Wen Yu had basically forgotten about his sister that night and was only busy chasing away the men who were circling Du Mengmeng at the bar - of course, without making a sound.
Perhaps he was really a little stimulated, so he booked a room in a hotel and began to frequently travel between the two cities. During this time, he also knew that Xu Shiqi would see a psychiatrist on weekends, and he took the initiative to ask to pick her up, while Wen Jialuo had no choice but to return home after receiving several calls from her mother.
At that time, spring was fading and summer was rising, and the plum rains were heavy. Wen Jialuo had not returned home since she took Xu Shiqi away. This time, not only Luo Linyi couldn't help but ask about her, even the old man and the old lady asked about her.
Seeing this, Xu Shiqi agreed with Dr. Cha to change their weekly meeting to weekdays, and then went back with Wen Jialuo.
Wang Yuan didn't expect that the girl promised that she would not see her daughter until a month later. Because they hadn't talked yet, Wang Yuan always called Wen Jialuo. When she asked about it, she said she went to see a doctor. When she wanted to go over to see her daughter, she was told that she was there because she was afraid that she would be nervous.
Everyone seemed to be trying very hard, except Xu Shiqi, who smiled but remained silent. Wang Yuan suppressed her worries and was speechless for a while as she held her daughter's hand.
After sending Xu Shiqi home, Wen Jialuo went back. Luo Linyi also held her daughter's hand and looked at her carefully, repeatedly asking her if her injury still hurt and whether it was serious.
"I'm fine, aren't I?" Wen Jialuo said with a smile, her cheeks slightly fleshier, which comforted Luo Linyi. She asked about the girl's throat again, and then saw her daughter's eyes dim.
"Just do your best." Luo Linyi comforted her daughter, "It is our moral duty to help her. We are not unreasonable people. However," Luo Linyi hesitated, "I heard that she doesn't go out all day and only does some housework at your place - even the cooking lady has retired. Isn't that not good?"
"No," Wen Jialuo said quickly, "we get along very well." Seeing that her mother was about to speak, she quickly said that she wanted to go see her grandmother, and then ran away.
The old lady was waiting for her granddaughter in the room. She was wearing reading glasses and watched her granddaughter push the door open. She seemed to have grown better, but there was a hidden worry between her brows. But when she saw her, her eyebrows naturally raised, she smiled, and her voice was intimate.
"Grandma..." Wen Jialuo took the old lady's hand and looked at her inch by inch. "Well, my brother said that you haven't been sleeping well recently. Do you miss me?"
"You little devil," the old lady scolded with a smile, "I know grandma misses you, but you haven't come back for a month."
"I can't leave." Wen Jialuo slid down and hugged the old lady's legs. The old lady's feet were covered with a small round carpet with a beautiful pattern of flowers. She sat on the edge of the carpet, leaned her head on the old lady's knees, and said coquettishly, "No matter where I am and how long I have been away, the one I miss most is always grandma."
"Really..." The old lady took off her reading glasses and gently stroked her granddaughter's hair. It had grown longer and softer, slipping through her dry fingers and placed next to her own dry gray hair, it was really a comparison to her life.
Wen Jialuo closed his eyes and relaxed his whole body. Lying beside the old lady, he seemed to have returned to the time when he fell asleep in her arms when he was a child. What was he thinking about at that time? He probably didn't think about anything, or just something simple like what to eat and where to go today.
"Jia Luo, are you tired?" the old lady asked softly, feeling the head on her lap getting heavier.
"Hmm." Wen Jialuo answered almost unconsciously, rubbing his head.
The old lady was silent for a while, then asked, "How is that girl?"
Wen Jialuo sighed, like a sigh from the dark world, obscure and unclear.
This sigh made the old lady's heart tremble. She looked down at her granddaughter's profile and was stunned by her helpless and confused look. After Wen Jialuo sighed, she said nothing. She just leaned over quietly and took the old lady's hand and stroked her head.
It was Wen Baohua who interrupted the warmth between the grandparents and grandchildren. She was pregnant and laughed as soon as she entered the door: "Jia Luo, you are getting worse and worse. Why are you holding grandma's legs and not letting go?"
Wen Jialuo loosened his hand, turned around, and when he looked up, he saw a dome-shaped belly. He blinked and said, "Are you twins?"
