chapter14

  Ah Heng followed Xian Xi's instructions and walked to the side of the plum tree, feeling very awkward.

  But when you take something from someone, your legs naturally become weak.

  "Take two more steps forward, a bit further away from the tree." The young man held a black camera, half-closing his eyes, looking at the lens.

  "Oh." Ah Heng sniffled and took two steps aside.

  "Take two more steps forward."

  The curved trunk, delicate and icy petals.

  Ah Heng looked at the plum tree next to him that had just bloomed, with a head full of black lines, and took two steps forward.

  She is posing as a silhouette against a tree.

  Xian Xi said: "I gave you that painting, can you be a background model for me?"

  She nodded and said okay, her face turned red with excitement as she thought to herself "Wow, I'm actually pretty enough to be a model for Xi."

  Xu Xi said: "Just pretend to be a passerby and use the scenery as background, you don't need to be nervous."

  Oh.

  "Take two more big steps forward." The young man held up his camera and continued giving orders.

  One big step, two big steps, Ah Heng counted as he strode forward.

  It's like playing hopscotch when I was little.

  "Keep walking." The boy's voice was already some distance away.

  She walked forward with her head down.

  "Alright, alright, stop!" His voice was faintly stirring in the wind, but couldn't be heard clearly.

  "Don't look back." he said.

  "What did you say?" She turned around, looked back and stared at the boy's moving lips in the distance with a bewildered expression.

  That young man, standing in the wind, with black hair and red lips, had a bright and radiant smile.

  "Snap", time froze.

  January 13, 1999.

  Years later, a photo was placed in the most inconspicuous corner of the exhibition hall, with dusty glass cabinets, a simple and unadorned girl, gray coat, black eyes, gentle and focused gaze.

  She made a full room of magnificent and noble color tone background.

  Many young photographers who came to worship saw this work and sighed at the failure.

  Xian Xi had a talent that was nurtured by heaven, but he left behind such an utterly unattractive work.

  At that time, he was already old.

  Smiling and listening to the sincere advice of his juniors, they asked him to remove this blot, he just shook his head.

  "Why?" They were young, so they had a lot of time to ask why.

  "The person she's looking at is me." Xīn spoke with a smile, his eyebrows and eyes aged to the point of being indistinguishable from the past. Yet, those eyes, had deepened, dimmed.

  "I can deny the whole world, but I cannot deny myself."

  "Do you want to go to Wushui?" When Yan Xi Man casually asked Ah Heng, Ah Heng was holding a mineral water bottle and pouring water into his stomach.

  When models are tired, especially those like her who are just ordinary people. The plum blossom's silhouette, the paper umbrella's silhouette, the sky's silhouette, the boat dock's silhouette...

  A Heng's mind was elsewhere, and when he came back to himself, a mouthful of water sprayed out.

  Xian Xi blinked her big bright black eyes and smiled - "Don't you want to go?"

  He swallowed his saliva and asked the young man cautiously, "Can I go?"

  Xian Xi replied faintly, "Wen Heng, your Wen is indeed from the Wen family, but Heng is actually from the Yun family."

  No one has ever said such things to her before.

  They let her wear whatever clothes and play whatever role, but no one cares about her past or future.

  A Heng's eyes were slightly moist as he gazed into the distance, a hint of melancholy on his face.

  A pink blur gently blocked her line of sight, and the young man lazily opened his mouth - "What can you see?"

  She was speechless.

  Xī Xiào said, "If you don't move forward, how can you be clear?"

  He didn't turn back, but kept walking forward with a large travel bag on his back, his spine straight, like a true traveler, and walked into the fine branches of her life.

  She and Xian sat in the car again.

  It seems that for their trip this time, two-thirds of the time was spent in the car.

  The good tradition of Chinese people traveling.

  Sleep on the bus, pee when you get off.

  A Heng took the first step, Yan Xi took the second step.

  A Heng slept all the way, Xian Xi got off the car and pulled A Heng to find a toilet in a hurry.

  What a load of nonsense! Powdered walls and glazed tiles, small bridges and flowing water, willows leaning on the Wang family's house - all just idle chatter of literary men!

  For Xiang Xi, at this moment, even the combined beauty of West Lake's Twenty-Four Bridges under a bright moonlit night cannot compare to the allure of the toilet.

  "Xin Xi, Wu Shui Town, there is no public toilet here." She spoke sincerely and expressed her sympathy.

  "What's going on?!" The young man bared his teeth and brandished his claws like a ferocious little beast.

