Chapter 7 Chapter VII

Back home, the hearty Danqing's anger has completely dissipated. The mother is not at home, and the hourly housework assistant cooks a pot of broth. Danqing is no better than Peipei. He has long been accustomed to this lonely and independent life. There is not much difference between home and away. I believe he can adapt to the life of studying abroad. After ten o'clock, Danqing had already forgotten the unhappiness just now. Peipei's call didn't arrive until twelve o'clock. She asked cautiously: "Danqing, who is Zhang Haiming to you?" Dan Qing couldn't help laughing, his words seemed to be for the first cut and then the performance.

"Ordinary friend, I've been wanting to introduce you to you so that you can have company in London." "Heming said the same thing, Danqing, I am so grateful to you." Danqing suddenly dropped a schoolbag: "A gentleman is the beauty of adulthood." Peipei let out a breath, "Haiming said he wanted to reform me." "Are you open to remodeling?" "Danqing, you know that there are too many things I need to improve." Happily, he found it, and so did she. "Let's go swimming tomorrow, Danqing, do you want to come together?"

"No, I have to work, Peipei, have fun." "Thank you, Danqing, thank you." Like a bird. Ruan Danqing regained himself. Really, as long as you are willing to let go, you can get back your freedom. When Ge Xiaojia came home, her footsteps were floating, as if she was still stepping on nine layers of clouds. Danqing was very happy for her. Everyone is in love, everyone is drunk, but Danqing is sober. Dan Qing smiled. Pushing open the glass door of Juanzi coffee shop at work, Danqing saw two people. Gu Ziyou, and Hu Shizhen. Xiaoyou was sitting there drinking coffee with a big straw basket by his side, as if he was going on an outing.

Lao Hu stood behind the counter and played a guest role as a buddy. The two did not speak, nor did they look at each other. Danqing felt strange. "Where's Auntie?" I didn't want to talk to Lao Hu at first. "Ai's funeral, she went to help." Xiao Yu said, "Has Mr. Ai passed away?" "No, it's the old lady." Xiaoyu said: "Life is so meaningless." Danqing noticed that Xiaoyou was wearing a large round neck sleeveless top and a short salon skirt. The expression is calm, 90% has been recovered. The recovery is really fast, and the vitality cannot be said to be weak.

Danqing asked, "You came swimming? It looks like your forehead has been tanned." Xiaoyu lazily replied: "Yes." The whole face was rose-colored. She suddenly picked up the straw basket, and stood up to pull the door as if she didn't want to say more. Danqing smiled and said, "Miss Gu, you forgot to pay the bill." There are two empty glasses on the table, one tall and the other short. I have had two drinks, one cold and the other hot.Hey, it's time for Gu Ziyou to sit here. She turned around and put down the money, "Danqing, do you want to come?"

That tone was enough for Song Wenpei, and he was extremely perfunctory. He didn't really want Danqing to participate, but he was too embarrassed not to invite him, so he apologized. Dan Qing said with a smile: "You must have an appointment, so I won't be ignorant." He laughed and said not much, opened the door and went out.She was thinner, her back was particularly slender and graceful, and she was like a model. After a while Hu Shizhen asked, "Is he your friend?" Danqing glanced at him, "You can say that." "It seems to be preoccupied," he paused, "this summer is really unusual. The girls are all melancholy, so that the birds are silent and the flowers are not fragrant."

"I'm not unhappy." Hu Shizhen just smiled and said nothing. Danqing was too lazy to argue with him. He added: "Perhaps you have forgotten that I saw you once when you were very small." There is no basis for empty talk, who still remembers everything that happened when he was a baby, let him make up. Hu Shizhen knew exactly what Danqing was thinking, he smiled and said: "That time was your seventh birthday, your Aunt Juanzi and I came to your birthday party, you wore a yellow gauze dress, the most unique thing is that you carried a For the little transparent wings, pretend to be a little butterfly, remember?"

