Chapter 5 5. People are far away and the world is close

Zhao Yifan's return this time is for the marriage of his former sister-in-law Huang Jiaxiu. When the two of them were studying abroad, they once met a Chinese couple. The husband is Ke Yi, a filmmaker, and the wife is said to be a housewife, but they speak lively and behave neatly, and they go to and from Europe for half a year. Asia and the continent are more independent and unrestrained than professional women.Birds of a feather flock together, so I admire Yifan and Jiaxiu's knowledge and character, and often arrange picnics together on weekends, and the friendship has always been very good.

However, this time when Yi Fan saw Ke Yi again, he found out that Mrs. Ke had died of illness in Shanghai the year before last.When the two talked about the past, Ke Yi was very envious of Jia Xiu's personality, and said that he would return to China soon, and hoped to continue to maintain friendship with them.Yi Fan paid attention, at first he tried words, and later he made it clear, saying that he was willing to be a matchmaker, leading the red line for Ke Yi and Jiaxiu.Ke Yi originally had a good impression of Jiaxiu, so he readily agreed. Excitedly, Yi Fan urged Ke Yi to buy a boat ticket, and hurried back to Shanghai.Unexpectedly, when Jiaxiu heard about this, she didn't take it seriously. Instead, she blamed Ifan for meddling in his own business, and frowned and said, "I've already embraced celibacy. You also agreed with me before, saying that marriage is not a marriage. If you can't bring happiness to women, why do you think of being a matchmaker for me now?"

In fact, before that, Yifan also discussed marriage issues with Jiaxiu many times, but Jiaxiu was always lazy and inactive.On the issue of women's independence, she is more determined than Yifan.Because Yifan had to go to this step, but she took the initiative and voluntarily wanted to be independent. The apartment she rents is in the French Concession, the surrounding environment is quite elegant and prosperous, the transportation is also convenient, and it is most convenient for young men and women to meet.It's a pity that this old lady, who is over thirty years old, is so focused on living by herself that she not only inherited a small inheritance from her ancestors that is enough to live frugally for a lifetime, but also does some part-time jobs to supplement the pocket money from time to time. I went to a radio station to broadcast, and sometimes helped others translate documents and sort out accounts, and my life was not lonely.Although the wind and the moon are in the evening, it's not without emotion, but since you don't expect a man to support you, and you haven't seen the person you like, why rush to marry yourself?

She explained to Zhao Yifan: "For marriage, you are 'the sea was too difficult to turn into water', and I am 'except Wushan is not a cloud', and my 'Wushan cloud' has not yet come." Yifan persuaded: "One moment and another moment. In the past, all the men I saw were greedy and lustful, and they didn't do their jobs properly. There was no ideal candidate, so naturally I don't encourage you to follow in my footsteps. But now there is a ready-made candidate like Mr. Ke here. , Good character, good ability, why not consider it? Besides, you can only see the Wushan cloud if you are willing to climb Wushan. If you don’t even try, how will you know that it is not the cloud you want? "

The family show was overwhelmed, so Yifan made the decision, watched a few movies with Ke Yi at the Nanjing Grand Theater, and also ate a few times at the red house on Albert Road.Every time they met, Ke Yi would always send him big hugs of flowers and small gifts such as clothing, and Jia Xiu once gave him a Rolex gold watch as a gift.The atmosphere of socializing with each other is very harmonious. When drinking with the piano music of the French luthier wearing a wig, occasionally the four eyes meet and the eye waves flow, which seems to be affectionate, but every time the song ends, it is like Nanke Mengwaking up. , the romantic feelings that seemed to be there just now have turned into a fading smoke ring, and the relationship between each other still stays at the level of friends gathering, with no progress.

Yifan was impatient, and kept urging: "What's the matter? Say you are willing, but you nod your head; say you don't, but you don't seem to dislike Mr. Ke, and I don't think he has any reason to dislike you. But what is in your heart? What do you think? People say that the emperor is not in a hurry and the eunuchs are in a hurry, and now I know that this refers to people like me. But what do you mean?" Jiaxiu used poplar scissors to repair a pot of asparagus hanging from the glass door of the living room, and listened with a smile. With Yifan's praise, Ke Yi's image gradually emerged from the greenness of the asparagus.

