Chapter 22 Brother, I don’t want to like him anymore.
For the first time, Jiang Keyu sat alone on the steps in front of the study and thought that it seemed like the first time he saw his wife so angry, including the six years before she became his wife.
The sound of footsteps "tat tat" came from outside, and I could tell it was a child running.
Jiang Keyu looked up. When the footsteps faded, Jiang Chengyou was standing at the door. The small man was half covered by the shadow of the door.
"Dad." Jiang Chengyou held the door frame and stood on the threshold.
"What's wrong?"
"Mom asked me to ask you, if you are free, can you help your sister sleep tonight?"
Jiang Keyu was stunned for a moment, then responded, "Okay."
He did not move for a long time and waited for a long time, but there was no further response from Jiang Chengyou.
"Didn't your mother tell you to say anything else?"
Jiang Chengyou frowned and tugged at the corner of his clothes. "Mom also said that Chengcheng is your biological son. Can you please not be so mean to him in the future?"
Jiang Keyu raised her eyelids and looked at her son calmly.
Jiang Chengyou swallowed hard, then hung his head. "Okay, Mom only asked if you could take your sister to bed."
Jiang Keyu didn't even notice it himself, he sighed.
He stood up slowly, dusted himself off, and walked out the door.
"Come on, go catch your sister sleeping."
In the bedroom on the other side, Jiang Suisui, who could not be stopped by anyone, ran into the room and went straight to her mother without saying a word.
Song Baoyuan, who was sitting in front of the dressing table putting on her makeup and hair, was interrupted. She saw her daughter climbing up her legs, hooking her neck, snuggling into her arms, then tilting her head back to kiss her face, and then rubbing her cheek against her chest.
"Mom! Mom!" he called out sweetly.
Song Baoyuan hugged her to prevent her from falling, "What's wrong?"
"Mom, don't be angry!"
"Mother is not angry."
Jiang Suisui pouted, "Then Mommy, please don't be angry with Daddy, okay?"
Song Baoyuan chuckled, "Mother isn't angry with Father either."
"Really?" Jiang Suisui opened her eyes wide, as if trying to see through her. "Daddy asked me to comfort Mom, so did I comfort Mom?"
"Um!"
Jiang Suisui was very pleased when he heard this, and his teeth were showing.
"Okay, it's late, Suisui should go back to bed."
"good!"
After coaxing her daughter away, the smile on Song Baoyuan's face disappeared instantly, and what followed was infinite fatigue and tiredness.
"Madam, you should also go to bed early." Qiao Yin said from the side.
Song Baoyuan stood at the door and looked up at the sky. Tonight's moon was covered by dark clouds, and the stars were dim.
"I want to go see my parents," she said softly.
Qiao Yin was slightly startled, then turned around and took out a cloak. "Then Madam, please put on one more layer. It's very cold in the ancestral hall."
"Um."
*
The ancestral hall is located in a secluded place and can be reached through a narrow path.
Qiao Yin walked beside her holding a lantern, and the warm yellow light illuminated Song Baoyuan's green dress and tea-white cloak.
Her steps were slow, probably because of hesitation.
Facing the evening breeze, Song Baoyuan suddenly remembered that many years ago, she heard that her "brother" had returned home from the academy and ran out of the room impatiently.
She was full of anticipation every time, letting the breeze blow on her face and her steps were extremely light.
Hiding behind the eaves, even though she knew he couldn't see her, she would still tidy up her clothes and ask the maid if her hair was messy.
There were one or two times when she was discovered by her "brother", and she had to pretend to be calm and make excuses, saying that she was just passing by.
"Brother" was standing there, as green as a pine tree and as bright as the moon. He smiled and said, "What a coincidence."
"Brother" looks so good when he smiles and has such a nice voice that it would make her run away in shame.
It's not over yet.
Every time he came back from the academy, "brother" would bring her gifts. Sometimes Liu'an would deliver them for him, but most of the time, he would give them to her personally.
Rosewood pens, comic books, bamboo dragonflies, delicious snacks...
Even though she was excited, she calmly accepted the gift, bowed gracefully, and said, "Thank you, brother."
After being admitted to Li Shang Academy, "brother" spent less and less time at home.
Mother said that "brother" should study hard and she is not allowed to disturb him even at home.
Alas, it’s so difficult to find a reasonable reason to appear in front of my “brother”.
