Chapter 51: The Past Is Like Smoke
The children's summer vacation is almost over, and today's amusement park is like their last crazy paradise, filled with laughter and frolic everywhere.
Yuen Long stood in the long line of carousels with his face strained and arms crossed, unable to understand what the fun of this boring centrifugal exercise was.
He looked impatiently at the ice cream stall in the distance, only to see Xue Rin and Yao Zhixia walking towards him with a cone in one hand.
"Baby, shall we go play something else? There are too many people in line!"
Yuen Long turned around and saw a man and a woman in front of him hugging each other, about the appearance of two college students, the boy was obviously unable to withstand it, and the center of gravity between his legs kept changing back and forth.
"Don't! People just want to sit on this! You see in idol dramas, the male and female protagonists will come to sit on the merry-go-round! We want to sit too! You have to take more pictures of me in a while!" The girl grabbed the boy's arm with both hands and kept swinging back and forth.
Yuen Long squinted his eyes in disdain, turned his face away, and couldn't help but think to himself, will people grow up to be so cheesy?
was thinking seriously, but a two-color cone suddenly appeared in front of him, and he looked up and saw that it was Yao Zhixia, who was as happy as ever with a smile that made him unable to resist.
"Yuen Long, your cone!"
Yuen Long stared at the cone with some hesitation, he had never liked to eat sweet things, but the cone, a child's favorite thing, was something he never touched.
"I'll just say, he doesn't like sweets. Xue Rin took a bite of his cone on the side.
"But I didn't say I don't like cones!"
As soon as Yuen Long heard Xue Rin's words, without saying a word, he took the cone handed over by Yao Zhixia, and immediately took a big bite.
Yao Zhixia couldn't be happier when he saw his reaction, "Your brother Xue Rin said that you don't like sweets, so I chose a coffee-flavored one for you, a mango-flavored one, do you think it's acceptable?"
Yuen Long pursed his lips and nodded, opened his mouth again to take a bite of the golden ice cream, and the mood that was still a little bored just now was instantly melted by an indescribable warmth.
Xue Rin, who originally planned to watch a good show, was shocked by this inconsistent Yuen Long, he observed Yuen Long's expression without saying a word, and always felt that there was something wrong with this guy, but he couldn't say what was wrong.
"Can we not play this?" Yuen Long looked up at Yao Zhixia, and his tone was so well-behaved and soft that he had never been before.
Yao Zhixia squatted down, picked up a napkin and wiped it on the corner of Yuen Long's mouth, and asked while wiping: "Yuen Long, what do you want to play?"
When the group of three stood outside the fence of the roller coaster, Xue Rin raised the corners of his mouth contemptuously, and he looked down at Yuen Long to see that he was looking up longingly at the roller coaster that was flipping and circling.
"Boy, are you sure you can?"
In Xue Rin's opinion, even if this stinky boy is a prodigy with a super high IQ, it is impossible for him to avoid the fear and fear that a child should have.
Yuen Long nodded firmly, then raised his arm and reached out to hook Yao Zhixia's hand hanging from the side of his skirt, his eyes shining with anticipation.
"Sister Zhixia, let's go to the line! Don't be afraid! I'm here!"
Yao Zhixia was pulled into the queue by Yuen Long, and turned back to signal Xue Rin to follow.
At this time, Xue Rin's face had become extremely stinky, "Okay, you kid! If you want to go to war, right? I, a prodigal son in the love field who has experienced a hundred battles, can still be afraid of you A little kid who doesn't have any hair!"
But just ten minutes later, Xue Rin, who has been playing extreme sports for many years, really felt what naked ridicule was!
He only turned around in the air, and when he came down, he was nauseous and nauseous, his legs were so sore that he couldn't support his body, he leaned on the railing at the exit in a depressed manner, and turned his head strongly, only to see the two heartless big and small ones behind him walking slowly and slowly, talking and laughing.
"Hey, Yao Zhixia!"
In Xue Rin's eyes, Yao Zhixia talking and laughing with the opposite sex other than him is blatant flirting, even if the other party is only a five-year-old child.
As soon as Yao Zhixia saw Xue Rin's pale face, he immediately sensed that something was wrong with him.
"Xue Rin, how are you!" Yao Zhixia propped his arms on Xue Rin's back.
Xue Rin took advantage of the situation to wrap his arms around Yao Zhixia's shoulders, put his hands tightly around her shoulders, and pressed his head on her head.
"IāI'm uncomfortable. Xue Rin half-squinted, his tone was much weaker, he let out a little strength, and pressed his weight towards Yao Zhixia.
Yao Zhixia supported Xue Rin hard and led him to the nearby camping meadow.
"Yuen Long, I'm holding your brother, you have to follow me, don't run around!"
