She had originally imagined that when she returned, the house would be filled with police officers discussing how to find her, her grandfather would sigh, her mother would be heartbroken, Siwan would furrow her beautiful brows worrying about her safety, and Er'er would have teary eyes. But...
Ugh, so disappointing...
"What are you thinking about?!" Yan hope looked at her with a half-smile, teasingly.
Ah Heng fell silent, her face turning red.
Upon entering the living room, a lively atmosphere filled the air. Grandpa and Grandpa Yan were playing chess, slamming the pieces down with great enthusiasm. Seeing them, I quickly asked a few questions before continuing my battle. Mom and Uncle Li were making dumplings in the kitchen. When Uncle Li saw Yan Xi, he beamed with joy and affection. He scooped two pieces of pork ribs from the pot, put one in Yan hope's mouth, and fed the other to Aheng.
When Wen's mother asked about Aheng's itinerary and learned that she had returned to Wushui, her expression did not change. However, she was much more affectionate towards Yan hope, holding the boy's hand and asking him questions incessantly.
Aheng looked around, but did not see Siwan and Er'er.
She went upstairs and arrived at Siwan's door, but the door was ajar.
Ah Heng hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the door.
Siwan sat at her desk, flipping through a thick book.
He turned around, saw Ah Heng, his expression froze, and then he spoke awkwardly.
"You're back? Was your trip alright?"
Aheng nodded, somewhat embarrassed, walked up to the boy, gently lowered her head, glanced at the boy's book, and asked with a smile, "What are you looking at?"
Siwan pursed her lips slightly and spoke softly, her tone as gentle and polite as ever—"It's nothing, just watching for fun."
The two stood there, frozen, unsure of what to say to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"I brought some, white sugar cakes." Ah Heng said sheepishly, pulling a paper packet from his pocket.
She bought it specially for Siwan before she left, thinking that Siwan would definitely like what Yanxi liked to eat.
The boy stared at the lump of something in surprise.
Ah Heng looked at her palm, but her expression became unnatural.
The white sugar cake, after being kept in a pocket for a day, had all the oil seeped out, and was squeezed out of shape, looking extremely ugly.
"I should be able to eat it..." Ah Heng's voice trailed off as he became dejected.
Siwan frowned, her expression not good, but she still patiently said, "Lunch is almost here, you can put these snacks away for now."
oh.
Ah Heng withdrew his hand; it was covered in oil, sticky, and extremely uncomfortable.
That white sugar cake was scalding hot.
She had an urge to throw away the sugar cake, wash her hands, and pretend nothing had happened.
"Wen Heng, you're really not kind." A light laugh echoed in the room. "I stayed up all night yesterday to celebrate your birthday, and you hid the white sugar cake and left it for someone else."
It was Yan hope. The young man leaned against the doorframe and sneered.
Ah Heng was stunned.
His expression grew increasingly embarrassed.
Heh... I've been found out.
"Bring it here." Yan hope lazily beckoned with his index finger.
"I can't...eat it." Ah Heng hugged the white sugar cake, feeling ashamed.
A pair of slender, fair hands, with well-proportioned bones and flesh, reached out and deftly snatched it away.
Those hands deftly opened the paper package, revealing a shriveled, wrinkled, cake-like object, looking shy and hesitant.
Ah Heng felt increasingly ashamed.
Yan hope casually tore off a piece, walked up to Si Wan, and said domineeringly, "Open your mouth."
Siwan was surprised, but she still obediently opened her mouth.
She was used to being bullied by Yan hope and had no potential to fight back.
"Shut up. Chew." Yan hope smeared the oil in his hand on Si Wan's coat and casually ordered, "One, two, three, swallow."
Siwan forced herself to remain calm and began chewing with her jaw stiff.
Yan hope sneered, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at the boy with cold, watery eyes.
"How about it? Can I poison you to death or not?"
Siwan stiffened her neck and remained silent.
"You brat, you really don't know what's good for you." Yan hope softened his expression, sighed, hooked his arm around Si Wan's shoulder, and said with childlike regret, "White sugar cake, it's such a delicious thing."
Ah Heng felt guilty, weakly raised her hand, sniffed, and said embarrassedly, "Yan hope, I... I hid another piece. I was originally saving it for myself. Do you want it?"
