Chapter 117: Deep Roots of Emotion

  Xiang Hong raised her hand to touch her scorching hot cheek, and straightened up to look at the man who was lying on her small bed, occupying more than half of it. His sleeping face was calm, with slanted sword-like eyebrows and a sharp nose bridge, which made his thin lips appear unusually gentle and charming.

  He's leaning in - how had she never noticed that he was actually quite good-looking, and those lips that held such magical powers for her were now lightly pursed without any aggressive intent, not only harmless but also...also...it seemed like if she just lowered her head a little, she could easily capture them.

  She took advantage of this opportunity to taste it, and it seemed harmless and delicious!

  Thinking of this, her already scorching face grew even hotter. She gazed at him with a sly glance, licking her lips, and then lightly pressed them against his. His eyelashes were so long, casting a shadow on the edge of his deep eye sockets, soft as if his eyes hadn't closed at all.

  She had almost gotten close enough to hear the other person's breathing when suddenly she heard light footsteps passing through the living room, as if slowly approaching her room.

  Mom - what is she going out for at this time?

  Xiang Hong suddenly lifted her head, took two steps to the door, and Lin Qingran happened to be carrying a thermos to her room door. Seeing that the door was slightly ajar, she was about to knock when Xiang Hong suddenly opened the door, startling her.

  "Mom, what's wrong?" Xiang Hong saw Lin Qingran's unexpected look and hastily hugged her shoulders to help her catch her breath. "Look, you didn't scare me, but instead scared yourself. Can't you tell me anything and let me help you with it?"

  "There's nothing much, just boiled some water, worried that you'll be thirsty at night, brought a kettle over; what's with your face, how did it get so red?"

  Lin Qingran said, handing the teapot and cup to Sang Hong, and casually reached out to touch her face. "You're not getting a fever again, are you? You always get a fever when you eat something that doesn't agree with you."

  As he spoke, he glanced inside the house and saw Song Shuyu lying on the bed, taking up more than half of it, with a wronged expression.

  "Mom, just take care of yourself, how could I possibly have a fever? After going out to exercise for so long, my stomach has become invincible."

  Xiang Hong said with a sigh, turned around and put the things on the table, thinking to herself that indeed one couldn't harbor evil intentions, for as soon as an evil thought flashed through her mind, it would be caught.

  Lin Qingran's shy and timid demeanor revealed her inexperience, and she thought to herself, "Could it be that they've never lived together before? This won't do, how can he recklessly send his daughter into the tiger's mouth?"

  "You——you——" Lin Qingran felt that she didn't know how to communicate with her daughter like this, and choked up, unable to continue speaking.

  "What's wrong with us?"

  "You two - don't you think - this bed - is a bit too narrow, or else, let your dad sleep in the living room and you come sleep with me?"

  Lin Qingnuo tried hard for half a day and finally expressed the general meaning of what she wanted to say, but then felt it was too implicit and didn't know if her daughter would understand.

  "Come on, don't be so fussy," Hong said with a wave of her hand. "This 1.5-meter bed is already quite spacious. Remember when we went camping together? We both fit in that 1.2-meter sleeping bag."

  Song Shuoye turned over on the bed, almost rolling off, and Sang Hong took a step forward to steady him, pushing him gently towards the inner side of the bed.

  Lin Qing was thoroughly stunned by her daughter's boldness, watching as she skillfully shook out the quilt at the foot of the bed and covered Song Shuyu, who was lying down. The movement was smooth and unhindered, making Lin Qing realize that the two must have slept together countless times before. She didn't say another word, turned around and went back to her room, picking up the thermos on the way.

  She went into the bedroom and directly poured a cup of tea for her husband and handed it over.

  Sang Dawei comfortably leaned against the stacked pillows, raised his hand to take them over, and his body tried hard to shrink upwards, trying to sit up straight. He looked at his wife's face with a look of astonishment and opened his mouth:

  "What's wrong, you look like you've lost your soul?"

  Lin Qingran looked up at him and suddenly felt that her loss was laughable. She let out a soft snort of laughter and leaned in close to whisper to him:

  "San Yaotou has really grown up. I went in to take a look at her little face, oh dear, it's as red as a monkey's butt."

  I thought they had never spent the night together, so I suggested you sleep in the living room and let her come over to sleep. She actually said that when camping, the two of them could fit into a 1.2-meter sleeping bag;

  "I just can't figure it out, how come she's so single-minded, an unmarried girl like that, and yet she can say such things so naturally."

