Woman In Irish Linen Shirt

Chapter 16:

My mother didn’t see me the first time. She looked focused, as if she was doing something very important.

After a few seconds, the round was over. She turned around, froze for a moment, and smiled: “Yao Yao.”

I nodded, turned around and touched Zhizhi: “Hey-Mom, let me introduce to you, this is my college classmate.”

The two of them were also very surprised. Qu Zhizhi asked me in a low voice, “This is your mother?” Then, An Ning and An Ning greeted my mother.

“You go first, I’ll talk to my mother for a while.” I winked at Zhizhi. An Ning also waved to my mother, and she also raised her hand in response, looking calm. At this time she had packed her things, stood up, and gave up her seat.

She was a little bit longer than I remembered, she only wears light makeup, and she looks good. Her long hair is pressed by the cold hat, there is a smiley face logo on the hat, a “Daphne” is casually slung on her left hand, and the bee shoes are on her feet. She just dresses up and talks to the foreign students who are busy socializing in the North American Water School. It doesn’t seem to make much difference. I can see that she is doing well, at least materially, she must be richer than me.

On the way to the door, I tried to say something, but a lot of words came to my mouth and swallowed, and finally I didn’t say anything. There are so many people here, she habitually took my hand like when crossing the road, but let go when she left the crowd.

After changing the cash, my mother took two drinks next to her, handed me one, and said, “Those two are your classmates, and one of them looks so small.”

She still speaks the Mandarin that I remember with a bit of Suzhou flavor.

“That’s her sister. Now I work in a company with me.” I said the first sentence, “I work in Crab Shell.”

“Is the company called’Crab Shell’?” She tilted her head, “What’s the name, it sells seafood?”

“The Chinese translation is called this. It’s an Internet company, and it’s still successful here in Southeast Asia.” I explained. I can tell that she doesn’t live here, she just came to travel. Where does she live now? But I dare not ask.

I’m afraid she won’t say it.

“Oh.” She suddenly realized, “Did you come to Singapore after graduation?”

“I read a Ph.D. I stayed in the United States to work for a year after graduation—” I took a breath, feeling a little uncomfortable, and said, “Are you free today? Can you call me at night? Let’s meet ?”

She thought for a while and said, “It should be possible. I want to talk to them first.” She saw me seeing her and added, “I’m married.”

I couldn’t say anything, but nodded. She took out her mobile phone and prepared to add me as a friend, saying that she could make a voice call directly. I don’t know if she simply thinks this is more convenient, or for other reasons.

After adding friends, she patted my arm, raised her head forward, and said, “Go.”

I wanted to answer, but I realized that there was no sound from my throat. I can only nod my head, and take two steps forward, gasping for breath, as if I had been thrown into a vacuum just now.

“How about it, did you try your luck?” I patted Zhizhi, she seemed to be watching, or An Ning greeted me first.

Zhizhi shook his head: “It’s not very good at all. By the way, you can give us some insights, right?”

I smiled: “I only played in college. I haven’t played for a long time. Don’t waste your money.”

Zhizhi didn’t insist anymore, and sighed: “Oh, you are pretty good to me too. I left my aunt and came over to accompany me today.”

“Auntie looks so young!” An Ning also said, “Actually, you can ask her to have dinner with us. It’s rare for her to come to see you, but you are gone and you can only come out to play alone.”

I laughed out loud and didn’t speak immediately. After a while, I explained, “I’m sorry, I disappointed the two of you. My mother and friends came to travel, and I didn’t even know it. It was a chance encounter just now.”

Qu Zhizhi raised his eyebrows: “Your parents are not in China now?”

I shrugged. She might be thinking about it, but she didn’t ask.

Tonight is the first time the ring mode has been turned on since the new phone was bought. I adjusted the ringtone to the maximum, and worried that the network would be unstable, so I simply turned off the wireless connection and switched to data. But this is obviously not the thing I fear most.

Since I left the entrance to find Sister Anning, I regretted letting her go, afraid that she would not go back. She is too likely to do this.

I picked up the voice call prompt without ringing. My mother may be a little surprised. She was silent for a second or two, but she spoke in a tone that never happened: “Yao Yao, where are you? ?”

“I’ll pick you up.” I said.

We didn’t talk much on the way. She changed her clothes again, no longer T-shirts and jeans. She also took off her hat. Her hair was tied lazily, but she still carried “Daphne.” I think she smells a little bit of smoke on her body, maybe she got it somewhere else, maybe her current husband smokes. I took off my makeup. I was too tired today, but I didn’t feel any better even after taking a shower: the reflection of me and her on the subway glass seemed to have just been salvaged from memory. It was soggy, it’s kind of reappearing. Strangeness. Everything resembled yesterday, she looked kind and decent, and I was undoubtedly her daughter, wearing a shirt, as if I had just finished the report meeting that was counted as the final grade.