Dan Qing was stunned. I remember, of course I remember, that was the golden age of their Ruan family, and her parents were still interested in holding a birthday party for her. Dan Qing whispered, "It's not a butterfly, it's a little fairy." Hu Shizhen said: "Hey, why didn't I think of it, it does look like an elf." "The cake is delicious and big," indeed I couldn't help recalling, "Fifty people can't finish it." "Indeed, it smells like coconut." Danqing glanced at him, "Your memory is really good." He smiled, "It also depends on the person and the situation."

Danqing stared at him for a while. Is this handsome man loyal or traitor? That was the last birthday party, and after that, the Ruan and his wife began to live together in different dreams. "You also came to visit Aunt Juanzi that year?" Danqing asked. Hu Shizhen nodded. "Why didn't you stay?" Danqing asked tightly without letting go. "Good question." Hu Shizhen didn't mind, he said: "Only old friends who have known each other for ten years can ask this question." Danqing was a little embarrassed, he was very tolerant of her, of course because of Juanzi, who loves her house and loves her.

He went on: "I was young at the time, and I was very wild and untamed." "What now?" Hu Shizhen looked out the window, felt melancholy for a while, and then answered: "I don't know." Even if he is a villain, there is also an advantage, he treats Danqing as an adult, this attitude is at least ten points for a seventeen-year-old girl. He put down the cup and said to Danqing: "Juanzi will be back soon, I leave the store to you, and I'll go for a walk." He also seems to have something on his mind. A few years ago, Danqing believed that when people reached middle age, they could understand everything and untangle any knots. Because of experience, people would become exquisite and clear, like crystal glass.