Siwan couldn't help but chuckle. Looking at her, it seemed as if the first ray of winter sunlight had melted away the previous chill.
Ah Heng also smiled.
Yan hope rolled his eyes.
Pshaw, the Wen family are all brats.
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Ah Heng had not seen Er'er for a long time, and vaguely knew that she had been sent back to her original place of residence.
It's impossible to know how much of this was her doing, but Siwan's attitude when she saw her before was quite telling.
1999 was the first New Year that Aheng spent with the Wen family.
On New Year's Eve, while the adults were busy playing mahjong, cooking, and watching TV, they sent the three of them to put up the couplets on the doors.
Yan hope was too lazy to move, and she wasn't tall enough, so the work fell to Si Wan.
“It’s too low,” Yan hope said.
Siwan stretched her arm up a little.
"It's too high, too high." Yan hope squinted.
Siwan pulled her forearm back.
"It's veering off course, a little to the left."
Siwan leaned to the left.
"Hey! How can you be so stupid? You're too left-wing!" Yan hope glared at him, puffing out her cheeks in anger.
Ah Heng stared for a long time, hesitated for a long time, and finally said a sentence.
“Yanxi, you were standing at an angle. Siwan, you stuck it on correctly from the beginning.”
Standing at an angle, one's view becomes distorted.
Siwan looked at Yanxi with a sorrowful expression.
"Oh. Well, just stick it on however you like. I never like to nitpick." Yan hope said calmly, patting the dust off his back, getting up from the door frame he was leaning against, and floating lightly into the house, exuding an air of unparalleled elegance.
Siwan pouted.
"Ashi, it's always like this..." The boy's words, though seemingly a complaint, carried a hint of helplessness and a touch of indulgence.
It's all because you spoiled them.
Ah Heng thought to herself.
However, at that time, this child never imagined that she would later dote on Yan hope to the bone, far surpassing the likes of Si Wan by a thousand times.
However, since Yan hope wasn't there, the couplets were quickly pasted up.
Siwan got her hands covered in gold dust, went back to the bathroom to wash them, leaving Aheng to clean up the paste and other odds and ends.
She had her head down, but she heard footsteps.
When I looked up, a warm and familiar feeling inexplicably welled up inside me.
He was a man in a naval uniform, with a strong and upright build, looking travel-worn, with a few strands of gray hair at his temples.
He looked into her eyes with tenderness and affection.
"You are...Aheng, right?" The man's skin was bronze, as if he had endured long periods of sea breeze and scorching sun, but his gaze was deep and upright.
Ah Heng nodded, feeling almost certain of something, and became excited.
"I am Wen Anguo." The man smiled, his eyes crinkling with fine lines, possessing the same pure and gentle warmth as Siwan, and the same captivating charm she always had when she looked into the mirror.
Ah Heng laughed, and laughed along with the man.
His large hand ruffled her hair as he asked, "Why aren't you calling me 'Daddy'?"
Ah Heng paused, tears welling up, but she stopped them, raised her eyes, looked at the man, and whispered a heavy sense of belonging.
"Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy..."
She kept calling out to him, gazing at him, tears streaming down her face, but her gaze never wavered.
That shout almost filled the gap between heaven and earth for her.
For the first time, without any reason, she believed that there was a belief in this world called blood ties that could shatter all rational logic.
Her father was the first family member to truly accept her.
All the Wen family members left her with only a narrow opening, secretly observing her from afar to protect themselves, wearing appropriate masks as needed, while this man opened his heart to her without reservation.
"Lunch is ready, Ah Heng, come in quickly!" Aunt Zhang called from the kitchen.
"Just in time, I got back before the couplets were pasted on the door." The man smiled, looking gently at the newly pasted couplets.
Then, he reached out his hand, his large, calloused hand, warm and rough, and firmly grasped hers, the warmth seeping into her soul.
"Go home with Dad and have a family reunion dinner."
Ah Heng gently squeezed her father's hand back, like a newborn baby whose vision had been brightened for the first time, grasping the first ray of light in this unfamiliar world.
Her father naturally took her hand and led her back into the house, giving her enough courage to face her grandparents and Siwan instead of looking up to them.
Whom did they see, and in what moment did they finally overcome all the incongruity between her and the Wen family, and re-examine her, seeing her in a dignified manner, regardless of how much they disliked or liked her?
For her, only this kind of treatment is fair and respectful.
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