I woke up to find I have a child - Chapter 38
On February 4, 2018, a dense layer of snow lightly fell on New York City. The snowflakes were small and melted the moment they fell onto the ground, refusing to stay longer than a second.
Han Feixu brought Yiyi to her Aunt’s home in the central part of Manhattan, less than a kilometer away from Lincoln center. Han Feixu picked Yiyi up to let her ring the doorbell.
Two minutes later, Han Anni opened the door. Yiyi blinked her big eyes and stayed silent as Han Anni came out. Han Feixu understood that her daughter had forgotten her aunt and lifted her into her arms, “Yiyi, this is my aunt. Greet your great aunt.”
Yiyi’s arm waved back and forth and she crisply called out, “Hello, Great Auntie.”
Han Anni laughed, “You’re so big now, I remember the last time we met you couldn’t even speak yet. Alright, hurry up and come on in. It’s snowing outside again so today’s planes will definitely be delayed.”
Han Feixu stepped through the door and then put Yiyi down. Almost immediately, the little girl ran towards the conspicuous piano standing next to the floor-to-ceiling window. However, she didn’t randomly start playing the keys and only propped herself on the edge of the bench. She stared down at the behemoth beneath her with a fascinated face.
Han Feixu glanced at her, making sure she wasn’t haphazardly playing the piano, and then returned her gaze to Han Anni. Han Anni wore a high-neck white cashmere sweater and a pair of dark gray woolen wide-leg pants. She closed the door and turned to Han Feixu and asked, “Why didn’t you leave directly from Philadeplia? There was an accident at the JFK airport just last month. It was such a big mess, and you’re even bringing a child with you, are you not afraid of another accident occurring?”
“You have to take a transfer from Philadelphia, which takes a long time. This is Yiyi’s first flight, and I’m afraid she won’t be able to stand such a long ride.”
Han Anni brought her a bottle of juice from the refrigerator, “What about the private jet?”
Han Feixu took the juice and paused, “They don’t know that I’m going back. So far, I’ve only told Shen Sangluo and Ye Mingxin.”
Han Anni’s movements of closing the fridge’s door slowed down for two seconds after hearing those words, “Does she know you have made a decision?”
Han Feixu leaned against the kitchen counter, her eyes drifting over to her daughter. Yiyi was now staring at the antique metronome on top of the piano. When she lightly touched it, the tempo slowed down, but when she touched it again, it started beating faster. Yiyi was mesmerized by the tiny thing and fiddled with it until she found a tempo she liked and began moving her head along with the metronome.
Han Feixu rubbed the glass of the bottle of juice, “I don’t know, but I believe she can guess what this is all about.”
Han Anni nodded, “You youngsters can decide things for yourselves now so I won’t intervene. However, if you need any help, please feel free to contact me.”
“En, thanks Auntie.” Han Feixu smiled gently, her smile three-tenths similar to Ye Mingxin’s.
Han Anni took out her phone and gave it a glance, “You two can stay as long as you want. My boyfriend and I have a date for lunch so I’ll be gone for about half an hour. Your plane is scheduled for 5 pm, right?”
Han Feixu replied, “That’s right. Auntie, you don’t have to worry about us. We’ll be fine by ourselves.”
She called Han Anni last night to say they were staying over for a few hours and then they’ll leave for the airport. Han Anni agreed immediately, but she only remembered later that she also agreed to have lunch with her boyfriend.
Han Anni put on her coat while Han Feixu took her own off.
Han Feixu took out a pair of slippers from the shoe rack. While she was changing shoes, Han Anni noticed a necklace on her neck, “That necklace looks familiar.”
Han Feixu froze for a moment and unconsciously touched the necklace in question, “Oh, this…this one used to be my mom’s She used to wear it a lot. I’ve been wearing it since she passed away.”
Han Anni gave her an understanding look, “Ah, yes, I remember it now. Every time I went back to China for a visit, my sister-in-law would wear this necklace.”
She smiled, “This necklace suits you very well.”
After she finished speaking, she picked up the keys dangling on a hook by the door, “I’ll grab some lunch for you two, does Yiyi have anything she doesn’t like to eat?”
“Except for some shrimp and fish, she doesn’t eat seafood.”
Han Anni looked at her in surprise, “She doesn’t eat crabs?”
Han Feixu shook her head, “She doesn’t eat them. One time I forced her to try some and she vomited as soon as she placed it into her mouth. The resistance in her heart is too strong.”
Being a picky eater is not always a good thing, but Han Feixu didn’t know how to correct her. She once made dumplings with minced crab meat as stuffing but Yiyi didn’t even have to taste it before she rejected them. She could apparently smell the crab meat inside the dough and refused to eat a single one.
Han Anni thought it was funny, “It’s weird that she can eat fish and shrimp but not other seafood. Well, then I’ll bring you two some lasagna instead.”
Han Feixu escorted Han Anni out the door before returning to the living room. Han Anni has always been someone who paid attention to her quality of life. She doesn’t watch TV and instead reads books or plays the piano to entertain herself.
Han Feixu took out the iPad and turned on a cartoon in preparation for the inevitable event of Yiyi becoming bored. Suddenly, Yiyi ran to her side and looked up at her, “Mama, there are so many books in Great Auntie’s house!”
“That’s because my aunt is a professor. She is a very smart and learned person. Do you still remember what Mama told you? About which type of person in this world deserves the most respect?”
Yiyi replied in a cute tone: “I remember. Mama said that the elderly and scholars are the people who deserve the most respect.”
Han Feixu raised her eyebrows, “Then do you know what it means to be a scholar?”
Yiyi told her cheerfully, “I don’t know!”
