“Wen Ran, there won’t be any more sounds. You can come out now.” Xie Yunli slowly walked over and saw her curled up entirely behind the sofa with both hands covering her ears.
Xie Yunli placed his phone on the table and bent down. Just as he was about to reach out to comfort her, he paused for a moment. He seemed to think of something, and his hand stopped in mid-air without touching her.
“…I’ve already turned off my phone. Don’t be afraid.”
Aunt Zhu had been frantically urging the driver all the way, nearly causing herself another bout of high blood pressure, and finally rushed back after half an hour.
The driver, seeing her anxious state, joked: “Oh my, Auntie, you’re rushing home to cook for your little ancestor, aren’t you?”
“Exactly! My little ancestor can’t be away from me for even a day.” Aunt Zhu said: “Master, please drive faster. I’ll pay you extra if necessary!”
“Well, whether you pay extra or not, we still have to follow traffic rules, right? I’ll do my best. Don’t be too anxious though. It’s no big deal if a child goes hungry for a while.”
“That won’t do…” Aunt Zhu said: “This isn’t about being hungry or not. My little ancestor, she… ah…” She sighed and didn’t continue. Some things couldn’t be explained to outsiders.
In the living room, Xie Yunli sat silently on the sofa. As soon as Aunt Zhu entered, she frantically asked: “Mr. Xie, where’s Ranran? Did you see Ranran?”
Xie Yunli said: “In the dining room.”
Aunt Zhu couldn’t care about him and hurried toward the dining room. Sure enough, she saw Wen Ran sitting in a chair, holding a cushion in her arms.
“Oh, my poor child…” Aunt Zhu immediately felt overwhelming heartache.
Wen Ran was like a frightened little animal, constantly squeezing the cushion in her arms, even her breathing was trembling. Aunt Zhu immediately went over to comfort her: “Ranran, Auntie is back. Are you okay? Are you hungry? Auntie will cook for you right away.”
Wen Ran said: “Aunt Zhu… are you sick?”
“I’m fine, just an old problem. It’s all because of my disobedient rascal son who made me angry. It’s nothing, don’t be afraid.”
Hearing Aunt Zhu say she was fine, Wen Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense body relaxed.
Aunt Zhu knew that after staying home alone for a day and being unable to contact her, she must have been frightened, and had also gone hungry all day without eating. She must be struggling both mentally and physically. She took some snacks from the cabinet for Wen Ran, then hurriedly rolled up her sleeves and started cooking. Once she got busy, she forgot about Xie Yunli being there.
Xie Yunli did come over to take a look during the process.
Wen Ran sat in the chair. Her messy long hair had been tied back with a hair tie by Aunt Zhu, leaving only a few strands in front of her forehead.
She frowned slightly, arranging the small cookies on the plate one by one, positioning them until she was satisfied with their placement. Only then did her brow relax a little, and she picked one up and put it in her mouth.
“Anyone who sees her would only think she looks beautiful and innocent. No one would associate such a beautiful-looking girl with words like autism, fool, or intellectual disability. Her appearance looks no different from a normal girl. But when they actually interact with her, they can tell she’s completely different from normal girls. She can barely manage the most basic communication with people. Many people would want to approach her, but few would truly be willing to invest enough patience and time to understand her.”
He had long understood what these warning words meant.
Xie Yunli watched her for a while, until she became aware of something and looked up.
She only saw his retreating figure.
Aunt Zhu only remembered Xie Yunli was still there after finishing cooking, and hurriedly went out to greet him: “Mr. Xie, would you like to have dinner with Miss Wen? What would you like to eat?”
“I still have things to do, so I won’t eat.” Xie Yunli picked up his suit jacket and put it on, saying: “Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Zhu. Contact me again if anything comes up.”
“Alright, this time really troubled you. Did it delay your work?”
Aunt Zhu’s attitude was very sincere.
Xie Yunli said: “It’s fine. This is also my responsibility.”
“Yes, yes, yes. As long as it didn’t delay you.”
Aunt Zhu wasn’t surprised at all that he would leave, but still felt it was a pity. She still hoped he could have a meal with Wen Ran.
Who says autism patients don’t need social interaction or intimate relationships? They’re just naturally not good at it and won’t actively seek it out, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need it. Besides needing professional treatment and intervention in the early stages, they also need companionship from family and patient guidance.
Wen Ran’s parents had spent so much time and energy taking her to countless specialists for early intervention and treatment, hoping she could live a normal life like every ordinary girl.
Unfortunately… all of this was abandoned halfway through the year Wen Ran’s mother passed away.
Aunt Zhu had long seen that although Xie Yunli hadn’t mistreated Wen Ran in terms of living conditions, he was after all a normal man. What he needed was also a woman who could connect with his heart and communicate normally with him.
Wen Ran was obviously not such a woman.
Although she didn’t know why he still maintained a marital relationship with Wen Ran, even Aunt Zhu had various speculations. But apart from being very busy with work, Xie Yunli’s personality was truly cold. Apart from necessary matters, he never said an extra word.
Perhaps one day, he would dissolve his marriage with Wen Ran and marry another woman. When that day really came, she wouldn’t be surprised or think it was excessive.
Aunt Zhu sighed and returned to the kitchen, seeing Wen Ran staring blankly at the food in front of her.
She was always in a daze, ever since she was very young.
