When I returned home after studying, the clock pointed to nine o'clock. In the crowded little house, only a dim light was on.
The mother and daughter depended on each other for survival, so their life was naturally tight. But this time, in order to review her studies, Lu Sining gritted her teeth and insisted on renting a small suite, which barely looked like a home.
Lu Sining sat under the lamp, her face looking particularly old. In front of her was a simple, cold meal. Seeing Wen Shu, she breathed a sigh of relief, pretending nothing had happened and stood up to take the food from Wen Shu's hand: "You're back. Haven't you eaten yet? Mom will go heat up the food."
Wen Shu dodged sideways and said calmly: "Mom, I'm not hungry."
She put her school uniform away, took out her cell phone and money, and handed them to Lu Sining: "My cell phone was broken, but I asked the person to compensate me."
Lu Sining took it and saw Wen Shu's arm with blood scabs. He immediately looked up with surprise in his eyes: "What's going on?"
Wen Shu sneered: "Don't worry, I just have poor academic performance, I'm not a bad boy. I'm so tired, I'm going to sleep first."
Lu Sining withdrew her hand in embarrassment. She stood up and hurriedly followed Wen Shu: "Xiaoshu, listen to mom's explanation..." The only answer she got was the sound of Wen Shu closing the door and a cold sentence, "Don't call me Xiaoshu anymore."
Lu Sining's cowardice is what Wen Shu hates and feels the most sorry for.
On a winter night, when she and Lu Sining were shivering in the small rental house, she asked Lu Sining why he wanted to stay in Ancheng and not go further. Lu Sining just touched her head lovingly and said gently: "Because if we go far away, Dad can't find Xiaoshu, and he can't show Dad the beautiful paintings that Xiaoshu drew."
Hearing this, Wen Shu remained silent. The scene she had seen countless times emerged in her mind - the door full of knife marks, broken dishes, and Lu Sining covered in bruises.
She knew long ago that the warm little home no longer existed, and even the memory of it was blurred. The only thing she could clearly remember was that when she drew the first family portrait, Wen Yan was very happy. He hugged her in his arms, kissed her again and again, and laughed and said, "You are worthy of being my daughter, Wen Yan!"
After reviewing his studies and washing up, he sat at the desk and picked up an old picture album from the corner of the table. The large gold-plated characters on the cover - Collection of Works by Wen Yan, the Golden Brush Award winner - had long been rubbed and faded.
When he was young, Wen Yan was very popular and admired . But he was too eager for quick success. Before an important international competition, he drank a lot of alcohol to relieve his nervousness. As a result, he performed poorly the next day and became a laughing stock in the industry. Since then, Wen Yan has been in a slump, drinking all day long, quickly squandering all his savings, and often beating up the mother and daughter.
Because of the friendship in her heart, Lu Sining was unwilling to call the police and endured it silently with her daughter.
Wen Shu, who was sensible at an early age, found the courage to come out of the kitchen with a kitchen knife, put it on Wen Yan's neck, and asked for a divorce with a cold look in his eyes when Lu Sining was beaten almost unconscious.
After that, Wen Yan was inexplicably afraid of his daughter. Even if he came to ask for money, he only dared to show up when Wen Shu was not around. At most, he would yell a few words of "unfilial daughter" at the school gate to force Lu Si Ning to give him money.
Wen Shu's feelings for Wen Yan are like a tangled mess.
Hate it? Yes, but it's not the kind of hatred that makes you gnash your teeth.
Love her? In fact, yes. He was her enlightenment on the road of painting and the father who held her in his arms and loved her when she was a child.
However, if we have to say who is the winner, it is probably that hatred is far greater than love, to the point of hatred that one forgets about love.
When Wen Yan and Lu Si Ning divorced, the furious Wen Yan threw many things into the garbage, including this picture album. When Wen Shu left, she saw that it was covered with a thick layer of dust, as if it was cast in a shadow of loneliness. I don't know what touched her heart, she picked it up without telling Lu Si Ning, and kept it for several years.
Even though Wen Yan continued to harass them endlessly and Wen Shu's hatred was piling up, she could always find strange comfort whenever she looked through these paintings.
Perhaps Wen Shu, who picked up the picture album, even if he pretended to be strong and calm on the outside, still had a heart like Lu Sining who firmly believed that Wen Yan would return to the altar.
So, what is the reality? Wen Shu doesn't know, and doesn't want to delve into it. Now, she just wants to protect Lu Sining and her still passionate love for painting.
