. Besides, didn’t you and Mom say in the telegrams you would pick us up? No matter how urgent Ye Qian’s dance lessons were, they wouldn’t take those for Grandma to freeze outside for so long, you’re okay with this despite her age?"

The meaning was clear, they stayed outside to avoid Ye Ping looking for them fruitlessly, yet another meaning was suggesting their prioritizing their daughter hurt the older generation, pushing the blame elsewhere, how selfish.

Originally angry with her son for scolding the granddaughter without discerning right from wrong, Old Mrs. Ye’s discontent turned onto him upon knowing the granddaughter’s words, face turning solemn.

To say Old Mrs. Ye was formidable would be correct, raising her son as a widow, staying in the countryside with the granddaughter over the years without a word of grievance, despite the son not able to provide financially; Old Mrs. Ye bore on alone, gritting through.

The elderly was strong-willed, but not foolish.

She refrained from rushing to speak, yet her gaze to her son changed.

Ye Ping was caught by surprise by his daughter’s words, torn between retorting or staying silent. After all, the daughter wasn’t wrong, he hadn’t fulfilled his role as a son, coupled this with years of his mother helping to raise his children, he long felt remorseful towards her.

Reflecting again on his earlier attitude, He Ping knew he was impulsive, subsequently, his tone softened, "You’re right, it was my mistake, and I acknowledge it."

Ye Ling turned aside, a cold laugh in her heart, being sensible, knowing when to lower oneself.

However, Old Mrs. Ye would not forgive her son merely for admitting a fault, "Alright, alright, talk more when we get home, didn’t your wife accompany the second one for dance? Has the food at home been prepared? Lingzi and I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon, we stood through the night, we need a hot meal."

Ye Ping’s face turned red, guilt within grew, as he stooped down to take the bag from his daughter’s hand, "Mom, let’s head to a place for a hot bowl of noodles before heading home."

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Ye realized the home wasn’t prepared either, clearly overlooked her role as mother-in-law, face darkening immediately.

"Then..." better to head home to eat.

Halfway through, Grandma Ye’s words interrupted by Ye Ling, "Then listen to Dad, eat first, everyone’s chilled through, a warm meal would be good."

Pulling at her grandma, unwilling to spend money, softly pinching her grandma’s arm, her grandma understood the granddaughter’s intention, ceasing opposition.

Ye Ling understood, Grandma was frugal in daily life, reluctant to spare a dime. But for this granddaughter, there was nothing she wouldn’t. Hence, knowing Grandma wouldn’t turn her down.

Ye Ping finally breathed easier, originally feeling undeserving of this mother, yet managing to at least provide her with warmth somewhat relieved guilt in his heart.

Walking behind her dad, Ye Ling felt the lightest among them, as she knew her mom was the thriftiest, living conditions relying solely on dad’s salary, great expenditure also on Ye Qian’s lessons, spreading every penny into two. Though the hot noodles cost little, it would pain her mom for half a month.

With this thought, Ye Ling curiously anticipated what expression her mom would show upon knowing this.

After all in the past life nothing of the sort happened, last time upon eating pastries dad was blamed a lot, this life included noodles plus pastries, heartache fueling her anticipation.