The plane flew for two hours. Lin Wanyi was exhausted; she had barely slept a full night in the past two days.
She finally fell asleep on the plane, and Wang Hao kept watching her.
He thought back to when they got married, how he swore to give Lin Wanyi the best life.
When Lin Wanyi's parents disagreed, he even excitedly offered to become a live-in son-in-law.
He only gave up on that idea after returning home and getting a good beating from Liu Chunlan.
After they married, he agreed when Lin Wanyi said she wanted to work, but she soon got pregnant.
Liu Chunlan said a woman should stay at home to support her husband and raise the child, telling her not to go out and show her face in public.
Hearing it so often, Wang Hao also felt she was right.
But they had clearly met while working together.
And Lin Wanyi had obviously been more talented than him before.
The plane landed smoothly, and Lin Wanyi jolted awake.
A chill hit them; winters in the south had no central heating, so no matter how cold it was, you just had to tough it out.
Wang Hao pulled Lin Wanyi's down jacket tighter around her. She didn't even have time to tie up her hair before stepping out and getting into a taxi.
She kept looking out the window. It had been eight years.
Except for returning twice during the summer, she had never come back in the winter.
Her eyes stung as tears welled up; she closed her eyes and held them back.
Wang Hao handed her a tissue and offered his shoulder.
But Lin Wanyi silently moved further away.
She and Wang Hao were no longer the lovers they used to be.
They had drifted further and further apart!
As they neared home, Lin Wanyi heard the sound of the suona from afar.
She couldn't hold it back anymore, and her tears flowed freely.
When the car finally arrived at the door of her home, she collapsed onto the ground.
Her mother, Li Suhua, came over and hugged her, crying bitterly.
Her younger brother silently draped mourning clothes over her.
She almost couldn't recognize the strapping young man before her.
Back then, he was just a high schooler in his teens.
In the blink of an eye, he had matured enough to carry the weight of the entire family.
The relatives were all sighing, and her aunt, Lin Cuifen, even spoke bluntly:
"Insisting on marrying far away, what's the point?
"When your father was alive, you couldn't fulfill your filial duties; when he fell ill, you didn't come back to take care of him, and you didn't even get to see him one last time.
"What's the use of coming back to cry a few tears now?"
Her uncle, Lin Yuantang, also sighed, "Yes, why didn't you come back sooner? What was the use of raising you and sending you to college?
"Lin Wanyi, I really feel it wasn't worth it for your dad."
Her mother cried until her eyes were red and swollen:
"Say a few words less, all of you. It's not that she didn't want to come back; her dad was afraid she would worry and wouldn't let me tell her.
"When I told her the day before yesterday, she booked a ticket immediately."
"Booked a ticket the day before yesterday, so why didn't she come back yesterday? If she had been a little earlier, she could have seen her eldest brother one last time, and he wouldn't have died with regrets."
Lin Cuifen was still indignant: "To think my eldest brother favored her the most. Other families get hundreds of thousands in bride price when they marry off their daughters, but he was afraid she'd be bullied marrying so far away, so he didn't ask for a single cent.
"And the result?"
She deliberately glared at Wang Hao as she finished speaking. Wang Hao quickly explained:
"We bought tickets the day before yesterday, but our daughter suddenly fell ill. It was too sudden, and we didn't do it on purpose."
Lin Yuantang was also angry:
"I don't care what your reasons are. In short, you missed it, and you didn't fulfill your filial duties while he was alive, so you should pay for the funeral.
"During the time your father was sick, your mother and brother ran themselves ragged. You can't just contribute nothing."
Before Lin Wanyi could speak, Li Suhua spoke up first:
"Let's not talk about this now. The kids finally made it back; let them offer a stick of incense to Lao Lin first."
Lin Wanyi and Wang Hao knelt together in front of the coffin. Lin Wanyi wanted to throw herself onto the coffin and cry her heart out; she wanted to tell her dad that she regretted it.
She regretted marrying so far away!
But she held it in.
Her uncle and aunt were right; since she hadn't fulfilled her filial duties while he was alive, why put on a show after his death?
It was better to keep the pain buried in her heart.
Now that she had finally returned, it was time for her father's body to be cremated.
Sitting in the hearse heading to the funeral home, she finally leaned over her father's body and wailed.
Lin Jiajun consoled her, "Dad just didn't want you to worry, so he kept it a secret. He's gone now, so there's no need for you to keep grieving."
Lin Wanyi's tears simply wouldn't stop.
Half of her tears were for her father's passing, and the other half for her own marriage.
At the funeral home, Wang Hao received a message from Liu Chunlan:
Son, you absolutely must not give them any money. I told you, those are things their family's son should do.
Traveling so far to attend the funeral is already giving them face. Not a single cent, you hear me?
Wang Hao felt conflicted and didn't reply. A minute later, Liu Chunlan called him directly.
"Did you hear what I said? Not a single cent.
"Your plane tickets alone cost over two thousand. It's so hard to make money; you can't just waste it on their family.
"Also, you must stick by Lin Wanyi's side at all times. Don't let her interact with other men. Women like her mess around the moment you let your guard down.
"You hear me? Once that dead old man is buried today, hurry back tomorrow."
Wang Hao agreed in a low voice, "Got it, I know."
He hung up the phone, turned around, and saw Lin Wanyi standing right behind him. He guiltily shoved his phone into his pocket:
"My mom, she's just worried about us."
Lin Wanyi had heard everything, but she couldn't be bothered to say a single word to Wang Hao.
This marriage was already dead in her heart.
She was only putting on an act so her mother wouldn't worry.
The moment her father's ashes were buried, it felt as if a piece of Lin Wanyi's heart had been carved out.
The dirt buried her father bit by bit, and along with him, his worries for her.
Her father's voice echoed in her ears again:
"Don't marry so far away, don't do it."
"If they bully you, separated by thousands of miles, I wouldn't even be able to help you."
"You don't understand. What if you miss your mom and dad? What if we miss you? It's not just for a day, a month, or a year; it's for a lifetime."
"If you insist on marrying him, suit yourself, but don't come crying to me about regrets later!"
"Don't cry in the future!"
Lin Wanyi's tears fell like a broken string of pearls as she screamed in her heart:
"I regret it, Dad, I regret it!"
Wang Hao knelt beside her. He could feel her heartbreak, but all he could do was silently put an arm around her shoulder.
Lin Wanyi knelt in front of her father's grave until the sky turned dark.
Until Lin Jiajun pulled her back home.
The house was filled with her uncle, aunt, and many other elders.
Li Suhua was pouring tea for them.
After a moment of silence, Lin Yuantang spoke up:
"Wanyi, Jiajun, your father is gone, and now only your mother is left. Have you discussed how to care for her in her old age?"
Li Suhua's hand trembled as she poured the tea, and she quickly said, "I'm still young, I don't need looking after yet."
"How can that be?"
Lin Cuifen said, "Sister-in-law, you're almost 60, you're not young anymore.
"Eldest brother passed away from overworking, you can't end up like him.
"Wanyi and Jiajun are both adults; it's only right and proper that they provide for you in your old age."
Li Suhua smiled, "It's really fine. Jiajun isn't even married yet, he has a lot on his plate.
"And Wanyi married far away, it's even more inconvenient for her. I can manage on my own, it's no problem at all."
