Chaper4~Chapter5

  Ah Heng sometimes thinks that life is like a farce, before he even figured out why his surname was Yun, he already had the surname Wen added to it.

  The surname is Wen, what does it represent? As Zhang Shu said, Ah Heng's father was a prominent naval officer, her mother was a famous pianist, and her grandfather was a politician. A daughter from such a family, without a doubt, has the qualifications to be spoiled. And Wen Si'er is precisely this girl who has been pampered with all the love in the world.

  Since arriving in B City, the name Si Er has been shrouded over Ah Heng's head like a dark cloud. She had vaguely guessed a small part of it, but it was far from being as clear and shocking as when Zhang Shu spoke up.

  When Ah Heng was living a simple and impoverished life in Wusui Town, always living in the shadow of her younger brother's heart disease, there was a girl who replaced her and became Wen Si'er.

  According to Zhang Shu's account, when her mother was sitting in the month after giving birth, she suddenly disappeared from the nursery. Her father and mother were so anxious that they almost went crazy. However, half a month later, her grandfather brought back a baby girl with a birthmark identical to hers and told her mother, "Si'er has come back."

  And that Si'er, was exceptionally excellent, could dance ballet, play a fluent piano, looked beautiful, and what's more, had an extremely gentle and lovely temperament. The whole Wen family, including the late Grandma Wen, treasured her like a precious gem. Even Grandpa, who was naturally stubborn, would smile from ear to ear when mentioning her in front of outsiders, let alone Wen's mother, who had been doting on her daughter since she was little.

  "What a pity, such a good child..." Zhang Shu always spoke with a face full of regret and sorrow.

  In the Wen family, perhaps only Zhang Shu was able to talk to Ah Heng. This old man had been a widower for many years and had been helping with household chores in the Wen family since before Old Lady Wen passed away, and was deeply respected by everyone in the Wen family.

  It can be said that Ah Heng was able to get along harmoniously with Zhang Shu, thanks to the kitchen.

  Yunmu is a renowned woman in town, known for her clever hands and culinary skills. She cooks delicious dishes and brews excellent soups. Ah Heng has been influenced by her since childhood and has learned some authentic techniques.

  By chance, Zhang Shu was busy cooking and overcooked the rice. Ah Heng was anxious for a moment, saw half an orange on the table next to him, squeezed the juice into the rice, then inserted scallion leaves into the rice and steamed it over low heat.

  Zhang Shuo was inexplicably wonderful, and after a while, he actually smelled the clear fragrance of rice, and his heart changed its view of the little girl in front of him. When he was free, he took Ah Heng to study cooking skills and carefully taught Ah Heng how to make northern dishes.

  "Flip it three times, be careful." Zhang Shuo commanded Ah Heng with some authority.

  Ah Heng easily flipped it over twice with a wooden shovel.

  "Wrong, it's three down." The old man was serious, holding the girl's hand and flipping again.

  "Two down, shall we go?" Ah Heng smiled.

  "Of course not, northerners always stir-fry three times when cooking." The old man had a matter-of-fact expression.

  "Three trips north and two trips south?" Ah Heng muttered under his breath.

  "Little scamp!" Zhang's wife turned her head and smiled as she scolded, wiping away the sweat on Ah Heng's forehead with a sweep of her hand.

  "Ah Po." Ah Heng's eyes were gentle and clear, his voice soft and sweet, with a pure southern accent.

  Zhang's wife was taken aback, as if she hadn't understood, and turned around to stir-fry the shredded chicken.

  "Mother... mother." Ah Heng spoke with sincerity, his warm words escaping from his lips in a slightly awkward Mandarin accent.

  The old man continued to stir-fry the chicken shreds, paused for a moment, and let out a light sigh.

  "It would be great if you were a bit naughty."

  Ah Heng didn't say a word, but the corners of his mouth always had a faint smile, like a light ink painting.

  Every day when eating dinner, the dining hall was very quiet, and even the sound of chewing could not be heard. Ah Heng ate slowly and quietly, although it was strange, but she had been fond of cleanliness since childhood, and there was nothing else unusual about her.

  "Dad..." Warm Mother gently put down the spoon, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

  "What's wrong?" The old man frowned and looked at his daughter-in-law.

  The Wen family's home education was very strict, and it was taboo to talk at the dinner table. However, Su Er and Su Zhe loved to chat and laugh during meals every day. Although the old man had scolded them several times, it had no effect. As soon as Su Er pouted, they let it go.

  Nowadays, Ah Heng has come, he doesn't like to talk, but is actually a quiet kid, yet the old man somehow feels a bit unaccustomed.

  "Can't you, can't you take Er'er back home?" Madam Wen's temperament was elegant and poised, but at this moment, she was somewhat cautious.

  "In the house where Si'er is living now, I've found someone to take care of her specially, you don't need to worry." The old man looked somewhat displeased, but his eyes swept over Ah Heng.

