Chapter 39
In the window of the supply and marketing cooperative opposite the Municipal Song and Dance Troupe, a Yanwu tape recorder was playing "Love Song 1990". The song was steaming in the heat wave, and a timber truck roared past with its horn blaring.
Mo Daoyan received a message from Chen Jueyao in front of the gate of No. 4 Middle School, and immediately drove there. Before he turned off the car, he saw Chen Jueyao rushing out of the group, and when he opened the passenger door, he brought in a scent of gardenia. He originally thought that the other party was eager to meet to discuss the mess with Qiao Zhuocheng, but unexpectedly he just came to give him theater tickets.
This was the second time Chen Jueyao gave away tickets, and his words always came up with the theme of "be sure to bring Tong Yufei along". Even the sunflower handbag was still in his mind after several months. This persistence surprised Mo Daoyan a little. Tong Yufei's hands were really precious and "unparalleled in the world". Could they make Chen Jueyao bend so low?
During the conversation, another incident came up. Chen Jueyao had sent tickets to Tong Yufei several times before, but each time he was rejected. Chen Jueyao gritted his teeth and said, "It was her brother who threw the soda on me, not me who picked a fight with him. Why is it that after I gave her the letter of apology, she acted so arrogantly? She's so ungrateful that she's boasting about a bag. If I didn't want our prop master to learn from her, I wouldn't have let her bully me."
Mo Daoyan stuffed the tickets into his wallet and said, "She's not a narrow-minded person. She won't make enemies for no reason."
"So the divorce is all your fault?"
"Do you still have the energy to care whether I get a divorce or not?"
"If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but facing Chen Ruchao's sister, how can you have the nerve to..."
"I can't compare to you and Qiao Zhuocheng. Your sister and I haven't been a couple in public for many years."
The light dancing in Chen Jueyao's eyes suddenly died down. "In the eyes of others, it seems like I don't want him, but when has he ever wanted me? Qiao Zhuocheng is a big boss with unlimited glory outside, looking fearless and in control of everything, right? In fact, every time he sees my parents, he's like a wolf with its spine pulled out, with its tail tucked between its legs. I often wonder if you make him look too dim, so... He said he regards you as a close friend and only envy you, not jealousy, but the inferiority hidden in his shell makes him timid about our relationship. It's not that I haven't tried, but they all ended in failure. In the long run, being with him is like touching my left hand with my right hand, and I have no other thoughts. It's like I've betrayed him, but he's never acknowledged it. Do you think this is an unforgivable sin?"
The second half of the sentence, mixed with the honking of car horns outside the window, shattered in the hot air of late May. Mo Daoyan began to get irritated. He hooked his fingers around the collar of his Dacron shirt and tugged at it. His breathing became much smoother. He had never been good at untangling tangled emotional issues, let alone being a military strategist. He could only lay out the stakes openly: "What are you going to do next?"
Chen Jueyao's red nails made sharp scratches on the soda bottle, his tone filled with disdain. "Ten years ago, Ms. Yu could openly mention her extramarital affair and dissolve a marriage that wasn't based on love. It shouldn't be harder for us, unmarried men and women, than for her, right?"
"So she's been criticized by countless people, saying she's using marriage as a springboard to pursue her own personal gain. Newspapers have publicly labeled her a 'fallen woman,' and hurled a lot of dirty water at her. Now, she's living in Germany and hasn't returned. Now that you've read her story, you can probably guess why. Cao...what was it?"
"Cao You."
"Cao You and you were once teacher and student. The words teacher and student cannot be erased from the records. Teacher-student love has always been a taboo. Even if you are not afraid of rumors and ignore what outsiders say, what about Professor Chen and Professor Yan? Especially Professor Chen, who is also a man. What will he think of Cao You, who is both a teacher and a father to his students? And your dance career, once you are accused of an extramarital affair, Chen Jueyao, life's opportunities will not always be favorable to you."
The sunlight slanted in through the car window, casting a complex mix of light and shadow on Chen Jueyao's face. She was wearing a light yellow long dress today, and her hair was simply tied into two ponytails, making her look a few years younger than her actual age. She stared at the slogan "Open up and revitalize, strive for excellence" on the wall at the entrance of the alley, and her shoulders trembled slightly. She has always been the living signboard of the city song and dance troupe, bringing excellence wherever she goes. Can an unpromising relationship really wipe out all of this?