He has a medium-to-high build, a bookish rectangular face, thin and tight lips, and slightly thin shoulders, but it is not easy to see clearly when he is wearing a suit.When speaking, I like to nod my head a little bit, pause between each sentence, and use gestures when necessary. The words and sentences are reasonable and measured.In short, as a marriage partner, Ke Yi is indeed impeccable. Helplessly, Jiaxiu's heart is a room without a door, waiting for the brave to break through the wall and enter, and it will not work without a strange trick.But Ke Yi just blindly followed, step by step, the whole person is like a year-old almanac, well-organized and serious-no book is more correct than it-it's a pity that it is old, no matter how correct it is, it is useless.

And a useless good man is a gong that doesn't ring, a lamp that doesn't light up, and a second floor that forgets to build a staircase. But these words are not good to say to Yifan, so Jiaxiu just smiled and said: "What do you mean? You said so much, you just want me to get married. As for marriage, if I really want to marry, Of course, Mr. Ke can also consider it. But I don’t have that desire, and his condition is not so good that I have to hold on to it, so why worry, I want you to say the word “eunuch” gone." Yifan laughed: "It turns out that you and I exchanged guns because you wanted to play a game of dating, so you dragged it along. Then I can let you do it, anyway, I've only been young for a few years, and it's too late if I don't play." Yin said again Get up, "I've been back for a week, why haven't you seen Huang Chang and Xiaodi over there? They must be divorced, and even the children are not allowed to see me."

Jiaxiu sighed: "It is said that Xiaodi is ill and it is inconvenient to see guests, but there is no reason why Huang Chang is also ill. Or, I will go over tomorrow to have a look and bring his two siblings over personally." On the next day, Jiaxiu really got up early in the morning, and went straight to Huang's Mansion in her white private car.But he came back before noon, very angry, his face was pale, and there were bloodstains on his temples, he sat down for a while, and then he said to Yifan: "What did you say, they said that Huang Chang was sick, and I was not allowed to see him." She. I argued with them for a few words, and they started fighting, my inhuman second brother, even hitting me!"

Yifan was shocked: "Your second brother hit you? How could this happen?" Jiaxiu sat and panted for a long time, before explaining everything to Yifan. It turned out that when Jiaxiu arrived, Huang Jiaqi was still asleep and didn't get up. The concierge went to the "office room" to inform the second grandma, because it was the time for greetings in the morning, and Jiaxiu was asked to wait outside first.Jiaxiu was full of anger, she was still an aunt, in Zhao Yifan's time, she could go straight into the house at any time, but now she has a new second mistress, and she actually put on a show, asking her, Miss Huang, to wait outside to see her show off her prestige Here she came, so without waiting for anyone to invite, she picked up the curtain and came in, sat down opposite Sun Peilan, and said straight to the point: "I haven't seen Huang Chang for a long time, I went to her school to ask, and she said that she was at home on leave, so I specially asked her to leave." Come and see her."

