seventeenth
1
The days at sea were dull and long. The heat waves and the microwaves made one's chest feel stuffy. Everyone frowned and endured it, except for Aren. He seemed to be enjoying his days of exile. First of all, he didn't need to go to school or do his homework. Secondly, he could finally get close to the sea. Occasionally, he could also cast a net to catch fish and jump into the sea to play. All of this was simply a wonderful time for him. At first, Wen Gui would yell at him to stay on the boat. After a long time, Wen Gui let him play. She stood aside and looked at the sea with worry.
Since Abu boarded the ship, he had been hiding in the cabin reading books. In fact, he had resisted going out to sea from the beginning and even quarreled with his father over it. In the end, he still carried a pile of books and boarded the boat. His classmates could go to school, but he could only stay on the ship to study. He felt that he would definitely fall behind by a lot, so he kept learning and did not dare to slack off. In addition, he overheard his parents 'conversation and understood the danger of this operation. He was in a dilemma. On one hand, he was as worried as his mother. On the other hand, he felt ashamed that his father was doing something immoral. He was suffering mentally. Therefore, he spent more time studying to ease the worries in his heart. Only by doing so could he forget about his family's predicament. Occasionally, he would come to the deck to get some fresh air and see the strange scene here.
Aren had just crawled out of the water. His hair was dripping with water, and his body was wet and smooth. He chuckled and ran to the side of the boat to welcome the sea breeze, shouting loudly. He jumped down. The surface of the sea seemed to have exploded as seawater splashed. He crawled back from the sea and jumped again. He did this repeatedly until he was exhausted and fell on the deck, panting.
Wen Gui sat by the side of the boat, one hand leaning against the railing and the other supporting his chin. Every time Aren jumped, she would look back and call out to him. After a while, she stopped shouting. She turned around and stared at the silver sea without blinking. The sea breeze blew. Her hair was disheveled and floated in the air, falling messily behind her shoulders. She lowered her head and gently wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes, remaining silent.
Dong! Aren jumped into the sea again.
"You're finally willing to come out and bask in the sun. He stayed inside. I think you can grow mushrooms.”Wen Xuan said.
Abu turned his head and saw Wen Xuan sitting by the cabin door with a book open in his hand.
Wen Xuan turned his head to look at the sea, raised his head, and spat into the sea, saying,""Why don't you learn from Aren? He jumped into the water to cool himself down. Don't be afraid."
Abu shook his head and sat down. He turned his head and looked at the two blue plastic buckets with fresh water.
"Don't waste it. If he went back, he would rarely have the chance to go out to sea.”Wen Xuan said.
"I don't like being on the sea." Abu said.
"Don't jump to conclusions so quickly." Wen Xuan said.
Abu looked at the wet Aren. He was standing on the edge of the boat, and like a fish, he bent down and jumped into the sea.
"Did no one teach you how to swim?”Wen Xuan asked.
"That's not the problem." Abu said.
Wen Xuan closed the book and looked at the sea, saying,""Look at what lousy place your dad picked. This was not close to the sea at all. It was more like a pool of stinky stagnant water.”
Abu followed his gaze and said,""I know where he went. I know why he went there."
"It's not right to eavesdrop.”Wen Xuan said.
"I want him to come back soon. I want to go back to school." Abu said.
"Do you want the former or the latter more?”Wen Xuan asked.
Abu turned around and stared at the smooth deck.
"Abu, you can tell me anything you want. I can help you with anything.”Wen Xuan said.
"What is there to say? If only I didn't know anything, just like Aren.”Abu said.
Wen Xuan looked at Aren, who was running around on the deck, and said,"You wish you were Aren?"
"There's nothing to hope for. I saw him there, in the alley, handing those things to students, students a year older than me. Those hooligans. If only it wasn't for him. But he was there." Abu said.
"Abu." Wen Xuan said.
"Because he's Dad. It's because he's my father." Abu said.
Plop. Aren jumped into the sea, lay on the waves, and swam back. Seawater overflowed into his mouth. He scratched his limbs and shouted.
Wen Xuan threw down the book, stood up, and jumped into the sea. He swam to Aren's side, put his arms around his neck, and carried him back to the boat. The two of them got on the boat and lay down on the boat. Aren leaned over, spat out a few mouthfuls of seawater, and coughed. Wen Gui walked over, stared at Aren, and slapped him. Aren started crying. Wen Gui ignored him and walked away without saying anything. Aren lowered his head and cried for a while before he stopped playing. Wen Xuan rubbed his head, trying to comfort him. Meanwhile, Abu, whose face had darkened, went into the cabin.
