You Shulang adopted Tiantian and agreed with Wu Yuping that they would go through the adoption procedures after Wu Yuping passed away.
You Shulang considered for three days about adopting Tiantian.
The experiences of suffering have repeatedly lowered his expectations and desires for life. He rarely has the idea of taking something or someone for himself. The last time he had such an idea was by Fan Xiao.
It was You Shulang who suggested adopting Tiantian. His fingertips rubbed against each other in his sleeves, feeling a little nervous, but more of anticipation.
The woman was grateful, but You Shulang shook his head.
"Actually, I have selfish motives. I am also an orphan. This world is too lonely. I hope Tiantian can keep me company."
Educational certificates, employment certificates, and deposit slips were placed in front of the woman one by one.
"There is one more important thing, Ms. Wu, you need to consider it carefully."
You Shulang patiently explained: "I am TXL. If you think my sexual orientation will have a negative impact on Tiantian's growth, you can reject me."
The woman was silent for a while, and her sick eyes showed a kind of open-mindedness that showed she had seen through the world: "I did find a man, but what happened in the end? Some things can be let go in the face of life and death."
Coming out of the hospital, fireworks were already bright in the sky above the residential area opposite. Amid the explosions, people were bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, looking forward to a better future.
You Shulang turned his head and looked at the light-transmitting window. The thin figure of a woman was standing there, illuminated by the fireworks.
Was she watching him go, or was she watching the last splendor of her life? You Shulang didn't want to guess, so he walked out into the deep cold night.
It was difficult to get a taxi during the Chinese New Year, so he walked along the road and looked at the map on his phone. The nearest subway station was a 20-minute walk away.
Most of the roadside shops have closed down, with only a few grocery stores still leaving their signs lit.
You Shulang was planning to buy a pack of cigarettes, but when he got closer he discovered that there was a small dumpling restaurant sandwiched between two shops with bright signboards.
The dumpling restaurant is still open for business. The storefront has not been replaced with a glass counter, and the sign is not a light box type, so it is not very obvious from a distance.
After buying cigarettes, You Shulang took out a cigarette, lit it, bit it between his teeth, and put on gloves again.
He walked three or five steps, then retreated. It's New Year's Day, so we have to eat some dumplings, he advised himself.
There were actually customers in the dumpling shop. A man in his fifties was sitting at the innermost wooden table, stuffing dumplings into his mouth.
Hearing some noise at the door, he looked up and called loudly to the kitchen.
"Bai Ting, we have guests."
Bai Ting? You Shulang was startled.
The door curtain of the kitchen was lifted, and a young woman in an apron walked out.
She greeted people with curved eyebrows and smiling eyes, but when she saw You Shulang, there was only shock in her eyes.
"Brother You?"
You Shulang took off his gloves and picked up his cigarette.
"Bai Ting, your phone has been disconnected, why are you here?"
With a plate of hot dumplings in front of her, Bai Ting sat opposite You Shulang and broke open a pair of disposable chopsticks for him.
The quality of the chopsticks is average, with wooden splinters standing on them. I changed a new pair, but the same thing happened.
"This will do." You Shulang took the chopsticks but did not touch the dumplings. "What is going on with you now? Can you tell me about it?"
The man in his fifties had finished his dumplings and left eight yuan on the table. Bai Ting put the money little by little into the wallet tied around her waist and said with her head down, "I'll just... become a good person."
She said apologetically: "I'm sorry, I didn't even tell you, I just wanted to... cut off all ties with everything that happened before."
"Are you worried?" Bai Ting's plain face looked a few years younger than before, like a girl who had done something wrong, and she was worried about being blamed. "I should have told you."
"I understand." You Shulang smiled gently, "I would do the same."
He picked up a dumpling, took a bite, and raised his eyebrows in approval: "It tastes good, did you make it?"
In the past, Bai Ting always had sadness and sophistication in her eyes, but now her face turned slightly red, and she said "hmm" softly, as if she had received a huge compliment.
