173rd Lantern Festival
Li Wei sat on the stone bench, looking at the bright lights in the distance, and then at Luo Da standing straight beside her. She felt like she was in a dream.
Too exhausted to move, she asked, "Weren't you supposed to be back after the fifteenth? Is everything going well over there?"
Luo Da looked at a huge double dragon playing with a pearl lamp in the distance: "Hmm, not bad."
What does "okay" mean? Just passable? It sounds very dismissive.
Seeing that Luo Da wasn't in a good mood, Li Wei stopped talking. She took off the hood of her coat, rubbed her calves with her gloved fists, and moved them around a bit. Feeling a little better, she realized she still had to set off and see where those three lost sheep had gone.
"Actually... I missed you... that's why I came back early."
"Oh, huh? Me?" Did she hear that right? This isn't like Luo Da at all.
Li Wei looked up and saw that Luo Da was still intently looking at the lanterns in the distance, making her think that she had just been hallucinating.
Luo Da finally snapped out of his admiring-the-lanterns state, looked down at Li Wei who was staring at him with wide eyes, and said, "I wanted to come back to see you, so I came back first."
The voice was very soft, as soft as the wind brushing past Li Wei's ear, yet it was very clear. Luo Da's eyes were dark and bright, like shimmering black gemstones, so dazzling that one dared not look directly at them.
Li Wei lowered her head and continued massaging her legs. She didn't know what to say for a moment, but she felt that the atmosphere was very oppressive and that she should say something.
As her mind raced, a sudden warmth touched her head. Luo Dashou gently stroked Li Wei's head, saying, "I've been thinking a lot lately. I've thought about how we played and went to school together when we were kids. You know, Xiaoming, when my family moved to the city, there was a fight among my classmates. One of my friends got involved. I tried to break it up and ended up getting badly injured and bleeding a lot. I thought I was going to die. But I didn't want to die. I wanted to marry you someday. If I died now, you'd have to marry someone else. Later, after I was discharged from the hospital, I went to see you. I saw you smiling so happily. Suddenly, I felt like you were my sunshine. Seeing you made me happy too. No matter what I did, even if I suffered a little, it was worth it. I don't know what the future holds, but a long time ago and now, I really like you... But... you've never believed me..."
Li Wei covered her face. Tears streamed down her face, washing away the barriers that bound her heart.
She trusted Luo Jianhua. He might be a little calculating, but he wasn't the kind of person who used sweet talk. He would never compromise himself for things that others considered important. Such a rebellious young man, saying these things to you, made Li Wei feel very uncomfortable.
Regardless of past or present lives, if there's someone who loves you for a very long time and thinks of you first on their deathbed, Li Wei feels she would be incredibly moved.
Worldly perspectives and moral rules all seem pale and powerless in the face of a burning heart at this moment.
But Li Wei just felt terrible. She didn't know why. She felt terrible. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Luo Da squatted down at some point, removed Li Wei's hands from her face, and wiped away her tears: "Don't cry. I'm telling you this in the hope that it will cheer you up. Look, there are actually people who don't think you're stupid and like you. It makes me feel bad too when you're like this."
Luo Dadi's warm palms were completely soaked, then his sleeves. Li Wei felt ashamed, but she couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Fortunately, Luo Dadi was wearing a waterproof cotton jacket that didn't absorb water, so she tried wiping it wherever she could, but she couldn't get it clean—
Luo Da simply unzipped his clothes, revealing a baggy thin T-shirt underneath: "You can use this, it's warm and soft."
Then the tourists saw a very strange scene: a boy squatting on the ground with his clothes open, and a girl crawling inside him and wriggling around. The sight was indescribably bizarre.
However, there are usually plenty of couples in the park, so theirs is considered conservative and no one stopped to watch.
The crowds moved about, some not even glancing at the lights, chatting and laughing in twos and threes about the trivial matters of the New Year and the lanterns. The lights and voices created a lively and bustling atmosphere.
Li Wei and Luo Jianhua were merely two tiny ants in a prosperous era, who simply drifted together with the tide.
After a long while, Li Wei finally wiped the water off her face, listened to her rumbling stomach, and lifted her head from Luo Da's arms: "Didn't you have dinner? You seem hungry?"
"I only ate two pieces of bread and drank a bottle of water today. Do you think I'm hungry?" He's been driving the whole time, so he hasn't had time to eat.
"Okay, hang in there a little longer. We'll look for Li Lin and the others. I'll cook for them when we get back." At least she hadn't forgotten her brothers and sisters.
Luo Da pulled up the hood of Li Wei's coat: "No need to look anymore, I'm the one who came to find you. They're all in my car. I met them at the park entrance."
Damn, she touched her still slightly cool face. After all that fuss, she was the only one who was anxious, upset, and exhausted. If Luo Da hadn't found her, she probably would have died in this park today and become the headline of tomorrow's morning paper: "After the light show, a crazy woman appears in the park!"
With the lambs found and their worries gone, Li Wei and Luo Da walked hand in hand out of the park. Luo Da felt he should say something from the heart: "Don't you think you should say something clearly?"
Li Wei feigned ignorance: "What are you talking about? Didn't I say I'd make you something to eat? What else is there?"
