Chapter 9: Her Heart Was Moved By Him
The grass was back home in the afternoon, and the pleasant journey came to an end in the blink of an eye.
Heima Wangzi sent a message to Caoer: He said he was on duty and could only return tomorrow morning; The child went to his grandmother's house and will stay for a few days...
The fatigue of the journey made him drop his luggage and rush towards that comfortable big bed.
When she opened her eyes again, it was already late at night. The grass had been awakened by the noise in the corridor. She reluctantly opened her eyes, and everything in front of her was blurry. Her body felt like it was still swaying on the train.
"Knock, knock, knock..." A dull knocking sound started, Cao'er lazily put on her shoes and went downstairs. "Who is it?" "It's me, Zhang Jie from next door." A sobbing voice came in, Cao'er opened the door to let in a tear-stained Zhang Jie. Before Cao'er could say anything, Zhang Jie burst into tears: "I don't know how to live this life anymore! Your brother-in-law spends all day online chatting with those fox spirits, and now he's actually met one of them and they're together... He wants to divorce me... Waaahhh!"
Looking at Zhang Jie, who was crying like a tearful person, Cao didn't know how to comfort her. It seems that the internet has become closely related to people's lives, influencing their lives with its subtle yet powerful impact, bringing either joy or worry.
Zhang sister has been idle at home for many days, and due to physical reasons, she took early retirement a few years ago. At first, she would take care of her illness, nourish her spirit, and do some household chores that she could handle, and life was still comfortable. Later, as her body gradually recovered, she didn't want to stay at home anymore, and played mahjong with a group of sisters in the afternoons and evenings, often neglecting to cook dinner. When Zhang sister's husband came home, he would scold her when he saw the empty pot and cold stove. Zhang sister knew she was wrong, so she restrained herself for a few days before falling back into old habits again. Zhang sister's husband eventually stopped saying anything, went out to eat at a restaurant, and after finishing his meal, opened his computer and browsed the internet... The estrangement between the two grew deeper and deeper.
Sister Zhang chattered on and on, while Cao Er leaned against the sofa, listening tiredly. Sister Zhang just wanted to find someone to talk to, but she was worried that if she said too much, her husband would be unhappy. She thought about how her husband had been acting strangely lately, always going out at night and not coming back until dawn. He would say he was working late, but Sister Zhang suspected he might be having an affair.
After seeing Zhang Jie off, Cao Er felt a little dazed, her chest felt like it was being blocked by something, and she felt suffocated... When the sky had completely darkened, her growling stomach reminded her that it was time to eat, so she simply boiled some instant noodles and ate them.
She slammed down the bowl, and Cao thought of her appointment with He. He should be back by now, right? Maybe he's waiting for me online! Cao opened up her computer, logged onto QQ, and He's avatar was flashing nonstop. She opened up the chat window, and a message from him swept away her gloomy mood. The dark clouds in her heart dispersed instantly, vanishing into thin air. "He's back! Come report to Cao!" Haha! He's humor made Cao smile, and she thought of those days when they chatted freely with each other. Their hearts danced in the world of words, a beautiful day: without any embellishments, no pretentious decorations, just simple and sincere emotions sprinkled throughout every fleeting day...
"River, I'm here!" The grass responded softly in her heart. She stared at the screen without blinking, to see if River was online. "Ding ding ding..." A line of text quickly appeared on the chat window: "How are you? Have you rested?" River's inquiry was tinged with concern.
He's online! That's great! It seems he remembered the appointment with Cao Er five days later! Cao Er's heart was filled with joy, "Haha! I just said goodbye to that big bed!" Cao Er joked happily. "Hahaha..." He Dahu sent a string of laughter and also sent over a laughing emoticon. "Hahaha..." Cao Er couldn't help but laugh too.
"I'll send you a photo! See if I'm qualified as a photographer?" "Okay! Okay!" The simple joy of a child.
A photo was sent over, it's a beautiful encounter between the grass and the river on their journey, taken by the river when it discovered the grass! The grass was surprised to see that on one side of the photo, the river had written some elegant words: "The clear stream flows down beside the three-life stone, those sparkling crystal-like flowers, moistening the legendary sorrow."
Softly swaying rhythm, wrapped around the grass's thoughts, lightly dancing and fluttering with the river's words.