Wen Baohua sat aside, holding his waist, and stuffed a small pillow behind him: "Do you also think my belly is a little too big?"
Seeing Wen Baohua's face increasingly looking like that of a royal concubine, Wen Jialuo could only sigh that she was taken care of too well in her family.
"Is Shiqi back too? How is she?" Wen Baohua asked impatiently, "I heard from Wen Yu that there is no progress at all. What's going on?"
Wen Jialuo frowned, and the old lady spoke slowly: "Jialuo, help me up, my legs are numb from your pillow. Baohua, let's go for a walk in the woods."
Wen Baohua hurried over to support her, and then together they helped the old lady downstairs.
While walking in the woods around her home, the old lady said to Wen Jialuo, "Invite Shiqi to our house tomorrow and tell her that grandma misses her."
Wen Jialuo then remembered that she seemed to have forgotten to ask Xu Shiqi what the old lady said to her when she went to her house that day. It was not until the next day when she went to pick up Xu Shiqi that she raised the question in the car.
After hearing her question, Xu Shiqi just smiled. It was not easy to write in the car, and she did not plan to write anything. She just patted Wen Jialuo's hand and signaled her to concentrate on driving.
When Xu Shiqi returned home, as soon as she saw the expressions on her parents' faces, she knew she was wrong.
She always thought that her ultimate goal was to balance the two bowls of water, family affection and love. But in fact, ever since she rushed up to hold Wen Jialuo's hand that night, the balance has begun to tilt. In order to be with the girl, everything she did might hurt her parents at the same time.
When the girl was around, it was as if a barrier would be erected in front of her eyes, blocking everything, so that she could not see and did not need to worry. But once she returned home, there was another line pulling at her, pulling her so hard that her lungs ached.
"It's okay, it's okay." Wang Yuan saw that her daughter's face gradually turned pale due to the unknown guilt before she could say anything, so she suppressed her heartache and comforted her instead, "It will be fine, don't worry. Mom and Dad are not anxious at all."
Even if Xu Zhongda was craving for cigarettes, he would never dare to smoke in front of his daughter, so he could only chew betel nut and said, "Yes, daughter, your mentality is the most important thing. You have to relax, okay?"
Xu Shiqi sniffed and went forward to hug her parents. She really wanted to stay with them forever and not go anywhere...
However, she could not escape. Dr. Cha also said that what was valuable was her courage, even her absolute courage.
Maybe people really do have unlimited potential. Just a few months ago, I was so cowardly and timid that I made that girl despair.
When I stepped into the Wen family again, everything seemed different.
It’s hard to describe the feeling. All the changes in herself are inseparable from the people here, so she can only keep smiling. When she can and cannot say something, smiling is the best expression.
After knowing that she would come today, Luo Linyi did not go out. Knowing that the old lady was waiting for her upstairs, she only asked a few questions in a friendly manner. As expected, she was disappointed to find that the girl really had not changed. The only thing that had not changed was that she could not speak. What surprised her was that the girl who had lost her voice still maintained a perfect smile, as if she had not been hit at all. If it were not for the shallow scar on her neck, she would almost doubt the authenticity of the incident.
Affected by the incident, as if she were the only one with her daughter, she didn't say much since Xu Shiqi entered the house, just staring at the girl. She could respond immediately to any slight changes in her, and even read her mind and speak for her.
As loyal as a guide dog - Luo Linyi's face darkened as she watched her daughter lead Xu Shiqi upstairs.
When I entered the old lady's room, she was bending over the desk copying "Dream of the Red Chamber". She heard the noise without even turning her head: "Come here and grind ink for me."
Xu Shiqi was stunned for a moment, then was led over by Wen Jialuo.
Wen Jialuo stuffed the ink stick into Xu Shiqi's hand and pursed his lips.
Glancing at her helplessly, Xu Shiqi stood by the desk and began to grind ink with the remaining ink in the inkstone. She had never done such a bookish job before, and her hands were a little clumsy, which made Wen Jialuo chuckle. Xu Shiqi was afraid that her negligence would delay the old lady's speed, so she had to glare at her and try to concentrate on her work.
An old man and a young man, one polishing and the other writing, naturally there is a very intimate feeling. Wen Jialuo admired it for a while, then took a book from the bookshelf and sat on the sofa beside to read it.
