"Okay, the taste is just right."
"Would you like anything else?"
"No, thank you."
The chief physician's demeanor is truly exceptional; Hu Lu should definitely learn from him.
After dinner, Hu Lu and the doctor took out money to give to Dongdong as New Year's money, but I refused. How could I accept it? I could forgive Hu Lu, but she had helped me once, so how could I ask her for New Year's money for Dongdong?
Dongdong was very friendly to the doctor, calling him "uncle" repeatedly, which made Hu Lu, who was sitting next to him, so angry that she glared at him.
"This little guy will need to go to the dentist again after the New Year. He'll need two or three fillings; this time it's just that the nerve is rotten," the dentist reminded me.
"Thank you so much, I really went to your trouble last time." I thanked him again.
Not long after, Hu Lu and his colleagues left.
Anqi
The Zhang family elders still held hope for my marriage to Zhang Sijia. After leaving the soccer prodigy's house, I received a call from them, urging me to come for dinner that evening.
I brought a bottle of aged red wine. For a family like theirs, a practical gift is more effective than any other gift, because they have everything they need.
At the dining table, her mother had personally prepared the meal. This was truly a rare sight.
Zhang Sijia sat next to me, with his parents and sister sitting opposite him. I was chewing on the food his mother had made; it tasted delicious, comparable to what you'd find in a restaurant. However, to each their own, and I still thought the dumplings I had for lunch at the Captain Tsubasa restaurant were the best.
His mother seemed like a very virtuous woman. Even without a thick coat, her figure was clearly visible; she was quite slender. "Myna," if you didn't know she was the mother of a soccer prodigy, you'd never guess she'd given birth.
What I'm more curious about is why she got divorced. She's pretty, has a good figure, and a good temper. How could a woman like that be unwanted? You never know what the world is like.
"Anqi, eat more." Zhang Sijia's mother put another bite of food into my bowl.
"Thanks."
"No need to thank me, we're all family, why are you being so polite?"
The Feast at Hongmen.
My relationship with Zhang Sijia was entirely her own decision, and I simply respected it. If she didn't want to, I couldn't force her.
Zhang Sijia nudged my knee, hinting that I should help her. I told her parents what I meant; I didn't want to force her. If she found someone better than me, I would sincerely wish her well. As for our situation, it just meant we weren't meant to be. There was no point in staying any longer; it was their family's business, and I, as an outsider, should leave. Zhang Sijia smiled gratefully at me.
While driving, I was thinking about Captain Tsubasa's mother. It's such a shame that such a good girl was wasted. I had a funny thought: if Zhang Sijia had the same temperament and personality as Captain Tsubasa's mother, I wouldn't have let her go either; I'd have dragged her to marriage long ago. It's funny to think about; how come my thoughts have become like a myna bird's?
It was still early, so I called "Mynah" on his cell phone and dug him out of "Lily Chou-Chou's" boudoir.
"Grandpa, life is hard, and it's not easy to have this opportunity during the New Year. Please be kind enough to let me off the hook."
It wasn't hard to guess how disheveled he was from the voice on the other end of the phone.
"Want to grab a drink?" I admit I'm bored. Everyone's just doing what they're supposed to do during the Lunar New Year. I feel like I've suddenly lost my job and don't belong. Agrarian society was better; there weren't these kinds of worries. (laughs)
"Are you out of your mind? There are no bars around these days. Even if there were, I wouldn't go out. Alright, that's fine. I'll ask my mom to introduce you to someone tomorrow."
The guy hung up the phone very quickly; I guess he just turned it off.
I drove around aimlessly, hoping to stumble upon a bar that had been left unattended.
My phone rang, and the caller ID showed "Mynah's" number.
"Missing your brother?" Could this kid have been kicked out by "Lily Chou-Chou" and is now coming to me for comfort? I maliciously hope it's true.
"Go away, go away, I don't have time to waste with your nonsense."
"Changed gender?"
"Anqi, go to my sister's place right now, something's happened!" he yelled at me sternly.
"Something happened?" My mind went blank for a moment.
"They're just here to snatch the child. There's no one home. Hurry up, hurry up!"
"Oh, I... I don't..."
“Anqi, please help me with this. I’ll reward you handsomely. Lily Zhou is too fierce. She absolutely refuses to believe that the phone call was from my sister. If I leave now, I’ll never be able to date her again.”
Is this the attitude of an older brother?
Hurry up, hurry up!
They hung up on me again without giving me a chance to reply. Can I not go?
Captain Tsubasa, I only imagined your mom in my head, you can't treat me like this.
Anqi
The "myna bird" on the phone said that the soccer prodigy's mother was in trouble and that they were there to snatch the child. Are they her ex-husband's family? That bastard doesn't care about his own sister's situation and is still clinging to a woman's belly. The first thing I'll do when I get to work is castrate that son of a bitch.
Suppressing his anger, he sped off to the home of the young soccer player.
