Chapter 4: Uninvited Guests (Four)

The lights, the sounds of people, and the smoke from cooking create an atmosphere in the alley that reveals a sense of aged decay and worldly weariness in the twilight haze

In the class, there was a student with good grades who began to aspire to attend university. She was inspired and unwilling to remain at a small school after graduation. She studied diligently in preparation for the college entrance examination. Despite her efforts, she did not dare to speak of her plans when she returned home. At that time, her father had grasped the ways of doing business, and the family bought a car and moved into a big house. Only then did she muster the courage to share her intentions with her father, and she finally received his approval

Tu Ran chuckled lightly: "Wretched man, ungrateful and heartless"

Lu Chengyu knew that it was not the right time to come, so he said: "Hello, Auntie, I brought Tu Ran back. You go ahead and busy yourself, I will come to see you next time." After saying this, he handed the fruit basket and nutritional supplements in his hand to Tu Ran

As the departure date approaches, Lu Chengyu has filled the last few days of his schedule to the brim, during which he took some time to accompany Tu Ran for an examination. On the ultrasound screen, that little bean seemed to have grown a bit larger, with two bright spots appearing beside it, one above and one below, resembling a pair of small hands waving incessantly. Tu Ran looked pleased and, taking advantage of Lu Chengyu's one day off, urged him to meet her parents.

Wang Weili quickly nodded: "Xiao Lu, right? I remember you; that was back when Tu Ran was preparing for university. What a coincidence, my home is in disarray right now, but you must come over another day to visit..."

Wang Weili's life has not been marked by great ups and downs, yet she has long felt unfulfilled. She recounts these past events to her daughter as if singing a song, and after finishing, she does not forget to comment: "Your current life is much better than mine back then, be content." However, she does not understand that in Tu Ran's heart, there are also her own unresolved issues.

Lu Chengyu honestly admitted: "I indeed did not pay attention"

Wang Weili expressed her disdain, saying, "Isn't this just the good deed of the old lady?" She angrily slammed the door against the wall, and only then did she notice the man standing behind Tu Ran. She was momentarily taken aback, and her expression softened a bit. She tugged at Tu Ran's arm and asked, "Is this the person you mentioned last time... Why didn't you give a heads-up before bringing someone back?" After saying this, she awkwardly smiled at Lu Chengyu.

The two individuals got out of the taxi and walked to the entrance of the garden community. Just as Lu Chengyu was about to enter, Tu Ran unexpectedly led him to turn and walk into a small alley beside it

However, her performance in mathematics, physics, and chemistry has fallen too far behind, and the difficulty level of the content she has learned is several tiers lower compared to an ordinary high school. Relying solely on self-study is very inefficient. Appreciating his daughter's effort and determination, her father brought home a college student from the entrance of the Xinhua Bookstore to help her with tutoring.

The old lady trembled with anger, stood up unsteadily, began to pack her clothes, and choked out: "I will leave, I will leave, this old wretch of mine... it would be better if I were dead..."

In the inner room, the spittoon used by the elderly lady was overturned on the floor, leaving a puddle of water. The old lady, who is ninety years old, finds the squat toilet in the house inconvenient, so a spittoon was placed in her bedroom for her use. It seems that she accidentally knocked it over when she got up from her afternoon nap to relieve herself

Tu Ran sighed, casually closed the kitchen door, and ran back to take the package from the old lady's hands: "Grandma, you can't leave. What will I do if you go? Your daughter has this temperament, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. She'll be fine in a while. You are magnanimous, a wise and generous person, and a long-lived elder. Please don't take it to heart."

Dad Tu quickly interjected: "This is Teacher Lu, a high achiever from Tongji University"

The only consolation is that the effort was not in vain, and the suffering has reached its end. Tu Ran enrolled in a third-rate university in a third-rate major, and after a farewell banquet for the teachers, the mentor and apprentice parted ways. On that day, Lu Chengyu felt that the sky of this city was unprecedentedly blue.

During that period, it was the darkest time in Tu Ran's growth, and it was also the most humiliating and unfulfilling work experience in Lu Chengyu's life. Whenever she was unable to solve problems during tutoring or could not comprehend the explanations of the young teacher, Tu Ran would feel frustrated and anxious. Initially, she could not help but cry softly, but when she saw the other person's helpless and terrified expression, she could no longer hold back and would burst into tears.

Later, as she grew up, her parents finally had some leisure time and wanted to keep their youngest child close to them, preventing her from studying or joining the military. Among her close friends, some eventually transitioned to other careers, either becoming doctors or teachers, while she ended up working in a nearby factory. In her early forties, she was laid off after her years of service were bought out. Fortunately, her husband was capable and earned some money, but who would have known that just a few years into a better life, her partner would pass away.

Upon reaching the third floor, she was just about to take out her keys to open the door when it was suddenly pulled open from the inside. Wang Weili stood at the entrance, hands on her hips, shouting: "You came back just in time, hurry in and help clean the floor, it's filthy, open the doors and windows for ventilation."

Tu Ran immediately interrupted her: "Mom, let's say a few less words. The elderly and the young are alike, aren't they? What's the big deal? Just clean it up, and that's it." As she spoke, she wrung the mop to clean the floor, while smiling at the old lady, saying: "Grandma, it's fine. Later, I'll play 'grown-ups' with you. We'll have a good time all night, okay?"

When Tu Ran was four years old, a younger brother was added to the family. Due to a violation of the family planning policy, her father was expelled from his public office and the party, and their lives were turned upside down. Her father later began to learn how to do business, intermittently earning some money, only to lose it again intermittently, until the years just before she entered university, when the situation finally began to improve

Lu Chengyu was surprised and asked, "Has your family moved?"

