His fingers were long and slender, yet he clenched his fists without making a sound, saying that besides family and friendship, there was a third kind of affection in this world, easier to get close to than his grandfather, and easier to get used to than Da Yisiwan.
She nodded, her face flushed, and leaned on his lap, gazing into the distance, saying, "I know, love, isn't it? Love that's easier to accept than Aheng's."
Yan hope smiled faintly, "If this is all you can think of..."
She fell into a deep sleep in his arms, accompanied by the bright moon, the pure snow, and the rustling of bamboo.
He stroked her hair, his clean sleeve wiping away the moisture from the corner of her eyes, but helplessly, what do you know, and how much do you know?
It seems that only this one sentence remains.
That's how far away it is to reach Yan hope.
Forever, forever was just a little short...
**************************** Divider line **************************
After a three-day, two-night trip, when they returned to school, Yan hope was holding A Heng's hand when she unexpectedly saw a familiar sports car downstairs at the apartment building.
It's a Chevrolet from Lu Liu.
Yan hope remained silent and knocked on the car window.
The car window slowly rolled down. Ah Heng stood diagonally opposite, and Lu Liu's profile was clearly visible.
She thought, this is a self-disciplined person. His nails are always neatly trimmed, his eyes and brows are usually aloof, but he always shows the right expression at the right time.
He gazed into the distance, but coldly addressed Yan Xi—"Get in the car."
Yan hope laughed, "Didn't you guess that my departure would end like this, with Aheng?"
Lu Liu said, "Yan hope, listen to me carefully. You can marry, have children, and like a woman. I give you absolute freedom and respect your choices. But Wen Heng is out of the question."
Yan hope narrowed his eyes. How afraid are you of Wen Heng entering my heart?
Lu Liu smiled faintly, "I'm not afraid of her entering your heart, I'm afraid of her entering your soul. Yan hope, without a soul, you're dead. I've endured so many years, expended so much effort, not to benefit someone else."
He said, "If you're just trying to be my enemy, you can find some other toy to compete with this woman. I'm not interested."
Ah Heng was speechless. Ah, this woman seemed to be someone else. She coughed and said, "You guys can continue your discussion. I'll go upstairs first."
Lu Liu opened the car door and said to Aheng, "Miss Wen will probably have to go back too. Your father is ill and in the intensive care unit. Siwan can't reach you."
Ah Heng was surprised. When did this happen? What illness did Grandpa have?
Lu Liu smiled and said, "You've been away from home for half a year and haven't answered your calls. Si Wan is making a fuss about marrying his girlfriend. I went to wish Old Wen a Happy New Year last night and just found out that he was hospitalized on New Year's Eve."
**************************Divider***********************
When Aheng and Yanxi rushed to the ward, they learned that Old Wen had suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and had been sent to the emergency ward. Fortunately, the bleeding was less than ten milliliters, and he was unharmed. He had already woken up yesterday.
Siwan sat at the door of the ward, head down, unshaven, looking dejected, his eyes bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept in a long time.
Given Old Master Wen's status, his hospital room was naturally spacious and comfortable, and Wen Siwan wouldn't have been allowed to stand outside as a caregiver. Presumably, Old Master Wen simply didn't want to see him at all.
He glanced at Aheng, forced a smile, and said, "Aheng, you're back."
She looked at Yan hope again, but turned her face away and remained silent.
Yan hope clenched his fist, said nothing, and pulled Aheng along, knocking on the ward door.
It was Mrs. Wen who opened the door. She was initially delighted to see Aheng, but then paused, noticing Aheng and Yanxi's intertwined hands. She smiled and said, "Your grandfather is all better now, don't worry. I haven't seen Xiaoxi in a long time either. You talk to Siwan for a while, and let Aheng see her grandfather alone."
Old Wen's aged and steady voice came through, saying there was no need, and that they should all come in together.
Ah Heng went inside, looked at Old Man Wen, and examined him carefully, but her eyes became moist.
This old man, with a full head of white hair, had worried himself sick over his children and eldest grandson, taking every step with utmost care, for the higher one climbs, the colder it gets.
His face was already full of wrinkles, but she was extremely unfilial, and had not personally served her grandfather for a long time.