2
Every time someone came, they would try to get some information from the person who delivered the supplies. When Wen Gui saw him coming over, she rushed up and asked a lot of questions. That person repeated that he was not clear about the situation every time and told them not to make things difficult. When he came again, they stopped asking. Thus, that person finally heaved a sigh of relief. Every time he came here, he would put down his things and leave, unwilling to stay for long. But as time passed, Wen Gui could not hold it in anymore. She grabbed the man's clothes and refused to let go, insisting that the man speak.
"Forget it, he doesn't know anything.”Wen Xuan said.
"How do you know that he doesn't know!" Wen Gui turned around and glared at Wen Xuan.
"You're like a ghost, haunting him. If he knew anything, he would have told her long ago.”Wen Xuan said.
"Yeah! That's right! If there's any news, I'll tell you immediately. But I really didn't have any news at all!”the man said.
Wen Gui could only let go of his hand and slowly walked back to his seat, continuing to stare into the distance.
"Alright then. You can go back now. It's getting late." Wen Xuan said.
When that person left, he even muttered a few words. But no one heard what he said. His boat was very small. The motor let out a thud as it slowly pushed the boat away.
Abu looked at the sea until the ship disappeared before returning to the cabin.
In the past few days, Aren had been much quieter. Occasionally, he would cast a net into the sea and pull it back to see what he could catch.
"Uncle, what kind of fish is this?" Aren asked.
"This is a big guy!" Wen Xuan said.
Alan threw the fish into the bucket, pulled open the net, and continued to search.
"Aren, with you around, we'll be self-sufficient soon.”Wen Xuan said.
Aren threw the shrimps and crabs into the bucket, wiped his face, and ran to the side of the boat to look out.
"Do you want Uncle to help you?" Wen Xuan asked.
"No need." Aren waved his hand and reached out to pull a net that was dragging beside the boat. The water flowed down, and the net carried the lively fish and prawns out of the sea.
Wen Xuan walked over and reached out to pull him. Together with Aren, he dragged the net onto the deck. The fish and prawns in the net jumped and splashed the seawater. They tried to struggle out of the net. Wen Xuan put down the corner of the net and sat down to watch Aren tidy it up. Aren pulled the bucket over and squatted down. He pulled open the net, grabbed the fish and prawns, and threw them into the bucket. A pool of water spilled out from under the net, glistening in the sunlight. Aren lowered his head as if he was bathing in water. The fish and prawns shone brightly. He picked them up like diamonds and threw them into the sparkling bucket. Bang! The fish jumped out. He grabbed it and threw it into the bucket.。
Wen Gui still turned his head and looked in the direction of the supply ship. He did not move for a long time, like a statue. It was rare for Abu to come out of the cabin to breathe. He stood at the side and looked at everyone for a while before he went back into the cabin. He was as quiet as a shadow.
Wen Xuan took the book by his feet and flipped through it. The photo in the middle fell out. He picked it up and stared at it for a long time. I wonder how the person at the beach is doing? He thought.
Steam rose from the surface of the sea, steaming everyone's faces. Aren was tanned. His hair was yellow and stood up one by one. He hung himself on the rail of the fence, his hands on the railing, his feet swinging back and forth. The blue sea beneath him was glistening. The waves surged and caressed the hull. He threw a shell into the sea and saw a blue splash. Then, he shook his head and waited. After a while, the surface of the sea regained its calm. His shadow appeared on the surface of the sea. Seeing this, he waved at the black shadow. The black shadow did the same to him.
"Uncle, someone is waving at me.”Aren turned around and said to Wen Xuan.
"Is that so?" Wen Xuan said," What is it?"
"A shadow." Aren said.
"Be careful. Don't be dragged into the sea by it." Wen Xuan said.
"Oh." Aren turned around, stared at the black shadow in the sea, and waved his hand. He carefully observed the changes in the shadow.
The person who delivered the supplies came again. As usual, he moved the things onto the boat.
Wen Gui stood up, walked past the deck, and walked towards the boat.
"It's useless. Just stay here obediently." Wen Xuan grabbed her hand.
"I have to go back. I have to go back." Wen Gui said.
"You can't. Let's wait a little longer." Wen Xuan said.
"I don't want to do this anymore. It was too terrifying to wait like this every day.”Wen Gui said.
"None of us want to. But there was no other way. Since he was here, he had to stay.”Wen Xuan said.
Aren turned around and looked at them."Mom, what's wrong?"
Abu had already come out of the cabin. He stood at the side and looked up at Wen Gui.
"If you must leave. Let's go too. Everyone left. Why should he stay in this godforsaken place? I don't want to stay here either." Wen Xuan said.
