Yu Yi, who also took a taxi home in the middle of the night, was afraid of disturbing the sleep of his sister and her son, so he opened and closed the door quietly. But after walking a few steps, he saw that the kitchen light was on and Yu Nan was still cooking inside.
"Are you back?" Yu Nan asked.
Yu Yi glanced at his nephew's bedroom.
Yu Nan understood and said, "Maomao went to bed early. Once he falls asleep, even thunder can't wake him up." Maomao is Yu Nan's son.
Yu Yi smiled and nodded.
"It's so late, what are you still busy with?" Yu Yi asked.
"I'll cook something for you. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it in time tomorrow morning." Yu Nan is nearly ten years older than her brother, but she has maintained herself well and does not look like the mother of a teenage child.
She put down her things and came out of the kitchen. "Did you see it?"
"No." Yu Yi sat down on the sofa.
"No?"
"She said she had something else to do." Yu Yi smiled.
He received a call from Zeng Li, who told him that she would not go. He asked why. She said, "You had a classmate named Ai Jingchu, and I am dating him now. He may not be willing for me to meet you alone, so let's not meet you today for the time being."
She has always been a person who would never lie and always speaks the truth.
You really don't consider other people's feelings.
"Ayi, why are you unhappy?" Yu Nan asked.
"No. I'm leaving tomorrow, so I can't bear to leave you." Yu Yi answered with a smile, "I wish I could put you in my pocket and take you back home, so that you can cook and make soup for me every day. Of course, Maomao must be taken with me, otherwise you will definitely cry. Then I will introduce a man to keep you company, so that your brother-in-law will call for you every day and regret it." Yu Nan has been in a cold war with her husband recently because of work.
"Stop talking nonsense." Yu Nan smiled, "I'll get you some Tremella soup."
Just as Yi Da drank half a bowl of sweet soup, Yu Nan said, "You should find someone who is close to you. Being alone outside will make your family feel distressed."
"Aren't I always looking for it?" Yu Yi replied.
"Yes, find one and replace it with another." Yu Nan was furious.
"Do I have to find two to exchange for one?" Yu Yi blinked.
Yu Nan raised his hand and patted his forehead, "Stop talking so smoothly."
"You are the lobbyist sent by our mother, right?" Yu Yi finally understood.
"You are already over 30. Ah Yi, if you and Zeng Li had succeeded in getting together, you might have a child."
When Yu Yi heard her mention Zeng Li again, he couldn't help but say, "Zeng Li already has someone else. Don't bring it up all the time in the future. It won't be good if others hear it."
Yu Nan was stunned for a moment. "Really? Has she already got someone? I like her very much, what a pity. She is much better than the other girlfriends you had later. She is well-behaved and obedient, she won't even quarrel with others, whatever you say is what she does, and you watched her grow up, so I know her inside and out, it would be a relief to have her as your brother's wife. There are so many things going on with relatives now, you and her are of the wrong generation, you are not close relatives, why do you care what others say? If it weren't for the fact that my mother would never marry her mother, and you did something to let her down behind her back..."
"Sister," Yu Yi interrupted her, "it's been so many years, why are you still talking about this?"
"I heard that she has been single. I always thought she couldn't let you go."
"Maybe I just haven't met the right person yet? Don't be so self-indulgent on my behalf."
After a while, Yu Yi suddenly asked: "I often read in books that love will eventually turn into family affection, is that true?" He didn't read any books, it was his ex-girlfriend who said that.
Yu Nan thought for a moment and said, "Maybe. Your brother-in-law and I have been married for almost 20 years. This is probably how it feels."
"What about the other way around?"
"What's the other way around?"
Yu Yi did not ask further questions, nor did he continue to explain. Instead, he started to joke with his elder sister. It was almost two o'clock when he went to bed. He lay on the bed in his room, and as soon as he closed his eyes, he thought of that year when Zeng Li was brought to him by her grandmother and taught her to call him little cousin, but she looked at him timidly but never spoke.
