BSS - Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Deng Chuan hadn't expected to run into Xu Wei's brother here.
In the spark of a moment their eyes met, she recognized the person before her. In that split second, her mind shifted gears, realizing that such an encounter was actually quite probable—they were all living in this small city, their spheres of activity were only so large, and judging by the crowd, this restaurant must be quite famous locally, otherwise Xu Wei wouldn't have brought her here…
Deng Chuan's thoughts were already starting to wander, and this wandering prevented her from reacting appropriately to Xu Wei's brother's gaze. At the same time, however, her own eyes were still fixed on him, ceaselessly capturing the subtle expressions on his face.
Upon seeing her, Xu Wei's brother's expression was a bit strange. They exchanged a glance, and each tacitly averted their gaze. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he were about to greet her, but he quickly restrained himself. He looked like Xu Wei, and even the way he pursed his lips and tensed his face was very similar.
Deng Chuan didn't know what to do either. She didn't know how far Xu Wei's communication with her family had gone. Even if she and Xu Wei's brother both knew who the other was, it was difficult to gauge the proper level of social interaction when things weren't out in the open.
At that moment, Xu Wei hadn't yet noticed their silent encounter. Holding Deng Chuan's hand, she had finally squeezed out of the crowd at the entrance. Her damp skirt clung uncomfortably to her thigh. Xu Wei wanted to go back quickly. She tugged on Deng Chuan's hand, only then realizing that she was standing there in a daze for some reason.
So, she followed Deng Chuan's gaze.
As Xu Wei stepped out from behind Deng Chuan, her brother saw her. His gaze then shifted downward, landing on their intertwined hands.
The three of them were now face to face. The moment her brother lowered his eyes, Xu Wei could feel the kid's fingertips, which were resting on the back of her hand, tremble slightly. But it was only for an instant; immediately, her grip tightened.
Deng Chuan's reaction made Xu Wei's heart soften as if she were sinking into a thick goose-down silk quilt. She was even in a good enough mood to raise the corners of her lips and take the initiative to greet her brother. "Here to eat?"
"Yeah."
"Alone?"
"No…" Her brother leaned in closer and said in a low voice, "Third Great-Uncle is celebrating his sixtieth birthday, so he invited everyone for a banquet. They couldn't get a reservation, so they sent me to wait in line."
The people of Chaoshan place great importance on their clans, and relatives maintain very close ties. Xu Wei had attended many similar occasions growing up, but perhaps due to her own personality, most of them couldn't be described as pleasant. But what did it matter now? She considered herself to have little connection to her family anymore, only fulfilling some basic duties and coming back to visit during holidays.
Since it had nothing to do with her and involved people and things she disliked, Xu Wei's smile faded. She nodded at her brother. "We'll get going then. You can take your time waiting."
Her brother seemed to want to say something more, but after looking at his sister's expression and then at their intertwined hands, he swallowed his words. "Okay."
Deng Chuan couldn't understand what they were saying, only seeing Xu Wei's smile disappear and her expression become as still as an old well. She thought they were upset because of her.
After saying goodbye, Xu Wei tugged the kid's hand. "Let's go."
Deng Chuan started walking with Xu Wei, but just as they were about to turn and leave, the young man who looked so much like Xu Wei suddenly gave her a slight nod and offered a brief greeting in Mandarin: "Hello."
Xu Wei didn't stop walking. Deng Chuan heard the politeness in Xu Wei's brother's voice and nodded back at him before turning to follow Xu Wei.
Their interaction was limited to just that.
They hadn't gone far when Xu Wei suddenly lifted their joined hands, her tone very gentle. "Not a bad performance."
Deng Chuan tilted her head to look at her. Xu Wei's mood didn't seem to have soured because of the little interlude just now; on the contrary, she seemed rather happy.
She couldn't help but feel happy too. "So, did I pass?"
Xu Wei nodded seriously. "Mhm." Seeing Deng Chuan didn't respond, she looked up at her. "Little Friend, you need to be clear-headed. From start to finish, the only examiner you need to please is me."
The next second, Xu Wei saw Deng Chuan break into a radiant smile, showing her white teeth. "Of course!"
Smiling, Deng Chuan squeezed Xu Wei's hand again, pulling her a little closer. "Are you cold? Why isn't there any heating in your malls here? I'll call a car now, so we can get in as soon as we go outside."
The two soon returned to the guesthouse. Upon entering, they saw the owner dozing in a bamboo chair, a black cat curled up at his feet. Hearing the noise, the cat squinted its yellow-green eyes at them.
Seeing this, they carefully lightened their steps and went up to the second floor to open their door with the code.
It was lunchtime, and all the doors on the second floor were tightly shut. The quiet in the air was as thin as a cicada's wing, making one reluctant to break it.
Xu Wei had originally come back to change her clothes, but the guesthouse was too quiet, and she usually had the habit of taking an afternoon nap. Now that the time had come, drowsiness crept up on her unknowingly.
Deng Chuan wasn't in a hurry either. She didn't know where Xu Wei was planning to take her. Their trip back to Chaoshan wasn't exactly a tourist vacation; they hadn't planned any itinerary. They were just doing whatever was most relaxing, so naturally, things were more leisurely.
The leisurely kid changed into her pajamas and snuggled in bed, clicking the TV remote.
Xu Wei propped her head on her hand, leaning to one side. She was truly sleepy. As she was talking to Deng Chuan, her eyelids closed involuntarily, and she looked like she was on the verge of sleep.
So, the TV volume was turned down to its lowest setting.
The afternoon was just as leisurely and long. While Xu Wei slept, Deng Chuan watched an entire silent movie. When the movie ended, she turned off the TV, lay down in the bed as well, and closed her eyes while hugging Xu Wei.
