Inextricable

Early in the morning on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Xu Xingyuan drove Zhou Tongtong to her grandma’s house. Xu Xingxing and Lin Meihui also got up early to set up the breakfast stall in the morning, only going home after closing the stall in the afternoon so that they could pack up their things before going to the new house for the New Year. They were only going to stay there temporarily so they didn’t pack many things.

Lin Meihui had almost finished packing yesterday. After putting some kitchen stuff into a large packing box, Xu Xingxing went to Lin Meihui’s bedroom to help tidy the bedding.

The new blankets that Lin Meihui had prepared earlier were on the top of the wardrobe, so she had climbed on a chair to get to them.

When Xu Xingxing entered the room and noticed her mother’s actions, she was startled and hurried over to support her, saying, “Mom, it’s dangerous. Let me do it.”

Lin Meihui got down from the chair obediently and said to Xu Xingxing, “Get the blue and yellow blankets.”

“Okay.” Xu Xingxing got on the chair, grabbed them, and yanked the two blankets out of the cupboard. However, she didn’t succeed. After making sure her mother was out of the way, she pulled once again, firmly.

The two big blankets were not light, and when Xu Xingxing dragged them down, something else came down with it.

“What is this?” Xu Xingxing looked at the ground in surprise. On the ground was a small cotton blanket that had been wrapped up in a ball, now opened in half. A small, palm-sized shoe and the legs of a pair of small cotton pants were exposed.

Xu Xingxing’s eyes moved, and she looked up at Lin Meihui. After putting down the blankets, she picked up the small bundle and opened it. 

There were a lot of things wrapped in the small cloth, besides the cotton trousers and shoes, there were also small cotton jackets and other small clothes. Every little dress and pair of shoes was of a different design and colour. Xu Xingxing recognized these clothes.

They were of the same colour and design as the new blankets Xu Xingxing’s mother had prepared for her when she had gotten married. 

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The traditional custom in Huaicheng dictated that whenever a son or a daughter was getting married, their parents must prepare new bedding for them. In Lin Meihui’s case, she didn’t throw away the clothes leftover from her daughter’s wedding bedding, instead using them to make clothes and shoes for her future grandchildren. Unfortunately, she never got a chance to take them out.

Even so, she did not throw away the things she made. In her heart, she still hoped that Xu Xingxing would be able to have a baby. However, she didn’t want her daughter to know this, for fear of putting pressure on her.

Who would have imagined that these things stuffed behind these quilts for so many years would eventually be discovered by Xu Xingxing.

Lin Meihui watched Xu Xingxing look back and forth between the small shoes and the small cotton trousers, without any changes occurring in her expression. She then said to Xu Xingxing, “I didn’t have time to throw it away… I forgot about it.”

Xu Xingxing looked down at the fine stitches on the small shoes, sewed by Lin Meihui one by one. She put away the little shoes, looked at her mother, and with a smile, said, “It’s a pity to throw them away. Let Xingyuan and Tongtong’s children use them.” 

Lin Meihui looked at her daughter’s thin back, and felt sad in her heart.

After Xu Xingxing tidied everything, she looked back at Lin Meihui. She pursed her lips and said, “My good friend Chen Wanwan took me to see a famous old Chinese doctor. I am taking Chinese medicine everyday now.”

She had never told Lin Meihui about taking Chinese medicine before this, afraid of giving them both false hope, and having the subsequent disappointment make her mother unhappy too. She hadn’t expected Lin Meihui to have been thinking about this matter all along anyways, so she simply told her this time.

Hearing her daughter’s words, Lin Meihui’s eyes lit up and she asked, “Is it helping?”

Xu Xingxing couldn’t answer this question yet, but she told Lin Meihui, “Recently, my period has gotten back on track, so it must be.”

“Then you…” Lin Meihui’s lips moved slightly before she looked up at her, and ended up speaking only half of her words.

Xu Xingxing understood her meaning, and replied, “I’m still single now, and I may not necessarily get married in the future. But if there is a chance, I will definitely have a child, and I will raise it myself.” Speaking of this, Xu Xingxing smiled and continued, “Look at yourself, didn’t you take care of Xingyuan and me as well?” Lin Meihui felt somewhat relieved on hearing this. Her biggest fear was that there would be no one to accompany her daughter, and that she would have no one to rely on in her old age. Now that she had started treatment for her body, there was hope. If Xu Xingxing could have a child to accompany her and help her in her later years, then she, as a mother, would feel relieved.

……………………

After packing up their things, Xu Xingxing went to the small market outside the community and found a pickup truck to transport everything to their new home.