But perhaps she was blessed by God, the kite she flew in the spring broke its string and landed right in her "brother's" yard.
She went there alone with a nervous mood, leaned against the door, and carefully peeked in, but she met her "brother's" smiling eyes.
At that moment her heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it was about to jump out.
The "brother" with half-tied hair was wearing a tea-white gown stained with ink. He held a pen in one hand and the kite she had just dropped in the other.
"Brother" asked: "Is this yours?"
"Yeah." She nodded obediently, but felt annoyed the next moment, thinking that she must look very stupid.
The kite was clearly in her "brother's" hand, but she felt like she was the one being held in his hand. Every move he made made her extremely nervous.
"More?"
She took a step forward, revealed herself, and stood up straight, stiff but feeling decent.
"want."
"Brother" smiled and said, "Then come and get it."
But after she hesitated, she walked up to him, lifting her skirt with every step, but her "brother" held the kite above his head, and she couldn't reach it even if she stood on tiptoe.
Is this bullying her?
But how could my "brother" be so kind and honest as to have such evil thoughts?
"Do your brother a favor," he said.
So she climbed up the rockery, raised her kite, and let it fly in the wind.
Let the breeze lift her black hair and hairband, her sleeves and skirt.
She looked at the boundless sky, motionless, waiting for her "brother" to draw her on paper.
In fact, her "brother" was not that strict, and she was not that perseverant, but she inexplicably persisted for an hour that day, and even her expression did not change.
"Brother"'s painting skills are very good, even far better than the painter. When she wanted to see herself as painted by "brother", she was stopped.
"Brother" asked: "Do you want to see it?"
She nodded.
"Call me brother."
Inevitably, she blushed.
In order not to be exposed, she pretended to be angry and her face turned red.
Seeing her angry, "Brother" smiled even more, "I won't tease you anymore."
"Brother" took the scroll in his hand and unfolded it. Spring was vividly displayed on the paper. The girl holding the kite was natural and lively, like a fairy bringing spring.
She clearly didn't smile just now, but the picture of herself was smiling brightly.
"Do you like it?"
She likes it, very, very, very much.
But she still didn't dare to show a smile as unrestrained as the one in the painting, and just nodded implicitly.
"Then it's for you."
"Brother" rolled up the scroll and put it in her hand. "Your birthday is in a few days, and I won't be home. So, consider this as my wishing you a happy birthday in advance."
"Brother" would remember her birthday, prepare gifts for her with care, and show her an unguarded smile... But why did he never show up again?
Song Baoyuan finally walked to the ancestral hall and stood under the lantern, looking dazed.
Maybe it was wrong from the beginning. A brother should always be a brother.
The candlelight in the ancestral hall flickered, and with only a row of tablets, it looked empty.
Song Baoyuan walked in alone, and Qiao Yin stood guard at the door. She felt heartbroken when she saw the young lady's thin figure walking into the darkness.
In front of her parents' tablets, Song Baoyuan silently lit incense, inserted it into the censer, and knelt down to worship.
She didn't move for a long time, just like when she knew her "brother" was drawing her.
"Dad, Mom."
Her voice was lonely. "It seems... my daughter has failed to live up to your expectations."
She once again remembered her father's last words - our Baoyuan is so good, he will definitely like you.
Daddy is such a far-sighted and insightful person. He has never made a wrong judgment on major issues in his life, but he fell into trouble with her.
"I'm sorry." Song Baoyuan raised her head, her black hair sticking to the corners of her eyes and lips, "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry."
Her voice couldn't stop trembling. "But, but my daughter really can't bear it anymore."
"My brother doesn't like me and he will never like me. I have tried very hard to be a good wife, but my brother just doesn't like me, and I don't want to like him anymore..."
The long suppressed emotions seemed to have finally found an outlet.
Hiding in the darkness, crying without restraint in front of the most trustworthy person.
Tears streamed down his face, he sobbed uncontrollably, like a very aggrieved and self-destructive child.
"I don't want to like him anymore, I never want to like him again!"
“…”
*
"Daddy, what's wrong with you?"
Jiang Suisui reached for her raised legs and rolled over on the bed.
Jiang Keyu felt inexplicably suffocated in his heart. He was stunned for a while, then stood up and opened the window, thinking that the room was stuffy.
Turning around and seeing his daughter, who was still full of energy after coaxing her for almost half an hour, he felt tired again, "Why isn't Sui Sui sleeping yet?"
