A-Wang carried the wine jar and walked into the crowd.
" Song Lan is different."
A-Wang didn't say exactly how they were different, leaving behind a single sentence before disappearing into the noisy crowd.
The lively dining table was laden with food.
There were many people around the table, chattering away. Everyone was talking, and it was hard to hear what they were saying, but they were all happy, joyful, and laughing.
Finding a peanut in a dumpling should elicit cheers.
He burped after drinking, then burst into laughter.
He blurted out something and started making a scene.
No one mentions the extent of suffering during those two decades of silence.
A meal celebrating the reunion of Jiang Mingxi's family of four lasted from noon until evening.
The stars shone brightly against the dark blue sky. Bai Zheming pointed to the brightest one, his eyes slightly blurry with drunkenness. "When we were little, Xiaoxi always begged his dad to pluck that star down from the sky so he could hang it on the toilet and not be afraid of the dark when he pooped."
Jiang Mingxi:...
Hey!
I really wanted to cover Bai Zheming's mouth.
Song Lan pinched Jiang Mingxi's cheek, full of curiosity, "Why are you afraid of the dark when you poop?"
Zhao Jiayuan also looked on with surprise, "Yeah, yeah, don't you turn on the light in your bathroom for your child?"
Bai Zheming smiled, his gaze gentle and full of affection, as he looked at Jiang Mingxi, "When he was little, there was a time when he was pooping and the power suddenly went out at home. He was so scared in the bathroom that he cried."
Zhao Ke's eyes widened. "You're crying with poop on one side of your butt?"
Gao Le was utterly shocked. "Was he so scared that he ran outside? He still had some poop on his bottom..."
Jiang Mingxi, unable to bear it any longer, jumped up from her chair and shouted, "I've said enough! We're eating!"
A-Wang gloated, "When he first went to the orphanage, he would cry hysterically every time the lights were turned off at night. He would cry so badly that we had to turn the lights back on for him to sleep. Otherwise, he would make a fuss about wanting the stars in the sky."
Bai Zheming wanted to hear every single detail about his younger brother's past in the orphanage.
"Did you cry so much that it annoyed people and got you beaten?"
A-Wang shook his head, "No, our headmistress is very kind to us, just like a real mother."
This wasn't A-Wang saying it to comfort everyone; it's just that the headmistress is truly a good person.
"At first, the headmistress would sleep with him. Later, when other children got sick, the headmistress would go to take care of them at night, so she would put him in my room and I would sleep with him."
It was around that time that A-Wang and Jiang Mingxi officially began to get to know each other.
Later, during the many days and nights Jiang Mingxi spent in the orphanage, it was A-Wang who took care of her.
Zhao Jiayuan asked curiously, "So, when he slept in the orphanage, the lights were always on?"
A-Wang glanced at Song Lan, "He started with the lights on, but then he somehow got hold of some stars and sneakily hid in the room, telling me secretly that his mother gave them to him."
Zheng Muyun's brow trembled; she knew this mother was not her.
Zhao Ke was shocked, "His mother?"
A-Wang laughed and said, "There's a small river behind our orphanage. When the weather is nice, the orphanage takes the children to play on the other side of the river. He made new friends there and calls them 'Mom'."
A-Wang Wang was laughing as he recounted Jiang Mingxi's embarrassing moments, which almost brought Zheng Muyun, Bai Jinghan, and Bai Zheming to tears.
Calling someone else "Mom"...
How much the Xiaoxi misses its mother!
A commotion over a meal can't dispel twenty years of gloom.
After eating, drinking, and making a ruckus, Feng Moshan, Chen Chong, and Song Bai cleaned up the table. Grandpa Song handed a cigarette to Bai Jinghan, saying, "The courtyard at No. 57 next door is also ours. Want to go for a look? We were originally thinking of letting Xiaoxi stay here, but A-Wang let Xiaoxi stay here. Song Lan's older brother and I discussed it, and if you guys stay at No. 58, we'll move to No. 57 so we can look after each other."
Bai Jinghan's memory has not yet returned.
They would pop up sporadically, take the cigarettes Grandpa Song offered, and follow Grandpa Song toward number 57.
The two strolled and chatted, with Grandpa Song telling Bai Jinghan about how the Xiaoxi had saved his life.
While Jiang Mingxi was going in and out with Song Lan, Zheng Muyun secretly called out to A-Wang. With a slightly awkward and restrained tone, Zheng Muyun rubbed her fingers together and asked in a pleading voice, " A-Wang, can Auntie chat with you for a bit?"
A-Wang talked about Xiaoxi all night long, not showing it on his face, but he was hoping more than anyone else that Xiaoxi Bai Family would take the initiative to chat with him and ask about the past.
Jiang Mingxi's past was too painful.
Human nature is inherently biased.
He knew that Bai Zheming was also having a hard time, and that Zheng Muyun and Bai Jinghan having an even harder time, but he hoped that all those who had returned would cherish Jiang Mingxi.
Upon receiving Zheng Muyun's question, A-Wang breathed a slight sigh of relief and smiled faintly, "Okay."
Zheng Muyun consulted A-Wang, "Then... shall we go for a walk over there?"
Move a little further away from this crowd.
A-Wang understood; this person probably had something to say.
Grabbing a bottle of mineral water, A-Wang followed Zheng Muyun out the second gate.
They said they came out to chat, but now that it was just the two of them, Zheng Muyun had so much to say, yet she didn't know where to begin.
A-Wang spoke first, taking a small stone from his pocket and placing it in his palm, saying with a hint of joking, "This is the star that Xiaoxi brought home when he was little, given to him by his mother."
Zheng Muyun looked over.
It's just a very ordinary stone.
"Yes..." Zheng Muyun's voice choked as she took the stone from A-Wang's hand and examined it carefully. "How old was Xiaoxi when she was?"
"A little over four years old."
Zheng Muyun held the stone tightly, took a deep breath. When her Xiaobao was four years old, his mother wasn't there for him...
Why.
Zheng Muyun didn't dare to think about these things at all.
The discomfort is unbearable, even the slightest thought of it.
She pursed her lips, looking at the stone in her hand, "It's been preserved for so many years."
Zheng Muyun paused softly, stopped in her tracks, and looked up at A-Wang. "I watched the variety show Xiaoxi participated in at the hospital later."
I've watched it so many times.
"Regarding the paternity test, I saw someone in the comments saying that Doctor Gu, Gu Yanchu, is actually a psychologist." Zheng Muyun frowned, a deep worry etched on her brow. "You invited him there... was it for Xiaoxi?"
Zheng Muyun directly steered the conversation towards Gu Yanchu.
This is the result that A-Wang longed to see.
Just like the sentence he didn't finish saying to his Special Assistant Su: Those who truly care about him will know even if I don't tell them.
Without saying much, A-Wang nodded, "Yes, after all, it's such a big deal."
Zheng Muyun frowned even more deeply. " A-Wang, I... I don't know if it's because I'm worried and confused, or what, but these past few days, Xiaoxi has come to see me every day, kept me company, and talked to me."
"But I always felt that something was off about him."
"That is...
He seemed somewhat detached.
"Is Xiaoxi... sick?"