Chapter 35
It is said that once you have tasted the marrow, you will never be satisfied. However, this law does not apply to Mo Daoyan.
Tong Yufei once secretly worried that if he came to her room every night to eat her marrow, she would find it difficult to squeeze out enough time to study. However, he was surprisingly restrained, staying at the company or his aunt's house most nights. Occasionally, he would come home early, but rarely stayed in the living room. He often sat alone in the study, playing black and white chess with his left hand, or playing table tennis for a while.
Sometimes, however, he'd suddenly feel like dancing and ask her to go to his study. Whenever this happened, Tong Yufei would think of the emperors in history books who shared dances with their ministers. He wondered what it was like for the woman before him, casually sitting at a table just a stone's throw away, to want to monopolize the entire scene. After each dance, he'd ask about the origins of the steps, and she'd earnestly explain the allusion to the line "When the skirt slants, clouds seem to rise." He listened attentively, then let her go back to her room.
She occasionally wondered if the experience that night had been so dull that he didn't want more, but the thought was extinguished the moment it emerged. It was exactly what she wanted, so why delve into it? Besides, she wasn't in the wrong; the exam was the most important thing right now.
After dawn, there was another appointment waiting for her.
She asked Tong Zhaoyang to come to Qingjiangwan City, Xishan County, her home, her own home.
Qingjiangwan City is neither a city nor surrounded by the Qingjiang River. It only has four dilapidated tube-shaped buildings and is not worthy of its name. It does not have the beautiful natural scenery of mountains and rivers and the colorful regional style of West City that she imagined when she first came here. Instead, it is somewhat similar to the structure of some urban villages. She and her brother Ye Yimo, who supports the family, have lived here for six years.
Ye Yimo is five years older than her. He is the son of his adoptive parents. To be more precise, he is the illegitimate child of his adoptive father Ye Conghai and his ex-girlfriend. His adoptive father never said a word about that mysterious girlfriend. Instead, the neighbor at the alley once talked about her while sucking on his cigarette, saying that the girl had a sparkle in her eyes and looked like someone who could do great things.
The adoptive mother, Zhao Yueqing, was a generous woman. According to the neighbor aunt, it was the adoptive mother's idea to bring her back to the Ye family. The adoptive mother was infertile, but she wanted a child very much, especially a sweet and sweet girl. In that era when "more children, more blessings" was popular, there were countless abandoned baby girls. Zhao Yueqing had planned to choose carefully, but when she saw the girl in the cradle, she was instantly moved. She said that the little girl was a smaller version of herself, and the mother and daughter's eyes were so similar.
Ye Conghai laughed when he heard this: "This baby has double eyelids, which can't be compared with your single eyelids. But other aspects of them are very similar. She is your destined daughter, so you can raise her if you want."
Zhao Yueqing's anger turned into joy: "You're smart."
Although she was born weak and sickly, her adoptive parents still resolutely kept her, spared no effort to treat her illness, and treated her as their own child. However, because of the well-known reason for her adoption, the gossip behind her always followed her, especially the joke Zhao Yueqing made before his death, saying that they adopted her to raise a little wife for their son.
In the alleys of the old houses, the teasing gossips of the neighbors after dinner were like a lingering draft, lingering around her.
"Yufei, you are Yi Mo's child bride. You will live with him forever!"
"Xiao Yufei, I want to sleep with Yi Mo in the future and have lots of babies..."
She was only six or seven years old at the time. How could she understand what a lifetime meant? She simply resisted the playful gazes of those around her, the vague and terrifying future. She threw herself into Ye Conghai's arms and cried, "Dad, I don't want to be my brother's wife. I don't want to give birth to a little fool."
He had no idea that these words were like a rusty knife, cutting into his adoptive father's heart, comparable to lingchi.
Ye Conghai held her in his arms, turned around and scolded Zhao Yueqing: "Don't mention those words again in the future. Yufei is her own person. She is the one who decides her own life. She will not have anything to do with Yi Mo."
Zhao Yueqing's eyes were red, and her voice was filled with grievance: "Those were all jokes from the past. I didn't know anyone was around at the time, and I just wanted to make Yi Mo happy. That child never laughs, and he only laughs when he hears that his sister is going to be his wife..."
Ye Conghai interrupted her, his tone becoming increasingly harsh: "You want your son to laugh, so you make your daughter cry. How can you be a mother like that? What happened in the past? Wasn't it you who said that before? How can you joke about a girl's lifelong event? How foolish and ignorant!"
Zhao Yueqingqing wiped her tears and apologized to her: "I'm sorry, Yufei, Mom knows she was wrong and will not say such nonsense again."