It was early spring, but Sun Peilan was still wearing a homely squirrel jacket and a squirrel fur skirt. When she walked around the room, she looked like a huge gray mouse, catching up with It's like moulting in winter, and the whole room has a gray atmosphere, which makes people feel itchy in the throat, as if they have sucked in the hair of the squirrel, and they can't help but cough.Seeing Jiaxiu, she looked back lazily, like a squirrel who can't open her eyes in broad daylight, and replied with a half-smile: "Grandma Lao, don't worry, I won't send a servant if I don't wait for the next post to invite you." Notify, Dian Dian came to visit in person." Seeing the sarcasm, Jiaxiu felt displeased, but it was inconvenient to attack, so she suppressed and said, "Where's Huang Chang? Why don't you see her come out?" "Our young lady is sick, so it's inconvenient to see guests." "Sick? What's wrong? I'll go see her." "That's not good. The doctor said, she's sick and it's not convenient to see people." Jiaxiu was suspicious, and seeing Mama Cui winking at her desperately, she insisted even more: "What disease is so mysterious? I must go and have a look." Because Sun Peilan was close to the former Second Grandma Huang, Sun Peilan had never had a good impression of this aunt. Now that she had the opportunity to vent her anger, there was no reason why she would not be able to go all the way, so she ignored her, but pointed at a servant and cursed: "You are in charge of the furniture, you only take care of the furniture, and you go to ask about the kitchen. The people in the kitchen have to talk about the kitchen. If you want a donkey's head sticking out of the manger-you have to open your mouth! " Jiaxiu saw that she was getting less and less like her words, so she couldn't help but patted the arm of the chair: "What are you accusing Sang Huai of? Why can't I ask about my niece?" Arguing with each other, Second Master Huang was startled over and asked Jiaxiu if he met: "What is this for? You came to me early in the morning and yelled?" Sun Peilan added fuel to the side: "It's terrible, my aunt is going to be our home! I also know that when your good friend Zhao Yifan comes back, you don't like me and try your best to push me out. So that the person surnamed Zhao can come in again. But let me tell you, although I, Sun Peilan, am not the kind of person who can't tolerate others, I am the second grandma of Huang's family who is being married by a bright matchmaker. Her surname Zhao was not a good grandmother back then. Going to be the limelight in the world, and now I want to come back, but it's too late. You go back and ask her if the second aunt can do it? Chu Hong is dead, and there is a shortage of almond peelers in this room. If she can make almonds well Tea, maybe I will promise her to come in again." Hearing these words, Jiaxiu was vicious and mean, she became furious, pointed at Sun Peilan and scolded: "You bitch who is neither high nor low, don't think that being my sister-in-law means you have reached the sky. If Yifan cares about you As Second Grandma Huang, do you think you still have a chance to get in? You don’t deserve to carry Yifan’s shoes. I don’t even bother to gossip with shrews like you, hand me your yellow clothes, and let’s all rest easy!” When Sun Peilan heard this sentence, "I'm not worthy of carrying Ifan's shoes", she just responded to what Huang Shang scolded her the day before yesterday, and she became furious, twisting Jiaqi and crying: "Jiaqi, do you hear? I said Huang Chang is Who instigated it, she's so vicious at such a young age, she's just begging for her mother's advantage, so there's a teacher teaching her in secret!" Huang Jiaqi also couldn't hear the word "Zhao Yifan" the most in his ears, and he heard the meaning in Jiaxiu's words that Yifan didn't care about being Huang's second grandma, so he couldn't help but be brought up with all the worries and old hatreds back then, and said with a cold face : "A Chang is my daughter, she is sick now, and it is inconvenient to see others. This is Huang Erye's mansion, not your third Miss Huang's palace, but you are not allowed to be presumptuous!" Jiaxiu stared straight at her elder brother: "It's not sick, I think you hid her and intentionally separated her from Yifan. A-shang is your own daughter, and also Yifan's daughter, why do you stop her?" She is not allowed to see her mother? You and Yifan are angry, so there is no need to vent your anger on a child." Huang Jiaqi was said to have a heart disease, and became angry for a while, let alone answering, picked up a blue and white porcelain bottle and threw it at Jiaxiu, even breaking his temples, but luckily he didn't hurt his eyes. Jiaxiu and his party said, and Yifan cried together, tending Jiaxiu's wound in his hands, the tears had already flowed down and wet the gauze, sobbing and saying: "Since they can treat you like this, they don't know how to torture my two What about the