The enthusiastic applause from the audience woke her up. Hiding backstage, Zoe Young kept telling herself over and over that the applause outside the curtain was for her, but it was still so hard to believe.

Alan Carter suddenly picked her up. Zoe Young let out a startled cry as he spun her around in the air. It was only when she landed that she remembered to smile.

It felt like a dream, her smile forming two curved lines, just a silly grin, as if a cat had stolen half her tongue and she couldn’t say a single word.

When Alan Carter put her down, he let out a long breath, reached out to support his own waist, and stuck out his tongue. “Little girl, you look so skinny, how are you so heavy…”

At last, his face showed the mischievousness that matched his age, belonging to a young boy. October 23, 1994, an ordinary string of numbers. But Zoe Young tasted a sweetness in life she had never known before. Many years later, whenever she looked back, she would always smile through her tears. That kind of sweetness is addictive, and from then on, she couldn’t get enough. She could be born in the dust, or bloom into the most beautiful flower from the dust, but from then on, she could never peacefully stay in that small patch of land. No matter what difficulties or bitterness she faced later, she would always steal a bit of sweetness from her memories to support herself, struggling to get through hard times. This sweetness was like an inexhaustible treasure of strength—without it, she wouldn’t make it.

She was extremely grateful. But she had never thought that if she had never tasted such sweetness, many things that came after wouldn’t have seemed so bitter.

“The awards ceremony is about to start. The host just said all the contestants should gather backstage. I have to go back to the audience. I need to go comfort my little cousin.”

Zoe Young felt a bit down, thinking of Claire Daniels. She didn’t know what to say. Comfort from the winner is even harder to bear than mockery from a bystander. She hadn’t thought much about it, but she remembered how much it hurt when Tina Young and Emily Xavier looked at her smugly, so she knew it was best not to be around Claire Daniels right now.

“Can you… tell her for me… I…” Zoe Young stammered for a long time, her face turning red, but still couldn’t get the words out. Alan Carter ruffled her hair again and said gently, “I understand, don’t worry.”

He understood—how wonderful. “Alan Carter!”

As he turned to leave, she suddenly called out to him loudly. The boy turned around, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile, though she didn’t know what he was smiling about. She stared at her toes, thought for a moment, then looked up. “Alan Carter, are you… can you play the violin?” He raised his eyebrows at first, then realized, “Oh, you saw me carrying the violin outside just now, right?

Yeah, I’ve been learning violin since I was little. Now I’m a member of the student orchestra at the Children’s Palace.” “Do you rehearse at the Children’s Palace every Sunday?”

“Yeah, why?” “No reason.” Zoe Young shook her head. Alan Carter didn’t move. They stood there awkwardly for a while. Suddenly, she smiled and said, “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, little girl.” Alan Carter smiled and quickly ran out of the backstage corridor. Zoe Young stood there waiting for a while as contestants gradually came backstage. Under the staff’s direction, everyone started lining up in groups, waiting to go on stage to receive their awards. Zoe Young peeked through the curtain and saw many parents already crowding below the stage with cameras, ready to capture the most memorable moment for their children.

Suddenly, she heard a somewhat familiar voice behind her. “My goodness, you’ve been gone so long, I thought you got lost. Didn’t you find Zoe? Why are you still standing here?” Zoe Young ran out of the crowd and the first person she saw was Mrs. Lane. She was slightly bent over, her face showing a bit of worry.

Taking a few more steps forward and peeking around, she finally saw Andrew Lane hiding in the shadows beside a pile of spotlights, chairs, and boxes. His hands were behind his back, and his expression was far less lively than usual.

“Andrew Lane?” Mrs. Lane turned around with a smile. “Oh, it’s Zoe, finally found you. Congratulations, you did so well. We’re so happy for you!” Zoe Young nodded politely and said, “It was you, Auntie, who helped me write the story draft. Thank you so much.” Andrew Lane still kept his head down, not speaking or looking at her. Mrs. Lane didn’t notice her son’s awkwardness at all. She half-squatted and smiled at Zoe, saying, “My little darling has been pestering us since the day before yesterday to bring him to the Children’s Palace to watch the competition. He said you told him you’d get nervous if you saw someone you knew, so even your parents wouldn’t come, and he didn’t dare tell you we were bringing him. We snuck him in. Before the results were announced, he said he wanted to come backstage to find you. If you didn’t win, he’d pretend he was never here and sneak home with us. If you won, he’d be the first to congratulate you. Haha, but this silly boy, he’s been gone so long. I thought he got lost, so I came to look for him, only to find he never found you at all.”

