Whether Siwan likes Yanxi or not, is it up to her to decide? She liked him in the past, she likes him now, and she might continue to like him in the future. Is it even useful for her to think so much?
Can she tell Siwan not to like Yanxi, that you are a man and you are not a good match for him at all?
It's better to say it to yourself than to say it to Siwan.
Wen Heng, don't like Yan hope. So what if you're a girl? Does being a girl make you a good match for him?
He shook his head, picked up Siwan's luggage, and brushed off the grime on it.
Siwan seemed to have a lot to say, but after thinking quietly, she didn't know where to begin. She just looked at Yanxi with a deep and thoughtful gaze.
Yan hope's mind raced, but she calmed down, smiled, and patted his shoulder—"Is university fun? Are there lots of pretty girls?"
Siwan gave a perfunctory reply: "Mm."
Yan hope spoke earnestly, stroking his non-existent beard—"Young man, is there anyone you like?"
Siwan quietly looked at Yanxi's features, so handsome, but didn't hear what he asked—"Hmm."
Yan hope chuckled slyly—"You dare say that? Be careful, or Lin Wanwan will fight you to the death!"
Si Wan smiled, lowered her head, put her hands in her trench coat pockets, and said unhurriedly, "I broke up with her a long time ago."
Yan hope was stunned, and some fragmented images floated through his mind. Afraid of touching a sensitive spot, he coughed and said, "Well, there's a saying, 'There are plenty of fish in the sea.'"
Siwan whispered, "Have you found Fangcao?"
Yan hope smiled – “What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly.”
Siwan looked up, her eyes filled with the warmth of sunlight, and two large dimples at the corners of her lips—"It's nothing. I was saying, Yanxi, let's go to Q University together."
Yan hope continued to smile – “You know my grades. I’ve wasted a year, so I definitely have no chance at Q University.”
Siwan frowned – “That’s not a big problem. Grandpa has three Q University recommendation slots every year, which were originally reserved for us. But, do you really have to take the exam this year? Why not postpone it? After all, there’s so much knowledge to learn…”
Yan hope put her hands behind her head and mumbled a reply—"Without some familiar faces, high school will be so boring, so boring... Auntie's period, little meat shreds, little fat cat, big cat..."
Siwan murmured. Da Yi, Chen Juan, and so on, she mentioned everyone in the class, but she forgot one person.
Is it because it's too unimportant to mention, or because it's too important to say?
Siwan squinted – “Yanxi, why did your illness suddenly get better?”
Yan hope reached out and struggled to pull off his scarf, only to be glared at. Not far away, a girl was staring intently at his hand. He awkwardly lowered his hand—"Is this too sudden? I've been trying to fight Pinocchio the whole time."
The boy thought for a moment, then became more and more excited as he spoke, spitting as he spoke—"That guy kept complaining about a sore nose, completely ruining my elegant and beautiful image. I was kind-hearted and thought I would let 'him' have his way, but 'he' was too weak and couldn't take a beating. Everyone strongly urged me to come back, so I came back."
Si Wan smiled, slightly raising her chin, her expression a mixture of understanding and a touch of sadness.
Who is this person, calling out "Yan hope" tirelessly every day, even in their dreams, with such earnestness, warmth, and sincerity?
He was once defeated by his own sister and had to flee in a sorry state.
That girl had been so busy and exhausted that she would call out for Yan hope even in her sleep.
Yan hope, Yan hope, Yan hope, Yan hope, Yan hope...
Then, he watched as the boy who had been playing with the seven-linked rings forgot to play with them, gently knelt down beside her, smiled innocently, tilted his head, and lightly and devoutly kissed her eyelids.
He watched with his own eyes as the boy, chin in hand, opened and closed his mouth, babbling incoherently, practicing tirelessly, his efforts so arduous, all he could manage to utter were two words.
Ah Heng.
Chapter 52
It was already the Spring Festival of 2001.
After Yan Dashao recovered, Aheng urged him to report his safety to the United States. Yan hope smiled and said, "What's there to report? There are countless people who are worried about my little troubles."
Ah Heng thought about it and nodded, that made sense. Although Yan hope might not be favored by his grandfather, he was the apple of his grandfather's eye, raised from a young age with great care.
To put it bluntly, Grandpa is always worried that Yan Xi will take Si Wan to outer space. Although Grandpa Yan doesn't say it, he probably thinks to himself that Si Wan is always clinging to Yan Xi.
