It was just past five o’clock. Although the school gate was filled with a bustling crowd coming and going in a hurry, the setting sun still lazily hung on the horizon, warming the world with its last glow. I was still astride my bicycle when I asked Leyao, who stood beside me, “Why did you come back to Suzhou from Beijing?”
“I’m waiting for my husband to come pick me up. I’ve told you Suzhou is my hometown. Of course, he must come here on our wedding day to take me back to Beijing.”
I nodded and said, “Oh, so it seems you two will be getting married soon?”
“In exactly one week.”
I looked at her for a long time before finally smiling and saying, “Then congratulations in advance on your wedding!”
Leyao didn’t reply. Instead, she took the little girl’s backpack from her and put it on her own shoulder. I then said to her, “Since you’ve come to pick the little girl up from school, I’ll head back first.”
Leyao continued to look at me in silence, but the little girl tugged my sleeve and said, “Brother Zhaoyang, have dinner with me tonight. You haven’t come to see me in several days, and I really miss you.”
I found it hard to refuse and turned to Leyao asking, “Is that okay with you, or should I take the girl to dinner alone?”
“Zhaoyang, you’ve got some nerve! Shame on you for even thinking of such a bad idea to take the girl out alone. What? Are you afraid my Cao Jinfei will mind?”
“It’s just not quite appropriate.”
“Hmph, my Cao Jinfei isn’t as narrow-minded as some people…” Leyao said, then helped the little girl onto the crossbar in front of my bike and herself sat on the back seat, grabbing my waist. She sighed, “How come you’ve switched to such an old piece of junk?”
Before I could even recover from my thoughts about who she meant by ‘narrow-minded,’ I finally replied, “This bike is junk? Don’t you see it has a 360-degree panoramic sunroof? Plus, it’s equipped with a four-speed gearshift, making it low carbon and eco-friendly. It’s the perfect choice for green travel!”
The little girl seemed convinced by my explanation and looked at me with admiration. Leyao, however, pinched my waist and signaled me not to talk nonsense and to leave quickly. I pressed the horn on my mountain bike and then skillfully rode through the crowd carrying Leyao and the little girl.
The last rays of the setting sun looked like scattered silver pieces shining on the fallen leaves. The evening breeze stirred the ornamental trees on both sides of the street, creating waves in their motion. The tall buildings in the city disappeared behind the gradually approaching night, making everything seem as if it were soothing the souls broken by the night.
I began to feel physically exhausted and complained to Leyao on the back seat, “These days you’ve just been having fun and indulging yourself, not even thinking about losing weight. Carrying you is almost tiring me to death!”
“Tsk, weren’t you just saying this bike has a four-speed gearshift? Then why don’t you shift gears? Your speed hasn’t gone up, but you’ve turned into a dog!”
“I’m tired like a dog, not turned into one. Watch your words, will you? If you keep insulting me, I swear I’ll ride straight into the nearby gutter. Do you believe me?”
“A gutter? Has your IQ dropped to that of a dog too? If you want to harm yourself, I won’t stop you, but please drop me and the girl off first. After all, we are still normal human beings and can’t accompany you, the freak!”
I slammed on the brakes suddenly, and Leyao, due to inertia, nearly fell off the bike. She frantically hugged my waist to steady herself. I mocked, “Look how scared you are. You probably wish there was an airbag in the seat to hold onto…”
Leyao glared at me angrily, then helped the little girl off the bike, took her hand, and walked toward the cake shop ahead, leaving me alone in the night. Actually, I hadn’t even provoked her much just now; she kept calling me a dog and implying I had a dog’s mind.
I rode slowly behind them on my bike. The little girl kept looking back at me, afraid I might leave in a huff, while Leyao showed no sign of remorse and briskly walked toward the increasingly open area ahead.
Finally, she took the girl into a bakery and then came out carrying two boxes of cake, which surprised me greatly. I asked her, “Whose birthday is it today? Why did you buy two cakes?”
The little girl replied, “Today is my birthday and Leyao’s birthday. We celebrate on the same day.”
I asked doubtfully, “What a coincidence?” I then recalled that Leyao’s birthday was indeed in early winter, but I couldn’t remember the exact date.
At this moment, Leyao finally spoke to me in a normal tone, “This is the fate between the girl and me. That’s why I brought her out from the mountains. I will definitely give her the best life and not let her become a homeless child.”
I almost instinctively nodded, because the odds were really so small. Meeting each other was truly a great fortune for both the girl and Leyao. Thinking for a moment, I asked Leyao again, “Actually, the main reason you came back to Suzhou from Beijing this time was to celebrate the girl’s birthday with her, right?”
“Definitely not for you.” Leyao said, then took two gift boxes from her handbag and handed them to the girl. “Girl, this is one gift from me, and the other is from Brother Jinfei. Let’s see if you like them.”
The girl didn’t rush to open the two gifts but instead took out a rather exquisite gift box from her own backpack and handed it to Leyao with a smile in her eyes. “Leyao, this is the birthday present I prepared for you. I made it myself. You must like it, okay?”
Leyao patted the girl’s head and then opened the gift box. Inside was a uniquely designed wind chime. Attached to the hook of the wind chime was a card with three cartoon figures sitting around a table, blowing out the candles on a cake with their eyes closed, making wishes.
Leyao seemed to really like the gift. She kept praising the girl for her creativity and craftsmanship, playing with the wind chime for a while before asking the girl, “Girl, who are the three people on this card?”
“Of course, it’s me, you, and Brother Zhaoyang.”
“Why not include Brother Jinfei? He gave you a birthday present. This unreliable Brother Zhaoyang doesn’t even remember your birthday, let alone give you a birthday gift!”
The girl looked at me and Leyao, lowered her head, and remained silent for a long time before seemingly gathering up her courage and saying, “Because I used to think Leyao would marry Brother Zhaoyang… Then we would be a family!”
When the words “a family” appeared in my mind, an emotion surged through my body. I thought again about the child I had once had with Leyao. We had truly, in reality, become the parents of a child without realizing it.
Leyao also seemed to recall the same thing because of those three words. Her eyes turned red, but unlike before, she didn’t cry. Instead, she smiled at me and said, “Zhaoyang, children really do say whatever comes to mind, don’t they?”
I looked at her blankly until my phone rang in my pocket, bringing me back to reality. I took it out from my briefcase, which hung from my neck, and was quite surprised to find that the call was from the red-clad woman I hadn’t seen in a long time. I couldn’t help but wonder what she wanted to talk to me about.
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