  Si Guang continued to chew his rice grains politely and properly, but his eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

  "Dad, weren't you the one who doted on Er'er the most in the past?" Wen Mu hesitated and cast her gaze at Grandfather.

  "That's enough!" The old man slammed the spoon heavily on the table.

  Si Guang raised her eyes, looking at the old man with some hurt. Wen Mu no longer spoke, but Wen Wan's distant mountain eyebrows were furrowed, knotting up in her heart.

  The surroundings were quiet, and Ah Heng had a mouthful of soup that he was embarrassed to swallow.

  "Yunyi, you have time, why don't you add some clothes for Ahheng instead." The old man sighed and picked up the spoon again.

  Ah Heng looked at his own somewhat dirty school uniform and suddenly felt embarrassed and uneasy.

  The closet isn't empty of clothes, it's just that those clothes ultimately belong to others, and most look very expensive. Wearing them always feels awkward. The clothes brought from home have gradually gone out of season, and wearing them is not suitable for the occasion. As a result, I can only wear two sets of school uniforms alternately. Coincidentally, today's physical education class got my clothes dirty, and it was noticed by Teacher Wen.

  "I understand." Wen's mother cast a glance at Ah Heng, her expression unreadable.

  A Heng lowered his head and slowly swallowed the soup, but it seemed as if a fish bone was stuck in his throat.

  Actually, the school uniform is pretty good. Ah Heng wanted to speak up, but thought it wasn't suitable, and glanced at Si Yun lightly, seeing that he didn't have any particular expression, his hanging heart slightly put down.

  Si Guang's goodness towards Si Er was seen by her in the parking lot that day.

  "Ah Heng, can you still keep up with the school curriculum?" Wen Lao slowed down his tone, looking at his ordinary granddaughter in front of him, feeling a little disappointed.

  He ultimately delayed this child after all.

  "Uh-huh." Ah Heng was somewhat surprised and immediately nodded honestly.

  "There are things you don't know, let... your brother teach you." The old man emphasized the word "brother".

  In an instant, Wen Mu and Si Gyun's faces turned somewhat pale.

  Older brother.

  His throat was a bit itchy, he opened his mouth, but couldn't make a sound, and could only nod slightly.

  Si Guang's hand holding chopsticks trembled slightly, and after a moment, he stood up and politely pushed the chair away.

  I'm full.

  Si Guang turned around, his heart aching extremely, as if someone was pinching him, and naturally had no time to consider others' feelings.

  "Ah Xi." Si Gua walked back to her own room, put the receiver to her ear, and remained silent for a moment before speaking.

  "Huh?" The other person's slightly nasal tone was accompanied by a hint of laziness.

  "I want you." Xī Guān's fingers holding the microphone slowly tightened.

  "Uh-huh." The other party was too lazy to respond excessively, answering with just one word.

  "Ashi, I said I want you!" Si Gyun's voice grew louder, a surge of pent-up emotions uncontrollable, her eyes slowly reddening.

  "What's with the loud voice? You little brat, are you crazy?" The young man's voice was clear and sharp.

  "Ashi......" Si Gyun said with a hint of grievance.

  "Calling out for your soul!" The young man sneered, extremely impatient.

  "Do you have to be so fierce every time you talk to me?" Si Gua's voice weakened, with a hint of childishness and helplessness.

  "I've never been gentle with anyone before!" The young man's voice was clear, but the rough words around his lips had a different tone.

  "What... about Lu Liu?" Si Gua hesitated for a moment, being extremely cautious.

  "Bang!" The other party slammed down the phone.

  As soon as he heard the "beep" sound on this side of the phone, he knew that he had stepped on the cat's tail and couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

  A Xi, still... haven't let go?

  I don't know why, but when thinking of you, the words in my mind become increasingly arrogant and cold, even my delicate beauty has become a fake face.

  Nature, after many years, looking at the ending of this kind of journey, apart from bitter smile, four words like arrows, hitting the bullseye - Fate plays tricks on people.

  Since that day when Ah Heng caught a glimpse of Si Er at the parking lot, he had never seen her again.

  In the class, everyone gradually sensed something from Ah Heng's overly simple dress, and coupled with Ah Heng's Mandarin being really unpleasant to listen to, a sentence sounded laughably fragmented. Some students from powerful cliques in the class started looking down on the girl, and when they heard Ah Heng speak, the smile at the corner of their lips often carried a mocking pity. They pretended not to know and exchanged glances with their classmates beside them, conveying a sense of superiority.

  Because of the indecent dress, because of speaking Mandarin with a strong accent, it is pitiful; because of poverty, because of the rustic tone, it is shameful.

  Ah Heng initially was still willing to communicate with everyone, but later on, he became completely silent, only wearing a warm and gentle smile while watching others talk and laugh.

