After Li Shuming left, my mother was in a very good mood, as if a noble person had come to sweep away the bad luck in the house. I was amazed. It rained heavily again at night, dispelling the stuffy and damp summer air, and I had a good sleep.
The next morning, I went to work. I got up late and was late for a while. After getting off the car, I jogged towards the gate. Suddenly, a figure flashed out. I couldn't brake in time and bumped into his shoulder. I staggered. A familiar man held my arm. I looked up and it was Yang Mi. He was in a white T-shirt and jeans. When he saw me, there was a smile in his eyes, but there was a hint of embarrassment that he couldn't hide. He was not good at hiding his inner feelings. He was still a big boy, and we hadn't grown up yet.
Yang Mi bent down and picked up the handbag that fell on the ground for me, and gently brushed off the dust.
"Thank you." I took it and turned to walk towards the door.
"Qianqian, wait a moment." Yang Mi called from behind. He came closer, and I seemed to feel his breath, but he was quite sensible and did not follow his ex-girlfriends like many unwilling breakups, and then forcefully pulled their hands and hugged them.
But, but, what else is there to talk about between us
I quickened my pace and walked away, then I heard him shouting, "I'm sorry!" Looking back, I saw Yang Mi standing there, facing my direction, but he was so far away that I couldn't see his expression clearly.
Everyone says sorry afterwards.
I heard from my office colleagues that they had just sent the people from the head office to the airport. However, I went to work late today and did not see Li Shuming.
My father still hadn't come home. The big duplex apartment was empty and pitifully lonely. My mother often sat alone at the dressing table and spent an hour getting ready. One morning when I went to see her, I saw her staring at the person in the mirror in a daze, her eyes dim, her face had just been heavily powdered, a very pale color, and the rouge had been in her hands for a long time without being applied. I walked in and called her, "Mom."
My mother turned her face away gently to look out the window. I walked around and sat down, and then I noticed that there were crystal tears in the corners of her eyes.
My heart ached all of a sudden. I didn't know what my father was thinking. Would he never see Jiang Xiaorong's sadness and tears again? I suddenly realized that I had never really understood him in all these years. Otherwise, how could I have panicked in the face of two family conflicts? My mother, on the other hand, did understand him. She was actually prepared for the battle, but in the end, many things could not develop as we hoped.
"I'll call Dad," I said to my mother.
"No need. You will come back naturally when you want to." Mother said slowly, as if preparing for a protracted battle.
"Mom, when did you know?"
"It's been a long time, but I don't know who that person is." The mother woke up from her sadness, picked up the eyebrow brush and continued to put on her makeup.
Then the woman surnamed Cao was not my father’s first one outside, otherwise she would not have not known who she was.
I went to my room and called my father. He still didn't want to go home. I told him that I hoped the two of them could sit down and have a good talk. But my father said, "Wait until your mother calms down."
They have long been strangers. Perhaps the father is taking this opportunity to break free from the shackles of this family and is deliberately delaying.
I am deeply disappointed with marriage and have been in a gloomy mood.
Zhang Yaoyao asked me to go to Soho for a short chat. She had already stated on the phone that it was just the two of us. I guess they probably already knew that Yang Mi and I had broken up. The lights were dim, and Qingcheng was twisting her coquettish figure under the swaying lights. Yaoyao ordered a glass of whiskey for me, and she held the goblet with her slender fingers and shook it, "Qinqin, we haven't been out for a long time. Are you in a bad mood recently?"
I nodded, "Something happened at home."
Yaoyao pursed her lips, about to say something, and handed me the glass, motioning me to clink glasses. We drank the wine in the glass, and for the first time I felt a sense of pleasure from drinking big gulps. Yaoyao pulled me into the dance floor, raised her two snow-white long arms, and twisted her whole body. There was fluffy yellow hair under her armpits. She was a girl with sparse hair.
I was in the middle of it, and I couldn't help being infected and dancing along. In the blink of an eye, a layer of dense sweat appeared on my forehead. Yaoyao wanted me to find another boyfriend, "Youth is short, you should squander it." These were her original words.
I just laughed when I heard that, "I'm not like you, pretty and popular."
Yaoyao stopped dancing, put her hands on my shoulders, stared at me with wide eyes, and curved her eyes, "Oh my, Qinqin, how could you say such a thing, you don't know yourself at all, you are such a delicate and exquisite person, if there are single men who know you, nine out of ten times they will ask you out."
Puff! I smiled at her and waved my hand.
"Don't believe it? People say that they liked you the first time they saw you. It's just that you had someone in your heart at that time, and now you have become too cold, so they are embarrassed to get close to you."
I knew who she was talking about, but she didn't know our story. The dance floor was getting more and more crowded, and everyone around us was dancing. Only the two of us stopped and stood in the middle, which felt out of place.
“Let’s dance… ..”
Yes, why not dance, wrap up all your worries, and hide them under the colorful night of the mountain city.
I came home late that night, at one o'clock. My mother was waiting for me on the sofa in a long blue silk nightgown with peony flowers. She smiled and said, "Li Shuming called."
I couldn't believe my ears.
The mother went on to say, “People are greeting me.”
Oh, it was a perfectly legitimate reason, perfectly normal. I went upstairs, waiting for her to continue, but my mother suddenly fell silent. "Don't you want to know what was said?"
I stopped and looked back at her. "It's nothing more than asking if you're feeling well lately, if you're busy at work, and if you're in a good mood or not, and asking if you should go out more often, and so on."
"Yeah, what can you tell me, you are such a clever kid." Mother laughed softly, "I know, I was looking for you, but unfortunately you were not at home. I told Qiuqiu to call him back when he got home, and he agreed, but you had to stay out so late today."
"There's plenty of time."
“It’s all about timing,” the mother added.
A week later, my father suddenly came home. It was a sunny afternoon. Cicadas were singing happily in the trees, but I was annoyed. There was a literary competition in the industry, so I had no intention of watching it. I simply packed up and went home early. When I walked in, I found my mother and father sitting in the living room, with serious expressions, as if they were negotiating. When he saw me, he stood up and was about to leave. The moment he looked at me, I noticed that his eyes were evasive. "Are you going out?"
My father nodded and said, "I have an appointment with a client tonight. Qinqin, why are you leaving so early today?" His eyes were filled with guilt. He had no intention of coming back.
I nodded woodenly. He had already opened the door, grabbed his bag and was leaving. Nothing could stop him now. I suddenly felt sad. What was going on? Why did he avoid me like this? What about him and his mother? Did he always avoid her, and only decided to drop his disguise and speak the truth at this point
He filed for divorce from his mother.
This was not something I had not expected, but it was the worst of what I had expected. After my father left, my mother collapsed on the sofa, her hair covering her face, one hand supporting her head, as if she was talking to herself, "He actually wants a divorce."
"Maybe he was acting on impulse?" I still held out hope.
"No, no, I lost." Mother slowly stood up and went upstairs with a blank expression. I called her and tried to comfort her, but she turned her back to me and waved her hands, "Let me think about it."
I finally understood that before this, my mother still had hope for this family, thinking that he could change his mind. But she still didn't understand that there is no winning or losing in love. (To be continued)