Yan hope was somewhat disappointed—"Is this how it ends?"
Ah Heng glanced at the clocks hanging on the walls—"There should be one last scene."
In the final scene, the curtain is drawn back, revealing Lulifer, still impoverished and destitute. He has not gained any wealth or honor from the inspiration bestowed by the Muses. He continues to wander through the vulgar and dirty alleys, his movements always clumsy and slow, gazing blankly around. He does odd jobs, working hard and arduous tasks for a piece of rough bread. All the large blocks of time he used to reserve for painting are now spent in silent daze.
Then, the endless mockery and disdain of the Muses in the temple returned.
When she stepped back into the mortal world to inspire another poet, the man, Lulifer, had already returned to dust forever.
The noble goddess, upon seeing the epitaph, felt her eternally proud, beautiful, and ageless face age instantly, overwhelmed with grief.
It read: "Laughable madman, the blind painter lulifer."
He didn't want the inspiration she gave him; he preferred to never see his own inspiration. He abandoned the man who belonged to the painter and became simply a lulifer.
Lulifer, caught between a flustered and innocent smile, fell in love with that beautiful, pure figure at the first light of dawn.
A permanent farewell.
"This man is too foolish," Ah Heng shook her head.
"This goddess is too wicked," Yan hope sighed.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
She always sees things from a woman's perspective, and he unconsciously adopts a man's way of thinking.
Suddenly I feel melancholy. Why do we have to watch such tragic things?
Mo, life is so beautiful. There are spare ribs, "Detective Conan", a broken piano, and a radio. Our complete life is here, not the oppression stuck in our throats on the stage, right?
"How long has it been since you had a proper cry?" Ah Heng thought of the emotional appeal of the counselor on the radio.
This statement holds true everywhere. Yes, I think we watch this sad drama of separation and reunion simply to find a reason to cry.
Yan Xileng: "I cried just the day before yesterday, you forgot? The time I pressed my foot down while lifting the piano."
Ah Heng laughed, chuckling. She'd never seen anyone so clumsy. He couldn't even lift a piano without getting crushed by its legs. And to make matters worse, he started wailing for half an hour straight, even prompting Xin Dayi, who lived on the other side of the courtyard, to call—"What's wrong, Ah Heng? Your little gray dog got pinched by braised pork rice again? Pshaw, such a clumsy, crybaby dog, just throw it away! We'll get you a purebred Husky later; its crying will definitely be better than this wolf-howling pup!"
Yan Xi wiped away his tears as he sharpened the kitchen knife. "I'll kill you!!!"
Ah Heng was laughing so hard she almost fell over, holding Little Gray. Unfortunately, Little Towel was unaware that she was also the star of the show, staring blankly at the braised pork rice swirling around her head.
The braised pork rice brushed against its fur, its little black eyes darting around with disdain—"Stupid dog, look at my fur, I'm cursing you!"
It was already evening when they left the theater. The two walked along the streets in early autumn, where there was a slight chill in the air.
The popcorn wasn't finished; it had cooled down and stuck together in my hand.
Yan hope remembered something, reached into his pocket, rummaged around for a while, and then held out his hand. In his palm was a white, transparent marble.
"Little Shrimp asked me to give this to you. The kid said he fought for a long time at school before winning it."
Ah Heng picked up the marble—"Why didn't you give it to me yourself?"
Yan hope put his hands behind his head—"Isn't it because I'm afraid you'll scold him for being playful and not studying properly?"
Ah Heng carefully clasped her hands together and smiled—"When did I ever scold him? This is truly an injustice."
"Grandpa He's health hasn't been very good lately," Yan hope changed the subject, her tone somewhat stiff.
Ah Heng remained silent. She knew this too. Grandpa He had been coughing badly lately when he was setting up his stall. Every time she went to buy groceries nearby, she would greet him from a distance and see the old man's pained expression, yet he would still cough and greet her.