Han Feixu: “……”
Her phone started vibrating. Han Feixu glanced down at it and then gave the iPad to Yiyi, “Watch this cartoon. Auntie doesn’t have a TV in her house, so you can only watch this. Mama’s going to answer the phone now, make sure to behave yourself.”
The music of the cartoon “In The Night Garden” began to play while Han Feixu pushed open the glass door and walked out onto the balcony. She clicked the answer button on her phone.
Today’s temperature is not too low, the highest temperature reaching about 6°C (42.8°F), making it the warmest day in this cold winter. Han Feixu pulled down the sleeves of her sweater to cover the tips of her fingers.
Even though she hasn’t touched the violin for nearly eight years, she still subconsciously tries to protect her fingers.
Shen Sangluo was on the other side of the phone, the time being 11 pm in the evening for her. She had just returned home from some double overtime, “What time are you arriving in Beijing?”
“About 7 pm, if not later.”
Shen Sanluo: “It’s quite possible that the plane will land later. Alright, I’ll pick you up then. Make sure to dress your kid up warmly. The temperature these past two days have all been below 0°C. Yesterday it was -10°C.”
Han Feixu’s voice replied calmly, “I know. I’ve already given her a down jacket to wear. If you don’t come tomorrow, I can always go back in a taxi.”
“Where are you going back in a taxi?”
“Lawrence Homes. Ye Mingxin bought a new house there and Yiyi and I will be living there for the time being.”
Shen Sangluo sat near the bay window of her house, a soft cushion under her body, as she couldn’t help but frown, “Aren’t you going to divorce her? Why do you still want to live in her house?”
Snowflakes fluttered down in front of her and Han Feixu took a step forward, stretching out her free hand to feel the cold flakes drop into her palm, “If I don’t go to her house, where else can I go? I don’t have my own home there.”
“Also, I can’t deprive her of her right to meet Yiyi.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone, “Why isn’t Ye Mingxin picking you up? Is she too busy again?”
“I only told her I was going back soon, but I didn’t tell her which day. Even if she knew, she wouldn’t be able to pick me up. She’s a famous celebrity, or have you forgotten that part already?”
“I haven’t forgotten.” Shen Sangluo replied in a whisper. She sighed, “If you’re going to come back, then you should stay. Divorce is not a small matter, and if you wait for the paperwork to be completed, at least a year will pass by. Why don’t you just stay here? It’s much easier just to stay in the country than going back and forth.”
Han Feixu thought about it for a moment, “I’ll think about it. Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping? You should go to bed first. If you have anything to say, you can tell me when I see you the day after tomorrow.”
She hung up the phone and turned around to head back indoors. She opened her suitcase and took out a thin burgundy surface laptop. She opened her email and found that the lawyer had already prepared the first draft of the divorce agreement. Seeing the big “Divorce” at the very top, Han Feixu paused for a long time before flipping through the pages.
The only sounds in the room came from the cartoons on the iPad. When Yiyi watches cartoons, she suddenly becomes very obedient and would not move around much. But in such a quiet environment, Han Feixu felt her heart was a complete mess. She slammed the laptop shut and stuffed it back into her suitcase.
Light snow fell for only about half an hour and stopped by the time Han Anni returned. Since the snow stopped, the flight was not delayed. They boarded the plane on time and sat together in first class. Han Feixu put Yiyi by the window while she sat herself next to the aisle.
When booking the flight tickets, Han Feixu had deliberately found two seats that were separated by a large distance from other seats. She was afraid that Yiyi would make a scene and disturb others. However, with a partition and this much space, she was less worried about disturbing other passengers.
Yet, it turns out she was overthinking it. Yiyi rarely caused a fuss in public in the first place, and made even less of a fuss when she got on the exciting airplane. The entire trip back to Beijing was smooth. When they landed, Han Feixu wrapped a down jacket around the little girl and placed a large hat on her head that covered her little face. Then she grabbed her hand and led Yiyi down the plane.
After walking out of the airport, Han Feixu subconsciously stopped in front of the airport for a moment. This was an old habit, because before, someone would always come to pick her up, be it her parents or Ye Mingxin. But this time, no one came.
She didn’t tell Ye Mingxin when she would arrive because she didn’t want her to send someone to pick her up. The two of them will take their separate paths in the future, and when that happens, there will be no one to pick her up from the airport. So, she must get used to this kind of life now.
Han Feixu smiled and then lowered her head to ask Yiyi if she liked Beijing. Yiyi was half-frightened to death at the sight of so many people, so how could she like this place? She tightly hugged onto her mother’s thigh, squeezing hard in fear of getting lost.
After getting into the taxi, Yiyi was not so scared anymore, and started to get excited instead. She kept counting the number of people in Mama’s family. Han Feixu said they were coming back for Chinese New Year and that she would see many, many relatives. All of them are a part of her family and Mama said they will all like her very much.
Yiyi felt she should reciprocate their kindness and so she was determined to remember their names and how many relatives were in her family. So she counted them on her hands several times and couldn’t help laughing in joy at the thought of so many people liking her.
Han Feixu arrived at the new house with a silly, giggling little girl. She followed the address and found the villa at the very back of the neighborhood. She rang the doorbell and then lifted Yiyi who was dressed up like a chubby little ball, smiling down gently at her little girl.
Her smile stayed on her face as the door opened and she looked over, but the one who opened the door was not the housekeeper but Ye Mingxin.
The smile on her face froze before it slowly disappeared. Ten seconds of silence later, she finally asked, “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be filming in Dunhuang?”
Ye Mingxin’s eyes lifted from her fingers and then flashed a very faint smile, “You said you were coming back, but didn’t tell me when. So, I could only wait here until you arrived.”
“Welcome home, Little Xu.”