The river changes year by year, the city grows ever newer, yet people grow ever older. Yi Huailiang felt deeply moved, constantly finding topics to strike up conversations with them during meals, afraid of awkward silences. In truth, he needn't have exerted himself so much. His son, Yi Yufei, was a master of social graces. Wherever he was present, conversation never faltered. Even when faced with the most flustered individuals, he remained as smooth as flowing clouds and water, conversing with ease and wit. This ability stemmed from his confidence, precociousness, worldliness, and, of course, genetics.
Sadly, the man who passed on this trait, Yi Huailiang, was no longer the man he once was. In his youth, Yi Huailiang had been the picture of success—countless friends, abundant wealth, nightclubs and restaurants under his belt, living a life of debauchery and endless women. Bai Lihua wasn't the most beautiful woman he'd pursued—she wasn't even particularly attractive—but she was the proudest and most elusive. Precisely because she was hard to win, Yi Hualiang married her. After marriage, her pride remained undiminished. Thus, they lived in affection for years, raising sons and daughters. To outsiders, they appeared the picture of a perfect family.
So outsiders couldn't understand why Bai Lihua would divorce Yi Huailiang at the height of his glory. This was natural—pain felt in the flesh is never something to share with others. Yi Huailiang simply wasn't a man built for domestic life, nor did he belong in a family. Bai Lihua couldn't endure his extravagance, his nightly revelries, or the endless stream of women who came and went.
That year, Yi Yufei was only six, and Yi Tongxi hadn't even turned five. They viewed Yi Huailiang, a father who was rarely home, with suspicion and distrust, feeling he was unreliable. Neither wanted to live with him. Look at them—such intelligent children, so prescient.
The years that followed were uneventful. Government crackdowns forced Yi Huailiang's businesses to shut down. He left Wangjiang to seek fortune in Southeast Asia. During his prosperous times, he sent generous child support payments; during his downfalls, he vanished without a trace, his whereabouts unknown—just as he has these past two years.
He wasn't good, but he wasn't that bad either. This only made Yi Tongxi despise him more.
Sometimes she wondered: What right did someone like him have to have children?
Or she thought: Why wasn't he a complete scoundrel? If he were just a bit more despicable, a bit more vile, then she could hate him without reservation.
Do you think hating someone is painful? What a joke. The real agony is wanting to hate them completely but being unable to.
Unfortunately, these emotions didn't seem to trouble Yi Yufei as much. Of course, men always side with men, Yi Tongxi thought with contempt. Before she knew it, father and son had fallen into natural conversation. Yi Huailiang mentioned leaving Thailand six months ago to spend time in Hainan with friends, planning to invest in the restaurant business. His return to Wangjiang was to sell his old house and invest in opening a restaurant. He'd researched it thoroughly—a surefire money-maker...
Yi Tongxi was certain she'd heard this speech countless times before. The last time was three years ago, when Yi Huailiang ran a small bar on Bangkok's Royal Avenue, immersed in the neon lights and hedonistic lifestyle, only to vanish without a trace shortly after.
Now he sat before his children, talking as if he knew everything. How dare he?
Yi Tongxi sneered inwardly. Just then, her phone rang. As if heaven couldn't bear it any longer, Bai Lihua called.
"Hello, Mom."
Xixi, I'm going to your aunt's place for dinner after work tonight and might be back pretty late. Did you and your brother grab your keys?
"I got mine."
"Did you eat lunch?"
"Just eating now—hot pot lamb. So delicious."
"Shabu-shabu lamb? Aren't you at school? Who are you with?"
"With my brother and Dad." She betrayed them all with such an innocent, natural tone, as if it were an accidental slip.
Bai Lihua froze: "Yi Huailiang is back? How come I didn't know?"
"Yeah." Yi Tongxi smiled innocently, pretending not to notice Yi Huailiang's newly relaxed demeanor instantly crumble back into awkwardness and unease. Yi Yufei shot her a silent glance from the side.
"Alright, we'll talk about it tonight." Bai Lihua hung up.
The meal finally concluded.
With plenty of time before class, the siblings took the bus back to school, each lost in their own thoughts, exchanging no words. After getting off, Yi Yufei didn't rush inside. He lit a cigarette, called out to Yi Tongxi, and asked, "Why did you act like that just now?"
"Act like what?"
Yi Yufei's thick, dark brows furrowed. "Didn't you see how careful Dad was around you? He's already nervous enough—why make things harder for him?"
Yi Tongxi kicked a pebble aside. "You're lecturing me? Standing up for him? How noble."
"That's a separate issue. Adult conflicts have nothing to do with us, understand?"
A mocking smile curved her lips. She lifted her head abruptly, her gaze piercingly intense. "Yi Yufei, do you remember when they divorced? How they tore each other apart fighting over your custody?"
He froze, inwardly cursing his mistake.
"You were so lucky, weren't you? Treated like a precious treasure they fought over. The whole family mobilized for you—Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, Uncle, Third Auntie... They wouldn't let Dad take you away, no matter what. But I was tossed around like trash between Grandpa and Dad... You don't remember, do you? I bet you don't. Otherwise, why would you say all that to me just now?"
Yi Yufei awkwardly reached out to pull her close, only to be shoved away.
"Xi Xi."
"So," Yi Tongxi narrowed her eyes, "what gives you the right to lecture me?"
With that, she turned and strode through the school gates, walking away without a backward glance.
Heaven knows she didn't want it this way. Not at all. Holding grudges wasn't her style. Even if she had a rebellious streak, others poking and prodding at her didn't matter. Because now, she was doing well. Very well. But family was different. Yi Yufei was especially off-limits.
She was still very young that year, yet she could never forget the scene. The adults were like a pack of raging lions, screaming themselves hoarse, faces flushed crimson. After a fierce war of words, her grandfather declared his final stance: "Feifei must stay. Xixi, you can take her."
Yi Huailiang waved his hand dismissively. "I want a son, not a daughter."
Third Aunt immediately leapt to her feet, pointing at him and screaming, "Don't even think about it! That child is my sister's life—you're not getting a single one of them!"
To be fair, the Bai family wasn't exactly patriarchal. Grandfather's particular attachment to Yi Yufei was understandable—he had three daughters and no sons. Among his grandchildren, Yi Yufei was the only boy, standing out in this female-dominated household like Jia Baoyu in the classic novel.
As for Yi Huailiang, regardless of his motives back then—whether he'd merely refused to accept Bai Lihua's divorce and deliberately made things difficult for her—when he made that dismissive wave of his hand, Yi Tongxi's young heart felt the sting of abandonment. Later, that ache would inexplicably fill her chest, and she truly didn't know how to process it.