62 Chapter 62
Early in the morning of the first day of the new year, Yang Zhengming drove to pick up Tao Xi and went to a cemetery on the outskirts of the city. Last night, Tao Xi told him that she wanted to visit Fang Sui's grave.
The cemetery was located in the midst of mountains and waters. It was still early in the morning and a white mist enveloped the silent and deserted cemetery. Tao Xi followed Yang Zhengming for a long time before they reached Fang Sui's grave.
This was the first time Tao Xi saw his mother, across a grave.
After Yang Zhengming looked at Fang Hui, he walked away, leaving Tao Xi alone to talk to Fang Hui.
Tao Xi placed a bouquet of white roses in front of the tombstone. There were dewdrops on the snow-white petals. He squatted down and looked at the tombstone, reaching out to touch the words engraved on the cold stone.
The photo of Fang Sui on the tombstone was replaced not long ago. Her beautiful eyes gently looked at everyone who came here to see her. The people who came here grew older year by year, but the person in the photo always stayed in her prime.
Tao Xi looked at it quietly for a long time, as if he was looking at his mother in the photo. He said softly, "Mom, I'm here to see you. Can you see me?"
Only the faint sound of wind and birdsong could be heard in the cemetery. After a long while, he continued speaking to the tombstone:
"Mom, I'm home."
"My grandparents are very kind to me. I had dinner with them last night and my grandma cooked a lot of dishes for me."
"Grandma said that I like the rice wine she makes as much as you do, so I drank an extra bowl. I wish you could have some too."
"I am living a good life now. I have someone I love very much and he also loves me. I came here for him and he took me home."
"I am learning painting from Grandpa Qiao. He always says that he has a very good female student. I know that is you. I will make him proud of you as he is proud of me."
"Mom, thank you for always blessing me in heaven."
"I miss you so much, I hope you are happy in heaven."
The fog gradually dissipated, and light golden sunlight penetrated the thin white fog. Tao Xi stood up from in front of the tombstone, and finally slowly bent down towards the tombstone.
On the way back, both father and son were silent. Yang Zhengming drove the car and did not turn on the music this time. Tao Xi kept looking out the window. After a long silence, she suddenly asked Yang Zhengming:
“Why Taoxi Bay?”
On the way here, he had already roughly learned from Yang Zhengming why Fang Sui left her family.
A long-forgotten past could not be fully expressed in a few words. He only knew that many years ago, Yang Zhengming was Fang Zuqing's favorite student. Because his parents died early, he was taken care of by his teacher. He secretly developed feelings for his teacher's daughter. This could have been a happy story, but it ended up like this.
There is no hatred, nor betrayal, everything is just a tearing in the name of love, which has pushed Fang Sui, the center of the vortex, into a desperate situation. She is pregnant with her lover's child, and is determined to give him life, but her parents do not allow it. Even her best friend refuses her request for help, and finally her lover also chooses to retreat and escape.
A person who has always been docile may never turn back once he becomes stubborn. Fang Sui, who was completely desperate, went to Taoxi Bay and never came back.
But why is Taoxi Bay?
When Tao Xi asked Yang Zhengming this question, the car gradually stopped by the roadside. He saw Yang Zhengming lowered his head, his fingers tightly gripping the steering wheel, the veins on the back of his hand were distorted, as if he was enduring great pain and regret.
After a long time, he spoke, his voice becoming hoarse: "I used to like photography, and I took pictures of the scenery in many places. She...she liked the peach blossoms in Taoxi Bay the most. I promised her that I would accompany her there to sketch in the future."
Those photographic works also brought Taoxi Bay a brief period of attention and are his proudest works.
Later, when they anxiously looked for Fang Hui everywhere, they searched all the places where Fang Hui might have gone, but he never remembered this place. He forgot the longing look in Fang Hui's eyes at that time, and also forgot his perfunctory promise.
Tao Xi remained silent after hearing this.
He thought that his mother must have been looking forward to Yang Zhengming going there when she was in Taoxi Bay, but until the end of her life, she never waited for the person to take her home.
