Chapter 173: At the End of My Rope, I Suspect There’s No Path ④
Pulled into the car by Nie Aifang, Nie Aiwen felt a bit dizzy. Seeing Nie Aifang sit in, he leaned against her with a sleepy expression, resting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes.
Nie Aifang reached out, sighed, and rubbed Nie Aiwen’s temples. “I really don’t know why you men love drinking so much. Drink, drink, drink, just drink yourselves to death!”
“Aifang…” After Nie Aifang’s scolding, Nie Aiwen’s head ached terribly. He groggily nuzzled against Nie Aifang, wanting her to massage him more comfortably. Unexpectedly, his head, which had been resting on Nie Aifang’s shoulder, fell straight down and brushed against Nie Aifang’s chest.
A warm, tingling sensation came from her chest. Nie Aifang’s face flushed. She reached out, pinched Nie Aiwen’s ear, and pulled his head away from her chest. Nie Aiwen’s head then fell directly onto Nie Aifang’s lap.
Nie Aifang thought Nie Aiwen was drunk. She sighed, looking at his ear, which was red from her pinch. Feeling heartache, she rubbed it for him and then reached out to continue his massage.
Nie Aiwen couldn’t help but smile. This was truly his lucky day. Being mistaken for a couple and accidentally getting to touch her – he was just so lucky! His ears were red, and his face was flushed. It was unclear if it was due to the alcohol or shyness.
Nie Aiwen felt content, his head still swimming. The head resting on Nie Aifang’s lap would sometimes twitch. Nie Aifang considered punching him awake a few times, or perhaps throwing him by the roadside!
But… she couldn’t bring herself to do it. This was her younger brother, whom she and their parents had doted on since he was little. She might have been jealous of their parents’ son preference and how they treated him better, but… after so many years, she and her brother had relied on each other for a long time.
When her husband died, her mother-in-law and father-in-law said she was a jinx and wouldn’t let her handle the funeral arrangements or participate. It was her younger brother who fought for her, who argued on her behalf. All of it, all the comfort, all the arrangements, were thanks to her younger brother’s help. At that time, he stood in front of her, and she had to look up to see the back of his head. It was then that she truly realized that the little guy who used to follow her around had grown into an adult, someone who understood reason, who could support a family, who could support the world.
She suddenly remembered her younger brother, who had gotten into a bloody fight with a playmate over a White Rabbit candy she liked. He was covered in mud, wearing a small vest, with bloodstains on his arms and forehead. He didn’t cry; instead, his eyes sparkled, and he looked very happy. Holding the White Rabbit candy, he raised it. At that time, he was shorter than her, and perhaps thinking she couldn’t see, he even stood on tiptoe, holding his hand higher, smiling even more brightly. “Sister, eat the candy.”
It was a wedding in the village. Candy was scattered all along the road, but the only candy the children loved was White Rabbit candy.
At that time, seeing Nie Aiwen covered in injuries, she burst into tears. Then, her parents, who were supposed to be carrying pork, took them home. Fearing they would bring bad luck, they ended up hitting and scolding her, saying she hadn’t looked after her brother properly and that she, as an elder sister, hadn’t helped her brother.
At that time, she hated him more than words could say! But now, thinking back, she found it amusing, all for a single White Rabbit candy.
Nie Aiwen was drowsy. When he was drunk, he didn’t act out; he just became sleepy. In his sleep, he was curled up uncomfortably in the car, so he naturally rolled over. Nie Aifang, afraid he would fall, quickly held his head. Nie Aiwen’s breath then directly sprayed onto her lower abdomen, making her both angry and embarrassed.
Nie Aifang was thirty-eight this year. Although she looked more like forty-eight, her complexion had improved significantly recently due to changes in her work.
They say men at forty are like wolves and tigers, but aren’t women in their thirties like delicate flowers? However, her husband was dead, and her period of abstinence had arrived early. Such a small provocation could be fatal.
Nie Aifang gave a bitter smile and turned Nie Aiwen’s head in another direction. Nie Aiwen mumbled uncomfortably a few times and continued to sleep.
Nie Qiu, sitting in the front seat, watched Nie Aifang’s actions in the rearview mirror and smiled slightly. To her, Nie Aifang’s actions were simply those of a sister doting on her younger brother.
Li Kai paid the bill and walked out of the restaurant with his buddies. After a moment of looking at each other, they each turned and went their separate ways. This gathering was the worst they had ever had in their many years of brotherhood, bar none.
Only Zhang Haiyang and Li Kai remained standing. Zhang Haiyang looked at Li Kai, and Li Kai looked back at Zhang Haiyang. They both understood the message in each other’s eyes. If they let Peng Yu Yang handle things alone, how would they maintain their standing among their brothers? Thinking about how they had acted earlier, it was simply too pathetic!
When Li Kai returned home, he was surprised to find his elder sister sitting on the sofa in the living room reading a book. He glanced at her and smiled slightly, saying, “Sis…”
“What?” Li Mingxue replied without looking up, turning a page.
“Cough, cough…” Li Kai faked a cough and said with a smile, “You’re holding your book upside down.”
Li Mingxue’s face instantly turned red. She put down the book and stood up, about to return to her room.
“Sis… Dad didn’t come to our art festival today,” Li Kai called out to Li Mingxue, then added, “…and you didn’t come either.”
Li Mingxue had clearly said before that she would definitely come to school to watch his performance. He didn’t care much about how others viewed his performance, but throughout his life, despite performing so many times, his parents had never been present. Only Li Mingxue would attend his shows.
Everyone has a few people they care about, and almost everyone hopes to receive praise and admiration from those they care about. For this performance, besides Nie Qiu and a few good buddies, he had also hoped his parents and his sister would see it.
But no one from his family came. The disappointment he felt was beyond words.
Li Mingxue stiffened, then smiled and said, “I went to watch your performance.” She just couldn’t bear to watch, so she seriously adjusted the camera focus for Nie Qiu’s Mom, cleaned the chair, handed her a beverage, and… thoughtfully draped a coat over her.
She remembered one time after eating at Nie Qiu’s house, he walked her home. The night wind was cold, but he never took off his coat for her. At the time, she thought he was unromantic, not gentle or gentlemanly enough. But after seeing it, she realized, and understood, that his charm, his romance, his gentleness, and his gentlemanly nature were only for one person.
The person he loved was that one person, and no one else. He didn’t give other women hope; he didn’t bestow even a little bit of tenderness because he didn’t love them.
She didn’t know whether to describe such a man as heartless or cold-blooded. In any case… having seen all this, having understood all this, it was time for her to truly let go.
Recommended friend Jiu Gongzhu’s work 《Rebirth of a Prosperous Rural Life: The Delicate Daughter of a Farming Family》
