Chapter 816 Su Miao Extra 88: Happy New Year

The first day of the new year is the day for New Year’s greetings.

The nine students in the group are all around 40 years old. The youngest, Jiang Wen, is 38 years old this year. They have their own families. Some of them go back to their hometowns to celebrate the New Year holidays and wait until the holiday is over before coming to pay New Year's greetings to Su Miao. Those who stay in the local area will visit Su Miao after New Year's Eve.

Su Miao was the only one at home, with only a dog by her side. During the Chinese New Year, the neighbors were reuniting with their families and making a lot of noise, but Su Miao's home was the only one that was quiet, as if no one was there.

Jiang Wen is a local. After Qin Mo left, she contacted Su Miao most frequently. She would go to Su Miao's house from time to time, bringing her husband and children and gifts to visit her.

On the first day of the new year, Jiang Wen was still the first one to arrive. She had called Su Miao yesterday and said that she would come this morning. But no one answered the call before she left. She thought Su Miao must be busy, so she didn't think much about it and sent a text message instead.

Looking at the closed door, Jiang Wen reached out and pressed the doorbell. No one answered. She took out her cell phone and called again, but still no one answered. Suddenly, a panic rose in Jiang Wen's heart. She turned to look at her husband: "No one answered. Could it be that Master's Wife..."

"Pah, pah, pah, don't say such unlucky words on New Year's Day."

Jiang Wen didn't want to think too much about it, but now the door couldn't be opened and no one answered the phone. In this situation, she couldn't control her emotions.

After waiting outside for ten minutes, there was no movement. Obviously, something really happened inside. Jiang Wen was a little scared, and quickly contacted the property management department to find someone to open the door. After half an hour of struggling, the other four students also came. A group of people gathered at the door. As soon as the door opened, Jiang Wen rushed in first. The TV in the living room was playing last night's Spring Festival Gala. She saw Qiqi walking around in the living room, but no Su Miao.

"Master's Wife—" Her words had barely fallen when she followed the direction Qiqi had run to and saw Su Miao sleeping on the balcony sofa. Her hands hung by the edge of the sofa, her nails gray and bloodless. Following her fingertips downward, she saw a burnt-out firework stick amidst the ashes, all alone...

Su Miao passed away.

He left on New Year's Eve and was seen by students on the first day of the new year.

She passed away very quietly. Facing death is obviously a very painful thing, but there was a smile on her face.

"Mom, is grandma asleep? Why doesn't she cover herself with a blanket? She's so cold." The child didn't understand the separation of life and death. Looking at Su Miao with her eyes closed, he thought she was just asleep. People who sleep can meet again when they wake up, but the dead are separated by heaven and can never see each other again.

Su Miao had already arranged her inheritance. When Jiang Wen came to visit her before she died, she made her will known, donating all her property. If she passed away before Qiqi one day, she would have to arrange for someone to take good care of her Qiqi, and she would give the money.

Jiang Wen said that if that day really came, she would take good care of Qiqi and would not accept Su Miao's money.

Su Miao felt much more at ease and his life became easier.

On the first day of the new year, Jiang Wen ignored her grief and forced herself to hold the funeral, hiding Su Miao and Qin Mo together, with bougainvillea blooming between them.

Su Miao had just come here two days ago and cleaned Qin Mo's tombstone. Now the two tombstones were next to each other, equally new, and looked like they were erected on the same day.

In front of the tombstone, I light a candle and burn a handful of paper money. The candles and paper money express my sorrow, and I wish that there will be peace in heaven and on earth...

…

At first, I was just a stray dog, and later I was adopted by my current parents. They named me "Qiqi" because the day they adopted me was July 7th.

My father's name is Qin Mo and my mother's name is Su Miao. Even a dog knows that my father loves my mother the most.

When I was thirteen, my father went out and never came back. I spent the last two years with my mother.

I still remember that day was New Year's Eve. Don't ask me why I knew it was New Year's Eve, because my mother often nagged me in my ears during those days, saying that after New Year's Eve, the year would be over.

In fact, I know that my mother was very unhappy after my father died. If it weren’t for me, she would have gone to find my father long ago.

My dad is gone, and my mom is all alone. She turns on the lights by herself, takes me out for a walk by herself, cooks by herself, reads by herself, sleeps by herself, soaks her feet by herself, watches TV by herself, celebrates festivals by herself, and puts up spring couplets by herself...

Sometimes my mother would take two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks. She subconsciously thought that my father was still alive, and would ask my father to feed me dog food and flush the toilet. Whenever this happened, she would stand there for a long time like a wooden man. I knew that at this time my mother was sad and missing my father.

In the past, my father would often buy flowers when he was at home. Now that he is gone, my mother buys them instead. They are still pink roses and are placed in the dining room. She will not replace the vase with another one until all the flowers have withered.

