Back to 1988 40

Chapter 40: Visitor

The two of them rushed downstairs. Just as they got down, they saw the old Mr. Bai and Bai Jingrong walking in together. The old man was in front, and Bai Jingrong was behind him, holding the quilt. When he saw the two of them, he clearly raised his eyebrows.

The old Mr. Bai said, “What’s going on here? Who threw it?”

Mi Yang held Bai Luochuan’s hand and stepped forward. “It was me. I did it by accident.”

The old Mr. Bai frowned slightly and looked at Bai Luochuan, still waiting for his explanation.

Mi Yang scratched his head and said with an embarrassed smile, “Grandpa Bai, I’m sorry. We didn’t do it on purpose. We were just trying to air out the quilt.”

The old Mr. Bai said, “Airing out the quilt in the middle of the night?”

Mi Yang’s eyes darted around. “Yes. I’ve been sick for a few days and haven’t been to school. Today, I was listening to Bai Luochuan teach me about nature. The book said that moonlight is reflected sunlight, so I wanted to try…” He scratched Bai Luochuan’s palm twice. Although Bai Luochuan was not very willing, he still nodded. “Yes.”

Mrs. Bai shook her head and smiled. “You two really have some ideas. Alright, this quilt is confiscated. No more airing out quilts at night.”

She had preemptively taken away the evidence, and Bai Jingrong didn’t press the matter further. It was only when his wife leaned close and whispered, “How are things at the hospital?” that he gave a slight nod. “He’s awake. There are doctors on duty taking care of him, and she has arrived.”

Mrs. Bai breathed a sigh of relief, and her expression also softened a lot. “It’s good that he’s alright.”

The old Mr. Bai had also heard their conversation. When he looked at the little kids opposite him again, especially when his gaze fell on Mi Yang, there was a hint of pity in his eyes. He didn’t expose the children’s words and, with a tired expression, waved his hand. “Alright, you can all go up. Luochuan, take good care of Yangyang. No more mischief, or you’ll have to sleep separately, you hear?”

Bai Luochuan pouted. “I know.”

After the two of them went up, there was only one quilt left in the room. It was unclear whether the adults downstairs had forgotten to send another one or if it was a deliberate “punishment.” Mi Yang had no choice but to squeeze into one quilt with Bai Luochuan.

Bai Luochuan lay next to him as usual, but he was probably still angry in his heart. He pursed his lips and didn’t speak first.

Mi Yang was still thinking about the two vague sentences he had heard just now. It seemed that someone was sick. He first thought of his parents, but in his memory, his parents had never been seriously ill. Mi Zehai had only had appendicitis once. Mi Yang still remembered his father saying that the little nurse at the military hospital was not gentle enough, and had forced him to get up and walk with a cold face, even when he was in too much pain to move. When he talked about it, his face was full of emotion, and the ending sentence was always: “Really, you’ll never find a woman as gentle as your mother in this world.”

Mi Yang thought for a while, then felt that the timing was not right. His head started to ache from thinking. The effect of the medicine was also slowly kicking in, and his eyelids were so heavy he couldn’t open them. He rubbed his eyes and fell asleep.

He slept very soundly, snuggled up to his little pillow. In a blur, he felt the person next to him turn over twice. After he fell into a deep sleep, he couldn’t feel anything anymore.

The next day was Friday. Mi Yang had originally wanted to go to school, but Mrs. Bai persuaded him to stay.

Mrs. Bai said, “Little Good Boy, if you go now, you’ll only have half a day of class. I asked Luochuan, and the afternoon is still art class, which is not particularly important. Why don’t you rest for another two days and go together on Monday when you’re completely better?”

Mi Yang thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Bai Luochuan went to class, and Mi Yang stayed at home with Mrs. Bai. Mrs. Bai was recently up for a promotion and seemed to be planning to leave her original post. She was spending more time at home.

Mi Yang didn’t know much about the Bai family’s affairs, but he did know that Mrs. Bai would later take over the Shanghai business and make a great success of the real estate business. When he was buying a house, a friend had half-jokingly said, “Why don’t you go to Bai Luochuan? You’re all old classmates. If you ask the crown prince, let alone one apartment, you could probably get a whole floor at a discount.”

Mi Yang hadn’t gone, but from the jokes, he had gathered that Bai Luochuan was going to take over the real estate business.

But the current Mrs. Bai was still young and didn’t have the strong-woman image he remembered from later. Her smile was light and beautiful as she coaxed him to help her wind a ball of yarn.

Mi Yang held out his small hands to act as a frame, and Mrs. Bai wound a ball of yarn with him. The off-white yarn was very fluffy, and the ball of yarn was round and plump as it was wound. Mrs. Bai sat there and praised Mi Yang, “Little Good Boy is so amazing. You’re the only one who can stay with me for a while. Luochuan can’t sit still at all. He’ll run off in two minutes.”

Mi Yang was a little reserved and smiled at her.

Mrs. Bai glanced at him. “Did Luochuan bully you last night? Don’t be afraid. Tell Auntie, and Auntie will stand up for you.”

Mi Yang’s nose was a little itchy. He held up his hand and scratched it with one finger. “No, we were just playing.”

Mrs. Bai was suspicious. “Really?”

Mi Yang smiled. “Really. He didn’t bully me. I also got angry at him yesterday.”

Mrs. Bai was surprised. “Really? Little Good Boy, you can get angry too…”

Just as she was speaking, there was a noise at the door. The nanny, Auntie Wu, came in with two people. “Madam, there are guests.”

Mrs. Bai stood up, put down the ball of yarn, and saw the big and small person who had come in. The big one was a woman who looked somewhat like her, about the same age. The little boy she was holding was wearing a small suit and a black fedora. When he looked up, he was also exquisite and cute.

Mrs. Bai was pleasantly surprised. “Jiangyuan, why are you all here? Come, come, is this Bai’an? He’s grown so big!”

Luo Jiangyuan and Mrs. Bai were sisters, only a year younger than Mrs. Bai. She was also very close to her older sister. When she saw her, she immediately went over and held her hands, talking affectionately for a long while. She then pushed her son forward and said with a smile, “I know, right? The last time you saw him, he was still a little monkey! Now he’s about to start the first grade.”

Mrs. Bai praised him a few times. “When is he starting school?”

Luo Jiangyuan said, “He’s starting in September this year. I heard from the family that you sent a telegram, saying you missed everyone. Since there wasn’t much going on, I brought Bai’an over to stay for a while.”

Mrs. Bai smiled. “That’s great.”

The Luo sisters were catching up. The little boy next to Luo Jiangyuan was looking at Mi Yang with a curious gaze. On the way here, he had heard that there was a brother here who was a year older than him. But looking at the fair and soft little child in front of him, he didn’t look like a member of their family. If he had to make an explanation, it would be—he looked too easy to bully.

Mi Yang was also looking at the little boy opposite him. When he heard his name, his body stiffened for a moment.