Another photo came over, with the background of that butterfly-shaped stone, Grass stood on one wing of the butterfly, in a flying posture. What moved Grass was that next to it were still beautiful words: "Through the melody of sunny spring snow, who is softly singing in the distance? In the window of the heart, the wings of dreams are fluttering."
The grass unconsciously thought of the story of Liang Zhu transforming into butterflies, under the oath of loving in life and being buried together in death, two infatuated hearts transformed into butterflies and flew away. The grass also remembered Su Yuechu's poem "Butterfly Flying":
Maybe forgot the rhythm of time
Extremely poor living conditions
On the black lake I lightly skim my shadow
The despair of dancing butterflies
Seductive eyes in the dark night
Always fearless drifting away
Is it your whisper or my swan song?
Never realized
The pain of tears piercing through the skin is so prolonged
Can't see into your heart
Is there a rose inlaid for me that will never fade?
Only know at this moment
The haven of love makes me rush forward like a moth to flame.
Even if it's a fierce flame burning fiercely
Also willing to be that fleeting moment of beautiful bloom
The most charming fragrance
……………
Outside the window, it had started raining at some point, softly and gently, blending with these delicate words, and just like that, they flew into the heart of the grass. Those mysterious words seemed to have transformed into butterflies dancing in flight, either near or far, fluttering about in the garden of the grass's heart. As they flew, one of the butterflies suddenly overlapped with the face of Zhang Jie next door, her face a picture of melancholy...
Cao'er really wants to know how He views Zhang Jie's husband's infidelity, so Cao'er pulls her thoughts back to the present and sends a sentence to He: "Want to hear a story?" "I do, tell me!" He is quite interested. "A beautiful love story?" He guesses. "No, a story that puzzles Cao'er."
The grass then told He about Zhang Jie's online experiences, and finally asked him: "Zhang Jie's husband is going to destroy a real marriage for the sake of an online romance, is that right?"
Although the internet is virtual, human emotions are real. The so-called online acquaintances who meet in person and end up as strangers later on, this shows that the feelings between them are still an illusion, lacking foundation and sincerity... Hei Bai said, crossing over the screen, it seemed like Cao saw Hei's sincere and profound face. She sent a handshake emoji, Hei seemed to be encouraged, he continued with even more passion: "If that love has already faded away, two people living under the same roof but having different dreams in bed, then giving up might be a kind of respect; if Zhang Jie's husband still loves Zhang Jie, then he has the responsibility to cherish this love, stay away from temptation. He enters the internet, maybe he'll meet someone with similar interests and tastes, they can delight each other, but he and she can only be acquaintances."
He's words slowly penetrated into Cao's heart, her heart lake was like being blown by a gentle breeze, and ripples rose in layers. From the very beginning of their acquaintance, through He's colorful and sincere writings, Cao had sensitively recognized that he was a good man! The beautiful experience of their first meeting and chance encounter on the journey deepened Cao's understanding of this. At this moment, He's sincere words about online romance made Cao even more cherish this encounter with him.
"The river, let's be eternal bosom friends!" The grass solemnly made this statement. "Good, we will be eternal bosom friends." The river responded enthusiastically. Both the grass and the river felt a harmony and tacit understanding that moved each other, which was a faint fragrance emitted by their souls, distant and long-lasting, beautiful and pure.
At some point, the patter of rain outside the window gradually came to a stop. The vast expanse of sky twinkled with a few fleeting glimmers of light - were they stars in the sky or lamps on earth? Closer by, on the balcony below, there were hushed voices and occasional rustling of leaves in the wind, accompanied by the clear trills of birds...
In a warm and gentle atmosphere, the grass and the river said goodbye to each other. They promised that if anything happened to either of them, they would definitely leave a message for the other.
Shut down, turn off the computer and take a look at the watch: 22:00. Why not give Lin Xiaoyan a call? Wonder how she's been lately? Xiaoyan's online romance has always made Cao Er worried! She shouldn't be asleep, won't disturb her, right? But Cao Er still couldn't help but dial Xiaoyan's number. On the other end of the phone came Xiaoyan's gentle voice, Cao Er enthusiastically asked about Xiaoyan's well-being, and Xiaoyan excitedly talked about the happiness and satisfaction that her "online husband" brought to her, haha! That man named "Yue Hui Chun Tian" gave Xiaoyan another bright spring!
She hung up the phone and smiled with relief, this night, she slept exceptionally sweetly...