Gradually I realized it was an illusion.Few people's wisdom increases with age, let alone others, the behavior of parents alone is the ironclad proof. Impulsive, reckless, careless, selfish, and ignorant like young people.Probably, probably, if you really live to the age of Ai Lao, you really need to have a little bit of wisdom before you will have an epiphany. However, at that time, I have to pack up and prepare to live in another world. Danqing watched Hu Shizhen go out. Only a little later, Aunt Juanzi came back. Danqing poured the fragrant tea, "Why don't you ask me to go with you?" Juanzi shook her head, "You will be sad if you go." "There is life and death in this world, I can bear it." Juanzi took off her coat, took a sip of tea, and looked up, "Is Shizhen here?" "Just went out." Juanzi hesitated, and asked Danqing, "Did you tell me where to go?" "No, come around, he didn't change his clothes." "one person?" Dan Qing nodded. Juanzi looked haggard, but then she smiled, "Danqing, you guard the shop, I'll go take a shower and take a nap." In recent years, both my aunt and mother tend to get tired easily, and they don't hide anything from Danqing, "I'm getting old." They said. Sometimes when I woke up from a nap, my mother would ask, "What time, morning or evening?" He looked very confused, and said more than once that he didn't mind not being able to sleep and dying, which really made Danqing sad. On that day, Hu Shizhen didn't come back until the coffee shop closed in the evening. Juanzi didn't fall asleep, Danqing heard the soft music of Youyou upstairs. He nodded to Danqing and went upstairs, shaking a row of fine sand with his steps.Hey, Danqing thought, he went to the beach, no wonder he has the shadow of the sun on his face. Danqing was silent for a long time, cleaned the floor, closed the shop door and left. She doesn't care about adults' business, they always know what they are doing. After leaving the store, the street is deserted. In the past, Haiming would wait for her to get off work in a small car.They said that there are fewer and fewer boys who are willing to provide this kind of service. Dan Qing stood on the road station, and it was raining. She didn't go back to get the umbrella, for fear of disturbing her aunt. In old-fashioned romance novels, the heroine is not afraid of rain. There will always be a boy who will appear behind her, holding an umbrella, and lending his strong and reliable shoulders. Here comes the road car. Back in the city, it was already dark. As soon as he opened the door, he heard the phone ring. It was her father who was looking for her. "Danqing," his voice was always restless, "I want you to come out later, I have something to say to you, I have something to discuss with you." Danqing hurriedly took off his wet clothes, "Where are you still staying in the hotel?" "Leave me alone, it's about your mother." Danqing got angry, "My mother is fine, don't bother you." "Recently, she goes out with makeup every night?" Dan Qing smiled, "Are you jealous?" "answer me." "Yes, she found a partner, and he asked her out every day, not letting her be free." "She told you that?" "It's my own observation." "Then you have to come out today to take a closer look." "Father, I don't understand what you said." Danqing felt that something was wrong. "At nine o'clock, I'll pick you up." Ruan Zhidong hung up the phone. Instead of cleaning up his own mess, he interfered in his ex-wife's private life. At nine o'clock, Ruan Zhidong came. "Father," Danqing asked, "what is going on, please explain clearly." "Your mother drinks in a lounge every night." Dan Qing smiled, "This is her freedom." "I also know that she is free to do so, so I consulted with you, come, let's go and see her." "Father, you're crazy, how can we disturb her casually? It's true that it's a public place, but we have to be sensible, aren't you trying to spoil her good deeds?" Ruan Zhidong showed a sad expression, "Come on, Danqing, you will understand after reading it." Danqing warned his father: "Don't mess around." She was uneasy.Who is the mother with, the gray-haired old man, the bad boy, or the rude man? Danqing's imagination is also very rich. She even imagined that the person who accompanied her mother every night was a lady dressed in men's clothing, wearing a white suit, very handsome. In the car, she couldn't help asking her father: "Don't hide it from me, tell me the truth." "You will understand when you see it." Ruan Zhidong's voice was bitter. Danqing said: "She just resigned and hasn't found a new job yet, so she's in a bad mood." Ruan Zhidong was stunned, and said with a heartache: "She didn't tell me, one person counts the disadvantages, and the other counts the strengths. No matter how incompetent I am, I can still provide some advice." Dan Qing asked: "Are you free, do you have time, do you care?" Ruan Zhidong let out a long sigh, swallowing all the excuses and reasons. "Fortunately, she has been busy with socializing recently, and she has shifted her attention a little, so she won't feel too uncomfortable, so no matter who she goes with, it's a good thing." "I know US East ads are hunting." "Speak to her yourself." Ruan Zhidong took a long breath, "I have no face to see her. I am really sorry for her. I have to