When Liu Yanbo woke up, it was eight o'clock in the evening.
The bright lights outside the window, the shining stars in the sky, and the soft moonlight in every dark corner gave this bustling metropolis rare tranquility.
Liu Yanbo's heart was also quiet, like a pool of stagnant water. He looked at the ceiling in a daze. He was lying down on the hospital bed, motionless, like an empty shell.
"Mommy, why do dandelions fly away when the wind blows?"
"Because the dandelions grow up, they want to have their own place to root, sprout, and harvest happiness. When you grow up, you’ll have to leave mommy to find happiness that belongs only to you."
"I don't want to grow up, I don't want to leave mommy!"
"Silly boy, a boy who doesn't grow up is a coward."
"I'm not a coward, I'm not!"
"Yes! My Bo is not a coward. My Bo is the bravest boy."
…
If memory was a bottle of medicine, then Liu Yanbo's memory was a bottle of poison, mixed with bitterness.
Mom, you only told me that dandelions would harvest happiness when they grew up, you never told me that some of them would end up displaced. Not only can they take root and harvest happiness, but they can also even lose their way back. And they become worthless orphans!
Thousands of thoughts swarmed Liu Yanbo's heart, but they were all trapped and became a silent cry.
There were tears in his eyes, but no tears came out. They had already dried up, and Liu Yanbo felt numb.
"Son-in-law, you finally woke up! You nearly scared me to death," Mrs. Huang pushed the door open and came in, hurriedly running towards the hospital bed.
"Mrs. Huang, where am I?" Liu Yanbo was in a trance and hadn’t paid attention to his surroundings.
"In the hospital. Tell me, child, you said you were well when you went out in the morning, why do you have a high fever all of a sudden? It's almost forty degrees.”
Mrs. Huang's voice was very gentle but anxious, just like a mother beside a suddenly sick child.
"Maybe it’s because it was cold last night. While I was enjoying the sea breeze, I caught a cold," Liu Yanbo's voice was hoarse and his lips were dry.
Mrs. Huang quickly helped Liu Yanbo sit up and put a pillow behind his back, getting him to lean comfortably on the head of the bed. Then she poured a glass of water and carefully took it to Liu Yanbo's mouth. She softly said, "Come on, first, drink water to moisten your throat."
The water temperature was just right, neither hot nor cold. It moistened the throat and warmed the heart.
Liu Yanbo hadn’t experienced this kind of care for a long time.
After the age of 13, Liu Yanbo was left alone in a corner. When suffering from illness or injury, no one brought tea or water, no one offered help. Even Liu Feiyan, who had lived with him for more than a year, had never done such a warm little act.
But now there was a kind, motherly person in front of his bed, attentively taking care of him.
Looking at the wrinkles in the corner of Mrs. Huang's eyes and her kind smile, the stagnant water in Liu Yanbo’s heart rippled. "Mrs. Huang, are you a native of this city?"
"No," Mrs. Huang shook her head. She wiped Liu Yanbo's mouth, smiled, and asked, "Son-in-law, why do you ask?"
"No reason, I just want to talk to you." Liu Yanbo continued to ask, "Where are you from, Mrs. Huang?"
"I don't know. I was picked up from a welfare home by Miss Yi's grandfather, they never mentioned who my family was. Even the dean of the welfare home chose my name for me."
Mrs. Huang kept a smile on her face and talked about her sad life story as if she was talking about a very ordinary thing.
"Mrs. Huang, I'm sorry!" Liu Yanbo bowed his head and apologized.
Mrs. Huang waved her hands and said, "You don’t need to be sorry. That was so long ago, I’ve moved on.”
"That’s good," Liu Yanbo said with a smile.
He was a little envious of Mrs. Huang. He couldn't let go of the past, no matter how many years passed, let alone move on.
"What could I do, except move on? It’s better than to dwell, that’s asking for trouble!" Mrs. Huang's remark was specially addressed to Liu Yanbo. She could see that her son-in-law had a deep knot in his heart.
"Asking for trouble?" Liu Yanbo murmured. His eyes unconsciously looked out of the window, he shook his head and said with a wry smile, “I guess that’s true”.
If it's a knot, how can it be untied?
"Look at this old lady. She nags as soon as she opens her mouth. Well, what can I do! Don't be surprised, son-in-law."
