white skirt
The Feng Shui master calculated that Zhou Xi's birth date and time conflicted with Xu Shulan's, so he could not attend the funeral.
After hearing this, Zhou Xi decided to have Yang Jinyang take Xu Shulan's place on the day of her burial.
Fireworks and firecrackers rained down, and the red fragments with residual warmth lay in a mess on the cold snow bed.
In the light gray smoke, snowflakes whistled past his ears, as if crying and mourning. Zhou Xi stood upstairs with an umbrella and watched Xu Shulan leave.
Gao Liyang was by her side. He could feel Zhou Xi trembling. Her eyes had been swollen from crying for a long time, and now they were trembling again, with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Cry if you want to."
The sound of firecrackers continued in his ears, and it was obviously very noisy, but Gao Liyang could clearly feel the discomfort in his heart. His heart was aching, as if he was sobbing along with Zhou Xi.
After the funeral, Chen Yu followed the villagers through the process, received red envelopes, drank tea, and then Chen Yu went to the man's grave alone, without bringing anything.
It has been a year since he passed away, and Chen Yu has never visited him. The grass on his grave has grown so tall that even the snow cannot cover it. It looks messy and disheveled.
Chen Yu wanted to laugh when he saw it. It couldn't even be seen as a grave.
He had no intention of getting rid of it, so he deserved it.
He will never forget the time when that person wanted to destroy his future. At that moment, all the so-called hopes for family and blood ties were shattered, leaving only hatred and resentment.
Maybe there was some love and filial piety between father and son when we were young, but it has long been washed away by alcohol, leaving nothing behind.
Chen Yu didn't hate his mother for abandoning him. If it were him, he would do the same.
I was deceived by sweet words when I was young, and later I paid a heavy price for it. I was beaten day after day, and I had to carefully maintain this precarious little family. It was too tiring.
He remembered his mother as being very kind to him, always making delicious food for him and never scolding him. He was truly grateful that such a kind person had escaped and secretly left him some compensation for the demolition.
He was very grateful to his mother for giving him life, teaching him to distinguish right from wrong, letting him see that kindness and ugliness coexist in the world, and teaching him to have a reverent heart towards life.
So, when his mother was beaten, she conserved her strength and tried hard to find a chance to survive. When his ambition was shattered, he also tried hard to find a way out and never accepted his fate. Fortunately, he succeeded.
Although he was later slandered, insulted and threatened at school, he did not compromise and tried hard to survive.
If he persists for another year and a half, he will be able to do what he wants to do and meet the people he wants to meet.
"Zhou Xi, we're leaving first." Lu Zisheng waved his hand.
“Zhou Xiaoxi, take care of yourself and get a good sleep. Dark circles under your eyes mean you’re going abroad.”
"good."
After walking a distance, Gao Liyang turned around and saw Zhou Xi still staring at them blankly.
He can only place his hope on time. Time will dilute the scars and everything will be fine. Zhou Xiaoxi, you'll be fine.
After seeing off relatives and friends, Zhou Xi leaned against the door and breathed a sigh of relief as he watched cars of all sizes drive away. It was finally over.
It has been noisy and busy these past few days, but now the surroundings have suddenly become empty and quiet, which I can't seem to adapt to at all.
It seems like just a dream, a dream that everyone hopes to have.
It was getting late. Yang Wen and the others quietly cleared the tables and chairs, cleaned the house, and burned all the garbage. Zhong Yinan cheered up and went to the kitchen to cook dinner.
Qin Ting hadn't left yet. She looked at Zhou Xi, who looked listless, and felt bad. She felt guilty towards Zhou Xi.
Qin Ting said something to Zhou Xi and asked her to think about it carefully. Zhou Xi did not respond. She no longer had the energy to think about it.
Zhou Xi changed out of mourning clothes and went upstairs to take a shower.
