WWY Chapter 39

Lan He didn’t seem to be intentionally avoiding him, so Si’nian He pretended to rummage through the tissue box in the hospital room, while actually eavesdropping on the phone conversation.

Once he realized the other end was that police officer Ling, he immediately lost interest, pulled out two tissues, and blew his nose.

Lan He asked him with a smile, “Got a cold?”

Si’nian He threw the tissues into the trash can, “No, I just walked through the hallway, and the cleaning lady was mopping the floor. I’m allergic to disinfectant.”

This was actually true; his nose was a little uncomfortable.

Before today, he thought Lan He would never see him again in this lifetime. He didn’t expect him to actually call and ask him to pick him up from the hospital. He dropped the important work at hand without a second thought and rushed to the hospital, even if he was about to face a storm of fury and a sea of knives.

Unexpectedly, nothing happened.

Lan He acted as if nothing had happened before, ordering him around as he pleased and joking as he did before, which made him feel very uneasy.

“Brother, wait a moment, I’ll go borrow a wheelchair.”

“Wheelchair? I just cracked my head open, it’s not like my leg is broken.”

“I’m afraid you’ll be dizzy.”

“Isn’t there you? Just help me.”

Since he said so, Si’nian He didn’t insist, making it his mission to fulfill all of his brother’s requests.

He helped him out of the private room, with Jiu Ya carrying a large bag behind them, and then voluntarily acted as the driver after going downstairs.

Si’nian He helped Lan He into the car and carefully shielded his head as he got in. But before closing the door, Lan He grabbed his hand.

“Sit in the back with me.”

Si’nian He maintained his posture of holding the car door open, staring blankly at his smooth, high nose bridge and long eyelashes. Light shone on his face through the crack in the car door, gentle and soft. The scent of perfume in the car made him feel dizzy for a moment.

“Brother…” He wanted to say something, but was suddenly startled awake by the sound of the car starting. The words that followed became, “Okay.”

He had no memory of how the car drove out of the parking lot, nor did he know what route they took. There was a voice constantly shouting in his mind, warning him that he must seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely resolve the estrangement between them.

In his impression, Lan He seemed harmless, but was actually like a lake. The surface was calm, but the depths were unfathomable. He was always shrouded in a sense of mystery, which made him involuntarily fascinated.

Therefore, he didn’t believe that Lan He, after being cuckolded, would let this matter pass so easily.

His mind raced, but in the end, he decided to start with a sincere apology.

“Brother, I…”

“I’m divorced from Ya Gu.”

Si’nian He was stunned, and after a few seconds, he “ah”ed: “When did that happen?”

Lan He blinked his smiling eyes a few times: “She came yesterday. We haven’t gone through the procedures yet, but the agreement is signed.”

Si’nian He was quite surprised.

How could that be? They’re divorced already? How could Ya Gu give up the He family, such a big tree?

After that day, she never contacted him again. Has the hole in her company been filled? What’s going on?

Or is it…

He inadvertently looked at Lan He, forgetting to hide his suspicion. Lan He smiled, his eyes narrowing: “Si’nian, let’s forget about the past. There wasn’t much of a marital relationship between her and me anyway. It’s not worth destroying our many years of relationship for her.”

“But…”

“I’ve made an appointment with her to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Go help me with the divorce procedures tomorrow. I believe, with your abilities, I don’t need to be there in person, right?”

Divorce procedures? Could it be true?

Si’nian He’s doubts were completely dispelled. He was so excited that his palms were sweating: “I understand, Brother, don’t worry, you don’t have to come in person, I’ll go!”

Lan He nodded: “There’s something even more important.”

“What is it?”

“Lawyer Chu said that Dad has another will, which will take effect after tomorrow.” Lan He tilted his head at Si’nian He, “Si’nian, I think this will is Dad’s true intention.”

