Volume 6: Summer Chapter 35: Waking Up
Jiang You found a lot of advantages and persuaded Yang Xuan to wear the doll costume, but Yang Xuan firmly refused. Jiang You could only put the clothes aside, sit down, and continue to pump up the balloon.
At this time, Chen Nan's cell phone rang.
She frowned when she saw the contact's name on the screen.
Pick up the phone.
"Hello, yes, I'm not at home..." Chen Nan stood up, took two steps outside, and suddenly stopped. She asked on the phone, "Are you in the bookstore? Wait a minute, I'll come over."
After hanging up the phone, Chen Nan lowered his voice and said, "Sun Rui is in my store now. I'll go over there."
"Go ahead, and bring me a pack of cigarettes on the way back."
"good."
After Chen Nan walked out of the yard, Yang Xuan dragged her chair towards Jiang You and asked, "Who is Sun Rui? Sister Nan's expression changed immediately just now."
"Yunyun's father."
"Ah? Then why don't you follow?"
Jiang You punched a long pink balloon and said, "Your sister Nan is very capable. Her ex-husband can't even speak clearly in front of her."
"Then you should go with me."
Jiang You folded the balloon in his hand and made a little bear. He waved it in front of Yang Xuan and said, "Isn't it cute?"
"You really don't want to go?" Yang Xuan asked again.
Jiang You looked at her.
Yang Xuan felt a little guilty when she was looked at. She turned her head away and said, "I was just asking casually."
"On Children's Day, he wanted to take Yunyun to Ocean Park with Sister Nan, but Sister Nan refused."
"So he's mad?"
"He is Yunyun's father, and no one else can replace him. So he has to look after Yunyun on weekdays and take Yunyun to live with him on weekends and holidays. Sister Nan never stops him, but just complains a little," Jiang You put the teddy bear in Yang Xuan's hands. "Sister Nan didn't agree this time because she took my feelings into consideration."
"Then you should go over there. What if he makes things difficult for Sister Nan?" Yang Xuan still didn't understand.
Jiang You looked at Yunyun and Jiang Mo rolling in the bubble ball, "Sun Rui must think that it was me who instigated Sister Nan to reject him. It would be fine if I didn't show up, but if I showed up, it would be a protest."
"Is that so?" Yang Xuan was a little unconvinced.
"There's going to be a fight today. The one who will be most upset is Yunyun. After all, he's her dad. At her age, she's sensitive. She's also sensible and will keep things to herself," Jiang You changed his sitting position. "What's the point of me being so powerful? Yunyun is upset, and so is Sister Nan."
Yang Xuan lowered her eyes and looked at the little bear .
Jiang You sensed her change in mood and asked, "You don't seem very happy?"
"No, I'm really envious," she shook her head slightly, with a faint sheen on her lower eyelashes, "Are these balloons sold and given away?"
"It was originally used for decoration. Look, I made some puppies and turtles in various colors. They are so cute."
"Then why not do it?"
"Liu Boyang won't let me do it."
"He must have arranged it this time, no wonder it's so professional."
"Hey, what do you mean?" Jiang You looked at her.
"No, no, this little bear is very cute," Yang Xuan shook the little bear, and then she became worried again, "Can Sister Nan handle it?"
Jiang You picked up another balloon and started pumping it up. He said, "I'm listening."
More than 20 minutes later, the door to the yard was pushed open, and Chen Nan rushed in. When she walked to the bubble ball, she heard Yunyun say to her, "Look, Mom, I'm buried by the ball."
Chen Nan's expression softened immediately, and she said, "Be careful, stand firm and don't fall."
"No."
Chen Nan watched Yunyun and Jiang Mo play for a while, and then walked back to the store . Her anger had mostly subsided. After seeing Jiang You, she remembered something and said, "I forgot to buy cigarettes. Wait a minute, I'll go now..."
"Don't go. You're sweating. Take a break. I'll get you a cold drink."
After Chen Nan sat down, Jiang You took out three cans of Cornetto from the kitchen and gave them to Chen Nan and Yang Xuan.
He asked Chen Nan: "He left?"
"He left. He still has the nerve to say that it's an adult matter and shouldn't affect the child," Chen Nan took a bite of the ice cream cone. She glanced into the yard. Yunyun pulled Jiang Mo up and she lowered her voice. "When he and I got the divorce certificate and walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, he just turned around and left. For nearly half a year, he ignored Yunyun. His parents even told everyone that I changed Yunyun's last name as soon as I got divorced and didn't let them visit. Later, the matchmaker who introduced us to the marriage mediated between the two sides, and the relationship eased a little. One year, all my money was in the bookstore, and I only had 2,000 yuan in cash. It was almost the New Year, and I remembered that Yunyun didn't have new clothes for the New Year. I saw a down jacket, which didn't cost much. I bought a larger size and could wear it for two or three years. I wanted him to buy it for Yunyun, but he did the math for me and said that I was trying every way to use Yunyun to ask him for money."
"Isn't this too much?" Yang Xuan said.
"He's not a bad guy, he just doesn't have his own opinions. He believes whatever his parents say," Chen Nan glanced at his phone. "It's getting late. I'll cook a few simple dishes for lunch."
Jiang You agreed immediately and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Sister Nan."
Yang Xuan volunteered: "I'll help."