Now the water valve can be pushed to the left. Soon the narrow space was filled with mist. Zhou Xi let his hair down, stood in front of the mirror, looked at his haggard self, and suddenly felt not satisfied at all.
Xu Shulan hopes that she can be happy and not always have a stern face.
Her hair hadn't been treated with conditioner for a long time and was very rough. It took her a long time to comb it. Zhou Xi stood under the shower with her hair stuck to her face. She raised her hand and tried to lift it away. The rushing water hit the back of her hand, causing a stinging pain. It was from the ashes falling on it when she lit the incense. She didn't remember how many times it had happened, but she didn't feel any pain at the time. Why did it hurt now?
The clean water soaked my body, washing away the stains. The bruise on my knee was covered by rich bubbles, and the boundary was blurred by the water flow.
The flowers in the yard were about to bloom, but after just two or three days, even the flower stems were gone. I don’t know which naughty monkey destroyed them. It’s such a pity.
Zhou Xi stood at the door, feeling exhausted, her eyes still swollen, her double eyelids completely swallowed up, she didn't know what she was doing or what she should do.
I pinched my hand and the nails grew back, but I didn't feel any pain. Maybe it wasn't painful enough, or maybe it was so painful that they became numb.
Zhang Lixia was talking to Qin Ting, and the suitcase was standing aside.
According to etiquette, He Wenzhou and He Min should come to see Xu Shulan off, but He Wenzhou went to another province for training, and He Min had a provincial solo dance competition.
"Tingting..."
Firecrackers are being set off again.
Zhang Lixia's expression changed and Qin Ting's eyelids twitched.
Zhong Yinan came in from outside, no longer as energetic as before, his back was finally bent, and he seemed to have aged several years in just a few days.
"The Bai family's sister is gone." Zhong Yinan's throat felt like it was scraped by a blade. He rolled it several times and squeezed out a few words.
In his cloudy eyes, he could see Zhou Xi in white clothes and with an unusually pointed face, just like the trembling little boy more than ten years ago.
Something in Zhou Xi's eyes broke again. He looked up, but dark clouds blocked the light.
The Chinese New Year is approaching, and another elderly person has not made it to the end of the year.
"Grandma Bai..."
"What..." Qin Ting gripped the handle of the suitcase, which was only one-third exposed.
Grandma Bai was the introducer between Qin Ting and Zhou Huaiyan. I haven't seen her for several years, and in my memory she was a healthy and talkative little girl.
"It's too cold. I can't bear it anymore. I can't bear it anymore..." Zhong Yinan was so depressed that he couldn't find any support. He looked at Qin Ting and said, "A Ting, please see Grandma Bai off before you leave."
"Okay, Uncle Zhong."
Qin Ting followed behind Zhou Xi, staring at his round head in a daze. She didn't know when the child whom she could see by just lowering her head became someone who needed to slightly raise her head to see him.
She and Zhou Huaiyan were both considered a perfect match in everyone's eyes, and Zhou Xi had perfectly inherited the advantages of both. Qin Ting once thought that her daughter should be a princess.
But she was wrong. Zhou Xi was a warrior, but also a thorny one. It was the adults like them who caused him to become like this, and she bore a large part of the responsibility.
After Qin Ting left, she only came back during the Chinese New Year, and she was actually not very familiar with the roads here.
Some old alleys have been demolished, some houses have been newly built, and many of the shops in my memory have been closed and replaced with new colorful signs.
She was more unfamiliar with the people. There were basically no familiar faces, and she didn't even know the children. She felt out of place among them, or maybe it was her own psychological problems that magnified this feeling.
"Tongtong, do you want to spend the New Year with your mother this year?" Qin Ting knew that Zhou Xi would probably not go with her, but she still asked.
"No, I want to have a good rest." Zhou Xi put his hands in his pockets. The iron box in his pocket was warm and not cold at all.
"Okay, then..."
"Qin Ting!"
Qin Ting wanted to ask more, but was interrupted.