Wen Gui looked back at Aren and Abu, then back at Wen Xuan without saying anything.
"Let's wait a little longer." Wen Xuan said.
"Wait? Wait for what? I'm going crazy." Wen Gui said.
"Mommy." Aren said.
"We should really let Liu Yongnian see what he has done.”Wen Xuan said.
"Don't mention him." Wen Gui said.
"Mommy." Aren ran to Wengui's side and hugged her.
While they were talking, the man quickly moved the supplies onto the ship. Then, he impatiently boarded his own ship and sailed away. He completed everything while no one was paying attention. Other than the pile of supplies, there was nothing else that could indicate that an outsider had been here before.
Wen Gui sat down unwillingly. Seeing the boat drift further and further away, he began to cry in a low voice. Wen Xuan walked over and sat down beside her. Just like when they were young, the two of them sat in front of the stove, waiting for the sweet potatoes. At that time, Yongnian had not yet come to this house.
3
At night, they entered the cabin to rest. Wen Xuan turned to look at Aren, who was sleeping on the side, and then at Abu, who was reading a book on the other side. He smiled. He walked out of the cabin and stood on the deck, enjoying the night breeze.
A full moon hung in the night sky. Its shadow was soaked in the black water of the sea, emitting a silver light.
Wen Xuan sat by the side of the boat and turned his head to look at Wen Gui who was leaning on the side. She was still looking in the direction of the ship, not saying a word.
"Younger sister, it's useless for you to look at me like this. If someone really came. That person will be frightened by your appearance.”Wen Xuan said.
"It's better than staring at photos." Wen Gui said.
Wen Xuan stuffed the photo back into the book, closed the book, and looked at the slowly squirming silver water. The shadow of the moon floated there.
"Let's go back to the cabin. It's cold outside at night." Wen Xuan said.
Wen Gui placed one hand on the railing and yawned. These days, her face had also tanned quite a bit. She was much thinner than when she first arrived. His mental state was also in a daze.
"I hope he can die in Thailand and not come back.”Wen Xuan said.
"If he dies, you won't be able to live either.”Wen Gui said.
"Sister, don't tie me to him as if we have some kind of friendship. If he really died…The first one to light the firecrackers to celebrate will definitely be me.”Wen Xuan said.
"You won't." Wen Gui said.
"Brother is helping you. Would she really be happy being with an idiot?”Wen Xuan asked.
"He's not an idiot, you are." Wen Gui said.
"I'm serious. If he really died…You'll be free. There were plenty of good ones outside. Why are you guarding him?" Wen Xuan said.
"You're the idiot. You speak like a child. Brother, why can't you be more mature?”Wen Gui said.
"Be more mature. If he really died, then what? He had done so many bad things. Even if he died, he would not have the face to go down and see his parents.”Wen Xuan said.
"Now, what's the use of saying all this?”Wen Gui asked.
"You're so smart. You should know that he's a bastard." Wen Xuan said.
"Yes, I am. He has always been." Wen Gui said.
"Then why did you leave with him back then? You couldn't persuade him to come back, and you even threatened him with death?”Wen Xuan asked.
"Is this very interesting? Do you want me to admit my mistake? Or do you want me to regret it?" Wen Gui said. "Even if time is reversed. I would do the same thing. There were some things that could not be judged by right or wrong. I'll still make those so-called mistakes of yours. That idiot in your eyes, that good-for-nothing fellow, I will still follow. Besides, that girl of yours might not be like that. Brother, if you must be a brother. He had to act like an older brother first.”
"I was never a brother. You've never treated me as your brother. You would have run away with that bastard Liu Yongnian long ago. I can't find him anywhere." Wen Xuan said.
"If possible, I hope I don't have a brother, or I don't have a brother like that.”Wen Gui said.
"You're really ridiculous. You actually chose those that you couldn't choose and gave up those that you already had. This is a foul." Wen Xuan said.
"I can live without a brother. But we can't live without him." Wen Gui said.
"You talk like this. You just want to make me feel uncomfortable." Wen Xuan said.
"You didn't." Wen Gui said. "You don't know what it means to feel uncomfortable. If he had known, he wouldn't have ended up like this.”
"I don't quite understand what you're saying. Are you blaming me?" Wen Xuan asked.
"I don't blame you. That was you, yourself. It's your own business that you've become like this.”Wen Gui said.
"Just now, I sympathized with your experience. Why did you have to follow that idiot Liu Yongnian? Now, you're sympathizing with me, is that it?”Wen Xuan asked.
"That's right. I'm just telling you that I don't regret following him at all. As for your brother. It made me feel ashamed. She was already so old, but she still looked so muddle-headed.”Wen Gui said," Mom is right. A man without a family was like a wandering ghost.”
