He was on the porch, she was behind the window, talking like this. Watching him light a cigarette, Yuan Xingcan couldn’t help but ask: “You seem to never smoke inside.”
She had seen this several times; he always smoked on the porch.
He simply said: “Xueye is sensitive to smoke.”
”Oh. You’re such a good brother.” If she had a brother who was so skilled and gentle, she would definitely stick around and never leave.
”That’s because the bad parts haven’t been seen by you.” He smiled, a somewhat mocking smile. “What did you want to talk about?”
”About Xueye.” After seeing Xueye’s happy and fulfilling appearance at the hospital, she thought all afternoon before deciding to speak to Ke Nanyu. “Don’t you think it’s not good for her to stay at home all day, doing nothing?”
He nodded, “Yes.”
”She likes being at the hospital, likes helping people, maybe you could try to persuade your grandfather to let her go to the hospital more often.”
”No.” He refused just as decisively.
Xingcan never expected him to refuse. “You should see her at the hospital. She’s happy, feels useful, she likes doing this and is capable of doing it. If you care about her, you shouldn’t stop her.”
”You should hear what she told me.” Yuan Xingcan’s tone was slightly reproachful. “Don’t you ever care about what she thinks?”
”What did she tell you?”
”Enough. I know she’s unhappy, feels unimportant and unneeded, feels inferior for not being outstanding enough, she wants to prove her reason for existing. She’s smart, but even more sensitive. I don’t believe you can’t see that.”
”Do you know what your biggest problem is?” He looked at her serious big eyes and couldn’t help shaking his head.
Why was she so pure, so naive, so easily influenced?
She shook her head, looking puzzled, “What problem do I have?”
”Your problem is believing everything you hear. The human heart is complex. Taking everything others say at face value is not good.”
She didn’t understand, “What do you mean…”
”What I mean is, what you should do is help Xueye become an outstanding beautiful woman, not worry about whether she’s happy.”