The old lady's eyes were red from crying, and she sobbed repeatedly: "I am of no use anymore, I am of no use anymore, why am I still alive, what is the point of living for so long..."

Upon our first meeting, I had an ominous premonition, and it was certain that things would not improve thereafter

"Mom," Tu Ran called out, pushing Wang Weili into the kitchen. "Go cook, go cook, don't let the old folks get so angry that they have a stroke."

Without waiting for Lu Chengyu to speak, Tu Ran asked again, "What, do you think I still live in the old place? You've sent me home at least seven or eight times, and have you ever seen me walk into this alley? I understand now, did you hurry to call someone to turn around as soon as I got out of the car?"

Tu Ran asked her, "Mom, what happened?"

Wang Weili saw the guests off and couldn't help but start muttering: "What is the point of living for so long, just to cause trouble and engage in sordid affairs..."

The old lady, fully aware that there would be no place for her to settle after leaving this place, leaned against the edge of the bed and could not help but wipe away her tears

Wang Weili snorted, "She had a stroke? Her health is better than mine. Don't doubt it; I will definitely die before her."

After she finished crying, she began to bury herself in her books again, repeating this cycle day after day

Wang Weili said: "How is that the same as with children? It's so dirty and smells terrible. Do you believe it? In a few days, that room will still have the same odor."

Tu Ran ignored it and continued to knock on the door. "Alright," she had just finished speaking when the door was pushed open with a loud bang. "I told them long ago to replace it with a better security door, but they were unwilling to spend the money... I moved out long before, back when I was in college."

Of course, Father Tu is not so superficial. He first noticed the boy's dilapidated bicycle beside him, then his attire, which was clean and simple. Tsk, people were coming and going all around, some holding professional books, sitting on the steps, turning the pages with focused attention, their expressions calm, exuding a certain quality of being in a bustling city while harboring a heart of elegance. Finally, he looked at the name of the university written on the sign, and thought, this is the one.

Thus, Tu Ran went to attend a vocational school, residing on campus and not returning home often

Seventeen or eighteen-year-old Tu Ran is a girl struggling through her adolescence, plagued by worries. With hormones fluctuating irregularly and being surrounded almost entirely by girls at school, her thoughts are abundant. At times, she reflects on her peers, who are of a similar age yet seem far more capable than she is. At other moments, she observes their calm demeanor and feels clumsy and inarticulate in comparison. In the midst of her chaotic thoughts and inner turmoil, she ultimately finds herself blushing, head down, standing at the door, forgetting even that the teacher has called for her.

Wang Weili sneered: "Living, just living to suffer? After doing so many bad things, heaven makes you live to suffer. Yes, it is to make you suffer. Look at all your children, who cares for you, who has come to see you? In the end, you are still lying here with me... Raising so many, what good is it? It's all in vain."

The lives of generation after generation have been lived in this manner

Tu Ran let out a soft "hm" and took out the key to open the downstairs iron gate, which was covered in peeling paint. The key turned in the lock several times, but the door would not open. Tu Ran grasped the railing on the door and shook it vigorously, causing the iron gate to rattle loudly. Lu Chengyu felt that she was about to pry the door off its hinges, so he said, "Let me do it."

Before me stand two five-story buildings with faded gray exteriors. Surrounding them are several old private houses and tenement buildings in close proximity.

Tu Ran had already noticed the old lady sitting in another room wiping her tears, so she hurriedly sent Lu Chengyu to the stairway and turned around to enter the room

Wang Weili was the youngest child in a large family during her childhood. With so many children, she was naturally not treated as a treasure. Starting at the age of four, she would stand on a stool to cook, and the number of times she was scalded far exceeded the opportunities to eat meat or drink soup. By the age of five or six, she began washing bed linens and her siblings' clothes, as they had to work and study, while she was the only remaining labor force in the family

At that time, it was quite popular for university students to find jobs as tutors. They would push an old bicycle and wait in front of a large bookstore, holding their transcripts, student ID cards, awards, and so on. On the handlebars of the bicycle, there would be a sign made from a cut-out cardboard box, stating "Certain University, Tutoring High School Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry," and similar phrases.

Tu Ran also felt uncomfortable, and her good mood of the day suddenly vanished. The excitement from the morning's pregnancy check disappeared without a trace. It is evident that raising a child is truly not very meaningful; after giving birth and raising them, decades pass, and in the end, one is left with a heap of complaints. Her mother was not one to keep her thoughts to herself; she complained about her own mother, while secretly, she was quietly blaming Wang Weili in her heart. Essentially, there was not much difference between the two; perhaps she was even more hypocritical, merely to maintain the facade of peace.

At the age of eighteen or nineteen, Lu Chengyu was quite striking, with red lips and white teeth, standing out in a crowd like a young poplar tree just sprouting new leaves.

Her reading is arduous, and his teaching is painful

With more children, they are often forgotten. In the dead of winter, when going to fetch water, one might accidentally fall into the river and be frozen half to death before being rescued by a passerby. It is only after being sent back home that the adults remember there is still her.

She always remembers when she filled out her preferences for the high school entrance examination. Wang Weili made the decision for her to attend a normal school, but that year she ranked second in the city, and the foreign language school was beckoning her. Wang Weili said: "Given our family's circumstances, you've already spent the money, what will happen to your younger brother in the future? Besides, being a teacher is quite good for a girl; the job is stable, and it sounds nice when mentioned. I used to want to be a teacher so much."

Father Tu appeared at the door with the tutor, and the young man extended his hand to Tu Ran, saying: "Hello, my name is Lu Chengyu"