Right and Wrong

"Every summer, at this time, after a light rain, the weather is neither too hot nor too cold," Jiang Qing said, her voice tinged with nostalgia. "Grandpa would pick the sweetest watermelon and send it to our house."

"He's amazing! He can tell whether a watermelon is a sandy or crispy one, and whether it's medium, eighty, or ten percent sweet, just by the sound of his palm hitting it."

"He is also a famous chef in our hometown village. Whether it is a wedding or a funeral, everyone likes to ask him to cook big pot meals. After eating, the guests all say that his cooking is the most delicious."

There were tiny stars twinkling in the girl's eyes.

"My grandfather was very skillful. He could weave bamboo baskets, straw mats, katydids, and straw rabbits. He also grew hawthorns. During the market, he would make homemade candied haws and run around with a straw stack on his back. He was very popular with the children."

Listening to Jiang Qing's words, Jiang Qing could already picture in his mind the image of a cute old man. He must love Jiang Qing very much, for the girl would smile happily whenever she recalled him.

"My grandmother passed away early, leaving my grandfather alone in the countryside. My mother wanted him to move in with us, but he refused."

Jiang Qing didn't understand at that time. She used her always-effective method of acting like a spoiled child on her grandfather. Her grandfather agreed to her in person, but when she wasn't paying attention, he sneaked back to the countryside. She was so angry that she burst into tears and shouted that she would never be friends with her grandfather again.

When her grandfather called, she ran over happily, stood on tiptoe to eavesdrop on the adults' conversation, and kept saying "I'll do it, I'll do it", completely forgetting her last resolution.

"When I was a little older, my parents were busy with the store and couldn't take care of me on weekends, so they sent me back to my grandpa's house."

"Grandpa took me to catch birds, make scarecrows, wash hawthorns, and dip sugar figurines. That year, I was naughty and covered in mud, and Grandpa always called me "Mud Monkey" and "Little Treasure"."

"I know. In grandpa's eyes, my mother is the big treasure and I am the little treasure."

Jiang Qing looked at Jiang Qing so much that Jiang Qing could easily see the light about to overflow from the girl's eyes, and her heart skipped a beat.

"That day, my mother had agreed to pick me up, but there was a problem with a batch of ingredients, so she couldn't come. But the next day was Monday, and I had to rush back to school."

"So, grandpa decided to take me back on his bike."

To this day, when Jiang Qing thinks back to that day, she still doesn't know how the accident happened. Her memory is hazy, filled with noise, confusion, and panic.

Her attention was drawn to the bright red fruits hanging on the branches on the hillsides on both sides of the road. She was caught off guard by a sudden collision and a loud brake noise. Little Jiang Qing was stunned and could only see her grandfather's broad back getting farther and farther away from her.

The soft skin collided with the rough cement road, and the moment the stinging pain came, little Jiang Qing's eyes were filled with tears.

But when she saw her grandfather lying on the gravel road on both sides of the road, blood spreading under his body and the soil quickly being soaked and turned blood red, she instinctively ran over, holding back her tears.

"I called the police."

The light from outside the window hit the glass, clearly reflecting the faces of the two girls. From Jiang Qing's angle, she could only see the long eyelashes of the girl next to her trembling slightly.

Jiang Qing really wanted to hug her, hug the little Jiang Qing from that day.

How helpless and scared she must have been. It was hard for her to imagine how such a young child could endure the pain, tears and fear to make the call.

The rest of that day was an extremely chaotic day for Jiang Qing.

The perpetrator fled, passers-by watched, sirens blared, and ambulances roared.

Little Jiang Qing was surrounded in the center, kneeling on the ground, her little hands tightly grasping the corner of her grandfather's clothes, and pressing the phone in her grandfather's pocket to her ear.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Mom..." Hearing the familiar voice, she burst into tears, gasping for breath, "Grandpa... Grandpa is not moving..."

"Then the police took me away. I cried myself to sleep and when I woke up I was in the hospital."

"I stayed in the hospital for many days, a really long time," she lamented. "Long enough for Grandpa's remains to be sent for examination, long enough for him to be cremated because he was going through legal proceedings, long enough for him to be buried, long enough for me to see him again. Long enough for me to see him in a mahogany coffin, his bones covered in blood and black marks from the burns."

Jiang Qing suddenly held Jiang Qing's hand tightly.

Jiang Qing smiled and indicated that she was fine. "My mother gave money to the crematorium staff to burn it gently, so grandpa's bones are still intact."

"The coffin is on the ground, the dust is scattered, and the fallen leaves return to their roots."

Jiang Qing placed her other hand on Jiang Qing's hand, and the warmth of their palms was transferred between them.

"My mother thought I didn't remember, so I chose to forget."

"I thought my mom came out, but she didn't."

When she witnessed Wang Hong's loss of composure, she realized at that moment that her mother had never gotten over the past.

Mom is just pretending to be strong, she has to pretend to be strong.

Because the person who treated her like a treasure is no longer here.

It was at that moment that Jiang Qing finally understood something.

"My mother thinks she was the one who killed grandpa. If...she could have put down what she was doing that day, if she had gone to pick me up, grandpa might not have died."

"But I also always feel that if I hadn't been there, if I had acted a little more coquettishly that day, delayed a little, or paid more attention to the vehicles on the roadside..."

