Chapter 21: Mom
Zhou Tianzui arrived home drenched. You Ruxu opened the door and paused, “Where’s your umbrella?”
“Gave it away.” Zhou Tianzui looked at You Ruxu. The wind had whipped color from her face, making Zhou Tianzui’s usual pallor even more pronounced in comparison. You Ruxu didn’t say anything, just went to the bathroom, fetched a dry towel, and silently began drying Zhou Tianzui’s hair, her expression calm.
Zhou Tianzui also remained silent, just watching her. After a few minutes, she said, “Zeng Jing has been transferred to another ward.”
You Ruxu frowned: “Why?”
Her hand paused. Zhou Tianzui held her hand and continued drying her hair. You Ruxu let her, hearing Zhou Tianzui say, “The victim’s family found her.”
You Ruxu was silent for a few seconds: “I saw Mr. Zhao today.”
“He said Zhang Xiaojie set off the fireworks himself.” You Ruxu said, “He has evidence.”
Zhou Tianzui tilted her head slightly: “Oh?”
You Ruxu looked down. Zhou Tianzui was sitting on the shoe-changing bench, a bit shorter than her, her clothes still damp. You Ruxu didn’t say anything more, urging Zhou Tianzui to change. Zhou Tianzui reached out and hugged You Ruxu.
Burying her face in You Ruxu’s embrace.
Making You Ruxu’s clothes damp as well.
Zhou Tianzui said, “Want to shower together?”
You Ruxu had already showered after coming home. Looking at Zhou Tianzui’s eyes, she paused for two seconds: “Okay.”
She followed her into the bathroom.
Zhou Tianzui didn’t do anything, just took a simple shower. You Ruxu, however, stood beside her, watching the water cascade over Zhou Tianzui’s shoulders, her neck, down her smooth skin, tracing the curve of her waist, like a painted scene of a beautiful woman bathing in the mist.
You Ruxu’s fingertips traced the faint scars on Zhou Tianzui’s slender waist, barely visible. She looked down, not saying a word. After Zhou Tianzui finished showering, she asked You Ruxu, “Are you done?”
“No.” You Ruxu stepped forward, placed her feet on Zhou Tianzui’s, wrapped her arms around her neck, and leaned in.
Kissing her gently.
In the fine mist, Zhou Tianzui didn’t move.
You Ruxu, as if feeling cold, hugged her tighter, calling out, “Zhou Tianzui…”
Zhou Tianzui pursed her lips, her arms consciously holding You Ruxu, their bodies pressing closer.
They finished showering over an hour later. The rain outside was still falling, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, a continuous drizzle. You Ruxu dried her hair: “Tonight…”
“Let’s eat out tonight.” Zhou Tianzui said, “I want to eat out.”
You Ruxu nodded.
They went back to their rooms to change, not bothering with makeup. You Ruxu wore a beige loungewear set, her hair tied up in a bun, a few strands falling around her neck like soft down, light-colored, a natural and comfortable look.
Zhou Tianzui was even more casual, wearing a tracksuit, her long hair loosely gathered and held by a clip. She took the car keys and said, “Let’s take your car, mine’s being washed at the shop downstairs.”
You Ruxu nodded, took the keys, and asked, “Where do you want to eat?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Let’s go to North Street.”
You Ruxu glanced at her and said, “I…”
“I’ll set the navigation.” Zhou Tianzui said, “You haven’t been there before, have you? There are many restaurants there.”
You Ruxu gave a soft “mm-hmm.”
North Street used to be Jindu’s city center, twenty years ago. Later, Jindu developed eastward, moving the entire city center and pedestrian street to the east, building new bus and train stations. So, far fewer people went to North Street now.
You Ruxu drove, Zhou Tianzui set the navigation.
Compared to before, North Street was indeed much less crowded, with fewer shops. But a home-style restaurant on the third floor of the city center mall was still open. It was a chain restaurant, with branches all over Jindu. This branch used to have the best business, but since the eastward expansion, business had plummeted. However, the owner hadn’t moved, still operating here as usual. Perhaps because everyone knew each other and came to support him, business wasn’t too bad.
Someone was having a birthday.
A birthday banner hung next to the restaurant, its colors made even brighter by the rain. You Ruxu got out of the car and walked beside Zhou Tianzui, sharing a black umbrella, and entered the restaurant.
Perhaps because of the birthday celebration, there were quite a few people inside. Zhou Tianzui chose a table for two by the window. This table used to be by reservation only. From here, one could see the pedestrian street below, the bustling street always filled with stories.
After sitting down, Zhou Tianzui asked You Ruxu, “What do you want to eat?”
You Ruxu hadn’t eaten much all day, yet she wasn’t hungry. She said, “Anything is fine.”
Unlike Zhou Tianzui, she wasn’t a picky eater.
Zhou Tianzui ordered a few dishes and said, “They have drunken crab here, try it later, I used to come here often when I was young.”
You Ruxu’s hand paused as she reached for her chopsticks. She looked up at Zhou Tianzui and heard her say, “With my dad.”
“My mom used to work at a shop on this pedestrian street. We would always wait for her here, at this table.” It just so happened to have a view of her mother’s shop. Her father would order dinner for her, buy her ice cream, and then work. She would sit here, eating ice cream, and watching the street below.
Watching her mother.
When she was young, she thought it was an ordinary, everyday moment.
Only later did she realize it was her happiest time.
Zhou Tianzui asked You Ruxu, “Have you had drunken crab before?”
“Yes.” You Ruxu said, “My mom loves it.”
Zhou Tianzui nodded.
