Chapter 80: Old
The car did not turn back to the bustling city. Instead, it sped along the straight and deserted asphalt road in the suburbs for a long time. When he got out of the car, Su Yu was stunned to see the wide iron gate, which was covered with rust. Behind the gate was a large courtyard. Even though it was late autumn, he could still see the evergreen forest, which was blocking the magnificent and luxurious mansion behind it.
This was the place where the woman had grown up, which surprised him. The mansion was really too old. The once-bright red bricks had long since lost their paint, and they were covered with dense cracks, revealing the dark gray color underneath. In this desolate and deserted place in the suburbs, there was almost no trace of human life. It was so quiet that it was depressing.
“Let’s go. This is the old residence of the Gu family. My grandfather used to live here. The old man liked children, so the family would send their children here to please him. Later, when my grandfather passed away, it became deserted.”
Gu Zhi explained briefly and took Su Yu’s arm and walked in. There was a small door on the left side of the iron gate. Usually, no one would run this way. The management was not loose. He only saw an old gatekeeper with a fur hat dozing in the duty room with his eyes closed.
The iron gate had been corroded by the rain for too long, and it was very rusty. A slight turn of the door hinge would make a harsh creaking sound, which immediately woke up the gatekeeper in the duty room. The old man, who was about fifty or sixty years old, looked up and his sleepy eyes immediately widened. He put down the hot water bottle in his hand and rushed out of the house.
“Oh, it’s Miss Gu. What a mess… I’m old and my body is not good anymore. I always get sleepy in the afternoon in autumn. I really can’t take it. I’m really old.”
The old man spoke with an accent from somewhere. His face was full of wrinkles, and when he frowned, his forehead was full of folds, with a sense of vicissitudes and aging, just like the old mansion that could be vaguely seen, which was visibly falling into its twilight years.
“It’s okay. Chen… Uncle Chen, you can go back to rest. Remember to close the door. Although there’s nothing and no one here, I’m afraid the children will be naughty and run out.”
“Okay. The children will be happy for a long time when you’re back. It will be lively for a few days. It’s good to be lively. You’re so big in the blink of an eye. You were only up to my knee back then.”
“Yes, it’s been so long. If you want to retire, Uncle Chen, just let me know. Don’t force yourself.”
“Oh, I’m lucky to have a place to live since I have no children. What else can I ask for? There are a lot of children here. I like it here very much. But you, it’s not easy to be alone outside, right? The Gu family… is too big. It’s really a place that eats people without spitting out their bones.”
“Haha, it’s okay. Isn’t it good that I can still come back to see you?”
Gu Zhi pursed her lips and smiled, but her eyebrows were deeply furrowed. The old man’s face was suddenly a little strange to her, and she almost didn’t recognize him. Her breathing was chaotic for a moment. She held the wrist of the person next to her tightly, and she only calmed down after she felt the fresh and powerful pulsation.
She turned her head and looked at Su Yu, and she explained the confusion in his eyes with a smile. “I saw that this place was empty, so I sent all the orphans of the Gu family here for the past few years. They can go out after they have finished their studies. It’s not a good feeling to be alone.”
Su Yu nodded. He had already learned about Gu Zhi’s parents’ early death in the cemetery. He was pulled by Gu Zhi through the lush garden, which was still lush even after autumn. He stepped on the wooden path under his feet, and he lowered his head to avoid the crooked wooden branches. A few unknown birds were chirping and flying up, and they shook off a lot of yellowing leaves.
It seemed that there was no professional gardener to trim it. There were messy weeds and fallen leaves everywhere, and they were over his ankles. The afternoon air was still damp and cold, and it was filled with a mixture of floral and earthy smells.
They walked out of the path, and their vision suddenly became wide. The thick and solid clouds covered the sky, and a hazy light shone through. A cold wind blew, and the forest behind them rustled. A dolphin stone sculpture fountain was already dry, and a few old yellow wooden chairs were placed next to it. One could vaguely see a few small footprints on the mud, with a hint of human presence.
The main entrance of the mansion was tightly closed, blocking the cold wind from outside. One could see the traces of renovation on the walls and the main door, but it should have been a long time ago. The yellow and withered ivy had lost its toughness and was hanging loosely on half of the old wall, and it was spreading from the first floor to the window on the second floor.
Gu Zhi gently knocked on the door. She held Su Yu’s hand and gestured for him not to be anxious. After a long while, the door slowly opened.
Su Yu was stunned for a few seconds and moved his gaze down. It was a little girl with pigtails. She was struggling to raise her head to look at him, and then she looked at Gu Zhi next to her. A surprised smile immediately appeared on her face. She rushed up and hugged Gu Zhi’s calf. “Sister Xiao Gu, you’re finally back. Xiao Meng missed you so much.”
The girl’s enthusiasm was particularly high. She held Gu Zhi and refused to let go. She then came back to her senses and shouted that Sister Xiao Gu was here. Soon, a dense sound of footsteps came from upstairs. About a dozen or twenty children peeked their heads out from the top of the stairs and rushed down the stairs to them.
“Big brother, you… you’re Sister Xiao Gu’s boyfriend, right?”
The little girl let go of Gu Zhi and then turned her attention to Su Yu. She pulled at the corner of Su Yu’s clothes and tilted her head to ask him curiously.
He smiled and didn’t answer directly. He squatted down and looked at the girl. “Your name is Xiao Meng, right? How old are you?”
“Xiao Meng is five years old.” The girl held out five short fingers and shook them at him. The little girl was very smart… she was not fooled. She continued to ask him incessantly, “Big brother hasn’t told me yet. Are you Sister Xiao Gu’s boyfriend?”
“Then you can guess.”
“Hmm… I think you’re Sister Xiao Gu’s boyfriend. Sister Xiao Gu told us that she had a boyfriend when she came back last time.”
“Do you all like this Sister Xiao Gu very much?”
“Mm-hmm. Sister Xiao Gu is very good to us, and she’s very beautiful. I want to be as beautiful as Sister Xiao Gu in the future.”
Xiao Meng nodded vigorously and shook Su Yu’s hand. She said very seriously with her big, dark and shiny eyes, “You have to be good to Sister Xiao Gu. You have to protect her well. You can’t be like those bad boys who always bully girls. That’s not right.”
Su Yu didn’t say anything. He looked up at Gu Zhi, who was immersed in the children’s enthusiastic emotions. The sound of chirping and laughing echoed in his ears. The woman was smiling with her eyes curved, and the curve of her lips was faint. But it made him inexplicably feel the woman’s sincerity and happiness at this moment. Mixed with the deep-seated pain of the past, he was a little confused about what was real and what was fake.
He lowered his long and neat, deep black eyelashes. His palm, which was soaked with cold and wet sweat, was wiped clean on his body. Then he reached out and touched the girl’s chubby little face, and he said with a smile.
“Okay, Teacher Xiao Meng is right. I’ll listen to you. Let’s play a game, okay?”