When she was very young, she was extremely sensitive to light, sounds, and her surroundings. Even when she was two or three years old, she still couldn’t make normal eye contact with her parents or respond to their calls.
That little girl who had been treated like a little princess by the whole family, the most prideful and beautiful one, also became the most special and most disappointing child in the Wen family.
Wen Ran’s mother was diagnosed with depression when Wen Ran was eight years old. That same year, she was sent to an institution specializing in treating special children for intervention therapy.
At that time, experts told Wen Ran’s parents to prepare for long-term treatment, because autism is incurable for life and can only be treated with early intervention as much as possible.
They also took a long time to accept this fact.
When therapists asked Wen Ran countless times whether she missed her mother, Wen Ran never gave a positive answer.
But when one day, Wen Ran’s mother stood in front of her again after a long absence, she cried and called out “Mama” for the first time.
Professional treatment was indeed useful, and this also showed that in Wen Ran’s heart, her mother’s presence existed. It’s just that wanting to establish this kind of intimate relationship with her and getting her to express emotions was still a very difficult thing.
Aunt Zhu had been taking care of Wen Ran at the Wen family since she was a teenager. It had been almost ten years now, and she had practically been caring for her like her own daughter.
“Ranran, Mr. Xie has already left.” Aunt Zhu said to her.
Wen Ran didn’t speak, and her gaze didn’t move at all.
In fact, even when she stared at something continuously, her gaze didn’t appear dull. Because her eyes were very beautiful, the kind that made it hard to ignore her beauty even when she sat there without speaking. This was also why she received so much love when she was born.
Just when Aunt Zhu thought she wouldn’t have any more reaction, Wen Ran suddenly spoke: “I don’t understand.”
Aunt Zhu was stunned for a moment. “What?”
“I don’t understand why he would marry me to be his wife.” Wen Ran spoke softly: “No one would like to spend their whole life with an autism patient. Marriage is about spending a lifetime together, isn’t it?”
She had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder since she was very young. Many children similar to her had different degrees of intellectual deficits. Like them, she also had many defects. But she wasn’t a fool either.
In many matters, Aunt Zhu felt she understood everything.
Before Aunt Zhu could answer her, Wen Ran continued intermittently: “I feel… I’m very sorry to him. Aunt Zhu, he… Xie Yunli, shouldn’t have married me as his wife… I can’t be a wife. I should always be alone. I should…”
Those two long sentences, she spoke with unclear pronunciation and intermittently, but Aunt Zhu understood her meaning.
“I should… always be alone.” She repeated in a low voice.
“Silly child.” Aunt Zhu touched her hair with heartache.
Before this, Wen Ran had also said that she couldn’t be a normal daughter.
But no one understood better than Aunt Zhu how much Wen Ran loved her mother. When she first expressed attachment to her mother, that was also the first time she had an emotional connection with this world.
And that bit of connection was completely extinguished with Wen Ran’s mother’s death.
Xie Yunli should have been the person to help her re-establish this kind of emotional connection. Aunt Zhu had once thought so. Otherwise, why would Wen Ran’s mother have made this decision before her death?
Aunt Zhu said: “Who says autism patients can’t become someone’s wife? You’re a good girl. Someday, someone will definitely discover what a good child you are, and you will definitely be able to become a good wife.”
Wen Ran bit her lip and said nothing more.
She couldn’t even express herself clearly, and could never establish normal emotional relationships with others.
Apart from her parents and Aunt Zhu… no one would have that much patience to wait for her.
Aunt Zhu said: “Mr. Xie still cares about you very much.”
This statement wasn’t false. In her view, although Xie Yunli rarely came to see Wen Ran and the two had always been in a state of separation, at least in terms of living conditions, Xie Yunli had never mistreated Wen Ran.
At first, she recorded every monthly household expense very meticulously, from large items like monthly food, clothing, and necessities to small items like property fees and electricity bills. She recorded everything in detail. However, Xie Yunli wouldn’t even look at them, only telling her that monthly expenses were unlimited. Whatever Wen Ran needed, she could just swipe the card directly without specifically telling him.
Apart from the bank card he had her keep, Xie Yunli would also transfer a considerable amount every month. No matter what household expenses there were, he never cared. And whenever Aunt Zhu mentioned needing something, he would always directly have someone buy it and send it over.
Like this time, Xie Yunli had also come immediately.
More importantly, Aunt Zhu had specifically asked people to inquire, and it seemed Xie Yunli had never had anything like ‘gossip news’ around him. His company secretary was also male, just Zhou Wei. At night he either stayed in the apartment next to the company or was on business trips.
It’s just… no matter how thoughtful this kind of care was, it wasn’t the care between husband and wife.
Aunt Zhu sighed.
She didn’t understand Xie Yunli, but no one understood Wen Ran better than she did. She always felt that regardless of whether this marriage was suitable, the two shouldn’t continue like this.
At least, they didn’t even have opportunities to interact and understand each other.
But what could be done? Apart from unexpected situations like today, Xie Yunli wouldn’t actively come here, and getting Wen Ran to go out was almost an impossible thing to achieve.
Just as she was thinking this, Aunt Zhu suddenly heard Wen Ran say: “Aunt Zhu, I… went out today.”
“???” Aunt Zhu nearly had another blood pressure spike. After a long while, she calmed down and asked gently: “Auntie’s ears don’t seem to be working well. Ranran, what did you just say?”