"I'm sorry." Yang Zhengming suddenly said, looking at Tao Xi with red eyes, "I didn't go to Taoxi Bay to find her, and later I didn't go to Taoxi Bay to find you."
Tao Xi did not respond to Yang Zhengming. He rolled down the car window and looked out. The cold wind from the mountains rushed in, but his chest seemed to be blocked by something, and he still felt stuffy and uncomfortable.
He has heard too many sorrys, but no matter how many sorrys he hears, it can't bring back his mother, or the seventeen years he missed.
The name Tao Xi, which was casually given to him by Guo Ping, seemed to be a prophecy, or a mark of life left on him by fate as a joke.
On the way back, the father and son didn't say another word.
Tao Xi returned home alone. When he entered the house, he saw Lin Qinhe standing beside the sofa in the living room looking at him. He was wearing a gray-blue sweater and holding a book in his hand. It was obvious that he had been reading here and waiting for him to come back.
Tao Xi changed his shoes and slowly walked to Lin Qinhe. He didn't say anything, and Lin Qinhe didn't ask anything. He just reached out and hugged him in his arms.
He buried his face in the soft and warm sweater on Lin Qinhe's shoulders, leaning the weight of his whole body in Lin Qinhe's arms. He took a deep breath, like a returning bird finally hiding in its nest after enduring wind and rain, and felt the heaviness in his chest dissipate a little.
"Do you want to go out for a bike ride in the afternoon?" Lin Qinhe asked.
Tao Xi nodded. He really didn't want to be bored at home.
The weather was very good that day, with a rare bright sun in winter. They rode their bicycles to many places in Wenhua City. Lin Qinhe took him to the elementary school, junior high school, and even kindergarten where he had attended.
When they arrived at the kindergarten, the children had just finished school. Tao Xi and Lin Qinhe stood abruptly at the door. Many parents who had come to pick up their children were standing nearby, and they kept looking at these two eye-catching teenagers.
A grandmother stood next to Tao Xi and asked him, "Are you here to pick up your brother or sister?"
He made up a story casually: "I came to pick up my brother, who is in the senior class of kindergarten."
Grandma became interested and said that her granddaughter was also in the senior class and asked what her name was. She also said that Taoxi was so good-looking, so her brother must be good-looking too. She asked what Taoxi's brother's name was, maybe he knew her granddaughter.
Tao Xi thought for a moment, smiled, and said, "His name is Lin Qinhe. Did your granddaughter mention it when she came home?"
Lin Qinhe, who was sitting astride a bicycle, immediately turned his head and glanced at Tao Xi.
"Oh, the name is nice, but I haven't heard my granddaughter talk about such a kid." Grandma sighed with regret, and asked Lin Qinhe beside Tao Xi, "Hey, little handsome boy, are you here to pick up your younger brother and sister too?"
Lin Qinhe nodded expressionlessly and said, "Pick up my brother." Without waiting for his grandmother to question him, he continued seriously, "He's in the senior class of the kindergarten, and his name is Taoxi."
Tao Xi was so happy that she smiled and said to the grandmother, "My two brothers are in the same class."
"It's great that the brothers have such a good relationship, and the younger brothers can grow up together and have each other as companions." After the grandmother sighed with envy, she suddenly heard her granddaughter calling her, so she hurried to pick her up.
The two of them quickly took the opportunity to ride away. On the way, Tao Xi couldn't help laughing, and Lin Qinhe looked at him several times. He didn't know where his mind jumped to, and suddenly asked Lin Qinhe:
"Hey, you're so smart, why don't you skip a grade?"
He thought that with Lin Qinhe's IQ, it wouldn't be a problem for him to skip four or five grades.
Lin Qinhe didn't follow Tao Xi's jumping thoughts. He was stunned for a moment and said, "A teacher proposed it in elementary school, but my mother didn't agree."
"Luckily you didn't skip a grade." Tao Xi sighed, looking at Lin Qinhe with a smile in her eyes, "Otherwise, how could I go to the senior kindergarten class with you?"
