After hearing Xiaoman's shout, I was so excited that I almost opened the bathroom door and went out.
But as soon as I put my hand on the handle, I realized that I was naked and something was wrong.
So he stepped back and asked Xiaoman outside the door: "Xiaoman, is this the call from mom?"
"Um."
"You chat with mom first, dad will come out after taking a shower."
"good."
After I finished washing, I found a towel to dry myself, put on my pajamas and walked out of the bathroom.
In the living room, Xiao Man was sitting on the sofa chatting with An Lan.
Seeing me coming, Xiaoman said to An Lan on the other end of the phone: "Mom, dad has come out after washing... um, okay."
Then, Xiaoman gave me the phone, and I said "hello".
An Lan smiled and said to me: "I didn't disturb you from taking a bath, did I?"
"No, why did you call me so early today? You haven't gotten off work yet, right?"
An Lan smiled and said, "I'm in Hong Kong now."
I was stunned for a moment, and after about three seconds, I said with a huge reaction: "What?! Where are you?"
“Hong Kong transfer.”
"Fuck you!" Because of my excitement, I used to say the quintessence of Chinese culture.
After An Lan heard this, he said, "Are you so excited?"
"No, why did you arrive in Hong Kong without saying a word? You didn't lie to me, did you?"
"I'm not lying to you. I'm staying in an airport hotel now. I'll fly to Guiyang tomorrow morning."
This is such a surprise to me, because tomorrow happens to be the Mid-Autumn Festival!
I didn't expect An Lan to come back on the Mid-Autumn Festival. I even thought it would be after the festival.
But she suddenly told me that she was already in Hong Kong and preparing to transfer flights. Can this not make me excited?
I said "ok" three times in a row, and then asked her: "No, I was still too surprised. Why didn't you tell me before you left?"
"When we set off, it happened to be early morning in China, so I thought I would tell you when I got to Hong Kong."
"What time is the flight tomorrow? When will it arrive in Guiyang? I will pick you up."
"Well, we have a flight at 7:40 and have to go to Shanghai for a connecting flight. I checked the itinerary and it's almost 2:30 in the afternoon."
"Okay, then I'll make the time."
An Lan said: "Okay, let's meet and chat tomorrow."
"Well, I'm already looking forward to it."
An Lan smiled and said, "By the way, Xiaoman, didn't you say you went to a boarding school? Why are you at home?"
"Tomorrow isn't the Mid-Autumn Festival. I didn't expect it at first, and neither did you?"
"Oh! Oh, I really forgot..."
"Haha, I forgot about it at first, but this is just right. Tomorrow happens to be the Mid-Autumn Festival. You are back too, and Xiaoman happens to be at home... By the way, where is Yangyang? Is he back together?"
An Lan responded and said: "Of course together, he is still too young now and there is no other guardian in London, so I can only take him with him."
"That's great! Our family is reunited."
"Well, let's do this for now. You go to bed early and see you tomorrow."
"great, see you tomorrow."
After hanging up the phone, Xiaoman came over and asked me: "Dad, are mom and brother back?"
"Well, you can see them tomorrow."
"That's great. Dad, you really didn't lie to me."
"Really? When did dad lie to you?"
Xiao Man chuckled, climbed onto the bed, patted the bed and said, "Dad, come up quickly, I want to sleep with you tonight, otherwise I won't be able to sleep with you tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Because mom is back! Mom must be sleeping next to dad."
"You kid, why didn't you say that before?"
She chuckled and said, "I wasn't sensible before."
"So, you are sensible now?"
"Of course, I am no longer a kid in kindergarten, I am an adult in first grade."
I smiled and lay down on the bed. Xiaoman was still lying under my creaky nest as before, leaning against me obediently.
"Dad, you used to tell me stories, let me tell you today, okay?"
"Okay, what story do you want to tell me?"
"I'll tell you a story that the teacher told us."
"Well, okay!"
So she started to talk vividly...
"Once upon a time, in a big forest, there lived a beautiful little girl who had a beautiful house.
On this day, the little girl went to pick flowers. She came to the grass and saw what beautiful flowers!
A group of small animals came and they jumped around the little girl.
The little white rabbit said: Little girl, can I go and play in your beautiful house?
The little girl said: No, no, you are so dirty, you will stain my carpet.
"..."
I listened quietly, feeling relieved but at the same time feeling a little bitter in my heart.
I don’t know why, but this is the first time Xiaoman tells me a story, just like I used to hold her in my arms and tell her stories.
But now the roles are reversed, I am the one listening to the story.
I never felt that Xiaoman had grown up, I always thought that she had just been weaned.
But in fact, she will be seven years old this year.
Thinking back, An Lan and I have known each other for so long, but it seems like we just met yesterday.
To be honest, I can't accept it. I can't accept that she is growing up quietly under my eyes every day.
While she was talking to me, she fell asleep first, but I wasn't asleep yet.
I don't feel sleepy, and An Lan will be back tomorrow, so I feel very excited.
After covering Xiaoman with a quilt, I gently got out of bed and wanted to go out and smoke a cigarette.
When I came to the balcony outside, I found a person lying on a bamboo chair in the yard downstairs.
I thought Boss Tang, because usually he was the only one who liked to lie on that chair.
But if you look closely, it's Wang Yi.
I came downstairs and walked up to her, but she didn't seem to realize it.
She didn't fall asleep or look at her phone, she just stared at the night sky with her eyes open.
Her eyes were so big that they seemed to hold a sky full of stars.
It wasn't until I sat down next to her that she came back to her senses, which seemed to frighten her.
She looked at me and said, "When did you come?"
"I just came here, what are you looking at so fascinated by?" I also raised my head and looked up at the sky.
"Look at the stars."
The night sky in the ancient town is indeed beautiful. You can see many stars. Unlike in the city, it is almost difficult to see a star. This is due to weather conditions.
I remember when I was a kid, the night sky was filled with stars. If you look closely, you can even see the Milky Way.
But when I grow up, I can no longer see it.
Fortunately, at least there is such a place, right in Anxi Ancient Town, a non-commercialized place.
But I think it won’t be long before this place will eventually be commercialized.
Even though our resort town did not intend to develop in a commercial direction from the beginning, once the town is built, it will inevitably be commercialized.
Moreover, the government also needs financial revenue. If it is not commercialized at all, it will not support the things I do.
This means that dreams and reality are incompatible, and you cannot have your cake and eat it too.
In silence, Wang Yi asked me: "Can you recognize Orion?"
"I can only recognize the Big Dipper, where..." I stretched out my hand and pointed.
"The Big Dipper is the easiest to spot. You can basically see it on a clear day, but Orion is hard to spot."
"So have you found it?"
"I found it. Just look for it. You only need to look for three stars in a straight line. That is Orion."