"Who are you……"
Qin Ting was stunned. The face was very familiar. The most obvious thing was the mole at the corner of the eye, but she couldn't remember the name at once.
"Me! Tan Yan! How come you forgot me after just a few years? No way, I'm getting old so fast..." Tan Yan was wearing a lotus-colored long coat, had a fashionable perm, and was not wearing any makeup.
Qin Ting suddenly realized and nodded. Tan Yan was Qin Ting's junior high school classmate. They had known each other for decades, but after she went to Beibin, she socialized less. She only received blessings and a few words of concern during the holidays.
She remembered that Tan Yan always dressed herself up beautifully, like a flower. Maybe today she came to pay her respects, so she didn't wear anything bright.
Qin Ting put on a silky smile, her thin eyebrows curved into a small crescent moon: "No, no, this is too sudden, I didn't react for a moment, how come you're back?"
Tan Yan skillfully took Qin Ting's arm and said, "I just got back this morning. I heard about you guys and..."
Qin Ting nodded again, her smile fading a little.
Tan Yan didn't want the atmosphere to become so awkward after finally meeting an old friend, so her eyes shifted between Qin Ting and Zhou Xi.
"Hey, this is Tongtong, he's grown so big!"
"Tongtong, this is your Aunt Tan Yan. When you were little, her son often played with you and your brother. Do you remember?"
"Hello, Aunt Tan."
"Remember, Wang Sicong."
"Hey, Tongtong, you have a good memory. You used to play together when you were little. He's back this time too. It's been years since we last met, so it's a good opportunity for you to catch up."
"Look, Tongtong has grown into a big girl, and she is so pretty. She is nothing like that damn boy in my family who is always a worry."
Zhou Xi suddenly remembered that Wang Sicong still owed her a lollipop. He played games with her and lost so badly that he almost lost his pants. It was Yang Jinyang who came out to make her laugh and finally asked Zhou Xi what she wanted. Zhou Xi didn't want anything and just pointed to a huge lollipop in the store.
Wang Sicong didn’t have that much pocket money, so he went into debt. He owed it for many years, but things had changed and he had long forgotten about it.
Grandma Bai lives at the end of the alley. The entrance is crowded with people and very noisy.
Fireworks had just been set off, and there was still white smoke that lingered for a long time. Zhou Xi was trapped in it, but he could see people clearly.
Several large candles were inserted in front of the door, and the flames kept flowing down and soon solidified into wax.
Zhou Xi saw many people in mourning clothes, filling up the entire room. The oldest were in their sixties or seventies, and the youngest were only a few years old. Grandma Bai was over ninety years old, and she had many children and grandchildren.
After she followed Qin Ting through the formalities, she squatted beside the ditch in front of the house.
There was a yellow puppy lying in the ditch licking something. It was very thin and dirty, but not afraid of people.
After having lunch at Grandma Bai's house, Qin Ting was still being chatted with by her old acquaintances. Zhou Xi didn't want to stay any longer, so he found an excuse to leave.
Zhou Xi did not go home directly, but took a detour to the back mountain.
The temperature on the mountain is low and there is no sign of the snow melting. A small path was trampled out again yesterday.
To be precise, it should be the third time. Zhou Xi’s grandfather, Zhou Xi’s father, and Zhou Xi’s grandmother all ended up here.
The snow was trampled away, revealing the original color of the land. The soles of Zhou Xi's shoes were covered with mud and became very heavy.
Her grandfather passed away when she was very young, but she remembered that his back was very broad, the military badge on his chest was very bright, and he always carried her everywhere.
Zhou Xi climbed up and finally came to an open space where three pits were neatly lined up.
It’s so quiet, why are there no birds singing on the mountain?
Oh, it's winter now.
Many years ago, she didn't understand why people had to be put into coffins, buried in the ground, and pressed down by the soil after they died.
Xu Shulan told her that this was the return of fallen leaves to their roots.