  Xinda Yi, although aware of the crowd's influence, had a inexplicable aversion to Er'er in her heart, and weighed the pros and cons, she simply ignored him, treating Wen Heng as a stranger. Yet, deep down, she strangely hoped that Wen Heng would cry or lash out due to the crowd's exclusion, so that she could feel justified and have a reason to hate Er'er on his behalf.

  It's a pity that from start to finish, Wen Heng never once showed a warm and gentle smile, but his eyebrows seemed to tolerate everything with softness and perseverance.

  As autumn arrived and the weather gradually cooled down, although Madam Wen had bought several clothes for Ah Heng, Old Master Wen saw that the girl hadn't worn any of them even once, and he couldn't help but feel a bit displeased in his heart.

  "Ah Heng, why are you still wearing your school uniform?" The old man furrowed his brow as he scrutinized his granddaughter.

  "The new school is very good." Ah Heng stuttered, his voice a little soft.

  "You are now in Wen's family, not Yun's." The old man's eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter, slowly getting angry.

  Is this child going against them in this way? The daughter of the Wen family, with the surname Wen, has never been treated unfairly. Why is she so humble?!

  Ah Heng grasped the hem of her garment and gently lowered her head.

  "Got it."

  The old man heard that the girl still had a distinct Jiangnan accent, and he was shocked to realize that he had spoken harsh words. Thinking of past events, he felt guilty in his heart.

  "It's fine if you like school uniforms." He let out a light sigh. "But does it fit?"

  "It's very warm." Ah Heng quickly said in a southern dialect, then awkwardly repeated it in not-so-standard Mandarin, his hand lightly flipping over the inside of his coat, thick and sturdy-looking.

  "It's warm and good." The old man relaxed his eyebrows, and his sharp eyes, like a hawk, also filled with warmth. "Black water language, I can understand you, no need to change your tone."

  Ah Heng looked surprised, then smiled, her eyes shining brightly with a warm and gentle glow.

  "When I was ten years old, I led a few months of soldiers in Wushui Town." The old man's voice was no longer as strict as it used to be, with a hint of warmth and softness, his serious eyebrows also had a gentle and soothing quality.

  "Ah Heng, your eyes are just like your grandmother's."

  Gradually, Ah Heng became familiar with the route to school and got used to walking or taking the bus alone. Coincidentally, although they were a family, Ah Heng rarely bumped into Si Ruan, only seeing her at dinner time. She wanted to chat with Si Ruan but felt awkward about it, so she gave up. As for Wen Mu, she was always busy with piano performances and was hardly seen.

  Ah Heng in class, the good temper of a good person, even if she heard ridicule face to face, never got angry, just smiled, with tolerance and warmth, the other party gradually felt uninteresting, and slowly stopped teasing her. As time went by, it was found that Ah Heng's temperament brought many benefits to everyone. If you don't want to do duty, just call out Wen Heng, the answer is always "I know", and then the whole classroom is cleaned up neatly.

  The most frightening thing in this world is habit, and the most habitual thing is convenience.

  A Heng is surprisingly convenient under this habit. If it were someone else, even a clay Bodhisattva would probably burst with frustration, but A Heng is weirdly tight-lipped, only silently smiling and sweeping the entire classroom alone after school.

  Years later, during the Chinese New Year, a group of friends huddled together to watch Stephen Chow's movie "Flirting Scholar", and Xī Hēi buried her beautiful black head in ā Héng's neck, laughing so hard she almost choked.

  Ah Heng tried his best to watch for a long time, but ultimately did not laugh out loud.

  Qiu Xiang unintentionally smiled three times, and stirred up Tang Bohu's heart. She was so beautiful in his eyes that he couldn't help but be captivated, while to her, he was just a blurry figure named Hua An.

  That day, after cleaning up the classroom, it was already dark, and the last bus still had to wait for half an hour, so Ah Heng chose to walk.

  She was used to walking down that narrow alley, the orange-yellow streetlights, dim but strangely bringing serenity and warmth.

  The road was paved with gravel, and when stepped on, it had a subtle grinding feeling. Ah Heng walked to the depths of the alley, but stopped in his tracks.

  She saw two overlapping shadows that were both clear and ambiguous at the same time.

  Bright, dark, lingering, passionate, fiery.

  That young man, wearing a deep purple low-necked thick line of clothing, on his left shoulder was a black dark line hooking out a stretched-out floral cluster, overflowing the delicate carved shoulder line, flowing smoothly to his back, unable to restrain, the bright and dark coquettish anger bursting forth.

  He stood in the warm light, his slender back straight and proud, yet fragile, with a hint of stubbornness. His neck was slightly bent, his arms tightly wrapped around the girl with long hair, whose face was obscured by the lamp. His lips were entwined with hers, as if lost in a kiss. A strand of raven-black hair brushed against his ear, and his gaze slowly, unconsciously swept across her pale neck, where a hint of jade-like skin glowed softly in the light, exuding a subtle fragrance that tantalized the heart.

