That night, Pei Sui went back to his own home. He hadn't been up there for a while, and his house was quite tidy.
It's just a bit deserted.
It was quiet before, but at least it had some life. Now, everything feels like a cold, lifeless template.
Meng Shixu returned at 9:30. Meng Sheng had taken a nap in the afternoon and wasn't sleepy at the moment. She was sitting in the living room watching variety shows and playing with Sisi.
She greeted Meng Shixu with a smile.
Meng Shixu looked around and casually asked, "Where's Pei Sui?"
"Going home."
Meng Shixu paused slightly, as if she had thought of something, and a faint smile appeared on her lips. "He lives on the 15th floor?"
Meng Sheng nodded, "Yes, he asked us to go up for breakfast tomorrow morning. He will also prepare a portion for Dad. You can take it to Dad tomorrow morning. I'm going to the art museum tomorrow morning and will go to the hospital to see Dad in the evening."
Meng Chengli hadn't seen her for almost ten days. He called her yesterday and today to ask if she was busy with work, but he was actually trying to subtly inquire about how her "cold" was recovering.
He clearly didn't trust her.
Therefore, she felt that if she didn't show up soon, her father would bombard her with phone calls even more frequently tomorrow.
It just so happens that she also wants to go and see how his recovery is going. Although she has always heard her uncle and Meng Shixu say that her father's recovery is going well, she has not seen it with her own eyes and is always a little worried.
Meng Shixu raised her eyebrows and asked curiously, "Dad said that Pei Sui is a very good cook."
"Hmm, it's not bad. Is Dad still thinking about that rock sugar turtle?"
"Rock sugar turtle? Dad mentioned it to me once... no, several times."
Upon hearing this, Meng Sheng couldn't help but burst into laughter. "I told him before, but he stubbornly refused to admit it."
Meng Shixu also smiled, "I plan to go back to the north of the city in a couple of days. Next Monday, I have to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a meeting."
Meng Sheng nodded, "Okay."
The brother and sister talked about other things for a while, and then Meng Shixu went back to her room first.
The entire single-level apartment, besides the study and walk-in closet, also has three guest bedrooms. One of them doesn't have a bed; Meng Sheng has piled up a lot of gift boxes inside. The night he moved in, he just randomly picked one of these rooms, which is also the one furthest from the master bedroom.
After watching the variety show, Meng Sheng turned off the computer, hugged Sisi in one arm, and took her phone in the other before returning to the master bedroom.
*
Los Angeles, USA.
The living environment at Silverleaf Estates is divided into three levels, with the highest level being villas. There are a total of 6 townhouses in the entire complex, offering the best environment and amenities.
Pei Sui initially asked someone to book a third-class single ward directly. Although it was third-class, the room was bright and clean, and there was a dedicated caregiver in charge. The annual cost was several hundred thousand yuan.
Besides Pei Huan, there were four other people who accompanied Cui Xueheng. They were all nannies who usually took care of her life and diet. They knew her habits and preferences very well and were the people she was most familiar with.
Du Ping was one of them.
If they needed single rooms, they would have to rent apartments outside, but apartments here are hard to find, and even Cui Xueheng herself thought the rooms were too small.
Upon learning this, Pei Yu upgraded the room to a villa with a single phone call, and they were very comfortable staying there.
Because the plum garden was destroyed and the environment was completely unfamiliar, Cui Xueheng was not lucid for long periods of time. Most of the time she was confused, either having an episode and smashing things to try to get out, or mistaking people for others, which caused quite a bit of trouble for the others.
Even two of the foreign caregivers at the nursing home resigned.
By the third week, with the help of medication, her emotions gradually stabilized, and she was more lucid than confused, but she would often sit in the yard staring blankly at the lush green ginkgo tree.
Each session lasts for one or two hours.
When she comes to her senses, she murmurs, "I wonder... how is my plum tree now?"
It's been over a month now, and I'm basically no longer confused. I'm just much more silent and often space out.
Pei Huan felt sad whenever she saw her like this, but she couldn't blame her. She had always been like this, always explaining things in detail, just hoping that she could understand Ah Sui's hardships a little.
But after this happened, she felt helpless and could understand Pei Sui's feelings very well. However, seeing her mother, who had always loved and cared for her, become like this, she was really in pain and heartbroken.
Pei Huan walked into the courtyard and saw Cui Xueheng sitting on a soft chair under a parasol, gazing quietly into the distance, lost in thought, her eyes vacant and lifeless, as if she were pondering something.
He sighed, walked over and took Cui Xueheng's hand, sitting down on the chair next to her. "Mom, Aunt Xiu is making braised crab meat lion's head and crystal pork jelly. Didn't you always say you wanted to eat Huaiyang cuisine? We can have a good taste at noon."
Cui Xueheng slowly gathered her thoughts, "Huaiyang cuisine?"
Then he slowly laughed, "It's been a really long time since I've eaten Huaiyang cuisine, and it's been many years since I've been to Huainan. I've almost forgotten what Huainan was like back then."
"Your father and I met in Huainan. I still remember the first time we met, your father..."
She paused, frowned, and her voice was a little hoarse, "What was it again? How did we meet? I... I can't remember?"
Pei Huan also noticed this unusual phenomenon: the more important something is to Cui Xueheng, the easier it is for her to forget it.
She hurriedly reminded him, "Because of the landscaping construction in Shanglin, Dad was in charge at the time. The workers moving the peonies weren't paying attention and knocked you down. Then Dad personally took you to the hospital for a check-up..."
Cui Xueheng nodded easily, "Yes, yes, that's it. Your dad was a bit simple-minded back then, and I fell for him. Later, he treated me to dinner, and we ate braised crab meat lion's head meatballs, crystal pork jelly, and Wensi tofu. Those are all famous Huaiyang dishes, and they tasted great."
"Later... your father was going back to Beijing, so we arranged to meet there. He took me to various tourist attractions in Beijing, as well as the garden he designed himself. Finally... he came to propose marriage to my family."
Whenever she thinks about these things that happened decades ago, she feels nostalgic and longs to go back to the past.
Let's do it again.
Thinking of something, the smile in her eyes faded again. "You're right, I've let Asui down."
Pei Huan was taken aback, not expecting her to change the subject so quickly. Just a second ago they were talking about the past, but suddenly she brought up Pei Sui.
This was the first time Cui Xueheng had mentioned Pei Sui since she went abroad.
For decades, she had lived on those memories and the objects she had accumulated over the years. Now that she had suddenly left that environment, she often woke up in the middle of the night as if Pei Sui's face, with its words of blood and tears, its questions of hatred and resentment, were right in front of her.
She is a very contradictory person.
She hadn't shown Pei Sui much love or care, yet at this age, she actually wanted her children to be filial to her and to side with her, caring only about her own feelings and disregarding their well-being.
The feelings I have now arisen from the frustration of unfulfilled resentment.
Perhaps it was a pang of guilt for Ah Sui's indifference over the years, or perhaps not, it was just a whim.
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