Li Jianguo held the good tea he had just bought in his hand and walked into the house happily. He saw Wang Lihua busy in the kitchen, and an indescribable sense of satisfaction and happiness surged in his heart.
"Lihua, come and try this new tea." Li Jianguo said as he handed her a small spoonful of tea.
Wang Lihua turned her head when she heard the movement, and saw that she was wearing simple home clothes, her hair was tied in a ponytail at random, and she had a warm and kind smile on her face: "Jianguo, are you back?" I prepared a few home cooked dishes tonight. ”
"Oops! It must have tasted great. I believe in your cooking. After Li Jianguo finished speaking, he gently touched his wife's shoulder.
When enjoying the shade in the courtyard after dinner, Wang Lihua suddenly asked: "Is our family okay?" ”
"Huh? What do you mean? Li Jianguo was a little confused.
"Just ask us if we want to change to a new environment or go to the city?"
Li Jianguo was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then said, "Why do you suddenly have such an idea?" ”
Wang Lihua lowered her head and replied: "I just feel that life is too peaceful now, and it is a bit breathless." ”
Li Jianguo sensed the dissatisfaction in his wife's words, so he comforted: "I understand that you may feel a little monotonous and flat... But isn't it nice to be here, you can live a quiet life? ”
After a moment of silence, the phone rang suddenly, breaking the slightly tense atmosphere. It turned out to be a call from a distant relative: the problem of the distribution of the property left by the grandfather needed to be solved immediately, and there was a good fortune in a large city far away to inherit a considerable inheritance.
"Maybe that's an opportunity...... It's nice to have a new living environment. Although Li Jianguo enjoyed a quiet and contented lifestyle in his favorite town, he was finally moved by such a huge temptation.
One night, a few days later, just before the crucial moment of deciding the heir, the family suddenly received a shocking phone call from the embassy that the relative had died in a serious traffic accident, and that the matter of the inheritance should be dealt with as soon as possible without delay.
The atmosphere of that night instantly became depressed and solidified, Wang Lihua kept walking around the room, her hands holding her mobile phone trembling slightly; On the other side, Li Jianguo sat on the sofa silently, his eyes revealing confusion and trance.
The next morning, when the house was still immersed in sleep, a short message was left on the small blackboard in the living room that did not resemble Li Jianguo's usual style, "I want to go into the city to do something", without signature, but the handwriting was clear and legible, and it was undoubtedly his handwriting style. Behind the message, however, lies a secret negotiation motivated by lure and promise of profit – in order to ensure the safety of the operation, he secretly invited a trusted friend to accompany him (hinting at the possibility of an affair or betrayal......
As the gate of the courtyard slowly closes, the first rays of sunlight in the town of the morning are already shining in. The images of last night, with deep feelings and tensions, seemed to have been swallowed up by darkness and disappeared without a trace......
Six years have passed, and the town is still quiet and peaceful. However, Wang Lihua, who is in a bustling city, has already set off a monstrous wave in her heart. At first, the fiery love with her lover made her feel a new freedom and satisfaction; However, as time goes by, the pressures of real life gradually eat away at the warmth of this feeling, and the sweetness of the past is replaced by heaviness.
Li Jianguo stays at home alone every day, and he doesn't say much. Going to work feels boring, and the children feel very deserted at home as soon as they leave. In the past, there was always the smiling face and broken thoughts of his wife Lihua, but now these are gone, and I feel unspeakably sad in the face of the familiar and suddenly unfamiliar life feelings.
In the small town in the background, the surrounding environment is constantly changing, as if time is always passing and all kinds of things are constantly changing. For example, the small restaurant that Lao Zhang originally opened next door to Li Jianguo has now become a popular photo spot on the Internet; There is also Aunt Chen's grandson, who went to high school in a big city. These things seem to tell everyone that everything in the world will get old and will be renewed.
Whenever it was night, Li Jianguo would often walk to the balcony alone to smoke, looking deeply at the dark sky, hoping to find a way to his wife's heart.
Then let's talk about Wang Lihua who is far away in the sky. She has also been in a lot of pain recently, every time she makes love to her lover, she can't help but look at the small house in the distance - the place where their happiness used to begin, and at this time she will think of the good times when she was with Li Jianguo before.
On a bitterly cold night, the people of the town learned of an amazing thing: an old relative of theirs had made money from his business, and had left a large amount of property and money to inherit for his descendants in the city.
"Maybe this is a good chance to turn around! Someone whispered, "Maybe in this case, Xiao Li and his family will be able to regain their strength." "
Hearing the news, the whole small town immediately became lively. The possible different speculations and speculations about getting this wealth made many people gather at the door of Li's house, and all kinds of people appeared one after another, some for profit, some out of curiosity...
However, when Li Jianguo heard these things, he felt that his heart was as heavy as lead, and the thought of "Could it be..." lingered in his mind - "Should I really let the outside world judge the family I worked so hard to maintain?" What if our original happiness was so vulnerable? "
On the same night, Wang Lihua, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, was lying on the cold floor reflecting on her behavior in recent years: "Can I really not get out of the current predicament? Has the sincerity I have put in in these years really become worthless? Lying beside her was her daughter, who had never seen the world before, and looked sweetly asleep, calling softly: "Mommy." "
Connecting the two men were letters that sank into the sea, each exchange carrying a deep sadness and anger.