Zhou Xi squatted in front of the new soil, which was covered with white snow.
Zhou Xi felt that Xu Shulan was cruel and wanted to leave quietly, like a fallen leaf leaving no trace.
How could this be possible? The three people who loved her were silent. They were quiet and would not even look at her no matter what she said, but they wanted her to live a good life.
Aren't they really afraid that she will go down to accompany them?
They seemed to be really sure that she wouldn't do that. She was the only one left in their Zhou family. If she didn't live well, how could she be slapping God in the face?
Her grandparents and father were such good people, but the blind God had to take them away. Only she, who has their blood, can see the world for them.
If snow could have a color, then the color in her eyes at this moment would definitely be red.
She loved the bold red, but also hated it because it dyed her white dress red.
During the time when Zhou Huaiyan passed away, she couldn't bear the sight of red, but later she forced herself to like red again, because only in this way could she mean that she had truly let it go.
She didn't want the living to worry about her all the time, to hold her in their arms like a fragile porcelain doll, afraid that she would do something.
That period must have been the darkest time in her life.
She couldn't accept that her father, whom she loved and who loved her, had passed away when she was happiest. She couldn't accept that her father had rushed back from thousands of kilometers to celebrate her birthday, but would never be able to return to the job he loved.
What she couldn't accept even more was that she was held in her father's arms. Then she looked at her father, and her life force gradually faded away. No matter how much she cried or how much her tears flowed, she couldn't stop her father from falling asleep. Her father could no longer lift his hands to wipe her tears.
Her ears were injured in a car accident, leaving her with irreversible physical damage. Her hearing is weaker than that of ordinary people and she also suffers from tinnitus.
She knew that she had a mental problem, so she told Xu Shulan that she couldn't sleep all night long, and Xu Shulan found a doctor for her.
Then she ran alone to where Zhou Huaiyan worked, a vast Gobi Desert, more than 2,000 kilometers away.
The adults were worried and didn't let her go at first. Later, Zhou Huaiyan was a close friend and colleague of many years and promised to take good care of Zhou Xi, so they let Zhou Xi go.
In half a year, Zhou Xi watched countless sunrises and sunsets in the Gobi Desert. The wind and sand blinded her eyes, but her eyes lingered on countless starry nights.
It was at that time that she fell in love with photography and had an urgent need to record something.
Later, when she saw Lin Lin lying in a pool of blood and almost failed to pull Wu Yi back, she was terrified. It seemed that the god of death was particularly partial to her, always letting her witness it again and again.
She really didn't want this honor. Whoever wanted it could have it. She couldn't bear it. It was too heavy, and it was suffocating her.
Zhou Xi didn't want to cry, because the hot tears would immediately cool down and stick to his face, which would hurt.
She took out the candies from her pocket tremblingly, put three of them in her mouth, and then opened her mouth, feeling the stinging pain in her throat as if a knife had cut through it. She seemed to taste blood and felt so disgusted.
After waiting for a long time, when the severe pain in her heart subsided, she finally took out the thing hidden in her pocket.
Xu Shulan didn't want everyone to see her for the last time, so she left a letter for everyone.
When Zhou Xi took the letter from Zhong Yinan, he didn't dare to look at it. The white envelope was too light and too heavy.
Xu Shulan's handwriting is very beautiful. Zhou Xi feels it's a pity that his own handwriting doesn't have any trace of Xu Shulan's.
The letter Xu Shulan left for her was very short, so short that she found it unbelievable and made her scalp tingle.
She said that in the past ten years, she had taught Zhou Xi everything she could, bit by bit, and had said everything she could say.
She said that she knew it was cruel to force Zhou Xi to grow up at such a young age, but she was Zhou Xi and she was destined to bear all of this.
She said, don't be afraid, the three of them are in the sky watching her move forward.
She said that she hoped she would live the rest of her life without illness or disaster, and live happily and smoothly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
