Chapter 3: The Unforgettable Years 04
"Grandma, you are so nice to July." I turned my head and said, gently stroking the baby's clothes.
Grandma Zhuang smiled and replied, "What's good about that? It's good. Just don't mind me being a burden to her. She has to rely on medicine bottles to keep herself alive 365 days a year. It's a pain."
I walked over and sat down in front of Grandma Zhuang: "Grandma, Qiyue doesn't think so. She is so happy to have you accompany her, how could she dislike you?"
"The girl has a sweet mouth." Grandma Zhuang looked at me kindly.
I chuckled.
My grandparents died before I was born, my grandfather passed away early, and my grandmother remarried and moved to Jiangsu, so I basically never felt the love of my ancestors. Now when I see Grandma Zhuang at Qiyue's house, I feel an inexplicable sense of closeness.
"My daughter Yueyue had a miserable life! When her father was young, he went to work on a construction site. He fell from the 17th floor and died in the blink of an eye. Her mother was also stupid. She drank a bottle of pesticide and followed her husband's body, even though it was still warm. She left behind a pair of poor children." Grandma Zhuang spoke disparagingly and sighed as she talked about the past. "The contractor had a conscience and compensated our family. Yueyue was sensible at an early age. Our family was poor, so she dropped out of high school and worked to earn money to support her brother's schooling. But Zhuangnan was naughty and troublesome."
After saying this to me, Grandma Zhuang took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her eyes. At this moment, the door was pushed open with a creaky sound.
"You little bastard, you only know how to play all day long. I won't let you off next time." July grabbed a boy's ear and dragged him into the house, then kicked the door shut.
"I'm wrong, I'm wrong, sister, let go, it hurts!" The boy was being beaten by her in a miserable state, screaming and crying.
Seeing them like this, I couldn't help laughing. Hearing the laughter, the boy's eyes panicked for a moment, and then he realized that there was someone else in the room. The next second he turned around flexibly and broke free from July's hand.
"Zhuang Qiyue, stop fighting, or I will never let you go." Zhuang Nan jumped behind Grandma Zhuang in a few steps, stared at Qiyue, clenched his fists, and made fighting movements.
"Tsk——" July scowled coldly and raised one leg in the air to bluff.
Grandma Zhuang protected Zhuang Nan behind her and pulled Qiyue: "Alright, alright, stop making trouble. There are guests at home watching."
"If you keep hanging out with that group of people, I'll beat you to death." July sat down angrily, grabbed my teacup, and gulped down a few gulps of water.
Zhuang Nan stuck out his tongue and looked at me provocatively: "Hey, who are you? My sister has never brought anyone back except that man . Has she changed her taste?"
"You little bastard, go to your room and study!" July stood up angrily and grabbed a feather duster and hit Zhuang Nan on the head.
"Zhuang Qiyue, you witch will never get married, oh my god! I'm going to be beaten to death, grandma, help me...ahhh...don't pull my ears...sister, I was wrong, I was wrong..." Zhuang Nan was jumping on the ground while being pushed and dragged into the room by Qiyue.
The door slammed shut with a sound that shook the entire house.
Grandma Zhuang shook her head helplessly and got up to go to the kitchen.
"Grandma, don't cook for him. He won't remember anything unless he's hungry." After saying this, July sat down next to me and said to me helplessly, "He committed sins in his previous life and must pay for them in this life."
"You're just a junior high school student, and you've just reached your rebellious stage." I comforted her.
"Were you rebellious at that time?" July looked at me with a smile.
"No, I'm not rebellious," I answered.
"Yes, Xiao August is a good student." She smiled like a flower, "Don't worry about our family, think about your own affairs, you have to face them."
I didn't say anything. July dusted herself off and took me to her room.
July is right, I have to go back and face it.
I stayed at July's house for nearly a week.
During the day, Qiyue would go out to sing and earn money, and at night she would work overtime in nightclubs and come back very late. She had already told me that she had to keep the details of her work secret from Grandma Zhuang, so I helped her cover up the lie.
