In spring, the weather warmed up a bit, and Yan hope was oblivious to the cold or heat. Aheng helped him change into his winter clothes and bought him a few more spring clothes.
Smiling, she looked at his new clothes and asked, "Yan hope, do you like these clothes?"
Yan hope didn't know, so she grabbed her sleeve, took a deep breath, and said in a small, muffled voice, "It smells good."
Hehe. Ah Heng laughed. So innocent, how endearing.
"I rubbed spikenard in the place where I keep my clothes." She smiled, knowing he wouldn't understand, but she still told Yan hope everything she wanted to say, so she wouldn't be lonely.
Two-thirds of the time has passed since the March appointment was agreed upon. Yan Xi has become increasingly quiet, and even when Dr. Zheng tries to hypnotize him, he can hardly continue. Most of the time, just like when facing Dr. Zheng, he either stares blankly or cries helplessly like a child.
Finally, psychotherapy reached a dead end.
Dr. Zheng now often uses two medications on Yan Xi: chlorpromazine and promethazine hydrochloride. With a thick needle, she slowly injects the clear liquid into Yan hope's bluish veins, watching him go from crying to quiet.
Like a puppet, yes, that's the Pinocchio he was talking about.
Only the tear stains in his eyes were still wet, covering his entire face. She helped him wipe his face, but he gently leaned against her and fell asleep.
Soft breathing, childlike innocence.
She said, "Dr. Zheng, could we stop using these medications? Every time Yan hope takes them, he eats very little after waking up, only half a bowl of rice. He seems lifeless."
Dr. Zheng smiled – “No need, would he get angry?”
Ah Heng nodded solemnly – Yes, without medicine, when I feed him, he will obediently eat a whole bowl, and when I talk to him, he will talk back to me.
Dr. Zheng shook his head—"You're talking like a child again. I recently examined Yanxi, and his aphasia is quite severe. How could he possibly talk to you? Besides, you said yourself that you're the one feeding him, not him. He probably doesn't even know how to eat on his own anymore. Now, even his habitual memories are slowly fading, you know?"
Ah Heng gently patted the sleeping boy lying on her lap and smiled—like a little piglet, sleep, sleep forever. If you don't wake up, I'll throw you to the child seller.
She changed the subject, her eyes filled with escapism and sorrow.
Dr. Zheng could only sigh.
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The sun was shining brightly that day, so she moved a small stool and placed it under the banyan tree outside the door.
The sunlight was warm, and the shadows of the trees blocked much of the light.
He stretched out his hand, placed it outside the shade of the tree, touched the sunlight, felt it warm, then pulled it back, focusing intently, like a very interesting game, which he enjoyed immensely.
Ah Heng smiled, turned around, and headed back to her room to prepare lunch.
She left quietly, without letting him know she was there.
As I kneaded the dough, my fingers were filled with flour.
Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers was heard outside the door. Lately, the children in the yard have started setting off firecrackers, probably because they had leftover firecrackers from the New Year. They're just playing around and trying to scare the adults; they're extremely mischievous.
She was startled, and remembering Yan hope, she walked out without wiping her hands.
Yan hope was surrounded by a group of eight- or nine-year-old children, whose laughter was constant and could be vaguely heard as a rhyme: "Idiot, madman," and other mocking remarks.
The most innocent voice, the cruelest words.
Ah Heng got angry, her brows furrowing – “What are you doing!”
When a group of children saw Ah Heng arrive, they made funny faces and ran away.
Beneath Yan hope's feet lay red firecracker paper, scattered and tinged with the smell of gunpowder.
Yan hope lowered his head, put his hands behind his eyes, and trembled all over, probably because he was frightened by the sound of the cannon.
She hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly—"Yan hope."
The boy raised his reddened eyes, saw Ah Heng, and instantly frowned. He pressed his head against her and burst into tears, sobbing and clutching her clothes, refusing to let go.
She looked wronged and coquettish at the same time, without any attempt to hide it.
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Siwan was very anxious; she seemed much more worried than Siwan.
