Before going to Shanghai, Zhan Xi had imagined that she would go to Shanghai to spend three days and two nights with Xiaoyu on a Friday. After going to Shanghai, she completely gave up the idea because she knew that Luo Jingyu's daily schoolwork was really hard.
While eating hotpot that day, she added Sister Shao and others on WeChat, doubling the number of mutual WeChat friends between her and Xiaoyu.
Luo Jingyu never posted on WeChat Moments during her training, but her sisters did, usually at 1, 2, or 3 a.m., showing off their newly completed homework and cheering, "Finally finished, can go to sleep!"
Zhan Xi looked at the flowers they had made, and the image of Luo Jingyu sitting quietly at the desk came to his mind. He held the ironing trowel and ironed them carefully bit by bit, with an extremely focused expression.
Sister Xiao Zhu told Zhan Xi that every year's training is like this, with huge pressure and little sleep time, but everyone is motivated and willing to pay the money to come here, so they are not afraid of hardship.
Sister Shao added that everyone will take two breaks in the middle of the day, not to sleep in the room, but to go out to collect materials and see the real wild flowers and grasses in nature, and there will also be some collection assignments.
This style of embossing pursues natural wildness, and the works produced are delicate and realistic, unlike other styles that have an exaggerated and luxurious beauty.
Sister Shao said that what craftsmen need is patience. They have only learned to make flower embossing in the past ten years. Before that, these sisters had one thing in common with Luo Jingyu: they loved making handicrafts since they were young. They were very calm and had very dexterous hands. They could sit on a chair for hours without moving.
"There are really few boys who can sit still like Xiaoyu." Sister Xiao Ding pointed at Luo Jingyu and said to Zhan Xi, "However, the Japanese boss is a man, so we all think it's normal to see Xiaoyu like it so much. This is a hobby and also a career. I am very happy doing it. I open a position three or four times a year and make hundreds of thousands of dollars. It feels more comfortable than going to work, and I can also take care of the children at home."
In addition to giving up the idea of going to Shanghai, Zhan Xi no longer chatted with Luo Jingyu on WeChat at night.
I didn't know it before, but now I know that the one or two hours before she goes to bed are really Luo Jingyu's busiest time. Thinking that Xiaoyu has to stay up late after chatting with her, Zhan Xi feels distressed, so he simply moves the chat time to lunch break and dinner.
The two chatted casually every day. Zhan Xi told him not to worry about himself and to study hard. It would only take more than a month for him to finish his homework and return to Qiantang.
Zhan Xizhen signed up for dance classes at "Qiufeng Art" and went twice a week to learn modern dance from scratch.
She likes the feeling of sweating profusely while dancing, likes Teacher Qiu’s attitude towards life, and likes the lively atmosphere in the classroom when she dances with the students.
Among the students, there are teenage boys and girls, as well as office workers in their twenties like Zhan Xi, and an older sister in her thirties.
The elder sister dances very well. She told Zhanxi during a chat that she is already a mother of two children, but dancing has always been her dream. She came to learn dancing and her husband supports her very much.
Every Sunday, Zhan Xi still went to Zhou Lian's house to take sign language classes. After three months of study, she found that she had fallen in love with this vivid language.
She imagined Xiaoyu's life. He had never heard any sound in his life. He opened his mouth but didn't know how to pronounce any words. He had to express all the thoughts in his mind with his hands. However, this language was more difficult for ordinary people to understand than English.
When Zhan Xi was alone at home, he developed a habit of typing out whatever he was thinking in sign language. If he didn't know some words, he would immediately look up the sign language book.
Sign language is not like Chinese. In Chinese, there are many words with the same meaning, as well as various idioms, but in sign language there is only one expression, such as "beautiful", "good-looking", and "beautiful", and the gestures are all the same.