  "Come to my house, I have it." Ah Heng was very serious and solemn, as if discussing an academic topic.

  "Where is your home?" Xīn Hēi's big eyes stared with grievance.

  A Heng sniffled and grabbed Xian Xi's hand, running off quickly.

  Xian Xi ran so hard his face turned green.

  It's coming out...

  The town is very small.

  A Heng was out of breath and ran back to the Yun's house, where Mrs. Yun was chatting with their neighbor, Zhang Bao Bao.

  "Mom, quick get toilet paper!" Ah Heng rushed in like a whirlwind and pushed Yan Xi into their own toilet.

  The mother was stunned.

  "Zhang's wife, was it our maid just now?"

  "Oh dear, I thought I was the only one hallucinating!" Old Lady Zhang pulled out her handkerchief to wipe away non-existent tears.

  "Ma, toilet paper!" Ah Heng yelled.

  Xian Xi looked at the exquisite dishes on the table and smiled with satisfaction.

  "Cloud Mom, you're so awesome!"

  "Ordinary things can't be put on the table." Cloud Mother said gently "Xian Xi... is it? Eat some more."

  Ah Heng grabbed a pair of chopsticks and wanted to pick up some dishes, but was scolded by Yunmu.

  "A daughter's family has no rules; how can you move your chopsticks when guests haven't eaten?"

  A Heng sniffled and rubbed his nose, then reluctantly let go.

  It was like this, under Xī's meddling, her return didn't move people to tears or touch their hearts, but instead felt like coming home after a night out.

  "Cloud Mom, you can call me Ah Xi or Xiao Xi." Yan Xi was extremely polite and smiled cutely.

  He was called "Mom's Killer" since he was a kid, and it wasn't in vain.

  "You, can you understand?" Ah Heng was somewhat curious, how could Xin Xi understand these local dialects.

  "My grandfather taught me." Xī Yī said casually.

  A Heng got into trouble.

  She had previously translated it in a self-proclaimed clever way. At that time, Yan Xi didn't know how to secretly laugh at her foolishness.

  But how does Mr. Yan have a connection with Wushui Town?

  Yunmu gazed at Yan Xi for a long time, seemed to have thought of something, her eyes became obscure, looking at Ah Heng, and spoke in a light tone.

  "Ah Heng, go call your father back for dinner."

  Xian Xi couldn't help but smile wryly. Before he came, he had probably guessed that Wen Heng's adoptive parents knew about the promise from back then.

  A Heng nodded vaguely and got up, taking a familiar path to the town's pharmacy.

  Yun's father was a Chinese doctor who had been practicing medicine for decades and was quite famous in the surrounding area.

  Unfortunately, he couldn't cure his own son's chronic illness.

  It's like a joke. As a result, the town gossiped for a long time, pointing and whispering that the Yun family had done something wrong in the past, which led to retribution, with only one child born in three generations, and their ancestors were doctors, but they gave birth to a sickly child who couldn't be cured.

  "Ah Ba!" Ah Heng looked at the kind-hearted man with flecks of white in his temples as he dispensed medicine to patients, and smiled joyfully.

  Yun's father was stunned, turned his head, saw Ah Heng, and had a faint look of surprise in his eyes.

  Ah Heng ran to the front of the man and looked up at his father - "Dad."

  Her voice was just like it was when she was young.

  "Ah Heng, when did you come back?" Cloud Father put down the medicine in his hand and asked warmly "Did your grandfather come too?"

  A Heng's eyes fell, shaking his head, not daring to look at his father's face.

  "Did you sneak back?" Yun's father frowned, his tone rising.

  Ah Heng stood silently, standing in front of the pharmacy, while passersby whispered to each other, she awkwardly didn't know where to put her hands and feet.

  At first, it was unbearable in her heart, so she didn't care about anything and followed Xian Xi back to Wushui Town. Now, thinking of the Wen family in B City, she secretly felt that she had done something very thoughtless.

  They might have already reported it to the police just like they did on the day Si Guang went missing.

  "You little scamp!" His face turned blue with rage, he grabbed the medicine pestle on the table and was about to hit Ah Heng.

  A Heng was stunned and thought to herself, "How could Father still use this trick? She has already changed into a person from the imperial city with golden trimmings and returned home. Why doesn't he give her some face?"

  Fine, the medicine pestle showed no mercy and swung over.

  A Heng swallowed his saliva and ran away in fright.

  "Halt, you little scamp!" Yun father shouted in pursuit.

  "Dad, don't be mad at me, Mom said to come home for dinner!" Ah Heng was so scared that he almost cried as he ran and shouted.