  If she had followed her usual style, she would have felt extremely embarrassed and awkward seeing such a scene. However, at that moment, she even forgot to hide, carrying her school bag, and looked at the young man with a calm and composed expression.

  Xian Xi. Ah Heng's lips slightly curved, silently calling out, his heart was certain to the extreme, even he himself felt absurd.

  She had never really seen the young man's face clearly, hadn't exchanged a word with him, and even his name was pieced together bit by bit, yet in her heart there was such a clear impression, a faintly ridiculous flavor of memory, plain but slowly becoming profound in memories with threads and traces.

  Suddenly, the young man felt a gaze behind him, dropped his arm that was around the girl's waist, turned around and quietly stared at the unintentional peeping tom.

  Ah Heng suddenly realized his own rudeness and in a daze, he only saw the young man's eyes.

  Suddenly, a deafening sound filled my ears, leaving only one voice that was so familiar, just like the moment when I accidentally fell into the water at night as a child and heard the sound of breathing when everything disappeared. The fear, despair, unwillingness but also the realization that I was walking towards another kind of liberation, all came flooding back.

  The ink-like color in the young man's eyes, swept over the peach blossoms' fluttering redness, added to the cold stars twinkling on the water's surface, directly reflected in her pupils, calm, wild and carefree.

  For a moment, he even felt dirty and fled in panic with his head hung low.

  She returned home in a daze when the sky was already pitch black, and Zhang Shu had been waiting for her.

  A Heng ran for a while, feeling dizzy and confused, only to feel extremely thirsty. He picked up the tea water on the table and poured it into his mouth, but it spilled over his nose, causing him to cough violently.

  Xiang Guang happened to come downstairs and saw Ah Heng's face was bright red, coughing non-stop, so she helped her pat her back and smoothed out her breath.

  After a while, Ah Heng finally caught his breath and turned to see Si Gwan.

  "Are you alright?" Si Gyun asked in a gentle voice, smiling faintly, with courtesy.

  Ah Heng nodded. She faced the Wen family and was never good at speaking, but when she had to say something, she used the simplest words that she could pronounce clearly.

  Guan Xing knew Ah Heng was uncomfortable and didn't mind, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then wanted to leave.

  "Wait..." Ah Heng had been preoccupied with worries for the past few days. Although it was awkward, he still called out to Si Gyun.

  "Huh?" Si Gwang turned around, somewhat perplexed.

  Ah Heng nodded and went upstairs.

  Before long, the girl dragged a suitcase and walked down.

  "What is this?" Si Gyun wondered.

  "Her clothes... are here." Ah Heng pointed at the suitcase, explaining softly.

  "Her?" Xī Guǎn's smile on his face slowly converged, and his eyebrows had some cold meaning.

  "Clothes, wear them." Ah Heng realized he had misunderstood her meaning, but for a moment, he was tongue-tied and didn't know how to explain.

  "You don't have to be like this." Xī Guān knew that ā Héng was saying something, and his expression became complex.

  He and Ah Heng are siblings, but because of Er Er, he has always been suspicious of her in his heart. However, since she never mentioned Er Er before, he gradually let go of his worries. But now, she put Er Er on the table and even talked about Er Er's clothes in front of him, which to Si Yun seems like a malicious mockery and another embarrassing expulsion.

  Ah Heng brought the suitcase in front of him and gently looked at Si Yun, indicating that he should open it.

  Si Guang's face turned icy with rage, and she slapped her hand down, knocking over the suitcase.

  Zhang Shu was originally heating porridge in the kitchen, heard a loud noise, and hastily walked to the living room without removing her apron, seeing clothes scattered all over the floor, most of which were unopened autumn clothes.

  "What's wrong? Ah Heng, why did you take down all the new clothes that Yu Yi bought for you?" Zhang Shu was confused, staring at those clothes, which were all bought by Yu Yi for Ah Heng a few days ago. At that time, although Ah Heng didn't say anything, he looked very happy, but strangely, he never wore them again.

  Si Guang was taken aback, stunned on the spot. After a moment, she gently picked up an article of clothing from the ground and turned it over to the label. Sure enough, it was Si Er's size. She looked up to see Ah Heng's overly calm face, which made her extremely uncomfortable.

  "Mom she..." Si Gua tried to say something, but when her eyes met Ah Heng's overly simple and worn school uniform, she couldn't get the words out.

  Mom knows it well, Ah Heng is much taller than Bill.

  It was the first time he realized the unfairness between him and his mother.

  Mother unintentionally vents her own pain on Ah Heng's body.

  And he, smiling, pushed the waves and helped them to surge forward.

  The girl saw it all but calmly accepted it. 6