There is also the problem of word order, which is the difficulty Zhanxi faces. A sentence is composed of words, and when she signs in sign language, she naturally types the words one by one according to the word order of Chinese sentences. However, Zhou Lian told her that deaf people think visually, so the word order of sign language will naturally be arranged according to the visual and mental order of first-come-first-come.
For example, Zhan Xi saw a ball rolling out, and then a little boy came chasing after it and kicked the ball. Zhan Xi would sign in: little boy, kick, ball.
Zhou Lian said that if it was Xiaoyu who played instead, his playing style would be: ball, rolling, little boy, kicking.
Zhou Lian comforted Zhan Xi, "Don't worry. Nowadays, many sign language books also use Chinese word order as examples to teach hearing people how to sign. Just follow your own ideas. As long as the gestures are correct, Xiaoyu will understand. They have been accustomed to the way we sign since they were young, so they won't have any problems. What you need to practice is to understand the word order of Xiaoyu's sign language. He may omit many words and phrases. You have to string them together into a sentence. In fact, as long as you talk to him more, you can understand everything he says after dating for a year."
Zhan Xi increasingly understood why Luo Jingyu usually typed incoherently and why reading Chinese was so difficult for him. In fact, he had been trying very hard to adapt to and learn the typing order of hearing people. Perhaps he really had no talent in this area and there was no need to force it.
Speaking is expression, writing is expression, and sign language is also expression. Her Xiaoyu is born with limitations, and Zhan Xi doesn't want to be too harsh on him.
She just needs to learn sign language well. One day, she will be able to completely "understand" what Luo Jingyu says.
As June approached, the weather became hotter day by day. Long-sleeved shirts were changed into short-sleeved shirts and dresses, and Zhan Xi found the sandals and cleaned them.
Gift was born in winter and welcomed its first summer in its life. It has grown a little, but still not an adult, weighing only a little over 10 pounds, which is considered a junior high school student among cats.
When Zhanxi was playing with the cat toy, he would sign and talk to the gift: "Do you miss daddy? Daddy is in school. Mommy misses him too. He will be back soon. He misses you too. Let's take a picture for him, okay?"
She took a selfie with her mobile phone while holding the gift and sent it to Luo Jingyu. Not long after, Luo Jingyu sent her a selfie back.
He had just taken a shower and hadn't blown his hair dry yet. He was wearing a simple gray short-sleeved T-shirt and smiling at the camera. The background was the room that Zhan Xi was familiar with.
Egg pudding: Do your homework quickly, don’t leave it too late
What a Big Fish: It’s time to do it, Huanhuan, I miss you so much.
Egg Pudding: I miss you too, muah~
What a big fish:
—
Yuan Sichen, Qian Yun and others understood that Zhan Xi was about to leave, but they were reluctant to let him go, so they agreed to have a farewell dinner before Zhan Xi left.
One day during lunch, Yuan Sichen asked Zhan Xi, "Hey, what's going on between you and that deaf-mute boy?"
Zhan Xi paused for a moment, raised his head and replied, "We're dating."
Yuan Sichen thought for a moment and said, "I have no opinion about your boyfriend, and I won't tell anyone else. But if you don't want others to know, you'd better keep it to yourself. If you plan to make it public, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Zhan Xi asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"
Yuan Sichen looked around and saw no colleagues around him. He lowered his voice and said, "A few days ago, Sister Wen asked me if you were in a relationship. I was so scared that I almost sold you out. After I realized what was happening, I told her I didn't know."
"…" Anything related to Wenqin always made Zhanxi have bad associations, so he asked, "Why did she want to know about me?"
"How should I know?" Yuan Sichen laughed. "Don't tell me, Sister Wen is really good at judging people. She said that you look very good in the past few months. Your skin is so tender that you can pinch water out of it. You have become cheerful and like to laugh. It seems like you are in good shape."
Zhan Xi touched his face and asked, "Is it so obvious?"
"Of course not." Yuan Sichen said, "It's obvious when a girl is in love. I've noticed that you usually giggle secretly. Do you know that you giggle sometimes?"
