SWG Chapter 19
by VolareXiao Wenyu finished dealing with the downstairs matters, saved all the engineering files one by one, and then hung up the “Closed for Business” sign.
But she wasn’t in a hurry to go upstairs. Instead, she leaned against the doorway, her back to the bustling and noisy street, and sighed softly. She gently covered her slightly protruding abdomen with her hand through the cotton material of her long dress.
For this child, her relationship with her family was somewhat strained.
Perhaps it wasn’t just for the sake of this child. It started earlier, when she divorced without discussing it with her family. She had already infuriated the “big cat” at home, and after they found out about the child, they hadn’t spoken to her for almost a month…
Zhao Wen’s visit today seemed more like an attempt to ease the tension between mother and daughter, a softening of the family’s attitude.
But someone like her didn’t seem worthy of such serious treatment… right?
Xiao Wenyu gazed worriedly at the innermost room.
She suddenly regretted moving the stairs to the innermost part. Standing here, she couldn’t see anything, and didn’t know how Zhao Wen would feel after seeing the second-floor decorations, whether she would keep looking at the branches she had painstakingly arranged, or whether she would lean against the railing and sigh repeatedly, just like her.
Xiao Wenyu suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly.
How did she become thirty years old? How could her thirty years of life be so laughable…
“Xiao Wenyu.” Zhao Wen’s calm voice slowly flowed out from the shadows on the second floor, her usually warm voice now seeming to illuminate the shadows ahead, and then gently hooked Xiao Wenyu’s arm. “Are you ready yet?”
Xiao Wenyu gently stroked her heart and slowly exhaled.
With some apprehension, she walked up the stairs, and as soon as she reached the top, she saw Zhao Wen holding a photo that she hadn’t had time to put up, examining it carefully.
She held the handrail, hesitating for a moment.
“Come on.” Zhao Wen waved her hand. “Have you taken today’s photo yet?”
“Not yet.” Xiao Wenyu walked over.
Zhao Wen: “Let me take today’s photo for you, okay?”
The woman was stunned for a moment, meeting a smiling face.
Zhao Wen: “It’s perfect, let me see too.”
She took Xiao Wenyu to the branches she had arranged, gently lifted her top, and unreservedly stroked her slightly changed abdomen. Her warm palm pressed against the abdomen, conveying some emotion and determination.
Xiao Wenyu wasn’t sure how to react. She gently lifted her long hair, holding up Zhao Wen’s clothes for her, watching her filled with tenderness, watching her carefully.
Mothers know their daughters’ bodies best. Even if she hadn’t noticed any significant changes herself, Zhao Wen could accurately find that spot, even if it was just a slight curve.
She suddenly spoke, her voice gentle, “Back when you fell into Xiao Yanyue’s body, I was jealous for a long time.”
“I always thought you were born not wanting to be close to me, never coming to me from the beginning. As a result…” Zhao Wen said, and couldn’t help but laugh.
As a result, there was a pair of rivals at home.
Ever since Xiao Wenyu understood things, it was either Xiao Wenyu standing with her hands on her hips, talking back to Xiao Yanyue, or Xiao Yanyue chasing the little girl around the house with a clothes rack. They ran like this for over twenty years, until Xiao Wenyu became independent and moved out, and the house felt empty.
Especially recently, she watched Xiao Yanyue staring blankly at the remaining clothes rack from that time, finding it funny. How could something from over a decade ago, broken to the point where only an iron branch remained, be so carefully preserved?
But at the same time, she felt sorry for her.
Xiao Yanyue herself had made the harsh statement: either abort the child and come home, or never come home, and don’t even think about bringing the child home. If you’re so capable, go raise it yourself.
But afterwards, it was also Xiao Yanyue who regretted it, who was in pain.
Zhao Wen couldn’t laugh anymore.
She pulled Xiao Wenyu down to sit, took her hand, and said, “Xiao Wenyu, so many days have passed, are you still sure you want to keep her?”
Xiao Wenyu’s eyes were slightly moist.
She was well aware of the difficulties and the unspoken meaning in Zhao Wen’s words, but she still nodded, raising her hand to cover Zhao Wen’s hand.
She said softly, “She’s very well-behaved, doesn’t make a fuss, and sometimes makes me forget she’s even there. She’s working hard to grow, and I… want to try too.”
“If you really want to…” Zhao Wen bit her lip slightly, sighing softly, “But back then, Yanyue and I were both in a frenzy. How will you manage alone?”
“Ama…” Xiao Wenyu’s voice was soft and sweet, trying to test the other’s attitude.
Zhao Wen: “Stop it. Since I’m here, it’s obvious that your old rival hasn’t let go of her worthless pride. Your sweet talk won’t work.”
Xiao Wenyu stopped acting soft, leaving only a pair of eyes identical to the one at home, looking at her with some pity.
Zhao Wen’s face was full of helplessness, “Can’t you coax her a little?”
“Ama coaxes her, I coax the baby. When the baby learns to call Grandma first, wouldn’t that be great?”
“…” Zhao Wen looked at her speechlessly, tilted her head and laughed, tapping the head of this person who hadn’t grown up. “You! You’re the best at making decisions! Go, stand over there, I’ll take your picture.”
“Okay.”
Xiao Wenyu inconspicuously pulled at her sleeves before pulling up her clothes, watching Zhao Wen raise the camera, skillfully operating the machine, leaving behind a highly commemorative photo.
Xiao Wenyu: “I’ll go print it out.”
Zhao Wen stopped her, “Wait, I still have to talk to you.”
