Chapter 168: Nian Nian's Farewell, Starting the Accelerator of Life
Nian Nian held Yuan Yuan's body and went home to sit on the living room floor for a long time. The Shi family members would come to touch Yuan Yuan from time to time.
Shi Guilin searched the Internet for many ways to deal with the aftermath of a dog's death and decided to choose cremation.
He walked over to Nian Nian and squatted down, watching him move along Yuan Yuan's back, his head slightly tilted, his cheek pressed against Yuan Yuan's head.
Shi Guilin felt mixed emotions and couldn't say the words that were stuck in his teeth.
He sat next to Nian Nian without saying a word, gently touching Yuan Yuan's hair.
Not smooth anymore.
Yuanyuan had been lying in the hospital for so many days that his fur became tangled, gray, and dull.
"Nian Nian."
Nian Nian, who was holding the dog, reacted a little slowly. Three or four seconds after the words fell to the ground, she uttered a vague "hmm" in response.
Shi Guilin first threw out a sentence: "Yuanyuan is not doing well in the hospital. The hair on his body is covered with a layer of dust."
Nian Nian lowered her eyes and carefully examined every inch of hair on Yuan Yuan's body. As she looked, she fiddled with it with her hands, not showing any disdain at all: "A little. It's okay, Dad, I can help Yuan Yuan take a bath."
As he said that, he stood up and wanted to carry Yuanyuan into the bathroom.
"Niannian!" Shi Guilin was quick to grab his arm, and Nian Nian had no choice but to retract her steps and stay where she was.
"Dad?" he asked doubtfully.
"Don't wash it." Shi Guilin finally let out the words he had been brewing for a long time, "Dad is planning... planning to take care of Yuanyuan's funeral."
Nian Nian turned her face away, her tone hinting at the onset of tears: "Can't I take a shower after the funeral? Yuanyuan is cute and clean now."
"That's not what Dad meant, Nian Nian." Shi Guilin Yuyu whispered, explaining his thoughts to him, "Dad wanted to leave some thoughts about Yuanyuan for personal reasons, so he decided to cremate Yuanyuan."
"Dad wants to keep Yuanyuan's ashes at home, as if Yuanyuan had never left home, so that Yuanyuan can be with us forever."
Nian Nian seemed to be moved by his words, her eyes sparkling with tears, "Can you put it in my room?"
"Of course." Shi Guilin said as a matter of course, "After all, you two have spent the longest time together since you were little."
After a long silence, Nian Nian let out a low, hoarse "hmm."
Shi Guilin breathed a sigh of relief. Yuanyuan and Nian Nian had grown up together and had a deep bond, so convincing him to let go of Yuanyuan and handle the funeral was quite stressful.
"As for bathing, Dad thinks we can contact a professional to help Yuanyuan with his grooming. Nian Nian, do you think it's feasible?" Shi Guilin sought his opinion.
"...Hmm." Nian Nian pinched Yuan Yuan's ear, which was barely warm. "Are we sending Yuan Yuan for cremation right away?"
Shi Guilin was also upset: "I can't help Nian Nian. Not taking any measures to let Yuanyuan stay in the natural environment is not good for Yuanyuan's body. Dad doesn't want to see Yuanyuan's body become... bad."
"I understand." Nian Nian placed Yuan Yuan in Shi Guilin's arms and said, "Dad, I'm going upstairs to pack my things and take them with me when I go to the cremation later."
Shi Guilin understood him and said, "Go ahead. The cremated ashes need a container. Go to the display cabinet and pick out a jar."
"Okay." Nian Nian turned around, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and hurried upstairs.
Twenty minutes later, the father and son specially picked a car with spacious back seats and set out to cremate Yuanyuan.
Shi Guilin drove according to the navigation system. Nian Nian and Yuan Yuan sat in the back, a bulging handbag beside their legs. Yuan Yuan was lying on her side in the back seat, as if she were asleep.
When they arrived at the pet-only funeral home, Shi Guilin went to the back seat and picked up Yuanyuan, while Nian Nian picked up the handbag and followed them.
After explaining the purpose and needs to the funeral home staff, Yuanyuan, who had lost all consciousness, was taken away, placed on a small bed with wheels, and pushed away.
Shi Guilin and Nian Nian followed the bed to a room and watched the professionals tidy up Yuan Yuan's appearance step by step.
After nearly an hour of work, Yuanyuan was completely refreshed and became clean and beautiful again.
Shi Guilin and Nian Nian looked at and touched it lovingly for a long time.
