Chapter 24: A visit

A woman opened the door. She was surprised to see me and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

“I’m a colleague of Yuan Yi’s. I’m here to see her,” I said with a smile.

Perhaps she didn’t think I looked like a bad person, so she took a few looks at me and let me in.

As soon as I entered the room, I realized that the room was very simply furnished. Apart from the necessary furniture, there were no other items. The most eye-catching thing was the large bookshelves on all four walls, which were filled with all kinds of books. I only glanced at them briefly and found that most of them were about Taoism, and the rest were about psychology and geography.

I put down my things and said to the woman, “Are you Yuan Yi’s mother?”

The aunt poured me a glass of water and said, “I’m not. I’m a retiree from the local government. My husband is gone, my children are not around, and then I received a notice from above to take care of this child. Not only me, but also several other people take turns taking care of him. This child is quite pitiful.”

Yuan Yi was already a middle-aged man, almost 40 years old. In front of these aunts, of course, he could also be called a child. It turned out that these aunts were the ones arranged by the authorities to take care of Yuan Yi.

But when the auntie said that Yuan Yi was pitiful, my heart ached. I kept thinking of the way Yuan Yi had fallen in front of me. I pointed to the two bedrooms and asked, “Auntie, which room is Yuan Yi in? I want to go see her.”

The aunt pointed to one of the rooms and said, “That room. The other room is where his daughter lives. She should be back from school soon.”

The heat in the room and the hot water in the cup had successfully driven away my cold. I took off my jacket while listening to the aunt, but when she got to this point, I couldn’t help but ask, “Auntie, where is Yuan Yi’s lover?”

“Where is there any lover? Xiao Yuan is in the geological team. He runs around all day long. His lover couldn’t stand it and divorced him early. Oh, you are his colleague. Didn’t you know about this?” The aunt asked in a gossipy tone.

I was a little embarrassed and said, “I’ve only been Yuan Yi’s colleague for a little over a month, but we have a deep relationship. I saw Yuan Yi get into trouble, and I felt really bad, so I came to see him. When we were getting along, he never told me about his family.”

“Oh, you’re very thoughtful. You’ve been visiting him for a month. Nowadays, people don’t stick around when things get tough. There aren’t many good guys left. Go on, go on.” The old lady said this while sitting on the sofa and knitting a sweater.

I let out a long sigh of relief. I was really afraid that this auntie would go on and on, and I didn’t want to leave, but fortunately, this auntie was still a straightforward person.

I walked into Yuan Yi’s bedroom and found that the curtains were drawn and it was dark, so I opened the curtains on my own initiative. The light coming in from the window with snow was a bit blinding, but it also gave the room a little bit of vitality.

I turned around and saw Yuan Yi sleeping peacefully on the bed, his expression calm and peaceful, as if he had just fallen asleep. Seeing this, I felt a pang of sadness in my heart, and I couldn’t help but move a stool and sit down next to Yuan Yi, saying, “Yuan Ge, this is the first time I’ve called you that. I really want to tell you that when you’re awake, you always have an arrogant expression, but when you’re asleep, you’re very calm. But I really hope you are awake. Even if you still have that expression, I think it is more pleasing than now.

If this were on a normal day, Yuan Yi would definitely respond to me, or give me a dirty look and ignore me. But now he is not in any position to respond.

I have a strong intuition and can feel that Yuan Yi’s soul is not separated from his body, but that it is very weak. It is so weak that it is no longer enough to support him being awake and taking any action. It is also so weak that I don’t know if he will ever wake up in this life.

You know, when you lie in bed for a long time, your body’s functions gradually decline. No amount of care can stop this, and that’s the way it is with life and movement.

After a moment of silence, I felt increasingly sad. After all, if it weren’t for my predicament at the time, Yuan Yi wouldn’t have fallen into such a state.

At this time, I had already become addicted to smoking without realizing it. When I was upset, I couldn’t help but want to light a cigarette. I took out a cigarette and lit it, and said to Yuan Yi, who couldn’t speak or respond, “Brother Yuan, now my friend is in trouble, and the master is going to leave for three years. The master once said that I have to repay the consequences of my own actions, otherwise once the cause and effect are planted, I am afraid that I will owe you for three lifetimes. Wait, wait until I finish this matter. I will look for a high-level doctor who can cure you. If that doesn’t work, I will change your fate against the heavens!”

