Epilogue (1/2)
Epilogue
“I heard that you have a daughter.”
Chi Fei Fan raised his eyebrows, looking at the woman across the table, rather is a girl, she is still in school, still young and inexperience. Her dark eyes looked directly at him curiously, her long eyelashes fluttered, like a flower bud swaying in the wind, “Is it true?”
Chi Fei Fan “Hum” a sound, and told her, “I also have a girlfriend, haven’t you heard?”
“That’s great.” She smiled happily, “then you won’t take up too much of my time. Why don’t you give your girlfriend your schedule. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday and Sat.u.r.day, keep Sunday for me, I don’t mind.”
Chi Fei Fan scrutinized her up and down, “So generous?”
“Oh, anyway we’re both on the orders of our parents, on the notion match-making. You, regarding your mother you have no way out of this, and me? Regarding my mother I have no way out of this either. If they want us to fall in love, we will date with vigour and vitality for them to see.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“I’ve dated, I only once.”
“Then what happen?”
She looks a bit depressed, “Then we broke up.”
He don’t know why he laughed, “Well, from today let us start dating then.”
He kept his promise, he only went to see her on Sunday, because Monday she had cla.s.ses, and Sunday she often had to go back to school. The University Campus garden scenery was picturesque, the loneliness of autumn. Walking down the road with lined tree of fallen leaves, listening to the yellow leaves crush beneath his soles, there are students riding their bicycle jingling past, and then he called her.
That time she didn’t bring mobile phone with her, her room-mate answers, “Cen Ge is in the laundry room, wait, I’ll call her.”
Her name is Ren Cen Ge, her room-mate called her name, it also sound very good.
He stood on the edge of the woods waiting for her, from afar he could see her walking out of the dorm, pa.s.sing by the flower coming towards him. As usual she was dressed in jeans and a T-s.h.i.+rts, because the weather was chilly she wore a winter coat on the outside, with her short hair, at first glance she looked like a little boy, in fact she actually look like a doll with delicate features, crystal clear. Seeing him she told him, “Oh, today our dormitory students all known of your existent, they want you to shout them out for dinner.”
He asked, “Do you wash your own clothes?”
“Yes, I’m too lazy to take them home, so I hand wash them instead.”
“What does your cla.s.smates want to eat?”
“They want to eat Pizza Hut.”
It’s been many years since he ate pizza, the last time was when he was still abroad and ordered take away. But if he does accompanied her cla.s.smates to eat pizza, Ren Cen Ge will be very happy, at least it will be different from usual when it was just the two of them, a group of little girl chatting away from the topics of “Painted Skin” to “Connected”, finally she turned around, and asked him, “After we’re finished eating, we’ll go see a movie, okay?”
“Okay, my treat.”
Three other girls all smiled, “That we feel too shy.”
Going to watch “Painted Skin”, he went to buy back some popcorn and cola drinks, the three girls kept a distance from him, only she stayed in the same position waiting for him.
“They said they don’t want to be light bulbs.” She took the bucket of popcorn, “could you sit with me.”
He didn’t think she would cry. Chen Kun (he acted as w.a.n.g Sheng (王生) [1] in Painted Skin) said, “If she’s a demon, I must kill her, but as a husband, I can give up?” First she sniffed, then rustling cried. The screen light flashed, with tears in her eyes, he wanted to take out some tissue to give her, unexpectedly she grabbed his sleeve, all of a sudden cry. In a very depressed choked voice, like puppies, or like other small animals sobbing. He took out a tissue and gave it to her, she tried to stop her tears, but her tears flowed endlessly. After a while, Chen Kun said to Xun Zhou (she acted as Xiao Wei (小唯) [2] in Painted Skin), “I love you, but I already have Pei Rong[3]……” Suddenly she sat up straight, crumbled up her tissue and stopped crying.
[1] w.a.n.g Sheng (王生) is a General in Painted Skin, he is in a love triangle with Pei Rong and Pang Yong.
[2] Xiao Wei (小唯) is actually a fox spirit who feasts on human hearts to maintain her lovely and youthful appearance.
[3] Pei Rong (佩蓉) is w.a.n.g Sheng’s wife in Painted Skin.