"When did you start to worry about everything? You're just saying it's not worth sacrificing your career for love, but that hasn't happened yet. Just because this relationship has some troubles, are you going to throw it away like trash and not even put in the effort? So, tell me, what kind of relationship is 'worth' devoting your life to? Like your lab data, do you have to list the parameters first?"
Mo Daoyan's expression remained unchanged. He leaned over and pulled a copy of the Xicheng Daily from the back seat of the car. The front page featured the city's song and dance troupe's second-half performances and cast profiles, featuring celebrities like Chen Jueyao and a host of newcomers. He looked toward the side hall of the troupe's main entrance, where a girl in a white dress was practicing dancing. "In this era of barbaric expansion, some people seize opportunities and rewrite their lives, while others, dazzled by the selection, trade gold for pebbles. She's younger than you, spins more steadily, has an innate hearing advantage, and with some decent talent, she'll soon be cultivated into a new pillar of the stage. The purpose of the B-actor is to wait for the A-actor to naturally disappear, or to fall on their own."
Chen Jueyao froze in her seat until the metal chain of her handbag dug deeply into her palm. Then she abruptly stood up and got out of the car. She took a few steps, then suddenly turned back and glared at Mo Daoyan fiercely: "You married Tong Yufei instead of Chen Ruchao, who was equally good in every way, because she was the less troublesome one, right? Mo Daoyan, you deserve to live out your life alone."
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After leaving the song and dance troupe, Mo Daoyan rushed straight to the old house on Wuling Street. He had originally planned to have lunch with his grandmother today, and then go to the Nanhuai Theater to watch the afternoon show of the opera. However, as soon as he reached the gate of the courtyard, he heard Aunt Lin's panicked shouting. His grandmother accidentally slipped while watering the flowers in the flowerbed, and her back of the head hit the edge of the marble table hard, and she fell into a coma on the spot.
Mo Daoyan immediately sent his grandmother to the First People's Hospital and arranged for emergency treatment through Dr. Zhu Shiquan, chief physician of the Department of Neurology and an old classmate of his cousin Xu Ying. Dr. Zhu initially diagnosed his grandmother with moderate traumatic brain injury, commonly known as concussion, and required hospitalization for observation. Subsequent examinations also revealed signs of senile cerebral atrophy in his grandmother, a chronic disease that can lead to language disorders and cognitive decline.
Aunt Lin clapped her thigh in sudden realization. "No wonder the old lady has been talking nonsense these days. One moment she's talking about buying Daoyan a new schoolbag, the next she's talking about giving Daoxing a toy gun, and she wants to make a cheongsam for Miss Tong, saying last year's one is worn out, but Miss Tong has never worn a cheongsam. And that pot of flowers, she's been watering them four or five times, and no amount of persuasion will stop her... I thought the old lady was just feeling empty after you moved out, but I didn't expect she'd become ill. Oh, Daoyan, you just came back, and the old lady is already sick. Poor thing."
Dr. Zhu explained to Mo Daoyan that the causes of cerebral atrophy are complex, and there's currently no cure. However, senile cerebral atrophy itself progresses slowly. Considering Mrs. Mo's age, with standardized medication and regular checkups, and maintaining a positive attitude, her condition is manageable. Family members can spend more time with her doing activities that slow the progression of the disease, such as gardening and listening to opera. They can also practice Tai Chi to maintain their ability to integrate thoughts. As long as they adhere to scientific treatment, they likely won't develop severe intellectual impairment throughout their lives.
His parents went on a business trip to another province. Mo Daoyan told Aunt Lin that grandma's condition was stable and there was no need to inform them of the news for the time being. Then he asked Aunt Lin to go back, and he completed the admission procedures for grandma and stayed in the hospital to take care of her.
As dusk fell, he walked out of the hospital and left a message on Tong Yufei's pager at a newsstand on the corner, saying that he couldn't pick her up and asked her to go home after the exam. But when he returned to the ward ten minutes later, he saw Tong Yufei bending over to wipe his grandmother's face, his frail figure casting a golden light on the white sheets.
When grandma woke up and saw Tong Yufei, she was delighted and asked her with concern whether she was used to living in the new home. Mo Daoyan was used to it because he had been away from home for a long time. Her situation was different from Mo Daoyan's. If she couldn't get used to it, she could move back to the old house at any time. Wouldn't it be easy to reunite with Mo Daoyan? Hongsheng was not like Germany. It was not a problem to go back and forth more than ten times a day. She could just let Lao Yan pick her up.