Exhaling a puff of smoke, I don’t know why I said such a thing, changing fate against the heavens!

But Yuan Yi saved my life, so what if I defy fate? I am willing to bear the consequences of defying fate, even together with Yuan Yi. There is a technique for bearing the consequences together, but there are too few people willing to do it.

Just as I was smoking and thinking, I heard a noise outside. It sounded like the door was being opened. Could it be that Yuan Yi’s daughter had returned?

I suddenly felt a little nervous. I always blamed myself for Yuan Yi’s appearance, so I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous when I thought about facing Yuan Yi’s daughter.

Sure enough, voices could be heard in the living room, and a girl could be heard saying, “Grandma Zhang, you must be tired.”

“Hey, what’s hard about it? Your dad doesn’t make a fuss, just washes the quilt and feeds him a little. He gets up and goes to the bathroom, and every day there are gay men to do it. Oh, by the way, someone came to see your dad today.”

“Who?”

“A colleague of your father’s. He’s in your father’s room. You’re off school now, so I’m going home first. I have some things to do at home.”

“Yes, okay, you go ahead.”

“Don’t be so polite, I’m paid to look after your father.”

At this point in the conversation, there was no movement outside, but my heart was beating faster and faster. I heard a footstep slowly approaching, then stopping at the door. I didn’t dare to look back.

Just as I was feeling uneasy, a hand reached out and snatched my cigarette away. Before I could react, the cigarette was crushed and stubbed out on the ground. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, the figure jumped to the window, slammed the curtains shut, and turned on the lights.

At this point, I looked up, and the first thing I saw was a pretty, somewhat angry face.

While I was still trying to find the right words, the girl spoke up, quickly and angrily: “I know you are my father’s colleague, and I am very grateful that you came to see my father. But don’t you know that you can’t smoke in front of a patient? Also, my father used to sleep with the curtains closed. He had a shallow sleep, and if there was any noise or the light was too bright, he would wake up. This was my father’s habit. Do you know?”

This rapid-fire stream of words was not polite, but I was not angry at all. She really is Yuan Yi’s daughter, just like her father, not playing mind games, speaking straightforwardly, and not even knowing what euphemism is.

But it cannot be denied that she is also a good child. Compared to her father’s aunt, who is so polite, her straightforward nature and her straightforwardness to the guests who come to the door show that her gratitude to the aunt is also sincere.

And people who know how to be grateful are generally good people. This is something my parents taught me from a young age, because they don’t like to owe people and are very grateful.

I have a good impression of this girl, even a very good one.

I was embarrassed and didn’t know what to say, so I lowered my head and thought for a while before finally saying, “I’m sorry.”

But then, a cup of hot tea was thrust into my hands, and the girl said with a smile, “It’s okay. I was too strong just now. Did I scare you, little uncle?”

I didn’t even notice when she went out to make me a cup of tea. And the term “little uncle” … I’m really not used to it.

Time and tide wait for no man. I’ve become an uncle in other people’s eyes?

At this point, the atmosphere was a little silent. I didn’t know what to say with the teacup in my hand, but the girl didn’t care at all. She had already sat down next to Yuan Yi, straightened his quilt, and then said, “Dad, are you hungry? The doctor said you can only eat liquid food. I’ll make you some meat porridge to drink. Also, Dad, the results of the final exam came out today, and I was first in the class again. It would have been nice if you had woken up earlier, so you could look at my exam paper and sign it for me.”

Hearing this, I clutched my teacup tightly and felt a wave of sadness.

But the girl laughed heartily and said, “But, Dad, it’s okay. You just wait a few more years. I’m a sophomore now, and I’ll be able to take the college entrance exam in a year. I’ll definitely get into the best medical school in the country, and I’ll cure you then. Really, hehehe…”

This child is really strong. I felt a surge of warmth in my heart, and suddenly I remembered Yuan Yi’s lifelong wish. I couldn’t help but blurt out, “Do you want to learn Tao?”