Ah Qiao

Extra: Meng He Shu (2)

2

Someone must have told her that Miss Yu Zhe loved plum blossoms.
When I returned home one day, she was sitting outside the study, having waited for a long time.

She didn't cry or make a scene; she just looked at me with a pleading expression:

"...It's because you like them, right?"

I wasn't good at lying, and my silence only hurt her more deeply.

She didn't ask anyone to remove the plum trees.

But she never visited my study again.

Bai'er was a mischievous child, and during the pregnancy, he was in a breech position. Ah Qiao suffered through a day and a night of labor before he was born.
With Bai'er in our lives, our relationship softened considerably over the years.

But then Yu Zhe came.

Lu Yan had wronged her, and I was too busy comforting Yu Zhe to notice the growing dimness in Ah Qiao's eyes.

Nor did I know how she, always so picky with food, managed to swallow that bowl of longevity noodles mixed with her tears.

That night, Yu Zhe mentioned craving hairtail fish, so I told Ah Qiao that I was the one who wanted it.

The morning Ah Qiao left to buy the fish, the sky was overcast, as if brewing a storm.

When the rain started pouring down, I hesitated, wondering if I should bring her an umbrella.

But then I thought, never mind, heavy rain never lasts long. It would stop soon enough.

She could wait a little longer.

But by the time Bai'er was crying and fussing about being hungry, and by the time it got dark, Ah Qiao still hadn't returned.

The next day came, and the day after that, with Bai'er constantly crying for his mother, and I was nearly driven mad with worry.

I went around town, asking if anyone had seen her, and everyone said the same thing:
"Madam Ah Qiao was carrying a small basket that day, and she was still wearing that jade hairpin. She didn't look like she was planning to go far.

"Did you have a fight with her? You'd better make up with her soon, Dr. Meng. She's such a good wife."

It wasn't until the seventh day that a boatman mentioned seeing her heading toward Sucheng.

I never understood why Ah Qiao chose to go to Sucheng.

Nor did I know why that boatman lied to me.

In the taverns of Sucheng, travelers spoke of a woman who had arrived at the academy, renowned for her cooking skills:

"They say she's had a rough time. That poor woman was bullied and had no one to help her, just sitting at the door, crying.

"If it weren't for Xu Chang finding her, she was ready to pawn her hairpin."

Hearing that she had been bullied, my heart tightened with pain.

This kind of heartache was completely different from the day when Yu Zhe came to me in tears.

When I finally arrived at Guanhe Academy, I saw a figure in the courtyard, hanging clothes to dry.
The wind caught the clothes hanging in the courtyard, billowing them like sails on water, casting shifting shadows.

The overwhelming joy of seeing her again choked me up.

When Ah Qiao saw me, she froze for a moment, then instinctively took a step back.

She then cautiously glanced behind me:

"Did you come here because Miss Yu Zhe is here too?"

I couldn't blame her for being wary—it was my fault that she was so hurt.

"From now on, it'll just be the three of us..."

But she no longer wanted me, and she didn't want Bai'er either.

Looking back now, I realize that over these seven years, I never thought to shield Ah Qiao from the rain, so she learned to hold the umbrella on her own.

After all, a love filled with such constant uncertainty is too exhausting.

Even under the bright spring sun, she had to brace herself for a storm that could come at any moment.

She told everyone she was leaving, everyone except me and Bai'er.

Once again, I was a step too late, unable to grasp the hem of her sleeve.

"I will come to Sucheng with Bai'er to find you—

"I will do everything I can to make it up to you—"

The autumn rain drizzled softly, her figure fading into the distance.

This regret came seven years too late.

I wonder if she can still hear it.

(The End of Extra 1)