You Shulang ate several dumplings in a row before putting down his chopsticks: "Don't worry, I won't come to see you again in the future." He leaned forward slightly, patted Bai Ting on the head like a brother treating his sister, and joked, "Player, please start your life again."
The woman's eyes were red, and she spoke with a nasal tone: "Thank you, Brother You. If you have the chance, please also thank Mr. Fan for me."
You Shulang was tearing sawdust off the chopsticks. His fingers froze when he heard this: "...Thank whom?"
The girl was confused: "Fan Xiao, Mr. Fan's name is Fan Xiao, right?"
There was a pain at my fingertips as sawdust pierced into my flesh.
"More than half a year ago, I didn't want to take those dirty jobs in the nightclub, and was threatened by a small boss there. He checked me and knew what was going on in my family. He threatened to call my family, but when he saw that I still didn't agree, he didn't embarrass me anymore. I thought the matter was over, but a few days later, my father and my brother came to find me."
"They had been detained before, so they were afraid I would call the police this time, so they just followed me from a distance and didn't harass me. When I was at work, they were guarding the front door and the back door, so I didn't even have a chance to run away."
The woman stood up with a look of hatred, "Later I learned that they got the knockout drug from somewhere, planning to knock me out as soon as they got the chance, and then take me back home under the pretext of taking my daughter to see a doctor."
"How did you escape?" You Shulang hesitated and asked again, "How is this related to Fan Xiao?"
Even as she recalled the past, the woman's face turned pale. "I really had no other choice. You were the only one I could turn to, but your phone number was unreachable. In the end, I could only call Bai Sanmiao. He was having a passionate affair with me at the time, and he even said he wanted to marry me after drinking."
You Shulang recalled that he had just joined the project team during that period. In order to adjust his mindset and also to avoid Fan Xiao, his cell phone was almost always turned off.
Speaking of Bai Sanmiao, the woman sneered: "Not only did he not help, he also mocked me, saying that I made so much money that I could build a villa in the mountains."
"At that time, I suppressed my anger and asked him how to contact you. He said sarcastically that you can contact Mr. Fan."
His knuckles clenched stiffly, the wood chips pierced deeper, and a bright red bead of blood appeared on You Shulang's fingertips: "Were you the one who took the initiative to contact Fan Xiao?"
Bai Ting nodded: "I wanted to contact you through him, but he said you were doing some research and were very busy. There was no need to alarm you about this matter. He could handle it."
"Mr. Fan took action, and my father and my brother left three days later. Fearing that they might come back, Mr. Fan asked me to hide outside. Since then, I have been living a normal life and don't want to go back. I bought this dumpling restaurant with all my savings, and now I live a stable life every day..."
You Shulang was a little dazed. He couldn't make out the meaning of what the woman said next.
Almost interrupting the woman's words, You Shulang asked, "Is Fan Xiao helping you? What did he do?"
Seeing the man's strange expression, Bai Ting did not dare to be negligent and told him everything.
"My brother loves gambling. After Mr. Fan learned about it from me, he pretended to be careless and dropped a few large-value coins from the underground casino in front of him. My brother picked them up and thought he was lucky. He took the chips and tried every means to go to the door to gamble. In the end, he lost everything he had and sold everything he had. He also borrowed a lot of usury."
"Mr. Fan said that he was beaten up in the end, with his little finger under the kitchen knife, crying and calling my dad, asking me to pay to redeem him." Bai Ting snorted, "At that time, Mr. Fan arranged for me to hide away, and my dad couldn't find me, so he naturally had to spend all his money to save his precious son."
A drop of blood fell from his fingertips, and You Shulang said in a faint voice: "That's like Fan Xiao's style."
You Shulang had no recollection of how he left the dumpling restaurant, how he said goodbye to Bai Ting, or how he got to the subway station.
He held the gloves in his hands, and the cold wind blew away, causing his fingertips, which were pricked by sawdust, to feel a slight pain.
And he could only hear the woman's last words: "I wanted to thank him, but he said he was doing something for the Buddha. If I want to thank someone, thank the Buddha, not him."
What was the last thing Fan Xiao said to you?
"Buddha, you are free."