Jiang Suisui snorted softly, "Daddy was just telling a story, I didn't listen to anything, then I remembered that you and Mom didn't keep your promise and didn't give me a sister! Suisui is angry!"
Jiang Keyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She walked back and sat next to her. "Do you really want a younger sister that much?"
"I do!" Jiang Suisui spun in place like a ball. "My brother has it all, and he also said it's fun to have a sister. I want one too!"
She asked sincerely, "Daddy, do you have a sister?"
Jiang Keyu was stunned. It was really difficult to answer.
Many images flashed through his mind in an instant, and memories that had long been buried by time suddenly surged.
“Yes….”
"Is it fun?" Jiang Suisui asked anxiously.
Jiang Keyu lowered her eyes, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
His sister... before she became his wife, she was really fun to tease.
Sometimes it looks like an elegant bluebird on a branch, sometimes like a proud kitten basking in the sun, and sometimes like a cunning little fox trying hard to hide its tail...
"Daddy?"
"Yeah." Jiang Keyu came back to her senses. "Okay, go to sleep first. We'll talk about my sister later. Daddy will work hard, okay?"
Jiang Suisui rolled into the bed reluctantly.
"Go to sleep." Jiang Keyu patted her belly.
*
It was after midnight that Song Baoyuan stepped out of the ancestral hall.
At a certain moment when she was crying, she suddenly understood many things.
For example, everything has a traceable path.
When his mother passed away, Jiang Keyu cried in public. When his father was sick, he also cried secretly.
But from the time his father proposed the marriage until his father was buried, he never shed a single tear.
Song Baoyuan remembered crying so hard she nearly fainted in front of her father's funeral hall. Jiang Keyu, now her husband, simply knelt silently beside her from beginning to end, burning paper money, as wooden as an emotionless puppet.
At that time, he must have been complaining in his heart.
"Madam, would you like to go back and rest?" Qiao Yin asked.
Song Baoyuan looked up at the dark sky and sighed deeply.
Perhaps, letting herself go, and at the same time letting him go, is her only choice now.
Song Baoyuan took the lamp from Qiaoyin's hand and said, "You go back first."
"And you?"
Song Baoyuan didn't answer and walked past her.
Qiao Yin was stunned, worried. But since they were at home, there wasn't any danger. She thought she just wanted to be alone, so she let her go.
Song Baoyuan took a long detour, trying to use the baptism of the evening breeze to make herself sober and calm.
When my legs were tired, I just arrived at Jingzhai.
There is ready-made paper and pen in Jingzhai, and it is only separated from Jiang Keyu's study by a wall.
In the middle of the night, she knocked on the study door.
The light was still on in the study. Jiang Keyu, who couldn't sleep at night, was lying on the couch and was startled by an untimely knock on the door.
"who?"
"It's me."
It was the lady's voice. Jiang Keyu got up from the couch, straightened his clothes, walked to the desk and sat down, then picked up the file on the desk.
I wanted to calmly say, "Come in."
He just opened his mouth but felt something was wrong, so he threw the file away, walked to the door and opened it himself.
With a creak, the study door was pushed open from the inside.
Jiang Keyu was stunned. The lady in plain clothes was standing in front of him, holding a lantern, like a beautiful lady in a painting.
Only the naked eye can see the haggardness.
"Why are you here at this time?"
The moment she saw him, her courage suddenly weakened a little. Song Baoyuan lowered her head and clenched the paper in her hand.
"I, I have something to tell you."
Jiang Keyu's eyelids twitched, and she made way for him. "Come in and talk."
"Um."
When Song Baoyuan entered the study, the first thing she saw was a cabinet full of scrolls.
She didn't dare to think about how many people outside this family were painted in it.
"What's the matter?" Jiang Keyu asked.
Song Baoyuan turned around, the words that were difficult to utter were stuck in her throat, but she couldn't swallow them back.
She could only stuff the paper into Jiang Keyu's hand first.
Jiang Keyu picked up a crumpled piece of paper, suppressed her anxiety, and opened it carefully.
When he saw the first word clearly, Song Baoyuan closed her eyes, clenched her palms, and suddenly spoke.
"Let's get divorced."
In an instant, Jiang Keyu felt the blood flowing backwards throughout his body.
For the first time, there was undisguised astonishment and confusion in his eyes.
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