"Auntie, are you thirsty? There are other drinks in the refrigerator." Shi Yi sat down on the single sofa next to Jiang Xuemei as if nothing had happened.
Jiang Xuemei shook her head: "It's okay, I like drinking plain water." She put down the paper cup, lifted the paper bag on the table onto her knees, took out a red jewelry box, and handed it to Shi Yi, looking warm: "I haven't had the chance to give it to you on the way, but now is the perfect time. It's a meeting gift, open it and see if it's the right size?"
There was a logo embossed on the jewelry box. It was a brand that Shi Yi was very familiar with and it was quite expensive.
Shi Yi was flattered and politely declined: "Auntie, this is too expensive, I can't accept it."
Jiang Xuemei smiled, ignored her politeness, and opened the jewelry box herself.
It is a platinum bracelet with elegant design and fine polishing.
"Come on, you have taken everything from me. What could be more precious than her?" She said lightly, pulled Shi Yi's hand, opened the bracelet, and put it on Shi Yi's slender wrist.
The size and thickness are just right, and the bright silver luster complements Shi Yi's fair wrist.
Jiang Xuemei was satisfied: "It looks pretty good, what do you think?"
Shi Yi looked at her wrist and nodded: "Auntie, you have a good eye." But she was still embarrassed. "But, Auntie..."
Before she finished speaking, Jiang Xuemei shook her head gently, signaling her with her eyes not to refuse. "This is the custom in Shanghai." She explained: "When an elder meets a younger person for the first time, he or she must give a gift to show his or her affection."
"You don't want to accept it, do you have any opinion about me?"
Shi Yi was stunned and laughed. She touched the bracelet, looked at Jiang Xuemei, pursed her lips, and her eyes slowly filled with tiny lights. She said sincerely: "Thank you, Auntie, then... I'm welcome. It's very beautiful."
Jiang Xuemei smiled faintly: "It's too formal."
After half a lifetime of ups and downs, she has become indifferent to many things. When Fu Shitian told her that she liked girls, she was surprised, but only surprised. She thought, it is easy to find priceless treasures, but it is hard to find a lover. It doesn't matter whether it is a man or a woman. What matters most is that he can treat Lailai well and make her happy.
So when she heard that the other person was Shi Yi, she was relieved. She trusted Shi Yi more than anyone else. She liked this child very much. Although he was young, he was more independent-minded, honest, kind, and able to distinguish right from wrong than many adults. She believed that such a child would not be too bad when he grew up.
After meeting today and spending a little time together, this judgment became even clearer. She is willing to hand Lai Lai over to her.
However, she still had something on her mind. Taking advantage of the fact that Fu Shitian hadn't come out yet, she asked for confirmation: "Laila told me before that your mother didn't agree with you guys, what about now? Is it okay for her to live with you?"
She was not worried that Shi Yi would bully Fu Shitian, she was worried that Shi Yi's family would wrong Fu Shitian.
Fortunately, Shi Yi answered her: "It's okay, Auntie, my mother doesn't object now."
"Besides," she said, "I bought this house myself without spending a penny from my family. It belongs to Lailai, and it is only natural for Lailai to live here."
"It's only natural?" Jiang Xuemei's eyes were filled with teasing and scrutiny, and she repeated it deliberately: "Yours is Lai Lai?"
Shi Yi faced Jiang Xuemei's gaze and answered frankly and firmly, "Yes."
"Auntie, I regard Lailai as my wife. I don't want to date her, I want to spend my whole life with her. So even though Lailai and I cannot legally get married like a boy and a girl, I will give her all the partner rights she deserves."
Jiang Xuemei's eyes were deep.
Shi Yi promised: "I am contacting Lailai to add her name to the house. The shares I hold in the company will also be transferred to be jointly owned with Lailai. If Lailai is willing, I would also like to designate her as my designated guardian."
Jiang Xuemei showed approval in her expression, but verbally rejected it: "It's enough that you have this intention."
She said sternly, gently and seriously: "It's not easy for you to work hard for these things all these years. I think Lailai would not want to leave you like this. I'm her mother, I know her character, she wouldn't want it, and I don't need you to prove it like this."
"I only have this one daughter. I can give Lailai whatever she wants." She looked directly at Shi Yi, revealing such a sharp look for the first time since they met, and asked, "So I have only one request for you, or for Lailai's future partner, which is to love her, treat her well, and make her happy."
"can you do it?"