“Ama…”
“Dragging out the words won’t work either, come over here.” Zhao Wen pointed to the words on the branch, “Your drawing is not bad, but you didn’t listen when I taught you calligraphy. Look at your handwriting!”
Actually, it wasn’t bad. Compared to most people nowadays, the handwriting was already very good, but it certainly couldn’t compare to Zhao Wen, who had practiced calligraphy for many years.
But that wasn’t the reason she was being called over now.
Zhao Wen handed her a cup of warm milk, “One cup each. This milk, is it to take care of your stomach?”
“You told her your stomach wasn’t good, and she believed it?”
Xiao Wenyu held the warm milk, involuntarily thinking of those clear black and white eyes, sparkling with trust in her.
She nodded, “She believes it.”
“A bunch of fools.”
“…”
Zhao Wen raised the corners of her lips, in a good mood, “Quite a pretty child, how old is she?”
“27.”
“Doesn’t look like it. To be able to run a bar independently at such a young age, and think about managing neighborhood relations so well, she’s quite impressive.”
“…” Xiao Wenyu belatedly felt a little embarrassed.
It seemed like she was the one who first went to Ruan Shengyi to build good neighborly relations. If it hadn’t been for that night, the two of them would probably only be nodding acquaintances now.
Things seemed to have become this somewhat out-of-control picture because of her.
If they were just nodding acquaintances, would it be better for the Ruan boss?
Xiao Wenyu suddenly thought of this, her eyes flashed, and she felt inexplicably sad.
Zhao Wen spoke knowingly, “You’ll be neighbors for a long time to come. You should find an opportunity to explain your situation clearly.”
“After all, some things are better if you bear them alone. It’s not very responsible to drag other people down with you for no reason, don’t you think?”
*
That night, Zhao Wen still left the photo studio after it was completely dark, after all, there was a big treasure waiting at home, and if she went back late, she would throw a tantrum again.
So old, and acting more and more like a child.
Xiao Wenyu stood downstairs to see her off, and looked at the brightly colored and lively Tonight Intoxicated across the street, slightly raising her head to look at the third floor.
The third floor was dark.
That’s right, the Ruan boss said she would be very busy recently, so busy that she wouldn’t have time to eat or sleep.
She said everyone was like this during the holidays, they would be very busy, so busy that they wouldn’t have time to eat or sleep.
Xiao Wenyu thought she was right.
She was really busy today, so busy that she was exhausted, so skipping dinner wouldn’t be a big deal, right?
Zhao Wen’s last words were like a sharp thorn, deeply engraved in her heart, making it impossible for her to calm down.
She said——
“I can see that there are some unspeakable fluctuations in the hearts of young people, especially in hers.”
“The milk, it’s not just to take care of your stomach, right? I even ran into Aunt Ming today, who said she always sees a young girl going to eat breakfast with you, is that her?”
Zhao Wen gently patted Xiao Wenyu’s hand, her eyes full of worry, worrying that the other person wouldn’t even look her in the eye, only daring to turn her head away, secretly pondering.
Xiao Wenyu hadn’t thought that deeply, she was just a bit emotional when she heard the name Aunt Ming. She didn’t even know which person Zhao Wen was talking about, whether it was the owner of the breakfast stall or the owner of the decoration shop, but this was a small city where everyone knew each other, and every move was likely to spread…
Zhao Wen: “Mom doesn’t want to interfere in your affairs, Mom just wants to ask you.”
“Do you know this feeling? Are you going to accept it? With what kind of attitude?”
“That child, Mom thinks she’s a very good person. Don’t treat her as a ladder for you to climb out of the abyss, okay?”
“That’s too unfair to her, and too unfair to yourself.”
“If you have such plans and calculations as I said, I don’t agree, and I’m not willing, do you understand?”
“…” How could she think of this?
Xiao Wenyu put her hands in her pockets, looked up at the vast night sky for a while, breathed a long sigh, turned and returned to the shop, locking the door from the inside.
Then, she went up to the third floor.
She didn’t turn on the main light, only turned on a small night light, gloomy, just enough for her to find the bedside table without hitting her head.
She took out a somewhat blunt, sharp object from the drawer, and opened the iodine, slowly dabbing some, gently wiping the head of the sharp object, and then…
Gently Scroll onthe outside of her arm.
The night light was pale, making her skin look pale too, her eyes were dark and cold, staring through the pale light at the blood beads that slowly emerged on her arm.
She suddenly felt a little relieved, even lightly curling her lips.
Under the pale night light, in the silent and empty top floor, as the blood beads gradually filled and appeared, in the present moment where she didn’t need to deal with anyone.
She still remembered, she replied to Zhao Wen: “Ama, you’re thinking too much.”
“That’s because the Ruan boss has a good heart and is good to everyone.”
She saw Zhao Wen’s lips tremble and tremble, and in the end, there was only a sigh left.
Ding dong.
A VX notification sound interrupted Xiao Wenyu’s thoughts.
She tilted her head to look, slightly raising her lips.
It was the kind-hearted Ruan boss taking time out of her busy schedule to care about her.
But she truly felt guilty and had nothing to say.
Xiao Wenyu wiped away the blood beads, and dipped some more iodine with a cotton swab, slowly wiping it on the wound, gently put away the medicine box, turned and lay back on the bed.
Sleepiness always swept over her at this time. Before falling into a light sleep, she thought——
She fell asleep too early today, will she be able to pick up the Ruan boss from work again tomorrow?
When she fell into darkness, she thought——
Never mind.
She really shouldn’t treat her as a ladder to climb out of the abyss.