Xian Zihao once said that he would take her on a honeymoon to the Maldives to see the sea, to light the lantern in Thailand, and he said that he would take her to see the flowers in Jiangnan. When their hair had turned white, they would continue to hug each other and watch the sunset.
Jiang Ruolan laughing mockingly at herself. She easily trusted Xian Zihao.
She looked at the tissue that had been handed to her and felt a drop of tears falling onto her hand.
Hehe, she was actually crying.
****
The taxi picked up speed, turned the corner, and drove through the trees on the side of the road.
Xian Zihao's car could no longer be seen.
Inside the car, Fang Haowen was gloomily singing about how lucky he was.
She immediately went in front and turned off the radio. The taxi driver just looked at her.
In the beginning, Jiang Ruolan did not know where she should go. Life was not a game. She was unable to follow her wishes to go abroad to stay away from all this because she found out that her savings were not enough to last for a year in some unknown country.
In the end, she decided to buy a plane ticket back to F City.
A city where Jiang Ruolan had many memories and rhythms of life that she was familiar with. Perhaps when she goes back there, she can find her original self.
It was the off-season, and the tickets were easy to book.
When the plane took off, it was hard for Jiang Ruolan to hide her fatigue. She looked down at her ring finger. At some point, there's a faint white ring mark left there.
Clearly she was asking for trouble by flying with her pregnant body because after only a few hours on the flight, she had vomited no less than three times, and only after the flight attendant had asked her about it and given her some antiemetic tea did she manage to survive those hours.
It was past four o'clock in the evening when Jiang Ruolan arrived at F City, and though she felt very ill, she did not stop. She took a bus to the city center and checked the house information outside the area where she once rented. When the house she lived in was still empty and for rent, Jiang Ruolan quickly called the old landlord from a nearby telephone booth.
Then Jiang Ruolan went to the small clinic where she worked in the past to do a check-up. When the nurses found out that she was pregnant, they looked at her with slightly surprised eyes.
They didn't know what had happened to her in the last six months or so. They saw Jiang Ruolan was alone and immediately asked whether she was married or not, and if not, did she want to go to the hospital to get rid of the child? They also offered to help her arrange a cheaper and cleaner hospital.
At that time, Jiang Ruolan was hesitating. She had come here only to examine her body, but when they mentioned about the child, she had no answer for it. After a few words of thanks, she went to a small house that was no stranger to her.
Jiang Ruolan looked around the familiar, small room. No one had cleaned the place for more than half a year, and the landlord was a lazy woman. She did not even replace the broken lamps. Jiang Ruolan bought two new lamps at the small supermarket downstairs and changed them while standing on the stool with her arms raised.
The wire was covered with a layer of dust, and as soon as she touched it, the dust fell to her eyes. Her eyes felt a burning sensation as if something was about to burst out of them. In the end, Jiang Ruolan gritted her teeth, tried to endure the pain, and quickly changed the light. Once she finished, she immediately went into the bathroom.
This morning, Jiang Ruolan was happily taken out of the room by a makeup artist. She gladly disguised herself as a newlywed, and under the gaze of a group of envious people, she wore that gorgeous wedding gown. And after more than ten hours later, from morning to dusk, from H City to F City, from Greenville Residence to outdated areas, everything had changed.
Her previous neighbor and also a landlord, Sister Qiao, came to see her and asked where she had been for more than half a year. Jiang Ruolan just smiled at her while sitting on the couch covered with dust.
Sister Qiao was a very casual person but also very lazy. She was once lazy enough not to wash clothes for a month, and because she lived next door, Jiang Ruolan often went to help her pack her clothes and bring them to the washing machine. Despite all the flaws, Sister Qiao was a lovely person. She also had helped her saved a lot of rent.
Seeing Jiang Ruolan's self-deprecating look, Sister Qiao could not hold back her laughter. "You little girl, if you have nothing to do, go out and have fun. It is better than spending your time reminiscing your wounds."
Jiang Ruolan was amused. She stretched out her legs and put them on the still messy tea table. She relaxed her body and lay down on the couch. She smiled and said, "You're right. It's better to keep one's feet on the ground. People really need to see their position clearly."
Sister Qiao loved to eat the food she cooked. Unexpectedly, she also stayed over to help her tidy up the room. As the night grew darker, Jiang Ruolan stood by the window and poured some water on the yellow cactus at the windowsill. The upper part of the cactus stabbed into her finger, making her quiver in pain.
Jiang Ruolan sucked on her injured finger while frowning.
'Jiang Ruolan, you are such a hedgehog.'
Jiang Ruolan sighed and laughed. She looked at her surroundings. No matter what she did, her mind would always bring her back to Xian Zihao.
Only then did she realize that many things might not change at all. What she was sure of was that she had finally woken up from the beautiful dreams.
But the baby… What should she do with it?
Jiang Ruolan sighed. After all, this baby was still her child, and when she heard her old friends in the clinic talk about abortion, she couldn't help but shiver.
Had the people of today's society gotten used to this kind of thing?