No one spoke anymore, as sound was unnecessary. Xu Shiqi slowly relaxed, waiting for the old lady to use ink and then grind it. Sometimes the ink was too thick or too thin, but the old lady didn't blame her, and didn't even raise her head, but just copied slowly.
Wen Jialuo looked at the time and saw that the old lady had been writing for too long, so he stood up.
"Grandma, it's almost time. Be careful of your eyes."
The old lady then put down her pen and took off her glasses. As soon as she raised her hands again, a pair of gentle hands gently pressed the sides of her eyes.
It was very comfortable. Her hands were as soothing and warm as her voice. The old lady held her hand and turned to look at her. She looked her up and down, carefully, and then smiled: "Thank you, girl."
Xu Shiqi shook his head.
"Grandma is tired and needs to rest for a while. Jialuo, you can take Shiqi back home."
Wen Jialuo raised his eyebrows.
"Go ahead." The old lady waved her hand.
Xu Shiqi turned around and saw a blank piece of rice paper on the table. He reached out and grabbed the extremely thin brush, and wrote on it stroke by stroke.
Grandma, I will come to see you next time.
"Okay." The old lady nodded with a smile, holding the rice paper in her hand and not putting it down until they left.
The strokes were not well thought out, showing the awkwardness of holding a brush for the first time; the structure was also unreasonable, not at all like the beautiful words she could write. However, the thought was there, and that was precious.
When they went downstairs, there was no one there. Wen Jialuo took Xu Shiqi out and sent her home.
Wen Jialuo found a quiet place to stop the car halfway. She took Xu Shiqi's hand and smelled the scent of ink on her fingers: "Tell me, what did grandma say to you that time?"
Xu Shiqi looked at her quietly.
Wen Jialuo rummaged around for a while and found paper and pen for her.
She asked me what compensation I wanted.
Wen Jialuo stared at the words on the paper.
It's okay. Xu Shiqi patted her on the shoulder and mouthed, "Grandma just means well and feels sorry for me."
"What are you sorry for?" Wen Jialuo stared at her stubbornly, "You will be fine."
Xu Shiqi smiled and nodded.
Wen Jialuo grabbed her chin and said, "Don't laugh."
Why
"Because your smile is ugly." Wen Jialuo whispered, leaning over to kiss the smile that froze in an instant.
A gentle kiss, yet suffocating.
Xu Shiqi looked at the girl's closed eyes, and touched her cheek with a distressed hand, gradually letting herself indulge in it. She hugged the girl's neck, inserted her fingers into her hair, and teased her slowly, from kissing to hugging, this was all she could give her now.
"Let's go back early in the afternoon." Wen Jialuo murmured in her ear.
Okay. Xu Shiqi nodded and turned his head to touch her hairline with his lips. At such a close distance, the fragrance of her hair could be entangled between his fingers. She narrowed her eyes slightly and suddenly saw that there were a few hairs on the girl's temples that were different in color from the others.
Xu Shiqi stared at those strands of hair in a daze. The dazzling color almost burned her eyes. The hair instantly turned into a bunch of silver needles, piercing into her heart. It hurt so much. Her heart hurt so much that it was difficult to breathe. Her hands were completely powerless, and she didn't even have the courage to pick up those strands of hair.
"Sit down." At this time, Wen Jialuo held her head and stepped back, "Take a break at noon, I'll pick you up at two o'clock."
As usual, Wen Jialuo fastened the seat belt for Xu Shiqi. When she looked up, she saw Xu Shiqi with his eyes wide open, staring at her motionlessly, as if he had lost his soul.
"What's wrong?" Wen Jialuo was startled and waved his hand in front of her twice, "Shi Qi, don't scare me."
Xu Shiqi grabbed her hand and placed it on his heart.
I love you.
Staring at the lip shape, Wen Jialuo's face was slightly hot: "I love you too."
Xu Shiqi smiled, with tears in her eyes, but they flashed away for a moment. Then she sat up straight and turned her head to the other side.
Raising his elbow, he touched the back of the woman's neck, slid down to grab her hand, and felt her slowly loosening her grip. Wen Jialuo felt a sour feeling in her heart. No matter what made this woman uneasy enough to need love words and promises, she would not be stingy. If she promised her that she would never let her go from now on, she would never let go again.