Grandma Zhuang treated me like her own granddaughter, and would ask me to talk to her while she did needlework at home. After Zhuang Nan knew that I was Qiyue's friend, although he still spoke in a bad tone, he was afraid of Qiyue and didn't dare to provoke me.
Shen Huai asked July about my situation three times, and July helped me to fight back.
On the sixth day, I said goodbye to Grandma Zhuang and left for home. After so long, my anger had long since subsided. I just needed an explanation.
After turning on the phone that had been turned off, there were more than a dozen incoming call alerts, most of which were from Shen Huai and his mother, and there was also an unfamiliar number.
I thought it was a harassing call, but I found that the number had sent a text message -
Happy New Year!
I really couldn't think of anyone else who would contact me. I sent a message to ask who he was, but he didn't respond. After a long while, my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text message, which read:
Meet at Tongxiang Street.
I said I wouldn't go. After I sent the message, the other party called me, and it was endless.
"Hey, who are you?" I became extremely annoyed.
"Fang Weiyang, you seem to emphasize this issue every time." It was Fang Xuyu's sneer. I looked at the phone in disbelief, making sure it wasn't an auditory hallucination.
"Where did you get my number?"
"Meet me at the intersection of Tongxiang Street. I have something to tell you. Do you know how to walk this road?"
"Won't."
"Why?"
"Why?"
I began to suspect that God was trying to make things difficult for me, otherwise why would he come after me again and again?
"I saw your mother in the hospital, and she's not in good condition." He couldn't get me to agree, so he told me directly. My emotions froze for a minute because of this sentence, and he asked me if I was listening, and it took me a few calls before I came back to my senses.
"I'll be right there." I didn't hear him say more, because I guess a few words wouldn't be enough to explain it clearly. Fang Xuyu was willing to call me, either to find fault or something really happened.
I didn't have time to think about why Fang Xuyou met my mother. My mind was full of questions and I was suddenly overwhelmed by bad emotions. I found the shortest route to Tongxiang Street. Just as I was looking around and preparing to take out my phone to make a call, a hand patted me on the shoulder.
"What's wrong with my mom?" I asked hurriedly, staring blankly at Fang Xuyu who was standing behind me. He looked me up and down, his eyes lingering on my thin sweater for a few seconds.
He gave me a sympathetic look and said, "I went to the hospital to see a friend today and ran into a man accompanying your mother to see a doctor. While I was waiting outside the door, I overheard their conversation."
"What...did you hear?" I looked at him nervously.
"Well... they had a little argument." He shrugged.
I felt like the air froze at that moment.
"Your mother seems to be in a bad mood. The doctor said that as an elderly pregnant woman, she is in a weak body and it would be dangerous to give birth. The man advised her to give up, but she insisted on giving birth." He said lightly.
I can't describe how I feel, I just feel dizzy. In other words, my mother knew that being pregnant at an advanced age would have an impact on her body, but in order to give Shen Huai a child, she insisted on giving birth regardless of the danger.
"Are you okay?" Fang Xuyu looked at my pale face and asked worriedly.
"You don't need to worry about me." Because I was in a bad mood, my tone was a little unfriendly, "I didn't expect you could still recognize my mother."
When I went to Fang Chongyan's house when I was a child, Fang Xuyu had seen his mother pick me up and drop me off, so he knew her. But I didn't expect that after so many years, he could still recognize her at a glance, just like he recognized me at school.
"You and your daughter look very similar, with big eyes and oval faces. You're both easy to recognize." Fang Xuyu said jokingly.
"Why didn't you say these words on the phone just now?" I ignored his teasing and looked at the vast foggy sky. The clouds were very thick and hung low above, and the depressing feeling pressed down layer by layer.
"Of course, such an important matter should be discussed in person," he said.
"Can I understand that you are afraid that I will feel uncomfortable?" I chuckled.
"It's up to you." Fang Xuyu said this coolly, took a step forward, and walked forward with his hands in his trouser pockets.
