“I won’t sue you. If you suppress it, or if unexpected, I will sue,” the summer said, “Because of that, I can’t see my two brothers. Even if there is a time, it’s the same.”
Jia Mu remained silent. The summer knew he was surprised, how could he not be? Jia Mu said: “I am an orphan, with no parents, no siblings, all blood is scattered in the water, and I have no concept. This child, what I value most are these two brothers. They didn’t ask for any conditions, nothing to do with me, but they are dead. I have never been safe, and after these two brothers left the world, I discovered after so many years that I survived by relying on them. Except for them, no one truly loved me, and no one truly needed me. They are not here, and this child will also pass. Life is only about having someone love you. I’m not used to loving others first because I have nothing, so I always hope others can give me something. But as a man, no one will give anything to a man for no reason. The world most understands me are these two brothers, who used the most sincere way to make me happy. They did it. Only those who haven’t experienced these things would say that living people can’t live with the dead, look to the future, and live their own lives. These words don’t apply to me.”
Jia Mu said: “It’s okay, you can listen as you like, just treat it as a chat.”
The tea was truly fragrant. The tea leaves were slightly bitter, so the bitter taste was heavy. Like the three teas outside the family, the first, second, and third tastes seemed to have reached their flavor. Unexpectedly quickly, he didn’t expect the future to be so short. Drinking too quickly, hot to the head, the summer opened his mouth, looking like he was laughing. And he was indeed laughing.
“I don’t disturb others much. Counting carefully, I’m even afraid myself. If people really come to this world, how would I have survived?” He said, “Thank you Ah Ni for taking care of me, giving me a free place to stay; thank you Zhai Bei for helping me try the exam, giving me a chance to study; thank you Guan Ge for the first time seeing me with a kind but not laughing eye, making me feel the cuteness of a girl; thank you the unknown aunt at the cinema entrance who sent me to the police station; thank you the young police officer, the bureau, thank you for giving me my first job with 5000 yuan wealth; thank you for these 5000 yuan to complete my wish; thank you Su Zi for letting me enter university; thank you the director who let me start becoming rich; thank you the grass that saved me from that fire; I even thank the elders who taught me how to protect women.”
I had said long ago that when I felt enough, I could leave. I thought of my two brothers. I wanted to sleep with Su Zi on the same bed at night; I wanted to drink morning tea with Zhai Bei. Without Su Zi, I wouldn’t know what high-level means; without Guan Ge, I wouldn’t know what is a cave; without Zhai Bei, I wouldn’t know what is warmth; without the elders, I wouldn’t know what is trust.
Amazing Grace, have you heard this song? Its Chinese name is “Heavenly Grace”. These days I haven’t been sleeping well, so I often think about many things. I discovered that even someone like me has many things. I don’t know how to maintain that full of anger heart. What I want, I got; what I don’t want, I also got. I always feel like I want to do something for this world. Moreover, I’ve always lived in others’ eyes, constantly struggling to get recognition, wanting to be extraordinary, wanting to stand out. I should live once. Let me reflect on myself.
This judgment is fair to me, I have no objection. Looking back, there’s nothing lost. For twenty years, these two brothers have always been my support. I was born timid, without courage, unable to take a single step. I’m already over thirty, not knowing how to live independently. I’m afraid that when my hair turns white, it will be because of my incompetence and pain. Another possibility is that I will seek new support – finding it is good, not finding it is also good, these are just redundant thoughts. But if I leave now, I’ll be very happy.
If you’re in a hurry, just maintain the original judgment. I don’t know if you can apply for a death sentence for me. I want to stay whole.
Dong Jiayang repeated: “Fairness and justice are brighter than the sun. That’s right. I like it very much. When you were taking notes, you were always very successful. Everyone joined the Party, so you should be able to correctly understand this sentence. The fairness is not what you imagine, and justice is not what you imagine. It’s just like the white color in color theory. Why can the prism decompose white light into seven colors? Because white light is composed of different wavelength light rays. Different wavelengths of light rays have different refraction rates in the prism, and the angles they deflect when passing through the prism are different, so they separate. But this does not prevent them from recombining into white again. This is the complete essence of fairness and justice.”
Jia Ruoyu quietly put down the teacup, raised her head: “It’s like there are differences, but not the differences you imagine.”
Dong Jiayang leaned back on the chair, no longer speaking, just lighting another cigarette. The blue smoke curled up under the sunlight, blurring Jia Ruoyu’s face. Smoke drifted in the room like river colors, making him recall the mountain stream, and further, thinking of the three rivers flowing together, pouring over the river surface, the lock of spring deep.
After the incident at the small building, Song Yanru still looked at him with such concentration, as if she couldn’t bear to move her gaze away. This gaze had a hint of tenderness, but not quite love. Her unblinking eyes made Xia Mou’s face flush with heat.
Uncle Gu suggested that time was almost up. Xia Mou said, “Ah Naicha, I’ll give you the first priority to listen, thank you for raising me for so many years and adding to my troubles.”
Ah Naicha and Song Yanru both stood up. Jia Mu held her hand tightly, her legs feeling heavy. She took a few steps before sitting down.
There was gold under the man’s seat. He felt truly wealthy, rich enough to have a thousand gold.
Pushing in front of the coal stove, Song Yanru took out that finger from the silver basin, carefully examining the injury on Xia Mou’s right hand. The skin color was quite different. Song Yanru had already considered this, so she specially bought a pair of black wool gloves, afraid the hand wasn’t soft enough, and worried that Jia Mu’s hand might not fit. She gently put the glove into her hand, then lightly placed Xia Mou’s right hand into it. Now it looked much better. Song Yanru carefully wiped Xia Mou’s face. He looked healthier than Ah Sui and Ah Bei, his mouth even slightly reddish. Song Yanru used her fingertips to smooth his eyebrows. He had already collected himself very neatly and cleanly. “Let’s go, we’ll talk later.”
Song Yanru lowered her head and breathed on his face.
Jia Mu was pushed in, and the door was closed.
Ah Gui was not there. When Xia Mou got off the prison car, Ah Gui pulled out a knife and pointed it at the guard. The guard responded quickly but was still injured. The police quickly drew their guns, and the guard said that even if the child was killed, they would calm him down and send him back to rest.
Ah Gui handed him over to the detective and Zhang Bureau for safekeeping. The school principal also left. Ah Ge had an agreement with Xia Mou that he would replace him. During that investigation, when Song Yanru mentioned this matter, Jia Mu laughed and said that the agreement was because it was hard to be true, so don’t send him, she had no such intention.
Song Yanru leaned against the mountain slope, chatting with Ah Naicha, “Heard you’re saying, Ah Ge is in that Beijing house with you. Is it Little Gui with more money, buy a few more.”