When Yu Yi arrived at the airport early the next morning, he had just checked in his luggage in the terminal when he saw Zeng Li arriving as promised.
She had less flesh on her face than before, but she was still skinny. She still had long arms and legs. She wore a simple white T-shirt and shorts, like a college student. Her hair had grown a lot longer. Like her mother, she had naturally curly hair. When she was in school, she had to go home and get a certificate every semester because of her hair. Otherwise, the school would force her to get it straightened on the grounds that middle school students were not allowed to perm their hair.
Because they had agreed on hall number in advance, and Yu Yi was standing at the door, she found him as soon as she entered.
When her sight fell on Yu Yi, Zeng Li was stunned for a moment, slowed down her pace, and walked towards him step by step. For so many years, she thought she would definitely cry when she saw him again, but on this day, she didn't cry.
"Hey." Yu Yi tilted his head and smiled.
"Hey," she said.
"Now that you have Ai Jingchu, you're going to ignore me?" Yu Yi smiled.
"No..." She couldn't help but feel embarrassed, not knowing how to answer. She had thought about asking Ai Jingchu to come, but what would that mean? Bringing her current boyfriend to protest against her ex? Saying that I would be better off without you? That would not feel good, not to mention that they had been friends for so many years.
She had sought Ai Jingchu's opinion beforehand.
He said it doesn't matter.
I don’t know if he really doesn’t care or if he really doesn’t want to see him.
"No one is seeing you off?" Zeng Li thought he would see Yu Yi's relatives.
"They've gotten used to it. Maomao has tutoring today, and my sister has to accompany him to school." Zeng Li naturally knew who Maomao was.
He added: "And isn't there you?"
There was nowhere to walk around in the international terminal in the morning, and even chairs were scarce, so the two had no choice but to sit in the fast food restaurant next door.
Yu Yi was a talkative person, and he would talk non-stop once he started. He talked about the recent situation of those people Zeng Li knew at home, and his life abroad. Even the smallest things could be turned into very interesting stories when he described them.
When Zeng Li was speaking, Yu Yi, who was sitting opposite him, would support his chin with his other hand and tap the table rhythmically with the fingertips of his other hand. In this respect, he had the same habit as Ai Jingchu.
He propped his head up and looked at Zeng Li like this. If it was someone else, even Ai Jingchu, she would be uncomfortable, but she would not be uncomfortable when the other person was Yu Yi. They were too familiar with each other, just like childhood friends. Even if they had not been in touch for many years, they were a little strange when they first met, but after a few words, they would slowly become familiar with each other.
Every time she spoke, his eyes would always look at her braces first. He finally asked, "How long have you had braces?"
"Half a year." Zeng Li replied.
"Is this how you met Ai Jingchu?"
"Um."
Like Ai Jingchu, he is a smart and insightful person who can guess the general idea with just one question.
"Is he... nice to you?"
"fine."
"I didn't expect you two would be together." Yu Yi said.
“I didn’t expect that.”
"You have to be more independent in the future. I'm not talking about in life, but in terms of emotions." Yu Yi looked at her and said.
This was probably the reason why he and she broke up. She took love too seriously, to the point that it was as important as life, while he probably thought love was just a spice in life because his own world was too wonderful. He didn't want to lose himself, nor did he want to hurt her, but the pressure was so overwhelming that he finally chose to escape and give up.
So, he called her and told her that he was no longer suitable for her and that he had fallen in love with someone else.
But after all these years and the changes that have taken place, looking back, that kind of feeling was so pure and precious that perhaps there will never be another woman in this life who can give him that.
It’s not that I don’t regret it.
But he is not the kind of person who only feels sad about the passing of time. People should always look forward, right
Yu Yi added: "However, Ai Jingchu and I are different. He may be the right person for you. He is much smarter than the average person, and things that others take the trouble to do are easy for him. Moreover, his family is well-off, so he doesn't have to worry about mundane matters, and he won't bow down to others. He can focus on his medical career, and he is a completely ideal person." Therefore, if he loves someone, he will do it wholeheartedly, right
Yu Yi didn't say the last sentence. Ai Jingchu was not like him. He had become unrecognizable after struggling for survival.