He leaned against the hospital bed and saw Ah Heng's eyes redden. He beckoned with his wrinkled hand, took her hand, and his eyes, still as sharp as a hawk's, were full of love—good child, it's good that you're back, why are you crying?
Ah Heng sniffed, lowered his head, wiped his eyes, and kept saying that he was bad, unfilial, and that he was the worst kind of person, Grandpa.
Old Wen laughed and said, "Nonsense! Who dares to mess around with my child? Your grandfather isn't dead, so no one can bully you."
Ah Heng shook her head. "Grandpa, I'm the worst. I'm disobedient. I always make you angry. I've never been obedient."
The old man, with pity, stroked her hair. "In my life, you and your brother are all I have left. You are my life. Everything I do is for your good, nothing is ever bad. Who doesn't love their child? I left you with the Yun family. When your grandmother was still alive, she couldn't mention you. She would cry as soon as she did. She would always point to the photos your mother sent and say to me, 'Our little Aheng has grown a little bit more.'"
Ah Heng burst into tears, saying, "It was my fault, I was so foolish, I was so immature, I was wrong, Grandpa."
The old man said, "I heard from your mother that you're planning to study in France. How are your preparations going?"
Ah Heng's eyes were red. In the blink of an eye, Yan hope was standing there, quietly watching her.
She said, "Grandpa, I want to be with Yanxi..."
At first, she stuttered a little, but later, she raised her head, her eyes gentle as water yet shining brightly, and said, "Grandpa, I want to be with him, for a lifetime. I want to marry him."
Old Master Wen spoke calmly, "I'll promise you a thousand things, but there's only one I won't allow."
He said, "The Yan family is not a match for our family." Xiao hope, what do you think?
The old man raised his eyes, his gaze sharp and piercing, looking at Yan hope with an almost stern and sinister intensity.
Yan Xi remained silent.
Old Master Wen said, "Yanxi, even though you are the eldest grandson of my best friend, I have never thought highly of you, as you know. People say young people are often spoiled, and in a family like ours, this is common and nothing to worry about. However, my granddaughter, Aheng, the daughter of the Wen family, although timid, ignorant, dull, and rigid from a young age, is still quite well-behaved and has never done anything out of line. If you two are together, there will inevitably be friction; you are really not a good match. Besides, Aheng is physically healthy..."
Moreover, Aheng's four limbs are still in good condition.
Moreover...
Yan hope's mind was in a daze, his lips were dry, and his ears were ringing again. He said, "I'm sorry, I have to go out for a bit. Grandpa Wen, let Aheng keep you company for a while."
I went outside, took out my earplugs, and casually threw them into the trash can in the hallway.
Go to the vending machine, three yuan for a can of coffee.
It's still piping hot.
It feels so warm in my palm.
Squeezing with five fingers, the silver aluminum can twisted and deformed under immense pressure, and brown liquid washed over black hair and eyebrows.
Siwan got up and said, "I really want to be your best friend for life."
Yan hope looked up, and Si Wan looked into his eyes, but was taken aback.
Yan Xi, who had never shed a tear even when he couldn't hear the world, now had something more sorrowful than tears flowing undisguised through his eyes.
He said, "Not only Wen Siwan, but also Xin Dayi and Lu Liu, I have never given up on my plan to be brothers with you for life."
Brown liquid flowed down his black hair, resembling teardrops.
He said, "What do you want? Power, money, status, influence? Fine, I have it all, I'll give it all to you, I've never been stingy. Even when I decided to save the Wen family, besides Aheng, Wen Siwan, did you really think you had no reason to do so? But what have you all given me in return?"
He suddenly burst into laughter. "Da Yi wants money? I'll give him thirty million. I've worked my way up in the entertainment industry, earned all my savings for my wife, and I'll give it all to him, leaving him nothing. Lu Liu wants someone to be by his side, someone who won't be lonely for the rest of his life. He's been scheming against me for twenty-five years and hasn't given up yet, but I won't stoop to his level. As for you, you'll never be satisfied no matter what I give you. Since you were little, you've wanted to rival Lu Liu, so whatever he has, you must get your hands on too—money, power, status, including me. You'll follow his example and scheme against me as well."
Siwan frowned. "Yanxi, what are you saying? I don't understand."
Yan hope held the aluminum can in his hand, and the protruding part cut his hand, the blood turning bright red, like a plum blossom just beginning to bloom, a shocking sight.