Zhan Xi's mouth twitched, she really didn't realize it at all.
Yuan Sichen said, "Also, Sister Wen asked me what's going on between you and Lin Yan now, and I said I didn't know. Lin Yan hasn't sent milk tea to our office for half a year, so Sister Wen asked me if you two were secretly dating? I said no, you two don't contact each other at all."
After listening to this, Zhan Xi fell silent. Wen Qin would ask about these things, and it was easy to guess who came up with this idea.
Zhan Xi had never expected that she would meet her mother downstairs in the company building after get off work two days later.
In the lobby on the first floor, office workers poured out of the elevator one after another. Chi Guilan and her aunt stood by, looking up, each carrying a large bag on their shoulders. When she saw Zhan Xi, Chi Guilan even had a flattering smile on her face.
Zhan Xi got goose bumps all over his body because of her smile.
"Mom, aunt, why are you here?" Zhan Xi walked up to them and asked.
The mother and daughter had not seen each other for two months. When they suddenly met, Zhan Xi's tone was distant and defensive, and there was none of the joy that a girl would have after seeing her biological mother.
Chi Guilan said, "Your aunt came to Qiantang for medical treatment. It's a minor illness. I have nothing to do so I accompanied her. I will have dinner with Ajie in the evening. I called him and he will come over."
Zhan Xi asked: "Why didn't you call me in advance?"
My aunt interrupted: "I said I wanted to call you, but your mother wouldn't let me, saying she didn't want to disturb you at work."
Chi Guilan smiled and said, "We came here directly after getting off the bus. We didn't have to wait long. Your company... Mom hasn't been here before. Aren't you going to resign soon? Mom wanted to come and see you and visit your home. Isn't the house you rent very close?"
Zhan Xi took the bag from his mother's shoulder and said, "It's very close. Let's go. We'll be there in ten minutes."
Chi Guilan was reluctant to leave. She looked at the waves of people coming out of the elevator and asked Zhan Xi, "Huan Huan, you have been working in the company for a year. Are there any boys chasing you?"
"No." Zhan Xi looked at her, "My company is a private enterprise, and we don't have a staffing plan. You know that."
"Actually... Mom is not that rigid." Chi Guilan's tone was strangely flattering. "Some boys in private companies have high education and good family background. If they are good people, Mom can accept them."
Zhan Xi stared at her with cold eyes. Chi Guilan laughed awkwardly, "Huan Huan, Mom knows that I'm too strict with you. You may have a boyfriend who is not in the system, and you are afraid that Mom will be unhappy. In fact, Mom is really not that rigid. If you..."
"Are you still going to my house?" Zhan Xi interrupted her.
Chi Guilan's smile disappeared, and she stared at her daughter in silence, with every wrinkle on her face revealing a suppressed emotion. Zhan Xi knew that her mother was enduring, but she was not afraid. Even if her mother went crazy and ran away downstairs of the company, she thought it was normal.
My aunt broke the deadlock between them: "Go, go, we are so tired after sitting on the bus for three hours."
Zhan Xi brought them to Qingque Jiayuan. After entering 802, the aunt said, "Oh, Huanhuan cleaned the house very well!"
Chi Guilan's attention was not here. She saw a few flowers in a glass bottle on the dining table and took a closer look. They were fake flowers. She also saw the empty cat litter box and cat bowl in the corner and felt very confused.
After checking the refrigerator, she strolled into the kitchen, then strolled to Zhan Xi's bedroom, opened the closet and took a look, then turned around and saw several books stacked on the bedside table. Chi Guilan picked up one and read it, and it turned out to be a sign language book.
Chi Guilan: “?”
All her actions were seen by Zhan Xi. The sign language books had been on the bedside table. Zhan Xi thought of them before he entered the room, but he had no intention of "rescuing" them or explaining them.
She just watched coldly, thinking that when she was a little girl, she had been very close to this old lady and they could talk about anything.
