11 "Tao Wanjia, you are always unfair to me"
While picking up the food, Tao Wanjia looked at He Yu calmly.
He was wearing very little, just like before, he always wore thin clothes even in temperatures below minus ten degrees. His clothes were very dark in color, and his expression was not very clear as he sat away from the direct light. He sat coldly on a chair near the door like a wall.
Wen Dongyang keenly sensed the low pressure and reached out to embrace the iceberg's shoulder. He caught a glimpse of the wine on the table and raised his eyebrows to invite, "Let's drink together?"
It was cold, so his parents warmed up a pot of wine before serving the food. A birthday should have a festive atmosphere, and Wen Dongyang was delighted to finally have everyone together. He Yu pushed his arm away, and when he tried to reach for the wine glass, he stopped him as he was about to pour him a glass.
"I'm driving and can't drink."
He had come on his own; there was a bidding meeting tomorrow and he couldn't be late. Actually, he shouldn't have come to dinner tonight; he should have gone home early to rest. But he deserved it, having come here to humiliate himself just to see her.
"Okay then," Wen Dongyang stopped insisting and changed the subject, "Wan Jia, let's have a drink?"
It was just a polite remark, but he quickly changed his mind when he sensed the gazes from the person beside him. Feeling like he'd be doing today's meal a disservice if he didn't bring these two together, he suppressed his smile and asked her again.
"Can I drink it?"
“Yes.”
Tao Wanjia answered simply, raised his hand to pick up the cup in front of him, and smiled, "Then drink a little with the birthday boy."
The spiciness of the heated wine was diluted, and the burning sensation was much less. Tao Wanji raised his head and drank it, his expression naturally ignoring the gaze from the opposite side.
She is not seventeen years old. She is already twenty-seven. It is not his business what she does.
The party ended at almost ten o'clock. Wen Dongyang couldn't drink much, so he shared a bottle of white wine with Tao Wanjia and ended up getting drunk first. He walked unsteadily, so he had to ask He Yu to see the guests off.
"You must get them both home safely!" Wen Dongyang's face flushed red as charcoal. He hooked his arm around He Yu's shoulders and leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Brother, I've helped you this far. The rest is up to you."
He Yu looked disgusted, frowned and threw away his arm, "You'd better take care of yourself."
I don't know when it started snowing outside. The black road surface was slightly white, and snowflakes were flying under the light.
The alcohol relaxed her, and even the cool breeze felt comfortable as her hot blood flowed back into her body. While they were talking, Tao Wanjia was about to leave. Huang Zheng saw through her intentions, took two quick steps, grabbed her arm, and warned her, "Don't bother. There are no taxis left at this hour."
The car door opened, and the two of them and Huang Shengsheng sat in the back seat together.
The heat from the air conditioner has not yet spread to every corner, but the familiar aroma has already penetrated into my mind through my nasal cavity along with the cold air.
Tao Wanji frowned, and the person in the driver's seat looked away from the rearview mirror and drove the car away steadily.
The car was moving very slowly, and Huang Shengsheng suddenly fell asleep and slumped over beside Tao Wanjia's legs. Huang Zheng noticed and wanted to pick her up, but Tao Wanjia waved her hand and whispered, "My legs are fine, let her sleep."
When they arrived at Lanhu Community, Tao Wanjia took the initiative to carry the child downstairs. To prevent her from catching a cold, he pulled down half of his down jacket and wrapped her in his arms.
Huang Zheng swiped her card and pushed the door. The elevator stopped on the 10th floor, but she couldn't bear the long wait.
He turned his head to look at Tao Wanjia and coughed lightly, "Let's add each other on WeChat. I'll transfer the gas money you paid for me last time to you."
It was just an excuse, and they both knew it.
Tao Wanji hesitated, but the elevator that opened in time gave her a reason to refuse. She carefully handed the still sleeping child back to Huang Zheng, turned around with a calm tone.
"Let's talk about it next time."
I pushed open the door and went out, and saw a figure in front of the car.
He Yu heard footsteps and turned around. Their eyes met, and Tao Wanjia instantly understood his intention of getting off the car.
"You're quite cold-resistant."
She said this lightly, brushed past his shoulder and returned to the car.
He Yu followed closely behind, closed the car door, and squeezed out two words from his lips with a sullen face, "Address."
"Just drive ahead, and I'll tell you when we get there."
Tao Wanji put her hands in her pockets and answered nonchalantly. She was actually thinking about how to get him to drop her off near the neighborhood without him knowing her address.
After a moment of silence, He Yu withdrew his hand from the steering wheel and looked back at her before the car started.
"Tao Wanjia, I'm not that free, so you don't have to worry about me harassing you just because I know your address."
He paused, "Besides, you're so capable, you'd be able to escape even if I knew the address."
"That's true." She smiled, ignored his sarcasm, told him the address truthfully, and leaned back, her posture relaxed.
He Yu saw all her movements and drove silently for her.
While waiting for the red light, I passed a high school. Students, finishing their evening study sessions, were walking out the door in groups of twos and threes. At the end of the group was a man and a woman. They walked slowly, chatting and laughing, breathing heavily in the cold wind.
At that carefree age, even the footprints on the ground can be looked at for a long time.
He Yu looked away, unable to bear the dead silence, and after enduring for a long time he finally asked.
"When did you meet Wen Dongyang?"
A sharp gaze entered the rearview mirror. In the darkness, the man's deep eyes were fixed on her face. "You can still come to celebrate his birthday. How refreshing."
He only said half of the sentence, what he actually meant was that she was hypocritical.
The car moved forward at a steady speed, and the air conditioning was getting hotter and hotter. Alcohol made people relax, and then lose some of their rationality.
