"Yanxi, wake up quickly, we should go home."
One day, someone watched with the same envy as she gently held and coaxed her sleepy toy, saying, "Baby, wake up, it's time for kindergarten." He, on the other hand, just grabbed the toy and roughly squeezed it—"Hey, get up, get up! I never get this kind of treatment!"
She laughed. Silly boy, I used to spoil you like this too, but do you remember?
When he woke up, he was surrounded by a warm and pleasant scent. He opened his eyes, still groggy, and saw a person.
He looked at her, saw her eyes, so gentle, yet weary, as if no one had looked at him like that in a long time.
He rubbed his eyes, his large, clear eyes staring at her for a long, long time.
Then, he gently raised his head, his cool body temperature pressing a light kiss onto her eyelids.
A ticklish, soft kiss.
Then, like a child, he laughed, broke free from her embrace, innocent and shy.
Ah Heng was stunned, helpless, and didn't want to argue with him.
Because three months is enough for him to forget her thousands of times, and it would be a waste of her breath for her to put on airs and lecture him.
Then she guessed that he must have seen her as an angel spreading love and treated kissing as a mission.
And so, I laughed.
She took his hand and said, "Yanxi, let's go home."
He glanced at her, then lowered his head, swinging the seven-linked rings, looking at each small ring, lost in his own world.
It remains the same as before.
Looking up, I saw Grandpa and Dr. Zheng already standing in front of the ward.
She held his hand, and he obediently followed behind her, playing the seven-link puzzle intently.
Dr. Zheng's eyes lit up a little - "It's rare to see Yanxi being so obedient today. Usually, when she wakes up, she always cries and fusses for a while."
Aheng frowned – “Is Yan hope injured?”
She knew Tianwu's methods of dealing with patients; those who disobeyed would always be tied up and given sedatives.
Dr. Zheng looked a little embarrassed—"There was no bleeding."
Aheng lifted Yanxi's sleeve, revealing pale, thin arms covered in bluish-purple bruises left from being bound with hemp rope.
A pang of pain shot through her heart, and Ah Heng's face darkened. She said a few polite words, but the atmosphere eventually turned cold.
When Yan hope bumps into something, she always scolds the boy for being careless, but when he bumps into a railing or a chair, she always curses those railings and chairs ten or eight times in her heart.
Ah Heng said goodbye to the adults, saying, "Grandpa, we'll wait for you outside." With her head down, she cursed Dr. Zheng while pulling Yan hope's hand and walking outside.
Old Wen smiled, how could he not see through Aheng's little scheme? "Little Zheng, the child is spoiled at home, please don't take it to heart."
Dr. Zheng watched the two disappear into the distance and smiled slightly—"If it were her, how could I blame her? Does Old Wen know what Yan hope always cries about?"
Old Wen shook his head. He couldn't fathom it; the patient's condition was so recurrent—how could anyone have guessed that?
"Don't forget, don't forget, Ah Heng, Ah Heng, Ah Heng..." Dr. Zheng murmured, mimicking the boy's tone, his voice filled with sorrow.
He was so reluctant to part with his precious child, to forget his Ah Heng, but in the end, he gradually forgot.
He has forgotten how to speak.
So, how can I call him Aheng?
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She taught him to speak, and he looked at her, just smiling, his big eyes clean and innocent.
She fed him, pointing to the ribs—ribs, ribs, Yanxi, your favorite ribs, repeat after me, ribs.
Yan hope tilted her head, didn't speak, but opened her mouth wide and bit the spoon containing ribs that she had reached out to her.
She held the milk, deliberately not giving it to him—Yan hope, your chocolate milk, milk, this is milk, you can only drink it if you read it aloud.
Yan hope looked at her, dazed, but snatched the glass and gulped it down, making loud noises in his throat.
Ah Heng's lips twitched. That wasn't the right sound.
After thinking for a moment, she spoke gently and taught him again—"Yan hope, Yan hope, Yan hope, this is your name, you know, Yan... hope..."
She spoke in a drawn-out tone, making her pronunciation clear and pleasant, while carefully observing his expression.
He was somewhat bewildered, then thought about it very hard, and obediently handed her the remaining half glass of milk, reluctantly giving it up.
In his mind, milk and Yan hope were the same thing.
He thought Ah Heng wanted to drink his milk.
Ah Heng was frustrated and gave up on herself—"Ah Heng, where is Ah Heng? Never mind, if you remember, I'll take your surname."
The boy suddenly remembered something, smiled, his dimples appearing on his face, clapped his hands childishly, and gently lowered his head to lightly kiss her eyelids from a distance of six centimeters.
Cool and itchy.
Does "Ah Heng" mean "kiss"?
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When Aheng went to school, she could no longer take Yanxi with her because Yanxi had become afraid of going to crowded places.
Aside from a few regular concerts throughout the year, Wen's mother wasn't busy, so when Aheng was at school, she would take Yanxi into her home to care for her. She also bought Aheng a cell phone so that she could call her immediately if Yanxi cried or fussed.
Wen's mother always smiled—as if she had raised a baby all over again.
Si'er pouted – "Where would you find a doll that big?"
Ah Heng was very grateful to her mother, but Wen's mother shook her head with a smile—seventeen years couldn't even compare to two years, Xiao hope really is an ingrate.
