Old Wounds, New Growth - Chapter 30
Translator: Deyonna
On the first day of the Lunar New Year in 2024, I finished counting Li Chishi’s birthday gifts in the morning. Later, I placed them under the two-meter-tall Christmas tree that I had purchased last Christmas. Li Chishu truly adored the Christmas tree and had once decorated it with various pendants that Jiang Chi and others had brought back from abroad for us.
After Christmas, I suggested taking down the Christmas tree and buying a new one next year, and Li Chishu did not object at the time.
As I was climbing up the ladder to take down the pendants from above, Li Chishu suddenly poked his head out from the tearoom on the first floor and said, "Shen Baoshan?"
I turned my head and looked down to find his figure. "What’s the matter?"
Li Chishu pretended to ponder for a while. "The Chinese almanac says it’s not auspicious for groundbreaking. Earth is related to trees, so..."
I squinted my eyes slightly as Li Chishu’s confidence began to waver, and his voice gradually lowered. In the end, he just touched the door frame, wanting to turn and leave, but was reluctant to do so, so he locked his gaze on my face.
I pretended to have a sudden realization. "Earth is related to trees. They do seem to have a connection. It’s inauspicious to disturb the earth. That also means it’s inauspicious to disturb the trees."
Although I was not sure whether the Chinese almanac’s guidelines apply to Western trees.
Li Chishu kept nodding his head, still gazing at me.
"Then let’s dismantle this tree at another time."
I came down the ladder, and Potato was bouncing back and forth on my left and right sides. I put away the ladder and walked up to Li Chishu, leaning against the door frame, and asked with a smile that was not quite a smile, "How long do you think would be an appropriate time to dismantle it?"
Li Chishu turned around and wanted to run away. "I’ll go check tomorrow’s almanac."
I pulled him back. "Why don’t you look at me a bit more instead?"
Li Chishu:?
"The Chinese almanac deity doesn’t understand you as well as I do." I smiled. "If you can make me happy, I’ll consider not dismantling it."
Right after, Li Chishu turned his embarrassment into anger. He locked me outside the tearoom for two hours, pretending not to hear my knocks on the door. The Christmas tree was then naturally left to be used again next year.
After putting the gifts in order, I changed Li Chishu from head to toe into a new set of clothes. Even Potato was wearing a matching little red sweater today. I covered most of Li Chishu’s face with a scarf to protect him from the wind outside and pulled the cashmere cap down over his ears. After ensuring he was bundled up snugly, I set off for his home with him and the dog.
Actually, it’s nothing big. He came back to my house to pay New Year’s greetings yesterday, and today I’m going to his house to cook a meal.
The car drove for about half an hour, and when we arrived downstairs at his house, Li Chishu carried Potato and I took the groceries we bought this morning from the trunk, then we went up to the 5th floor.
Despite the age of the house, it remains as clean and tidy as ever. Li Chishu basically comes back every month to clean his parents’ wedding photo. In his previous life, he almost never stepped foot here in the last two years, not because he didn’t care or didn’t want to, but simply because he didn’t have the energy anymore.
He didn’t eat much for breakfast, so when we got home, I started to prepare the food. Li Chishu first went to the living room to turn on the old TV, and the sound of the old version of Journey to the West came out. Then he ran out to the balcony to play with Potato for a long time.
He didn’t actually watch the TV, he just had it playing. This was a habit he had developed over the past many years, because otherwise, being alone in this house would feel too lonely.
While I was stir-frying the dishes in the kitchen, I secretly peeked at him a few times through the window. Once, Li Chishu was staring blankly at the kitchen and coincidentally made eye contact with me before swiftly looking away. The other two times, he was lost in thought while looking at the small chair on the balcony.
The door of Li Chishu’s house was connected to the balcony, and the small chair was placed right at the entrance. This chair had been there for years, and its legs had already left four shallow marks on the floor, which are the traces of his lonely days after days in the past.
When the dishes were ready, Potato was attracted by the aroma and came to my side. Li Chishu didn’t notice, and just quietly sat back down on the small chair, staring silently at the sunlight shining down on the balcony.
I actually know what he’s thinking about. The 30-year-old Li Chishu had told me countless times about that feeling: during the countless holidays and weekends he had to go home, after finishing all his homework and chores, he really couldn’t find anything else to keep himself busy. Li Chishu could only turn on the TV and play the programs his grandmother used to love the most, sitting in the chair he’d grown up with, staring at the distant sunset, imagining that his family was waiting for him to have dinner in the living room behind him. Finally, after the sun went down, he had to reluctantly end the fantasy, return to the empty house, reheat the leftover food from noon, and after washing the dishes, get into bed to end this boring day that was no different from the past.
I placed the cooked dishes on the table, and the sound of the table and bowls lightly colliding could be heard. I’m certain that Li Chishu on the balcony heard the sound of the bowls being brought up, but he didn’t move.
Looking at his back through the window, Li Chishu’s body was somewhat stiff, with the tips of his ears tinged with a slight redness. He was feigning disinterest in joining for the meal, attempting to discreetly indulge in a past fantasy in a corner that he believed I was unaware of.
As for my thoughts—
I believe that Shen Baoshan will forever cooperate with Li Chishu’s every performance.
So I waved to Potato, hugged it in my arms, and silently squatted in front of the door leading from the living room to the balcony, ensuring that Li Chishu would see my smiling face as soon as he turned around.
"Li Chishu." Potato stood on its two hind legs in front of me, and I grabbed its two front paws and called out.
Sure enough, Li Chishu took a few soft, deep breaths, gradually lifting his downcast eyes to meet mine, seemingly waiting for my next words.
I squinted my eyes and grabbed Potato’s paw to wave at him.
"Xiaobao, come and eat."
Poetry without Tea/Shi Wu Cha (The author):
This year on his birthday, Li Chishu received gifts from Shen Baoshan, Jiang Chi, Luo Ke, also Shen Baoshan’s mom and dad, as well as friends from his undergraduate and graduate years, totaling about thirty gifts. After blowing out the candles, Shen Baoshan would sit on the carpet and slowly unwrap the gifts. After unwrapping, there was an additional preparation for the next day—Shen Baoshan would prepare a gift for Xiaobao three days before and after Xiaobao’s birthday each year. This way, Li Chishu would go to sleep with anticipation on the last day of each year and wake up with expectations on the first day of the new year. So, Xiaobao, good night, and wake up tomorrow with expectations as well.
Comments
Post a Comment