But Zeng Li understood, but didn't know how to answer, so he just nodded.
He stared at her, thinking of how she looked when she was a child, and couldn't help but reach out and touch her face.
She did not shy away from his hand.
Yu Yi's fingertips rubbed the skin of her cheek for a while, then he patted her head and said, "Good girl."
Zeng Li burst into tears when she heard this. In those years, when his parents quarreled at home, he would always tell jokes to comfort her, and after that, he would say these three words. They were like a fuse, triggering all of Zeng Li's suppressed emotions.
Yu Yi smiled, "Why are you still crying even though you're so grown up? Didn't I always say that you look so ugly when you cry?" He teased her, but still couldn't help but stood up and held her in his arms to comfort her.
Her tears burst out like a dam.
Yu Yi patted her on the back and said, "Okay, stop crying. If Ai Jingchu saw me taking advantage of you like this, he would definitely beat me up.
“If my teeth are knocked out, I’ll have to ask him to heal them, which is so embarrassing.
"You don't know, they don't have any special skills as dental students, they just have strong hands. They can cut steel wires with pliers in one hand. I can't beat them."
Yu Yi's words almost made Zeng Li burst into laughter.
Later, when the time was almost up, Yu Yi sent Zeng Li to the door. After saying goodbye, he turned around and walked a few steps. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice behind him calling softly, "Uncle."
Yu Yi was stunned in the spot, and turned back later. This was the first time in his life that Zeng Li took the initiative to call him like this.
Zeng Li just gestured goodbye to him, and the tears on his face had been wiped away.
He smiled at her.
Yes, it’s not that I don’t regret it.
It's just that they are not the one that each other is looking for.
Zeng Li left the airport and returned to the city. She bought some food on the way. After she got home, she cleaned the house thoroughly and started cooking. She cooked a lot of food at once and filled the table. She sat at the table without picking up her chopsticks. She just looked at the dishes quietly. The taste was slightly salty and spicy. In fact, she never liked eating chili peppers, but Yu Yi liked it, so she liked it.
All of her signature dishes were learned based on his preferences.
This time, she didn't cry. She sat quietly at the table without eating a single bite. When the food got cold and lost its bright color, she stood up and dumped everything into the trash can one dish at a time.
When she started to pour the peanuts into the soup, she suddenly remembered Ai Jingchu's unreasonable look when he said "I don't eat peanuts". At this time, the phone rang, it was Zeng's mother calling.
"They said you fell off your bike?" Zeng's mother asked stiffly. The two of them had not spoken much since their last argument.
"Yeah, a few stitches."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was too late then, and later on I felt there was nothing to say."
"What's going on now?"
"It's healed now. All the stitches have been removed."
"What's good about that? It takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. I made some fish soup for you today. Come down and get it."
"ah?"
"What? Hurry up, there are people waiting for me to go shopping. I'm at the gate of your community, come and get it."
When Zeng Li arrived, he saw Zeng's mother standing alone on the street, holding a thermos bucket in her hand. She said she was in a hurry, but when she saw Zeng Li, she left without handing over her things.
"Let me see the wound," she said sternly.
Zeng Li raised his chin and showed her. Although the stitches had been removed, the wound had not healed completely. It looked a little bumpy. There was probably some soft tissue contusion between the flesh and bones, so it had bulged out and looked very ugly.
After checking, Zeng's mother's eyebrows knitted together, "What if this can't be cured and the face is disfigured?"
"It will be fine." Zeng Li comforted her.
"Don't eat ginger, soy sauce, chili peppers, garlic, etc. for the next few months. I'll make you a soup with mullet, peanuts and pork ribs. It's good for your wound. After you finish drinking it, I'll make more tomorrow."