Shi Yi did not dodge or avoid, and nodded solemnly: "Auntie, I can."
Jiang Xuemei no longer looked solemn and smiled with relief: "That's good."
She was about to say something when the sound of the glass door being pushed and pulled came from the guest bathroom. It should be Fu Shitian coming out of the shower. Jiang Xuemei stopped talking, and Shi Yi also changed the subject tacitly.
So when Fu Shitian came out, he saw Jiang Xuemei and Shi Yi sitting on the sofa, talking and laughing, and they seemed to be having a very pleasant chat.
She tilted her head, holding the towel she was using to dry her hair, and looked at them, somewhat surprised.
Jiang Xuemei turned sideways and spoke to her naturally: "Xiaoyi said that you have an aromatherapy that is very useful. It is very comfortable to smell without lighting it. She asked me if I wanted to try it."
Fu Shitian replied subconsciously: "It is quite relaxing. Mom, do you want to try it? I'll take it to your room later?" But his eyes fell on Shi Yi.
Shi Yi was smiling, his expression normal.
Fu Shitian finally felt relieved.
Jiang Xuemei noticed it and her expression dimmed slightly, but before she could hide it, she was bumped into by Fu Shitian who had turned his sight back.
Jiang Xuemei was embarrassed for a moment, but then she smiled warmly and said, "Okay, I'll try." She looked at Fu Shitian's wet hair and said tactfully, "Go blow dry your hair. You might get a headache if you use the air conditioner while it's wet. I'll go back to my room and blow dry my hair. It seems like my hair roots are not dry yet."
Fu Shitian felt a little stuffy in his heart, and clenched his five fingers that were holding the towel. He wanted to say something to her, but he didn't know where to start.
Finally, she just nodded and said, "Okay."
They followed Jiang Xuemei, helped her take out and put away the aromatherapy, and then returned to their own rooms.
As soon as he entered the room and closed the door, Shi Yi hooked his arms around Fu Shitian's waist from behind, pressed his whole body slightly on her back, and smiled sweetly.
Fu Shitian knew that she was happy, and he was also happy in his heart. "What's wrong? Why are you so happy?"
Shi Yi's voice dropped slightly, but his tone rose: "What should I do? Your mother seems to really like me."
She raised her wrist with the bracelet in front of Fu Shitian, "It's a gift from my aunt."
Fu Shitian was also surprised, he stretched out his hand, held it, touched it, and his eyes were full of smiles. Mom is... really accepting Shi Yi, it's not a delaying tactic to coax her.
Her slightly anxious heart finally settled down. In her joy, she recalled Jiang Xuemei's fleeting sadness in the living room just now, and her heart began to feel a little depressed again.
She pretended to be sad and teased Shi Yi: "She is so beautiful. I am a little jealous."
"Um?"
"I'm her daughter, I don't have anything."
Shi Yi laughed happily in her ear and affirmed: "You will have it too."
She would remind her mother.
Fu Shitian was puzzled, but Shi Yi refused to say anything more. She let go of Fu Shitian and took her hand to the dressing table: "Blow your hair, it feels so cold when I touch it."
Fu Shitian didn't really care about this issue. He followed her lead and sat down in front of the dressing table without getting to the bottom of it.
Shi Yi picked up the hair dryer and skillfully helped her blow dry her hair.
Fu Shitian's mind slowly drifted away in the comfortable temperature and fixed-frequency noise of the hair dryer.
She once again recalled Jiang Xuemei's gloomy expression just now, and thought of the several times before when she deliberately kept a distance from her and rejected her excessive closeness and kindness, and Jiang Xuemei pretended to be indifferent and forced a smile.
My heart felt more and more stuffy.
"Baby..." She tilted her head slightly and looked at Shi Yi in the mirror.
Shi Yiying: “Hmm?”
Fu Shitian asked: "Can I sleep with my mother tonight?"
Shi Yi paused slightly while lifting her hair, then dropped his hand and pressed it down on her head, stroking it lightly. She had a smile in her eyes, but she pretended to be reluctant, saying indifferently, "For the sake of the bracelet, it's okay."
Fu Shitian responded with dissatisfaction: "If you do this, I will complain to her."
Shi Yi was fearless. He narrowed his eyes, ruffled her hair, and asked in a low voice, "What are you complaining about?"
"Um?"
"You have a backer, right?"
