Text / Yi Jun\
Ya Lan finally managed to lull her daughter to sleep and hurriedly picked up the reheated chicken soup, rushing to the hospital.
Two months ago, Ya Lan's adoptive father, Uncle Ai, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. During this time, he had been receiving chemotherapy at the hospital, with her adoptive mother, Aunt Pang, staying by his side.
Uncle Ai's condition was not optimistic. After two months of treatment, not only had he not improved, but he had worsened, with cancer cells metastasizing. The hospital had issued two critical illness notices, leaving Ya Lan with a heavy heart.
Late at night, in the hospital ward, the fluorescent lights cast a cold white glow on the white walls and the white sheets and blankets. Curled up in the white blanket was an old man, having lost all his hair due to chemotherapy, so thin he was hardly recognizable—he was Ya Lan's adoptive father, Uncle Ai. The already short man had been made even smaller and thinner by illness, and now he lay curled up, gazing with his cloudy eyes at his life partner by the bedside.
At the edge of the bed lay Uncle Ai's wife, Aunt Pang. Once plump and fair, she had aged and slimmed considerably; her loose muscles sagged. Exhausted and sleepy, she had draped a coat over herself and dozed off at the bedside.
Ya Lan pushed the door open and saw the scene, her eyes reddening. She forced back the tears welling up in them, smiling faintly as she walked in gently.
Uncle Ai shifted his gaze from Aunt Pang and looked at Ya Lan, who had just walked in, saying: “Lan Lan, you're here. Why didn't you stay home and rest a bit longer?”
“I'm fine. You've had a hard time, Mom. Dad, you ate too little tonight. I reheated the leftover chicken soup from dinner and brought it. Have some more,” Ya Lan said, placing the thermos on the small bedside cabinet.
She hesitated for a moment before gently pushing Aunt Pang and saying, “Mom, you should go home and sleep. You'll be more comfortable in your own bed.”
Aunt Pang opened her bloodshot, sleepy eyes and sat up straight, a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth. She wiped it with her sleeve, her voice hoarse, saying: “Lan Lan, you're here! Where's Beibei? She's asleep?”
“She's asleep, Mom. She's asleep. Please go back quickly; I don't feel comfortable leaving Beibei alone at home.” Ya Lan picked up the coat Aunt Pang had dropped when sitting up, put it on her, and urged her to leave.
“Hmm, okay, I'll go, I'll go. Call me if you need anything,” Aunt Pang said, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she stood up.Watching Aunt Fat walk away, Yalan sat down on the stool that Aunt Fat had just used and fed Uncle Short a spoonful of chicken soup at a time.
Uncle Short sighed as he drank, saying, "Sigh, I don't know if my illness will get better. I really am a burden to you and your mom. If I can't make it and pass away, you have to take good care of your mom for me."
"Dad, don't talk nonsense. You will definitely get better, you will definitely get better." Yalan's eyes were red, her hand trembling as she used a napkin to wipe a little soup that had dribbled from the corner of Uncle Short's mouth.
Two
A few days later, a new grave appeared in a corner of the seaside cemetery. The brilliant sunlight shone on the tombstone. Aunt Fat looked at the memorial photo on the tombstone, wiping away tears, while Yalan hugged her, choking, and said, "Mom…" Not a single comforting word could come out, all stuck in her sobs. Yalan's husband, Yaozu, looked at them, not knowing what to say either. Their daughter, Little Zibei, held her dad's hand, her bright eyes blinking. She had so many questions to ask her parents, but the atmosphere was too heavy, and she was frightened. Her cute little mouth opened several times but didn't dare to ask, then gently closed again.
At night, the dark fell over the fishing village, so dense that it felt suffocating.
In the middle of the night, everyone was asleep, except for a faint light coming from a window in Aunt Fat's house.
Inside, Yalan, her eyes red, whispered emotionally to the troubled Yaozu, who was bowing his head, "This doesn't work, that doesn't work, then what do you think we should do?"
Although Yalan tried to lower her voice, in the quiet dark night, her whisper still woke up the restless Aunt Fat and Little Zibei next door. Aunt Fat quietly got up, opened the door, and stood there listening.