Lin Qinhe smiled when he heard this, thinking to himself that it was a good thing that Tao Xi didn't continue to ask why Luo Zhengyin didn't agree to him skipping a grade.
The next second, Tao Xi suddenly said to Lin Qinhe in a serious tone, "I'll go visit your mother when she gets better."
He knew that Luo Zhengyin was recuperating in a sanatorium, and he also roughly knew that her depression had relapsed because she learned about her life experience.
Lin Qinhe's fingers curled around the handlebars of the bicycle. He didn't expect Tao Xi to take the initiative to ask to see Luo Zhengyin. After a few seconds of silence, he finally said, "Okay, she wants to see you too."
It was not until dusk that the two of them slowly rode their bikes home along the greenway by the river. Tao Xi could hardly ride anymore and it was very difficult for him to pedal, but he saw Lin Qinhe in front of him was still riding steadily and easily.
He was a little unconvinced, so he stepped on the pedals a few times to catch up, and said to Lin Qinhe while panting slightly: "I will take you to Taoxi Bay to climb the mountain in the future. You will definitely not be as good as me."
Lin Qinhe looked at Tao Xi's face, which was slightly red due to sweating, and said with a slight smile, "Physical strength will not change due to different places."
Tao Xi stopped the car and propped one leg on the spot. He felt that Lin Qinhe's words had a hint of meaning, but he couldn't figure out what Lin Qinhe was referring to for a while.
At this time, Lin Qinhe, who had already ridden for some distance, stopped, turned the front of his bike and looked over, waiting for him with his back to the rippling twilight in the river.
Tao Xi looked at the scene for a few seconds, then pedaled hard a few times and rode to Lin Qinhe's side.
The end of the New Year's Day holiday means that there will be no more short holidays before the final exams, and after the final exams there will be another round of ranking and class division.
Even students in Class 1, Grade 2 of Wenhua No. 1 Middle School could not avoid being nervous about the final exams, and Tao Xi also devoted himself to preparing for the exams.
Bi Chengfei shared some exclusive gossip with Tao Xi, saying that Xu Ziqi and Yang Duole from Class 2 had dropped out of school. His aunt Bi Aoxue told him that a note was made on their files, and it would probably follow them for the rest of their lives. He asked him if it had anything to do with the CAC competition.
Tao Xi just said she didn't know. Bi Chengfei was extremely curious. He had clearly seen Yang Duole's father coming to give Tao Xi things several times. Could it be that he and Tao Xi didn't reach an agreement in the end?
Not long after, the final results of the CAC competition came out. Tao Xi lived up to expectations and won the first prize in the country, which was the best result after experiencing the turmoil. He used the prize money to treat his classmates to dinner on the weekend to thank them for their support.
A bunch of high school students who were almost going crazy from reviewing ate and drank to their heart's content and then made a night of noise in a KTV. The boys, without their parents or teachers to supervise them, ordered more than 30 bottles of beer. Tao Xi wanted to drink too, but Lin Qinhe didn't allow it and stuffed a bottle of peach soda into his hand, which made him sigh.
The heating in the private room was sufficient, and the revolving colored lights were turned on by someone, the colorful halos dazzled people, the restless air was mixed with the smell of beer and juice, and the noisy laughter of the teenagers was loud and lively.
Tao Xi was a little dazed in the midst of this bustling crowd, remembering that at this time last year, he should have been wrapped in an old cotton-padded jacket that had little lint left, walking alone in the corridor outside a dormitory for ten people with a flashlight, and finishing his homework for the live broadcast class at Wenhua No. 1 Middle School with his teeth chattering from the cold. The thought that supported him at that time was very simple, which was the moon thousands of miles away on the live broadcast screen.
At this moment, he looked at his classmates from Wenhua No. 1 Middle School who were dancing wildly in front of him, and then looked at the handsome boy next to him. He was wearing a pair of wireless headphones, and was looking down at the tablet in his hand amid the mottled sound and movement. His slender fingers were writing something on the tablet, as if he was not in a KTV but a library.