Fu Shitian couldn't pretend anymore and smiled softly. He leaned back against Shi Yi embarrassedly and hugged her thighs and acted coquettishly.
Shi Yi moved the hair dryer away a little, touched her furry head, chuckled, and then carefully and gently straightened her messy hair back.
Silly and foolish.
If she could resolve all her worries and reconcile with her mother, she would be happier than anyone else.
"Sit tight, I'll turn up the wind speed and blow it faster. Otherwise, Auntie will fall asleep."
Fu Shitian kissed her waist and sat up straight obediently.
Ten minutes later, she tidied herself and came to the door of the guest room with a pillow and quilt.
There was no light coming through the crack under the door.
Has she fallen asleep yet... Fu Shitian felt a little embarrassed and a little timid. She thought of running away, but the injured look on Jiang Xuemei's face and the star that her father had put in her palm in her dream reappeared in her mind.
Past mistakes cannot be changed, but future regrets can be avoided.
She clenched her palms, raised her hands, relaxed her brows with relief, and knocked on the door again and again, very lightly but solemnly.
Jiang Xuemei's voice soon came from inside the door: "Come in? The door is not locked, push it in."
Fu Shitian came in in response.
In the room, the lights were off and Jiang Xuemei was lying on her side on the bed, obviously ready to go to sleep.
Fu Shitian stood by the door, facing Jiang Xuemei's surprised eyes, hugged the pillow in front of him, moistened his throat, and tried several times before he spoke calmly: "Can I sleep with you tonight?"
Jiang Xuemei was caught off guard and was stunned for two seconds. She suddenly sat up, her eyes full of surprise, and responded repeatedly: "Sure, come in, come in quickly."
Fu Shitian's ears felt hot. He closed the door and walked towards the bed step by step.
Jiang Xuemei was both shy and enthusiastic. She turned on the bedside lamp and asked, "Do you want to sleep over here? Or do you want to sleep over here?"
Fu Shitian put down the pillow and quilt on the bed near the door and said, "I'll sleep here."
Jiang Xuemei immediately moved her body and removed the pillow, leaving the entire space on that side empty.
Fu Shitian bit her lip, sat down on the bed, lifted her feet, put them on the bed, hesitated, and lay down.
Jiang Xuemei looked at her, the smile lines at the corners of her eyes gathered, and she said, "Then I'll turn off the lights."
Fu Shitian responded softly: "Yeah."
The lights were turned off, the vision fell into darkness, and the other senses became sharp in an instant.
Fu Shitian could hear Jiang Xuemei's heavy and disordered breathing in the darkness, and could feel that her eyes were fixed on him.
No one is asleep yet.
Her mood suddenly sank and her nose felt sour.
Many years ago, on a night like this, she pretended to be asleep and let Jiang Xuemei describe her face over and over again with such a loving gaze. Deep down, she decided to pretend not to know.
This decision almost ruined half of her life and also tortured Jiang Xuemei for half of her life.
She had it all her own way.
Jiang Xuemei is innocent.
She always felt that someone like her was not worthy of the gentle and pure love of her mother. She hoped that Jiang Xuemei would ignore her, not care about her, and not let her drag her down, and continue to live a good life just like she did in the past ten years when she didn't exist.
But her resistance seemed to hurt her even more.
Shi Yi said that forgiving oneself and forgiving others are both lessons.
She stood in the world illuminated by Shi Yi, and gradually realized that she seemed to have done something wrong again. Perhaps, learning to love and be loved is also a lesson.
Her eyes were filled with mist and she said hoarsely, "Mom."
Jiang Xuemei immediately responded: "Hmm?"
It was the same tone she used when she asked me to tell her a story on those sleepless nights when she was a child.
Fu Shitian turned sideways, looked at her beautiful face through blurry vision, and his throat choked.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Can I hug you?"
Jiang Xuemei's eyelashes fluttered violently, tears welled up in her eyes, and a deep arc appeared at the corners of her lips. "Of course." She stretched out her hands and hugged Fu Shitian into her arms, as if she was hugging a beautiful dream that she was afraid to wake up from.
Hugging tightly, trembling, laughing, breathing deeply.
Tears wet Fu Shitian's pillow.
Fu Shitian hugged her back, just as he had done countless times when they were children, hiding in her arms, trembling with her, breathing with her, and accepting her pats on the back to comfort her.
No one spoke, but a cold wall was gradually melting away in silence.
Jiang Xuemei knew that her daughter had really returned.