  Sang Dawei sighed: "Since we all acknowledge their relationship, she naturally doesn't need to hide it. You're really something, using this to test her - if they hadn't reached that step, how could they have gotten to the point of discussing marriage and meeting parents?"

  Maybe she'll get a taste of it and come around, haha, have you forgotten what we were like when we were young?

  Let's just pretend nothing happened and not let the child feel guilty.

  "I didn't always think that Lian'er was young, looking at her blushing face is so cute, I'm worried that we've misjudged." Lin Qingran said with a smile, not knowing what she thought of.

  "What's wrong with that? When you're interested in a boy, it's great to meet someone from a good family background, isn't it?"

  It's a blessing in disguise that I didn't get into a romantic relationship back then. Nowadays, young people are so bold and open-minded, unlike our generation. Rather than going through several heartbreaks before finding the right one, isn't it great to have such good fortune!

  ……

  On this side, the two of them chatted idly, while on that side, Sang Hong listened to her mother's footsteps fading away, and in a panic, she quickly and quietly turned around, closed the door, and gently locked it. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief and stand up straight. When she turned her head back, she saw Song Shuyu rolling under the bed with his body wrapped in a quilt.

  "You——you——" Sang Hong ran over to take a look and saw that Song Shu Yu had firmly occupied the bedside, leaving no space at all.

  She let out a sigh and shook him, but Song Shuyu didn't make any movement. She could only resign herself to pulling the quilt off his body and continuing with undressing him as she had been doing earlier.

  She was exhausted, sweating all over, and finally managed to take off the stubborn pants, folding them neatly and hanging them in the closet with the rest of her clothes. Only then did she take off her windbreaker and crawl into bed to sleep.

  In a moment of carelessness, she tumbled onto Song Shuyu's body. She was frightened and hastily looked around to see if she had woken him up. When she lifted her eyes, she saw that pair of shiny black eyes filled with amusement.

  "What's wrong? Thirsty?"

  Shaking head.

  "Go to the bathroom?"

  Shaking head.

  Those eyes, though slightly drunk and charming, had hands that moved without any hint of intoxication. With a clear purpose, they slipped into her clothes, expertly helping her remove her sweater and then unhooking her bra with a soft click. Xiang Hong let out a low cry, covering her chest as she rolled to the farthest edge of the bed.

  "You - you're not drunk?"

  "Drunk - Spring colors drunk people."

  Song Shuyu said with a gentle smile.

  "You fake drunk scoundrel!" Before he could strip her naked, Sang Hong angrily and quickly wrapped herself in a blanket like a cocoon.

  Feeling safe now, she curled up her body against the wall with a twist and a turn.

  "Faking drunkenness is a skill, I'm exhausted. You have no idea how nervous I was when mom's eyes fell on me just now. What she said made me so shocked that I almost rolled off the bed, afraid you'd hear her and follow her to sleep in her room, leaving dad to sleep in the living room. Good heavens, that would be a complete disaster for me!"

  Luckily, luckily, you're so straightforward and trusting with family members, speaking the truth without reserve, that's why she allowed us to sleep together.

  A man grumbled with his mouth, shaking his head from side to side, flexing the muscles of both arms and shrugging his shoulders.

  Xiang Hong blinked her eyes and suddenly realized, with a look of shamelessness, what true words had she spoken?

  "Hehe, when camping, a 1.2-meter sleeping bag can fit both of us." Song Shuyu kindly reminded her.

  Xiang Hong listened and wanted to cover her face with her hand, ahahah, did she really say that to her mother?

  At that time, the two of them were in that sleeping bag, but nothing bad happened! Otherwise, how could she say it so calmly? But Mom must have automatically filled in her imagination and knew that they had been like that for a long time!

  Ah ah ah, should I go and explain it to mom now? But how can I explain this?!

  Xiang Hong was depressed.

  Song Shuwei looked at her, trying hard to maintain a good girl image in front of her mother, and was very dissatisfied. She knew that there was something embarrassing about it, but it was a normal thing.

  "Alas, Honghong, you have no idea how much thought I've wasted in order to stay at our home, to sneak into your small room, and to climb onto your small bed. It's more exhausting than fighting a tough battle! Don't you have any expression of gratitude?" Song Shuyu pointed at his own face discontentedly, hinting that she should show some appreciation.

  What?! Xiang Hong was shocked by this guy's thick skin and shamelessness, and didn't know how to react.

