Thanks.
knew.
Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Wen's father stayed at home for a month.
He was a father who loved his children dearly. Although he had the most rugged traits of a soldier, he was surprisingly patient and gentle with a group of children.
When at home, Wen's father often took Aheng to the park and zoo. In the morning, they would occasionally go to the bird market, and in the evening, he would take his daughter to a teahouse to have tea and meet with old friends.
Quite by coincidence, I ran into Officer Fu while having tea one day. Officer Fu was delighted to see Ah Heng.
"Guozi, is this your girl?"
Mr. Wen smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Hey, that makes sense now. I was wondering why this kid was so silly; he takes after you."
Mr. Wen found it strange—"Have you seen my girl before?"
“I’ve seen her. A little girl, her brothers were fighting in front of her, and she was following behind, carrying a first-aid kit.” Officer Fu winked at Aheng.
Father Wen looked at Aheng with suspicion.
Ah Heng remained calm – “Uncle, you’ve mistaken me for someone else, haven’t you?”
Officer Fu, being honest and straightforward, slapped his thigh and said, "How could I mistake you for someone else? It's you, kid, you're so unique!"
Aheng broke out in a cold sweat, sat up straight, and dared not look at Wen's father—"You, you've mistaken me for someone else, I don't know you, you, Uncle..."
Wen's father understood somewhat, but remained silent.
Officer Fu got impatient—"You! You're so stammering, how could I possibly admit my mistake!"
Ah Heng sniffed, indignant—"Who stuttered... I didn't stutter..."
"Oh right, I remember, there was someone named Yan Xi, who was injured, wasn't he?" Officer Fu had a good memory.
Ah Heng shook her head, her confused little face feigning ignorance—"Uncle, what are you saying? I don't understand, I don't understand..."
I'm from Wushui, a country kid who can't understand what people from Beijing are saying...
"Is Xiaoxi's leg injury healed yet?" Father Wen casually asked.
"It's not the leg, it's the shoulder!" Ah Heng exclaimed reflexively.
“Look, look, I told you it was you, but you still wouldn’t admit it…” Officer Fu pointed at the little girl.
Ah Heng was silent.
With a hole in her mouth, Siwan and Yanxi wouldn't let her tell the adults.
Mr. Wen gave Ah Heng a meaningful look, then turned to Officer Fu—"Old Fu, how was the battle going for them back then?"
Officer Fu laughed, his eyebrows dancing with delight—"These kids are really something, just three of them, and they took on a whole group of people..."
"Uncle Fu, here you go, candied hawthorn, eat!" Ah Heng shouted, interrupting the other person, stiffening her arm as she shoved the candied hawthorn she had just bought in front of Officer Fu.
Officer Fu was taken aback, then waved his hand – “Thanks, but I don’t eat sweets. Guozi, let me tell you, it was a very dangerous situation when I went there…”
Crackle, crackle.
Mr. Wen remained expressionless, only nodding repeatedly.
Ah Heng licked his candied hawthorn, staring at Officer Fu, muttering to himself—this uncle is so mean!
After having afternoon tea that day, Wen's father walked with such perfect posture that he was practically marching in formation. Aheng followed behind with his tail between his legs, looking utterly dejected.
When they arrived home, Mr. Wen said to Ah Heng with special tenderness and love, "Go and call your brother down..."
"Dad, can you not shout?" Ah Heng asked seriously in a low voice.
"What do you think?" His expression grew even more amiable.
oh.
Ah Heng stood at the top of the stairs, cupping her hands into a small megaphone—"Siwan, Siwan, come down..."
The voice, with the child's unique soft and sweet tone, was extremely gentle, extremely... weak and listless.
After a while, there was no response.
"Dad, look, look, Siwan isn't here." Aheng smiled sincerely.
Mr. Wen acted like a saint—"Is that so?"
He turned around and roared, "Wen Siwan, get down here right now! One, two, three!"
Meanwhile, the boy, dressed in pajamas and unceremoniously stomping down in his slippers, ran down and stood at attention—"Here, here!"
Ah Heng was stunned, greatly admiring Si Wan's speed; she must have practiced it.
"Speak! What wrong have you done!" Mr. Wen, who had been holding back his anger outside, finally unleashed it.
Siwan was startled and awkwardly said, "I didn't do anything."
"Um?!"
Siwan broke out in a cold sweat and secretly glanced at Aheng.
Ah Heng looked up at the sky.
"You've gotten yourself into trouble with little Xidayi again, haven't you?!" Father Wen sneered.
"No," Siwan stubbornly denied, pretending to be calm.
"Don't play dumb, I gave birth to you, I know what kind of person you are!"
Siwan panicked, feeling she couldn't keep it a secret any longer. Her bright eyes glared at Aheng—"Aheng, if I didn't tell you to say it, how did you go and tell the adults?!"