bear a great responsibility for her becoming what she is today. I really didn't expect this blow to her so severely." "Father, what exactly are you talking about?" Danqing was extremely surprised. Arrived. The lounge is located in the busiest part of the city's nightlife. It was past nine o'clock, and the guests had not yet arrived. There were a few tables scattered here and there. Shoulders, clothes and shadows on the temples. Ruan Zhidong chose a small table behind the column. He said: "Someone saw her sitting here every day and told me that I still didn't believe it. Only after visiting twice in person did I know it was true." "Are you spying on her privacy?" "She is my daughter's mother after all." Dan Qing couldn't help but laugh, "You're too serious, this place is not a shameful place—" "Shh, look." Danqing looked in the direction of his father's finger, and at a glance, he saw his mother sitting on a bar stool in full makeup. She was wearing a long red satin cheongsam. From a distance, she could still score 85 points. She held the wine glass in her right hand and pressed the wine glass with her left Gold evening bag. Danqing said, "I went over to say hello to her." "Danqing, look carefully." Ruan Zhidong pulled her back. Danqing paid attention, only to see her mother drank a cup and ordered another cup, Danqing suddenly saw something wrong. The seat on Ge Xiaojia's left was vacant, and the seat on the right was also vacant. There was no one around her. She was alone, without anyone to accompany her. She came alone! Danqing felt a chill rising from the soles of her feet, her eyes widened, and she suddenly turned to look at her father. Ruan Zhidong nodded sadly. Danqing understood. Alone, she used to be alone. These days, she has been dressing up and going out to the lounge to drink. But he told Danqing that he had a date with the opposite sex. Dan Qing felt as if he had been punched in the middle of the bridge of his nose. Tears welled up in his eyes while he was sore. "Danqing, don't cry." After being told by his father, Danqing had no choice but to cover his face with his hands. Mother, mother was obviously on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "Try to save her," Danqing begged his father, "please give her a hand." Ruan Zhidong felt sorry for him, he drank the wine in the glass and called for another glass, very helpless, but he had no good plan. Danqing's heart was pierced, watching his mother sitting alone in a corner, her every move was full of vicissitudes and desolation, and she also got to know the bartender well, chatting without saying a word. Ruan Zhidong said, "I don't know if it's sad or happy, but no one has ever approached her." Danqing stood up: "I decided to go and take her home." "You'll hurt her self-esteem by doing this." "Someone has to do this, or she'll be living in a fantasy world every night, and then the dream will stretch and take over the day, and then she'll be finished." Ruan Zhidong raised his head and thought for a long time, "Danqing, you are right." "Do you want to come with me?" "Okay, let's go together." "Thank you, Father." "Thanks?" "You still care about her." Ruan Zhidong thought for a while, "Yes, I didn't think of it myself, no matter what, I can't watch the woman I loved degenerate." The father and daughter walked gently behind Ge Xiaojia. The bartender had already seen them and raised an eyebrow with a puzzled expression. Knowing that the falsehood had been exposed, he couldn't confess the absurd lies for a while, trembling all over, staring blankly at their father and daughter. In addition, he had already drank a few glasses, and his willpower was very weak, so he let go of the wine glass with one hand, and wept loudly. Danqing held his mother in his arms, suppressed her crying, and signaled his father to pay the bill. One left and one right, helping Ge Xiaojia to leave the lounge. Ruan Zhidong drove, and Danqing sat in the back seat with his mother. Ge Xiaojia kept crying, as if she wanted to turn all the last resort and grievances over the years into tears and shed them all. Danqing is not opposed to crying, it is a good way to relax and tense spirits, adults are human beings, and it is not a sign of cowardice to let them cry, after crying, stand up, and then deal with reality, it is another hero. Ge Xiaojia originally wore heavy makeup, but after crying for so long, the makeup was all over, the lighting in the car was poor, and the street lamps occasionally cast shadows on her face, making her face even more uneven, like a clown with half of her makeup removed. Dan Qing was heartbroken. The mother abused herself in this way. Too little self-love. When people reach a certain age, they always have to respect and love themselves. How can they be so ugly. If I love myself, others will always love me, she didn't understand such a simple truth. She said softly, "Things aren't too bad, you see, the sky hasn't fallen yet, we're still healthy, Mom, you and me, we're going to have to get through this, cheer up." But finally couldn't help it, Danqing also burst into tears. Ruan Zhidong was in the front seat, all the hatred came to his mind, he didn't protect his wife and daughter, he made them suffer, he was ashamed to be a man. This journey seems to have