Chapter 9
Chapter 9
“I have enough to eat and drink. I don’t need to buy anything!”
Chu Qi scoffed at me. “Look at you, being so stingy. Besides food and drink, we can buy things we actually like.”
“Stickers, postcards… you girls like to buy hair clips, stationery, those ugly-as-sin pens, brainless novels, and stuff like that.”
He pulled some money out of his pocket, hesitated for a long time, and then, with a look of immense pain, drew out a fifty-yuan bill and handed it to me.
“This is your New Year’s money from me. Go spend it!”
The world outside the window was covered in white snow, but the room was filled with warmth.
I looked up at Chu Qi, my eyes involuntarily welling up with tears.
I asked him softly, “Brother, I don’t want the money. Can I give you a hug?”
Chu Qi’s face was full of wariness and suspicion.
I lowered my eyelids. “It’s okay if you don’t want to.”
The next second, Chu Qi reached out and gave me a light hug, his tone full of feigned disgust. “Do you have water pipes in your eyes? You cry at the drop of a hat.”
“Girls are such a hassle.”
My nose stung sharply. I asked, “Will you always be my brother?”
“Duh!” After his bold reply, he reached out and awkwardly patted the back of my head, his voice softening. “Stop crying. I can share all my love with you!”
“I’ll give you half!”
Humans…
We are truly greedy creatures.
Before, I thought a tiny bit of love would be enough for me to survive.
Now, I found myself hoping that every day in the future would be a dream as beautiful as today.
That year, my Adoptive Father stayed at home until the end of March.
The apricot blossoms in the park were in full bloom.
He rode a bicycle while my Adoptive Mother sat sideways on the back seat, her arms wrapped around his waist.
The late spring breeze caught my Adoptive Mother’s light-colored trench coat, revealing the hem of the floral dress underneath.
The March sunshine drenched her, painting a gentle hue over her eyes and brows.
She was so beautiful!
Even more beautiful than the Seven Fairies descending to earth in a TV drama.
After two laps, my Adoptive Father stopped.
He was huffing for breath, but he smiled. “Those PHS ‘Little Smart’ phones are really popular right now.”
“I’m planning to buy one. That way, no matter where I am, you can reach me anytime!”
The smile froze on my Adoptive Mother’s face. She asked, “Are you leaving again?”
“Would staying at home kill you?”
…
My Adoptive Father left anyway.
Perhaps he was an albatross in a past life-a bird that only touches the ground to find a mate or raise its young, spending the rest of its time soaring through the sky.
Drifting, always on the road-that was my Adoptive Father’s destiny.
Years passed like this.
Chu Qi started high school.
His grades had been decent, but he had underperformed during the Senior High School Entrance Examination and didn’t get into the best high school.
My Adoptive Mother was so anxious she burst into tears, but my Adoptive Father was relatively calm over the phone. “Studying is important, but the most important thing is one’s character.”
“High school is still three years. There’s no rush.”
The state-owned enterprise where my Adoptive Mother worked was doing poorly; three waves of employees had already been laid off.
Every winter and summer, my brother and I were prone to getting sick.
My Adoptive Mother had to take us to the hospital, watch us take our medicine, and get up in the middle of the night to tuck us in…
Sometimes she would call my Adoptive Father, but the PHS signal was always poor.
He often failed to pick up.
By then, internet forums were beginning to flourish.
My Adoptive Father was handsome, lived a nomadic life, and possessed an artistic temperament.
He became a minor internet celebrity. Many people followed his wandering footsteps just to have some artistic crossover with him.
Many young women would post photos of themselves with him on the forums.
My Adoptive Father was making more and more money, and he gave almost all of it to my Adoptive Mother.
But my Adoptive Mother smiled less and less.
Sometimes she would leave the TV on and lie on the sofa in a daze, staying awake until two or three in the morning.
In the past, whenever she went out, she would always make sure to look her best.
Now, she didn’t even apply moisturizer.
It was an utterly ordinary August evening.
The weather was hot, and the fresh scent of watermelon wafted in from outside the window.
My Adoptive Mother gave Chu Qi twenty yuan and told him to go to the fruit stand across the street to buy a watermelon.
Not long after Chu Qi went down, she opened the window facing the street and shouted, “Bring back a bottle of soy sauce too!”
He paused.
The streetlights, flickering on one by one, enveloped him. Standing in that gentle glow, he turned back with a smile and shouted, “Got it-”
It was at that exact moment.
An out-of-control Santana swerved toward him, crashing directly into my brother.