"Can you stop talking about Mom? You're really becoming more and more like your mother." Wen Xuan said.
"If they know that you're raising a little fox. They will also feel embarrassed." Wen Gui said.
Wen Xuan raised his head and stared at Wen Gui's face, only to find that she was twisting her lips into a smile.
"You're jealous, aren't you? You've met her. You must have seen her." Wen Xuan said.
"I didn't." Wen Gui said.
"I almost forgot about the subtle psychology between you women. If she was uglier than you, you wouldn't have used such dirty words.”Wen Xuan said.
"I didn't." Wen Gui said.
"In this aspect. My sister hasn't changed. She was just a child. Poor child. It's not like you don't know her background.”Wen Xuan said.
"What innocence is there to speak of when you come back with a big belly?”Wen Gui said.
Wen Xuan said,"We can't convince each other, just like when we were young." One of them has to win or lose."
"That's right. Then why do you have to hold on to Yongnian?”Wen Gui said.
"I don't understand when I see you do stupid things. I can let go of anyone else. But you, sister, are a fire pit! You jumped down without any regrets.”Wen Xuan said," In that case, what can I say? Brother, what's the use of this address?”
"Big brother." Wen Gui said," What I don't understand is you. Why are you so nosy and indifferent to your own affairs?”
Wen Gui looked at his speechless expression and laughed. He kept staring at Wen Xuan's face and found his expression very funny.
"We are so different. Sometimes, I wonder if we're siblings or not.”Wen Gui said.
"I've thought about this question as well. To be honest, I don't like people like Liu Yongnian.”Wen Xuan said.
"You're jealous." Wen Gui said.
"In what way? I would throw a wife like you into the sea without even blinking.”Wen Xuan said.
"That's not it. What he has, you don't." Wen Gui said.
"What do you mean? Are you a bunch of pigs? Or the great cause that is about to kill you?”Wen Xuan asked.
"That's for children and families. Brother, you didn't." Wen Gui said.
"I have one too. Have you forgotten? Didn't you just mock me?”Wen Xuan said.
"Not that kind. Not yours. You don't dare to have your own." Wen Gui said," If you could, things wouldn't be like this.”
"That's my child. That's my family." Wen Xuan said.
"That's not your child. That's not a child at all." Wen Gui snatched the book from his hand and flipped through it. She pulled out the photo and said," Look carefully. This is not a child."
Wen Xuan lowered his head and looked at the person in the photo. He reached out to take the photo back. Wen Gui glanced at him, grabbed the photo, and shook it. When she saw Wen Xuan's expression, she smiled and said,""No one would look at their own child like this. Brother, in some ways, you are like an idiot.”
Wen Xuan pursed his lips and smiled. He looked to the other side and said,""Back then, Mom even said that I should introduce you to the village to kill pigs. That way, at least I could get some pig offal to eat.”
Wen Gui stuffed the photo back into the book, stared at him, and said,""In that case, Yongnian will work with me to kill that butcher. If you want to eat meat, eat him."
"I didn't expect you to become like him after following him for so long, Xiao Gui.”Wen Xuan said.
"I'm always like this, brother.”Wen Gui said.
"Don't you think that's embarrassing?”Wen Xuan asked.
Wen Gui did not continue the conversation. In fact, every second was spent in torment. Talking to Wen Xuan made her even more upset. Her pain was so obvious that it was difficult to erase it, and it continued to increase as time passed. Her brother couldn't comfort her, but instead picked on her. This made her even more unbearable. Even if she really regretted that choice. With her personality, she would never admit it. Moreover, she still had no regrets. She was blaming someone else. In his heart, Yongnian was still the only one. However, as time passed, that worry gave birth to a despair that made her afraid. That kind of despair tortured her every second. She didn't want to stay in the same place as her brother anymore, so she went back to the cabin alone. The two children's sleeping bodies made her feel a little at ease.
4
The full moon rose to its highest point, shedding moonlight and paving a silver road on the silent sea.
The sea breeze blew, and the night was as cold as water.
Wen Xuan turned around and looked at the place where the silver light was flashing on the surface of the sea. He seemed to see a silver water lily suddenly emerging from the water. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, thinking that it was just an illusion in the water. He focused his gaze. The water lily was still there. Its beautiful figure in the water was also clearly visible. He put down the book and stood up. He walked to the railing and leaned forward to look.
The sea breeze blew. Lotus shadows floated. A few lotus leaves floated on the surface of the water and swayed, forming a circle of water. Under the faint moonlight, the water lily glowed with silver light.