"Hmm!"
Yuen Long responded to her loudly, then leaned back, looked past Yao Zhixia, who was looking ahead, and glared fiercely at Xue Rin, who was looking at him proudly.
Xue Rin also ignored the previous image of a gentleman, stuck out his tongue towards Yuen Long, and put on a grimace of "If you don't die, you will lose if you don't die", and then leaned his head on Yao Zhixia's head in a dastard, and made a "ouch" sound from time to time.
Coming to the camping meadow, which was full of tents and picnic mats, children were shuttling around on the grass, Yuen Long nervously dodged the children who passed him, and Yao Zhixia looked around and found a corner with relatively few people.
After helping Xue Rin to the grass, Yao Zhixia took off the backpack on his back and took out a brand-new red plaid picnic blanket from it and spread it on the grass.
Yuen Long sensibly took out the lunch box and a few bottles of water in his backpack and put them on the blanket, and then took off his shoes and sat on the blanket, holding his arms and watching coldly.
Yao Zhixia knelt on the picnic blanket, held Xue Rin in his arms, and handed the water to him.
"Drink some water and suppress the feeling of nausea. ā
Xue Rin didn't reach out to take it, but naturally raised his head and opened his mouth.
Yao Zhixia was stunned, so he had to slowly pour water into Xue Rin's mouth, for fear that he would choke on the water.
Yuen Long looked at the meat drama in front of him, and felt that it should be him who wanted to vomit, so he turned his head stupidly, but suddenly saw a small leather ball flying in the air.
Seeing that the ball was about to hit Yao Zhixia, who was sitting opposite him, he immediately got up and accurately flew the small leather racket to the side with his hand.
Yuen Long couldn't bear it any longer, he crossed his hands on his waist and shouted in the direction where the ball was flying: "Whose bear child!
A little blushing little girl ran over, she looked at the angry Yuen Long in horror, her hands stirring in front of her, as if she was about to cry in the next second.
"You ......"
Before Yuen Long finished speaking, the little girl cried "wow".
Just when he was at a loss, a thin middle-aged woman ran up from behind the little girl, and she hugged the little girl and apologized to Yuen Long repeatedly.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! My child is still young, I apologize to you on her behalf, okay?
Yuen Long's heart softened when he heard this, so he stood there and hesitated how to respond.
"Sister Yuan?"
The middle-aged woman was very surprised to hear someone call her like this, her eyes widened, she looked at Yao Zhixia behind Yuen Long and slowly got up, and after a while, she said excitedly: "Zhixia?"
----
Xue Rin, who was still proud of the spring breeze a second ago, was lying on his back on the picnic mat boredly at this time, eating the sandwich prepared by Yao Zhixia himself, and looking at the two women who were chatting not far away from time to time.
Who could that middle-aged woman be? her fellow countryman, the person who helped her all those years ago?
Looking at her excited expression just now, I knew that the relationship between her and Yao Zhixia was not ordinary, but what kind of friendship would make the two people who reunited can't stop crying when they talk about it?
At this time, Yuen Long was in a dire situation, and he stared at the little girl who was drinking yogurt next to him vigilantly, for fear that her hand sticking to yogurt would attack him unexpectedly in the next second.
"Say, what is the relationship between the two of them?"
Xue Rin propped up his upper body with one arm and stared intently at Yao Zhixia with a solemn expression in the distance.
"An old acquaintance I haven't seen in a long time. ā
Yuen Long calmly took a small bite of the sandwich, well, it tasted okay.
Xue Rin turned his head to look at Yuen Long, still a little puzzled, "But, even if you haven't seen friends for a long time, you won't cry when you see each other, right?"
"Together, we will be in trouble. Yuen Long took another big bite of the sandwich.
Xue Rin took a deep breath, struggled to prop up his somewhat sore arms, sat up cross-legged, and stared deeply at the woman with red-eyed eyes not far away.
Yao Zhixia, how much you have suffered before, I will repay you how much sweetness you will have in the future.
----
The two women who had not seen each other for many years sat on the grass side by side, with hot tears flowing from the corners of their eyes, but a silent smile on the corners of their mouths, the middle-aged woman caressed Yao Zhixia's cheeks with her hands, and Yao Zhixia's tears instantly welled up in her eyes and dripped on the grass.
"All these years, are you okay?" the middle-aged woman's voice trembled slightly.
Yao Zhixia raised his hand to hold the woman's hand and nodded vigorously, "After I come out, I will come to City A." ā
The middle-aged woman wiped the tears from Yao Zhixia's face with her hand, "Good boy, it seems that you are living happily now." After speaking, she smiled and looked in the direction of Xue Rin and Yuen Long.