Wen Shu took out paper and pen as usual, but accidentally touched the wound on her left arm. She suddenly thought of Yu Qianlin, and tried to show her aggressiveness, but was betrayed by his clean eyes.
As she thought about this, she began to trace his appearance on the paper with the pen in her hand. By the time she realized what was happening, the boy's appearance was already on the paper. Somehow, Wen Shu added a pair of soft and cute ears on his head and drew a high tail behind him. Yu Qianlin suddenly became adorable.
Wen Shu admired his masterpiece and couldn't help laughing. After a few seconds, he pushed the painting away as if it was burned.
Today, she was a little abnormal.
The sound of knocking on the door interrupted Wen Shu's thoughts. Lu Sining said outside the door: "Xiao... Mommy made some sour plum soup for you, drink some before going to sleep."
Wen Shu listened to Lu Sining's flattering voice and sighed: "Come in."
Lu Sining went in as he was told and naturally took the tray in his hand to the desk. Seeing this, Wen Shu's pupils shrank and he quickly moved to the desk, just blocking the painting.
"Give it to me."
"Oh, okay." Lu Sining thought her daughter was still bothered by what happened just now, so she said hesitantly, "The weather is too hot, sour plum soup will cool you down."
Wen Shu took the tray and said, "I understand, Mom, you go to bed first. I'll take it over myself after I finish my drink."
Lu Sining wanted to say something else, but when she saw Wen Shu's indifferent evasive look, she had to turn around and leave. When she reached the door, as if unwilling, she still spoke, but she didn't dare to look directly at Wen Shu: "You don't let me call you that, I know what you mean. Your mother watched you change from a smiling little girl to a serious person who was even unwilling to get close to others. It's not that I didn't see it, I just pretended not to see it. However, when I passed by the bookstore two days ago, I happened to see a mother and son walking out of it. The child was in high school like you, but he was missing a leg. His mother carried him on her back, and they talked about studying while walking, smiling happily. I looked at it, and that smile was even more dazzling than the sun." When Lu Sining was moved, she secretly turned her head away and wiped away the tears that overflowed.
"I suddenly thought of you. I thought of what I had done over the years. I ignored you and delayed you! Mom will change in the future. When your dad comes again, I will be strong. Xiaoshu, you are a good child. Mom hopes you have an extraordinary future."
Wen Shu listened to Lu Sining's confession and did not respond immediately.
Time seemed to stand still. Lu Sining clasped her hands together nervously. She leaned slightly to the side and looked at Wen Shu tentatively.
Wen Shu sighed silently and said, "Mom, this is the first time in all these years that you have completely stood in my shoes and considered me. I am very happy. As for my dad, as long as he doesn't hurt you, nothing else matters." As he said that, Wen Shu walked to Lu Sining's side, stroked his mother's shoulders with both hands, and said softly, "Go and have a rest."
Lu Si Ning held back her tears, patted her daughter's hand with relief, nodded, and left the room. Wen Shu sat back down, took a sip of the sour plum soup, it was sweet and sour, just like what she had tasted in the past years, mixed with a little heart-warming flavor.
A week later, Wen Shu stood at the gate of Chongjia High School in her new school uniform, looking at the students coming and going, and was at a loss for a moment. She was not sure if she could do what Lu Sining said, but she would try her best.
Wen Shu let out a long sigh, gathered the straps of his schoolbag together with both hands, and walked quickly into the school.
The future may be unknown, but it is promising.
When Wen Shu followed the serious head teacher into Class 2 of Grade 3, the classroom was still noisy. I don't know who reminded him, but the whole classroom seemed to be strangled by something, and there was no other sound.
The head teacher stretched out his right index finger to push the thick glasses on his nose, coughed lightly, and said coldly: "Keep arguing, I want to see how long you want to argue!"
Wen Shu lowered her head and could not see the expressions of the people, but she could hear them gasping for air. She thought , the new head teacher is really not simple at all.
"You, come here." Wen Shu, who was trying hard to reduce her presence, was called by the head teacher, and she hurried over.
"This is a new student in our class, his name is Wenshu." She picked up the ruler on the podium and pointed it into the air, "Here, you sit there." She then said to the girl next to the empty seat, "Xu Xiaxia, you are the class monitor, take good care of the new student."
