Isla Ge stood alone in the sun, lost in thought for a moment, her cheeks burning from the sun; the two lines of tears rolling down her cheeks felt even colder, chilling her heart. She raised her hand to wipe her tears, then walked lazily into the corridor and sat down in the guest room.
I thought to myself, "My aunt's reputation outside is not very clean to begin with. I thought it was just a rumor spreader who wanted to humiliate a widow. Besides, Liang Jiteng is one of the richest men in Hong Kong, and my aunt was his favorite woman when he was alive. He left a large sum of cash to her in his will. There are many people who are jealous of her and naturally can't say anything good about her. Now it seems to be true! I have been mixed up in this muddy water for no reason. As a girl, I can't get clean even if I jump into the Yellow River! I have to overturn my plan and think about it again. But in this case, it's not worth it to suffer all this today! Thinking about that scene carefully, she felt sad again. Although the Ge family was a middle-class family, Isla Ge was spoiled and had never been scolded in person. She was sad, and faintly heard someone in the other room scolding loudly, slamming the door, and sobbing. A little girl came into the living room to clean up the remaining teacup, and another girl followed in in a panic, tugged at her sleeve, and asked: "Who did the young lady lose her temper with?" The first one smiled and said: "She scolded Clara, why are you so scared?" The second one asked: "How did she get out of control?" The second one said: "I don't know. They couldn't invite Sir Qiao Cheng, and they found out that Clara had accompanied him out a few times. He was happy to ask her to go out, so she didn't have to come to the door and expose herself." They were talking and Isla Ge heard a sentence in two or three sentences. The two took the teacups and went out.
Isla Ge looked up and saw a cactus on a royal blue porcelain plate on top of the piano. It was about to bloom. Its thick green leaves poked their heads out in all directions like a nest of green snakes. The red branches looked like snake tongues. The door curtain behind the flower moved, and Ruby came out with a smile. Isla Ge shuddered. Ruby waved to her, and she followed him into the hall. Ruby laughed softly, "You came at an inopportune time, right when the young lady was angry. When you came back, you were already unhappy. Now it's the restless one at home who offended her. She attacked from both sides, and the young lady was wronged." Isla Ge laughed, "Sister, you are too harsh! How could I be wronged? It's normal for elders to ridicule children, not to mention your own aunt, a close relative? It's no big deal to hit her a few times." Ruby said, "Young lady is really a wise person." He led her into a small study room, which was decorated in the old Chinese style, with white walls, stone blue lacquered cloth on the floor, gold lacquered tables, bright red silk chair cushions, and bright red silk curtains. That kind of antique silk is rare for Isla Ge's generation, except for making quilt covers. On the floor was a two-foot-high cloisonné square vase, with small white bones in the flowers. At first glance, it looked like tuberose, but only people who have lived in southern China for a long time would recognize it as pale basil flowers.
Isla Ge had just had those doubts, and she was thinking that since she was here, she would not come in vain. She would naturally make a request to her aunt as planned. It would be up to her whether she agreed or not. If she didn't agree, maybe it would be my luck. Thinking this way, she felt relieved. Looking around, she felt that this room was vulgar but vulgar in a wonderful way. Mrs. Vivienne was sitting on a gold-painted chair with one leg hooked on the armrest of the chair. Her high-heeled gold-woven slippers were dangling from her toes, ready to fall to the ground with a snap at any time. She had taken off her hat and was wearing a parrot green bun. Isla Ge couldn't help wondering what color her hair was under the bun. She wondered if it had been dyed. Isla Ge stood in front of her, but she didn't seem to know. She just held a banana fan over her face, as if she was asleep.
Isla Ge staggered and was about to leave when Mrs. Vivienne said, "Sit down!" She remained silent after that, as if waiting for the other party to speak. Isla Ge had to speak humbly, "Aunt is a person with a crystal heart. It's useless for me to lie to you. I'm telling the truth: two years ago, because there was a rumor that there would be a war in Shanghai, my family fled to Hong Kong and I entered Nan Ying Middle School here. Now the living standard in Hong Kong is rising day by day, and my father's little savings can't really support us. At the same time, the situation in Shanghai has eased, and I think it's better to go back to Shanghai. But I calculated that I can study well here and graduate next summer. If I go back to Shanghai and change schools, I will lose another year. But if I stay in Hong Kong alone, not only will my living expenses be a problem, I'm afraid I won't be able to pay the tuition. I kept these words in my heart and didn't even tell my parents; it's useless to tell them, and it will only make them worry. After thinking about it, I decided to come to my aunt for help."