"Sister Yuan, you misunderstood! They ...... No. Yao Zhixia immediately understood what she meant and hurriedly explained.
"Ahh......h
"He's ...... My friend, the boy, was his younger brother. Yao Zhixia added awkwardly.
Sister Yuan stretched out her hand and patted Yao Zhixia's arm, and sighed: "I never dreamed that I would have a chance to meet again with our Zhixia!"
"Me too, I didn't expect you to come to City A too. ā
Yao Zhixia carefully observed Sister Yuan's face, there were a few more wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but her face was much better than ten years ago, and only the peace and comfort of washing away the lead were left between her eyebrows and eyes.
"Yes, after I came out, I went to the welfare home to pick up my daughter, she was admitted to the school in City A, applied for a student loan, I worked here to repay the loan, and now, my little granddaughter is three years old. ā
Yao Zhixia listened to Sister Yuan's recent situation with emotion, and her thoughts involuntarily returned to the days ten years ago when people didn't believe that the sun would rise again.
Sister Yuan in front of her was the first person who came forward to talk to her on the day she was imprisoned, Yao Zhixia, who was just eighteen years old at the time, couldn't convince herself to spend her supposed brilliant years in this way, and from the day she entered the prison, the world lost its color.
So, on the third day of her imprisonment, she slit her wrists and tried to finish herself off in the quietest way possible.
The first to find her was Sister Yuan, I don't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate, the doctor came in time, after a night of rescue, Yao Zhixia, who originally thought she was going to see her parents, opened her eyes.
She stared blankly at the incandescent lamp on the ceiling, she had never cried in front of people since she was imprisoned, but suddenly tears rained down, so many years of grievances and unwillingness all turned into tears, washing away her former yearning and longing.
Sister Yuan, who stayed in bed all night, looked at this girl whose life had withered before it bloomed, and chose to use the method of dissecting her own wounds to let this child who had lost faith regain his desire for life.
Sister Yuan was born in a patriarchal family, and was introduced to her future husband, and Sister Yuan, who wanted to escape from her original family, soon married the man, and her life was passable at first, but since she was pregnant, the man often didn't even have a figure for a few days, and Sister Yuan, who has always longed for family warmth, endured it for the child in her belly at first, but who doesn't know what the man did outside?
After the child was born, the man not only did not change at all, but also beat her harder, and went out to live with the woman outside, Sister Yuan ran back to her parents' house with the baby in swaddling clothes, ready to divorce the beast, but the saddest thing in the world is that you can never know what kind of moral bottom line a patriarchal family will have!
In addition to insulting and driving away, the mother's family did not have the slightest pity, when the arrogant husband came to the door, he actually hit her again, and Sister Yuan, who was driven to a dead end, finally waved an axe in the yard, so that the man who had sworn an alliance with her could no longer open his mouth.
Sadly, when the warm blood splashed on her face, she didn't regret or panic in the slightest, and her mind was clearer and rational than ever, and she knew that only she could end it all.
The later story is also reasonable, her mother's family refused to accept the baby girl who "eats idle meals", and the man's parents hated her to the bone, so they naturally ignored the "seed" she gave birth to, so the baby girl who just opened her eyes to see the world was thrown to the welfare home by a group of maggots in this world who are related to her by blood.
The only thing to be thankful for is that the aunts in the welfare home took good care of this poor child, and Sister Yuan, who was serving a prison sentence, insisted on writing letters and knitting sweaters for her daughter.
Just a few months after Yao Zhixia was imprisoned, Sister Yuan, who had exhausted all her youth, finally walked out of the airtight iron door and reunited with her daughter who had been thinking about her day and night.
Yao Zhixia turned her head and looked at the little girl who was not yet sensible, and in the next second, her eyes met Xue Rin, who was staring at her.
Xue Rin grinned, raised a hand and waved it back and forth in the air, as if to say, "Don't worry, talk slowly!"
"Zhixia, happiness waits for no one!" Sister Yuan said meaningfully.
Yao Zhixia was suddenly a little silent, she lowered her eyes, as if she was thinking about something.
Sister Yuan saw through what Yao Zhixia was thinking at a glance, she took Yao Zhixia's hand and comforted: "Zhixia, the misfortune in fate is not something we can control, whether it is good or bad, it is all part of your life, if he accepts it, then he will cherish the future days together with peace of mind, if he does not accept it, then let it go in a chic manner, nothing is more important than you live with a clear conscience." ā
Yao Zhixia stretched out her arms to hug Sister Yuan, and couldn't help but choke up again, "Sister Yuan, thank you! Thank you for giving me a second life! We will be happy after all! I believe, I have always believed!"
It turned out that the painful past had long been like smoke, gradually blown away by the warm breeze of summer, and it was no longer the past.