  "Hmph, I said so! Those who live in the government compound's big courtyard can't look down on this silly winter girl. Look, she's been returned like goods!" The wife of the town mayor, who runs a cool tea shop, opens a hot tea shop in winter and chats idly while watching plays and snacking on melon seeds.

  You've just been dumped! Ah Heng sniffled, feeling wronged in his heart, and gazed at the giant medicine pestle as it swiftly mounted on its back, with wind rising from under its feet, running extremely fast.

  One chasing, one fleeing, Wu Shui Town has not been so lively for a long time.

  Both adults and children burst out laughing.

  Ha! Look, Yun Jia's daughter got beaten again!

  Ah Heng ran away with his head in his hands, his face red like a traffic light.

  Since she was a child, her father beat her, never showing any mercy, chasing her all over town to hit her, while others chased after them to watch the joke.

  With a loud cry, Ah Heng finally ran back home, rushed into the hall, and exclaimed with tears in her eyes - "Mom, Dad hit me again!"

  "Let you run!" came a panting voice from behind.

  "Ah Ma looked at her with a smile and patted her hand, then turned to Yun's father and said, 'He's just come back, don't scold her, okay?'"

  Yunfu grunted and turned his eyes to see Yan Xi.

  The child was watching the play with relish, propping up his chin, his big eyes shining brightly.

  "Who is this?" Yun's father put down his medicine pestle and examined Xin Xi carefully.

  Yunmu's voice was low and meaningful as she said, "General Yan's grandson, Yan Xi."

  The air is somewhat stagnant.

  Yunfu's face grew increasingly solemn as he looked at Xiankai and asked, "Is it you?"

  Xian's slender hand grasped the chopsticks, a smile spreading across her face - "It should be me. My younger brother is in America, much younger than Wen Heng."

  A Heng was somewhat dazed.

  What are they talking about?

  Yunfu hesitated for half a day, beckoning to Yunmu: "Peiyun, follow me to the inner room."

  Then, looking at Ah Heng lightly, she said: "Girl, take good care of the guests, if the dishes are cold, heat them up in the kitchen."

  Xian picked up her chopsticks, lightly picked up a piece of meat, put it in her mouth, chewed, raised an eyebrow and smiled at Yunfu, "No need, the dishes are just right."

  Yun's father looked somewhat displeased, but didn't say anything and strode into the inner room.

  Yunmu looked at Yanxi deeply and followed him in.

  "Ah Heng stared blankly, covering her mouth with her hand, and whispered to Xian Xi, 'What happened?'"

  Xian Xi chewed on a piece of cartilage from the ribs, his cheeks bulging, and spoke casually - "Probably, your foster father doesn't think I'm good enough."

  A Heng glanced at the young man quietly and said in a low voice, "My father, look at me too, you don't like it either. Don't be angry, he's a doctor, just looking at patients with a favorable eye."

  The young man spat out a bone with a light puff and opened his mouth faintly - "Foolishness is bliss."

  Oh.

  A Heng nodded in agreement with a confused expression.

  At night, Ah Heng stuck to Yun Mu and wanted to sleep in the same room with her. Yun Mu couldn't argue with her, so she agreed.

  Xian Xi slept in the room of Yu Shi Ah Heng.

  Yunfa then slept in Yunzai's room.

  At that time, Yun was being treated for illness in a hospital in the Southern Military Region.

  "Mother, do you think of me?" In the darkness, Ah Heng curled up in his quilt, his eyes filled with longing.

  "Don't want to." Yun Mu's hand gently stroked Ah Heng's head as she spoke softly.

  A Heng felt uncomfortable and looked at his mother in disappointment.

  "But, mom, I miss you." She snuggled into her mother's warm and comforting embrace in the quilt.

  "In Wen's family, you hid under the quilt and cried again, didn't you?" Yun's mother sighed.

  "No." Ah Heng buried his head in his mother's bosom and muttered.

  She didn't lie.

  In Wen's family, except for the day she came and cried, she never cried again afterwards.

  Yunmu patted her back gently, her voice filled with warmth and sorrow - "Ah Heng, Mom is sorry to you."

  Ah Heng's back stiffened for a moment, then he tightly hugged his mother - "Mother, it's not your fault."

  Yunmu felt a pang of sadness - "Mom, in order to save you, gave you back to the Wen family, don't you resent Mom?"

  A Heng shook his head fiercely.