lasted for a century. Finally got home. Danqing helped her mother to sleep, and when she came out of the room, she saw her father lying on the couch with her on his back. Danqing turned off the light, fell on the bed, and shed tears for a while before falling asleep. The next day, it was funny. A family of three, with eyes red and swollen like peaches, and lack of energy, sat at the coffee table, relatively speechless. It was Danqing who spoke first: "Mom, are you not going to work?" "What work do you still have?" Ge Xiaojia answered honestly. Danqing looked at his father angrily: "What about you?" "Leave." There was silence again, and each of them drank three cups of coffee. Ruan Zhidong finally said: "Xiao Jia, a quarter of the staff in Eastern America have immigrated and are waiting for someone to use them. I will contact you immediately and keep you in charge." Ge Xiaojia didn't answer. "I think mothers need a break," Danqing said. "Then go to Vancouver with Danqing to recuperate." Dan Qing draws a symbol of Doras in the air with his finger. Ruan Zhidong said: "I still have some savings." Ge Xiaojia said quietly: "Forget it, your private money." "I'd like to take it out." Danqing knew that his father was exhausting himself these days for Ms. Zhou Nannan. Although that socialite was famous for boasting about her wealth, when she was with her boyfriend, she had to bear all the food, clothing, housing and transportation. . "No." Ge Xiaojia said. "Mom." Danqing blamed her for not knowing how to turn a corner. "Xiaojia, you are really smelly and hard." Ge Xiaojia said: "Why deceive yourself and others, we will never get back together." "But at least let me be your friend." Ge Xiaojia laughed hahaha, like the effect of a witch in a cartoon, "You stab me once with a knife, and today suddenly you come to announce that you are my friend, Ruan Zhidong, where do you tell me to go?" Danqing stood up, "I want to go out for a walk." "No, Danqing, don't leave me." Ge Xiaojia turned around and said, "All I have is you." Danqing said: "Father, don't talk anymore, you are interesting, prove it with your actions." "it is good." Ruan Zhidong stood up, "I'll go to work right away." Danqing watched his father leave, only felt headache, heartbeat, thirst, sleepiness, and just wanted to lie down on the bed. She put an ice towel on her forehead. Ge Xiaojia came over, sat on the edge of the bed, and asked her daughter, "Are you ashamed of me?" "Never." "You still love me?" "forever." "And forgive me?" "There is nothing to forgive, mother, we must support each other." "The gentleman—" "Mom, stop talking." "I want to say that the gentleman is indeed a person, but after a date, there is no news." "I understand, mother, I understand." Ge Xiaojia stared blankly into the distance, like a disappointed girl. Danqing's head hurt even more, and thousands of arrows pierced her temples. She sighed deeply. Ge Xiaojia walked out slowly. Dan Qing rubbed his head with the pillow, forcing himself to rest. She knew early on that this was a dark summer, and nothing went well. Waking up very late, Danqing swallowed an aspirin, and saw the note left by his mother: I have asked Juanzi for leave on your behalf, and I will return to the bank to take care of myself when I have something to do. Everything is back to normal. Danqing sat in the middle of the living room sadly. He even lost Haiming's good ear, and Danqing was so depressed that he slumped on the sofa. The phone rang. Danqing has never been so happy. "Is Ms. Ge Xiaojia there?" It was a gentleman's voice, "The company said she was on leave, please forgive me for interrupting." Dan Qing was startled, who is this, a gentleman from which country, who actually speaks classical Chinese? "What is your first and last name?" "My surname is Zhang." "Miss Ge has gone out, do you have any news?" "Which one are you?" Xiaodan thought about it and decided to tell the truth, "I am her daughter Danqing." "Yes, Xiaojia said, you are seventeen years old, are you going to university this year?" "yes." "Please tell Xiaojia that after the last date, I went on a business trip and was busy in New York for a long time. I just came back yesterday." Ah, him. "I'll definitely tell her." "goodbye." "Goodbye Mr. Zhang." It turned out to be him, it turned out to be a real person, not a fiction, and he came back. The elastic pain on Danqing's temple suddenly disappeared without a trace, it must be the onset of the effect of medicine. There is really no way, my mother is a woman of the previous generation, and she cannot psychologically overcome the thought that flowers will not be red if it rains. Then, Aunt Juanzi came up. "Are you alone?" Danqing asked. "Well, Hu has something to do." He seems to be busy lately. "Ruan Zhidong said that Ge Xiaojia was in a bad mood." This is the reason for Juanzi's home visit. "Mother has been depressed for more than a day or two." "Ruan Zhidong seems to have changed his mind a little bit." Juanzi kept referring to her old classmates by first and last names. "Mother needs to save herself." Juanzi stared into Danqing's bright young eyes, then smiled and said, "It's easier said than done, and young people always think that adults succeed or fail in everything because they don't work hard enough." Dan