"How about we send Mom to a nursing home?" Yaozu asked timidly, looking at Yalan.
"Send her to a nursing home? Why don't you send your dad to one? I really must be blind to have married such an unfeeling, lousy man! Back then, your dad was buried up to his neck in dirt, and I still married you without hesitation. I've spent all these years taking care of him, and now you want me to send my mom to a nursing home just because my dad has passed away? How could you even think of that? Aren't you ashamed?" Yalan shouted in agitated anger.“Isn't there no way out? My dad is my biological dad, while your parents aren't. They're just foster parents. Besides, we only have a one-bedroom apartment. My dad is already sleeping in the living room, and Beibei doesn't even have a room. Where do you want Mom to sleep?” Yaoduzi argued with insufficient confidence.
If he hadn't said that it would have been fine, but saying it like this completely enraged Yalan. She shouted recklessly: “Yes, your dad is your dad, and my parents aren't mine. I have the duty to serve my biological dad like a beast of burden for nothing, can't get anything from him, and even have to bear so much debt for him that we have to work our lives off to repay it. My parents aren't biological, so they deserve to give me everything, servilely raising me only to serve the two of you. My mom was really foolish. Why did she advise me to marry someone like you back then?”
“Don't speak so loudly, you'll wake your mom. If she hears it, she'll feel bad,” Yaoduzi said in a low, anxious voice.
“Hmph, you care whether she feels bad or not, …”
Inside the house, Yalan was crying and incessantly pouring out her grievances, dissatisfaction, and resentment.
Outside, Aunt Pang, shedding tears, sighed softly: “Old, useless! Old, useless! Being alive is a burden for the children!” She slowly walked outside the house, out the gate, and headed toward the beach, tears streaming down her face as she whispered to herself: “Old, useless! Old, useless! Being alive is a burden for the children!”
Xiao Zibei, who had woken up and been lying in bed with eyes closed listening to her parents quarrel, saw her grandmother go out and quietly followed out of curiosity.
Three
One noon eight years ago, the sun was shining brightly. Under the lilac tree by the park lake, Yaoduzi, beaming with joy, and Yalan, shyly smiling sweetly, said in unison: “Yalan, I have a surprise for you.”
“Yaoduzi, I have good news to tell you.”
“What surprise?” “What good news?” They exclaimed in unison.
“Oh, hehe, what good news? You say it first.” Yaoduzi looked at Yalan and smiled.
“No, you say it first. What surprise exactly are you going to give me?” Yalan looked at Yaoduzi.“Okay, I'll go first. I'll go first. Yesterday I went to pay and reserve a house. Tomorrow, you bring your ID, and after we sign the purchase contract and pay the down payment, we can get the house keys. It's a ready-to-move-in house, simply renovated, so we can move in right away. The community environment is pretty good too. But I don't have that much money, so I can only buy you a one-bedroom apartment, and it will be on a mortgage. The owner will put your name on it, and we'll pay it together. When we have more money later, we can buy a bigger one and rent out this small one. How does that sound?”
“Yeah, that's fine. Thank you, Yaozu,” Yalan said happily.
“I've said everything, now it's your turn. Do you have any good news for me?” Yaozu asked.
“I got a promotion. My monthly salary will increase by a thousand yuan. Also, I've been feeling nauseous recently. I went to the hospital for a check-up this morning, and the doctor said I'm pregnant,” Yalan said shyly.
“Pregnant? Pregnant with what?” Yaozu couldn't react immediately.
“You silly, of course it means we're having a baby, our baby,” Yalan said coquettishly.
“Oh, really? I'm going to be a dad? That's so wonderful. After we sign the purchase contract tomorrow, the day after tomorrow we can go to register our marriage. Wow, suddenly we have a house, a wife, and soon a child. This is great! I must work hard so that you and the child can be the happiest people ever,” Yaozu said with a broad smile.
Yalan also smiled happily.
The next day, they successfully signed the contract, paid the money, and got the keys. Excited, they came to visit their own house and carefully opened the door. Seeing this new house that already belonged to them, their joy was indescribable.
Just as they were happily looking around, Yaozu's phone rang. He took it out, pressed the answer button, and said with a smile, “Hello, who's this? May I ask what this is about?”