  Song Shuwei gazed at her silly little appearance, and it was too adorable!

  He licked his lips, his eyes burning with intensity, as he pressed his upper body down onto hers, their faces inches apart. His tongue teased her thin lips, drawing closer and closer, gazing into her increasingly frightened and bewildered eyes, her red lips slightly parted in shock.

  Xiang Hong thought he was going to kiss her, with the wall behind her, she had nowhere to retreat, so she could only pretend to be resigned to her fate, closed her eyes and pouted her red lips waiting.

  After a while, there was no movement on her lips. She gently closed her eyes and saw that handsome face magnified in front of her with a sly smile.

  What other crazy idea has he come up with now?

  All he saw was that guy smiling slightly and sitting up elegantly saying:

  "Is there any loss?"

  Xiang Hong blinked her eyes, looking at his gaze, understanding the meaning of his words, and in anger, she leaned against the wall with a thud, and her legs stretched out from under the quilt to kick him.

  Song Shuwei dodged with a smile, turning his head and saying, "Just now, were you thinking of stealing a kiss from me?"

  "I've been waiting for you for a long time, but you just won't come. You're killing me! I'll ignore you too and let you experience the wonderful feeling of disappointment."

  Xiang Hong was speechless and choked with rage, it turned out that he had pretended to be drunk and saw everything all along!

  Song Shuyu stood up without any drunkenness, wearing slippers, went over to lift the thermos, poured a cup of tea, leaned comfortably against the desk, sipped hot water, and began to visit her boudoir.

  He looked around and found that the patterns on the wall, which he thought were of a big star, were all of Zhang Ailing, this legendary woman, and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

  He originally thought his wife was a crazy fan of stars, and was about to thoroughly think about the women on various celebrity posters, looking for common topics between the two, but unexpectedly it was so simple, and so many images were all of one person.

  "A woman with such a personality is always beautiful!" Song Shuyu stood still, gazing at the old photos of Eileen Chang wearing cheongsam in her youth.

  Xiang Hong heard him say this and couldn't help but feel excited: "My idol, you like her too?"

  "It's hard to say whether I like it or not, her works are too depressing and oppressive, so I don't read much of them. But her essays and random notes are worth reading, this woman's talent is innate, can't be learned."

  Song Shuwei's expression was calm as he evaluated, his eyes seeming to smile yet not quite smiling as he gazed at Sang Hong.

  Xiang Hong naturally also heard the implication behind Song Shu Yu's seemingly smiling but not quite smiling tone, and so immediately became flustered and explained:

  Although I know that dreams like hers, conquering the world with a single pen is impossible, I just like how she can write about the secret thoughts of girls at different stages of growth in such a delicate and realistic way.

  "Didn't you have an idol that you crazily worshipped during your youth?"

  "Yes, my grandfather." Song Shuyu uttered these few words lightly.

  "Why?" asked Sang Hong.

  "A lifetime of experiencing everything, living a legend; a lifetime of loving one woman well, living as a romantic saint." Song Shuyu said, getting up and starting to examine the room's furnishings.

  The wall was pasted with light green wallpaper, a simple bookcase and a desk placed next to the window. As he approached the bookshelf, his eyes fell on an open photo album placed on it.

  "Don't touch!" Xiang Hong got up from bed, with a look that forbade anyone from looking.

  Song Shuwei wouldn't listen to her, and with a flick of his wrist, he took it over, even swaying it in front of her with a pleased expression, saying softly: "Hong Hong, let me take a look, see what you looked like when you were little, I really want to know."

  Under his gentle gaze, Sang Hong knew that whether she agreed or not, he would still look at her, so it was better to be a yes-man. In the end, she still lowered her head and muttered a sentence:

  "I was very ugly when I was a kid, don't laugh when you see it."

  Song Shuwei didn't say a word, and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed, opening the photo album. He looked at it with her, and in the pictures, little Sang Hong's eyes were big and round, her small face was a bit chubby, and that adorable look made his mouth corners involuntarily curve up into a smile.

  Two people flipped through it, and Song Shuyu smiled and commented.

  He suddenly stopped in front of a photo, seemingly trying hard to think of something.

  She looked up and saw that she was probably six or seven years old, wearing a pink and blue plaid dress with a Western-style collar, her hair cut in a neat bob, her two small hands spread out, hugging a white plush toy bear. The red heart-shaped nail art on her fingertips was very clear, and it seemed like the bear's neck was adorned with an irregular red gemstone necklace.