"If only it weren't for a small fry," Ah Heng said with a hint of melancholy.
Yan hope glanced at her. "What?"
"The shrimp is so small. If it were me, I could definitely support that family." She sighed, with a hint of regret.
"Excuse me for interrupting you, Miss Wen. You seem to be only a year and a half older than He Xia," Yan hope sneered.
Ah Heng, with her good temper, glanced at him calmly and smiled. Where did this anger come from now...?
"Yanxi, what if Grandpa He..." Aheng couldn't help but think the worst. Although Grandpa He was usually in good health, he was at the end of his life and couldn't afford to have any mishaps...
Yan hope smiled and said, "That's exactly what I wanted to say. Ah Heng, if we have an extra pair of chopsticks at home in the future, will you find it difficult to cook?"
Ah Heng was a little dazed, Yan hope's words kept swirling in her mind, and in the end, only two words remained in her mind—home.
Oh, is that the place where Yan hope lives, and also Aheng's home?
Have we reached the point where we need to consult her as if she were a family member?
"Yan hope, who am I? Who am I?" she asked him, her voice broken, her eyes welling up with tears.
This sentence is not funny at all. She can no longer smile with the same loneliness as when she looks at her mother Er'er. She can only nervously fidget with her hands and feet.
Yan hope sighed, stretched out his hands, and hugged her tightly.
"Who are you? Let me think. You are Yun Heng, who can't go back to the past, and Wen Heng, who can't move towards the future. You are A Heng, who only has Yan Xi by her side. You are a relative who might go crazy and abandon all of Yan Xi's family at any time. Which one do you want to be?"
My darling, when I stopped calling you Wenheng a long time ago and only called you Aheng, which one would you choose?
My dear, when I deliberately call you "daughter" and keep mentioning our Aheng, which one do you choose?
I often compare them, wondering which one sounds better, which one makes me feel like I'm no longer an adult who can shoulder all responsibilities, and which one makes me feel like a child who can still act spoiled. Which one can make my Ah Heng happier?
I often feel that I am narrow-minded and too cynical. This world has treated me so unfairly. But you have been suppressing my hatred, all this time, and it has been so hard for you. I'm thinking, what better way is there than to repay you with the affection you so desperately need...?
Chapter 39
That day was a late autumn weekend. Even with the faint sunshine, the autumn wind still blew the sycamore leaves to scatter.
When Yan hope put down the game controller, answered the phone, and then hung up, he hurriedly put on his beige trench coat and rushed outside.
"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? You're not even going to eat?" Siwan was a little dumbfounded. He and Yanxi had been playing games all morning and were feeling dizzy. Aunt Zhang had urged them several times to go down for lunch, but they were too busy with their game to get away.
"Eat!" Yan hope roared.
Siwan was startled by the boy's loud voice.
Then, the child ran downstairs with a thud, complaining as he ran—"Ugh, what an annoying girl! My green-haired monster was just past level 18 when she hung up on me with a phone call! Wen Siwan, take your girl away! I want a refund! A refund!"
He put on his shoes crookedly, and in a flash, faster than a rabbit, he disappeared without a trace.
That phone call was probably from Ah Heng, telling him to come home for dinner.
Siwan stroked her brow, muttering helplessly, "Return it? Are you willing to do that?"
Those two continued their lives as before, neither good nor bad. Although Aheng's warm smile was the main theme of the story, Yanxi would definitely get scolded for playing games until the food got cold.
"It's the weekend, and I'm going to tutor Xiaoxia this afternoon." After heating up the food, Aheng picked up her schoolbag and headed towards the entrance.
"When are you coming back?" Yan hope's mouth was stuffed full—"Still four o'clock?"
Ah Heng glanced at his watch, frowned, and smiled—"Not necessarily. I'm thinking of helping Grandpa He watch his stall for a while today. But I'll definitely be back before dinner."
Before he could answer, she hurriedly left the house.