Although she said "it's okay", Zhao Yueqing's tears still flowed like beads from a broken string.
Zhao Yueqing only has an elementary school education. She was able to become an accountant not because of her own superior conditions, but because she took over her father's job. Her father heroically sacrificed his life to save collective property in a fire at the unit. The children of heroes should be treated preferentially. Under the hands-on guidance of the old accountant, her adoptive mother finally became competent in accounting work.
At work, Zhao Yueqing is a glorious descendant of a hero, but when she returns home and faces Ye Conghai, that glory fades.
Ye Conghai was a college student in the 1960s. He spoke fluent Mandarin and even more fluent English. He was also knowledgeable and talented. He could write calligraphy, paint landscapes, and write work reports that would impress his superiors. Zhao Yueqing always bowed her head in front of him. The cultural gap between them was a thorn in her heart, which made her uneasy at the slightest touch.
Tong Yufei only understood after she grew up that Zhao Yueqing's tears were not only because she said the wrong thing and made her angry, but also because of Ye Conghai's heart-wrenching words, which hurt ten times more than the whip. At that time, she could only foolishly wipe the tears for her adoptive mother and sigh, "Mom, don't cry, isn't it okay for me to marry my brother?"
Zhao Yueqing laughed and cried, then cried and laughed again: "Our Yufei will only marry someone she truly loves, and Yufei is very outstanding and worthy of any good boy in this world. No matter who it is, if anyone goesssips in front of you again, come and tell mom, and I will tear their mouths apart."
After her adoptive parents passed away, she and her brother had been living together. Now that she had returned to the Tong family and changed her surname, the relationship between the two siblings seemed unnatural. Gossip still arose when they went out together, but there was no adoptive mother with her hands on her hips to scold them for her. Her landlady, Aunt Zhang Wenying, had advised her to pretend that Tong Yufei didn't exist in Qingjiang Bay, and just call him Ye Yufei. She could insist that they were siblings, and the gossip would fade after a few days. These days, there were so many impoverished families living in one room, so what was wrong with siblings sharing a bed?
She was so frightened that she hurriedly explained: "Aunt, we have never slept in the same bed."
During the years when she and her brother lived in a small hut, she slept on the floor regardless of whether it was scorching summer or freezing winter.
---
She and Tong Zhaoyang arrived home. When they pushed the door open, Ye Yimo was sitting at the wooden table in front of the window, carving a doll.
My brother bore much of his adoptive father's features, a square face with a resolute yet gentle presence, thick eyebrows and large eyes, a straight nose, and a slightly square chin with a shallow groove in the middle, like a mark carefully marked by the goddess Nuwa. He was gifted with a deft hand, self-taught, and with a mere carving knife, he could bring even the most ordinary block of wood to life. As the blade danced, the rough elm wood fell, and sawdust rustled, gradually revealing the eyebrows and eyes, and the delicate demeanor of a girl came to life on the wood.
In Aunt Zhang's basket of goods, there are various things that Ye Yimo has been carving over the years. The twelve zodiac animals are the most popular items and have been used to supplement the family income.
Although her brother's mind remained at the childish stage, his appearance was no different from that of an ordinary adult. People who didn't know him thought he ignored them because he was just arrogant. In the quiet of the night, she would occasionally have dark thoughts. If her brother was not so like a normal man, but a complete fool, perhaps there would be less rumors surrounding her. But she would quickly despise herself for having such thoughts. How could she have such a despicable mind?
She is the only brother she has in this world.
Seeing someone coming in, Ye Yimo's eyes immediately turned into crescents, but the carving knife in his hand did not stop, and he did not even glance at Tong Zhaoyang who followed in, just like a proud and arrogant carving master.
"Yi Mo, look what I brought you?" Tong Zhaoyang didn't care about Ye Yi Mo's "ignorance" and placed the things he brought next to him: a popular sun hat, a pair of new sneakers, and a box of almond cookies that Ye Yi Mo loved to eat as a child. He picked up a wooden carved sika deer and asked, "Master Ye, can you give it to me?"
Ye Yimo ignored him and continued to move the carving knife on the wood.
Tong Zhaoyang put the wooden sculpture into his pocket and said, "Since you didn't say no, I'll take it as your consent."
Tong Yufei poured a glass of water and placed it in front of Ye Yimo: "Don't keep carving, drink some water and take a break, go out for a walk and then continue."
Ye Yimo shook his head to indicate that he was not thirsty.
She knocked on the table. "You don't drink water until you're thirsty. If you don't drink it, I'll confiscate your carving knife."
