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墨書 Inktalez
The window was drawn with thick curtains, making it difficult for the outside light to seep in. The sky was overcast, and the outside was not very bright, which made the room feel even darker.
She had gone to bed late last night and, due to the excitement from the fireworks, had a hard time falling asleep. After tossing and turning for a long time, she finally drifted off. This morning, while still in a daze, she was suddenly jolted awake by a ringing sound, startling Qinglan from her dreams.
She forgot where she was and hurriedly sat up in bed, groggily shouting, "Ah, where is everyone? Jiang Liuying, is it time for class?"
When she sensed something was off, she suddenly became more alert and remembered that it was winter break.
"Mother... Grandma..." she called out randomly a couple of times.
The ringing continued insistently. Her hand fumbled around on the blanket. "Ah... where am I..."
When she finally found her phone next to her pillow and opened her eyes, she realized where she was. After a moment of confusion, she looked at the caller ID on her phone.
The number belonged to a grocery retail store near the elementary school in their village. Previously, when Father and Mother contacted her, they would call from that store. The original shop had long been demolished, and now the owner had built their own house—running the store on the first floor and living on the second—so even on New Year's Day, their shop was open.
"Hello!" After answering, she began to wonder who would be calling her on the first day of the new year; it shouldn't be Father or Mother. At this time, Brother Liu Jiawei was home for the Spring Festival. He had his own phone, so if Father and Mother were calling, they would definitely use Brother's phone instead of this one.
But who else could it be?
She waited for a while but heard nothing on the other end of the line. Qinglan pulled the phone away from her ear to look at it. Was it a ghost call? Was it a call from outer space? Or had she just imagined it?
"Hello!" Qinglan put the phone back to her ear and said again, "This is Qinglan."
Finally, there was a faint sound of breathing on the other end of the phone; it must be someone! Qinglan murmured softly.
"Father? Or Mother? Mother, what's wrong? Did you have another argument with Father?" Qinglan recalled a phone call from a few years ago when Liu Xiuzhen had argued with Qing Shusheng, stammering and sulking on the line, just like this.
"Lanlan, it's your mother." After a long pause, a soft and delicate voice came through. It was Bai Cuifen's voice, crisp and sweet, just like when she was younger.
"Oh, it's you, Mother." Qinglan straightened up and picked up a cushion to support her back. "Happy New Year. You..." Qinglan momentarily lost her words.
This was her first time talking on the phone with Bai Cuifen, especially under such circumstances. She fell silent, waiting for her to speak. At this moment, she must have called for a reason, right? Qinglan wondered what could be so important that her mother would reach out to her now. In the past, they could chat about An Shaojie, but now...
"Lanlan." After a moment of silence on the line, Bai Cuifen finally spoke. "I came to the store to buy something and saw there was a phone. I wanted to try making a call; I... I've never made a call before and didn't know how to use it. I thought I'd give it a try. I only had your number with me, so I asked the shopkeeper for help dialing it, and it actually went through." She laughed lightly on the phone.
"Oh." Qinglan responded.
"An Shaojie... he..." Bai Cuifen hesitated. Qinglan listened quietly without interrupting.
"Why haven't you come to see your father during the New Year? How are you spending the holiday all alone out there?" Bai Cuifen asked hesitantly.
"Well, I'm celebrating with classmates and friends outside; it's fine," Qinglan replied.
"We just found out that An Shaojie went abroad; Sister Shaomin told me. I... I didn't know about this until now... such a big thing... sigh! That child..." Bai Cuifen spoke slowly, her earlier light laughter turning into a sigh. Even though Qinglan couldn't see her, she could imagine her mother's worried expression.
"Mother, An Shaojie going abroad is a good thing; many people want to go abroad but can't..." Qinglan comforted Bai Cuifen while feeling tears welling up in her eyes. However, she couldn't cry; she understood what this call meant. But she hadn't done anything wrong! The one feeling guilty wasn't her. So not only did Qinglan have to hold back her tears and not let her mother sense her sadness, but she also had to pretend everything was fine and smile lightly as if nothing were wrong.
"But he... sigh! It's really true that a child grows up and no longer listens to their mother. I wonder if he will still come back to Liu Family Village..." Bai Cuifen said to herself, "Sister Shaomin, you're back! If you have time, please come back. Both Sister Shaomin and I miss you very much."
"Sure, Mother. I'll come back to see you when I have time. Since Brother Shaojie is not home, you and Sister Shaomin should have some fun. Don't just stay at home; visit the other families in the village and chat. You and Sister Shaomin always say you don't like to make noise, but it's too quiet." Qinglan spoke as she usually did, but there was no longer the closeness or affection in her tone as before; it felt more distant and polite.
She probably sensed something was off, so she stumbled through her words on the phone, almost unable to form a coherent sentence. To reassure her mother and to end this conversation that could easily lead to her mother's sadness, Qinglan deliberately perked herself up. Even though she was pretending on the phone, she also took action; she rolled out of bed and jumped down, raising her voice significantly as she said, "Mother, let's talk later. A friend is calling me to go out."
Bai Cuifen's anxious heart finally settled down, and her face broke into a smile as she hurriedly replied, "Okay, okay! You should go out and have some fun. I won’t disturb you anymore. When you have time, come back to see your Father and Mother. I'll make pancakes for you." The pancakes Bai Cuifen mentioned were potato pancakes from the Tujia ethnic group, which Qinglan loved most as a child, especially those made by Bai Cuifen.
"Alright," Qinglan agreed as she slipped on her shoes. She really wanted to go out for a bit; even if there was nowhere specific to go, she needed to walk around the streets. No one else probably spent the first day of the New Year feeling as lonely as she did, unable to find anyone to play with her, but she still had to find a way to cheer herself up.
During the Spring Festival period, Xu Wen visited Qinglan more frequently because Qinglan was about to give birth. Although her due date was in mid-February, depending on the pregnant woman's constitution and activity level, some gave birth one or two weeks early while others might be delayed by a few days. However, being young and inexperienced with such matters made Xu Wen anxious every day during this time, fearing something might go wrong. He had advised Qinglan several times to stay in the hospital, but she refused, saying it would be too expensive. Since Qinglan became pregnant, Xu Wen had already spent quite a bit on her; he was saving on his own living expenses while finding various reasons to ask his family for more money than usual and even took on part-time work at his original internship.
Later on, seeing that everything was fine with Qinglan, Xu Wen stopped insisting mainly because he felt it would be inconvenient for him to take care of her if she stayed in the hospital.
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