Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 34

Phone Call (Part 3)

As Anzhi watched, little bubbles of bullet comments¹ would pop up in her mind.

“Yan Xi never said I couldn’t eat ice cream! Hehe, the first time we met, she bought me a popsicle. Although she didn’t let me eat too much of it after that.”

“This ice cream looks delicious.”

Meanwhile, Yan Xi’s inner monologue went: “Dad’s words here are the right ones, aren’t they? Kids shouldn’t eat too many high-calorie things. Ah, I was so unreliable back then.”

“Huh, I’ve always wondered, is that coffee- and chocolate-flavored ice cream?”

The little theaters in their minds were each showing their own films, but neither of them spoke their thoughts aloud.

After that scene passed, Yan Xi said, “A very classic scene is coming up.”

The car’s manual transmission was broken. On the advice of the auto shop owner, the family had the father push the car from the front, then jump in and start it, while the rest pushed from behind. The grandfather jumped in, followed by the little granddaughter, the mother, then the uncle running hurriedly. The brother was behind him and gave him a push. Finally, every single one of them had jumped into the car, not one left behind.

Anzhi couldn’t help but giggle.

Hearing her laugh, Yan Xi smiled too.

“Olive, you are the most beautiful girl in the world. Not just because you’ve got a brain, and a personality, but because you’re beautiful, inside and out.” On the screen, the grandfather was consoling his crying, anxious little granddaughter. She was worried about the next day’s beauty pageant, worried that she wasn’t pretty enough, worried that her failure would disappoint her father.

“Do you know what a loser is? A real loser is somebody that’s so afraid of not winning, they don’t even try.”

As Anzhi watched, tears gathered in her eyes and rolled down, one by one. When the grandfather didn’t wake up the next day, she started to sob, her cheeks covered in tears.

On the other end of the line, Yan Xi’s breathing was faint. She didn’t say anything, remaining quiet.

Many things happened in the middle of the movie. The family couldn’t bear to leave the grandfather behind, so they put his body in the trunk. The car, which already couldn’t shift gears, now had a broken horn. Then they ran into the police. The brother suddenly found out he was red-green colorblind and couldn’t become a pilot.

Arguments, reconciliations, quarrels, and they continued on the road to the competition.

Finally, during the talent portion of the beauty pageant, when the little girl came out wearing a suit with a strangely long tie and a top hat, accompanied by exceptionally cheerful music, Yan Xi laughed out loud. “No matter how many times I watch this, this scene is always hilarious.”

Anzhi didn’t quite get it. The little girl swayed back and forth, slapped her butt, and then threw off her hat.

“What kind of dance is this?”

Yan Xi couldn’t hold back her laughter. “This is…”

Just then, the little girl ripped off her pants, revealing shorts. Then, in front of the entire audience, she tore open her jacket to show a sequined vest, pulled down her red tie, and bit it between her teeth.

“A striptease.”

Anzhi: “???…”

Her performance was naturally met with cold stares and confusion. The host even wanted her father to drag his daughter off the stage in front of everyone. But her father refused and instead started dancing with her. Then her uncle, her brother, and finally her mother also jumped on stage to dance with them.

The family danced joyfully. The audience was dumbfounded. But there were also cheers and applause.

Yan Xi was laughing her head off.

Anzhi was smiling, but for some reason, tears were streaming down her face. “Grandpa… really was a bit perverted, huh…”

In the final scene, they were rushing home. The father was still pushing the car from the front. This time, there was no grandfather to jump in first and then help her up. The little girl ran with all her might and jumped into the car all by herself…

And just like that, the family drove their beat-up, hornless car on the road back home.

Anzhi was still crying.

The movie ended.

The song on the screen was still playing.

After a while, Yan Xi finally spoke up and asked her, “Was the movie good?”

“Mhm!” Anzhi nodded. “I like the part where they push the car, and I like it when they all dance together at the end. And the grandfather. He was so good to his granddaughter.”

“Yes, it’s a good movie, a good piece of work. When you’re a little older and you watch it again, you’ll see different things. And when you’re even older, it’ll be different again. A work that can resonate with you at different stages of your life is truly a good work.”

“Mhm. Actually, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that dance. A child’s eyes are the purest. Maybe she didn’t understand what it was; she was just purely enjoying the dance. She’d been practicing and working so hard, just wanting her grandpa to see it.”

“Mhm…” Yan Xi listened quietly.

“Then why do you think they still went to the competition after the grandfather passed away? After all, his death was an unhappy thing…”

“Because… it was the little girl’s dream. Grandpa was always helping her. He supported her so much, he must have wanted to see her achieve it…” Anzhi said, choking back sobs.

Her heart ached with a sour pain. She murmured, “Maybe the living shouldn’t be too tied to the dead. If the living work hard to live their lives, then the departed who loved them can be at ease.”

Yan Xi froze at her words. The glass by her hand still had half a cup of milk in it. Her fingertips touched the side; it was lukewarm. She half-turned her head. Outside the window, the pitter-patter of the rain was like the sound of silkworms chewing on mulberry leaves.²

She slowly curved her lips into a small smile and said in a low voice, “Mhm.”

