Chapter 75 It’s Okay to Be Late [VIP]
It doesn't matter how late you are, as long as you can get what your heart desires.
——Orange Confessions
1006, Mid-Autumn Night.
On that awkward reunion night, Shi Xu learned about an awkward past.
Shi An and Pei Yandong were high school classmates and secretly started dating during their freshman year.
First love is always beautiful. They were inseparable for the first three years, and then the unexpected happened in the second semester of their senior year.
Pei Yandong is hesitant between his dream and love. On the one hand, he wants to go abroad to realize his dream of becoming a war correspondent, but on the other hand, he can't let go of Shi An who is alone in China.
Just when he was in a dilemma, Shi An made the decision for him.
"Brother Dong, let's break up." During their relationship, she always called Pei Yandong "Brother Dong".
"I……"
He wanted to say something but Shi An interrupted him with a smile: "Maybe our fate ends here. There's no need to force it, and don't be too sad."
Maybe it was because Shi An was so calm that he was almost indifferent, or maybe it was because he just needed such a reason. In the end, with mixed feelings of reluctance and unwillingness, he left the country without hesitation without saying a word to try to keep her.
The young man's anger almost led to a lifetime of regret.
After Pei Yandong went abroad, Shi An found out a month later that she was pregnant with his child.
Two months before graduation, she decided to keep the child.
That year, from spring to graduation season, when the gardenias bloomed, Shi An endured hardships unlike anything she had ever known. On one hand, she was overwhelmed by her graduation project, and on the other, she endured the intermittent pregnancy symptoms. She endured it all alone, silently.
After graduation, her family eventually found out about her pregnancy. Her parents were angry at her for not taking care of herself, but they also felt sorry for her for becoming an unmarried mother at such a young age. After weighing the pros and cons, they finally moved with her to a small town where no one knew her.
When new neighbors asked about the child, they all said that the child's father was a sailor and was almost always at sea all year round.
After Shi Xu was born, for various reasons, Shi An took him to Min Town, and the mother and son lived a relatively peaceful life.
After that, Xiaoxiao Shixu met Xiaoxiao Zhenhao, and his life was smooth sailing until he was adopted by the Pei family.
But it must be said that after being recognized by the Pei family, his life became smoother.
People around him said he was lucky, and he didn't deny it, but he really didn't feel as happy as before.
Without good days, happiness seems to be separated by a layer of frosted glass, unreal and not bright.
No one was wrong about the regrets their parents had when they were young, but as a junior high school student at the time, he could not understand it. He just felt that Pei Yandong had abandoned them. So after moving into the Pei family's old house, he never had a good face towards his father who had been absent for many years.
On the contrary, Mr. Pei always reminded him of his grandfather who had passed away due to illness, so he was willing to get closer to him.
The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren was established quickly, but the relationship between father and son has been stagnant, even a little on thin ice.
The first time the relationship between father and son began to loosen was the summer vacation after the high school entrance examination, when he accidentally found Pei Yandong's old things.
The cardboard box containing old items contains some old photos and handwritten postcards. In addition to these two items, there is also an old camera that looks very old.
He could piece together many stories from these old things -
For example, Pei Yandong traveled to many countries alone, regardless of whether they were small border countries or war-torn countries, he never looked back, and visited every corner of the local area with his camera, leaving behind many precious photos;
For example, Pei Yandong once contracted a serious virus in a tribe where the regime had fallen, and nearly died there, unable to return to his homeland;
For example, after Pei Yandong recovered, he went alone to watch the great migration of animals, chase the northern lights, and visit the fairy-tale world of ice and snow;
For example, it turns out that Pei Yandong took many photos of the mother and son's life moments after they met again...
On the one hand, he admired Pei Yandong's courage to go to such a dangerous place alone as a war correspondent, and on the other hand, he longed to have the love of a father like his other classmates...
As a teenager, Shixu got along with Pei Yandong in an awkward manner. He still expressed his disdain for her, but anyone could see that his attitude towards her had obviously changed.
He could also see that because of this change in Shi An, there were many more happy smiles on her face. He truly reconciled with Pei Yandong in his freshman year of high school.
There are many typhoons in Fujian during the summer. That day, a typhoon landed and the entire city almost came to a standstill.
The school had given up the typhoon holiday early, and my basketball addiction got kicked in, so I went alone to an open-air basketball court more than ten kilometers away from my old house.
When the storm came, he was fighting with great enthusiasm and had no intention of going home.
By the time he fully realized that the situation was not good, it was too late.
The rainwater backflowed quickly, causing water to accumulate on the road. The water kept rising higher and higher, and the strong wind almost blew down the green trees. Not to mention without an umbrella, even with an umbrella it was difficult to move.
At the beginning, he didn't feel anything about the time sequence, but as time went on, he began to feel a little anxious.
In order to escape the control of the Pei family and to have some peace and quiet, he specially went out. Because of this decision, not only was there no hope for him to go home, his stomach was growling with hunger, and his body felt cold when the wind blew.
He couldn't help but sneeze twice in a row. It was at this moment that he missed the clean and spacious Pei family's old house very much.