As the saying goes, every child has their own place, and everyone loves their own child.
Ah Heng smiled – Yan hope, you are actually very lucky.
Yan Xi, tears welling in her eyes, rattled off a stringed instrument that seemed to have been pulled from nowhere—"Miss, listen to my story! I was born in a remote mountain village. When I was four years old, my family had games and money, and life was carefree. But then my aunt, when she got angry, became shameless and colluded with the adults, acting like she owned the place. She took my games and stole my allowance. I complained to the kindergarten, and my grandfather turned on me, saying I wasn't united and was causing a family split. He said Li Denghui was actually my biological father, and I was brutally beaten with a stick. Aunt Li scolded me for deceiving the people, and gave him all my snacks, hiding them behind the TV and under my pillow for half a year, leaving not a single candy crumb. Finally, I bravely refused to give up and went on a three-day hunger strike until my eyes were blinded. And then there's that little Wen Siwan from the Wen family, good at studying but stupid, always clinging to me 360 days a year. He gives me candy and sticks, even following me to the toilet. In kindergarten, when they give out red flowers, it's either him or me. Every time, I get beaten by my grandfather, beaten by my grandfather, beaten by my grandfather!!!" Why did you say, Miss, that I am very happy, that I endure humiliation and hardship, and swallow my pride and blood?
Ah Heng was drinking tea when she suddenly spat out a mouthful of hot water. Pointing at Yan hope, she couldn't get the words out for a while. She had a stuffy nose from her cold, but she almost fainted from laughing.
Yan hope patted her back to help her catch her breath, then rolled his eyes—he really had no sympathy.
Ah Heng smiled, tears welling in her eyes, her face flushed like a peach blossom, and her voice nasal as she said, "I'm sorry, I thought I would be more compassionate than you imagined."
Yan hope's big eyes curved into crescents, her eyelashes long and thick. With a hint of helplessness, she handed over the cold medicine—"Daughter, the bedtime story is over, it's time to take your medicine."
Ah Heng smiled, poured a few bitter-looking brown pills into her mouth, tilted her head back, swallowed them, and then drank water from Yan hope's hand in one smooth motion.
Yan hope was speechless – "Isn't it bitter?"
Ah Heng smiled, looking down at his hand holding the glass. It was slender and fair, with light pink nail polish. As she looked at it, her eyes softened—it wasn't bitter. Who else would treat taking medicine like torture, like you?
When he was suffering from hysteria, he would run ahead while she chased after him, holding a handful of pills. Every day, she would run around the huge yard several times just to catch him and make him take his medicine.
Yan hope stared at Aheng with great admiration.
Ah Heng smiled, feeling a little tired. Leaning against the bed, she closed her eyes. In her blurry vision, Yan Xi gently covered her with a blanket. Remembering something, she grabbed the boy's hand, fighting off her drowsiness, and opened her eyes—"Yan hope, bring me your physics textbook. You haven't had any extra lessons today."
Yan hope glared fiercely, her eyes wide—"Hey! What tutoring? We'll talk about it when you wake up. You're sick, and you're still worrying so much. You're so young, be careful you don't get gray hair. If you're ugly, no one will want you, and you won't be a good wife and mother, you know that!"
Yan hope knew that Aheng's ultimate goal in life was to be a virtuous wife and loving mother—that was all there was to it.
Ah Heng suppressed a laugh, but remained serious—who said no one wanted him? Someone from the next class confessed to me yesterday.
Yesterday, after the exam, a boy from the next class, who always ranked fourth in the grade and was always a few points behind Aheng, went to pick up her final report card. He blushed and handed her a letter. He was wearing perfume, and his handwriting was neat. He said he had liked her for a long time because she was pretty, gentle, and a good student. He asked her to go to the movies tomorrow.
Yan hope gave a forced smile – “You don’t need to wait. Just stay home and rest tomorrow. He won’t be going to the movie theater.”
Ah Heng was stunned—Hmm?
Although she politely declined at the time and didn't plan to go the next day, how did Yan hope know about the movie theater? She didn't remember mentioning it.
In fact, the scene was like this: a man confessed his love in a shy and incoherent manner, while Aheng listened patiently with a smile, glancing at her watch from time to time. There were also two other people huddled in a corner not far away, forming a human pyramid.
One was Aunt Xin, and the other was Shredded Pork from Chen.
One person repeats the story, and another person makes a phone call.