“I liked the part where the brother went berserk, and his sister went to console him. She didn’t say anything, just touched his shoulder and leaned against him, and he figured things out. The brother has a sister complex.”³ Anzhi must have still been crying; her voice was punctuated by intermittent sobs.

Yan Xi nodded. “I like that scene too.”

Anzhi sniffled. “It feels… a lot like you.”

Yan Xi found this interesting. “Oh?”

“You have brothers too, and quite a few of them. It felt like I was seeing a younger you consoling your uncles…”

“Mhm…”

“Ahem…”

Yan Xi’s ears suddenly grew hot as many childhood memories flashed through her mind.

Grandfather Yan: “Xiao Wu!!! Did you pick my peonies again!”

Yan Xi: “It wasn’t me! It was Second Brother!!”

Yan Yixi, who was in his school uniform in the living room, being forced to eat by Auntie Xin while still reading a book: “…”

Yan Xi: “It was Eldest Brother!”

Grandfather Yan: “Your eldest brother went to join the army! Do you remember?”

Yan Xi: “Hehehe…”

A scene from when she was a bit older:

Yan Xi: “I’m not going to class today. If you dare tell Grandfather…” Her fair, white hand balled into a fist and she cracked her knuckles!

Yan Yinan, terrified, shivered and shook his head desperately with tears in his eyes!

She was nothing like the little girl in the movie who protected her brother. In fact, she had a rather extensive embarrassing past⁴ of bullying her brothers.

A faint blush crept across Yan Xi’s cheeks. “That… might be a slight deviation from the movie… ahem ahem ahem…”

Right. I have to maintain my adult image. I have to preserve my dignity as an ‘Auntie.’ I can’t let Anzhi know about my embarrassing past.

“Mhm! I knew it! Auntie must be just like that!” Anzhi said with a laugh, her soft voice full of affection for her.

Yan Xi covered her face with her slender, fair hand. “…Er… mhm…”

Please! Let’s change the subject…

“I really like this family. They’re noisy and they bicker, and while they all have their own problems, it feels so warm. They genuinely love each other and never look down on one another…” Anzhi’s voice paused. “Auntie’s family is the same. Great-grandfather and Great-grandmother, Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Auntie Xiao—ah, I should call her Eldest Aunt-in-law—Da Pang, Xiao Pang…”

Yan Xi’s heart clenched. So it does still affect her? Watching this kind of family movie, does it make her think of her own? Yan Xi sighed. This was exactly what she had been worried about, but she hoped Anzhi could truly transform her pain into her own strength.

“And Auntie Liu, they’re all very good people!”

“Taotao… if you’re willing, you can think of it as your home too.”

Anzhi raised a hand to wipe her tear-soaked eyes.

There was a moment of silence.

“There are so many other good parts in the movie, I just can’t put them into words…”

“Mhm. When you’ve watched more movies in the future, you’ll have your own opinions.”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

Yan Xi chuckled lightly. “Everyone’s perspective on the same thing is different. The process of discovery and insight is very interesting. I don’t want to rob you of that fun.”

“Mhm…” Anzhi thought to herself, I wouldn’t mind, though.

“Were you thinking about your grandfather just now?” Yan Xi decided to ask after all.

Anzhi said, “I miss him, but I’m not as sad as I used to be. Maybe one day I won’t be sad anymore?”

Yan Xi didn’t answer. Because she knew this pain would never disappear. It might fade, but it would never vanish. It would be rooted in your blood, accompanying every breath you take. Sometimes, it was cruel, popping out from time to time to prick you. To remind you of its existence.

“You don’t have to deliberately try to forget. Sadness can be a form of remembrance,” Yan Xi finally replied.

Not wanting her to continue to wallow in this sorrow, she said, “Alright, it’s too late. Time for bed, okay? Don’t think about anything else.”

Anzhi obediently went to wash up, wiped her face, and turned off the lights, leaving only a single, dim wall lamp on. Then she climbed back into bed.

“Are you going to sleep too?”

“Mhm, I’m getting ready for bed too. I’ve turned off my light.”

Anzhi hugged the other pillow and pulled her bunny plushie close as well.

“The rain still hasn’t stopped…”

“Is the window closed? It’ll probably thunder later.”

“It’s closed tight…”

“Don’t be scared, Taotao.”

“Mhm… I’m not scared.”

It wasn’t complete darkness; there was still the faint glow of their phones. But their voices had consciously lowered, becoming much gentler than the rain outside the window.

Muttering softly.

And there was a tenderness between them that neither had noticed. Faint and fleeting, in this rainy night, it had already receded before it could be perceived.

“Alright now, go to sleep. I’ll wait for you to fall asleep before I hang up.”

Anzhi loved it when Yan Xi said “alright now.” It was so gentle, and she would often reach out to stroke her head. By the time Anzhi noticed what she was doing, she was silently rubbing her face against the pillow, as if nuzzling Yan Xi’s palm.

“…”

Her face flushed, and she quietly settled down and closed her eyes.

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The author has something to say:

This pain would never disappear. It might fade, but it would never vanish. It would be rooted in your blood, accompanying every breath you take. Sometimes, it was cruel, popping out from time to time to prick you. To remind you of its existence.

I recommend Little Miss Sunshine. Those who have seen it will better understand the references. I will post the accompanying music, which is also on Yan Xi’s phone, on my Weibo.

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