It was already afternoon by the time they arrived there.

After reaching their new house, Lin Meihui started cleaning the kitchen while Xu Xingxing prepared the bedrooms.

After Xu Xingyuan and Zhou Tongtong’s beds were made, Xu Xingxing tidied up her and Lin Meihui’s rooms as well. Although the room she and Lin Meihui lived in was only a secondary bedroom, it had a small balcony. After Xu Xingxing made the bed, she opened the curtains to let the sun shine in, just enough to expose the bedding to sunlight.

Xu Xingxing sat on the bed, squinted her eyes, and basked in the sun for a while.

She soon felt refreshed, so she got up and went to help in the kitchen. When she was passing by the door, she heard a meowing sound from outside. This made her remember Mimi, so she turned around, walked to the front door, and opened it with curiosity.

Xu Xingyuan had two neighbours on this floor, and the sound just now came from the house neighbouring their left. 

At the entrance of the house stood a man and a small girl wearing a white down jacket with a cherry pattern. She was squatting in front of a potted green plant near the door. In front of the pot was an orange-coloured kitten, who was reaching out to grab two leaves from time to time. Whenever it caught the leaf, the little girl laughed along with it, and along with her laughed the man too. 

The man looked up upon noticing that Xu Xingxing had opened the door. He was a very handsome man of about thirty years old, with big eyes and very obvious double eyelids. He looked very energetic. 

When he looked up, there was still a smile in his eyes that hadn’t faded away. On seeing Xu Xingxing, his smile deepened. He first said hello and asked, “You just moved here?”

Xu Xingxing smiled politely and replied, “I am here only for these two days of Chinese New Year.”

When these two were talking, the little girl squatting on the ground also raised her head. She had inherited her father’s double eyelids and eyes, situated in a round face. In such a squatting posture, it seemed that she had no neck, and her big face was directly pressed against the collar of her down jacket, making people want to pinch her cheeks.

The little girl blinked at Xu Xingxing with her long and thick eyelashes, looking beautiful and charming.

“This is my daughter.” Seeing Xu Xingxing look at the little girl, the man smiled and said, “Come on, say hello to Auntie.”

“Hello, Auntie~” the little girl called out obediently. She looked to be about two or three years old, so couldn’t speak very well. 

“Hello.” Xu Xingxing’s heart melted at the girl’s greeting. Her eyes were full of tenderness, and she squatted beside the little girl carefully to look at her.

After greeting Xu Xingixng, she pointed to the kitten and called out, “Meow~” She then withdrew her chubby little hand and turned her head to continue looking at the kitten. 

Seeing such a cute child made soreness well up in Xu Xingxing’s heart. When she had first gotten married, she had really wanted a daughter. 

Xu Xingxing’s eyes flickered, she looked up at the man, and asked, “Can I make a short video?”

She may seldom come to Xu Xingyuan’s place in the future, and would rarely encounter this little girl. She wanted to make a short video so that she could watch it from time to time.

The man could feel that Xu Xingxing really liked children and that she didn’t have any ulterior motives, so he nodded his head and said, “Sure.”

Xu Xingxing thanked him, took out her phone, and switched on its video recording mode.

The little girl turned around and looked at the camera. She smiled first, then stretched out her chubby little hand, arranged her fingers  into a non-standard scissors-hand gesture, opened her mouth, and in a milky voice, dragged out a long “v~ “

Xu Xingxing was almost suffocated by this cuteness.

Seeing that she was obviously stunned for a moment, the man smiled slowly and said, “I’m a photographer, and since I usually take some pictures of her, she can pose well.”

“It’s also because she’s smart.” Being able to look at a camera at such a young age, it seemed that she inherited it from her father.

Xu Xingxing recorded a small video and took a few photos as well.

After she put away her phone, the man started chatting with her. “When are you going to move here?” He then smiled and introduced himself, “My name is Nie Gengqing.”

“My name is Xu Xingxing,” she replied with a smile. “This is my younger brother’s wedding house. I think they’ll be moving here after they get married next year. You will become neighbours then.”

“That’s right.” Nie Gengqing laughed and said, “I’ve seen the husband and wife pair, they are a good match.”

They chatted for a while, and Xu Xingxing felt that Nie Gengqing had a cheerful and optimistic personality, he could laugh and speak well, so being with him should be quite relaxing. However, she never saw his wife come out during this chat. Some time passed, and the little orange cat seemed to have had its fun, so it jumped off the green plant and entered the house, with the little girl following it in. Nie Gengqing and Xu Xingxing nodded at each other and also returned to their respective homes.