I still drove the car back. My excuse to myself was: today is her birthday, so I'll pamper her once.
Actually, I really can't do anything about her.
After parking the car in the parking lot, I walked straight toward her home, and Xia Ou called out to me.
“Aren't you going to see your mom?”
“No. I'm here to ask you for my second birthday gift.” She said, her eyes blinking repeatedly, behaving like a school-age child.
I frowned and lowered my voice, saying, “You tell me.”
In my heart, I thought: Xia Ou, I hope you have some self-awareness and know your position.
Her answer shocked me: she wanted to eat cold shrimp with me.
“I want you to treat me to cold shrimp.” After saying that, she smiled a little exaggeratedly, with a bit of mockery in her eyes; she must have seen my expression of extreme dissatisfaction.
Cold shrimp—if I remembered correctly, it's one yuan per bowl.
I looked at her, this girl who always left me flustered, standing in the early summer breeze, smiling like an elegant dandelion scattering its seeds.
“Did I hear that right? What did you say you wanted to eat?”
“Follow me.” Then she grabbed my hand and ran quickly.
I was 29 years old that year, thinking I was having my first love in the wind.
She ran a step ahead and would occasionally turn back and call out, “Hurry up, you're old!” Then she would look at me with wide eyes and laugh freely. It was the first time she laughed so unrestrainedly. Because Xia Ou never used to laugh; even when she did, it was just a slight movement of the mouth, her eyes always calm.
I suddenly felt happy, letting her gently pull my hand. You could imagine the scent of her hair blown by the wind drifting into my senses. The warm tenderness of a young girl made Xia Ou at this moment look like the youngest daughter of the sea.
I had read fairy tales as a child; the sea has twelve daughters, and the youngest daughter is the most beautiful and kind.
After running for a while, Xia Ou stopped at a roadside stall. The whole “shop” was just a large parasol with a four-cornered table underneath, on which was handwritten in brush ink: “Cold Shrimp 5 jiao,” the writing almost faded away. In front of the stall was a row of small houses; the women and children calmly bathed in the summer sun, curiously watching me and Xia Ou—dressed up to eat cold shrimp.
I felt like a lunatic.
Xia Ou was very happy; she crisply called to the shop owner for two portions of cold shrimp.
“Xia Ou? Is that you?”The boss's wife was a woman of about 50, her face sprinkled with friendly little freckles.
"Yes, Aunt Zhang! I brought my friend to eat your cold shrimp."
The boss's wife immediately looked at me. Just like Xia Ou's mother, she had no sense of subtlety when looking at people. I was almost blushing. At that time, I was sweating all over, wearing a white shirt, holding a suit jacket, standing tall under her sunshade. I didn't know what to do with my hands and feet.
"Oh, sit down! Young people!" She greeted warmly, smiling like a sunflower in the mountains.
I watched as Xia Ou casually found a small stool to sit on, and I timidly sat next to her.
The boss's wife brought over two big bowls full of cold shrimp.
I wasn't very eager to eat, just drank some water and left it there.
Xia Ou started eating, one bite after another, at a rapid pace. Before long, her bowl was nearly empty. Then she laughed and said she wanted more.
I couldn't imagine the refined elegance Xia Ou had just a few days ago at the bar "Yao Lu", drinking a gin and tonic.
Xia Ou said her feet were tired, so she took off her sandals, revealing her white, tender ankles, lifted her dress to expose her thighs — it was dazzling and beautiful. She looked like a water spirit from the deep mountains, enchanting without any adornment, effortlessly alluring in every movement.
Seeing me watching her, she stuck out her tongue and laughed, "Why are you staring at me like that again? Your eyes are so wide; you look so childish."
I didn't know what to say, so I stayed silent. She started eating her cold shrimp again, making cute sounds.
"Aunt Zhang, your cold shrimp here is still so delicious! I want another bowl."
"Ha ha, it's good, right? Then you can come and eat often. I haven't seen you for many years. By the way, how's your mom?"
"Hmm, same as always."
Then she started eating again.
"It seems like you used to come here often." I finally couldn't hide my curiosity and asked.
"Yes. Look, the third house on your left is the home I grew up in. I grew up eating Aunt Zhang's cold shrimp. Hehe," she said, smiling at the boss's wife, then lowered her head to eat.
Was it really that good? But I thought...I thought of some animal in a toilet. The more I thought about it, the less I dared to eat.
"Did your family live here before?" This place was very green and still, after all, considered a slum.