Qingqi asked: "Is there any other reason?" "Xiao Dan, I'm afraid you haven't heard of a phenomenon called fate." "Can be defeated." "Twenty years later, come and tell me again." "Okay, Aunt Juanzi, it's a deal." "Hopefully I'll be around then." Danqing jumped up, "Of course you're still here, just talk nonsense, and you're not afraid of being hated." Juanzi smiled, "Ge Xiaojia has a daughter like you, and everyone else is envious. She has already surpassed me by a lot, and I really have nothing." "What is Juanzi Coffee Shop?" "If you like it, I will give it to you in the future." "Auntie, what's wrong with you today, touch the wood and say something nice." Even though Danqing jumped up, Juanzi just laughed. "Danqing, when are you going to leave? I really don't want you to fly away like this." Danqing said mischievously: "You send me the plane ticket, and I will come back to see you at any time." "By the way," Juanzi remembered, "how is your mother's honey luck?" Danqing talked about him from left to right, "Auntie, let's go for a walk." "The weather is hot, where to go." "Auntie has been lazy lately." "Forget it, let's go eat Japanese food with you. I can take half of Ge Xiaojia's daughter, and she will pay homage to my grave in the future." Danqing turned her head sensitively, and after a while, she didn't make a sound, maybe because her aunt just came back from Mrs. Ai's funeral, she had a lot of feelings, and Bing had no other meaning. Danqing left a note to his mother, telling her that if you are interested, come to the dinner. First, it was sake, and Juanzi drank ten or eight bottles. When Ge Xiaojia came, she accompanied her to drink whiskey with ice. Danqing looked at them both disapprovingly. Ge Xiaojia laughed, "Danqing must be thinking in her heart, she is old, so she shouldn't be as unmotivated as we are." Juanzi replied: "We may not be very depraved, young people are too cruel and mean." Xiao Dan smiled: "Don't worry too much, okay, I was just thinking that it is already an honor for me to be your age, and with your body and appearance." "Did you hear that?" Juanzi laughed dumbly, "Your age." Ge Xiaojia turned her head and asked her friend, "Seriously, Juanzi, how did we both reach the age of forty?" Juanzi held the cup and held the corner of her mouth, but said nothing. "I'm most afraid of autumn," Ge Xiaojia said: "The weather is cool, the golden wind is refreshing, and my heart is very quiet. Whenever I have free time, I ask myself, where did the time go, and why in the blink of an eye, you and I are old, haggard, and salty." ." Juanzi nodded, "Otherwise, why is it called Beiqiu?" Danqing couldn't help laughing, and almost sprayed tea. "Look, laughing at us." Juanzi said: "Forget it, when you and I are fifteen or twenty, why don't you treat middle-aged people like old buffoons." "The June debt will be paid off quickly." "Xiao Dan doesn't like to hear it." "No," Danqing distinguished, "I like it." Before he could finish his sentence, a man and a woman walked in. They were Zhang Haiming and Song Wenpei. Peipei was fine, Haiming came over to say hello to his aunts and aunts openly, and Haiming felt a little embarrassed. Danqing was bright on the surface, but her heart was as careful as dust, and she could tell at a glance that she warmly welcomed them both, and said to her mother, "I'll pass the table." Then she happily sat at the same table with Haiming and Peipei. Ge Xiaojia raised an eyebrow, this kid, obviously nailed Xiaodan for a while, how...forget it, young people have their own wide world, she continued to chat with Juanzi. Over there, Peipei explained: "I called you, you have already left." It's getting darker and darker. Danqing asked himself that there was no trace of grievance in his heart, so he smiled, "I couldn't be happier that you two can talk." "To be honest," Peipei said, "I don't know why, but Haiming and I hit it off." "Fate," Danqing replied, "Haiming knows me because he wants to know you." Peipei looks at Haiming and smiles. Haiming glanced at Danqing gratefully and relievedly. "You two can go to London together." Danqing reminded them. "I don't know if Heming is willing to take care of me." Peipei said coyly. Dan Qing laughed again. Ge Xiaojia raised her voice, "Xiaodan, we have settled the bill, can you go?" Naturally, Dan Qing stood up and said, "We still have something to do, see you later." At the door, Ge Xiaojia asked her daughter, "Didn't that boy chase you?" Danqing smiled, "Where are there Buerchens? If I see better ones, I go with them." "Song Wenpei is better than Ruan Danqing?" "He thinks so, and understandably so." Juanzi was surprised, "Danqing is so rare that she doesn't show any emotion. It looks like we have to learn from her." Danqing said: "I am also angry. Whoever said I am generous, I was full of anger for half a day, and I felt that it was not worthwhile, so I gave up immediately. I think I will find a better one." Juanzi asked slowly: "What if there is no better one?" Dan Qing smiled, "Why not, as long as I try to do better, I am not afraid that there will be no better people to match me." "Listen, listen... the power to lift the mountain is overwhelming." Ge Xiaojia said. Juan Zihao sighed, "It's nice to be young." It was still a pleasant evening.