The photo of him as a six-year-old novice monk had been her phone wallpaper for many years, though she had only met him once.
That winter when she was ten, she accompanied her grandmother back to Banna, carrying a camera and snapping random pictures nonstop.
Xili Bufa was playing with a small wooden-carved cat. He wore red monk’s robes, looking utterly pure and adorable.
She captured him in her camera. The developed photo was something she stumbled upon when she was fifteen, set as her phone wallpaper, and used for ten years.
She had always remembered that his name was Xili Bufa.
As for what relative’s child of her grandmother’s he was, she still had never figured it out.
Fine, he counted as a distant relative. She really did need help.
“My mother’s body is still at the hospital. I need to handle her funeral arrangements. Can you accept helping me?”
“I can. Auntie Su was very kind. Every time I came to pay the rent, she would let me eat at your house. My name is Xili Bufa. You can call me Xili. You’re Su Yufan, right?”
“Yes.” Su Yufan was surprised that this man knew her.
“Then what should we do now? You look very tired. Have you had lunch? I have milk fan here. Do you want some?”
Xili Bufa was a little nervous. He hurriedly took out a wrapped roll of milk fan from his shoulder bag.
“No. I’m sorting through my mom’s belongings. You eat it. Help me drive later. I need to go to the funeral home. We may be busy until very late today. Is that okay with you?”
“Death is another breath of life. Your mother will turn into stars and watch over you.”
Su Yufan turned her head in shock and met Xili Bufa’s eyes. Words of comfort like that felt entirely new to her.
The two of them drove Su Yufan’s mother’s car, bringing some clothes and belongings with them, and went to the hospital, then made their way to the funeral home for makeup, encoffining, and cremation.
She placed into her mother’s pocket the little wooden elephant she had carved as a child, along with the dragon head of a dragon-headed sanxian lute. It had been carved by her grandfather himself, and it accompanied Su Fengxia into cremation.
Su Yufan personally gathered her mother’s bones and chose a black urn. It was not especially good-looking.
If her grandfather were here, he would certainly have carved her mother an exquisitely beautiful urn.
By the time all of this was done, two days had passed.
Su Fengxia’s memorial portrait and urn were placed side by side, with incense burning beside them, smoke curling upward.
“Su Yufan, what do you plan to do with your mother’s ashes? Are you going to keep them enshrined at home?”
Over the past two days, the thing Xili Bufa had done most was run errands.
He did it gladly, and he was very thoughtful. He worked efficiently, in a way that did not match his age.
“She left her last wishes. She wants to be buried back in Jianchuan. Xili, do you know any Jianchuan masters who carve tombstones? I want to order a gravestone for my mom.”
“I do. What kind do you need?” Xili Bufa was very enthusiastic.
“Something simple. I’ll tell you the inscription after I’ve thought it through. Thank you for all your hard work helping me these past two days. I don’t know how to cook.
“I’ll give you some money. Go buy whatever you want to eat, all right? Right now, I want to sleep for a while.”
“I have money. You don’t need to give me any. There are still some vegetables in your fridge that can be eaten. I’ll make you something. You go sleep first.”
Xili Bufa jogged to the kitchen. Su Yufan was too lazy to stop him. She was so tired.
She had not closed her eyes for two days and two nights, had not drunk water, and had not eaten anything. All she wanted was to sleep quietly.
She also hoped that when she woke up, it would all have been just a dream.
When Su Yufan was woken by Xili Bufa, her eyes were bleary. She had not slept deeply. She had kept thinking about her mother, so she had not slept well.
“Su Yufan, I cooked a small pot of rice noodles and fried some milk fan. Eat a little?”
“All right, thank you.” Su Yufan was starving.
Hearing that it was rice noodles, something she liked to eat, she would take a couple bites no matter how tired or sleepy she was. She could not very well starve herself to death and go against her mother’s hopes.
The two of them quietly slurped rice noodles without speaking.
Xili Bufa was also so sleepy he could barely stand it. After finishing the rice noodles and washing the bowls and chopsticks, he said he had something to do and would come again tomorrow.
Su Yufan sat on the sofa in front of her mother’s memorial portrait in a daze. She dozed off on the sofa and actually fell asleep.
When she woke, it was ten-fifty in the morning.
She opened her phone and saw a text from Duan Heng, asking her to go to the hospital to find him. It was about her mother.
She tidied herself up briefly, washed her face, went downstairs to the hair salon to wash her hair, and finally tied it into a high ponytail.