Tao Xi couldn't help but lean his head closer, and saw that it was the TOEFL English essay that Lin Qinhe forced him to write last night, and next to it were densely packed red correction notes, the number of words almost caught up with the main text.
"...Teacher Lin, you might as well write a new one for me." Tao Xi said with difficulty in putting it into words.
Lin Qinhe's vision was blocked by Tao Xi's head. He raised his hand and pinched Tao Xi's chin to push it aside a little. He continued to annotate the last sentence with a serious tone: "The model essay has been written. You can refer to it."
"......?" Tao Xi was about to say something when he was suddenly carried from the sofa to the bar by Bi Chengfei and the squad leader. A microphone that Bi Chengfei had just spit on was stuffed into his hand. The others shouted at him to sing, "Sing one! Sing one!"
Tao Xi was in a good mood and sang a song openly. It was an old English song, "Fly Me to the Moon", which she had heard before and liked very much, so she wrote it down.
His singing skills are shabby, but he is satisfied as long as his voice is good and the melody is simple and no one makes fun of him or boo him.
Lin Qinhe finally stopped looking at the essay that had been changed beyond all recognition. His usually stern face was half hidden in the dim light. His eyes pierced through the colorful halo and fell on him, focused and gentle.
After the singing, Tao Xi sat back next to Lin Qinhe. Just as he was about to ask proudly how he sang, he saw that Lin Qinhe was still writing on the tablet.
"Teacher Lin, if you correct homework at my party again, I will confiscate your tablet."
Tao Xi pretended to be angry and leaned over to look again, but he saw that the tablet was not filled with his crappy essay, but a new canvas with a beautiful handwritten English sentence on it:
"YouareallIlongfor.AllIworshipandadore."
This is the lyrics he just sang, and the next line is...
Lin Qinhe handed the tablet to him, looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, and said nonchalantly: "I want to give it to you."
Tao Xi took the tablet and looked at the English lyrics on it, blushing a little.
After making a whole night of noise and sending a group of drunkards to their cars, Tao Xi went home with Lin Qinhe. He was still excited and hummed the song he sang all the way. Even after taking a shower and climbing into bed, he did not stop singing. He nestled in Lin Qinhe's arms and took out his mobile phone to count his bonus.
The first prize was very generous, and there was still a lot left. Tao Xi talked about everything in detail about what he wanted to buy for his family and Lin Qinhe, what he wanted to buy for his grandparents, and what he wanted to buy for his teacher Qiao Henian...
Lin Qinhe held Tao Xi with one arm and flipped through a book with the other hand, occasionally responding.
As he was calculating, Tao Xi suddenly became quiet, as if he was thinking about something.
Seeing that Tao Xi was silent, Lin Qinhe looked down at Tao Xi's phone screen and discovered that he was staring at the weather in Wenhua City in a daze. It said that a cold wave was coming in the next few days, and the temperature would drop and it would snow.
He raised his hand and pinched Tao Xi's earlobe, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Tao Xi came back to her senses, turned around and sat on Lin Qinhe's legs, and said, "I was thinking about my sister. I wonder if she really received the things I bought for her last time."
Last time, when a cold wave hit, he bought a bunch of winter warming items and sent them to Guo Ping, including some for Tao Le and some for Guo Ping.
At that time he didn't know that Guo Ping was sick.
Lin Qinhe knew that Tao Xi was thinking about more than just his sister Tao Le. He put his arm around Tao Xi's waist, pulled her closer to him, and asked tentatively, "Do you want to go to Hannan Hospital?"
The last time I met Tao Jian in the hospital, Tao Jian asked Tao Xi to go see Guo Ping when she had time. Tao Xi never went, but Lin Qinhe knew that Tao Xi had been thinking about it.
Tao Xi rested her forehead on Lin Qinhe's shoulder, her fingers grasped a piece of Lin Qinhe's pajamas, and said after a while: "I don't want to go see her, I just think some things may need to be resolved."
Lin Qinhe wrapped Tao Xi's fingers that were holding onto his pajamas in his palm and said for him, "Go and see."
No matter how long the road ahead is, there is no need to look back.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
