"The teachers say this child is extremely talented in painting."
Speaking of this, even though he was feeling melancholy about his child's condition, Old Tang could not hide his pride.
…
"She likes to draw portraits?"
The overly mature style of painting can be explained by the fact that this child is a genius.
…
Old Tang opened his mouth.
There was some hesitation and confusion on his face.
"I……"
"In my memory, Tangtang has never liked painting portraits so much before..."
"Even if I painted it, it wouldn't be in such a realistic style..."
"one day……"
"She seems to like painting portraits very much."
On a specific day, he didn't-
ah.
An idea flashed in Old Tang's mind.
"It seems like the day she stopped going out..."
Old Tang's voice trembled a little.
etc……
He was going to be frightened by his own conjecture.
Even if his conjecture has not yet taken shape.
He just had some vague ideas.
But it already made him feel scared.
…
"Old Tang."
Old Jiang put his hand on Old Tang's shoulder.
…
Old Tang calmed down a lot.
"Feel sorry."
It seems that he talked about Tangtang with Mr. Jiang from the very beginning...
His emotions were a little out of control.
Probably because it has been suppressed for a long time.
The child's parents think he is unreasonable and thinks too much.
Although he denied it in his heart, because there was no actual evidence, he could not argue with the child's parents confidently...
He could only swallow all the words in his stomach.
Finally there is someone who can listen to him and probably solve his concerns...
He immediately started talking.
The emotional valve is also opened.
…
"Who is she drawing?"
Mr. Jiang looked at the stack of paper in his hand, thoughtfully.
If you piece together the people on each piece of paper...
Will you get a full face?
…
Why?
After being stunned for a short time, Old Tang smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"have no idea."
"We have also asked our children this question."
"Ask who she is drawing?"
"We all took it for granted that the woman the child most likely drew was the child's mother."
"We just guessed that what the child drew was the child's mother."
"and……"
That day he saw the child sitting on the balcony, seemingly looking at the child's mother playing with flowers and plants under the painting.
He's not sure.
He originally wanted to go over and have a look.
I don’t want to disturb my children who are concentrating.
I figured I would definitely show it to my children after I finished drawing it.
There is no rush for that moment.
…
but……
The child did not show the drawing to them.
Instead, I started painting non-stop as if I was stuck in a bottleneck...
The child has never drawn so crazily before.
They are very curious.
Who is the person who makes children so crazy about drawing well...?
Because of the childish brushstrokes and incomplete facial features in each painting, they couldn’t tell who it was?
Although they all default to being the mother of the child.
The mother of the child began to be moved.
As a result, the child said that the picture she drew was not her mother.
The attitude of denial was particularly strong.
No.
Even a little intense.
They were all stunned.
…
Seeing that the child's face was flushed red and tears were about to flow down, they hurriedly followed the child's words and said that the child's drawing was not of his mother.
It's just that the child's attitude is a little unusually intense.
On the contrary, it makes them feel...
The child is lying.
What she painted was her mother.
Don't know why...
Maybe to give mom a surprise?
So it needs to be kept strictly confidential until it's done?
Maybe a little bit embarrassed?
Don’t want them to see half-finished work?
No matter what the reason is...
The waste paper all over the house and the child's fierce attitude made the child's parents think that this was the secret the psychiatrist said was in the child's heart.
They wait patiently for the day when the secret is revealed.
That is the day when the child completes the painting and sends it away.
Maybe on mom's birthday?
There are not a few days left.
It is understandable that the child is so anxious and intense.
…
The child's parents thought they had found the answer and accepted the child's abnormal behavior during this period with peace of mind.
But Mr. Tang didn’t.
I don’t know if it’s the sense of touch honed by those decades of life experience or something else…
Mr. Tang just felt that something was wrong with his granddaughter.
…
The reason why Mr. Tang made up his mind to seek help from Mr. Jiang was that that afternoon...
He went into the child's room.
I found the child asleep on the table.
He hesitated for a moment between putting the child back to bed and possibly waking him up or putting a blanket over the child...
Finally he brought a blanket.
The child has spent sleepless nights and food in order to draw these past few days.
Now that she's asleep, let her sleep a little longer.
…
Mr. Tang was carefully wrapped in a blanket by his granddaughter.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard something vaguely?
Mr. Tang turned back in confusion.
He pricked up his ears.
what sound?
…
"Pa~"
Like something...the sound of falling on paper.
Mr. Tang lowered his head.
The next second he squatted down.
His eyes wandered around the area.
…
"!?"
He saw it!
…
Mr. Tang stretched out his hand.
Picked up a somewhat rough ball of paper from the ground under the table.
The color of the paper ball becomes darker in one place.
This is……
Mr. Tang tried his best to hold himself up and turned his head.
…
Where does the water come from?
Yes.
Mr. Tang recognized at a glance that the reason why the color of the paper ball became darker was that it was soaked in water.
…
After a few seconds, Mr. Tang opened his eyes wide in surprise.
This water...
No……
This is not water...
Mr. Tang reached out to pick it up.
These are the tears shed by a child!
…
The child lies on the table.
The whole face was covered tightly.
The fallen hair further obscures the child's face.
There was water dripping from the edge of the table and from where the child was lying.
…
Mr. Tang was shocked.
"Sugar, sugar, sugar!"
The complex emotions welling up in his heart instantly engulfed the old man.
Anxious, flustered, doubtful, worried...
Old Tang's whole body tensed up.
It seemed like he should shout out of control.
In fact, the sound he made was very soft.
He was afraid of scaring the children.
He reached out and gently pushed the child's shoulder.
"Tangtang, Tangtang..."
…
The child's head buried in his arms moved slightly.
It's like he's about to wake up.
…
Mr. Tang pushed his granddaughter slightly hard.
"Tangtang!"
He shouted softly.
…
The child was finally woken up.
He slowly raised his head.
Half-open eyes, blank expression.
This is a normal reaction to being woken up.
but……
Unlike most people who are woken up.
Tears were constantly flowing from the corners of the child's eyes.
The child's eyes and cheeks were red from crying.
…
Mr. Tang was worried and confused.
"Tangtang."
He tried to wake the child up.
What's wrong!?
This was the first time he had seen such a situation.
The child was woken up with tears on his face.
The confusion in his expression was in sharp contrast to the sadness in his tears.