Chapter 40
Ward No. 306 where Old Mrs. Mo lived was a single room with a small hall of ten square meters. Mo Daoyan walked in holding a watermelon and borrowed an unopened surgical blade from the nurses' station. As the blade made a crisp cracking sound on the watermelon rind, the watermelon was cut into even crescent-shaped pieces. He kept two pieces and gave the rest to the nurses on night shift.
Tong Yufei was afraid of disturbing old lady Mo in the inner room, so he nibbled at the seeds bit by bit like a stealthy cat. Whenever he spit out the seeds, he would quietly cover them with a handkerchief, not daring to make any sound.
Mo Daoyan told her to eat as much as she wanted: "Grandma is a deep sleeper."
Tong Yufei noticed that the melon in front of him was still untouched: "Don't you want to eat it?"
"I drank all the soup Auntie Lin cooked, and I have no room for more."
They had dinner together. She saw that he gave most of the meal to Uncle Yan and only ate half a bowl of rice. "Are you worried about grandma?"
Mo Daoyan didn't answer, but his body language betrayed him. He supported his knees with his elbows and clasped his fingers against his forehead, which was an action people would do when they were anxious and had no solution. During the day, he listened to Doctor Zhu talking about the condition and looked at his grandmother sleeping peacefully, thinking that the doctor's words were alarmist. But now he was quiet, and certain images weighed on his mind and were difficult to resolve. His grandmother, who always stroked his head with her warm hands, might look at him with strange eyes one day?
Even when facing Tong Yufei, he couldn't learn how to vent the pain in his flesh and blood.
Tong Yufei picked up the piece of melon and put it to his lips: "Take a bite, it's very sweet."
He still shook his head: "You eat it."
"Oh, then you missed the sweetest melon this summer."
After eating the melon, she stood up and went to the sink to wash. The water flowed through her fingers, washing her white fingertips shiny.
“How sweet is it?”
His voice brushed past her ear, and the sound of footsteps mixed with the sound of water rang out. His body, wrapped in a hot breath, surrounded her. He reached out to turn off the faucet, and the moment the last drop of water fell in the sink, he pressed her in front of the wet sink. The tip of his tongue swept away the sweetness remaining between her lips and teeth, and he rubbed it repeatedly as if to confirm something. His hands clasped her lower back, and the force was so strong that it almost hurt her.
The kiss came quickly and hard. Tong Yufei's hand was against his chest, and she felt the heartbeat under her palm gradually become disordered, and then slowly return to normal. When she was finally able to catch her breath, Mo Daoyan buried his face in the crook of her neck. She raised her hand and held it in mid-air, and finally landed on his slightly arched back. His back, which was always straight, trembled when she touched it. Perhaps only his grandmother could make him do this.
After a long time, the rustling sound of bedding rubbing against each other came from the inner room.
Mo Daoyan let go of her instantly, and his calm and composed demeanor returned: "I'll stay with grandma, you go back."
----
On the evening of the Dragon Boat Festival, Tong Yufei finished his last professional writing exam, exchanged his food coupons for two boxes of blueberries at the grocery store at the school gate, and then queued up to buy five rice dumplings wrapped in green bamboo leaves. He hurriedly jumped on the No. 2 bus, holding the lunch box in his net bag all the way, for fear that the sugar inside would be contaminated by dust.
Arriving at the hospital half an hour later, she couldn't even reach Old Lady Mo's bed. The small hallway was packed with people: Dr. Zhu, who was making rounds, and two or three young doctors. Cousin Xu Ying, who was also on rounds and had stopped by to see Grandma, and Chen Huaili and his wife had also arrived, but didn't enter the inner room. Tong Yufei stood at the back of the group, tiptoeing through the gaps in the crowd to peer inside. Meng Ruqing was wiping the old lady's hands with a wet towel. Beside her, Mo Changlin's black leather bag was still slung over his shoulder, the back of his suit stained with two large patches of dust from the hard train seats. Mo Daoxing stood at the foot of the bed, still in the navy blue Mao suit he'd worn for the performance.
Mo Changying lay on the other side of the bed, sobbing uncontrollably, her eyes swollen like two red peaches. "I already lost my father. If I lose my mother too, I'll be an orphan. A child without a mother is like a blade of grass. I don't want to be that drifting grass. Mom, please don't forget me..."
"If you keep making so much noise, I'm going to make you cry like a fool!"
The old lady was fed up with the noise and rubbed her forehead, giving Xu Ying at the door a reproachful look.
"We shouldn't have alarmed them and made such a fuss."
Xu Ying smiled apologetically and said, "They are worried about you."
Mo Daoyan stood beside Aunt Xu. Seeing Tong Yufei standing behind her with a net bag, he went to take it and said, "Aunt Xu called and the whole family was in an uproar. Everyone came rushing over. Dad will be on duty tonight with Grandma. You should go back and rest first. You've been preparing for the exams these days and there's no need to waste all your time here."
"And you?"
Although Mo Changlin said he would keep watch, Mo Daoyan naturally couldn't bear to let his father stay up all night after such a long train ride: "He is used to getting up early, I will keep watch for the first half of the night."
Tong Yufei took out the blueberries and said, "I'll wash some fruit for grandma."
