Chapter 95: Hang Up
Yu Qiao froze, looking at Zhou Tianzui, her throat constricting, unable to speak, her breath catching, her face flushing. After a few seconds, she finally managed, “What did you just say?”
“Mom, I’m—”
“Shut up!”
Yu Qiao didn’t hesitate to interrupt her, “Don’t you dare say another word.”
The shock was too much, Yu Qiao felt dizzy, her vision blurring, Zhou Tianzui’s image doubling. So that was why she refused to get married, refused to date, she…?
Impossible.
Yu Qiao said, “Are you lying to me?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom, I don’t want to lie to you.”
Yu Qiao’s breath hitched, her body almost collapsing onto the sofa. She took a deep breath, but still felt breathless, dizzy and lightheaded, “Gay? You like women? Ha—” A short, sharp sound. Yu Qiao continued, “You—”
She suddenly remembered that You Ruxu also lived in this apartment.
“Xiao Xu?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Yes.”
So that was why she was so close to You Ruxu, why they lived together, why she asked You Ruxu to call her “Godmother.”
Yu Qiao’s eyes reddened, “You asked her to be my goddaughter because you two…”
“I like her.” Zhou Tianzui said, “It was all me, I asked her to move in, I asked her to be your goddaughter…”
Slap! A hard slap across Zhou Tianzui’s face.
Yu Qiao hadn’t held back, and a red mark slowly appeared on Zhou Tianzui’s pale skin. Her ears rang, her head turned to the side, she remained silent.
Yu Qiao was trembling with rage, her hand hurt, her body hurt, but her heart hurt even more. Her daughter, her pride and joy, was gay, and had even brought her girlfriend home, calling her “Godmother”?
Every “Godmother” felt like a slap in the face!
Yu Qiao abruptly stood up, then dizzy and lightheaded, fell back onto the sofa. Zhou Tianzui approached, “Mom.”
“Get away from me!” Yu Qiao shouted, “Don’t touch me! I don’t have a daughter like you!”
“Tricking your own mother?” Yu Qiao’s voice choked with tears, “Zhou Tianzui, you were tricking me? What did you expect me to do? Throw a party to celebrate you finding a woman? Do you want me to tell everyone that my daughter likes women?!”
“What’s wrong with liking women?” Zhou Tianzui’s head throbbed. She had intended to tell her mother gradually, to ease her into it, but she hadn’t been able to control her emotions. Her attempt, Yu Qiao’s reaction, was like a bucket of cold water, a chilling disappointment.
Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom, whether it’s a woman or a man, what matters is the person, not their gender.”
“How can it not be about gender?” Yu Qiao said, “Can two women get married? Can they have children?”
Her voice rose with anger, “You and You Ruxu…”
“She doesn’t know.” Zhou Tianzui said firmly, “She doesn’t know I like her.”
Yu Qiao’s hand trembled with rage: “You!”
Zhou Tianzui said, “It was all my idea.”
“You! You’re still protecting her?!” Yu Qiao, seeing Zhou Tianzui’s phone on the coffee table, grabbed it, wanting to throw it at her, but seeing the red mark on Zhou Tianzui’s face, she couldn’t bring herself to do it, and slammed the phone on the table instead.
A loud thud.
The impact made her hand numb, her ears ringing.
The mark on Zhou Tianzui’s face was a stark contrast against her pale skin. Yu Qiao said, “Pack your things, we’re going home.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom…”
“I said, pack your things! We’re going home!” Yu Qiao suddenly erupted, throwing pillows, books, and the remote control, tears streaming down her face, “Home! Go home with me!”
Zhou Tianzui hugged her tightly, “Mom.”
Yu Qiao struggled in her embrace, hitting Zhou Tianzui against the edge of the coffee table. The impact sent a jolt of pain through her leg, and she stumbled, falling onto the sofa, her back hitting the armrest, a sharp pain making her wince.
She didn’t make a sound.
Yu Qiao was almost hysterical in her anger.
Zhou Tianzui, like she had done in the past, tried to comfort her, “Mom, I’m sorry, Mom, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Mom, we’ll be okay, everything will be alright, Mom.”
Yu Qiao, struggling in her embrace, wanted to break free. Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom, it’s okay, it’s okay.”
“Xiao Tian.” Yu Qiao suddenly burst into tears, “Xiao Tian, how could this happen? How could this happen?!”