–

The next day, Si’nian He successfully completed the divorce procedures for Lan He. When he sent the message to Lan He, it was as if both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

His head wound hadn’t healed yet, but Lan He couldn’t wait to see Han Dan. Worried about being too abrupt, he used the excuse of having a heart checkup to make an appointment with Heng Zhou.

He had an appointment with Zhou Heng for ten in the morning, but he arrived at eight, borrowed an old-fashioned baseball cap from Lao Ni, and held a thin roll of A4 paper in his hand, six sheets in total.

Jiu Ya carried the gifts for the two old men behind him, truly inseparable this time. Lan He couldn’t drive him away even if he lost his temper.

The morning light was warm, and a group of old people were practicing Tai Chi on the lawn, as peaceful as could be.

Lan He quickly spotted two familiar figures and waved enthusiastically: “Uncle Minhu Luo, Uncle Han Dan!”

Minhu Luo finished his movements and nudged Han Dan next to him, and the two of them walked over together.

“Oh, Little He, so early!”

“Not as early as you two uncles. The air here is so good. Your life is so healthy!” Lan He took a bag from Jiu Ya’s hand, “I brought breakfast for you two uncles, specially went to Sihai Restaurant to buy it. Their rice noodle rolls and soup dumplings are especially delicious!”

“Sihai Restaurant’s?” Minhu Luo happily took it and smelled it, “Oh, it smells so good! You’re so thoughtful, Little He!”

The four of them went directly to a corner of the restaurant to sneakily eat takeout. Before sitting down, the taciturn Han Dan bent down and observed the area under Lan He’s hat from below.

“Little He, did you lose your hair? What happened?”

“I accidentally fell and got a cut on my head. I had stitches. Otherwise, I would have wanted to come see you two a few days ago. I’ve saved up several paintings and wanted to ask Uncle Han Dan for advice!”

Han Dan was so flattered that he smiled and took the paintings in his hand: “What did you paint? Let me see.”

It would have been better if he hadn’t looked. As soon as he saw them, he lost all appetite for breakfast.

The old man’s smile gradually disappeared, and his hands trembled slightly. He looked at the six paintings from beginning to end, again and again. By the end, his eyes were wet.

Lan He was also a little moved: “Uncle…”

Han Dan raised his hand to interrupt him, picked out three of them and placed them side by side on the dining table, introducing them in a deep voice: “The Ming Dynasty phoenix crown, Gu Kaizhi’s painting, a Sui Dynasty Bodhisattva statue. These three should have been lost from our country.”

“What about the other three?”

“Two of them should be from Korea, and one is from Thailand. Although there are similarities, you can still see the differences in terms of ethnic characteristics, details, and precision.” Han Dan picked up the remaining three paintings, shaking his head and sighing, “You painted them so well, the reproduction is amazing.”

Lan He grinned: “You flatter me, Uncle Han Dan. This is just my childish scribbles. When I get back, I’ll look up the history of these three online and study hard. Let’s eat quickly, Uncle Luo is getting impatient!”

He deftly collected the paintings on the table, even the three rejected ones in Han Dan’s hand.

They enjoyed a pleasant meal. After eating, Lan He acted as a referee for the two old children playing chess. Around 9:30, Zhou Heng arrived at the sanatorium, slightly surprised by the scene.

“You know each other?”

The three of them blinked mysteriously together.

Hearing that Lan He was going for a checkup, the two old men stopped playing chess and insisted on accompanying him, much to Zhou Heng’s helplessness.

These two old men were thorns in the sanatorium’s side. One was as cold as ice, and the other had a fiery temper. But they got along, and anyone else who touched them would die. Even he, the director, couldn’t do anything. Lan He could handle both of them at the same time, which was truly remarkable.

He couldn’t persuade them, and he couldn’t afford to offend them, so he could only let them be supervisors.

Han Dan was a little worried: “Little He, how can your heart disease be so serious? How did you get it at such a young age?”

Minhu Luo directly took charge: “Then he needs to be hospitalized for treatment! Little Zhou, arrange for him to be in the room next to us!”