Mrs. Vivienne's slender hands rubbed the handle of the banana leaf fan until it spun. Some sunlight leaked through the veins of the banana leaf and spun on her face. She said, "Miss, you have thought of everything, but you have never thought about me. Even if I am willing to help, I cannot help you. If your father knew, he would definitely accuse me of seducing a decent girl. Who am I to your family? I am willing to be lowly and bring disgrace to the family. I didn't want the family that my brothers found for me, but I chose to marry a man named Liang as a Concub!ne, bringing shame to my poor family. Damn! The poorer the family, the more it is like a brick in the toilet, smelly and hard. You were born late, and you didn't catch up with the excitement. You didn't listen to your father's words. "He cursed me with his words!" Isla Ge said, "Dad has such a nerdy temper that no matter how much we persuade him, he won't change. He doesn't know the seriousness of his words, no wonder my aunt is angry. But after so many years, my aunt is magnanimous. Can't she still care about us kids?" Mrs. Vivienne said, "I am just a little bit petty! I just love to chew on old things! I just can't forget what he said!" She tilted her fan, and a few strands of golden sunlight filtered in from the fan, brushing past her mouth, just like the whiskers of a tiger cat, fluttering about to fly.
Isla Ge smiled apologetically, "Aunt can't forget, and neither can I. Dad committed a verbal sin, and aunt must give me a chance to atone for it. Aunt has brought me up, and I am your child, and I will repay you slowly in the future!" Mrs. Vivienne just used her hands to tear the veins on the banana fan, tearing it again and again. Isla Ge suddenly realized that she had been hiding her face with the fan, but was staring at the student through the slit in the fan. Mrs. He lowered her hand, tapped her chin with the fan, and asked, "Do you plan to live in the school?" Isla Ge said, "My family has moved away, and I think I have to live in the school. I've asked around, and living in the school is not much more expensive than day school." Mrs. Vivienne said, "It's not about whether it's expensive or not. You can live with me, and I'll have someone around to talk to me. Anyway, we have a car at home, and we can take you to school every day, so it won't be inconvenient." Isla Ge paused and said, "That couldn't be better!" Mrs. Vivienne said, "There's just one thing. Can you keep your father from saying anything? I can't bear the accusation of alienating family members." Isla Ge said, "If my father says anything against me, I won't come back after I leave. Come back to see your aunt." Mrs. Vivienne giggled and said, "Okay! I'll make up a lie to please him. Don't make it impossible to cover up the lie!" Isla Ge was about to defend herself and said that she didn't intend to lie, but Mrs. Vivienne changed the subject and asked, "Can you play the piano?" Isla Ge said, "I learned it for two or three years, but my hands are clumsy and I can't play it well." Mrs. Vivienne said, "It doesn't have to be very good. Just pick a few popular songs to practice. Everyone likes to sing them. It's enough to be able to accompany. Young ladies from wealthy families in Britain can do this. We follow British rules in Hong Kong. I think your father's old-fashioned family education must have never allowed you to go out to socialize. He doesn't know that even if you get married in the future, you will still have to attend these social events and you can't stay away from people all your life. You follow me and have the opportunity to learn something. It's your luck." She said one word, and Isla Ge agreed. Mrs. Vivienne said again, "If you can play tennis, I'll have someone to practice with." Isla Ge said, "Yes." Mrs. Vivienne said, "Do you have tennis clothes?" Isla Ge said, "The sportswear from school." Mrs. Vivienne said, "Oh! I know, long bloomers, weird-looking, take my sportswear to try the size, I'll ask the tailor to make it for you tomorrow." She asked Ruby to find a goose yellow silk shirt and dove gray shorts; Isla Ge felt that they were too big, so Ruby pinned them up at the waist for her. Mrs. Vivienne said, "Your legs are a little too thin, but young girls are always thinner." Isla Ge was secretly worried and wanted to go home to tell her parents to see how they would react, so she hurriedly said goodbye, changed her clothes, took her parasol, and walked out, with a little girl opening the door for her. Ruby came specially, smiled and waved, saying, "Goodbye, girl!" That attentiveness was different from before. Isla Ge walked down the mountain along the road. The sun had already set in the west. Behind the mountain, the sky was bright red and purple, with gold and green interlaced, and it was very lively, just like the trademark painting on the lid of a cigar box. The palm trees and banana trees on the mountain were all baked dry and yellow by the scorching sun, like cigar tobacco. The sunset in the south is fast, and dusk is just a moment. The sun has not yet set here, but over there, at the end of the mountain road, the smoke and trees are blurred, and there is already a shadow of the moon in the green. Isla Ge walked eastward, and the more she walked, the whiter and brighter the moon became, as if it was a fat-breasted white phoenix, perched at the bend of the road, making a nest in the fork of the tree. The more she walked, the more she felt that the moon was deep in the trees ahead. When she got there, the moon disappeared. Isla Ge stopped to rest for a while, feeling a little lost. Looking back at her aunt's house, she could still vaguely see the window frames with yellow background and red edges, and the green glass windows reflected the sea. The towering white house, covered with green glazed tiles, looks a bit like an ancient imperial mausoleum.
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