Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 543

She, of course, was joyed with identical twin girls, but Grand-mère's biological father wanted a son immediately
and her mother already gave birth to three girls before. She then decided to give Grand-mère away, so not to
upset her husband.
Grand-mère turned to Lili and said, "WOW! I had always wanted to have a twin, I don't know about you but-"
"- I think it is really cool that there is such a mysterious story behind all that." Lili replied cheekily.
Had Lili just read Grand-mère's mind? Instead of reacting in shock, Grand-mère merely winked at Lili and said in
a dreamy voice, "Old Shanghai, a mysterious but wonderful time.".
After eating, Lili brought us to see her mother at her house. In Shanghai, the houses are called shikumen, unlike
Beijing’s hutongs. My biological great- grandmother. My great-grandmother, Linxin, had white hair with
wrinkles on her face, yet she looked welcoming. She embraced all of us, shedding tears of joy while apologising to
Grand-mère that she had no choice.
I glanced at the old brown walls, and I saw a picture of newborn identical twins. It was Grand-mère and Lili!
This trip caused me to be overwhelmed in emotion, for my birthday party I have decided to have an Old Shanghai
theme. As I blew the candles on my cake, I thought of the Paris-like streets, Lili and Great-Grandma. As
Grand-mère said, "Old Shanghai, a mysterious but wonderful time."