While passing the blueberries around, she made her wishes known to the elders present one by one, fulfilling all the formalities and ensuring her departure would not seem awkward. Mo Changying had stopped crying when she saw her, though traces of tears still lingered on her face. In the past five years, Mo Changying had rarely visited her. While other families' daughters visited their mothers during holidays, with Mo Changying, the rules were reversed; her mother and brother visited her. The last time Tong Yufei met this aunt, whose smile was clearer than the river, was at her own wedding. Mo Changying had given her a pair of mandarin duck pendants, emphasizing that they were her own purchases, saying that most of her jewelry was a dowry and that, having had an unhappy marriage, it would be unlucky not to pass them on to her.
When they met again today, Mo Changying looked at her carefully and said that she had grown up and was more graceful than when they got married. She also praised the mushroom and meat buns she made as better than those from Cuixianglou and not having such a strong peppery taste.
She followed the conversation and responded, "Auntie likes it, I will do it another day."
"No merit, no reward. What do you want in return?"
"Aunt is being too formal. We are family and should keep our distance from each other."
"My whole family can't receive your filial piety for nothing. I haven't given you the same return."
Her voice held a tone of urgency, and Tong Yufei was suddenly in a dilemma. It was really rude to ask for gifts from elders in public, but if he refused, it would seem ungrateful. While he was hesitating, Mo Changying walked out of the ward and Chen Huaili and his wife went in to visit.
The old love between Mo Changying and Chen Huaili was lost in the world many years ago, but because her bastard husband was too cruel, Chen Huaili was beaten all over for standing up for her. The sound of Yan Qi hugging her husband and crying in the ward is still fresh in her ears today. Due to the identities of the three of them as university professors, Mo Changying stubbornly believes that the best ending is that they should not recognize each other when they meet.
Mo Daoyan followed his aunt to the ward door and sat down on the waiting chair together. "If you really want to thank me, Professor Mo, give her the Sony Walkman that I asked my friend to bring back from Japan last month."
The latest model of Sony Walkman is a luxury product, with global radio reception and fast channel search functions. The single-point stereo microphone it is equipped with can capture the slightest sound fluctuations. Tong Yufei had seen one in Cheng Yuan's office, priced at more than 2,000 yuan. Although it is not certain that Mo Changying's one is the same model, the price will not be low either.
She quickly tugged at Mo Daoyan's sleeve: "Stop joking, I..."
Mo Changying interrupted her without giving her any time to think: "Just take it. I've been having trouble walking lately, so I bought it to kill time. But after using it for a few days, I found that books are more to my liking, so I don't need that thing anymore. It's just gathering dust with me, so giving it away is a relief. Mo Daoyan, go get it back for your wife tomorrow."
Mo Daoyan had a rough look at the journalist recruitment process and added, "She's taking the journalist exam. There's an oral English exam later. If she passes, it will also be thanks to you, Auntie."
Tong Yufei glanced into the room and said, "Don't bring this up anymore."
Mo Changying understood immediately: "Even if she's my own mother, I have to say that her thinking is too old-fashioned. She has always supported her sons and grandsons' careers, but she changed her mind when it comes to her daughter and daughter-in-law? Fortunately, neither your mother nor I listened to her, otherwise we would all be housewives. Life is your own, don't be an obedient puppet. I'll give you a Walkman as a gift. Practice hard and show some courage. But if you think it's really valuable, you can give me a discount on the buns."
Tong Yufei calculated quickly in his mind that the price of that Walkman was enough to buy nearly ten thousand buns, enough for his aunt to eat for most of her life. "That's too much."
Seeing her dumbfounded expression, Mo Changying deliberately provoked her: "From now on, I'll give it to you whenever you want."
About an hour later, Mrs. Mo fell asleep and everyone else dispersed. Mo Daoyan stayed in the small hall reading a book. Tong Yufei said unhappily, "You shouldn't have asked my aunt for something on my behalf. At least ask me if I want it first."
"Let me ask you, do you want it? You know better than I do how often it's used by Auntie." Mo Daoyan flipped through the medical monograph he'd borrowed from Doctor Zhu, his eyes calmly scanning the shocking images of cerebral atrophy cases. He didn't look up at the anxious look on her face. "Don't you need it?"
"There are so many ways to practice speaking. So many people can't even afford used tapes from the music store." Her voice trailed off, her nails scraping against her palms. "I don't need a Walkman."
"You're so hypocritical for wanting to endure hardship when you have the means. It's just an electronic product, is there any need to push it around? Can't anyone see your filial piety towards grandma?"
He suddenly interrupted her, deliberately dragging out the last syllable, speaking clearly and heavily, clearly mocking her, saying that she wanted to gain some specific benefits while also trying to establish a chastity arch.
She gasped for breath: "I just don't want to owe my aunt..."
Mo Daoyan slammed the book shut, his gaze piercing hers. "Put this favor on my account. I'll repay Auntie something of equal value in the future. Or... do you even want to settle your account with me? There's been a mess between us for a long time. Can you even figure it out?"
She turned her face away and said angrily, "Anyway, whoever wants it can have it, but I don't want it."
"It's up to you, love or not."
He lowered his head to read again, still with that annoying look on his face.
The next morning, Mo Changying's Walkman appeared on the dining table at home. Tong Yufei had no idea what time Mo Daoyan came back last night, or how he could go to work on time after less than four hours of sleep, and even take a detour to her aunt's house to retrieve her things. She stared at the square box, stubbornly refusing to take a closer look, then locked it in the drawer and threw the key out of the window.
She wanted to prove that even if this marriage started out of calculation, it didn't mean she could be completely shameless and sell off every bone in her body.
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