The room is dark, and we who are outside are the only living people. I took my mother around the piles of boxes at the door and said, “This is my new refrigerator.”

She nodded: “Very beautiful.”

“I bought this house too.” I said, “and this sofa too.”

She looked around.

“You have a good time.” She said.

I held back my tears and did not speak.

My mother took the handkerchief out of her bag and handed it to me. She still retains every familiar habit, with lily of the valley pierced in the corner of the handkerchief. There is a small washing label on the back, which says:

“100% cotton”

“Made in Japan”

My mother sat on the single-seater sofa, took off her shoes, and tidied her up; her feet curled up. I took my slippers to her and went to the bathroom barefoot to put on shower slippers. She seemed to have nothing to ask me, nor to tell me. I didn’t speak either. I don’t know how long it took before I heard my mother’s voice: “How is your father?”

“I have no idea.”

“Money owed…”

“It’s paid off.” I said, “My dad paid it off in 11 years. I asked my uncle and they borrowed a little, and I paid it back after I worked.”

“Oh.” She agreed lightly.

After a while, she asked, “Are you planning to get married?”

“Do not.”

“Do you have a girlfriend now?”

“No.” I said.

The silence lasted for a moment.

“You…” Rarely, I heard a slight sway in my mother’s tone, “You are free to ask your father how much you paid back. I can give it to him.”

I took a breath and was about to speak, but I was holding it back. I just said: “I got it. But I don’t think he will charge this money.”

“At least the part he paid for me, you ask.” She said.

“Got it.” I didn’t argue anymore.

She put on the slippers, her eyes drifted from the window to my face, and then flashed a moment of brilliance, and then recovered as before, saying: “We Yao Yao really grew up.”

“I’m thirty-one this year, and I was twenty-one when you left. You threw a pomegranate seed and kicked it up in the soil, and it will grow up ten years later.” I finally couldn’t bear it. Live, but quickly converged, “I’m sorry.”

I took the handkerchief and wiped it twice at the corner of my eye.

She shook her head. There was still nothing on her face.

We were speechless for a while, but she kept looking at me this time. I said, “Do you know that grandma left the year before?”

Her eyes finally loosened. As I expected, this wave did not last long, but a few seconds later she met me again and asked, “When did it happen?”

“September the year before last.” I didn’t have much hope, but still added, “Buried in the cemetery of celebrities.”

“Oh.” She didn’t speak any more.

In fact, I have a lot of questions to ask her. There are so many, but now that I see people, I can’t ask them all. I don’t know if I can’t ask, or I don’t want to ask anymore. At this time, my mother took off her slippers. She put her foot in the shoe she had passed through, and I started to panic.

Will this be the last time I see her?

She stood up. I took a step forward and couldn’t speak again. At the end, I just asked: “How is your husband treating you?”

She was a little surprised, and opened her mouth for a while before she said, “It’s okay. He has a mild personality and is very talkative.”

“Got it.” I lowered my head, “I’ll take you back to the hotel.”

“You can take me to the subway station.” She seemed to say very understandingly, “It’s late today, so you can rest early.”

I couldn’t say anything to refute.

My mother and I arrived at the subway station. I gave her the handkerchief, and she just shook her head: “Keep it.”

She is really leaving.

“Mom.” I was so scared when I said, “Can I contact you? For example, when I miss you. You can also call me.”

The rims of her eyes turned red all of a sudden, and she hurriedly turned around: “Of course, you can just send me a message. I’m leaving, go up.”

I stood there motionless. Mother’s background gradually faded away.

I don’t remember how I got home. Curled up on the single-seater sofa, looking at the tight-lipped refrigerator opposite, buying it at noon on Thursday seemed like a dream of a previous life. My life is not a perfect refrigerator of 615 liters at all. I don’t need it: real life is piles of boxes piled up at the door, and it’s a private person who can’t use it in a box for months. The computer is the pasted unopened flour next to the computer-the bag of wheat flour is still there now, I didn’t even have time to throw it away.

I turned my hand off, otherwise it would tremble endlessly. One day I send and receive so many emails that I can store one mobile hard drive after another. They can completely constitute my tombstone. It says: Li Yao, she has dedicated her life to the cause she loves.

But this may not make much practical sense.

No one I love will come to visit the grave.