Tao Wanji smiled and nodded, fully aware of the second half of the sentence he omitted, and fought back heartlessly.
Knowing what he cares about most, he holds on to that forbidden area tightly.
"I only said it has nothing to do with you, not them. I can contact whoever I want—"
"Why?"
He Yu interrupted her, with a rare hint of anger in his words.
The more he thought about it, the sadder he became. Why did she always have to lead everything between them? Why was she so harsh on only him?
This feeling was even more painful than when he'd been searching for her like a madman before, because at least he had a fantasy before. But now, this only thing that could deceive him was shattered by Tao Wanjia herself. No, she crushed it. She turned his last bit of beauty into dust and threw it all back.
"Why?"
The wine that Tao Wanjia drank seemed to have only taken effect now.
She leaned forward, looked at the gloomy-faced He Yu through the gap in the armrest, and said the most hurtful words in a loose tone.
"You are you, Wen Dongyang is Wen Dongyang, and Huang Zheng is Huang Zheng. Don't get mixed up with them."
He was almost saying that he was not worthy.
He Yu took a deep breath and stepped on the brakes as a reminder to stop his irrationality. He looked out the window to remind her that they had arrived, and then secretly suppressed all the emotions that were about to collapse.
The car windows were fogged up and the wipers were shaking. Tao Wanjia leaned forward to look at the front windshield to make sure they had arrived.
She opened the door and got out of the car. Before leaving, she heard He Yu's sad tone.
"Tao Wanjia, you are always unfair to me."
A cold wind blew, and the chill penetrated her whole body through her pores. Her heart sank, and she turned around in silence in the dark night.
For the next month, Tao Wanjia never saw He Yu again.
Mai Xiang was lucky. Before she even started looking for her, she had already found a job she loved: an apprenticeship in a barber shop, earning two thousand yuan a month. When Mai Xiang told her, she almost jumped for joy, and with hope for life, she enthusiastically threw herself into her new busy life.
As usual, Tao Wanjia went to help Aunt Sun on time on weekends, and continued with her own things during the rest of the time.
The temperature was getting lower and lower, and the snow was falling heavier and heavier, with no sign of stopping.
The winter solstice was also a Saturday. Tao Wanjia made dumplings at home and took them to Aunt Sun's house to eat with her. But as soon as he entered the gate, he felt the unusual lively atmosphere in the shantytown courtyard.
A medium-sized truck was parked on the cement road outside the alley, with the trunk full of New Year's goods. The ground was muddy due to the snow, and more than a dozen workers unloaded the goods in batches and delivered them door to door.
Tao Wanjia glanced around quickly. All she saw were rice, flour, grain, oil and other daily necessities. She was curious about which company was distributing New Year's goods as if it was a charity. She was also wondering if an unemployed vagrant like her could also receive any. Her mind was in a daze. When she looked up again, she saw He Yu, whom she hadn't seen for a month, at the end of the alley.
He stood in the snow, but his back was not as straight as before, but instead looked like it had been hit by frost.
"Listen to me..."
"Don't bother with an old woman like me! Take all your stuff back. I can't afford it!"
Aunt Sun stood in the doorway with no smile on her face. She bent down and threw the things that He Yu brought in one by one in his direction.
"Get out of here!"
Although Tao Wanji didn't realize what was happening, he subconsciously stepped forward to stop He Yu when he saw that he was acting like a fool and didn't try to hide.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing here?"
She pulled He Yu back with one hand, and with the other hand, she caught the gift box thrown by the old lady. Her movements were so fast and steady that it seemed like she was performing a set of acrobatics.
Seeing that her anger had subsided a little, the old lady threw down the last box at her feet, turned around and closed the door.
"Have you been enlightened?"
After confirming that the person had entered the room, Tao Wanjia turned to look at He Yu and lowered his voice, "Why don't you hide even though it's like this? You think you're tall so you're standing here as a target, right? Is it fun?"
He Yu remained silent, and Tao Wanjia's machine-gun-like firing went unanswered. All around him was a vast expanse of white, and even his shoulders were covered in snowflakes. The man's stern face and dim gaze in the snowstorm made her speak more slowly.
She called his name, "What do you want to do with Old Lady Sun? Maybe I can help you..."
"No."
He answered bluntly, his eyes never lingering on her face. He bent down to pick up the scattered gift boxes on the ground, then walked away, stepping on the snow that didn't even reach his shoes.
The wind wrapped up the snow and blocked his view, and Tao Wanji subconsciously looked at his back.
In the past years, He Yu rarely had such lonely moments. Even if his back was scarred for her, it was always straight and strong. He was a warm-hearted person at heart, and no matter how big the difficulties were, he never showed any vulnerability to others.
But at this moment, she felt as if He Yu was cut into pieces by the snow.
For the first time, she saw powerlessness in him, which was not something he should have to experience.
"Why don't you come in?"
Old Mrs. Sun's voice came through the kitchen window. Tao Wanjia collected his thoughts, withdrew his gaze, and went into the house.
"What are you dawdling about outside?"
Tao Wanjia handed the dumplings to Old Lady Sun and observed the expression on her face. "I'm picking up some delicious food. Those boxes of cakes you just threw out seem pretty good."
After saying that, she held onto the kitchen door frame, curiously wanting to find out why she had turned He Yu away.
"That man just now seemed familiar. Do you remember him?"
The water in the pot boiled and bubbles appeared. Old Mrs. Sun shook open the plastic bag and put the hard dumplings into the pot.
"I don't remember him, but I remember his dad."
She turned the heat to the highest setting, her voice filled with sadness and subtle hatred, "If it weren't for his father, there wouldn't have been such a huge fire."
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