Chapter 3: The Unforgettable Years 03
I went to the place where July worked. It was very quiet inside. There were no waiters or customers. Only Sister Hong was sitting there drinking.
She changed into a red Chinese-style cheongsam, and a white velvet coat with large red peonies embroidered on the hem. She leaned on the bar with one hand and held a red wine glass in the other. From a distance, she looked lonely.
I have seen many people wearing red, but only July and she can wear it with such flavor . Like the red plum blossom that refuses to compromise with the years, the more wind and frost it experiences, the more dazzling its beauty becomes.
Sister Hong and July are both such women.
I was unlucky, July was not there, but there were not many people working on New Year's Eve, so I didn't have much hope of seeing July.
After hearing my intention, Sister Hong looked at me with a smile and called July. After hanging up the phone, she stood up drunkenly and put her gentle hand on my shoulder.
"You are so young..." I heard her lazy voice, and her shoulders sank, and the white velvet coat was draped over me. The warm hand passed over me and picked up the half-drunk red wine glass on the bar.
"It doesn't matter if you get old, time spares no one."
The charming and intoxicating drunken words were accompanied by a smile. I looked at Sister Hong with a raised corner of her mouth. Her eyes were filled with helpless sadness. After saying this like a delirium, she smiled and walked inside with unsteady steps.
The elegant hand holding the red wine glass seems to be holding on to the moments of youthful joy in youth, holding the burden of life's hardships and loads, full of scars, but still beautiful and charming.
For a moment, I seemed to see July of twenty years later.
I looked down at the coat on my shoulders, feeling a warm feeling in my heart. I sighed, climbed onto the high chair, swung my legs, and boredly looked at the interior decoration, waiting for July to appear.
Soon, someone pushed the door open. I turned around when I heard the noise. July had her head wrapped with a gray scarf, wearing a grass green velvet pajamas underneath, gray snow boots on her feet, and a pink down jacket on the outside. It was obvious that she came out in a hurry.
Her fair face was bare of makeup, and she looked a little more childish than usual, like a student.
I burst out laughing at her outfit.
"Laugh, laugh, laugh, you're such a troublemaker." July untied the scarf from her neck and strode over to me, cursing, and then rudely wrapped the scarf around my neck.
"I'm going to be strangled to death." I held my head high and let her toss me.
"I'll strangle you to death and put an end to it all." Qiyue said this, but she loosened her grip on me and looked at me with a reproachful look, "Sister Hong said you were starving and cold, and had no home. Grandma and I were having dinner, but I rushed over before she could finish her words."
"Huh? Isn't this Sister Hong's favorite dress?" July touched the coat on my shoulder, saw my innocent look, and slowly understood.
"You're so beautiful." She poked me with her hand, sat down next to me, and asked me bluntly, "What's wrong? Did you have a fight with your family?"
I nodded heavily.
"Do your family members know about this?" she asked.
I nodded.
"You, it looks like you don't want to go back." She tilted her head, her tone like an elder, looking at my running away from home as if she were a stranger, waiting for my answer.
"Yeah." I pursed my lips, not sure if it would cause trouble for her, but I had no choice. I didn't want to go back and face Shen Huai and my mother at this time, at least... not now.
"Okay, let's go to my house." July stood up from the chair, pulled me out, took out his cell phone and asked me to tell him my home number.
I woodenly uttered a string of numbers and followed her.
"I called you on the way but your phone was turned off. Your family must be worried if you come out so rashly. I'll call them and tell them what to say." She took a deep breath and chattered on.
When I got outside, I listened to Qiyue speaking good words for me and comforting Shen Huai and my mother, telling them not to worry, that I would be sent home safely. I looked at her smiling face carefully. I couldn't say anything, but I felt relieved and touched.
At this moment, I am so grateful for the protection she has given me.
After a long moment, she slowly turned around and said, "It's done. When you want to go home, talk to them."
"Thank you."
She didn't care about my thanks, rubbed her hands and said she was cold, then took my arm and went to the street to hail a car.
Warmth is probably one of the quickest ways to get into people's hearts. As I watched July working diligently to solve my problems, my heart felt so soft.
If my heart is still so narrow, I think July has successfully moved in. We are no longer just passers-by, but friends for life and death.
Throughout my long youth, and even later, I was so sincerely grateful to have had her as a friend.
July's home is in the old city development zone, a small bungalow with a yard in front and back. The dim light shines on the ground, and it is quiet. We walked through an alley with electric wires tangled above our heads, and saw a person standing outside the gate at the end, standing on tiptoe and looking in the direction we came from.
"Grandma, I'm back." July shouted happily and ran over.
"Hello, Grandma." I followed her, a little regretful for not buying some gifts. I looked around and found that there were no small shops. I was hesitating about what to do when July called me in dissatisfaction.
Grandma Zhuang nodded with a smile and asked us to go in quickly.
"Grandma, this is my friend Wei Yang." After entering the house, July sat at the entrance to change her shoes, and introduced me to Grandma Zhuang with a smile.
"Okay." Grandma Zhuang bent down and prepared slippers for me.
I quickly took it and told her not to rush: "Grandma, I can do it myself."
"Grandma, where is Zhuang Nan?" July asked as she took off her down jacket and hung it on the coat rack.
"He said his classmates wanted to play with him, so he just answered the phone and went out." Grandma Zhuang answered from the kitchen.
I walked in and found that it was an old-style house with old wooden furniture. On the floor, which was covered with a brown carpet, there was a small table placed on the kang bed like those in northern homes On it were a few pairs of bowls and chopsticks and untied food scattered around. It seemed to be their New Year's Eve dinner.
The house was filled with a strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine. From my direction, looking into the kitchen, the gas stove was emitting steam.
"Please sit down. Grandma's house is just like your own home." Grandma Zhuang came out with a cup of tea and a rag to wipe the table, telling me not to be polite.
"Thank you, grandma." I took the tea with both hands and sat down cross-legged next to the table.
"The little bastard must have gone to play games. Grandma, I'll be out for a while." July walked from one room to another with a very bad look on his face, and walked out in slippers.
"Remember to wear your coat, don't catch a cold!" Grandma Zhuang called her worriedly. July replied, "I'll be back soon," and closed the door.
Grandma Zhuang cleaned the table and went to the kitchen to turn off the stove. I held my teacup and looked at a basket in the corner where colorful scraps of cloth were piled up. I stood up to take a look and found that it was a half-sewn piece of clothing.
"It's for use after July. It's the baby's centenary clothes." Grandma Zhuang saw that my attention was on the basket, so she came out and told me while holding a bowl of Chinese medicine.
I heard from my mother that the centenary clothes are also called patchwork clothes. They are baby clothes made of scraps of cloth in various colors. A baby will be centenarian a hundred days after birth. Wearing patchwork clothes indicates that the child will be free from illness and live a long life.
I remembered what July said to me that night in the hospital. She said she had just lost a child.
How sad Grandma Zhuang would be if she knew about this.