After ending the call, Yaozu's expression changed instantly, becoming very unpleasant.
Yalan asked anxiously, “Yaozu, what's wrong? What happened?”
“This morning, my dad suddenly collapsed while working in the field. A neighbor found him and called 120 for an ambulance. The hospital just called to inform me that my dad collapsed due to a stroke and is under emergency treatment. They said I need to go back quickly to sign papers and pay fees,” Yaozu said in a low voice.
“Oh, I'll ask for leave from work immediately and go back with you.”Yalan pulled out her phone and called the company.\ Yaodu had no siblings. His father got married at almost forty due to the family's poverty, to a woman in her thirties who couldn't get married, who was Yaodu's mother. When Yaodu's mother gave birth to him, she was an older mother and did not go to a hospital, only finding a village midwife to assist. Unfortunately, she died from complications during childbirth, leaving him as a newborn. Over the years, his father raised him single-handedly, acting as both father and mother with all his hardships, and the bond between father and son was very deep.\ At the hospital, Grandpa Ai had already undergone surgery but had remained in a coma for three days. The doctor said that because he was not brought in on time, they could not perform the rescue at the most crucial moment. So, even though the surgery was done and he was temporarily out of danger, it was possible he would remain in a coma and become a vegetative state. Even if he woke up, he might be paralyzed and unable to take care of himself, needing assistance.\ Yaodu anxiously and sadly paced in the hospital room, while Yalan, tired, dozed by the bedside. It seemed as if Yaodu had made up his mind, suddenly stopping and saying to Yalan: "Yalan, let's break up!"\ Drowsy, Yalan suddenly jumped up, incredulous: "What? What did you say? Break up? Are you joking?"\ "I'm not joking with you. Really, let's break up," Yaodu said, looking at Yalan with pain but great determination.\ "You, you…" Yalan was so angry she could barely speak, then after calming herself and taking a few deep breaths, she cried out: "If we break up, what about the child in my womb? Are you expecting me to bear and raise it alone?"\ "I won't keep the child. I'll call the nurse to watch my dad, and I'll go with you to the obstetrics department," Yaodu said softly, hanging his head and with red eyes.\ Yalan widened her eyes, staring at Yaodu as if she did not recognize him. Was this the Yaodu she used to know? The one who had always loved her, saying he would take care of her for a lifetime and treat her well? Was this the Yaodu who just a few days ago had promised to work hard to ensure that she and the child would be the happiest? She couldn't believe it; she really couldn't believe it.\ "What did you say? What did you just say?" Yalan pressed closer to Yaodu, hoping she had misheard, hoping that this time his response would be different.Yaozu did not change his original intention and very earnestly said word by word: "Yalan, I'm sorry, let's break up. We can't keep the child; I can't let him burden you. I'll go with you to have an abortion."
"Slap." Yalan fiercely slapped him hard and ran out of the hospital in extreme grief and anger.
Yaozu wanted to chase after her, but when he reached the door to the ward and looked back at his father lying in the hospital bed, he steeled his heart and returned.
Feeling low, he sat on the chair that Yalan had just been on. The chair still held her residual warmth, but she was gone, no longer belonging to him. And the child in her womb, not yet born, he was about to ruthlessly end its life—so cruel, so helpless.
In a daze, he seemed to see his father's hand move slightly, and his eyes blinked faintly. He rubbed his tear-filled eyes in disbelief, indeed seeing that his father's hand was trying to lift but could not.
Elder Ai painfully opened his eyes and strugglingly muttered, "Ba... bastard, hurry... hurry... bring Yalan back."
"You're awake, Dad, you're awake, you finally woke up," Yaozu cried tears of joy, holding his father's hand, not paying attention to his father's words.
Four
Yalan, full of grievances and sadness, ran back to her old home. As soon as she entered the house and saw Aunt Pang, she only said "Mom" once before throwing herself into Aunt Pang's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
This frightened Aunt Pang greatly. After a long time, she finally understood the whole story from Yalan's broken narration.
Aunt Pang patted her gently and said, "Silly child, he made that decision because he loves you; he is afraid that if you follow him, you might also get hurt."