Yan hope watched with his own eyes as A Heng left home completely and cleanly.
Later, Yanxi kept regretting it, thinking, "If only I hadn't been so busy at home figuring out how to get the green-haired monster through level eighteen. If only I had gotten to Grandpa He's stall sooner."
Although he knew he had a bad temper, he didn't actually get truly angry very often. But on that day, he felt like he could unleash all his violence on those people.
In the afternoon, before four o'clock, when she usually returned home, he received a phone call. The voice was somewhat serious—"Are you Wen Heng's family? She's had an accident..."
He was engrossed in playing a game and was distracted—what, what did you say?
By the time I came to my senses, my head was already spinning, as if I had been doused with a bucket of cold water from head to toe.
He yelled at the man, feeling his heart and lungs pounding—"Damn it, say that again!!"
The woman was startled—uh… while she was setting up her stall, the brakes on her tricycle broke down, and she crashed into a Mercedes.
Yan hope had never realized his imagination could be so vivid. He even pictured Aheng riding Grandpa He's tricycle colliding with the high-speed four-wheeled monster. His mind replayed the scene like a movie, with a loud "bang" of violent collision and the crushed scrap metal, playing back many times.
Which hospital?
"Huh?" The man was puzzled.
"I'm fucking asking you which hospital Ah Heng is in!" He held the microphone, his fingertips damp with sweat.
"Please come to the xx police station now. She's here." The man instinctively felt he had offended a plague, so he spoke concisely, hung up the phone, and wiped away his cold sweat.
When Yan hope rushed to the police station, his girl was squatting in the corner, her fair face covered in dust. When she saw him coming, she looked aggrieved almost instantly, then smiled guiltily at him.
A young police officer in a peaked cap walked over. Judging from his voice, he was on the phone calling home—"You must be Yan Xi. This girl asked me to notify you to come." Her tricycle had hit a man's parked car.
Ah Heng felt a little embarrassed, realizing she had really troubled the young man—Yan hope, I'm so sorry, so sorry…
"Get up." He ignored the policeman and stared directly at Ah Heng, his big eyes taking up almost half of his face.
Ah Heng hesitated for a moment, then stood up.
"Where are you hurt?" He looked at her, his tone flat, without much anger.
Ah Heng smiled with a clear and bright expression, shaking her head as she hid her arms behind her back.
"Hold out your hand," Yan hope said, something weighing on her mind that needed careful guidance.
She smiled, her voice soft and sweet—"It's just a small wound, it's nothing."
Then Yan hope looked at her, his beautiful big eyes fixed on her, stubbornly and persistently.
Ah Heng sighed helplessly and stretched out her hand.
On the back of his hand, there were two clear red and swollen marks, while on his wrist, the skin was scraped and the bruising was very obvious.
Then, he looked up, and she smiled at him, her smile gentle and warm.
Behind her, a well-dressed man walked over, exuding an imposing aura—"You're this little girl's family? Her beat-up tricycle crashed into my newly bought Mercedes, what are you going to do about it!"
Ah Heng felt apologetic and kept bowing – “Uncle, I’m sorry, the brakes broke. I didn’t mean to, I’m really sorry.”
The man was furious—"What good is saying sorry? What kind of excuse is a broken brake? If your brakes are broken, don't set up a stall!"
Ah Heng gently tugged at the man's clothes and cautiously said, "Uncle, please don't be angry. I will make it up to you."
He shook off Aheng's hand, looking at her with eyes that seemed to see something disgusting and filthy, his tone aggressive—"You're just a poor street vendor, can you afford to lose that? That's a Mercedes I bought for 300,000, not your beat-up tricycle! I'm not saying this to criticize you people, but being poor is one thing, but you can't even speak Mandarin properly, you have no manners at all. Sooner or later, you people will make the whole of B City dirty and stinky!!"
Ah Heng lowered her head and remained silent.
The young police officer coughed lightly a few times, feeling that his words had gone too far.