…
While Chen Nan and Yang Xuan were making lunch, Yin Jie brought over the snacks. They were sesame-filled glutinous rice balls in the shape of pandas, very cute. Yunyun liked them very much, and Jiang Mo did not comment.
After lunch, when Lin Yu arrived, Jiang You started his business.
Chen Nan was watching over the bookstall, Yang Xuan was selling snacks, Lin Yu was giving instructions, and Xiaoya was singing.
Yang Xuan was a little resistant at first, but after Jiang You assured her that no one would recognize her on Wenhua Street, she relaxed and happily started to work as a stall girl, even thinking about adding a few more varieties.
Jiang You put the display board outside the courtyard gate, and then moved a stool to sit next to it, using balloons to attract customers while blowing up balloons and occasionally shouting a few words. The effect was quite good, and parents brought their children in to play one after another.
As the number of children increased, conflicts were inevitable during playtime. When Lin Yu was at a loss, Yang Xuan grabbed a handful of candies from the counter and coaxed the naughty children into submission. So she stopped watching the stall and played with the children, acting like a big sister. She played games with them, collected postcards, and sold snacks and picture books.
Jiang You's friends also came and brought gifts to Jiang Mo. The old couple Lin gave a set of plasticine with a mold, Chang Lizhang gave an early education robot, and Sun Yu and Guan Nuo gave a box of Lego blocks together...
It was almost evening when Tang Butian stepped into the yard.
At this time, there were not many children left in the yard. Yang Xuan took Jiang Mo and Yun Yun, who were tired from playing, upstairs to rest and watch TV. Jiang You took Chen Nan for a stroll on the street. Only the diligent Lin Yu was left, taking care of the naughty children and their parents.
Lin Yu followed Yang Xuan's example and used a balloon to coax a naughty child. Then he turned around and saw Tang Butian walking in.
He walked over.
Tang Butian recognized him and asked, "Where's Jiang You?"
"Little Jiang is out. Do you want to ask him to come back?"
"No need," Tang Butian added, listening to the children's laughter and screams, "You go ahead and do your work. I'll go look at the paintings."
She raised her head and saw a dazzling orange-red color on the gray sky. The two large golden characters "Insect House" on the plaque were shining in the orange light.
She walked into the store.
Starting from the first painting on the left, look carefully at each one.
I read the instructions in the display case word by word. The instructions were written in a very literary and beautiful way, and the words were also very nice, but I couldn't see how they were related to the painting above.
The painting composed of black and light and dark red that she had seen before was placed near the counter. She walked over and looked at it again, but she was not pulled into the illusion again.
"I thought you weren't coming."
Hearing Jiang You's voice, she turned around.
"Would you like some chicken steak? They're freshly fried." Jiang You handed the bag of chicken steak in his hand to Tang Butian.
Tang Butian hesitated for a moment and then took it.
"It was quite lively today and quite successful," Jiang You said.
Tang Butian poked a piece of chicken with a wooden skewer and took a bite. It was indeed freshly fried, the outer layer was still crispy, and the meat was tender and juicy.
“Why do you want to hold an art exhibition?” she asked.
“He likes painting.”
"What is it?"
"Some scenes in his memory, basically they are all about fighting. On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, he had a fight with something and it tasted delicious, something like that." Jiang You took the bag of chicken fillets from Tang Butian.
"I don't quite understand." Tang Butian said.
"Today, there were quite a lot of people coming to see the exhibition, and he received quite a lot of gifts," Jiang You said while chewing a chicken nugget. "During the Chinese New Year, my relatives also took him to meet him. Jiang Mo is a real person."
Tang Butian looked at him.
"If no one in this world recognizes a person, then that person doesn't exist. On the other hand, the more people who come into contact with him, the closer his connection with the world will be. Soy sauce doesn't matter, but since you're here, you have to live a good life."
"Hey? Xiao Tang, you're here too?" Chen Nan walked into the store and asked Tang Butian, "Will you have dinner together tonight?"
Jiang You said: "Let's eat together. I have reserved a table."
"Okay." Tang Butian agreed.
"I'll go upstairs to see them." Chen Nan pointed to the stairs and went up.
The door of the bedroom was half open, and the sound of the TV could be heard. She looked inside and saw Jiang Mo sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding a game controller in his hand, staring at the TV screen without blinking. Yunyun and Yang Xuan were sleeping diagonally on Jiang Mo's bed.
Chen Nan walked in.
She saw the snack bag half-fallen on the bed. Yunyun and Yang Xuan's mouths were stained with puffed food crumbs. The bed sheets were also covered with crumbs.
She gently pushed Yunyun's shoulder and said, "Yunyun, get up. Can you sleep in the evening?"
Hearing the voice, Yang Xuan opened her eyes a little, "Mom..."
Chen Nan looked at Yang Xuan.
Yang Xuan saw her face clearly, she sat up and rubbed her eyes, "I, Sister Nan, I was confused in my sleep, what time is it?"
Yunyun also woke up.
"It's almost five o'clock. I'm going out to eat soon."
"Five o'clock, oh..." Yang Xuan suddenly woke up, "Where's my phone?" She rummaged around in bed and found it under the quilt, "I forgot to tell Brother Huan that we'd have dinner here tonight, I'll give him a call."