Xu Xiaxia was a cute girl with a little baby fat. She waved her arm to greet Wen Shu in a very familiar way. The ponytails on her head swayed playfully with her movements, and the corners of her mouth were filled with a friendly smile. This reminded Wen Shu of the lucky dolls he had seen before, which were cute and lovable.
Wen Shu nodded at her, walked towards the direction of the ruler, put his schoolbag away, straightened his back and sat down.
After getting a response, Xu Xia Xia secretly looked at her new deskmate. Although it was only a few brief glances, Xu Xia Xia felt that Wen Shu was different from everyone she had met.
How to describe it? It was like a ray of light coming from a dark place, cold and indifferent. It was silent, yet had a hint of mystery, attracting people to come closer. Thinking of this, Xu Xiaxia moved her stool a little closer to the study.
Wen Shu did not fail to notice Xu Xia Xia's curious peeking, but she thought it was just as malicious as her former classmates and did not want to take it too seriously.
"You will temporarily sit in the same positions as last semester, and the seats will be rearranged after a month." The head teacher said, narrowing his eyes, and added, "Class monitor, ask a few people to come to my office to move the textbooks. Everyone else, keep quiet!" He emphasized the last few words.
After watching the head teacher walk away, Xu Xia Xia immediately whistled softly, and then whispered a request to Wen Shu: "Can you help me move the books?" Wen Shu wanted to refuse, but when he saw Xu Xia Xia's wet eyes full of pleading, he couldn't bear to refuse.
"All right."
"Yeah!" Xu Xia Xia made a playful "V" with her hands and said happily, "Let's go."
"Squad leader, Zuo Rang and I will go too." Wen Shu and Xu Xia Xia had just taken a few steps when they heard a somewhat familiar voice behind them. Turning around, she saw Yu Qianlin, who she was not yet familiar with.
It’s a small world indeed.
Wen Shu met Yu Qianlin's fiery eyes. Although he was puzzled, he was not afraid.
Xu Xia Xia's eyes shuttled back and forth between the two people, but she couldn't figure out what was going on, so she had to say, "Okay, let's go. If we're late, the head teacher will be angry."
"Hey, I didn't say I was going. If you want to go, go ahead." Zuo Rang, who was with Yu Qianlin, protested loudly. Everyone knew that this was a tough job. The head teacher's office was a recognized forbidden area in their class, so the transfer students followed him foolishly.
"Stop talking nonsense." Yu Qianlin slapped Zuo Rang on the back of the head, silencing his complaints.
"Rude, too rude!" Zuo Rang followed behind the others, muttering unconvincedly. Then he thought of Yu Qianlin's strange attitude towards the new students, and immediately forgot about his grievances, and his gossiping spirit ignited.
"Da Linzi, tell me, what is your relationship with that girl? I saw your eyes almost popped out when she entered the classroom."
Yu Qianlin raised his hand and slapped him again: "How many times have I told you not to call me that!"
Zuo Rang said, "Hey, you're still addicted to it, right? Be careful or I'll tell Grandpa."
"You!" Yu Qianlin's hand abruptly stopped in mid-air. He retracted his hand and put it into his school uniform pocket, not intending to pay any more attention to this bad friend.
Zuo Rang pinched Yu Qianlin's vital point, confident and fearless: "Ah! I see, you said on the phone that you were cheated by a new student in our school, it couldn't be her! Then it's really a narrow road for enemies to meet, hahaha."
Wen Shu and Xu Xia Xia were walking in front, and were speechless for a moment when they heard Zuo Rang's exaggerated laughter.
Xu Xiaxia glanced back and enthusiastically reviewed the lessons: "The two behind are well-known weirdos in our class. One is a math genius, and the other is a physics genius. Yu Qianlin is tall and handsome, but he loves fighting too much. He would never talk if he could fight."
Wen Shu nodded secretly, this was a very pertinent evaluation.
"Besides sticking to Yu Qianlin, Zuo Rang is fiddling with his models. He seems mentally a bit off, a bit like..." Xu Xia Xia didn't finish her words. Instead, she pointed with her finger and then whispered mysteriously into Wen Shu's ear, "If they weren't both boys, I would really think there's something going on between them, hehe." Xu Xia Xia smiled meaningfully, which made Wen Shu look at her sideways. He had to admire Xu Xia Xia's out-of-this-world imagination.
Wen Shu smiled awkwardly as a response.
"Hey, we're here!" Xu Xia Xia wanted to say something, but she found herself at the door of the head teacher's office, so she pretended to be on high alert, and the others did the same.
Review the lessons by following suit.