Chapter 72 Wait for me to come back

Xin Tianyi lived in Wang Fang's house for a while, and accompanied Wang Yuxiu to climb mountains and look at water every day.

They lived in a northern city without mountains or water. Wang Yuxiu had only seen the mountains and rivers of the south when he was young and on business trips. This time, after living in Wang Fang's house for a month, he truly felt the life in the south.

He is in good health, in good spirits, and speaks in a youthful voice.

When neighbors asked about it, they all said that Wang Yuxiu looked much younger than his age.

Changing his living environment did indeed give Wang Yuxiu a new lease of life, but after just one month, Wang Yuxiu couldn't stand it anymore.

He would look north every day and he missed his home.

It was not until the evening when Wang Fang and Li Zhiye were at home for dinner that Wang Yuxiu asked to go home.

Wang Fang and Li Zhiye tried their best to keep him, but Wang Yuxiu still insisted on his own idea.

Finally, he put down his chopsticks and said to Wang Fang, "I have to go home. Your mother keeps talking about Mingjie's college entrance exam, so I'm going to go see which school Mingjie has applied to. Also, it's time to harvest the grapes on the vines in the yard and make some wine. Your mother and I both like to have a glass with our meals."

After Wang Yuxiu finished speaking, he stood up from the dining table without even looking at anyone else.

Xin Tianyi watched him walk out.

As soon as Wang Yuxiu walked out the door, Wang Fang started crying.

She didn't dare cry out loud, so she could only hold it in, biting her lower lip. But the tears flowed like a dam bursting.

Family is always there to bring tears to one's eyes.

Li Zhiye comforted Wang Fang, and Xin Tianyi followed Wang Yuxiu out.

Wang Yuxiu was sitting in the yard. He had moved his chair to face north.

That was his home. Home was his place of pilgrimage.

…

Xin Tianyi was also thinking about the grapes on the grape racks. She said that if she didn't go back to eat them, her brother Mingjie would probably eat them all. She wanted to go home and sit under the grape vines, picking grapes and making wine with her grandfather.

Wang Fang and Li Zhiye did not try to persuade them to stay, but bought tickets for them and brought them a lot of local specialties. The next day, they sent Xin Tianyi and Wang Yuxiu away.

When they got home, Wang Gang looked at the grapes in the yard first. He smiled and said to Wang Yuxiu, "I only picked a few purple ones to eat. I didn't touch the others. I'm just waiting for you to come back and have a good feast."

Xie Mei and Wang Yuxiu planted these grapes together, and then added a trellis. Later, the wall behind the grapevines was covered with creepers and some loofahs. In summer, the entire wall is covered with loofahs, and inside the wall are these purple-red grapes.

Wang Yuxiu stood on a stool, placing the dangling bunches of grapes on the rack, muttering, "These bunches haven't been exposed to the sun. There are still a few green ones."

Xin Tianyi spent half a day cleaning up at home, and the next day she helped Wang Yuxiu make wine. She was busy all day and only had some free time after dinner, so she ran out to find her little friend.

Yuan Dabao was waiting for Wei Ran at his doorstep. Seeing Xin Tianyi turning out of the alley, he quickly said, "I was just about to call Wei Ran to your house to look for you. I heard you were back."

"Yeah. I packed up after coming back." Xin Tianyi looked at Yuan Dabao. "I didn't see you when I left. I just said goodbye to Wei Ran."

"I know." Yuan Dabao was a little flustered, as if he had a lot to say to Xin Tianyi, but he didn't know where to start, so he said anxiously: "Forget it, let Wei Ran come out later and let him talk to you. I can't explain it clearly."

Xin Tianyi looked at Yuan Dabao in surprise. After standing there for a while, Wei Ran ran out.

When he came out, he apologized first, "I couldn't finish my meal and my mom wouldn't let me out. Look at me, I'm sweating all over."

Then he looked at Xin Tianyi: "You are finally back."

Xin Tianyi felt her heart pounding. These past few days, she'd always felt like something wasn't right, as if something was about to happen. Feeling uneasy, she looked at the two of them and, for some reason, suddenly thought of Zhang Yang.

An indescribable thought flooded down from his head, and Xin Tianyi blurted out, "Zhang Yang?"

Yuan Dabao looked at Xin Tianyi in surprise: "How do you know it's Zhang Yang's business?"

Xin Tianyi's heart was about to jump out of her chest. It was the first time she felt so bad, so she immediately asked, "Is Zhang Yang not at home? What happened to him?"

"Don't worry, I'll tell you slowly." Wei Ran said quickly.

Zhang Mao had the accident a few days before Xie Mei passed away.

Originally, the exchange student period was only for one year, and in June, Zhang Mao's exchange career officially ended.

He planned to return home early to recuperate, but changed his plan at the invitation of a friend.

He decided to go on a graduation trip with the exchange students he went with and the friends he had made locally, a group of six people.

The trip lasted for a week. The six of them drove around the city and returned home after the trip.

But on the fourth day of the trip, Zhang Mao had a car accident.

At that time, the college entrance examination in China had just ended. After receiving the news, Zhang Liangping took his family of three to the provincial capital to the school where Zhang Mao was studying.

Due to communication and time zone issues, the family stayed in a guesthouse in the provincial capital for many days before finally figuring out the whole story. Then came the issue of follow-up treatment.

Of the several people, Zhang Mao's injuries were the most serious. After several days of coordination, the final decision was that Zhang Mao could not return to China for the time being and would receive treatment locally. He might need further rehabilitation later on, but whether he could still walk in the future would depend on the results of his treatment.

It was like the sky falling. The family received this notice in the guesthouse. Pei Juanjuan fainted on the spot.

On the day of Xie Mei's funeral, the three of them rushed back early that morning. Zhang Liangpeng didn't want to hear gossip, and he didn't want anyone to point fingers behind his back, saying that he had sent his son abroad and such a big incident had happened. So, he kept the matter to himself and his family, and didn't tell anyone else.

Wei Ran and Yuan Dabao only knew about this a few days ago. Zhang Yang told them when they were seeing him off.

Xin Tianyi felt dizzy. Something he had never imagined was actually happening.

She immediately asked, "Zhang Yang is gone? Where did he go?"

"He went with Aunt Pei to look after his brother." Yuan Dabao sighed. "Aunt Pei doesn't speak a word of English and can't take care of Zhang Mao by herself. Uncle Zhang can't stay with him long-term because of problems at the cotton mill. In the end, Zhang Yang went with Aunt Pei."

"Then when will he come back!" Xin Tianyi asked.

"I don't know." Yuan Dabao said, "We can only wait and see how Zhang Mao recovers and what news he has."

"Then he..." Xin Tianyi suddenly didn't know what to ask. His palms were sweating with anxiety. In panic, he bit his tongue again. "He's not going to school anymore?"

"It depends on the situation. If he can come back soon, that's fine. If he can't come back, he's probably going to school over there. I don't know."

"When Zhang Yang left, you happened to be heading south." Wei Ran pulled an envelope from his pocket. "This is a letter Zhang Yang left for you before he left. Let us give it to you."

"Letter?" Xin Tianyi quickly took it and opened it. The handwriting on it was very familiar.

Only four words.

Wait for me to come back.