Wen Xuan stared at it and jumped into the cold sea. He stretched out his hand and paddled in the pitch-black water. He kept moving forward, chasing after the quiet moonlight. The waves kept hitting him, grabbing him tightly, as if they wanted to restrain him and make him stagnate. There was a force in the water that held him back, making it difficult for him to escape. He raised his head and patted the surface of the water a few times. He stared at the silver water lily in front of him and slowly sank. That heavy feeling of fatigue came again, again and again, like a wave that kept surging up, it pounced on his body, over and over again until he could no longer resist. He blinked and looked at the water lily. It opened on a pool of calm water, glowing silver. The moonlight shone on it, as if it was pouring all its radiance into it. Gradually, he closed his eyes, unable to open them again. He allowed his body to slowly sink into the dark abyss, entering a world without any sound or light.
The water lily seemed to flash before his eyes and then disappeared. Perhaps, in his mind, it was getting further and further away, further and further away, out of reach.
Where the moonlight could not shine, it was dark. So what? Wen Xuan's thoughts were in a mess. In order to find out if that silver lotus was an illusion, he was going to die in the sea. However, until now, he still had not figured out what was going on with that lotus. Wengui and the children would not understand how he disappeared. She didn't know if Liu Yongnian would return. And Xi 'er. Suddenly, he felt tired and sleepy. Seawater filled his stomach. He didn't want to think anymore, so he just fainted. Then, his consciousness fell asleep.
After a long time, he woke up and realized that he was dreaming. He walked on the white beach and looked at the light blue sea. The blue was almost transparent, so he could see the outline of the bottom of the sea. The protruding rocks, exposed wet sand, and floating microorganisms seemed to float into the distance.
This beach had no end and was endless. He continued walking forward and looked back at the shore. There were no houses, no villages, and no roads. This was a primitive beach. There was no sign of human habitation. The waves crashed onto the shore, washing away the fine sand and then receding. There were no ships on the distant sea. He stopped, propped his waist, and turned to stare at the sea. The seagull skimmed over the water and flew away. Another one flew over. It flapped its wings and dived to the surface of the water. With a sweep, it leaped over and rushed towards Wen Xuan. Its eyes were fixed on Wen Xuan, emitting a sharp light. It kept charging forward, and just as it was about to touch his head, it flew up and flew away. Wen Xuan turned his head and looked at it, watching it fly higher and further away. Finally, it disappeared into the white sky.
He turned around and continued to look at the sea before sitting down. The white sand was warm and soft. He grabbed a handful and rubbed it in his hand, allowing it to drip down through the gaps between his fingers. He turned back to look at the sea. Suddenly, he felt strange. There were no waves here, no surging waves. The sea he was facing was like a mirror, so flat that he could almost slide. Then, he realized that the sea was getting closer and closer to him. The seawater seemed to be seeping up gradually, passing through the white sand and surging up continuously, more and more. The sea level rose higher and higher, almost reaching his feet. He pulled back his feet and stood up. He lowered his head and stared at the surging seawater. The almost transparent blue spread out among the white sand, and the more it spread, the wider it became, as if it was going to cover the entire beach.
"Alright then." Wen Xuan shrugged and jumped into the sea, swimming forward. He dived into the water and reached out to touch the rocks, wet sand, and seaweed. Above him, the illusion of the sun shone with white light and followed him. The sea water was cool and gave off a fishy smell. He paddled in the water and jumped out of the water. He turned his head to look at the calm sea. Any trace of wind could create a ripple. However, there was no wind here. He raised his hand and looked at the blazing sun. His hand was shining like a diamond. The sea water was receding and gradually receding. He turned his head and looked back. The seawater was retreating, as if it had been sucked by something. The seawater around him was about to be sucked dry. His body gradually emerged from the surface of the water, like his hands, flickering with light. Then, his entire body was revealed. The seawater had already retreated to his feet and was flowing slowly. He was glowing, and his entire body seemed to be wrapped in a layer of silver scales. He was like a fish.
The wind started to blow.
He sneezed, and the force threw away all the glowing scales on his body. Then, he stood naked on the white beach. He turned around and looked around, searching for his clothes. However, there was no other color except white. Even the blue sea was covered by the sudden white fog.
The sunlight was blinding. He covered his eyes with his hands and sat down. He looked around and lay down on the warm, soft sand. He put his hand on his head, pursed his lips, and whistled. He didn't know why, but he naturally whistled. He felt free and unrestrained. A few birds flew over the horizon. All of this felt familiar to him. He stared at the birds and watched them fly past.
The surroundings were quiet.
The sea breeze blew gently across his body. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。