"For example, if you think I'm great, or if you're very touched, we can start seeing how things go."
"So you think my tears are like tap water, you can just turn on the tap and they're not worth much?" Seriously, can't you be a little more subtle?
"Okay, you seem very touched, but why aren't you doing anything to show your appreciation? When people get excited, they usually hug and kiss each other, and I won't even mention the more extreme examples."
Why say so much when you shouldn't? Seriously.
"I've just been through a traumatic experience. Don't provoke me any further, or I'll go crazy and be hard to treat. Who said that mental illness is hard to treat and that I'm just too sensitive?"
Luo Da...
The two quickly left the park and arrived at a large parking lot. As soon as Li Wei opened the car door, she was startled again. Li Lin and Ding Anni each had a candied hawthorn skewer with bright red hawthorns and dates mixed in. They chatted and laughed, thoroughly enjoying their meal. Even Li Lianhui had grabbed a golden yam and was eating it happily.
Li Wei squeezed onto the bus and immediately announced, "I've decided, I'm never going out with the three of you again!" These three are heartless! All that worry and anxiety she was going through outside, and they just had it all. They didn't care about her at all, didn't even offer to go look for her, and even had the nerve to buy candied hawthorns. This is unbearable! We're cutting ties!
Seeing that her sister was indeed angry, Li Lin quickly handed Li Wei a candied hawthorn skewer with jujubes and oranges that she had prepared: "Sister—we've been looking for you. We looked and looked but couldn't find you, and there were so many people around. We just happened to run into Brother Hua, and he said he was coming to find you. We were relieved. Look, look, this is the candied hawthorn skewer we bought for you, made from all your favorite things."
Li Wei snatched the candied hawthorn from Li Wei's hand: "Don't think I'll forgive you just because you made me do this. Your behavior has disappointed and saddened me so much. Look at me, I've been crying so much looking for you that my eyes are red. If it weren't for your brother Hua running into me on the street, I would be a missing person tomorrow!"
Ding Anni and Li Lianhui, who were usually not very talkative, both joined Li Lin in assuring her that they were only waiting there because of their strong faith in Brother Hua, even though they were actually worried sick inside...
Everyone understood that Li Wei was very angry, and the consequences would be serious. Who would cook delicious meals and clean up the trash if nothing happened? She was practically a portable maid, always at your beck and call—
Li Wei's ears were ringing from their bombardment, and she got goosebumps all over from being touched by Li Lin and Ding Anni. She couldn't take it anymore: "Alright, alright, I'll forgive you for now, but we'll have to see how you behave in the next two days to see what happens next."
Back home, Luo Da rushed into the bathroom. He hadn't slept for a day and a night, so he needed a hot bath, a hearty meal, and a good night's sleep.
Without wasting any words, Li Wei went straight into the kitchen, took out freshly made chicken soup, noodles, bok choy, eggs, and some seasonings, and quickly made a small pot of fragrant noodle soup, attracting the three hungry children who were sitting on the sofa watching TV.
Li Lin and Ding Anni sat down on chairs, resting their chins on their hands. "Sis, are we hungry too?" they asked. "We should be more polite now," Li Lin said, "since my sister was just angry."
Li Wei glanced at a few people, and amidst everyone's envious gazes, she scooped a lot of dried goods into the large bowl in front of Luo Da, who had just come out of the bathroom, wearing Li Lianhui's pajamas and with his hair still wet.
What was left was some clear broth and water, with a small bowl for each of the three people.
It wasn't that Li Wei wouldn't give them food; it was just that there were no noodles left. But Li Wei had her reasons: "Eat less before bed, or you'll get indigestion and become a fat pig."
The three of them looked at Luo Da in unison, their meaning clear: how big of a fat pig must Brother Hua have become?
Luo Da was oblivious, engrossed in his meal.
Li Wei slammed her hand on the table: "What are you looking at? Look at their bodies, what about yours? Can you handle eating too much? Hurry up and eat, or don't eat at all."
Li Lin muttered, "What do you mean 'eat'? It should be called 'drink,' it's all soup, there's nothing dry."
Despite their complaints, the three of them finished every last drop of the chicken soup, and then looked longingly at the happy-looking Hua Ge... who had also finished his.
Li Wei couldn't stand it anymore. It was as if she was abusing them. She said irritably, "What are you looking at? I'll buy noodles and make them for you tomorrow. Don't act like you've never eaten before!"
Luo Da was indeed exhausted. After dinner and brushing his teeth, he went straight to bed and fell asleep. However, before falling asleep, he struggled to make a request with his eyes closed: "Give me a kiss, a goodnight kiss, please, do you know how hard it was for me to come all this way?"
This domineering man suddenly spoke softly, and it was really hard to refuse. Li Wei took the bed sheet that had just been changed and lightly patted the dark face. The dark face grunted twice like a pig and actually fell asleep.
It seems that Luo Da is quite easy to deal with.
Before going to bed that night, Li Wei specifically told Li Lin, "Let me tell you, if I go to the wrong room and sleep in the wrong bed again this time, there will be no noodle soup tomorrow!"
Li Lin: Oh my god, do I even want to go to sleep?!
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