Chapter 24, Part Twenty-Four
Chapter Summary: [Wei Wuxian laughed so hard he could barely breathe behind him. Once Jin Ling was out of sight, a dull itch crept into his chest. He coughed a few times, and his laughter gradually subsided...]
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Wei Wuxian laughed so hard he could hardly breathe behind him. Once Jin Ling had disappeared from sight, he felt a dull itch in his chest. He coughed for a while, and his laughter gradually subsided. Only then did he have time to think about some things.
Wei Wuxian was taken back by Jiang Fengmian when he was nine years old.
Some of his memories from that time were already blurry, but Jin Ling's mother, Jiang Yanli, remembered them all and told him many stories about them.
Winter
A small figure leaned against the wall, its two little feet bare and purple from the cold, covered with a tattered straw mat that had been picked up from somewhere, riddled with holes chewed by a dog.
A cold wind swept through, and pedestrians hurried along the street. Laughter and cheerful voices drifted from inside the walls along the street, and the aroma of food, carrying warmth, wafted through the window cracks.
Little Wei Ying looked up at the candlelight in the room with envy and longing. He sniffed, breathed on his little hands, rubbed them together, curled up, and swallowed hard every now and then, trying his best to ignore the feeling of emptiness in his stomach.
Creak, roll
A townsman pulled a wooden cart not far away, which was piled with a jumble of wood, cotton wadding, and leftover fruit peels and scraps.
Seeing the townsman enter the house, little Wei Ying, dragging his tattered straw mat longer than himself, shuffled over to the wooden cart. His tiny, chilblain-covered hands picked up a few pieces of fruit peel still bearing bits of pulp. He gently licked the juice off, the cool, sweet sensation bringing a satisfied smile to his chapped lips. Then, he tore the peels apart piece by piece and wolfed them down into his mouth.
Suddenly a shadow fell in front of him, and Wei Ying paused, raising his head to stare blankly at the newcomer, a man in a purple robe with a carved longsword at his side—it was Jiang Fengmian in his youth.
Looking into the child's bright, dark eyes and innocent smile, Jiang Fengmian felt a surge of emotion. So alike, so very alike. When he heard the news of Changze and Cangse's accident that day, he was out running errands. By the time he arrived at the hotel where the Wei couple were staying, little Wei Ying had already been kicked out.
"Are you... Ah Ying?"
The child in front of me doesn't remember many things, but perhaps because he often hears his parents call him that, a big smile spreads across his face.
"Is Uncle calling me? That's what my mom calls me."
Jiang Fengmian felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this.
"Yes, your uncle is a friend of your parents. Would you like to come home with your uncle?"
Home. This word brought a gleam of joy to Wei Ying's eyes.
"So you won't be hungry or cold anymore?"
The child's innocent question brought tears to Jiang Fengmian's eyes. Looking at Wei Ying's chapped lips, he turned around, bought a melon from a nearby vendor, and handed it to Wei Ying.
"No, please come home with your uncle, okay?"
"good!"
Little Wei Ying took a bite of the melon with relish and nodded emphatically.
But when he saw Jiang Fengmian reach out to hug him, he quickly waved his hands and backed away, landing squarely on his bottom on the pile of wood. Seeing Jiang Fengmian looking at him with a puzzled expression, little Wei Ying blushed and said:
"I...I'm...dirty."
Jiang Fengmian was taken aback, then smiled gently and reached out to pick him up.
"It's okay, Uncle isn't afraid of getting dirty."
"Let's go home."
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