And now, how sad it is, her mother is like a detective, she wants to take a magnifying glass to check for clues in her room, but she has to pretend that she is just taking a casual look, and praises her, "Now you really know how to cook", or complains, "Why are there so many snacks? Eating too many snacks is bad for your health."
There were two whale dolls, one big and one small, placed next to Zhan Xi's pillow. Chi Guilan was shocked and couldn't help but say, "Huan Huan, why did you buy such a stuffed thing? Do you still have a pet? A cat or a dog? You can't keep one!"
"I don't have any pets," Zhan Xi said calmly, "and I'm no longer allergic."
Chi Guilan wanted to say more, but her aunt pulled her sleeve and said, "What are you doing? Didn't you agree to not care before you came? Why are you caring about it again?"
"But the doctor said..." Chi Guilan's words were interrupted by the ringing of Zhan Xi's cell phone. It was Zhan Jie's car that arrived at the gate of the community.
In the evening, the four of them had dinner in a restaurant and the atmosphere was extremely depressing.
Zhan Jie had a dark face and didn't want to say a word. Zhan Xi just greeted his mother and aunt politely and ordered a few dishes casually.
Seeing her son's depressed look, Chi Guilan felt angry and anxious, and asked him, "Ajie, how do you eat dinner recently?"
Zhan Jie said in a deep voice: "I eat at work and work overtime every day."
"You're going to ruin your health." Chi Guilan's tone was filled with heartache. "You've lost weight. This is not a good way to go on."
Zhan Jie ignored her.
Chi Guilan asked again: "Ajie, it's Weiwei's seventh birthday, will you celebrate it with him?"
Zhan Jie shook his head.
Chi Guilan took out a red envelope from her bag and handed it to Zhan Jie: "This is a birthday gift for Weiwei. Give it to him whenever you see him and tell him that grandma misses him."
Zhan Jie took it with a stern face.
Chi Guilan looked at her son and after some hesitation, she said, "Ajie, divorce is not a big deal. You are a man and you don't have to worry about not being able to find someone. Your aunt said the other day that she had a friend whose daughter worked in Qiantang. She was 29 years old and still unmarried..."
There was a loud bang. It was the sound of Zhan Jie's palm hitting the table. He had already stood up, looking down at his mother, and said through gritted teeth: "Are you done yet? Huh?"
The guests at all the nearby tables were looking at them. The aunt was in a panic, Chi Guilan looked ashen, and only Zhan Xi looked calm and looked coldly at her mother.
No one enjoyed the meal well. Zhan Jie never spoke again afterwards and didn't eat many bites of the food. Even when his aunt tried to smooth things over and persuade him, he ignored her.
Chi Guilan's face was also red. Zhan Xi knew that her mother had lost face in front of her sister and strangers, and she must have been very angry. In the past, she would have exploded long ago, but so many things had happened recently that she finally held back.
My aunt had to see a doctor in the city early the next morning, so the two old ladies agreed to stay at Zhan Jie's house that night.
Zhan Xi said goodbye to them downstairs in the restaurant. Chi Guilan once again urged her to go home for Dragon Boat Festival. Zhan Xi just shook her head and said, "Mom, if you had called me before you came, I might have agreed to your request."
"Are you trying to piss me off to death?" Chi Guilan was almost gritting her teeth as she stood in front of her daughter. "You are my daughter. Everything I do is for your own good. Do you think of me as your enemy now? When have I ever hurt you? How can a mother and daughter hold such a grudge? Huh?"
Zhan Xi smiled: "If it's a mother and daughter in other families, would the mother call her daughter's boss and secretly inquire about her work? If it's a mother and daughter in other families, would the mother suddenly raid her daughter's work and home? You're rummaging around in my room, and I don't even know what you're looking for. If you want to know something, can't you just come and ask me yourself?"