Mrs. Lane’s long speech left Zoe Young stunned for a few seconds, then a wave of emotion quickly spread in her heart. So there really were people in the audience who cared about her, cared so much that they pretended not to exist just so she wouldn’t get nervous. “Thank you, Andrew Lane.” Zoe Young smiled and reached out to take his arm. But with his hands behind his back, when he finally looked up, there was a trace of sadness on his face. “What’s wrong?” she asked softly. Mrs. Lane patted her son’s head. “What about the thing you dragged your dad out to buy during intermission? Hurry up and take it out! Why are you so wooden today? You were so lively in the audience just now.” Only then did Andrew Lane pull his arm from behind his back. It turned out to be a helium balloon, round and bright red. Andrew Lane managed a weak smile. “Sorry, there were only red ones left.”

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15. What’s the difference between you and them

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Zoe Young practically lunged at the balloon. Or, from Andrew Lane’s perspective, she lunged at him.

“Thank you!” She hugged the balloon, her smile radiant, her eyes squinting so much that Andrew Lane wondered if she could still see him. The strange gloom he’d felt earlier gradually lifted, and he grinned, then quickly stopped, hurriedly adjusting his expression, shoving his hands in his pockets and trying to look cool and aloof.

“Tch, is it really that big a deal?” Zoe Young nodded seriously. “It is.”

Trying to look indifferent when you want to smile is really hard, so Andrew Lane tugged on his mom’s sleeve and said, “Mom, I’m hungry. Let’s have lunch with Zoe.”

Mrs. Lane watched her son’s subtle, ever-changing expressions and finally couldn’t help but laugh. “Zoe, your parents didn’t come to watch your competition, so what will you do for lunch? Go home by yourself? There are so many cars around here, it’s dangerous. Come eat with us, and then let Mr. Lane drive you home. We’re going the same way anyway, right?” She glanced down at her little darling, who had lied about wanting to be independent and go home alone. “How about it, Zoe?”

Zoe Young didn’t have time to answer before a teacher called out loudly, “Zoe Young from the Affiliated Primary School? Zoe Young? Come line up!”

“Go ahead, we’ll talk later.” Mrs. Lane tugged her little braid and smoothed her bangs. “Andrew Lane, hold the balloon for me—give it back to me later!” “Got it, so naggy.” Andrew Lane grumbled impatiently as he took the balloon, but the moment Zoe Young turned to leave, he looked down and broke into a silly grin. Andrew Lane and his parents squeezed up to the stage. As the music played, the winners of the Excellence Award went on stage one by one, receiving certificates and prizes from the judges and presenters, while camera flashes lit up the audience. Many parents called out to their kids, “Hold up your certificate, yes, a little to the left, look here, smile.”

Suddenly, Andrew Lane worried—what about Zoe Young? No one would call out to her, “Look here, smile!”

His expression grew a little gloomy, when suddenly he felt his father’s hand on his shoulder. Andrew Lane turned his face up and saw his dad pulling a point-and-shoot camera out of his bag.

“Dad, you brought a camera?” he shouted excitedly. “Of course! How could we not take pictures at an event like this? Silly boy, you were so focused on coming to the competition, you didn’t even think to prepare. Sigh.”

The Lane Couple exchanged a smile, but as Andrew Lane’s mom smiled, a trace of doubt and worry appeared between her brows. She looked up at the stage. No matter the final result, all the kids today were holding their certificates and smiling brightly, looking in a certain direction, waiting for their parents to press the shutter. But that Zoe Young, would she be standing there all alone, holding her certificate and trophy, gazing dreamily at some point far from the crowd, just like when she told stories?

A seven-year-old who, after seeing her, would politely thank her for helping with the draft. In front of others, Andrew Lane was also a generous and polite child, but for something like this, he’d need a reminder to say thank you. But Zoe Young, the first time she saw her, wasn’t surprised at all—she was calm and poised.