Zeng Li smiled.
"If you had found a good husband sooner, would I have to work so hard?"
Zeng Li smiled again. She didn't dare to touch her mother's reverse scale.
"Why can't you be more careful in normal times? Why did you ride a bicycle for no reason? Just ride it. You rode a bicycle to school in junior high school. Why did you fall? Why did you fall on your face? You are an unmarried girl. If your face was really disfigured, where would you go to cry? I have fed you for more than 20 years, but you haven't made any progress. If you had called me earlier, we would have asked our acquaintances to find a good doctor for you, and you..." She kept nagging.
"Mom," Zeng Li advised in a low voice, "Why don't you go up and sit for a while?" There are so many people coming and going, it would be embarrassing if the neighbors see us.
"Ah?" Zeng's mother paused, remembering that she had just claimed to be busy. "No, I'm very busy. I don't have time to take care of you. Let's go."
Zeng's mother never drags her feet when doing things. She handed the things to Zeng Li and was about to leave, but Zeng Li called her, "Mom."
"Thank you." Zeng Li said.
Zeng's mother's face froze, and she pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Don't give me that."
Zeng Li went back and poured the steaming fish soup into a bowl. He held it to his mouth and blew on it, then drank it up mouthful by mouthful. His stomach was completely full and his whole body was covered in sweat.
A city tour guide was playing on TV, and she suddenly had an impulse to get up and pack her luggage. She had never been so decisive before, so she contacted the travel agency first, then called Director Li to ask for five days of annual leave, and then arranged the air tickets and hotel, and left in the afternoon.
At the airport, she called Ai Jingchu for the last time.
Her heart couldn't help but beat wildly when she dialed the number.
When the call was connected, he was still in a meeting. They had a seminar in the city this weekend. The topic was led by University A and he was involved, so he was busy.
"He's gone?" Ai Jingchu asked Yu Yi.
"gone."
"Go home and wait for me. I'll be there when I'm done." His voice was low and gentle.
Zeng Li said, "I want to go out for a walk."
"Then go ahead, I'll pick you up later."
"No, I'm going on a long trip," she explained.
"Where are you going? Where are you?" His tone was a little uneasy.
"I'm at the airport. I'll be leaving in a moment."
"Because of me?" he asked.
"No, no," she denied subconsciously, and then said slowly after a moment, "Yes."
Ai Jingchu didn't say anything on the other end.
Zeng Li said, "Don't be angry. It's because of you, but it's not because of you either."
He seemed a little angry, and said sadly: "If you don't want to see me, you don't have to do this."
After saying this, the conversation between the two fell into silence.
After a while, Zeng Li suddenly opened his mouth and called him softly, "Ai Jingchu." The tone was unusually soft and gentle, which would soften the hearts of others.
She said: "Since I was very young, I have envied those people in magazines who traveled around with a backpack. But I have lived for more than 20 years, and the farthest distance I have traveled is from the small county town of my hometown to here. People like you who can travel back and forth between the two ends of the earth may not understand my world, right? I used to think that it was because I had no money. Later, when I made money, I told others that I had to work, I had no time, and no holidays. In fact, only I know that it was because I didn't dare. I didn't dare to walk alone in the dark even when there was no light in the corridor. I am always afraid of unfamiliar things. I am afraid that the destination I want to reach is not as good as I think. I am afraid that there will be people who scare me in unfamiliar cities. I am afraid that I will spend all the money in my passbook and cannot go home. I am even afraid that the hotel is not good or the road is difficult. So when I hear about other people's interesting stories on the road in books or in life, I always secretly make up my mind to go there to take a look, but I will be timid when it comes to the end. But today, I suddenly want to try it. I want to go and see the outside world alone."
Ai Jingchu listened to Zeng Li's words without saying a word. After she stopped talking, he said, "As long as I am here, you don't have to be afraid of anything."
"Ai Jingchu." She called him again.
"Yeah." He responded.