"I ask you, will you tell me?!" Chi Guilan raised her voice, "You refuse to tell me anything! Not about renting a house, changing jobs, going out to play, and even what you do in your daily life! I think you are secretly looking for a partner! I have no one to ask, so I can only ask Wenqin! She told me that a young man in your unit has been pursuing you for almost a year, so I asked about the boy's conditions. What did I do wrong? I just care about you. Besides, did I object? I didn't object! I liked the boy's conditions. He has a technical job and is a graduate student!"
Zhan Xi was so angry that he laughed: "Do you know why I am unwilling to tell you when you ask? Because no matter what I tell you, you won't agree. You won't agree to rent a house, you won't agree to change your job, and you won't agree to go out of town to play! I'm telling you what I usually do now. I'm learning to dance, do you agree? I'm learning sign language, do you agree? I'm looking for a job that has huge pressure and requires overtime every day, do you agree?"
Chi Guilan widened her eyes and looked at her as if she were a stranger.
Zhan Xi said calmly: "You won't agree to anything. As long as it's something you don't like, you can't understand, or you think it's meaningless, you won't agree. Why should I talk to you?"
Zhan Jie shouted impatiently, "Are you done? You left right after you finished!"
Chi Guilan moved her feet, and before leaving, she asked Zhan Xi: "Huan Huan, why do you want to learn sign language?"
Zhan Xi smiled and said gently: "I told you, Mom, the most important thing for you now is to take good care of your own health and take good care of grandma with Dad. I will go home to see you during the holidays and give you red envelopes. I earn my own money and can learn whatever I want. Why do you have so many excuses?"
—
Chi Guilan told her sister that she had raised two unfilial sons. They were both good and obedient children, but now one yelled at her and the other became sarcastic.
The aunt secretly called Zhan Xi at night, trying to persuade her to ease the relationship between mother and daughter.
Zhan Xi said, "We'll talk about it when my mom learns when to make phone calls and when not to."
Chi Guilan and her aunt stayed in Qiantang for one night and went home the next day after seeing the doctor.
Wenqin never communicated with Zhanxi from beginning to end. When she was seen in the company, she was still smiling, as if nothing had happened.
Zhan Xi didn't blame her, because he knew that Wenqin was also very upset. After he left his job, Wenqin's family would probably draw a clear line between themselves and theirs. After all, her old father was over seventy years old and had never had a close relationship with Chi Guilan.
On the Sunday morning after his mother left, Zhan Xi finished his sign language class at Zhou Lian's house and was about to leave when he met three little guests.
Zhou Lian welcomed them into the room and said to Zhan Xi, "They are all my students. They just finished the college entrance examination last week and made an appointment with me to talk about how to fill in the application form."
"Teacher Zhou, I'm leaving now. You are busy." Zhan Xi smiled at the three girls and left.
After the door was closed, Mo Yang quickly asked Zhou Lian using sign language: Teacher Zhou, why is Xiao Zhan in your house
Everything went on as usual in the following week. Zhan Xi knew that Luo Jingyu was working on her final major assignment.
The big assignment is to select a part of the flower patterns learned in the whole term and design it into a decoration, similar to a flower arrangement. It not only tests the students' mastery of single flower patterns and production level, but also tests their aesthetic appreciation of flower art and overall design. After the big assignment is completed, it must be submitted to the Japanese classroom for scoring, and only those who pass can get the level certificate.
Zhan Xi rarely contacts Luo Jingyu, and they haven't seen each other for a whole month.
Luo Jingyu raced against time to eat, sleep and take a bath, and the two could only keep their longing for each other in their hearts.
Zhanxi's work has been handed over, and she has sent out a lot of resumes and received several interview notices. She asked for leave to attend the interviews, and two companies had good interviews, so she asked Zhanxi to go back and wait for notification.
On Tuesday and Friday nights, Zhan Xi would go to the dance studio to dance. Now, she could barely keep up with Teacher Qiu's rhythm and perform a decent dance.