Ah Heng said, feeling wronged, "It wasn't me. It was that policeman from that day who knew Dad..."
Siwan trembled. What a coincidence...
"Wen Siwan, how dare you blame your sister! It's one thing for you bunch of rascals to get caught fighting and taken to the police station, but why did you let your sister, a young lady, get involved in men's business!" Wen's father slapped his hand.
“Dad, I can do it too, man!” Ah Heng interjected.
Mr. Wen turned to his daughter, his expression serious—"My dear, you're a perfectly good girl, don't be a pervert!"
oh.
Ah Heng nodded, thinking about it, and agreed.
“I didn’t let her go, but she insisted on going.” Siwan also felt wronged.
She was quiet and had legs; she was a grown woman. He was too busy fighting to pay attention to her.
"You still have the nerve to talk back!" Mr. Wen was furious, his eyes widening.
Siwan pouted and remained silent.
"You're going back to the old ways. What did you teach you when you were little? You told not to fight with people? You've been ignoring those words, haven't you?"
“If others bully Ah Xi, Da Yi and I can’t just stand by and watch him get bullied!” Si Wan is a passionate and good kid.
"Don't talk nonsense with me. Xiao hope has been a troublemaker since he was a child! You two grew up together, and he's been causing trouble for more than a day or two. What have you two done besides following behind him and making a fuss? If Yan hope is bullied, it's a miracle that he doesn't bully others!" Father Wen said, spitting as he spoke, unable to hold back his anger.
"Anyway, it's unacceptable for anyone to bully Yan hope!" Si Wan made up her mind.
"Wen Siwan, if you keep arguing, believe me, I'll slap you!"
Siwan, with a righteous and awe-inspiring air, felt that she had shown great courage for Yan Xi—"I'm not afraid!"
Father Wen was trembling with anger. He took a deep breath and pointed at Aheng, "Daughter, go back to your room first. No matter what noise you hear later, don't come out!"
"Dad, Dad, Siwan, he didn't mean to make you angry!" Aheng grabbed her father's clothes.
“He didn’t do it on purpose, he did it on purpose! Your brother is like that, if you don’t keep an eye on him, he’ll get all worked up! Don’t pay any attention to him, go back inside!” Father Wen patted Aheng’s shoulder and pushed her aside.
He swung his hand wide, about to strike the boy on the back.
When Ah Heng saw this, he panicked and, in a moment of impulsiveness, pointed to the ceiling—"Dad, look, a flying saucer!!"
silent……
The world was quiet.
Mr. Wen was stunned.
Siwan's eyes were already red, but after Ah Heng's words, her tears welled up but wouldn't fall.
Three seconds later, they burst into laughter.
When Wen's mother returned home from get off work, she was greeted by a silly yet adorable scene—her daughter was giggling, her husband was laughing so hard he was doubled over, and he was ruffling his daughter's hair with his large hand. Her son, on the other hand, was rolling on the floor in his pajamas, his dimples almost overflowing with alcohol.
"What are you laughing at?" Wen's mother was puzzled, but she felt that the scene in front of her was really heartwarming.
Siwan looked up from the floor, saw her mother, and laughed even harder, gasping for breath—"Mom...Mom...Look, look..."
"What?" Mrs. Wen tried to pull the boy up from the floor.
“There’s Aheng’s flying saucer in the sky!…” Siwan grabbed her mother’s hand, but laughed so hard she could barely move.
"Siwan, you're so mean! I only said that because I saved you!" Aheng blushed, feeling embarrassed in front of her mother, and looked at her mother with embarrassment.
Mother Wen paused, gazing at Aheng. She saw Aheng's features, so similar to her own, as if looking in a mirror, and a strange feeling arose in her heart. This feeling seemed to have been there before, but had always been suppressed. Until now, however, it could not be restrained and surged forth.
"Mom, why are you crying?" Siwan stood up, her eyes wide.
Mr. Wen understood, his expression softened, he sighed, walked to his wife, and embraced her—"Yunyi, look, look, Aheng's UFO has come, it brought our daughter back, why are you still crying? You're acting like a silly child..."
Those tears, crystal clear, dripped slowly, gentle, tears belonging to a mother.
Ah Heng stared blankly at her mother, tears welling up in her eyes as if they had been rising for a long time.
She could not absorb the world's beautiful light, for these tears were too scalding, for she had gathered all her love in her eyes in an instant, and this love, surging, took on a name of revelation, held its head high and proud, washed away pity, and became flawless...
Ah Heng knew that at this moment, she was slowly, weakly, and painstakingly taking root in land that did not belong to her. And this land embraced her, gradually becoming part of her blood, becoming hers, loving her, and cherishing her...
And so, she finally choked up.