children? This is why I shouldn't come back and make excuses for them." Jiaxiu hates seeing Yifan cry the most.Yifan's face was originally clear and clean, and he felt like the sky was sunny and the moon was bright. When he cried, it turned into a rainy day, which was especially disturbing. He felt that he would rather wrong the whole world than her. I feel owed from the bottom of my heart. While feeling annoyed, the Indian servant came to report that Mr. Ke was coming.At this time, Jiaxiu was hating all the men in the world to death, and she also had a bruise on her face and was rude to others, so she said impatiently: "Just say I'm not here, and let him come back another day." The footman was taken aback, he had already told people that he had gone upstairs to inform the young lady, but now he said he was not there, who would believe it?But seeing the gloomy faces of the two ladies, they didn't dare to say more, so they had to go downstairs to answer Mr. Ke as the lady ordered. When Ke Yi heard this, he poured cold water on his head, thinking that you are obviously on top, but you lied to me like this, you don't treat me as a friend at all.Why am I so annoying and trampled by you?So angrily, without saying a word, he turned around and left.A possible romance, and thus aborted. To say that Jiaxiu's apartment is an exaggeration, it is a small United Nations. Originally, the apartments in the concession were mostly foreigners, but Jiaxiu’s family didn’t need a single Chinese, an Indian servant, a French cook, a White Russian driver, and even the accompanying maid was an English country woman with a blunt accent, with a little girl, Seven or eight years old, doing errands and serving tea for Jiaxiu. On this day, the little girl Heidi came back suddenly and said, "I went to Renxin Hospital to get medicine for Miss Huang, and I saw Dr. Lin from the Internal Medicine Department, and said that Miss Huang's brother's son is also in the hospital." The British don't understand those relatives of the Chinese, and they don't know the titles of "nephew" and "aunt". After hearing this, Jiaxiu knew it was the Yellow Emperor, so she quickly found out the phone number and went to Renxin Hospital to find Dr. Lin.Dr. Lin is an old friend of the Huang family. Tong Jiaxiu and Yifan both knew each other. He immediately reported enthusiastically that Huangdi was just weak and had no serious problems. He would be discharged from the hospital after a few days of nutritional injections.Jiaxiu then asked who was accompanying her in the hospital, and she said that it was usually Mama Lin and an old manservant, and Mama Lin, the nanny, at night.Jiaxiu was silent for a while.Dr. Lin knew something about the Huang family's situation, so he tacitly said that he was on duty on Tuesday night, and he might as well invite Ms. Huang and Ms. Zhao to visit the hospital. When Zhao Yifan knew about this arrangement, he was very anxious, wishing that it would be Tuesday night when he woke up.It's a shame that those days are just difficult for others. When the spring night is short, it passes quickly, but when the autumn night is long, it just goes on minute by minute. The hour and minute hands seem to be frozen, and they don't see a step for a long time. But no matter how difficult the day is, it will always pass. On Tuesday night, Zhao Yifan changed his clothes early and waited for Jiaxiu's order to leave in fear. Jiaxiu said, "Going to the hospital, you don't have to dress so grandly, do you?" Yifan refused: "I haven't seen my child in six or seven years, and I don't want him to think I'm ugly." But before leaving, he hesitated: "How about I change one." They arrived at the hospital in such a procrastinating manner. It was already past nine o'clock at night. Dr. Lin was already waiting at the door. When they met, they didn't exchange many greetings, and took them directly to the intensive care unit. Mama Lin had already heard the news, and when she saw Zhao Yifan, her eyes turned red: "Grandma, you are here, my brother misses you." Yifan's tears had long been falling down like broken threads, and he choked up and said, "How is little emperor?" Lin's mother pouted towards the hospital bed: "I just got an injection and fell asleep. Doctor Lin said it's fine, and it will take two days to recover." Yifan sat beside his son's bed, and greedily looked at his pale and transparent face, with long eyelashes, small nose and small mouth, and his brows were tightly frowned in sleep and dreams, as if he was extremely troubled.But after looking at it for a while, the eyes were blurred, and I had to wipe it with my hands, but the tears seemed to be against her intentionally, no matter how I wiped them, they couldn't clean them, and I couldn't see my son clearly again. Jiaxiu pushed Huangdi: "Little Emperor, wake up, let's see who's coming." Yifan was about to stop him, but it was too late, Huangdi opened his eyes dimly, looked around blankly, and suddenly