Weiwei celebrated his seventh birthday. Qin Fei posted it on WeChat Moments. In the pizza shop, the child was wearing a birthday hat, and his grandparents and several children of the same age were sitting next to him. Qin Fei took a group photo of them.
Zhan Xi discovered that his nephew's two front front teeth were missing, and he looked very ugly when he smiled.
Chi Guilan and Zhan Xi talk on the phone once a week. Apart from the topics of civil service exams and finding a partner, the two have nothing to talk about. Chi Guilan can only complain to Zhan Xi about Zhan Jie, saying that he has not been answering the phone recently, and even if he does, his attitude is very bad.
Zhan Xi would ask his mother to give the phone to his father. He would rather chat with his father, asking how his grandmother is doing recently and whether his father is tired at work.
She could clearly feel her mother's loss and confusion. She was just like she used to be and was so obedient, so why was her mother still dissatisfied
Today, Chi Guilan seems to have no idea what she has done wrong. She cares for her children so wholeheartedly and is worried about them, so why are her son and daughter angry with her
She cried on the phone and said Zhan Xi had no conscience, how hard it was for her to be pregnant and give birth to her, that she was an elderly mother and risked her life, etc...
Zhan Xi had no intention of giving in, so she just listened in silence. She had become numb to the family card that Chi Guilan was very good at.
The deteriorating relationship with the mother is frustrating, and the kitten Gift is also a worry. Gift has entered its first estrus period and his mewing at home is a headache.
Zhan Xi took it to the veterinary hospital for consultation, and the doctor said that sterilization could only be done after the estrus period was over. Zhan Xi calculated the time and thought that he would wait until Luo Jingyu came back. The kitten was attached to him, and such a big thing as sterilization would be easier to handle with the father present.
On Sunday morning, Zhan Xi finished his sign language class at Zhou Lian's house and left. It was a little after 11 o'clock in the morning. The sun was shining brightly outside and the heat was rolling. Zhan Xi squinted his eyes because of the shininess of the sun. He was about to take out his sunglasses from his bag and put them on when he suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart.
She suddenly raised her head and saw a tall man standing under a big tree with lush branches and leaves not far away.
Zhan Xi was dazed for a moment, and looked back at the unit door. It was indeed Zhou Lian's house. She turned back and looked over there. The man was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, with his hands in his pockets. He stood very casually, smiling at her with his head slightly tilted.
It was the smile she was most familiar with.
"Xiao Yu!" Zhan Xi almost ran towards him, her ponytail swinging high, and threw herself into his arms.
She hugged him tightly and looked up at him, with beads of sweat from excitement already appearing on the tip of her nose.
Luo Jingyu also looked down at her, her expression... very complicated.
Because they were downstairs from Zhou Lian's house.
Zhan Xi came to his senses and used sign language to say: You are back? Why are you here? Did Xiao Mo tell you
Luo Jingyu nodded slightly and also signed: You never told me.
Zhan Xi was so embarrassed that he wanted to cover his face: I haven’t learned it yet, I want to tell you after I have learned it well.
Luo Jingyu looked at the sign language she typed. It was not so fluent and was rather slow, but each gesture was so accurate and precise, and he could understand every sentence.
Although he had asked Ji Hongzhe, Luo Xiaomei and Zhou Lian about what happened before coming, he was still so moved that his eyes were sore when he saw it with his own eyes.
He raised his hand and signed slowly: You have learned it very well. Huanhuan, thank you. No one has ever been willing to learn sign language for me. You are the only one. I...
He pointed his right index finger at his chest and could hardly continue speaking.
Sign language is not like Chinese, which does not have so many beautiful descriptive words. It is straightforward, vivid and concise. However, this makes Luo Jingyu distressed that he is not as cultured as Luo Xiaomei.
He found that there was only one thing he could say:
I'm really happy, Huanhuan, I'm really happy, I'm really happy.