  He stared at the picture for a long time, silent for half a day.

  "What's wrong?" she asked curiously, feeling a little relieved that she still had some photos of herself looking like a girl, unfortunately they were too small, except for her eyes which looked the same as now, but that lovely sweet round face was long gone.

  "This skirt is so beautiful, is it your birthday gift?" Song Shuyu asked with a changed mood.

  Xiang Hong smiled triumphantly: "It's not a birthday gift, but it really was given by someone else!"

  "Oh, come on, let's take a look." Song Shuyu said, finishing the tea in his cup and putting it on the table. He turned over and crawled onto the bed with her, shoulder to shoulder, facing the photo album together.

  "I remember very clearly, this skirt is the most beautiful gift I received from childhood to adulthood. When I was young, my mother often fell ill and the clothes I wore were usually old clothes from neighbors or relatives, so I remember this skirt very clearly."

  Xiang Hong recalled the joy of getting the skirt back then, as if it was still fresh in her memory.

  Song Shuyu raised his hand and gently stroked her back, letting her relax.

  "I remember that summer, it was very hot, my mom was hospitalized again, my dad said he went out to borrow money, but he couldn't be found anywhere. It just so happened to be summer vacation, so I stayed in the hospital with my mom."

  The nurses kept urging mom to pay the medical expenses, and in order not to let the hospital staff drive mom out, I took the initiative to take a mop and carefully clean the corridors and stairs on each floor every day.

  The female doctor who treated my mother's illness was very familiar with our family, she might have pitied us, so she specially instructed the nurse to let me clean the floor of our ward every day, and the medical expenses would be settled later. Even the canteen treated me as a temporary worker and provided three meals for me and my mother every day.

  Mom was very happy and told me that I should know to thank good people, saying the hospital let her stay for treatment because everyone here likes my obedience and diligence.

  I was very happy. At that time, mom's sickbed was placed in the corridor. When I swept the floor, I would always see her when I came and went, so I sang to mom to make her happy;

  The patients living here are all long-term old patients, with a gloomy atmosphere. Many patients who heard me singing said that my songs sounded good.

  "So, when I'm sweeping the floor, I often sing while doing it. If I've learned a new song, I can even do the matching dance moves, singing and dancing at the same time. Hehe, can you imagine that I used to be good at singing and dancing too?"

  Xiang Hong said with a smile, Song Shu Yu looked at her eyes and saw that they were getting deeper, he nodded, raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eye:

  "It's imaginable how cute you were at that time, around 6 or 7 years old, a key period for personality formation. Your mom is a good mom."

  Xiang Hong felt his fingertips were icy cold, and she awkwardly shook open the quilt on her body to wrap him in it. Now that she had a lover and the ability to protect herself, those memories, although poignant, would no longer make her feel lonely and helpless.

  "Uh, except for not having money to buy me new clothes at home, I didn't lack anything else. She always told me that I was cute, smart, brave, and strong... etc., etc. I just worked hard bit by bit in her expectations, longing to grow up into the kind of person she expected. One thing she often did was hold my small hand and paint all sorts of nail polish patterns on it. She said diligent hands were the most beautiful."

  That little red heart pattern is my favorite nail art, Mom always painted it so round and beautiful, later every time I applied nail polish, I would remember the delicate and meticulous way Mom smiled at me, and my restless heart would calm down a lot.

  "This pattern is beautiful, I like it too."

  Song Shuwei said inexplicably, pulling up her small hand and lightly kissing it, as if with infinite emotion.

  He remembered the little red nail polish pattern, she held a warm white towel every day and carefully wiped his face twice, even the two nostrils plugged with gastric tube and oxygen tube, she could clean them thoroughly, making him no longer feel uncomfortable.

  He must have been very desperate at that time, really didn't want to wake up and live again. What's the point of living? There were many things he didn't want to face.

  However, there is always a sweet and soft voice beside him, telling him about trivial things. Dad went to play mahjong again and lost money; Mom's condition has improved a bit, she painted her nails, so beautiful; The old man in room 3 passed away, she was very sad; She will start elementary school after this summer vacation, I really want a beautiful backpack and a flower skirt; Don't know when mom will be discharged from the hospital, after she starts school, don't know if mom is still in the hospital, can she still eat...

  At that time, he was thinking, what kind of little girl is this, living such a hard life, why can she still laugh so happily?