In contrast to their leisure, the atmosphere in a private room on the other side of town was not so peaceful.
Many people had come to the Xu family banquet. After they had mostly finished eating, the older generation at the main table began to pass around cigarettes, specifically to every male at the table. Soon, the private room was thick with smoke, enough to make even an immortal choke upon entering.
Xu Wei's brother was named Xu Cheng. He was one of the rare non-smokers in the family and was even a little allergic to smoke. The moment the smoking started in the room, he immediately felt a bit nauseous. But as a close relative of the banquet's host, it would be impolite to leave before the event was over. Xu Cheng endured the discomfort, feeling the stench of smoke clinging to his entire body.
People began to lead their children out one after another. Xu Cheng kept his eyes downcast, not sparing a glance at the elders puffing away beside him. Amidst the room's foul smoke, he suddenly recalled the young, beautiful face he had seen earlier. She was quite tall and held his sister's hand in a very assertive manner.
Thinking of that posture, Xu Cheng raised his head and glanced at his father, who was chatting with Third Great-Uncle, and sighed silently.
Why had everything turned out this way? He had wondered countless times.
Ever since they were young, his sister had been much smarter than him. At first, people just said that girls matured earlier and wouldn't do as well in high school, especially since his sister was studying science. But she had gotten into the best local elementary school, tested into the best middle school, and then, with the top science-track score in her high school, was admitted to the university with arguably the most respected diploma in Guangdong Province. After that, no one said such things anymore.
When it was time to fill out her university application after the Gaokao, his sister had wanted to go north. But the family disagreed, saying a girl shouldn't go so far away, and that when she returned after graduation, the job prospects within the province wouldn't be as good. His sister was still very obedient back then. But being so smart, she had probably weighed the pros and cons herself before filling in the province's top university, just as everyone had hoped.
Back then, their family was still on very good terms. Although their father was stern and rarely smiled, he would often take them to the seaside on weekends—to Nan'ao Island, to Dongshan Island. Everyone was very happy. While the family wasn't wealthy, they were comfortably well-off. Their daughter was successful, and their son was passable—as for a son, as long as he stayed local, he could always be well taken care of. What more could they be dissatisfied with?
But. Xu Cheng lowered his eyes again, thinking that everything seemed to have started changing around the time his sister began her master's degree.
At first, none of them realized anything was wrong. His sister was always busy—busy with her studies, her research projects, and attending all sorts of competitions and lectures. So she didn't come home often for holidays anymore, usually just for a few days during the New Year, arriving and leaving in a hurry.
At that time, whenever their mother complained, their father would say loudly while sipping his tea, "It's a good thing for young people to be proactive. What you should worry about is her not being proactive. Besides, she'll be back after she graduates. When that time comes, do you think the family won't be able to see each other?"
Their father had already planned out his sister's future: get a teaching position at a local school, preferably a high school… buy her a car… His sister had gotten her driver's license right after the Gaokao, and she was a very good driver. The car could serve as part of her dowry later. Then, she would find a local man from a similar family background, get married, have children, and her life would be perfect, prosperous, stable, and secure, with no regrets.
At that time, Xu Cheng was about to graduate high school and enter university. He didn't attend the same high school as Xu Wei, but everyone knew he was Xu Wei's brother, that he had a sister who was excellent at her studies. Xu Cheng, deep down, also wanted to be close to his sister. He knew that although she seemed a bit cold on the surface, she had a soft heart. She had deep feelings for her family. Xu Cheng could see that.
His sister was nearing graduation from her master's program. The family began mobilizing to find her a job, even contacting people with connections for her, but his sister seemed unwilling to come back home. This was her first conflict with the family. When she came back during the winter break of her third year, she didn't say a single word to their father over the entire New Year holiday because of this issue. Neither of them would back down.
His sister's stubbornness infuriated their father. For those few days, the atmosphere at home was so suffocating for Xu Cheng. He was already in his third year of university by then and considered himself an adult, the future pillar of the family. Filled with the grand ambition of resolving the family conflict, he went to talk to his sister. But no matter how many platitudes he repeated, his sister wouldn't speak, her face tense like an emotionless robot. Only when she got tired of being bombarded by the three of them at the dinner table did she show a hint of emotion, leaving the table and shutting her bedroom door.
Later, relatives also came to persuade her, but in the end, shouting, coaxing, and pleading all seemed powerless to change his sister's mind. By then, she had started earning her own money and was no longer financially dependent on the family, so there was nothing anyone could do. His sister didn't want to stay at home any longer either. As soon as the third day of the New Year was over, she immediately flew back to Guangzhou.
His sister's unhesitating departure cast another shadow over the family. Whenever their father thought about it, his face would turn ashen, and he would fall silent. But the elders who came to visit would calmly reassure him: "It's fine. It's normal for young people not to want to come home. Once she graduates and gets a taste of the hardships of fending for herself out there, she'll be willing to come back. It won't take more than a few years. When that time comes, do you think she won't listen to the family's arrangements, that she won't understand the family's good intentions?"
What a load of crap, Xu Cheng thought with a self-deprecating sneer.
But it seemed that everyone except his sister believed it.
After being persuaded, the family gradually became certain that his sister would come home, treating her resistance as a young daughter's tantrum. But none of them could have imagined back then that this minor conflict was just an appetizer. The worst-case scenario, the event that would completely tear their family apart, leaving them estranged in life and separated by death, was like a ticking time bomb, flashing a dangerous red light in the not-so-distant future, just waiting for them to step on it.
Comments
Post a Comment