"Drink water... Big Leaf, drink water... be healthy..." Ye Yimo called her Little Leaf and called himself Big Leaf. He tilted his head back to drink the water, put the cup back on the table, stretched out two fingers and muttered, "Two circles?"
"Yes, walk around Qingjiang Bay twice and then come back."
Tong Yufei said as he brushed the sawdust off his clothes.
Tong Zhaoyang followed him to the door and watched Ye Yimo go downstairs alone: "Can he do it alone?"
Tong Yufei poured the cherries he brought into the fruit bowl and washed them under the sink: "Aunt Zhang and Uncle Zhong are waiting for him downstairs."
Every month she gave half of her salary to Aunt Zhang, asking her to take care of her brother's three meals a day.
"How often do you come back?"
"He comes back whenever he's free. The longest he's been away is no more than three days. Sometimes he can't stay too long, but that's enough. He has no problem taking care of himself, but there are some things he can't do, and he won't allow others to help him, so I have to do it."
"Doesn't Mo Daoyan know about Yi Mo's existence? You've been married for so many years, and you've never thought of telling him?"
The water column splashed crystal water, soaking her sleeves. She gently rolled up her sleeves and said in a low voice: "I'm not planning to break up with him yet."
Tong Zhaoyang felt as if struck by an invisible force, his feet suddenly stopping. Hadn't he once harbored a special affection for her, but now that they were finally together, he couldn't bear to see Ye Yimo near him. He had thought that time and events had passed, but the pain he had caused her had left a scar in her heart that would never fade. He slowly walked over to Ye Yimo's wooden table, sat down, and picked up the newly carved puppet. The puppet's features resembled Tong Yufei's, even its stubborn demeanor was perfectly etched.
Ye Yimo's eyes, which never looked at anyone, contained his sister completely.
Tong Zhaoyang spoke carefully, "A friend of mine has a father who is a chief physician in neurology and has extensive clinical experience. I went to their house for dinner a few days ago, and his uncle mentioned that their hospital has introduced a new minimally invasive brain technology that can cure many intractable diseases and is good news for patients with brain diseases. How about... I take Yi Mo to have a look?"
Tong Yufei placed the cherries in front of him. "His brain tumor has been treated at Chunlei Brain Hospital. Although it's difficult to cure, it's under very good control. The doctor said that when the conditions are ripe in the next three to five years, there's a chance of recovery. Perhaps by then my brother will be able to become a normal person. Moreover, when my parents were alive, they took him to hospitals in Shanghai and Beijing..."
"With the rapid advancements in medical technology today, it's no longer the same level as when Uncle and Auntie were alive. You insisted on taking him to see a doctor for his brain disease, so you wouldn't give up any hope. So the reason you didn't want me to take him to the doctor...isn't it because you were afraid I still had feelings for you? Yufei, I'm not that shameless. Putting aside the fact that Mo Daoyan is my colleague, let's just say that we had a hard time back then, and Uncle Ye and his wife did us a lot of favors. Just think of it as me repaying their kindness and doing something for them."
He walked forward slowly, almost pleading.
"Trust me again and hand him over to me... As for my mother, I'm not defending her. She did regret what she said. In the month before she passed away, she was a little delirious, but she called your name many times and asked me to find you and your sister to come to my house. But their generation suffered from the fission of the times. Love must be hidden in complaints, and guilt must be expressed in the form of admonition. Love cannot be expressed, and hatred cannot be tolerated."
She took a half step back, still keeping her original distance from Tong Zhaoyang: "Brother Zhaoyang, I'm not angry with Auntie. At that time, my mother's case was pending, and Auntie had experienced so many ups and downs. She lived like a frightened bird. She was a pitiful person. What about my brother's illness? If you want to help me, just give me the doctor's contact information and I can arrange for him to see a doctor. It's not that I don't trust you, but...please forgive me for being frank. I have survived the most difficult days, and now I am not used to being overly cared for. Some good intentions can also bring trouble...You can say I am stubborn or worry too much, I just want to spend a few years of peace with my brother."
Tong Zhaoyang laughed self-deprecatingly: "Am I not even as good as your neighbors?"
"Uncle and auntie won't take him to see a doctor. They have too much to do and can't walk that far. Besides, you attract too much attention. Having Ye Yimo is enough to give me a headache. Don't look at him as he is quiet and deep. He is very attractive to girls, but they just run away after taking a look. There are no girls who don't know what he is."
The corners of her lips curled up slightly, revealing the clear smile that was imprinted deep in his memory, without a trace of impurities.
Tong Zhaoyang followed her: "I'll help him take a bath today."
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