An autumn wind blew, and the silence of the town's noon was interrupted by the laughter of children in the distance. Li Jianguo sat alone in the courtyard, holding a family photo in his hand - he and Wang Lihua and their two children now felt as if the warmth was getting farther and farther away from him.
"Nationhood!" A tired voice came from a distance, and Wang Lihua walked up, staggering, with the marks of years and a disappointed expression on her face.
"You... I'm back. Li Jianguo looked up at her, his eyes full of complicated emotions.
Wang Lihua bit her lip tightly and whispered, "Yes, I... I'm sorry. ”
The two looked at each other silently, and the neighbors' chatters came and went: "Look at that, isn't it the wife of the Xiao Li family who once disappeared next door?" I actually came back with a child. "
The community immediately became lively, and people began to discuss, "May I ask where this child is?" It looks a bit like Li Jianguo, the kid of the Li family! The muscles on Li Jianguo's face tightened, and he thought to himself, "Her name is Yunrui?" Wang Lihua replied in a low voice, "Hmm." The two fell silent, only the sound of the wind blowing and falling leaves, and after a while, Li Jianguo finally spoke, "The child is innocent...... Let's talk about it in detail when we come inside. This sentence was extremely cold, revealing helplessness and hesitation before making a quick decision. The atmosphere in the living room seemed to be suffocated, and Li Jianguo then asked, "Where have you been all these years?" "Can't we fool the past, can we? I didn't want to trouble you anymore. But the snickering sound from the side lingered in Li Jianguo's ears, "Alas, Xiao Li is really ill-fated!" How can you put up with this kind of thing? All he could hear was a cold sneer. Full of anger, doubt, and heartache, he was breathless, "Why do you dare to come back?" The girl nervously tugged at her mother's clothes and looked at the man in front of her with fear and anticrisy—would he really be the one who brought her happiness again? At this time, the footsteps of relatives, friends, and neighbors and curious eyes were gradually heard outside the courtyard, "After all, this is the biggest news in our town!" "The sweet and affectionate taste of their past is long gone, and it has only left a trace under this house that will not fade away... A cold autumn rain drenched every corner of the town and extinguished a few tired hearts.
As the days passed, autumn unconsciously descended on the town, and the heavy smell gradually spread. Li Jianguo's life seems to have retreated into a cliché blandness, but this blandness is mixed with a trace of indescribable subtle changes. There was suddenly a cute little girl in the family - Liu Yunrui.
"Kid, are you ready to go to school?" Li Jianguo gently hugged Xiao Yunrui, his eyes full of complicated emotions.
"Hmm...," Xiao Yunrui replied in a small voice, gently leaning against his cheek. The little girl's twinkling eyes were like a mirror, a clear reflection of the worries he had and the tolerance he had now.
Wang Lihua looked at this warm scene from afar, and the guilt and gratitude in her heart were intertwined and mixed, turning into a silent melody: "In the past few years, I have indeed missed too much. ”
But life doesn't give people too much time to dwell on the mistakes of the past, and reality always has to be faced and moved forward. "Let's start by apologizing to each other... For the sake of this family, it is even more out of consideration for her daughter. Despite the heavy chores waiting to be handled, Wang Lihua has been planning how to take every step in the future.
In the small town, the old people's after-dinner chatter and the neighbors'-for-tat gossip often hear stories about their family:
"You see, Xiao Li and his wife are very affectionate to that baby now!"
"That's true...... Who else can really use a child's previous mistakes as a trigger for quarrels? ”
In the evening, after a simple dinner, the family of three sat around in the warm light and enjoyed their own daily time:
"What new knowledge did you learn in school today, baby?" Li Jian asked in a Chinese tone, trying to eliminate the invisible awkward estrangement.
Liu Yunrui thought for a moment, "The teacher told us that we must learn to forgive the mistakes of others. ”
After listening to the child's answer, the two adults looked at each other and smiled—and instantly understood the profound meaning behind this pure statement.
When night falls, under the clear starry sky, the father and daughter frolicking in the courtyard become the most moving picture outside the living room.
"Can my dad 'forgive' like he learned in school?" Xiao Yunrui's eyes shimmered, looking at the man in front of him who was silent under the starry sky.
Li Jianguo was silent for a while, and then said slowly: "Well, it should be possible, as long as we have determination and patience, we can learn a lot."
The late autumn night was already a little cold wind, and when they opened the door of their house, the first thing they saw was a small blackboard with a warm arrangement, full of thanksgiving cards—all of which were the smiling faces of three people holding hands drawn by Xiao Yunrui with childish brushstrokes.
On the side are the words "I'm sorry" and "thank you" written by Wang Lihua herself.
Although these three seemingly simple words are a collection, they actually contain too many deep feelings, as well as expectations and cherishes for the future.
Although the family may no longer be as perfect as it once was, it is slowly healing its wounds and releasing a radiant light of hope with the help of family affection...