pointed his mouth at Lin Mom started crying: "Mother Lin, why are there so many people? I'm scared." Jiaxiu was angry, shoved him, and taught him a lesson: "What are you afraid of? Where are there so many people? This is Lin's mother, I am your aunt, this is your mother, who are you afraid of?" Mama Lin naturally knew each other. Although my aunt didn't keep in touch with her, she still saw her every year. However, the lady in luxurious dress and tear-stained face was actually her mother, which surprised Huang Di.In his mind, mother is a distant and erratic symbol, the "heartless woman" in the mouth of his stepmother Sun Peilan, the colorful postcards sent from different countries every Christmas, popping out of old books or new songs Some thoughts in his memory are blurred images that have been verified and erased again and again in his memory, but now they are standing in front of him so closely and so vividly, which makes him unable to accept it for a while. But after being dazed for a while, he finally understood, stared at Yifan for a while, and suddenly let out a "wow", and cried even louder: "Mom, my sister is locked up by them, she is going to die!" While Huangdi was admitted to the hospital, Huang Chang also fell ill with dysentery.Vomiting and diarrhea, feeling weak all over, getting weaker every day, like a paper lantern that will go out when the wind blows. Cui's mother struggled to be scolded and went to the upper room to report several times. The second grandmother only replied "I know", but she didn't see the doctor for medicine.Cui's mother was in a hurry. One day, she saw that the second grandmother was not at home, so she found a chance to plead with Huang Jiaqi again, saying: "After all, Miss is the master's biological daughter. She has been raised so big and she is at a good age. Is it hard to see her?" Did you die like this? The relatives don’t sound like it, thinking that the master was cruel and killed his own daughter. Another day, if someone asks what disease Miss got and how she died, what can everyone say?” When Huang Erye heard this, he also felt worried, but knowing that the second grandmother would definitely not agree to being sent to the doctor for treatment, he could only vaguely say: "You go down first, I will figure out a solution for this." A day later, Huang Jiaqi came to Huang Chang's room.Huang Chang was lying on the bed with only half his life left. With a sallow face, he didn't even have the strength to speak, but he tried to open his eyes wide and looked at his father without blinking. The two clear and cold eyes seemed like To keep shining into the depths of his soul. Huang Erye looked at it, and couldn't help but couldn't bear it. Thinking of the past when the two father and daughter discussed learning, he just felt that today and night, why did it go to such a point?Can't help sighing: "If you can be more obedient, you won't become like this... Do you want to eat something?" Huang Chang closed his eyes, two big teardrops rolled out, and said softly, "I want...to see my mother." "That's impossible!" Huang Jiaqi jumped up, "Don't even mention it! If it wasn't for your unruly mother who suddenly came back to make trouble, how could there be so many things? You still think about her!" Huang Chang stared at him helplessly, and after a while, turned his head and said, "Dad, you beat me and scolded me, I've already suffered. I just ask you one thing, don't scold my mother in front of me again, okay? " Jiaqi snorted, and seeing a set of Gengchen large-character books on the bedside, he picked them up casually, flipped through them and said, "You're still reading when you're so sick?" Huang Chang replied: "I'm just reading Chapter 33." Jiaqi glanced at the bibliography, but found it was "Brothers, Foots, Small Movements, Unscrupulous, All Kinds of Great Commitments", feeling very uncomfortable, and closed the book with a snort: " You rest, I will come to see you tomorrow." Stand up and leave. Cui's mother couldn't understand, so she asked Huang Chang quietly: "Miss, the second master said well, and he was talking about books, why did he suddenly feel unhappy again, so he just left?" Huang Chang smiled wryly, closed his eyes and refused He continued to speak, but tears kept streaming down his cheeks, dripping on the book cover, and soon got wet. Here Huang Jiaqi also sighed after returning to the upper room, he had no choice but to lie down on the cigarette couch and wander around for a while before he felt at ease.He couldn't help feeling sorry for Huang Chang's illness, but he didn't dare to ask Huang Chang to be sent to the hospital because he was worried about his second mistress, Ewe Wei.Sometimes he can't help thinking: How come he has become like this, and he doesn't seem to be free in his own home?But I can't think about those things, and if I think about them too much, I will have a headache.I had no choice but to take the opportunity of going to the hospital