After a long time he still think this is funny, originally she was crying with full of grief, suddenly she abruptly ceased her tears. It seems that a young girl’s tears are worthless, they can be easily grieve and then easily act as if nothing happened.
Her so-called of dating was to meet every Sunday, sometimes she took hold of his hand, however he also felt like their were siblings. The way she treated him wasn’t like how men and women would interact, sometimes she would tell him what happened during school, she regarded him as a friend and a teacher.
Not warm not cold, just like a cup of lukewarm water, she will never make a person feel discomfort.
One weekend, he took little soy bean to the amus.e.m.e.nt park, and b.u.mp into her. She looks similar as he usually saw her, looking like student wearing a T-s.h.i.+rt, jacket, shoes, short hair, from behind she look like a thin little boy. He can tell that she never dressed herself up when she went out with him. Seeing little soy beans, she is very patient, squat down to play with little soy bean, little soy bean also liked her very much, wanting Cen Ge to hold her.
She took a little soy bean on the merry-go-round, making little soy bean so happy that she was giggling.
Finally, little soy bean was tired and fell asleep, he sat on the bench with the baby, she bought two ice cream, handing him one.
He asked, “Why did you come to the amus.e.m.e.nt park to play?”
“I wanted to play, so I came, and there’s no law that says college students are not allowed to play at the amus.e.m.e.nt park.” Paused and she said, “your daughter is very pretty, but it appears she looks more like her mother.”
He smiled, “She is very much like her mother.”
Also a bit like her aunty, especially her eyes, and her sparkly long eyelashes, which always made him feel there is a weak place in his heart. Such a young child, just like an Angel. Every time I took her out to play, he felt his heart was at peace. No wonder Ye Jing Zhi has proudly said, “My daughter is the cure!”
“Cure” he does not know, Ye Jing Zhi impatient, let him “Baidu”, he really go “Baidu”.
A lot of high noun made him dizzy, he understand about all the chicken soup is for the soul…… Little soy bean is chicken soup for the soul, this is what Lu Yu Jiang said.
So he often take little soy bean out to play, even if Lu Yu Jiang like that, but he is the child’s G.o.dfather, everyone felt helpless with him.
She bit her ice cream, told him, “My boyfriend and I broke up in here.”
He ‘Oh’ a sound, “If it’s a sad place, why you come here again?”
She was eating her ice cream, her voice was somewhat vague, “Even if I’m sad again, what can I do?”
He took a bite of the ice cream, it was cool and sweet, it’s been a long time since he tried this taste.
She asked him, “Why didn’t you get married?”
He didn’t know why, but he told her the truth, “I once loved a person, very fond very fond, loved until I couldn’t stop, but continue to love.”
“She married someone else?”
“No,” he stroked little soy bean’s black hair, in a low voice, “she’s not here any more.”
Her big black eyes stared at him, gradually have a flawless compa.s.sion, and finally she said, “I’m sorry.”
“Never mind, it’s already been several years.” He ate his ice cream, it was ice cool, his teeth was aching, “When she left I wasn’t by her side, but I know, she was very happy, very happy. So even if I cannot be at her side, I also felt very satisfied.”
For a while she did not speak, finally she finished her ice cream, with the cool sticks in her hands, like a little finger, her skin slightly concave, unconsciously playing games. Her voice sounded very regretful, “I always thought that in this world there was no such affections like that.” Looking back, she smiled at him, “My ex-boyfriend, also said he loves me very much, but then he fell in love with someone else.”
He said, “This is a common thing.”
She nodded, “But at that time, I was very proud. I thought that I treated him with my undivided attention, why did he change?”
“Love is not equal, the amount you give out, does not necessarily be how much you’ll harvest in-return.”
She sigh, “You’re right, but I took a long time to understand, but also waste a lot of time to acceptance the facts.”
“Being young,” He said disapprovingly, “of course it is like that.”
Suddenly she playfully smiled, “Hey, you’re only eight years older than me, why you use this elder tone of act?”
“Eight years are a long time, when I was eight years old, you were just born.”
She pitifully looked at little soy bean and said, “I thought because of her, so you had a dispute over precedence with your family, unexpectedly it is another story.”
“She is my G.o.d-daughter.”
“Ah?”