Her full forehead was exposed. It was a sleek, scalp-hugging, forehead-baring style that made her bone structure look exceptionally refined and noble.
As soon as Duan Heng saw her, he immediately wanted to take her to have blood drawn and get a B-ultrasound.
Su Yufan was very confused. “Didn’t you say it was about my mom? Why am I getting these tests?”
“A month ago, you had surgery in Shanghai to remove your right ovary. Yesterday, I saw your major pathology results in a classmates’ group chat. You were diagnosed with ovarian clear cell carcinoma, a rare type.
“Your genetic testing showed a very high level of target mutations. At present, there are no suitable targeted therapy drugs on the market.
“The results achievable through chemotherapy are minimal. Immunotherapy can be tried.
“I want to know what your current tumor marker CA125 is. A B-ultrasound can show how you’ve recovered after surgery. I want to help you.”
Su Yufan froze for three seconds. How could he know her illness so accurately?
How could he know so clearly in such a short time?
He must have mobilized all of his connections and friends, right?
She agreed to Duan Heng’s suggestion and smoothly completed the two examinations.
At noon, she invited Duan Heng to eat, thanking him for his concern for her mother and herself.
The two of them went to a Dai restaurant near the hospital.
After sitting down, Su Yufan flipped through the menu. “These are all so spicy. I haven’t eaten spicy food in a long time. You order whatever you think is good. I’ll just have a sapie.”
Duan Heng was so angry he almost jumped up. As a cancer patient, how could eating only sapie be enough nutrition?
And as someone from Yunnan, not eating spicy food—wasn’t that the biggest joke under heaven?
However, she was sick, so a mildly spicy flavor would be fine. He, on the other hand, was someone who could not be happy without spice.
“Su Yufan, let me remind you. Although your illness is early-stage, you still need to supplement enough nutrition. If you’re afraid of gaining weight, lemongrass grilled fish and Menghai roast chicken are fine. They won’t put on flesh.”
Out of habits built over many years, Su Yufan had always deliberately controlled her diet and her intake of meat protein.
“You’re right. There’s also a friend coming over. Order a few more dishes.”
When Xili Bufa arrived at the restaurant, Su Yufan greeted him and had him sit down, then went to the restroom alone.
Duan Heng began making conversation for the sake of it. “You’re Su Yufan’s friend? Do you know about her illness?”
“She’s sick? What illness?”
“You don’t know? She doesn’t seem to have many relatives or friends. You may be one of her few friends.
“If possible, persuade her to continue treatment. She can also go back to Dali and walk around.
“There are quite a few new cancer drugs now. As long as she gets through the early stage of treatment, later recovery is very possible.
“She’s still so young, and she has such talent in dance. She also just lost her mother. I think that as her friend, you should provide her with effective companionship.”
Xili Bufa felt a little guilty. He did not know whether Su Yufan considered him a friend.
He was also extremely shocked that what Su Yufan had was actually cancer. She was so young, so full of life. How could that be?
At the dining table, he could only pretend he knew nothing, silently putting a lot of food into Su Yufan’s bowl.
Three people, five dishes, all completely cleared.
Su Yufan had not eaten this much meat in many years.
After lunch, the test results arrived on her phone, and she hurriedly handed them to Duan Heng.
“The situation is still fairly good, much better than I estimated. Your tumor marker is 108. It’s normal for it to be on the high side; you haven’t started treatment yet.
“You’re in a bad mood, so rest for a few days first. I’ll discuss a treatment plan with my classmates. Wait for my notice.”
Duan Heng’s attitude and tone made Su Yufan let out a breath of relief. At least she had not been sentenced to death in advance.
Unlike some unscrupulous doctors, who opened their mouths and could predict life and death.
Xili Bufa was silent the entire way back in the car. Only after he had sent Su Yufan back to her home beside Dianchi did he finally speak.
“Su Yufan, the azaleas on Maxiang Mountain have bloomed, and the fringe trees in Shaxi Ancient Town are also very beautiful. Do you want to go back and have a look?”
“How beautiful?”
“That’s something you have to see for yourself. Go back to Jianchuan and rest for a few days, all right? Your mother’s ashes need to be sent back too.”
He was very worried about her, but he did not have a suitable identity that would allow him to stay and continue taking care of her, so he could only persuade her to go back.
“All right. Let’s leave now.”
Su Yufan simply packed two sets of black clothes and brought her mother home.
The old residence and small courtyard in Jianchuan also needed to be dealt with appropriately. This trip, she had to go.