Apart from anything else, at least Aunt Zhang would always prepare various delicious foods for him so he wouldn't go hungry.
, he called the home phone, and it was Aunt Zhang who answered the call. She told him to find a place to wait and not to run around.
He agreed to all of them.
The waiting time is always extremely long. Shi Xu's back as he hid under the eaves holding a basketball looked lonely and helpless.
Just as he was shivering from the cold, a figure gradually approached in the white rain.
The face gradually became clear in the boy's eyes. It was Pei Yandong.
"Xiao Xu, Dad is here." This was the first sentence Pei Yandong said when he saw him.
Since they met, he never called Pei Yandong "Dad", Pei "Dad".
In the past, time would always say, "You are not my father!"
Pei Yandong never got angry and always smiled good-temperedly without saying anything.
But on this day, Shishu did not talk back for the first time.
Pei Yandong didn't notice his abnormality, but said gently: "Xiao Xu, let's go home."
us.
go home.
These were clearly four ordinary words, and it was not the first time I heard them, but the timing at this moment was so profound that a corner of my heart collapsed in an instant.
Looking at Pei Yandong's outstretched hand, although he still did not appreciate it, he was no longer prickly and murmured "hmm" in a low voice.
Because he had been squatting for so long, his feet were numb as if they were being pricked by needles, and he couldn't even stand steadily the moment he stood up.
The father and son finally held hands. After Shi Xu stood firm, Pei Yandong bent down with his back to him and said calmly, "Get up. Dad will carry you."
Time hesitated for a long time and never moved.
"Are you worried that Dad can't carry you?" Pei Yandong turned around and looked at him and smiled, "Don't underestimate Dad. Come on up."
When lying on Pei Yandong's broad and warm back, a wonderful feeling surged in Shi Xu's heart.
Like the adrift self of my childhood, I was finally held firmly by someone, and walked steadily towards my lighted home, step by step.
Pei Yandong's car was parked not far away, and the father and son quickly got into the car.
Just then, Shi An called. Pei Yandong turned on the hands-free mode of his phone and wiped Shi Xu's half-wet hair with a few pieces of paper while saying, "Let's go to Xiao Xu. Don't worry."
Shi Xu's blocking action stopped because of Shi An's words. The woman's voice was gentle but with a hint of blame: "Just pick it up. You said I should go. Your waist injury hasn't healed yet. What if something happens to you again..."
"Wife, Xiaoxu is listening." Pei Yandong didn't have time to stop Shi An from speaking. He could only look at Shixu cautiously, and even forgot to wipe his hair with his hands.
By then the wind and rain had gradually died down, and the sky and earth seemed as clear as if they had been washed clean.
This rain seemed to cleanse not only the sky and the earth, but also the heart of time that had been awkward for a long time.
He didn't say anything, nor did he refuse Pei Yandong to continue wiping his hair. He was terribly silent on the way back to the old house.
Pei Yandong just thought he was tired and didn't say much.
It was not until they returned to the old house that Shi Xu asked awkwardly, "Dad, are you in pain?"
He was referring to the waist.
Not only did Pei Yandong drive to pick him up, but he also carried him on his back for a short distance. If he had caused any injury, he would have been guilty.
He rationalized his concern for Pei Yandong by saying that even if it was just an ordinary friend doing this for him, he should still show some concern.
But Pei Yandong's focus was not on whether his waist hurt or not, but on: "Xiao Xu, what did you call me?"
Realizing that he blurted out the word "Dad", Shi Xu's face flushed red and he quickly turned his head away: "Nothing! You heard it wrong!"
When he heard the sound of the car engine, he came out and said, "You're back."
He seized the opportunity, opened the car door quickly, and ran back to his room.
"What's wrong with Xiaoxu?" Shi An looked at Shixu's fleeing back and asked in confusion.
"It's okay, maybe he's tired from playing basketball." Pei Yandong couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
He finally waited for this day.
"You two, father and son, must be hiding something from me..." Shi An knew this father and son very well, and he immediately saw the clue.
"It's really nothing..." Pei Yandong's eyes were full of smiles, "This kid just called me dad."
"Really?" Shi An was pleasantly surprised. "Xiao Xu is really willing to call you dad?"
"Keep your voice down, Xiaoxu might be unhappy if he hears it." Pei Yandong said in a low voice.
"Yes, yes, Xiaoxu will be embarrassed." Shi An covered his mouth and chuckled.
Shi Xu did not actually return to his room, but hid behind the Roman columns in the living room, trying hard to steady his breathing.
Hearing his parents' overjoyed voices, for some reason, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.
Something seemed to have changed about the old Pei family residence.
The first time Shi Xu called Pei Yandong "Dad" was during the Spring Festival of the same year. When the Pei family took their usual family portrait, he looked at the photos taken by the man, each one full of emotion and exquisite composition, and couldn't help but blurt out: "Dad, please teach me how to take pictures!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the Pei family was silent for a moment, and then Pei Yandong's smiling voice sounded: "Okay, Dad will teach you."
…………
Time stops recalling.
That was the first time he felt how good it was to have a family, and today was the first time he felt that being able to be with his family was a great happiness.
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