Ah Heng was speechless.
Uncle Sang was stunned. Looking at the words, he couldn't stop smiling—"This kid is good, he's got some skills."
Yan hope nodded slightly, politely and gently.
The boss gave him a lot of delicious food, and although the boy pretended to be reserved, the sly smile on his lips kept slipping out.
"How about that? I wrote a calligraphy for the boss, so we don't have to pay. Isn't that great! You should have acted even more impressively just now, so as to show the value of my calligraphy. The boss might even give us more food." Yan hope said softly, her mouth full, her big eyes like pools of clear autumn water.
Ah Heng almost choked to death while drinking tofu pudding.
"I wasn't faking it just now." Her expression couldn't be more serious.
The boy smiled, raised an eyebrow, and said casually, "Wen Heng, why are you so bothered by this? I learned to hold a pen before I could even walk. Even if you don't have talent, how can you compare?"
Ah Heng gazed at the boy and smiled.
She thought she and Yan hope were no longer strangers, but every day, as she learned more about him, she felt increasingly distant and unfamiliar with him, unlike her initial impression, which at least provided a direct and complete understanding.
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"Let's go check out that sweet well you mentioned." Yan hope, now full, became interested in the well that had produced the delicious food.
When talking about Wushui Town, besides its charming water town scenery, what attracts tourists the most is the City God Temple in the east of the town. The temple is always bustling with worshippers, and many people go to pray on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month.
People come in droves seeking wealth, peace, and marriage.
Ah Heng and Yan hope went to see a well in the temple.
Yan hope looked at the blue stone at the wellhead, touched it lightly with his hand, and felt a cool sensation as his fingertips brushed against a layer of moss.
The temple was filled with people, incense smoke swirling around, and everyone's face was solemn and devout.
"It's strange that they don't worship this nourishing well, but instead worship a few stone figures," the boy scoffed.
"One cannot be disrespectful to ghosts and gods." Ah Heng grew up in Wushui and, following the adults around him, still had some respect and superstition towards the City God.
The boy glanced at the girl, smiled gently, then bent down, clasped his hands together, and bowed towards the well.
"What are you doing?" Ah Heng asked curiously.
"Thank you for bringing us such delicious food."
Ah Heng sniffed and kindly reminded him, "The tofu was made by Uncle Ah Sang."
"So, I wrote a sign for him!" The boy rolled his eyes upwards.
“But you didn’t pay for your meal!” Ah Heng pointed.
“One thing at a time! I wrote a sign for him to express my gratitude; the food on the table is all there, even if I don’t eat it, someone else will, it doesn’t matter who eats it. It’s not that I don’t want to pay, it’s that he won’t let me pay. I’m actually in a difficult position, it’s hard to be a person, it’s even harder to be a good person!” Yan Xi said righteously and with great distress.
Ah Heng chuckled, pursed her lips, and slightly raised the corners of her mouth.
"Okay, me too, bye-bye." Ah Heng also bent down and earnestly put her fingers together.
Well, Gujing, I don't ask for much. I just hope you can bring world peace, Taiwan's return to the motherland, and allow children in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to eat white sugar cake.
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Yan hope stayed at the Yun family's house for a few more days. After the Lunar New Year, it was already the end of the lunar year, and it would be a bit unreasonable not to go home.
When he left, he told his grandfather that he would definitely come home for the Chinese New Year.
Because, at the 28th of the lunar calendar, the boy asked to leave.
"Can't we stop for another day? Just one more day would be fine." Ah Heng was a little disappointed, and his Wushui dialect came out.
"Aheng, don't be so insensible!" Before Yanxi could answer, Yun's father scolded, interrupting Aheng's thoughts.
Ah Heng shut up and looked at Yun Mu with a wronged expression.
Yunmu patted her hand but didn't say anything. She just went back into the house and helped her pack her luggage.
She followed her mother into the room, and when she came out, she kept her head down and remained silent.
Yan hoped for her, but didn't know what to say, so he calmed down and let her say goodbye to her adoptive parents.
No matter how much these kind-hearted men and women love Wen Heng, they are ultimately not his biological parents.
This house, this land, however warm it may be, is ultimately not her home.
This is a tremendous regret.
Before leaving, Yunmu pulled Yanxi aside and said a few words.
Ah Heng saw her from afar, but couldn't bear to look at her mother again. She said goodbye to her father and left the house.