When I arrived at his building, I parked the car haphazardly and ran upstairs. Luckily, they lived on the second floor.
Before I could even go inside, I heard Captain Tsubasa's mom yelling from inside. A woman carrying something rushed out at lightning speed. I looked up and realized, oh no, it was Captain Tsubasa.
At that critical moment, I grabbed the woman and snatched the soccer player from her.
Upstairs, a man was blocking the soccer player's mother from coming downstairs. I got angry when I saw this, grabbed the child, and kicked him. The man didn't expect me to suddenly appear out of nowhere and was caught off guard, so I kicked him to the side. The woman, seeing that things were getting out of hand, immediately rushed upstairs again, hitting and cursing at me while holding onto the soccer player.
"Let go!!" the woman cursed and wouldn't let go, still pulling my hair with one hand. I felt a sharp pain and didn't know whether I should fight back. Luckily, the soccer prodigy's mother intervened and started fighting with the woman.
You wouldn't guess this little guy has such a fierce mother.
"Shameless little bitch, you've brought in some random guy to help you, haven't you?" The woman started cursing when she couldn't get the better of him.
"Zhang Qian! Call 110!" I handed the child back to her and pushed her inside, urging her to call the police. If this matter really escalates, it won't do her much good as a young woman.
Zhang Qian was surprised that it was me. "What are you waiting for? Go now!"
I argued with the two men outside the door. The man was particularly aggressive; he picked up a brick he was carrying and started hitting me on the head. Luckily, I dodged quickly and avoided being hit. The woman was even more savage; she picked up a broom from in front of the soccer player's house and started hitting me with it.
"Get out of the way!" Captain Tsubasa's mom yelled at me, and I quickly hid behind her.
The fierce mother took a basin and splashed water out, which landed right on the woman. Being soaked in the dead of winter must have been quite uncomfortable for her.
The two argued at the door for about half an hour before finally heading back home.
"Why didn't you call the police?" Is this guy crazy? Does he really enjoy being bullied?
The young soccer player cried and hugged his mother. His mother was in a similar situation to him, and the two looked more like siblings in distress.
What kind of situation is this? I feel like a wicked landlord bullying his young wife.
Zhang Qian
Dongdong's face was accidentally scratched by a fingernail during the fight. I took out the first-aid kit, took out iodine and cotton swabs, and applied medicine to disinfect Dongdong's face.
The cotton swab was applied to Dongdong's little face, and he, who had been sleeping, began to sob softly again.
"I'll take care of him, you hold him."
The kind doctor took Dongdong back into my arms and started cleaning his wound with cotton swabs.
I stole a glance at him; his expression was very serious. If it weren't for him today, my Dongdong wouldn't be here. I thought it would be Hu Lu, but instead, someone who was practically a stranger showed up.
He saw me at my most vulnerable and embarrassing, and I thought I could handle everything. I thought I could.
"Take off his clothes and check his hands and body for scratches," he said in a low voice.
I put Dongdong on the bed and quickly undressed him. Luckily, he wasn't pinched anywhere except his face. I tucked Dongdong into the quilt and then put a small blanket on top of him.
"Don't cover the child with a blanket, as it can make it difficult for them to breathe at night."
I pulled back the blanket and sat on the edge of the bed, watching Dongdong sleep soundly. It seems this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Dongdong is always afraid of strangers; he's afraid they'll take him away, afraid he'll never see his mother again.
The doctor next to me patted me on the shoulder and pointed to the sofa. I knew he wanted to talk to me.
Unexpectedly, he used a cotton swab to clean the scratches behind my ear. Didn't he ask me anything? Wasn't he curious? People usually treat this kind of thing as a joke, like watching a play. How many people would actually help you? Hu Lu is a good person, but he's not my brother, and he's not around to help me with everything.
“Look, I see you’ve been scratched behind your ear.” He pointed to my ear. “Put your hand out.”
I had almost forgotten about it until he mentioned it; I had also been scratched on the back of my hand. He carefully applied iodine to it, gently blew on it, and asked if it hurt.
He reminded me of when I was little, every time I fell and hurt myself, my mother would apply medicine like this and gently ask me if it hurt. But now, everyone has gone their separate ways.
He handed me a tissue, which I took, wiped away the water droplets, and rubbed my nose.
"Who are they?" he finally asked.
"The child's grandparents."
“If you get custody of the child, they can’t come and take the child back; they only have the right to visit.”
"No," I buried my head in my knees. How could I tell this stranger, whom I had only met a few times and just today, about my past?
He didn't ask any further questions.
"Thank you."
"fine."
"It's too late, I'm going home now. This is my phone, call me if you need anything." He took out a pen and a piece of paper from his pocket, wrote down a number, and gave it to me.
From that moment on, I remembered the name Anqi.
"Don't bother delivering them, it's too late. If they cause trouble again, call 110."
Anqi, thank you.
Anqi
On my drive home, I called "Mynah" again.