After finishing a cigarette, I turned the car around and took Leyao back to the airport. She had already stayed in Suzhou for two days and it was time for her to return to Beijing. Since marrying Cao Jinfan, she hadn’t been idle—apart from helping our company, Luku, prepare for the filming, she was also planning to establish her own film and television company and re-enter the entertainment industry as its CEO.
Inside the airport terminal, I once again faced the moment of saying goodbye to Leyao. However, I didn’t feel any special emotion because I had already become accustomed to her comings and goings in my life.
Before departing, Leyao sincerely said to me, “Zhaoyang, now that Xiaoya is staying in Suzhou, you must take good care of her. Spend time with her when you have the chance. With the weather so cold these days, remember to buy her some warm clothes!”
“Yeah, even without your reminder, I would have done all of that anyway.”
Leyao nodded, and then we fell into silence. We both started speaking at the same time, neither hearing what the other had said. So I, being the gentleman, said, “You go first…”
But Leyao didn’t say anything else. She simply waved her hand at me and turned to walk toward the boarding gate. It wasn’t until her figure completely disappeared from my sight that I felt a bit sad. So many people had departed this winter, coming and going in my life, yet some memories of them remained unforgettable.
Winter nights always came so quickly. While I was still on my way back to Suzhou, night had already fallen, covering the seemingly endless, infinitely extending highway. I also encountered serious traffic congestion along the way. The stop-and-go waiting made me anxious, and I especially disliked the loneliness of having no one to talk to during the journey.
After driving slowly for a while, the previously moving vehicles became completely paralyzed in the traffic. I shifted into neutral, pulled the handbrake, and then turned on the traffic channel on the radio. I learned that there had been a serious traffic accident ahead, causing a jam stretching for more than ten kilometers, and it would be difficult to restore the flow anytime soon. I sighed but had to patiently wait.
At that moment, my phone suddenly rang. Thinking it might be an urgent matter from the company, I picked it up and found it was Micai calling.
With pleasure, I answered the phone. She asked me with concern, “Zhaoyang, have you arrived in Suzhou?”
“No, I’m stuck in traffic on the highway. I heard there was a serious accident ahead.”
Micai naturally felt sensitive about the traffic accident and said anxiously, “Then you must pay attention to safety and don’t rush back too much!”
“Don’t worry. It’s quite normal for the highway to get stuck these days… By the way, did you call me for something?”
“After I finish work, let’s go to Fangyuan’s house as guests. I haven’t congratulated Yanyan since she got pregnant!”
Suddenly, I felt very comforted because Micai was now actively integrating into my social circle, even reminding me to interact more with my friends. In the past year or so, for reasons unknown, I sometimes wouldn’t meet Fangyuan and Yanyan for months. It felt like our relationships had really become distant!
I smiled and said, “Sure, I’ll call Fangyuan first, and then pick you up from Zhuomei once I get to Suzhou.”
“Okay,” Micai replied, and then she gave me countless reminders to drive safely. This kind of care made me feel a strong sense of happiness, making me feel that I was no longer like before—no matter how far I traveled, there was never someone who cared so much about me.
An hour later, I finally reached the site of the accident following the slow-moving traffic. The scene was shocking. The front half of a large truck had occupied most of the road, and the body of the truck had already fallen off the roadside. An SUV was crushed beneath it, completely mangled. Although the firefighters were still trying to rescue anyone inside, it was clear to everyone that there would definitely be lives lost in this accident…
I drove past the accident site with a racing heart, trying hard not to think about the extremely tragic scene, but it kept circling in my mind. I saw the enormous desires of humanity and our pursuit of convenience, without caring how many of our fellow beings die because of these inventions and creations… We call this progress!
I felt powerless about this kind of progress, and indeed enjoyed the convenience it brought, but sometimes I wished I could go back to the primitive society where people wore leaves and had the least desires, because at that time people hadn’t yet learned to compete or kill each other with desires, only pursuing survival within the scope of basic needs.
The road ahead gradually cleared, and I finally accelerated. Twenty minutes later, I returned to Suzhou and waited downstairs from Zhuomei for Micai, who had not yet finished work.
Approximately a quarter of an hour later, Micai finally walked out from the exit. She was carrying many plastic bags, struggling to reach my side. I quickly took the bags from her hands and asked, “What’s all this?”
“Gifts for the unborn baby of Fangyuan and Yanyan.”
I smiled and said, “You’re really in a hurry. That child still needs to stay in Yanyan’s belly for at least five or six more months!”
Micai urged me to open the trunk and then said, “It’s a rare opportunity to visit Fangyuan’s house, so I prepared the baby’s gifts in advance. Besides, Fangyuan loves Yanyan and their unborn baby so much, he will definitely like them, right?”
I looked at her doubtfully and asked, “Why did you emphasize whether Fangyuan would like them?… Wait, I feel like there’s something else behind your words?”
“No, there’s nothing!” Micai said, then linked her arm with mine, signaling me to hurry to the car. She then walked to the other side of the car and sat in the front passenger seat.
…
After a while, Micai and I arrived at Fangyuan and Yanyan’s residence. After ringing the doorbell, Yanyan opened the door for us. At that time, Fangyuan was busy in the kitchen. I placed the dozen or so plastic bags on the coffee table in batches and said to Yanyan with a sense of relief, “These are all the gifts Micai prepared for your baby. Please don’t think it’s too much; it’s her heartfelt gesture, so please accept them with a smile!”
Yanyan curiously opened the plastic bags to look at the gifts, then shouted to Fangyuan in the kitchen, “Fangyuan, come out quickly and see! Micai has prepared so many gifts for our baby…”
Fangyuan walked out of the kitchen, drying his hands with a towel while glancing at those shopping bags…
Micai seemed to have become a very proactive person. With a smile on her face, she asked Fangyuan, “Fangzong, I think these gifts will definitely be liked by your future baby, right? I imagine he will look so cute when playing with these toys!!”
Fangyuan just looked at the gifts without responding immediately. I said to Micai, “We’re visiting Fangyuan’s home, not at work. Why are you still calling him ‘Fangzong’? It sounds too formal and distant!”
Fangyuan finally smiled and said, “Micai might just be used to calling me that… Anyway, I really appreciate Micai’s kindness on behalf of my child. He will definitely like them!!”
Micai nodded and said, “That’s good!… Zhaoyang and I really envy you, Fangyuan, for having such a great family and such a wonderful wife. In the future, you will also have an excellent baby…” Then she turned to me and asked, “Zhaoyang, if your life were so complete, would you cherish it?”
I thought Micai was testing me through Fangyuan, so I nodded repeatedly and replied sincerely, “Of course I would cherish it. Otherwise, I would really be ungrateful for the blessings given by heaven!”
My answer seemed to make Micai very happy. Regardless of Fangyuan and Yanyan standing right in front of us, she tightly held my hand… Fangyuan, however, once again turned his gaze toward the gifts Micai had brought, saying nothing further. Yanyan, on the other hand, continued happily chatting with us about her unborn child, as if that child were the entire meaning of her life!
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