She knew that her grandfather must have made up his mind to tell the Americans on time, as agreed in March.
Ah Heng had also thought about this, but she felt happy instead. If Grandpa Yan, Dad Yan, and Mom Yan came back to take care of Yan hope, with family around, Yan hope's illness might get better soon.
Ah Heng knew clearly that Yan hope's pain stemmed from his parents.
When he was little, all his friends had parents, but he didn't. So, although he was usually arrogant and aloof, he always had a deep affection for his elders and was extremely filial to his grandfather.
His mother once told him that when Yanxi was eight years old, his grandfather fell ill and wanted to eat hawthorn fruit, but it was a wild fruit that grew deep in the mountains and was difficult to pick. The old man couldn't bear to trouble his men. Yanxi disappeared for two days and one night. When he came back, his face and hands were covered in wounds, and he was holding a handful of hawthorn fruit in his two little hands. His clothes were dirty and tattered. When asked where he had gone, he refused to tell the truth and was beaten by the old man.
Yan hope was a man who was most afraid of ghosts and gods. It is said that it would be a great act of filial piety to keep him in the mountains for two days and one night.
Her mother had also said that although Yan hope was now the closest to her, in the past, it was Lin Ruomei who treated her with the utmost filial piety. However, perhaps because Ruomei had gone to the United States in the past two years, he seemed to have grown quite distant from Lin Ruomei.
Should we treat our mothers as filial children...?
That person then gave something in return to the child who treated her like a mother…
She asked Siwan why she was in such a hurry, since Yanxi's parents had come back, wasn't that a good thing?
Siwan smiled bitterly—Yanxi only has one father and one mother, but Yanxi's father and mother do not only have one son.
Ah Heng frowned—they're all their own children, aren't they?
Siwan spoke somewhat awkwardly—when Yanxi was born, her aunt suffered a severe hemorrhage and a difficult childbirth due to her divorce from Uncle Yan. She almost died. Although the couple reconciled later, Aunt Yan never liked Yanxi. Later, when Uncle and Aunt went abroad, they left the still-weaned Yanxi with Grandpa Yan. Why was that? Although he was their biological son, they probably loved the one in America more than Yanxi, the son who almost killed her.
He continued, steeling his resolve—Aheng, do you know what "closer" means? It means that when it comes to a crucial moment, if you have to sacrifice one person, that person is undoubtedly Yan hope.
If they knew that Yan hope suffered from hysteria, and that psychotherapy and medication were not very effective...
Ah Heng felt as if she had been doused with ice water from head to toe.
Siwan closed her eyes—if it were Grandpa Yan, it would be better, but her uncle and aunt would definitely not tell him, in case the old man was traumatized. If that happened, Yan hope would be sent to the hospital for forced hospitalization.
Forced hospitalization?
The image of an unnumbered patient smiling and clapping while looking at the blood slowly surfaced in her mind.
She asked Siwan, "What should I do?"
Siwan sighed and ruffled Aheng's hair. "Your surname is Wen, and his surname is Yan. The Yan family's power is no less than the Wen family's. If a Wen family daughter were to raise a Yan family son, how awful would that sound? Do you think Grandpa would allow it? Do you think the Yan family would allow it? Aheng, Aheng, what can you do? You're just a child, what can you do?"
Ah Heng cried and went home, holding Yan hope's hand—Yan hope, can't you get better soon?
I know that Yanxi is very well-behaved and won't bother other people's lives, but what if others don't know that?
Yan hope's father returned to China on a day in May.
The first time she saw the man, he was very tall and handsome, just as good-looking as Yan hope.
His demeanor was elegant and poised, but his relationship with the Wen family wasn't particularly close—at least not as close as Grandpa Yan's. However, he brought many valuable gifts, claiming they were for his grandfather.
I also gave her many beautiful and fashionable clothes and designer perfumes that are rarely seen in China.
He smiled and said to her, "Aheng, Yanxi has been troubling you these past few days."
Ah Heng stared blankly at him, feeling empty inside—your smile looks a lot like Yan hope's.
Grandpa looked at her, not saying a word in front of outsiders, but his face turned gloomy.