"Well, my beauty, let me tell you something. There's some unknown creature not far from me, threatening your daughter to go to the movies with him the day after tomorrow, or he'll get the mafia to take you out. Your girl's terrified and crying right now. Yes, my beauty, you'd better watch out. You're the one who asked me to keep an eye on her. Don't forget what we talked about before, Quanjude, I only eat the most expensive duck. What? You're coming over in a taxi, with a cleaver? Huh? It can't be that serious, can it? Cough cough, well, I'm hanging up..."
Then, the two boys ran away with their heads in their hands. After refusing the boy next door, Aheng left the school. The boy watched Aheng's figure disappear into the distance and wept in the cold wind.
Then, not far away, a kitchen knife was swung over. A beautiful woman smiled and glanced at him sideways—"This eternal fourth young master, would you rather watch a movie or live?"
The beauty was breathless and sweating, but her beauty still dazzled the young boy.
So dazzling...
"Um, can I choose to watch a movie with you?"
"Oh, so this young master doesn't want to live anymore."
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The Yan family never lacks fireworks for the New Year. The servants send so many that they're piling up at home, which is a real problem. It's better to give them to the children to play with.
Siwan and Aheng have always been steady and mature beyond their years. The two children just laugh it off, putting on an act in front of their parents, just to make a scene. Yan Xida, however, is different. He has been mischievous since he was a child, playing with firecrackers all his life. He is always enthusiastic about setting off firecrackers and fireworks.
Si'er continued to sneer and fan herself—"How old are you already...?"
Ah Heng solemnly corrected: "Though old in age, the heart remains young."
Then I sighed, realizing that I'm about to turn eighteen. Time really flies. But why are there always some people in this world who like to act young?
Yan Xida pretended not to hear, his face covered in ash, but his smile only grew brighter.
Siwan frowned, biting her nails, as if remembering something—"Should we invite Chen Juan to our house for the New Year? He's all alone, all lonely..."
Siwan has a habit of biting his hand when he's thinking, which is quite childish, but it's also cute because it overturns his usual mature and gentlemanly image.
Da Yi lifted his face from the cannon fodder and coughed violently—Wen Siwan, are you deliberately trying to mess with me? I finally don't have to go to school or face those damn transvestites!
Ah Heng smiled gently and kindly—"Weren't you two eating together peacefully at Quanjude just a few days ago?"
Da Yi felt guilty; Aheng probably knew about his stalking with the transvestite. However, upon further reflection, he became angry again—who was he on good terms with? He only had one roast duck, and after I went to the toilet, there wasn't even a feather left. Yan hope, that miser, never spends a penny; do you think it's easy to get a meal from him?
Yan hope scoffed, "Xin Dayi, you can be any more shameless!" ╮(╯_╰)╭ He wiped the dust off his face with his sleeve and said, "I have to go."
Siwan frowned – “I haven’t seen you stay at home properly these past two days. Where have you been?”
Yan hope turned around, waved his hand, too lazy to answer, and left gracefully.
Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Aheng, who smiled and said, "Don't look at me, I'm not that familiar with him."
So, how do we know where he went?
Everyone—Get out!
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Ah Heng smiled, but she wasn't lying.
Yan hope would disappear around 1 p.m. and not return until 7 or 8 p.m., smelling of all sorts of strange aromas. He would glare at the table with the eyes of a wolf and pounce on it with the speed of an eagle, not looking up until he had eaten every last drop of food.
She didn't ask him where he went, after all, the People's Republic of China is a democratic country, and we value civil rights and privacy, cough.
However, during evening tutoring, Yan hope kept pouting and complaining that the amount of material to learn was twice as much as before.
Ah Heng chuckled and pretended not to hear.
This was a small punishment. It was the price he paid for placing her under the guard of others.
Having finally finished his studies, Yan hope felt utterly exhausted and lay motionless on the bed.
The boy seemed to remember something, his eyes turning cold and disgusted. He then rested his chin on his hand and lazily said, "Aheng, could you clean my ears? They've been itchy all day."
Ah Heng found the ear pick and kicked him, but he curled up next to Ah Heng like a cocoon, rested his head on Ah Heng's lap, exposed his right ear, closed his eyes, and pretended to be dead.
Ah Heng was speechless. Just as she was about to help him clean his ear, she narrowed her eyes as she looked at the small, barely noticeable patch of rosy red on his jade-like, transparent ear.
I rubbed my hand against it; it felt sticky and had a sweet scent—it was lip gloss.
Ah Heng's lips twitched, her heart pounding with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow.