61 Chapter Sixty
◎Large and small pearls fall onto a jade plate, a cacophony of notes and sounds, a chaotic chorus. ◎
Yu Jinyang also didn't sleep all night. He went downstairs to get mineral water to wash his hands and sat on the sofa in the living room all night without realizing it. When he came to his senses again, the morning light was seeping in through the gap in the curtains.
After washing his hands with mineral water, Yu Jinyang realized how chaotic things had been, with the two of them even talking incoherently. However, as he washed his hands, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, leaning on the sink. As he laughed, his gaze unconsciously lowered, landing on his fingers, which had just been the source of the absurdity.
So, for some reason, he sat on the sofa in the living room and started scrolling through videos—
From the age of five, when he boarded that train from Hainan to Nanlai City, he felt that the train was the greatest invention in the world.
He recalled that Ms. Tang Xiang was very busy with her hotel management work at that time. In order to get promoted, she would learn various languages on weekends, not just English. At the beginning, Tang Xiang hesitated and scrutinized even when checking in and out, but later she could speak fluent French with VIP customers and even teach him to speak French with foreign friends.
For most of those years, he was fostered by an old lady named Granny Yang. That's how he got his name; before boarding that train, he was actually called Tang Yang. Later, Tang Xiang prepared to take him back to Fengtan and gave him a heads-up, telling him that his father was a very paternalistic and chauvinistic man, and that he should get used to taking his father's surname.
It was then that he learned that Tang Xiang had only planned to live with him for five years.
Grandma Yang is a very loving person. She runs a bakery and takes in many stray animals. Because of this, her children in the city dislike her and send her back to the countryside. But the people in the town don't like her either, and people often report her.
Grandma Yang was like a rat crossing the street, having to move to a different place every few days.
Later, she opened a small bakery. Because she often distributed free bread to her neighbors, they felt indebted to her and stopped reporting her.
So Grandma Yang continued to adopt many cats and dogs. At that time, he would squat at the door every day to feed the cats and dogs for Grandma Yang. Grandma Yang would reward him with a lot of small bread rolls. He spent most of his time in Hainan squatting at the door of that bakery, quietly waiting for his mother to pick him up.
Sometimes when Tang Xiang went on business trips, Grandma Yang would set up a small bed for him to sleep in the shop. But Grandma Yang couldn't speak; she was mute. She lost her voice when she had a fever as a child, just like her aunt, also because of a fever.
Tang Xiang said that in their time, having a fever was a terrible thing.
He was always healthy when he was a child, until he had his first fever when he was five years old. At that time, Grandma Yang was so worried that she couldn't sleep all night. She kept patting his back and encouraging him to talk more, afraid that he would become like her.
So, unable to wait a moment longer, this small old woman, with hands as withered as old tree roots, scooped him up on her back, gripped his knees tightly with both hands, and stumbled towards the hospital. But she couldn't speak, and didn't even know where to register or pay; she could only clasp her hands together and repeatedly bow to passersby, pleading with them to save him.
At that time, his world consisted only of these two women. His concept of an adult man was vague, especially the role of a father; he didn't know what a man's role was in this world.
So when he first arrived in Xiaohua City, he didn't really have any feelings for Yu Renjie, and was even a little annoyed by him because he always provoked Li Yingqiao, and Li Yingqiao, unable to fight against his father, could only take her anger out on the back of Yu Renjie's head, which annoyed him to no end. But later he discovered that Yu Renjie loved this family very much, so he began to decide to love him.
The train journey from Hainan to Nanlai takes about ten hours, a very long time. Although he has no expectations for the role of a father, he is still full of childlike innocence and curiosity about the world.
Because Yu Jinyang was born by the sea, he felt that if the world was an ocean, then the train was a kind and restrained whale that swallowed him and his mother whole when they wanted to reach another sea, but could go against its animal nature and not chew them up. When they reached their sea area, the train would spit them out safely, and then turn around and use its back to cut through the waves to pick up other humans who were full of curiosity about the world.
How could such an invention not be great? Later, at Fengtan Railway Station, he watched Li Yingqiao board the northbound train alone with her luggage to begin her studies. The greatness of the train lies in the fact that anyone boarding the same train or mode of transportation becomes fair and passive; no one can stop an airplane, and no one can make a train go backwards.
He often thought that the kind and restrained whale would safely take her wherever she wanted to go, and that she would have a bright future.
From a young age, Tang Xiang instilled in him the idea that men only hinder women's future prospects. She believed that women who only use men as emotional comfort will never fare badly in their careers, nor will they be very resilient. Not being able to endure hardship is crucial, because those who are prone to hardship will only continue to suffer.
So Tang Xiang told him that although she hadn't explicitly said it, she and his father had initially opposed the relationship, but not because of Li Wusheng, but simply because of Qiaoqiao's personality. Qiaoqiao had the personality she admired most, yet it was also the kind of personality she least wanted her son to have as a partner. On this point, she frankly admitted her selfishness.
On this night, Yu Jinyang finally understood her mother's limitations. She was a relatively progressive woman born in that era, but she wasn't perfect in every way because her roots were still in this stagnant soil. She couldn't truly view Li Yingqiao's spirit and personality with the same detached and independent attitude as modern women do.
But he didn't care whether Li Yingqiao valued her career more or him more, or rather, he probably wasn't even ranked among the top talents. There were even a lot of people ahead of him. Li Shuli was undoubtedly number one, Liang Mei was perhaps number two, and if he could barely rank third in her heart, he would feel awesome.
Yu Jinyang glanced at his phone: 5:30 a.m.
He sent Li Yingqiao a message: Good morning, going to sleep.
The two hadn't seen each other for a week, and Li Yingqiao hadn't even sent him a message. Yu Jinyang went to the scenic area's office on Thursday afternoon, but only Wu Juan was there. He asked her for the investment information for the Little Painting City. As he left, he asked, "Where's your boss, Qiao?"
Wu Juan said she didn't know. Qiao Zong had been acting mysteriously lately, arriving late and leaving early, as if he was afraid of running into some enemy at the scenic spot.
Yu Jinyang wasn't sure if she was shy or had calmed down.
That evening, after playing a badminton game with Sun Taihe at the gym, he asked Sun Taihe to help him arrange a date. Sun Taihe slapped his racket against Sun Taihe's chest and said disdainfully, "You noob, is Li Yingqiao that hard to pursue? I'm almost out of the single life."
Yu Jinyang opened the trunk, took out a bottle of water for him, and asked, "Who is it?"
"I'm not telling you." After receiving Li Yingqiao's reply, Sun Taihe looked at him with sympathy: "She asked me if you were there, what should I say?"
Yu Jinyang sat on the open trunk and kicked him impatiently: "Tell me if I'm here or not?"
The next second, Sun Taihe replied crisply: "Oh, she said she didn't have time."
"...What did you say?"
"Of course I said you weren't here."
"...Then say I'm here now."
Sun Taihe's phone rang again. He glanced at the screen and frowned: "She said she didn't have time either, so what's the point of her asking?"
“She greets you with a 'hi' and a 'bye'—such a complete greeting process—and you’re still being rude to her? If you’re so shameless, I’ll donate Sichuan opera face-changing props to you; consider it supporting intangible cultural heritage.” Yu Jinyang glanced at him, closed the trunk, and then turned to get her phone from the front seat's armrest. Sure enough, there was an unread WeChat notification.
Sun Taihe was too lazy to argue with him. He said hi and bye at the same time, grabbed a shared bike and rode away with an extremely irritating air.
Yu Jinyang returned to his car and looked at a message lying horizontally on his phone.
Bridge: "Meow."
He leaned back in the driver's seat, thought for a moment, and replied, "Very busy?"
Bridge: "Not busy."
This surprised Yu Jinyang, and she didn't readily accept the answer.
321: "You're being offered a way out, but you won't take it?"
321: "Did I make you uncomfortable?"
The reply came quickly: "Because I don't want to lie to you, and I don't want to give you a perfunctory answer."
Bridge: "No, meow, you're great. Better than I imagined."
321: "But you've calmed down now, haven't you?"
She didn't reply immediately. Yu Jinyang waited a few minutes, got off the bike, slammed the door shut, leaned against it, looked up at the moon for a while, and suddenly decided to ride the shared bike home.
The screen lit up again.
Bridge: "Shall we talk in person?"
***
Yu Jinyang drove back to Xiaohua City. Li Yingqiao asked him to meet at the pier behind Xiaohua City, which was the pier near Fengzigang that was full of the smell of rotten fish and shrimp. They used to fly kites here when they were young. At that time, this place was a shipping hub on the Fengtan River. You could often hear all kinds of boats along the river. The residential buildings on the riverbank were basically converted into shops.
Later, after the river channel was changed and shipping routes were all shifted towards the major port cities of Qingyi, very few ships passed by here. Businesses on the riverbanks declined, and many shops closed down to make money elsewhere. Meanwhile, the small painting town became a sketching spot for many local art students. The scenery was quite nice, so it was later planned as a tourist area.
Yu Jinyang didn't head directly to the small pier; he wanted to go around through Madman's Port. However, he stopped before reaching the end of the alley. The stone walls on both sides of the alley were made of brick, as narrow and cramped as the river itself. Moss, like a group of hidden scouts, quietly crept into the damp corners of the walls, and the familiar fishy smell emanated from the cracks in the bluestone slabs.
Li Yingqiao leaned against it. The weather had turned cool by then, and she had indeed understood his incoherent ramblings. She wore an oversized beige cardigan over her top, revealing only a section of her pale waistline. Her black straight-leg jeans were neatly wrapped around her ankles, making her figure straight and slender. She also wore a black baseball cap that was almost the same style as his at that moment.
The moment their eyes met, she was taking a lighter out of her pocket. She glanced at him standing there, paused for only a second, then casually lowered her head, turned away from the wind, and lit the cigarette she had in her mouth with one hand.
This was a stark contrast to her state that night.
When they left that night, they were both very awkward, even a little embarrassed. He hadn't withdrawn his hand yet, and she rested her eyes on his shoulder, her soft breaths falling on his collarbone, but she completely refused to look him in the eye or communicate with him.
He stiffened his neck, afraid to move, and an eerie silence fell between them. Only when he sensed that she seemed to have stopped trembling so much did he let out a soft "Hmm?", indicating whether he could leave now, or if she wanted more and he could continue.
“…That’s enough.” Her voice was so soft it was almost unheard of.
Later, he escorted her to the door, and their conversation was like a broken string on a pipa—"Large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate, a chaotic and noisy melody."
Li Yingqiao said, "Um, I have to go back now... I'm going to be late."
He understood, knowing she meant going to work tomorrow. He said, "Okay, the temperature difference between day and night is big, wear an extra pair of shoes."
She quickly replied, "Okay, I'm wearing it."
After saying that, she disappeared in a flash, even faster than when she skipped her cleaning duty in elementary school.
***
The two sat side by side on the steps leading to the abandoned dock, gazing at the calm river. The river breeze would blow her hair, which hung over her shoulders, and brush against his. Yu Jinyang glanced at her, then turned back expressionlessly: "What are you talking about?"
Li Yingqiao bought a bag of white sugar cakes from somewhere. The plastic wrapping was being torn off noisily, and Yu Jinyang felt like a mouse was sitting next to him, eating non-stop. He broke off a piece, stuffed it in his mouth, and asked Li Yingqiao if he wanted some.
He said no.
Li Yingqiao pressed the white sugar cake directly to his lips: "Have a piece, it was made by Grandma Chunzhen."
Yu Jinyang pushed his leg down and braced his arm on the next step. Then he didn't move, but obediently opened his mouth and let her put the sugar cake in his mouth.
Li Yingqiao, wearing a baseball cap, smiled so much her eyes crinkled into crescents, her tone natural and fluent, showing no trace of the embarrassment from that night: "Why are you chewing like a dog? It's delicious."
[Author's Note]
(Vastly) Help me up again, I can still write more tomorrow! I can still write more!
(However, I've been updating daily lately, so the timing isn't fixed; I'll post it whenever I finish writing.)
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