"Jiang Jiang," Jiang called her softly, her eyes red, and she shook her head, "It's not like that."

Jiang Qing said: "I always wonder if everything would be different if I had been a second earlier or later."

"That's not the case," Jiang Qing held Jiang Qing's hand tightly, "Jiang Jiang, you can't think like that."

"Yeah, I can't think that way," Jiang Qing looked at Jiang Qing, staring into the girl's eyes. She said softly, "So Jiang Qing, you can't think that way either."

Jiang Qing was stunned. A tear slid down under the influence of gravity and landed on Jiang Qing's chin. It was about to fall, but the girl was unaware of it.

"I saw two calls on Jiang Chengping's phone." Zhang Yuexuan picked up a stone and threw it into the lake. It made a dull sound. She turned and said to Li Qingyun, "Do you know who they are from?"

Li Qingyun moved the corners of his lips, and had a vague guess in his mind.

Zhang Yuexuan didn't need his answer. "It happened at that exact moment, at that exact minute and second. It was just perfect."

"Jiang Qing called Jiang Chengping," Zhang Yuexuan closed her eyes slightly. "Even if she didn't know the first time, what about the second time?"

"Jiang Chengping has already turned around. What's going on?" Zhang Yuexuan said coldly. "What's so urgent about her that she can't wait even a moment and has to force us to speed up?"

Jiang Qing couldn't control the strength in her hands, and when she realized that she might have hurt Jiang Qing, she hurriedly let go.

Jiang Qing grabbed Jiang Qing with her backhand without dodging or evading.

"Mom is her daughter and I am her granddaughter. Mom never thinks it's my fault, and I'm the same. I never think it's Mom's fault."

"In this world, every minute and every second, someone is doing something perfectly normal, and every minute and every second, someone unfortunately has an accident."

"But Jiang Qing," Jiang Qing said each word with extra force, "We must all remember this."

"It's only when something unexpected happens that ordinary actions are forced and artificially tinged with tragedy."

"There's no right or wrong in the behavior itself, because—" the girl's eyes, set against the light, were as firm as water. "Those are the countless ordinary moments that make up our daily lives."

“It should not be condemned, nor should it be condemned.”

The girl's words were powerful, and she was speaking to Jiang Qing as well as to herself.

From the day she saw her mother crying, Jiang Qing realized that if she couldn't get over it, her mother wouldn't be able to either.

This hurdle, the barrier between us, always exists.

After so many years, thanks to her mother, Jiang Qing learned to face it for the first time.

Jiang Qing met the girl's sparkling eyes, and her thoughts once again returned to that day, a day that she would never forget in her life.

The sunlight from outside the window poured in, but it was not very warm. Jiang Qing just felt cold all over.

She curled up her body and buried her head in the quilt. Her heavy breathing hit the bedding. Jiang Qing felt stuffy again for a moment. Her head turned red and her headache became worse in the cold wind.

I got out of bed with difficulty and searched on the table, only to find that the medicine box was empty.

She sat on the chair, put her messy notes aside, and picked up her cell phone to make a call.

The call was connected quickly. Jiang Qing suppressed his voice and tried to be more natural.

"Xiao Yu, are you free this evening? Could you bring me some medicine? I'll just leave it with the guard and I'll pick it up myself."

"Oh, it's okay. One of my classmates is sick, and the medicine we have is effective. I asked her to try it."

"Okay, I'll call Dad then."

Jiang Qing hung up the phone and was about to dial the number when someone walked into the dormitory. She hesitated for a moment, then got up and went to the bathroom.

"Hey, what's wrong with her?" The person who came in was puzzled when he saw Jiang Qing's face was abnormally red.

"Who knows?" The girl who came in later glanced at the sketchbook on Jiang Qing's desk and said halfheartedly, "Maybe he's too aloof and doesn't fit in."

"It has nothing to do with us. Don't meddle in other people's business. Don't you even consider whether others are paying attention to you or not?"

"You don't like her because you think she threw all her things aside on the first day she came and occupied your empty bed."

The girl glanced at the person who spoke, "So, you want to help her condemn me?"

"That's not the case. We're not in the same class, so we're not familiar with each other. Hehe, we're better friends."

"Get lost!" the girl said angrily, "Talk normally!"

With a soft "click", the glass door blocked out all whispers.

Jiang Qing lowered his eyes and dialed the number he knew by heart. The call only beeped once before it was quickly picked up.

"Niuniu, what's wrong? Have you eaten at school?"

A familiar loud voice came, and Jiang Qing unconsciously smiled, and her voice became much softer. "I ate, just finished. I had sweet and sour pork ribs. There is a female chef in our school cafeteria who makes delicious ones. You must try it next time you and your mother come to school."

"Great," Jiang Chengping grinned even wider. "Schools in big cities are great. Like your previous school, there were only a few cafeteria windows, and I was worried you'd get a stomachache from the constant back and forth of dishes."

"Well, thank you, Dad," Jiang Qing said, her fingertips circling around the buttons. "I like this school very much."

"As long as you like it." Jiang Chengping felt that everything in front of him was extremely bright.

Trees are green, clouds are white, and traffic lights come in three colors: red, yellow, and green.

"By the way, what do you want from me?"