Siwan seemed to remember something and felt a little lost. Looking at Aheng, she felt quite uncomfortable.
Following Aheng's instructions, Wen's mother taught Yanxi how to speak, but Yanxi always ignored her, sitting by the phone and staring at it without blinking.
The phone rang, and her large, dragon-eye-like eyes crinkled with laughter as she eagerly answered it. But it was always an unfamiliar voice. So she threw down the phone, pouted, turned away, leaving behind a gray shadow, utterly dejected.
Wen's mother laughed loudly—"My darling, even if it weren't for Aheng, you shouldn't have thrown the phone away!"
She became interested and taught Yanxi to memorize Aheng's phone number.
1-3-6-5-2-7-3-6-1-9-6, baby, did you remember that?
After reading it once, Wen's mother stopped and went to the kitchen when Zhang Sao called for someone.
When Yan hope returned, he was holding the phone, his mouth almost forming a heart shape with a smile.
On the other end, a gentle, soft voice called out, "Hello, hello, hello, is this Mom? Hello, is the signal bad? Mom, is Yanxi being disobedient?" It was Aheng.
Wen's mother stared blankly at the child's joyful and innocent face. The other end of the phone felt both far and near, and tears streamed down her face in an instant.
No, he is very obedient, very obedient. Every moment, every minute, every second, he thinks of you, even though he doesn't know how to say it or how to pronounce your name.
But you are you.
Chapter 50
Siwan passed the single-plank bridge in July with great success and was admitted to Q University to study finance. Among all the children in the courtyard, she was the top student. The Wen family was very proud, and as a result, everyone looked at Aheng with more enthusiasm.
Ah Heng originally thought that Si Wan would not leave home even if he went to university, because Yan hope was there. However, he packed his things and moved to the school's apartment.
On the day he left, Yan hope still hid behind her, his big eyes looking at Si Wan with a clean and innocent gaze.
Siwan reached out, her slender fingers still warm from the sunlight, wanting to touch the boy's hair, but he dodged and took a step back.
Siwan smiled, revealing beautiful dimples and bright, sunny eyes. He stepped forward and, ignoring the boy's struggles, hugged him tightly.
Then, he let go, allowing the boy with the big eyes, whom he had loved for many years, to shrink back into the puppet.
He said, "Aheng, I'm going to try to quit drugs."
Ah Heng looked up at him, her gaze gentle.
Siwan, he's letting go too...
Siwan smiled, her eyes filled with an indescribable pity—"Aheng, you're eighteen this year, aren't you?"
Ah Heng nodded cautiously.
"You'll be nineteen next year, twenty the year after, and then thirty. You'll get married, have children, have a complete family, and a good job. When you're forty, you'll worry about your children growing up, feel tired at work, and occasionally want to take a walk in the woods with your equally busy and hardworking husband. When you're fifty, your children will grow up and gradually leave home. You and your husband will rely on each other, sharing a life of mutual support. At sixty, you'll enjoy the company of your grandchildren and the bliss of family life. At seventy, you'll sit in a rocking chair, reflecting on your life. Perhaps when you close your eyes, this life will be over."
Siwan recounted the story calmly, glancing at Yanxi with eyes full of pain and struggle.
Ah Heng pursed her lips, feeling somewhat apprehensive. She knew that Si Wan was talking about the happiness she longed for, but she felt that something was missing.
She blurted out, "Where's Yan hope...?"
"When you were eighteen, he was seventeen; when you were nineteen, he was seventeen; when you are seventy, Yan Xi will still be seventeen. He may never grow up again in his entire life, while you will grow old without realizing it. Tell me, where will Yan hope be?"
The seven interlocking rings in Yan hope's smiling face gleamed with a cold, silvery light in the sunlight, quite dazzling.
She took a step back, smiled, and held the boy's hand, her fingers delicate and gentle—"After all, he's still alive, isn't he?"
Siwan chuckled softly, looking at the two figures under the banyan tree—"Aheng, I'm trying now to see if I can survive without Yanxi. One day, when you feel tired, or when Yanxi no longer depends on you, entrust him to me, okay?"
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Senior year began, and Xiaoxia got into Xilin University as she wished. Grandpa He, who was originally in poor health, became much healthier after the happy event. Da Yi no longer spun around the game console like a top and started to take things seriously.
Mary scoffed, "What are you pretending to be diligent for? Do you think a cow isn't a cow just because it's pulled to the west mountain?"
Da Yi slammed his fist on the table and swung his arm—"Teacher Lin, I can't sit with this damn transvestite! He's affecting my studies! Aren't you going to do anything about it?!"
Ms. Lin coughed, pretending not to hear—"Xin Dayi, don't make loud noises in class!"
The boys spat, "Auntie, don't you fucking treat a celestial being like a goddess. You must have accumulated eight lifetimes of good fortune to be sitting next to Mary for two years!"
Xin Dayi cried out, pointing, "I'll expose your gender sooner or later, you just wait!"
Meat sneered. What are you waiting for? Waiting for you to spread the news that Aunt Flo had a crush on a transvestite but instead willingly became the transvestite's submissive partner?
Xin Shao was furious. "Damn it! Even if I were gay, I'd still be the top, and the ultimate top at that!!!"
Shredded Meat scoffed – You're going to be the dominant one? The refrigerator or the game console?
Ah Heng choked on his saliva and struggled to suppress his laughter.