  Until the day she said goodbye and left, he suddenly felt a little reluctant to think that he might not hear this voice again. He tried hard to move, but found that all his strength gathered together, just said a few words, and then fainted again;

  When he came to again, it was the excited voices of doctors and the cold feel of various medical instruments against his body.

  He smiled suddenly, and indeed, the little woman in front of him was the lover that heaven had prepared for him long ago, she had appeared at his most desperate moment many years ago.

  "Heh heh, glad you like it. I thought you'd think this pattern was too childish." Xiang Hong smiled with a hint of surprise and more joy.

  One day, while I was sweeping the floor and singing in the corridor, I saw Dr. Li, my mother's doctor, smiling at me and waving her hand. She asked if I wanted to help a patient who didn't want to open his eyes or talk and wasn't cooperating with treatment. Since she was so nice to me, I nodded repeatedly, and then she took me to the luxurious ward area in the back of the hospital;

  I thought she was asking me to mop the floor, but looking at the thick carpet in the corridor, I realized that I couldn't do such a technical job like vacuuming the carpet.

  She pulled open the door to a second-floor ICU room, pointed inside and told me that the young man lying in bed with an oxygen mask on his head was under 18 years old. He had been through many hardships and had suicidal tendencies. Not long ago, he had been in a serious car accident. After being rescued, all of his bodily functions were normal, but there was no sign of him waking up. It had already been over a month like this. If he didn't wake up again, it was estimated that he would be bedridden for the rest of his life.

  She said this with a face full of regret.

  Song Shuyu's hand, which was patting her back, stopped. He turned over and lay on his side on the bed, raising his hand to let Sang Hong lean against him. His gaze at Sang Hong was exceptionally bright. The boy she mentioned should be him back then. What a kind of fate is this!

  "You're really kind." Song Shuyu spoke with a hint of a nasal tone.

  "What luck, I met a good person, his family was kind and introduced me to a place that took me in and helped me out. Otherwise, how would I have grown into the person I am today?"

  At that time, my job was to sit by his bed every day and talk for two hours, anything would do, I didn't say a few days, all the interesting things I knew were finished.

  Later, Auntie Li had me sit in the nurse's station watching TV, and I would watch those crosstalks and sketches, then immediately go to his ward to perform them for him.

  Hehe, he never moved or applauded for me, I felt very guilty, so I performed even more energetically. Because after I came to accompany him and talk to him, his family paid for my mother's medical expenses, and we had three meals a day that were very rich, with many foods and fruits that I had never seen before. This made me feel extremely ashamed, always trying my best to learn and observe everything interesting and tell him about it;

  About a month later, my mother was about to be discharged from the hospital. On the day she left, I went to bid her farewell. Suddenly, I saw her fingers move slightly. I raised my head in surprise and saw that her eyes were open, looking at me for a moment. Her lips moved slightly, and I hastily leaned in to listen. Guess what she said?

  Xiang Hong asked him with an air of mystery.

  Song Shuwei sighed softly and looked at her with a forced smile: "Is he saying... where did this little beauty come from?"

  "Haha, you're so funny, he wouldn't say that. He said, 'You little girl are too noisy', and then he closed his eyes again, ignoring me."

  I ran out of the ward wailing, Auntie Li hastily asked me what was wrong, I told her that big brother scolded me for disturbing him. Then Auntie Li was overjoyed, she squatted down and hugged me to ask about the situation in detail, I told her everything, she kissed me hard and praised me as a great hero.

  Then he quickly began directing the nurses to that ward, giving him various checks. Hehe, I remember sneaking a peek through the door and laughing quietly, thinking it was noisy, but these doctors and nurses weren't making any noise. But when those cold instruments were pressed against his body one by one for examination, I don't know how much he would have hated it."

  Xiang Hong said with a smile.

  "What about later? Have you been there again?" Song Shuyu felt that the fragmented memories of his distant past were gradually becoming clear.

  "No, one day Auntie Li brought this pretty dress to my home, gave some medicine for maintaining heart health and some gifts to my mom, then gave me the little dress, saying it was a gift from the patient's family member, told me to put it on, drove me to a gym in the city, said she had received someone's entrustment, introduced me to the boss there, said I have very good learning ability, asked me to go there on weekends to sweep the floor and learn some skills."

  Afterwards, my mother and I never went hungry again.

  At that time, the hospital had not moved to its new location yet. In the old city, at the foot of Dashan Mountain, he lived in a small building on the edge of the hospital. I often went up the mountain with my friends to play, and every time I could accurately find the window of his ward.