to see the Yellow Emperor to ask for medicine from Dr. Lin. Every afternoon, I only waited for Sun Peilan to go out to play cards, and then sneaked down like a thief with a needle and medicine to give my daughter an injection. Huang Chang's condition seemed to be under control, but there were still ups and downs. Seeing that he could get up and walk around, he woke up one morning and suddenly vomited up and down again, as if he wanted to spit out his heart, liver and lungs. Cui Mama cleaned up for her and cried: "Miss, how good is this? This is too much to live on! I have watched you grow up to this age, and you can read and write again. It's just a wrong sentence. , Offending the second master and the second grandma, although it is not filial, it is not a death penalty, how did it become like this? If you have troubles, I don't want to live anymore." Huang Chang's body was burning hot and his face was red.She felt that she was already a dead person, in hell, surrounded by flames swallowing her.But she is not willing to die like this, she still has many wishes unfulfilled, the King of Hades should also ask the dying person what is his last wish before collecting his soul?She supported Cui's mother's arm, struggling with all her strength and said: "Mother He, if you really love me and treat me as your own daughter, then help me escape. I have to find my own mother, anyway Let's meet each other, otherwise, even if I die in this room, I won't die with peace." Mother Cui cried even more when she heard this. She felt sorry for Miss from the bottom of her heart, but when it came to running away, she dared not do anything. "Who dares to let her go privately, I'll take her skin off!" The second master's words are still in my ears, she is just a servant, how dare she let Huang Chang go boldly?I had no choice but to comfort him: "Miss, don't say that. You are dead and alive. Miss is still young, and the road is still long. The second master said that he is also the father of the lady, and he will not watch the lady die." Disappointed, Huang Chang glared at her fiercely, knowing that it would be useless to say anything, so she let out an "ah" and said nothing more. At night, Cui's mother went back to her room, thinking about it again and again, crying again and again, thinking about it again, and tossing until dawn, but she didn't fall asleep, but she heard the door of the courtyard, it was Lin Ma who came back early in the morning to replace her. The young master came with a change of clothes.Cui's mother has always been indecisive, and when she saw Lin's mother coming back, she wanted to ask her for advice, so she rushed out to welcome her, but she saw Lin's mother winking at her desperately, as if she didn't want her to come near.Cui's mother was suspicious, and had no choice but to retreat to her room, but left the door open on purpose. Sure enough, after a while, Mama Lin came in after finishing her business, she grabbed Mama Cui's hand and said, "I saw Second Mistress." "What's so surprising about seeing Second Mistress? I don't see you every day here?" "Hey, which second grandma do you think it is? It's the young master's own mother, our second master's original partner, Zhao Yifan and the second grandma Zhao!" "Huh? She's here? Where did you meet?" "In the hospital, she came to see her younger brother. When she heard that the young lady was locked up, she cried so much. I felt so sad seeing that." Cui's mother immediately turned red, so she brought up what Huang Chang said last night: "Miss just begged me to help her escape, but how dare I dare, how can I do it? There are 24-hour guards in the concierge." Even if she leaves the house, she won’t be able to leave the yard.” Mama Lin pondered: "This is a difficult problem. But the two guards shift every 12 hours. When changing guards, there is always a gap. If you take advantage of this time and leave without anyone noticing, it may not You can’t get away. The next thing is how you get out yourself and create an alibi.” Cui's mother hesitated: "Does this make it?" "Why can't it be done? I have been paying attention to it for a few days. Every time the guard changes shifts, he yells that he is coming, and he always has to go to the latrine for a while before he is willing to come out, but the previous one can't wait. The post was dismissed, and there was a gap of several minutes in between." "But..." Mama Cui didn't say it, but she couldn't think about it.If I let the lady go, the master will never let me go, then my livelihood will be a problem for the rest of my life, but if I don't let go, seeing the lady suffer, seeing the lady suffer is suffering myself, I really feel bad. Mama Lin was getting impatient: "Anyway, it is your young lady who is being saved. It is up to you whether you are willing to take this strange risk. If you don't want to help, it is up to you to watch the young lady die like this. However, if things fail , don’t say that I taught you.”