When Yan hope came out, he glanced at her a few times, looked at her strangely, and said helplessly, "She is a girl after all."
In the end, she was silently hurt over something that seemed trivial to the boys.
Ah Heng didn't know what his mother had said to him, but he knew that keeping quiet was always the best course of action. So he remained silent and followed behind her.
She then saw his back as a traveler.
A large bundle, an upright posture, and aloof, delicate shoulder blades—she exudes pride and unrestrained spirit.
They arrived at the S city station in the afternoon. They queued for a long time before finally buying tickets for the 6 PM train.
"Sit here and wait for me." The boy handed her the ticket, then turned around and walked out of the waiting room.
Ah Heng looked somewhat dejected. He was already in a bad mood, and after Yan hope left, he sat on the bench without saying a word, seemingly lost in thought.
When she gathered her thoughts and looked up at her watch, it was already 5:15.
Yan hope has not returned yet.
She stood up and walked back and forth in the crowd, turning around and around the chair as the center.
Although it was almost time to check tickets, she wasn't walking around anxiously.
The air in the waiting room was too stagnant and foul. She walked around, trying to clear her mind of the things that had been numbed by the noise.
When the boy returned, this was exactly what he saw—the girl was frowning, head down, pacing back and forth, doing nothing of substance around the seat.
Yan hope was a lazy person and found this situation unbelievable.
He strode over and coughed slightly.
When Ah Heng looked up, the first thing he noticed was the backpack on his shoulder, which seemed to have bulged out a lot.
Ah Heng guessed that he might have bought some local specialties.
The process was the same as before: ticket check, boarding, and finding a seat.
However, Ah Heng lost the enthusiasm he had when he came and huddled in the carriage, yawning.
When I looked up at my watch again, it was already nine o'clock, and the night outside the train was getting darker.
"I'm sleepy," she said to Yan hope, her voice drowsy.
The Chinese expression "I'm sleepy" is equivalent to the Western expression "Goodnight."
"No," the boy said calmly.
Ah Heng yawned, rubbed his eyes, and asked why.
The boy raised an eyebrow, his slender fingers tapping lightly on the small table—"How should I know?"
oh.
Wait a minute, why can't I sleep if you don't know?
Ah Heng was thinking in a daze, his consciousness beginning to fade.
She felt like an infant, nestled in the womb, warm and peaceful.
A white world, a pure world.
Suddenly, the world spun rapidly, making her dizzy.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw a pair of frighteningly large eyes.
"Awake?" The boy released his hands and stopped shaking.
Ah Heng stared blankly out the window; it was still pitch black.
It was still dark.
She looked at Yan hope, sniffed, and felt wronged.
The boy's big, watery eyes looked even more aggrieved than hers.
"Wen Heng, although I don't know why you chose to be born at dawn..."
The boy paused, rummaged through his backpack for a while, and finally pulled out a small, adorable cream cake. He held it in his hands, smiled calmly, and
"However, young master, I will reluctantly wish you a happy birthday."
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
When Ah Heng stood in front of the Wen family's gate, she felt uneasy. Looking back on the past few days, she realized that she had really gone too far.
"Why don't you come in?" The boy stretched out his thick, gloved hand and pressed the doorbell.
Ah Heng cautiously took a step back, suppressing the urge to run away.
The one who opened the door was Aunt Zhang.
"What a coincidence! I was just talking to Yunyi about whether we should add your rice to the meal today, and then you came back," Aunt Zhang said with a smile, glancing back at the living room.
"Everyone, you know, we..." Aheng asked Yanxi in a low voice.
“It’s not like I ran away from home. I already told Grandpa Wen before I left.” Yan hope was in low spirits. She strode towards the entrance, then paused, as if remembering something, and asked Aunt Zhang, “Aunt Zhang, are my husband and Aunt Li home?”
Aunt Zhang nodded, took Ah Heng's hand, and said with a smile, "Of course. Every year during the Spring Festival, our two families celebrate together. It's been a habit for so many years, how could we change it?"
Ah Heng breathed a sigh of relief. She had indeed intended to run away from home, but unfortunately, she had acted like a villain.
So, Yan hope must have known about her little scheme before, but just couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
Ah Heng, holding Zhang Sao's hand, changed into cotton slippers, looking somewhat dejected.