I can't quite explain it, but when Anqi stood at my door, when he called me in the middle of the night to open the door, it all seemed to just happen. As naturally as a key opening a door.
“I know you don’t like hearing this. You’ve always been stubborn, and you haven’t changed at all. Think about yourself, and then think about Anqi.”
Grandpa said the same thing to me; think about yourself.
It can be stopped before things escalate further, but once it explodes, it will affect not only oneself but also a wide range of people.
"Alright, I get it. Look at you, you're just like 'Third Auntie' now," I joked.
After dinner, we passed by a movie theater. A newly filmed romance movie was playing there, and I heard it was quite tragic. Without waiting for Hu Lu's consent, I bought the tickets.
The big screen showed a love story from the early days of the Anti-Japanese War.
"cousin"
Every time I hear the female lead call out like that, my heart aches.
"If she weren't your cousin, would you have married her?"
"No, she's just my cousin."
The white blossoms on the ground are the tissues I soaked with tears. I'm not a crybaby. I just love watching tearjerkers.
"Are you alright? You're crying just looking at this." Hu Lu turned to me and asked.
"No, it's a very good film, it should win an award."
The film ends with the female lead calling out, "Cousin!" Thankfully, the lovers are finally united.
It was getting late, so I sat in Hu Lu's car with Dongdong in my arms.
"Anqi will be back next month at the earliest." Hu Lu said, glancing at my expression as she drove.
When we got home, after getting out of the car, Hu Lu rolled down the window and yelled at me, "Next time, don't watch tearjerkers."
Holding Dongdong in one arm, she gave him the middle finger with the other, saying, "I'm happy to!"
Zhang Qian
When I got home from get off work, Dongdong had already been picked up by his grandfather. I put down my bag and went to the kitchen to cook.
Grandpa always cooks the meal before I get off work, just waiting for me to come home and cook.
Kung Pao Chicken, pickled vegetables and bean curd, mapo tofu, stir-fried eggplant with garlic, and I also made a winter melon soup.
"Alright, Zhang Qian, come and eat. Stop making things, we have enough food."
I'm making dumplings in the kitchen. I've been eating dumplings every day for the past few days. I just think dumplings are delicious and flavorful.
"Dongdong, call your mom over for dinner. Don't let her practice until she's stupid."
The dumplings were skewered in water and rolled around for a few minutes before floating to the surface.
I brought out the dumplings and sat down next to Dongdong. The little guy started clamoring for the dumplings in my bowl. Grandpa joined in the commotion, insisting on having dumplings too.
"These dumplings are all mine, so don't you dare take them from me," I said.
"Mom, please let me have one," Dongdong said with a pleading look on his face.
"no!"
"Zhang Qian'er, give the child one if he wants to eat, quick."
"No, I said no, and that's final." I was actually a little hesitant.
The phone rang, and I asked Dongdong to answer it while I continued eating my dumplings.
"Mommy, it's Uncle." The little guy waved the telephone receiver in his hand.
Anqi?
I took the phone, but I didn't know what to say to him.
"Zhang Qian" is him.
"Um"
"...."
"...."
"I'll be back next month."
"What number?" Why was I so blunt?
"If all goes well, it will be the beginning of the month."
"Um"
Then we all fell silent, and I thought about what Hu Lu had said that day. Was it sympathy or love? Gratitude or love?
Zhang Qian
"What?"
"I am in Qiannan."
"Why did you run so far?"
"I have a few days off, can you come?"
"......."
Should I go? Am I really going to get involved? I feel like I can't extricate myself.
"Zhang Qian, I'm waiting for you."
I hung up the phone, sat back down at the table, and continued eating my dumplings.
"What kind of dumplings did you make? They're bitter! How can anyone eat them!"
Is it bitter? I don't think so, it's fine.
"Quick, get your mom a glass of water, she's lost her mind again."
Zhang Qian
In the end, I boarded the plane bound for Guiyang. Dongdong was with me.
I asked Hu Lu whether or not she should go.
He said, "If you go, you can regret it later. If you don't go, you'll regret it now."
Then, I rushed to the China Telecom store as fast as I could and got a mobile phone. My first call was to Anqi.
Hearing his voice again felt like a lifetime ago.
The day before I was to board the plane, my grandfather asked me if I had thought it through.
This is my life, and I have always lived under your wings.
When I suffered setbacks, was abandoned, and was discriminated against, you helped me stand up again.
I've thought it through very clearly, and I want to try again.
I don't want to live my life with regrets. Even if I fail this time, I won't regret it.
This was my own decision.
Nick Cheung, can you forgive your mother for being willful this time? Will you blame me when you grow up?
Anqi
I waited for Zhang Qian at the domestic arrivals area of Guiyang Airport.
She really came.
During the days and nights we've been apart, I think about you constantly.
It's so good to have met you, Zhang Qian.
Zhang Qian
Zhang Qian
The plane landed at Guiyang Airport in the late afternoon, more than an hour later than expected. A minor problem was detected on the plane before boarding. Anqi must have been waiting for a long time.
I put Dongdong on the suitcase and pushed him out of the domestic arrival area.
"uncle!"
Anqi walked towards me with a smile, picked up Dongdong, and took the suitcase.
He hasn't changed; he's still the same.
Anqi booked a suite at the Guizhou Mingdu Hotel, and the car arrived there quickly.
The room was large and beautiful.
"I ordered it online, how was it?" He was like a child eager to show off his good deeds to the adults.
"good."
The waiter took our luggage to the room and left. I took Dongdong and put him on the bed; the little guy was so tired he fell asleep in the car. We didn't stop for a moment on the plane, even counting the clouds in the sky one by one.
"Shh!"
I gestured to Anqi not to wake Dongdong.
"Did you miss me?" he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and biting my ear.
"Um"