"Yes, we lived here. For ten years."Ah, speaking of which, this cold shrimp snack has been around for over ten years!” she said slowly. I followed along with her words, gently imagining a beautiful girl who grew up in the streets.\ Listening to her reminisce was refreshing, more so than the cold shrimp, at least that's how I felt.\ “And then?” I asked.\ “Then, my mom got together with a very wealthy man. After that, we became rich, moved to a new home, and lived in the top garden community in the city… but I never had Zhang Auntie's cold shrimp again.” Her bowl was finished once more, and she glanced at me, “Aren't you going to eat any?” with a face full of desire.\ “Oh, I don't want any. I ate too much just now.”\ “Then I'll finish it for you!”\ Before I could react, my ceramic bowl with blue patterns was moved in front of Xia Ou, and she began eating in just a few bites.\ “If you want more, you could just order a few more bowls,” I said, confused.\ “Hmm, but it would bankrupt Aunt Zhang. She would surely not take our money.”\ That made sense.\ Xia Ou started reminiscing to me again, “When I was a child, my family was very poor. I never had a father, and my mother raised me until I was ten. I remember that every day after school, I had to eat a bowl of cold shrimp. At that time, my mother would use the biggest bowl in the house, buying it from here, but it still wasn't enough for me!” Xia Ou spoke more than ever before. “Speaking of it, the taste of this cold shrimp never changes—icy and smooth, clear and refreshing, soft yet chewy.”\ I looked at her, this girl enjoying cold shrimp as if in bliss. I couldn't believe she was currently my kept mistress.\ Xia Ou was just a prostitute.\ I turned my attention away from Xia Ou and realized that both sides were square, with a passage of about five meters in the middle, paved with stone slabs. A chubby little child, bare-bottomed, looked over at me. When I caught his eye, he turned shyly and ran away.\ Xia Ou ate this last bowl very slowly, taking about half an hour. I knew this child was lingering.\ I wanted to ask her why she gave up reading books to do this work, but I didn't know how to open my mouth.\ “My mom… won't make it through next year.” This voice came from a distant horizon.\ We hadn't been talking anyway, and Zhang Auntie had gone to her room to busy herself, leaving just Xia Ou and me sitting here. Her sudden words hit me like a wave, taking me completely by surprise.After saying this, Xia Ou immediately looked up at the sky. I remember when I was little, if I wanted to cry, I would look up at the sky, so my tears wouldn't fall. "Why?" My voice trembled softly. Because I couldn't imagine that a mother as young as her would die. And without realizing it, I had already taken that lovely mother for myself. "My mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer a year ago." "Does she know about it herself?" "Heh, the funny thing is, she told me this herself. Back then, she even comforted me not to cry. "
I didn't dare look at her; I was afraid to see her sparkling pearls."
"I've never cried in front of Mom over this. If I cry, she'll be very sad...... Hey, Xiaobin, what are you doing! I won't cry, why are you hiding your eyes! "
She suddenly laughed and softly scolded me.
"Oh, I, I didn't dodge." I replied awkwardly, trying to hide my feelings for him.
"Mm, tell me your thoughts on En...... prostitutes. "She changed the subject and asked, but it was obvious she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'prostitute.' "No respect, but no disrespect." I said honestly. "Guess what my mom does." She asked, her eyes flashing with fear, forcing herself to stay calm, but with a hint of pity. Suddenly, something occurred to me, and I stared at Xia Ou in disbelief. "Auntie, she's ......." "Heh, you guessed it, didn't you! My mom is a prostitute!" When I heard those words, I almost knocked over my bowl. They came from Xia Ou's mouth: the kind "mom," the first-person "me," and the sensitive "prostitute." I really didn't want these words to string together, nor did I want them to come out of the mouth of such a pure and fair girl. "But you saw it too. If I didn't tell you, you'd never guess. Yes, she was a prostitute, a mistress kept by many, but she was also my mother. Just like you saw today, she smiled so sweetly and lovingly, proud that her daughter had found a good partner, affectionately calling me baby...... Even though she was a prostitute. I swear that from childhood to now, after I understood her profession, I never looked down on her at all. Because she was giving for me. "
If I was at a loss when I learned my aunt was a prostitute;So when I heard the last piece from the daughter of a prostitute—a little prostitute's heartfelt words—I was stunned. I felt as if I had fallen into the world of a prostitute, with the slogan "Though a prostitute, it is human nature." I said nothing, and Xia Ou said nothing more, tightly guarding her charming smile. She started eating cold shrimp again. Until she ate everything without leaving a single bite, as if she wanted to keep all the pure beauty of her childhood deep within her body.