Yan hope hid behind her, secretly glancing at the man in front of her with her big eyes. She had no recollection of him, so she lowered her head and began to fiddle with the silver seven-linked rings in her hand.
This was a toy that Aheng had just bought for him, intended to attract his attention and coax the house number out of his hand. She smiled and pointed to the empty space in front of the door, saying to Yanxi, "Yanxi, our house is all bare, it looks terrible. Everyone else's house has a house number, but ours doesn't. What if I get lost if you don't lead the way and I can't see the house number?"
He looked at her blankly, thought for a while, and then hesitantly handed her the doorplate in his left hand. Then, he lowered his head, rubbed his nose, and made a face that looked like it was in a lot of pain.
Da Yi rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath—it's really not nice to coax a child, Wen Heng, but only you can make Yan hope…
He couldn't bring himself to say the rest.
Only Ah Heng could make Yan hope make an exception, whether before or after his illness. What difference does it make if they share two different surnames? What's the greatest distance in the world compared to that...?
Yan hope's father was named Yan Dingbang, which is similar to Wen Heng's father's name, Wen Anguo. Perhaps the two families agreed on the name together.
Perhaps, they are meant to be brothers.
Perhaps they still want their children to be together for a hundred years, but what does that really mean?
Looking at Aheng's face, her voice barely audible, her father sighed and forced a smile, "Aheng is a good girl. I'm very happy that she gets along well with Yan hope."
Mr. Wen also tried to save face – “Yes, it’s a good thing that the children get along well.”
“However,” Father Yan began, “Yan Xi is currently ill and emotionally agitated, which might hurt Aheng. I think…”
Ah Heng's voice was a little loud—"No, Yan hope never hurts anyone!"
Yan's father, feeling awkward and unsure what to say, gently stroked Yan hope's head.
Yan hope felt uncomfortable, so she used her hands to pull away and hid behind A Heng, revealing her big eyes and a shy yet obedient appearance.
Because of the Wen family, Yan's father couldn't say anything else, so he said some polite words and left.
But Wen Lao called Aheng into his study.
Aheng instructed Yanxi to sit on the sofa and play the seven-link puzzle.
The old man's expression was somewhat unpleasant. "Aheng, I know you and Yanxi have a good relationship, and I understand your feelings. However, we are outsiders and it's not appropriate for us to interfere in other people's family affairs. Do you understand?"
Ah Heng lowered her eyes—"Grandpa, can't I take care of Yan hope and prevent him from going to the mental hospital?"
Old Master Wen, filled with anger, rebuked, "Nonsense! He's so sick, and you still have to go to school. How much energy do you have to take care of him? My granddaughter has a bright future ahead of her; how can she be ruined by someone else! Besides, with his appearance and this mental illness, he almost killed his own mother right after he was born. He's practically born to collect a debt from the Yan family! Our Wen family has never wronged the Yan family, from the past to the present. Although they have been kind to us, we have repaid them enough over the years. How could our family possibly repay their debts!"
For the first time, Grandpa spoke to her so clearly and without any room for negotiation.
Beauty without fortune, bringing misfortune to her parents—has Yan hope already committed... an unforgivable crime?
Ah Heng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and she couldn't cry either. She stood there, and everything in front of her was gray.
She went outside, only to see Yan hope standing at the door, the seven-linked rings in his hand falling to the ground.
Ah Heng bent down to pick up the seven-linked rings, and tears instantly streamed down her face.
Seeing the red canvas shoes on the boy's feet, she picked up the seven-linked rings. With great difficulty, she stood up, smiled, and handed them to Yan Xi—"Why are you standing here?"
He didn't speak, but held the seven-linked rings in his hand, his fingers crystal clear as if transparent. He gently touched Ah Heng's eye socket and whispered, "Water."
Ah Heng took his hand, looked into his eyes, which were clean and innocent, seemingly devoid of emotion, yet also showing a hint of confusion.
She laughed—"How silly, those are tears, not water."
He mimicked her perfectly, suppressing his emotions while smiling.