I am just a dog. When my mother is sad, I can't hug her and comfort her like a human would. I can only stay with her quietly and watch her cry.

My mother often touched my head and said, "Qiqi, what will you do if I leave?"

Go? Where? Going to buy groceries? Or taking a walk? Or going out like my dad and never coming back?

I don’t want my mother to not come back. If my mother leaves, I might become a stray dog again.

The orange tree in the living room was full of oranges, and they smelled sour. My mother picked one, peeled it, and gave it to me to eat. I refused because it was too sour, and I didn't want my mother to eat it either. But she didn't understand any nonsense. You see, she was crying because of the sour taste.

My mother doesn't like sour food. She only eats oranges from the tree in the middle of the night. I know that is when she misses my father the most. She uses the sourness of the oranges to cover up the fact that she is crying because she misses my father.

Back to the New Year's Eve, my mother made the New Year's Eve dinner and made dumplings. She said that my father's favorite food is corn and pork dumplings, and she likes shrimp. My father always makes a lot of shrimp dumplings. This year, my mother made corn and pork dumplings alone, and also made a few dog food dumplings for me.

After eating dumplings, my mother turned on the TV and the host said, "Happy New Year to everyone."

I saw my mother sleeping on the sofa outside, and she asked me to get her a sparkler stick and a lighter.

It recognized the lighter, but were the sparklers the same box we bought today? I followed my mother's instructions, bit off a stick, and placed it in her hand, watching her light it with her lighter.

It turns out that the thing that blooms these sparkling flowers is a firework stick. I watched my mother holding the firework stick and repeating my father's name over and over again.

"Qin Mo...Qin Mo...Qin Mo..."

I know that my mother was thinking of my father on New Year's Eve. The lights outside the window were bright and every house was bustling with activity, but our house was the only one that couldn't suppress the loneliness even if all the lights were turned on.

That night, the last words my mother said to me were, "Qiqi, I'm too tired. I can't stay with you anymore."

If you are tired, just go to sleep. I watched my mother looking up at the sky with a smile on her lips. Finally, she slowly closed her eyes and the firework stick in her hand fell to the ground.

I sat on the sofa and watched my mother sleep, knowing that she had left, just like my father, who would never come back after leaving. I became a dog without a mother or a father.

My mother always asks me what I would do if she passed away. I also wonder what my mother would do if my father and I passed away first. I can't bear to leave my mother alone, but unfortunately I'm just a dog, and my mother can't understand what I say.

The corners of my eyes were wet. I didn’t understand. I was just a dog, why was I crying?

…

Jiang Wen brought Qiqi home. The child liked dogs and always stuck to it, calling it "Qiqi" over and over again.

Ever since Su Miao left, Qiqi has become extremely quiet. It always looks outside with depressed eyes and poor appetite. Dogs are loyal to their owners, and the death of their owners has a great impact on pets.

Jiang Wen had no idea what to do and was wondering whether she should spend money to find a pet psychologist to take a good look at Qiqi.

One day, when no one was paying attention, Qiqi ran away.

When Jiang Wen found the dog, she could no longer see it. She hurried out to look for it, calling out "Qiqi" as she searched.

Qiqi was lost, Jiang Wen blamed herself and insisted on finding it. The family drove and checked the surveillance, and saw that the direction Qiqi ran was the home where Qin Mo and Su Miao had accompanied it before.

A dog ran thirty kilometers for four days and three nights, panting and going around in circles. When he was hungry, he rummaged through trash cans. When he was thirsty, he drank muddy water on the roadside. When he had the strength to continue running, he continued.

Qiqi is a fifteen-year-old dog. Its physical strength and sense of smell are not as good as when it was young. It took many detours and was besieged by a group of wild dogs on the way. It had many wounds on its body. The big golden retriever that was once washed clean by Su Miao and Qin Mo now looked like a mop that had been rolled in mud and water. Its original color could not be seen. It limped, gasped, and had blood in its mouth. It dragged its dirty tail and walked forward step by step like a poor stray dog... It knew that it would see its parents soon.

Jiang Wen checked the surveillance footage and went to Su Miao's house, but didn't see the dog. She also couldn't find the dog on the roadside, in the garden, or in the nearby park. She asked the security guard and checked the recent surveillance footage, but Qiqi had never returned here.

So where would it go? Jiang Wen was extremely worried. There were many dog dealers during the Lunar New Year, and she was afraid that something might happen to Qiqi.

Just when she was feeling uneasy, her son grabbed her hand and asked, "Did Qiqi go to see grandma?"

Looking for grandma? But Su Miao had already passed away... Jiang Wen suddenly thought of something and drove to the cemetery.

From a distance, she saw Qiqi lying in front of Su Miao and Qin Mo's tombstone, with a pink rose in its mouth. The sun was shining brightly at that moment.

Live as brilliantly as a summer flower, and die as quietly as an autumn leaf.