He looked at Wen Siwan, his eyes filled with sorrow, and said, "Why, why has no one, not a single good brother, ever asked me what I want? Asked me if I've saved enough for a wife? Asked me if I want to love a man? Asked me, 'I've schemed so much for you, yet you still fell for it, Yan hope, are you stupid?'"
In the snowy sunlight, he looked up and saw Ah Heng walking out of the ward, looking at him and smiling gently, just like when they first met.
He laughed too, at her, and tears streamed down his face.
He opened his mouth, his voice so low, so low it seemed to sink into an ocean of self-doubt, and he spoke.
No one told me whether I could marry Aheng.
Chapter 100
When Xin Dayi was twenty-four years old, he said something.
Those were the most hilarious things Ah Heng had ever heard while he was away in France, but his joy turned to sorrow and he cried.
He said, "If I could time travel, I would definitely tell my grandma, 'Please don't give birth to my dad. If you do, you might get a big, fat grandson, but it will drive your husband crazy.'"
—————————Epigraph
This matter needs to be addressed.
Although people don't really like the Xin-Chen couple, and find their relationship too cheesy, I can't continue the story if they don't address this issue.
Okay, let's travel back in time to many, many years ago, when Xin Dayi was a high school freshman. He met a girl—no, a boy—whom he liked.
This is a boy with a cross-dressing fetish. He says he has an English name, Rosemary.
Roses like Mary.
Xin Dayi's English wasn't good, but when they were kids, the four of them, including Lu Liusi and Wan, were all incredibly good at it. His grandfather even said, "You call your brothers so affectionately, why don't you learn some of that bird language from your brothers?"
Xin Dayi insisted, "Sir, this problem must be blamed on Yan Meiren'er. He's a rotten apple that spoiled the whole bunch. Besides, Yan Meiren'er's English isn't very good either."
Therefore, he has always had a strange attachment to English, and an even deeper attachment to those who speak English well.
Then, seeing roses, I was overcome with nostalgia, threw away my first love, and only to realize in the end that it was a dead end, a road of no return.
From childhood to adulthood, the only children he had were Wen Si'er, who was pretty, loved to act spoiled but was useless, and Wen Heng, who was neither pretty nor loved to act spoiled and was equally useless.
Looking around, the girls are all the same. In terms of looks, they're not as good-looking as Yan hope, they're not as good at pretending as Wen Siwan, and when it comes to cooking, forget it. Nowadays, apart from someone like Wen Heng, how many girls aren't waiting for their husbands to serve them?
When I was seventeen or eighteen, I went to a high-class club with a bunch of buddies from the neighborhood. That's what high-class brothels are all about. I learned about the relationship between men and women. Looking back, I realized that AV, BV, and CV, whether from Europe or America or Japan, are pure nonsense. The technology involved is too advanced for normal humans to produce.
Thus, the last line of defense collapsed.
Then, the woman, this road seemed to have reached a dead end.
As I was thinking this, I realized that I was surrounded by people who were either my deskmate, my enemy, my buddy, or my first love. I could see them as soon as I turned my head. Their faces were almost as good as Yan hope's, and they would even smile and lift the corners of their eyes. They were always walking arm in arm with me, and they didn't even smell bad. What a rare person they were.
Xin Dayi always felt that roses were rare, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
Yan hope went deaf after that incident. He and Hua'er drank from bottles until late at night, developing a unique style. They talked about everything from the wrinkles on Milu's face to the combined IQ of Clinton and Bush being 250. They developed feelings for each other while drinking. Chen Juan, back when I was a kid, I think I really liked you. They got good grades while drinking and ended up in bed together.
Between men, it's unclear whether they need to take responsibility or how, but since neither is married, they just make do.
I've made all the stupid things I could possibly do: squatting on the curb to watch the stars only to be caught in a sandstorm in City B; eating Häagen-Dazs, a favorite of young women, in the winter while working on architectural designs, only to have my lips numb from the cold; and in the summer, exclaiming "Damn, it's so beautiful!" while setting off fireworks, only to have mosquitoes immediately build nests on my arm.
And so, they made do for two or three years, starting from when Yan hope became deaf, until Yan hope braved the snow, took a train, and went to Jiangnan to find Wen Heng, who was not good-looking, did not like to act cute, and was useless.