  That day, Grandfather's secretary said to her, "Your grandfather and the director of the Southern Military Region Hospital are old friends. Let's send Yun over there for a consultation with experts. The medical expenses will be covered by the Wen family. It's better than wasting away at home, don't you think?"

  When she heard these words, Ah Ma's eyes lit up with a beautiful glow, just like the way she looked at her own eyes every time.

  The illness has dragged on for too long and can't be delayed any further.

  She packed her bags and left with great joy.

  Dad is very sad, and so am I, she knows it all.

  But she couldn't bear to watch him walk towards death selfishly.

  Yun Jia is the warmest and most beautiful relationship in her life.

  When she was young, her father taught her to read and write. While other girls went out to work early, she also wanted to go and earn money for her mother's illness treatment. She told her father about it, but he severely beat her and said that even if he himself worked to death, he would not let his daughter be a servant of others.

  Mother is the kindest, every time she will give her a beautiful braid, make a beautiful skirt, tell a pleasant story. Every time Father chases and beats her, it's Mother who protects her, hurts her, Mother cries more than her.

  As for him, his feelings for her were even better. Whenever there was something delicious to eat, he would always wait for her to finish school and they would eat together. Sometimes she would follow her father up the mountain to pick herbs and stay overnight on the mountain, but he would always stay awake all night waiting for her return. During Chinese New Year, it was the only time in a year that he was allowed to go out and play with her, so he followed her to the fair, and whenever he saw something she liked, he wouldn't buy it because he didn't want to spend money, but he spent all his saved up lucky money to buy her a paper rabbit lantern, just because she loved rabbits.

  She wants her family to be well and happy, she wants to be healthy and strong.

  What's the difference between Xyun and Xwen?

  "Mom, the Wen family likes me a lot, don't worry." Ah Heng raised his eyes and looked at his mother with a smile. "The grandfather there will scold my brother for my sake, the mother there will play very nice piano pieces, and the brother there is so fond of me."

  Yunmu also smiled, but her eyes were filled with tears - "Good, good! My dear girl, so obedient, so lovely, who wouldn't like...".

  "Mom, when I grow up and come back to see you, don't chase me away, okay?" Ah Heng said cautiously.

  "Alright. I'll wait for my daughter to earn money and support me, Mother is waiting."

  "Mom, mom, let's break up. I don't want you and you don't want me either, okay?" Ah Heng sniffled and his eyes turned red.

  Mother choked back a sob and whispered, "Mom doesn't miss you, definitely doesn't miss you."

  Xie Xi didn't sleep well either.

  People in Wushui Town are used to sleeping on bamboo beds. Xi Ke, a native of the north, is not accustomed to it and always feels uneasy about it.

  Tossing and turning, can't sleep.

  In the darkness, his eyes gradually became accustomed to the room.

  A small room with nothing but a clean desk and a few books.

  He could hardly imagine that Wen Heng had grown up in such extreme poverty for so many years. In comparison, Wen Si's life was a bit too good.

  Xian Xi's mouth corners slightly raised, silently laughing out, with a strong sarcastic tone.

  Suddenly, faint light crept into the room.

  There is someone pacing back and forth in the main room with a restless voice.

  Xian Xi felt he couldn't sleep anyway, so he got out of bed and walked out of the room.

  As expected, it's Yun Father.

  "Uncle Yun, why haven't you gone to sleep yet?" Xian Xi leaned lightly against the door frame, his right leg casually crossed over his left, his black hair falling across his forehead. In the moonlight, only his youthful white chin was visible.

  Yun's father, like most men in Jiangnan, generally smoked a water pipe.

  The "beating" sound was very clear in the silent room.

  "Yan Xi, what are you going to do about Ah Heng's matter?" The man frowned and looked at the young man seriously.

  "Nature will take its course." The young man smiled lightly.

  Although Wen Heng lived a simple life, he was still better off than others, with his foster parents to support him.

  "Will you...?" The man hesitated, gritted his teeth, and finally spoke up - "Do you like Ah Heng?"

  The young man was stunned for a moment, and then he said with a mixture of laughter and tears, "Uncle, you're overthinking."

  Yun's father was somewhat annoyed and said, "It was your grandfather who told me that in the first place!"

  The young man's voice was somewhat cold, but his tone was serious - "Uncle Yun, no one can guarantee what will happen in the future. However, at least, as long as I, Xi Yin, am around, no one will bully Wen Heng. I will treat her like my own sister, so please don't worry."

  "But what if we really like you?" Yun's father asked with a serious expression.

  The young man smiled faintly, his eyes in his black hair, unable to see his expression.

  "I'll marry her then."