It was February 2013. In Wangjiang City, on a bitterly cold winter night, Yi Yufei stood by the riverbank with Yi Tongxi in his arms, braving the wind. His hand holding the cigarette was frozen stiff. The two stood motionless for a long time. Though the cold was intense, they were reluctant to return home, their hearts still trembling with fear, dreading another bloody storm awaiting them there.
It was much like the winter a year prior, a night nearly as bitterly cold as this one. The year was drawing to a close, yet New Year's Eve had not yet arrived. Sparse fireworks flickered along the riverbank, casting a faint, lonely glow. That evening, after dinner, Yi Yufei and Yi Tongxi returned to their room. One studied, the other surfed the web, but neither could focus.
The door stood ajar, letting in voices from the dining room where the Bai sisters were engaged in an unpleasant conversation.
Aunt San had drunk quite a bit and lit a cigarette. Her voice was cold, her expression icy. With a faint, mocking smile, she asked, "What does Dad mean? Is he cutting ties with me?"
The eldest aunt hurriedly replied, "No, it's just that distant relative from Uncle's side. He came back from Shenzhen and started spreading rumors everywhere. The old man heard them and was furious."
"Spreading what?" Aunt San exhaled smoke and snorted calmly, "Rumors that I'm someone's mistress? Or that I'm keeping a young lover?"
The table fell silent. The eldest aunt pursed her lips and said nothing.
Damn that distant cousin, who knew how many generations removed? After graduating, he couldn't find a decent job. His family heard Auntie Three was doing well in Shenzhen, so they came begging Grandpa for help. After several visits, Auntie Three finally agreed out of respect for Grandpa and got the guy a sales job at a friend's company. But after six months, his performance was abysmal, and he'd harassed female colleagues. The boss finally had enough and fired him. Auntie Three felt utterly humiliated. Furious, she berated the kid, then told him to pack his things and get lost.
The guy returned to Wangjiang, crestfallen and resentful. He then spread all the sordid rumors he'd heard and seen about Auntie's private life during his time in Shenzhen, making sure every detail was as scandalous as possible.
"You all know I've only been with one man in Shenzhen for over a decade—Zheng Guoxiong. "Auntie San retorted, 'Yes, I was his mistress—not a pretty reputation. But I was with him from age twenty-four for ten solid years. Even his wife never said a word. Who the hell are these deadbeat bums to talk?!"
Bai Lihua took a slow, deep breath and said calmly, "You and Mr. Zheng have been apart for years now. Since it's over, find someone who treats you right. That way we can rest easy."
Third Aunt declared flatly, "I never planned to marry. I have a house, a car, savings. I used to serve others; now I want to be served. I'll spend whatever it takes—if it makes me happy."
Bai Lihua pressed, "But you can't keep living like this forever?"
"Exactly," First Aunt chimed in. "Father values his reputation above all. He's furious this time—won't even take calls from me or Second Sister. "
This finally provoked Third Aunt. Her voice lost its composure, becoming sharp and cutting: "What? When you needed my money, you didn't care about saving face. Now you're ashamed I'm embarrassing you?"
"How can you say that?" First Aunt frowned. "Can you just listen to us? Stop bringing up all this nonsense. It makes it seem like the whole family owes you something."
Aunt San's face twisted completely. She nodded repeatedly. "Fine, fine, you don't owe me, right? Let me get this straight. The apartment Dad lives in now—I bought that, didn't I? He rents out the old place he and Mom used to live in, keeps the rent money himself, sometimes giving it to you, sometimes to Second Sister. Don't think I don't know. But children buying homes for their parents is filial duty—I won't argue with that. When Mom was hospitalized for heart disease years ago, the surgery cost hundreds of thousands. I paid for that too. Why didn't anyone accuse my money of being dirty back then?"
Bai Lihua quickly changed the subject: "Your eldest sister and I just want you to find a steady, reliable man to settle down with. You're still young..."
"That kind of talk might fool young girls, but you're still single too, aren't you? If men were so dependable, why did you get divorced in the first place?" Aunt San vented recklessly, clearly having bottled it up for ages: "At least my eldest sister found a decent man. For over a decade, he never held a proper job, just chasing every whim. He partnered with someone to open a restaurant, borrowing sixty or seventy thousand from me. It was going well until he took offense at a shareholder and pulled out on a whim—then he tried some wholesale business, making you borrow money from me again. And what happened?"
Auntie's face flushed crimson as she turned away, saying nothing more.
"You two are nothing but lazy good-for-nothings, living off the rent from the shop your parents left you. All day long you're holed up in the card room, not giving a damn that Qiao Mo dropped out of school. You probably can't wait for her to start earning money to support the family. How dare you lecture me when you're like this?"
"Lifen, that's enough."
"And you, Second Sister. All our lives, Mom and Dad favored you most. You were the studious one, so ambitious. All our family hopes rested on you. But look what you did—married that spendthrift good-for-nothing Yi Huailiang. Acted all high and mighty. After the divorce, did you suffer? Didn't you end up relying on me? You know I adore Feifei and Xixi. I don't have children of my own. What happens when no one takes care of me later? You're counting on that, aren't you? ... Why are you looking at me like that? Don't forget, even the down payment for the house you live in now came from me. Without me, you'd all be sleeping on the streets!"
By the end, all three women's eyes were wet and red. That night, Wangjiang was bitterly cold. Though the heater blasted inside, it felt like their bodies froze stiff, hearts turned to ice. Perhaps no blizzard could match the love and hatred brewing between these three women.
Little did they know, this blizzard had already swallowed two children whole.
Inside the room, Yi Tongxi curled up in her chair, trembling and weeping. When she saw Yi Yufei rise with a deathly pale face and head for the doorway, she lunged forward without a second thought, clinging to him desperately.
Brother. She shook her head frantically.
She didn't want him to go out, dared not let him go out. Humiliation, rage, and fear crushed her until she couldn't breathe. She couldn't face the shattered scene beyond the door.
Yi Yufei clenched his fists, holding back for a long moment before finally turning back. He roughly pulled Yi Tongxi into his arms, retreating with her into the small room to swallow those awful emotions.
They held each other for a long time, just as they would a year later on this very day.
Hurt had been inflicted, and perhaps it was impossible to fully recover the self before the wound. But with a beloved family member by her side to share the burden, nothing felt too terrible.
"So you see," Yi Yufei said, "the only wise decision Mom and Dad ever made was having you as their second child. Even though they got fined a lot for it."
Yi Tongxi felt an inexplicable heat flush her cheeks, and her neck stung slightly from tilting her head back. "I agree," she murmured, turning her face away. "Having you here is wonderful. Except your smoking is killing me."
He smiled. After a while, the fireworks along the riverbank had faded. Yi Tongxi lowered her head, sighing softly and uncertainly, "I just hope they don't regret it."