My mother bought a pair of jade bracelets that had been blessed, which were very expensive, and asked the abbot of Nanshan Temple to predict our future. The old abbot asked me to go to the statue of Guanyin to draw a fortune stick, and then asked about my birth date and looked at my face. He said that I would have a setback in my relationship when I was 25 years old. At that time, a crucial event would happen. If I was not careful, I would lose the love of my life... .
After hearing this, my mother and I both gasped. My mother quickly burned some incense and pulled me to kneel down and kowtow, and bowed again and again.
On the way home, my mother looked serious as she took out one of the bracelets and put it on my wrist. She believed it very much.
The sun was very hot at noon, and everyone in the car was drowsy. Just as we were half asleep, my mother's cell phone rang loudly, and the woman in the front seat suddenly woke up and turned back to glare at us. It was my father who called, and he was very aggressive, "Where are you?" I heard it clearly from the side.
"It's a million miles away from you." Mother was also annoyed.
The father shouted anxiously, "Something happened to Cao Lingxi, did you know?"
I was so angry when I heard this. The woman outside had an accident and she actually came to question my mother. My mother sneered, "Oh! What happened to her? God has opened his eyes."
"you!"
"I'm outside. Let's talk when I get home." Mother hung up the phone.
The phone rang several times, and the mother hung up all of them. Just after returning to the hotel, the father called again. Perhaps because the call was rejected just now, he was even more angry, "What are you doing?"
"It's incomprehensible!" his mother replied.
"It's obviously a new car, how could the brakes suddenly fail? I suspect it was tampered with. Jiang Xiaorong, you've done something wrong!"
My mother laughed so hard that tears were about to fall out. I hadn't seen her so happy since they had their falling out.
I listened to what they said, and it seemed that Cao Lingxi had a minor accident while driving and was hospitalized. It sounded like the injury was not fatal. My mother's previous anger seemed to have subsided, and her face was full of gloating. For her, this reaction was reasonable.
It was a good trip, but a phone call from my father ruined it. In the next few days, I visited several scenic spots and spent most of my time in the hotel basking in the sun and playing water sports.
My father called again. They argued loudly on the phone. My mother's tone was full of sarcasm and bitterness. In the past, the couple spoke ill of each other. I was disgusted with my father's behavior from the bottom of my heart. The woman surnamed Cao would blame my mother for every little thing that happened. His heart was bewitched and he was completely on her side. He couldn't be pulled back. Perhaps the best solution was to separate.
It is said that Cao Lingxi's car brakes failed and crashed into a sycamore tree in the community, causing a bruise on his forehead, half of his face swollen, and three broken ribs. The situation that day was very horrifying. But they should have no evidence, otherwise the police would have come to their door automatically.
On the first day of work after returning from a trip with my mother, I saw Yang Mi again at the office gate after get off work. No, to be precise, he stopped me on purpose. "Zhao Qinqin!" It was the first time he called me by my full name in this tone. From his expression, it was clear that he was not here to apologize to me or reminisce about the past.
I nodded to him as a greeting. He strode over, grabbed my arm, and said expressionlessly, "Let's find a quiet place to talk."
We talked for three minutes in front of the familiar Left Bank Café. When we left, I felt my mouth was dry. He came to blame me, saying that your mother was really too much. I asked her what she was too much about, and he repeated what my father had said last time. At the end, he asked, as if he was holding back his anger and feeling a little aggrieved, "Can she let my aunt go?"
Wow! I took two steps back in surprise. What happened to the world? Who let who off? They all questioned us. He loved his family more than me. Once a conflict occurred, he would stand on her side, and I would stand on my mother's side. Look, we are actually very incompatible and should not have been together. But if it weren't for this incident, I would have let it go and continued with him. The human heart is really hard to figure out.
My father formally agreed to my mother's conditions, and even I was surprised. I thought back to the day when he met me, he looked troubled, and he asked me to help him persuade my mother, saying that money matters were not easy to negotiate. Now, he was willing to agree to such an astonishing request, which was incredible.
The first time the two of them discussed the separation in front of me, my father said, "It's a big sum, I need some time to prepare."
The mother raised her chin and gave him a rather proud look, "I hope it will be quick."
Now, he is the one who is anxious to get rid of the barriers of marriage, but she is not afraid and is ready to take the defensive approach.
Li Shuming and I often talk on the phone, from brief caring greetings to work moods and daily life trivia, we gradually get closer. He is like a book, the more you turn the pages, the more interesting it becomes.
Li Shuming came to Chongqing on a business trip. During work hours, we rarely met, and I was not on that level. And I didn't know how to greet him. He set aside an evening and made an appointment at the Yangtze Island Hotel to invite my mother and me back. Of course, my mother didn't go. She just wanted Shuming to come upstairs and sit with me when he sent me back.
I have to say that being with Shuming makes me feel relaxed and happy. No matter how heavy my worries are, they become lighter under his comfort. No wonder my mother kept saying that Shuming is very good at talking... What does it mean to be good at talking? It means not gossiping or being cold. It doesn't necessarily mean that he has to cover his mouth with a lot of honey or say beautiful words of praise, but even if he asks you a little deeper, you will feel comfortable and willing to talk to him.
I was naturally more interested in his past experiences. "How did you support your sister's education when she was in college?"
"At first, I tried to find a job at the school's work-study center, but that income was not enough to support two people, so I had to find another job."
"What kind of work is this? It must be hard!"
"I resold some cheap daily necessities at school, went to the library on weekends to collect a lot of information, and brought back a few social science books. That's how books were made at that time. I hope I didn't mislead students..." Shu Ming smiled heartily with his eyes curved. There was a little sweat on the tip of his nose, which made his face brighter. Those things came out of his mouth. Even though life was hard, he was not sad because he had such an open-minded and optimistic state of mind.
I held my chin up and listened to him, enjoying his talk. When I heard something interesting, I smiled at him. Although my parents didn't have a good relationship, they didn't treat me badly financially, so I never had to work part-time to make a living.
"I did a lot of different things. I did anything that made money and was not illegal. Of course, I was also asked to stay up late to finish papers and take some unimportant exams for others."
"You're a gunman?" I opened my eyes wide.
Shuming touched my hair but smiled without saying anything.
Everything is for living. I feel that he deserves my respect and admiration even more.
After the meal, we went to the coffee shop and sat for a while. He ordered a cup of matcha latte for me. It had a fragrant cream, which I liked very much. Elegant orchestral music flowed in the coffee shop, accompanied by a faint joy, but I didn't know its name. "Hey, what song is that?"
"Mozart, Serenade," Li Shuming smiled at me, and the moment our eyes met, facing the dim light, I was surprised to find that this person had more beautiful features than the first few times I saw him. His eyes were bright, his lips were full and not mean, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, as if he had thousands of words to say to people... It was like Apollo reborn, or Pan An reborn
No, maybe I am too good at associating.
When I came out, I saw a familiar figure in the hotel lobby. Oh! It was my father. He was here too, and there were a few middle-aged men who looked like businessmen beside him. They didn't bring their wives with them. I was just wondering whether to greet him, but my father turned around and saw us, "Quilt!"
"Dad," I called out.
My father came over on his own initiative, and Li Shuming politely called him uncle. Although he knew a little about the family affairs, his eyes still showed respect and humility. I was relieved a little and briefly introduced them to each other. My father nodded, exchanged a few polite words and left. I clearly saw that he was a little surprised when he looked at Li Shuming, and gave me a meaningful look when he left.
They all speak with their eyes. (To be continued)