Zhou Heng smiled wryly: “It’s not that I won’t arrange it. I’ve mentioned it several times, but Young Master Lan is unwilling to come to the sanatorium. At best, I’m just his family doctor now.”

“Oh, right, Dr. Zhou.” Lan He suddenly thought, “There’s been a bit of a problem between me and President Gu. The family doctor might need to be dismissed. But I still want to ask you to treat me. I just don’t know, without President Gu’s influence, can I still hire an expert like you?”

Zhou Heng paused slightly and immediately nodded: “No problem, Young Master Lan, you’re too polite. I’ll be responsible for your health to the end.”

–

A gentle breeze raised the semi-transparent gauze curtain in the bedroom, swaying it back and forth.

The room only had very simple furniture. There were mildew stains on the ceiling and walls. A stack of thick A4 paper was piled in one corner of the table, and the surface of the table was scattered with paper and colored ballpoint pens.

“Daddy, my hand hurts, can I rest for a while?”

“Good boy, Lan. There’s only one last painting left. Once you draw it, I’ll take you out to play, okay?” Da Sang coaxed A Qi as gently as ever.

A thirteen-year-old child already had a rudimentary judgment of human nature. He saw Da Sang smile, but felt that his smile was different from Qi A’s. It didn’t have any friendliness, but instead made him afraid.

He bit his lip and finally mustered up the courage to say the thoughts that had been lingering in his mind for many days: “Daddy, I don’t want to go to those places to play. Can you take me to an amusement park once?”

Da Sang’s face stiffened slightly, then bloomed into an even stronger smile: “Of course. Draw first. Someone is waiting.”

A Qi buried himself in painting again, his eyelids drooping, not particularly expecting the answer he gave.

Twenty minutes later, a delicate and complex phoenix crown appeared on the paper, even the light and shadow of the kingfisher feathers were lifelike.

Da Sang took the painting away, leaving not a single word behind.

A Qi desolately threw down the ballpoint pen. After a while, he picked it up again and drew a stick-figure-like tree on the A4 paper.

He held the paper up to the sunlight outside the window. The small tree twisted its body as the paper shook. He smiled happily and muttered to himself in a very small voice, “Grow into a big tree quickly, little sapling!”

As if overlapping with the scene that day, the breeze, the gauze curtain, the ballpoint pen drawing.

The four paintings were side by side, in addition to the phoenix crown, Gu Kaizhi’s original, and the Bodhisattva statue that were identified by Han Dan today, there was also the previously mentioned handle pot.

The painting of the phoenix crown was placed on the far left. He was wearing comfortable home clothes, sitting cross-legged on a chair, staring at it without blinking.

The surrounding light gradually dimmed, and dark clouds piled up in the sky at some point. The wind that blew in also had a hint of earthy smell.

He realized the passage of time and got down from the chair, but because his legs were numb, his feet went soft and he fell to the ground.

The feeling of being pricked with needles was usually unbearable, but he lay numbly on the ground, his eyes blank, letting the uncomfortable feeling invade his body without making any response, only waiting for it to slowly dissipate.

After the stinging subsided, he used the remote control to turn on the chandelier, knelt and crawled to the cabinet, pulled open the bottom drawer, took out the sixteen-sided dice golden pendant from the box, and held it up to the light for a while.

It was a brand new pendant. There were no cracks on the chain. The cracked one was the one he gave to Tuxi Ling.

Actually, the act of giving a gift to Tuxi Ling was superfluous and risky, but he just wanted to give it. Humans can’t maintain 100% rationality. No matter who it is, there’s always a time when they want to be willful for themselves. On this point, he had already forgiven himself.

He took the necklace to the desk, laid out a new piece of paper, and drew an unfolded diagram of the sixteen-sided figure with no mistakes. Then, referring to the dice, he marked the numbers and flower shapes on each face according to their positions in the drawing.

Thirteen numbers, three flower shapes.

He took out his phone, pressed the thirteen numbers in order, and then pressed the dial key.