"Cremation can be arranged." The staff member who had seen off countless people's beloved pets spoke calmly. After obtaining Shi Guilin's consent, he continued to push Yuanyuan to the cremation site.
It was not until he arrived at the crematorium and watched Yuanyuan being transferred from the roller bed to the iron plate that had been opened in front of the crematorium that the delayed dull pain surged to Shi Guilin's heart.
Sure enough, no matter how calm you are when making decisions at home, it is impossible not to feel uncomfortable when seeing this scene.
The staff asked: "Is there anything else you want to say to the dogs?"
Nian Nian clenched the bag in her hand, her tone filled with requests: "Uncle, can I put Yuanyuan's favorite things next to Yuanyuan and burn them together?"
"Anything that can be burned is fine, whatever you like."
"Thank you, uncle." Nian Nian squatted down, opened the bag, took out the things inside one by one, and placed them next to Yuan Yuan.
"Yuanyuan, even though you insisted on giving me the sandbag, I decided to leave it to you so that you can play with it when you go to another place. And this dress, your favorite one, I've also brought it for you. Remember to wear it in the other world."
Finally, there was a braided red rope, which Nian Nian put around Yuan Yuan's neck. "This was given to me by Brother Du An. There are two in total. I'll give you one now."
"If," Nian Nian choked up, "if you still remember me in the next life, you can come to me wearing this red string. Even if you are in the trash can at that time, I will immediately carry you home."
"Goodbye, Yuanyuan." After saying the last sentence, Nian Nian turned around quickly and buried her whole face in front of Shi Guilin, unwilling to look at him again.
Shi Guilin felt a dampness on his chest, a bitter pain. He silently said goodbye and signaled the staff to begin cremation.
"Bang!"
It was the sound of the crematorium's iron door closing.
Nian Nian burst into tears and hugged Shi Guilin even tighter, saying, "Yuan Yuan really left me."
*
Yuanyuan's urn has been placed in Nian Nian's room for five days.
Nian Nian was in a low mood for the past three days and could barely say a few words a day.
Wang Xiulin was so worried that she couldn't sleep. She privately asked Shi Guilin, "What do you think? Why don't we get another golden retriever? Nian Nian will be in a bad mood for a long time, which will cause big problems."
"I know, Mom." Shi Guilin disagreed with her suggestion. "It's normal for a child to be upset for a few days after his dog, which he had been with for over ten years, passed away. Nian Nian is still a child and can't regulate his emotions as well as we adults. You have to give him some time."
"Besides, Nian Nian doesn't want any other puppies. He's wearing a red string on his wrist right now, all for Yuan Yuan."
The plan to raise another golden retriever was abandoned.
Nian Nian's mood improved on the fourth day, and the opportunity came when Jiang Duan came to her house.
The two of them huddled in Nian Nian's room. Nian Nian first cried in front of Jiang Duan. After venting her suppressed emotions, Jiang Duan played a movie for her.
After the movie, Jiang Duan told him, "In this world, whether it's family or friends, death is the inevitable end. But Nian Nian, as the movie says: Death is not the end of life, forgetting is."
"Everything dies eventually, but if someone remembers him sincerely, it means he's happy and someone loves him." Jiang Duan leaned in gently, rubbing Nian Nian's eyelids, which had been swollen for several days, with his fingertips. "You remember Yuanyuan with love, and that's enough."
"Nian Nian, don't trap yourself in separation, okay."
Nian Nian snuggled into Jiang Duan's arms, blinked away tears of relief, and finally nodded her chin.
Life isn't like a drama, always with a happy or sad ending. After returning to school after her holiday, Nian Nian resumed her daily routine.
The only difference was probably that there was no longer a figure happily waiting for him at the entrance after school and then taking away his schoolbag.
It doesn’t matter. He’s grown up now and it’s okay for him to carry his own schoolbag.
Unexpectedly, without Yuanyuan, he carried this schoolbag until he graduated from high school.
------
My dears, it’s obvious by the end that I’m running out of time again.
It's not a bad ending. If you read my column, you will know that I particularly like the theme of childhood sweethearts.
But when I wrote my first childhood sweetheart story, I was locked up in a small dark room for a month for rectification because I described ambiguous feelings between the top and bottom in junior high and high school.
Tomato’s dual male protagonists are not allowed to write about the protagonist’s love life before adulthood.
So in order to avoid being tied down and worried about being rejected, I decided to skip junior high and high school directly, and the emotional development and highlight will be after high school graduation (which is also in line with the introduction of this article that the emotional line will start from high school graduation and adulthood). The content of junior high and high school can only be occasionally inserted as a transitional supplement, not too much.
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