"When I first moved in, I was a little uncomfortable and missed home, but I couldn't move out. Otherwise, Daoyan would be alone in the new house. I stayed there so that he and I could take care of each other. Every time he came home from overtime, at least he would have someone to talk to instead of always talking to the empty space."
She took out her nail clippers and carefully trimmed her grandmother's nails. When she said "home," she paused for a few seconds to make sure she understood that this "home" was the Mo family. Mo Daoyan listened, thinking that she clearly didn't want to go back, but her words were perfectly articulated, each one piercing her grandmother's heart. While she certainly wanted her by her side, she loved him most, her grandson. As long as she said it was for him, she would be willing to give in. Sometimes he really annoyed with her hypocritical docility, like dough that allowed itself to be kneaded by anyone, while her true character was on the other side. But with her bedridden grandmother, this temper became a universal balm.
Aunt Lin prepared dinner at home and had Uncle Yan bring it over. Grandma was having trouble chewing and swallowing, so Aunt Lin specially prepared clear noodle soup and vegetable and lean meat porridge, but Grandma refused to touch either and insisted on eating jelly. Tong Yufei coaxed her gently, "Eat well tonight. Tomorrow I'll bring a tape recorder and play 'The Peony Pavilion' for you."
After grandma fell asleep again, he whispered to her, "You came so early, doesn't the exam end at five o'clock?"
"The exam is over at 3:40, and the politics exam only takes a hundred minutes."
"Oh... Aunt Lin is nosy. I'm enough here."
"It wasn't Aunt Lin who asked me to come. A relative of mine was seeing a doctor here, so I came to help get the medicine, and I happened to meet Grandma."
He took out two theater tickets from his pocket: "Chen Jueyao still wants to invite you to the theater."
Without even raising her eyelids, she said, "Miss Chen and I are not on the same page. She keeps inviting me out just for that handmade bag. You should give it to her so that I don't bother you all the time."
Tong Yufei's attitude was so resolute, with none of her usual humility, which gave Mo Daoyan the feeling that the old grudge between her and Chen Jueyao could not be explained by the phrase "they were not on the same path".
He stuffed the ticket back into his pocket. "Don't force yourself if you don't want to go. I'll help you decline."
"I've been working the day shift a lot this month. After I finish my exam tomorrow, I'll ask Auntie Lin to look after Grandma during the day, and I'll come over after get off work tonight. It's always more convenient for me to take care of her, cleaning her and changing her clothes."
"Go back and rest. Do well for the exam tomorrow." He walked Tong Yufei out of the ward, looked at her back at the end of the corridor, and suddenly called her back, "Tong Yufei, wait a moment."
The two of them came to the downstairs of the inpatient department. There were several silent cars parked in the night. The one at the back was his. He walked straight over and opened the trunk. A wooden box with the red word "Popsicle" printed on it lay quietly inside, covered with two layers of quilts.
Tong Yufei thought of the mother who wanted to buy a whole box of popsicles for her daughter and asked in surprise, "You bought all her belongings? How long will it take to finish all these popsicles?"
Mo Daoyan pulled off the quilt and said, "It's not a popsicle."
She looked out curiously: "What is that?"
The moment Mo Daoyan opened the lid of the box, a cool breeze hit him in the face. There were a few unmelted insulating foam boards at the bottom of the box, and on top of them lay a shiny black-skinned watermelon. It turned out that in order to make iced watermelons, he specially bought an insulating box from a vendor and gave away all the popsicles. He bought it on the way back to the old house in the morning and had intended to share it with her in the evening, but his grandmother's sudden hospitalization disrupted his plan.
He tapped the watermelon with his fingers, making a crisp "dong dong" sound. "The boss said it's ripe. Grandma is sleeping now, so I'll take you home and leave the watermelon at home. You can eat a few pieces and put the rest in the refrigerator."
"You should stay with grandma. What if she wakes up mid-sentence? Even with a nurse, it's not going to work without family around. I have two professional exams tomorrow, so I can't eat too much. If I do, I'll have to put almost the entire melon in the refrigerator. It won't be fresh overnight. Why don't we share it here? You can have two pieces, and give the rest to the doctors and nurses on duty to help them cool down."
"You have to hide from grandma. If she sees you, she'll definitely make a fuss and ask for food."
She looked at his face reflected in the moonlight and couldn't help but chuckle: "Let's eat secretly."
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