You Ruxu’s phone rang. She answered. It was a delivery driver, asking if she was home, saying a package had arrived. You Ruxu figured it was the fruit her mother sent. She said, “Leave it with the security guard, I’ll pick it up later.”
The delivery driver agreed and hung up.
You Ruxu put down her phone. The food arrived. She looked at Zhou Tianzui.
Zhou Tianzui rarely talked about her family. In the three years they had been together, she had barely mentioned her parents. But You Ruxu knew that Zhou Tianzui cared deeply about her family, especially after her father passed away. She was even more obedient to Yu Qiao. She had never seen Zhou Tianzui make Yu Qiao angry.
Except for the blind date issue.
You Ruxu lowered her head.
Zhou Tianzui asked, “What did you buy?”
“It’s from my mom.” You Ruxu said, “She sent some fruit.”
Zhou Tianzui ate her food. You Ruxu asked, “Were you close to your father?”
“Close?” Zhou Tianzui pondered. She had always been closer to Yu Qiao. Her father was busy and always away from home, so their relationship wasn’t particularly close. But after Yu Qiao came here for work, they would have dinner together here every day after school, which brought them closer.
Regardless of how close they were, she remembered her father carrying her to the hospital in the middle of the night because she had food poisoning.
Regardless of how close they were, she remembered her father running all over Jindu to buy her a specific brand of watercolor pens.
Some memories, the more they fermented, the more beautiful they became.
She said, “Perhaps.”
One word, conveying a sense of both closeness and distance.
You Ruxu held her chopsticks and said, “Zhou Tianzui, I…”
Zhou Tianzui looked down, quietly waiting for You Ruxu to continue. Just then, her phone rang. Zhou Tianzui looked over; it was someone who hadn’t called her in a long time.
She answered the phone.
“Hello, Xiao Tian, your mother has been at the cemetery for quite a while now, do you want to come over and take a look?” The elderly voice was filled with age and anxiety, mixed with the sound of rain. Zhou Tianzui abruptly stood up and asked, “When did she go?”
“About an hour ago. I saw she wasn’t looking well, so I kept an eye on her. You should come over.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “I’ll be right there!”
She looked at You Ruxu, her lips moving slightly, finally saying, “Let’s go, something happened to my mom.”
You Ruxu immediately followed. They hurriedly left the restaurant. The rain was pouring down even harder now, the wipers struggling to keep up, the drumming on the windshield irritating. Zhou Tianzui clutched her phone, her face pale.
You Ruxu was driving. She wanted to comfort Zhou Tianzui, but couldn’t find the words.
The car turned and entered the cemetery.
Zhou Tianzui ran towards the inside without even opening her umbrella. The groundskeeper hurried to her side: “Your mom is over there. I’ve been calling her, but she’s not responding. Go check on her.”
He handed her the umbrella: “Why aren’t you using an umbrella?”
You Ruxu also got out of the car and stood watching from a distance.
Yu Qiao was standing far away. You Ruxu couldn’t see clearly, only a blurry figure. Zhou Tianzui walked towards Yu Qiao, the distance between them growing. You Ruxu stood behind, unable to move closer.
The groundskeeper turned and saw her: “You should wait in the car. It’s raining so heavily, why are you standing outside without an umbrella?”
You Ruxu felt a chill throughout her body.
She asked the groundskeeper, “Does her mother come here often?”
The groundskeeper ushered her into the car, taking the passenger seat to avoid the rain, and said, “She used to come often, in the years after Xiao Tian’s father passed away.” Back then, Zhou Tianzui was still in school and couldn’t always be with her mother, so she asked him to keep an eye on her mother if he saw her at the cemetery.
Back then, it wasn’t a proper cemetery, just a burial ground, a bare expanse of land where a single person standing would be easily noticeable.
He naturally knew what to look out for.
The groundskeeper said, “Later, they moved, to another place, and only came back after Xiao Tian started working.”
“It’s much better now, she doesn’t come here very often anymore.” The groundskeeper said, “I don’t know what’s wrong today.”
You Ruxu knew.
Today was the anniversary of her father’s death.
She hadn’t turned on the heater, and the car was a little cold. The rain had dampened her clothes, clinging to her skin. She asked, “How were they doing, in the years after her father passed away?”
“Ah, like rats crossing the street, everyone shouting and beating them.” The groundskeeper was old, and when talking about the past, he couldn’t help but ramble, “Xiao Tian was a cheerful child, but after her father passed away, she changed. Her mother—”
Another sigh.
No need to say more.
You Ruxu’s voice trembled as she asked, “What happened to her mother?”
“Her mother, she tried to hurt herself several times.” The groundskeeper said, “If Xiao Tian hadn’t found her in time, she would have been gone.”
You Ruxu’s fingernails dug into her palms, her face ashen. She had never asked Zhou Tianzui about these things.
She didn’t dare to.
There was no wind in the car, but she was shivering from the cold, her hands unable to grip the steering wheel. The groundskeeper looked outside: “They’re back.”
You Ruxu looked up and saw the two figures under the umbrella in the distance. Zhou Tianzui was holding Yu Qiao, talking constantly. Yu Qiao nodded, her expression docile, completely different from her usual demeanor. The groundskeeper got out of the car and took the umbrella. Zhou Tianzui helped Yu Qiao into the back seat. You Ruxu gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles white. After a moment, she started the car, the headlights illuminating the continuous, drizzling rain outside.
A hand suddenly gripped her shoulder. You Ruxu turned and saw Zhou Tianzui’s bright eyes.
Zhou Tianzui said, “Let me drive.”
You Ruxu curled her fingers.
Her fingertips were still trembling.
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