She looked apologetically at the child, but couldn't bear to look at the puppy again.
Because its gaze must be so familiar that it doesn't even need to look in a mirror.
So familiar, yet I never want to see it again...
As she was lost in thought, a cool, soft hand landed on her hair.
Meanwhile, the boy smiled faintly, gently patted her head, and sighed, "Aheng, you can't let it near my room, you can't let it accidentally sleep in my milk box, you can't let it fight with the braised pork rice, you can't let it steal my ribs, you can't let it poop and pee anywhere, is that okay?"
Is this okay?
Is it okay if I don't have to use such a conciliatory tone with her?
Is it okay to be cherished, pampered, and treated with such care?
Ah Heng kept nodding, but didn't look up.
She held the puppy close to her chest, and as she stood up, the first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds.
"Yanxi, look." She gently tugged at his shirt sleeve, and between her fingers, a light, cool breeze blew.
The boy raised his head, gazing devoutly and greedily at the sky. His eyes were filled with passion and purity, and with the rising sun, they seemed to burst forth with a soul-stirring brilliance. It was a beauty that had to be re-examined after spending every day together, a beauty that was beyond redemption.
“That morning I hadn’t become a vampire yet. I watched the sunrise for the last time. I remember every detail perfectly, but I’ve forgotten every sunrise before. I admired this magnificent view for the last time as if it were the first time. Then I said goodbye to the sunlight forever and became what I am now.” Yan Xi murmured, turned around, and smiled bitterly and calmly, exactly like Louis the vampire in the movie “Interview with the Vampire” that he had spent the afternoon watching with Aheng with the curtains drawn.
Ah Heng was completely taken aback.
Yan hope turned his back to the rising sun, bathed in its brilliant golden light, a layer of sanctity enveloping him. In the blink of an eye, however, he transformed, his eyebrows arching, his smile unrestrained and arrogant—"This young master walks the path of vampires, leaving vampires with nowhere to go..."
With arms outstretched, it mimicked a zombie and hopped in front of Ah Heng.
A vampire blending Eastern and Western styles?!
What utter nonsense!
"Oh no, this is crazy, crazy, this is really crazy..." Ah Heng had a headache, gnashing her teeth. In a moment of impulse, she unconsciously used the puppy in her hand as a pillow and threw it at the boy.
The boy burst into tears. Where exactly did things go wrong in his upbringing? His adopted daughter was so unfilial...
The puppy burst into tears, thinking, "If God gave me another chance, I would never pretend to be pitiful in front of this woman to gain her sympathy. I want a different owner...!"
That day, the sunlight was just right.
Chapter 34
Chapter 34
When Yan hope staggered into the living room with dark circles under his eyes, Aheng shook her head, thinking that this person was beyond help.
"Finished painting?" He must have stayed up all night, engrossed in the painting.
After watching the sunrise that day, he returned home and locked himself in his room, oblivious to day and night.
Yan hope nodded, then shook his head.
"What do you mean?" Her feet were itchy, and Ah Heng looked down to see Little Grey sleeping on her slippers.
Laugh, this tiny puppy is so sleepy, it looks like an old man.
"I feel like something's missing," Yan hope said thoughtfully.
“Imperfection is also beauty.” Ah Heng’s voice was soft and sweet—“Isn’t the Venus de Milo a classic?”
Yan hope was both amused and exasperated—"Everyone can't understand sunflowers, yet they call them classics. Am I Van Gogh?"
Is there such a powerful force that one can achieve immortality with a mere stroke of the brush?
Ah Heng picked up Little Gray and gently placed it back into the little nest she had prepared for it—a cardboard box lined with several layers of cotton. She smiled and said, "When Van Gogh was alive, who knew that he would become the Van Gogh of the future?"
Yan hope took a bottle of purified water from the refrigerator and gulped it down. His voice, which had been nasal from just waking up, was gone. "And then, you mean, when I become a decrepit old man, I'll still be just an unknown Yan hope who might shoot himself on a snowy night because he has no bread to eat?"
Ah Heng laughed—"Besides, even if you die, you might not become Yan hope, whose paintings are worth a thousand pieces of gold."
So why keep drawing?
He pondered.
So, have you decided not to draw anymore?
Ah Heng pursed her lips, turning her head back with a clear and gentle gaze.
No.
Yan hope touched his nose, feeling extremely embarrassed.
Ah Heng understood and smiled—"So, go brush your teeth, it's time for lunch."
There aren't so many "thereforeseen reasons." The most serene ending is never a hypothetical one, but rather the reality of life.
Did you have a gun but no bread? Was there no gun ban? Or were you old then, and our republic had become so rich and strange that guns were cheaper than bread, and casual gun-wielding suicides became morning news?
So, all that worrying for so long, no matter how grand or tragic, is nothing more than a fantasy.