Mrs. Huang had a panoramic view of the loneliness in Liu Yanbo's eyes. She knew that some knots couldn't be untied with just a few words.
"Old lady? If we went outside together, people would think we’re brother and sister!" Liu Yanbo said with a light smile.
Liu Yanbo wasn’t over exaggerating. Although Mrs. Huang was in her fifties, her appearance was well maintained and she looked to be in her 40s.
"That’s pure nonsense. I’m already half-buried in the earth."
That's what Mrs. Huang said, but Liu Yanbo's comment was like honey to her heart.
"Son-in-law, aren’t you hungry? I brought some homemade chicken soup. Have some," Mrs. Huang said as she took out a thermos from her quilted bag.
Soup?
The chicken soup was so fragrant that it stirred a strong appetite, and Liu Yanbo's stomach grumbled.
Hearing the noise, Mrs. Huang couldn't help laughing and complained: "Silly child, why don't you say anything if you’re hungry? If I didn’t bring it up, were you just going to starve?"
Liu Yanbo caught another whiff and continued to flatter her, "I wasn’t hungry. It was Mrs. Huang's soup. I got hungry as soon as I smelled it."
Mrs. Huang put the soup in a wooden bowl and said with a smile, "You can have as much as you’d like."
"Mrs. Huang!" Liu Yanbo called. He paused a little, then schooled his face and asked, "Can I be your son?"
Mrs. Huang was so shocked that she lost her grip on the bowl she was holding, and it almost fell to the ground. It took a while for her to react. She hurriedly said, "Son-in-law, don’t joke like that!"
"I'm serious."
Liu Yanbo reached out to take the bowl from Mrs. Huang and looked at her carefully.
Mrs. Huang didn’t have a family, Liu Yanbo knew. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said such a thing rashly.
Although it was fashionable to be an adopted son or daughter at the time, Liu Yanbo's thoughts were usually extremely conservative among young people. The reason why he wanted this was that Mrs. Huang gave him the same care as his mother, which he had lost and missed the most.
Mrs. Huang was fifty-one years old. Although the years have not left many wrinkles on her face, she was indeed old.
What was the old woman’s greatest wish?
A happy family, full of children and grandchildren.
But Mrs. Huang didn't have a family, let alone children or grandchildren. In fact, her fate had already been set. One day, she would die alone in a nursing home, and there would be no funeral where children and grandchildren gathered together.
Mrs. Huang regretted not building a family when she was younger; she also envied, really envied other people's children and grandchildren.
It was too late, but now life gave her another chance.
Liu Yanbo was very serious, his sincerity could be seen by anyone. Mrs. Huang could also see it. She was hesitant, struggling against her heart.
"No way! Absolutely not!" Mrs. Huang still refused, but in her decisive voice, there was too much helplessness and reluctance. She turned her back and quietly wiped away the tears in her eyes, saying, "Mr. Liu, you are the young lady’s husband. If you ask a servant to be your mother, even if the young lady doesn’t mind, her family would never agree.”
The national policy was indeed very good, everyone was equal in socialism. But social class had never disappeared.
For Yin Hanruo's parents and grandparents to become relatives with a servant, and become equals, was impossible. It was useless to even think about it. They couldn't afford to lose face, so they would never allow it.
Liu Yanbo said indifferently, "This is my own business. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Besides, since Yin Hanruo and I were married privately, it’s difficult to say whether her family would recognize me as part of the family. And if they feel indignant, I might as well get a divorce!"
Liu Yanbo didn’t take Yin Hanruo's parents and family seriously. A family that would push its daughter into a fire pit was not worthy of his respect.
"Son-in-law, you are forcing me to leave you!" Mrs. Huang suddenly turned her head, her eyes red.
Liu Yanbo didn't expect Mrs. Huang to have such a big reaction. He waved his hands around, saying: "No! No, Mrs. Huang, I won't say any more. Please don't cry."
They say women's tears are men's sins.
Liu Yanbo dropped the spoon he was holding, spilled half the soup in the bowl, and was at a loss like a frightened child.
Mrs. Huang was amused by Liu Yanbo's fluster and inwardly thought, ‘It seems that my son-in-law is a man who can't see women cry, I should inform the young lady.’
"Don't bring it up again, son-in-law," Mrs. Huang said very seriously.
"I won’t ever mention it."
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