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While cleaning Grandpa Yan's room, she found many old photos, some yellowed with age. Each one showed a little baby or boy with big eyes and a smile as bright as a golden sunflower. They were taken at one month old, one hundred days old, one year old, two years old... all the way up to fifteen years old. Behind each photo was a strong, bold penmanship: "My grandson Yanxi, photographed at... his first birthday."
Such a beautiful child, whose smile seemed to make all the world's gloom and discontent retreat. In a fleeting moment, the gentle flow of time, accompanied by the warm sunlight, amazed everyone's eyes.
She looked better when she was a child.
Ah Heng frowned; these words came to mind without a second thought.
It's strange that the photos of the same person are so drastically different from reality.
The Yan Xi she saw always had a half-raised lip when he smiled, looking nonchalant. Even when he was playing a prank, he would only add a cunning look to his eyes. However, the ambiguous sarcasm that never faded from the corner of his mouth was completely different from the unreserved radiance he showed in the photos today.
Is it just due to the age difference? But their appearance hasn't changed much...
Her fingers paused for a moment.
Then... as I scrolled down, all I saw were abrupt gaps and the paleness of the plastic film.
How long has he been in his life since he was fifteen?
Why is there a blank space for two whole years?
That smile, whether to the left or the right, even and joyful, not yet sharp, why did it vanish into thin air...?
Ah Heng was lost in thought when she unconsciously closed the photo album, but accidentally dropped it to the ground.
When she picked it up, she touched the hard back of the album, which had a rough texture. She stared at it, and gently ran her index finger over it. There were four letters marked with deep scratches: D-E-A-D, dead.
Dead.
He has passed away.
Ah Heng turned around, and there was the boy, leaning against the door, smiling at her with burning eyes.
"Aheng, is the rice ready?" he asked her, gently placing his left foot on top of his right.
His casual actions seemed somewhat strange.
Ah Heng narrowed her eyes slightly, gazing at the young man for a long time with a calm and composed demeanor, and spoke gently, "That's good."
Casually, she put the photo album with those shockingly written words back on the bookshelf.
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After lunch, Aheng received a call from home; her grandfather asked her to come home.
Yan hope was still engrossed in his book "The Rising Sun," silent and still. Aheng didn't want to disturb him, so she quietly left. But as she tiptoed downstairs, the boy's door suddenly closed and locked, just as silently as she had left.
There was clearly no wind.
When they got home, Si'er was telling jokes, making her mother and grandfather laugh non-stop.
Ah Heng smiled and stood in the entryway, gently whistling at Zhang Sao who opened the door.
It's a real shame that such a heartwarming moment was interrupted.
"Mom, guess what?" Si'er recounted the story vividly.
"How is it?" Wen's mother asked curiously.
"Our teacher said, 'Hey, Wen Si'er, why haven't we seen your brother for so long? You should definitely ask your parents to talk to him. Such a good student, it's not good for him to be in a relationship so early. He shouldn't always be with that girl from Class 4, what's her name again...'" The teacher said in a teasing and playful tone.
The room erupted in laughter.
"Grandpa, Mom, I'm back." Ah Heng smiled and came out, interrupting Si Er.
"Oh, Ah Heng is back." Mother Wen stood up, her smile still full.
"Are you settling in well at the Yan family home? We were just talking about your brother and Yan hope starting junior high. Little hope is pretty and has gotten into a lot of trouble."
Ah Heng nodded, the smile on his lips superficial and meaningless.
Is the trouble because she's prettier than others, or because she's dragged Siwan down with her?
"Aheng, tomorrow, your Aunt Lin is treating our family to dinner. Your mother bought you a nice outfit and said she wants you to try it on when you get back to see if it fits." Old Wen said with a smile, pointing to the exquisite gift box containing the clothes on the table.
"Aunt Lin?" Ah Heng repeated, but had no idea who she was.
Si'er took Ah Heng's arm and explained affectionately, "She's Grandpa's old comrade-in-arms, Grandpa Lu's daughter-in-law, the kindest to us kids, a very gentle and kind aunt."
So gentle, so very gentle... just how gentle?
It's rare to see Si'er praise someone like that.
"Is she even gentler than Mom?" Wen's mother pretended to be angry and looked at Si'er.
Someone burst out laughing.
Ah Heng looked up and saw Si Wan coming downstairs, dressed in casual, loose sportswear, looking clean and refreshing.
"Mom, are you still jealous of Aunt Lin? Tell the truth..." Siwan deliberately frowned.
"How is it?" Mother Wen reached out and smiled as she took the hand of the outstanding and handsome young man in front of her, still in the manner of a mother holding a child's hand.
“Aunt Lin is much gentler than you…” Siwan winked at Si’er, and the two siblings smiled at each other.
"What should I do? Ruomei is gentler than me, and her son is better looking than mine. Sigh, I'm so sad..." Mother Wen smiled and tapped Siwan's forehead.
On the other side, Si'er let go of Aheng's arm without hesitation, took Wen's mother's arm, and smiled sweetly, "Aunt Lin doesn't have a daughter yet, but you have me, don't you?"