Zhou Tianzui held her, her nose tingling, her eyes burning. She couldn’t answer Yu Qiao’s question, only repeating her apologies over and over. Yu Qiao cried, her grief intensifying, the more she thought about it, the more painful it became. She had thought Zhou Qiming’s death was a nightmare, but it was a nightmare she couldn’t escape. Countless times she had woken up in a daze, countless times she had been consumed by grief, looking at herself, looking at Zhou Tianzui, both of them wounded.
Zhou Tianzui had harmed herself, the blood flowing endlessly. The day she was taken to the hospital, she had smiled at Yu Qiao and said, “Mom, it’s okay, it’ll be alright, it will all pass, we’ll be okay.”
She had sat in the hospital ward, crying all day.
After that day, she stopped dwelling on the past, stopped thinking about Zhou Qiming. She just wanted to live with Zhou Tianzui, to live a good life, and they had, their lives getting better and better, Zhou Tianzui graduating, becoming a doctor, her pride and joy.
She thought those nightmares were over.
But how could Zhou Tianzui like women?
How could she be gay?
Yu Qiao couldn’t understand, she couldn’t accept it. She told Zhou Tianzui to pack her things, “Come home with me, now!”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom.”
“Come home with me!” Yu Qiao roared, her eyes swollen from crying, her body trembling. Zhou Tianzui, not wanting to upset her further, went to her room, grabbed some clothes, and followed her.
Yu Qiao said, “Where are your things?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “I don’t have much.”
“You’re not packing, are you?” Yu Qiao said, “I’ll pack for you!”
She pushed past Zhou Tianzui and went to her room. Zhou Tianzui grabbed her arm, “Mom.”
“You don’t want to leave, do you?” Yu Qiao yanked her arm away, “I’ll help you!”
Zhou Tianzui said, “I’ll do it myself.”
She turned her back to Yu Qiao, went to her room, packed a few clothes, turned off the stove in the kitchen, looked at the pot of pork rib soup, her eyes reddening. She looked down. Yu Qiao said, “Let’s go!”
Zhou Tianzui followed her out of the apartment, pulling her suitcase.
Back at her own apartment, Yu Qiao sat on the sofa, silent, feeling betrayed, deceived, manipulated, she couldn’t say which hurt more. Her heart was a mess, her daughter, her pride and joy, the person she trusted the most, liked women, had lied to her for someone else.
She must be going crazy.
Yu Qiao wanted to laugh.
She looked at Zhou Tianzui, “Go and rest.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “I’m not tired, Mom, let’s talk.”
Yu Qiao said, “Talk about what? What do you want to talk about? About your touching love story? That whole ‘not wanting to get married’ thing, it was all a lie, wasn’t it? Am I that easy to fool? Zhou Tianzui, did you enjoy deceiving your mother?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom, I didn’t mean to lie to you.”
“Not intentionally? When did you two get together?” Yu Qiao asked coldly, her eyes red, her face grim. Zhou Tianzui opened her mouth, then closed it without speaking. Yu Qiao said, “Was it when she moved in with you?”
Zhou Tianzui looked down.
Yu Qiao was furious: “You, you! Zhou Tianzui, how could you?!”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom, please calm down.”
“Calm down?” Yu Qiao said, “How can I calm down?! How long have you been hiding this from me? All those times you brought her home, you even slept in the same bed! You! You!” She couldn’t finish her sentence, but the disgust in her eyes made Zhou Tianzui’s heart ache. She looked at Yu Qiao and said, “Mom, just yell at me, get it all out, you’ll feel better, don’t hold back.”
“Yell at you?” Yu Qiao glared at her, “I can’t even bring myself to say the things you did!”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom, I don’t think there’s anything unspeakable about this.”
Yu Qiao glared at her.
Zhou Tianzui wanted to approach her, but Yu Qiao said, “Just stay there and talk!”
Zhou Tianzui stopped, “Mom, I know you’re angry right now, you won’t listen to anything I say, but I and—” She moistened her lips, the skin on her cheek still stinging from the slap, her voice firm, “I and her, we’re in a normal relationship.”
“Normal?” Yu Qiao said, “What’s normal about it? Where’s the normalcy? Can you tell everyone you’re together? Can you go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get married? Xiao Tian, you weren’t like this before.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom, people have many sides to them.”
“Then I can’t accept this side of you.” Yu Qiao said firmly, “If you still consider me your mother, break up with her!”
Zhou Tianzui was silent.
Yu Qiao sighed, “Or you can just sever ties with me.”
Zhou Tianzui looked up, her voice slightly raised, “Mom!”
“I’m not forcing you.” Yu Qiao said, “You’ve always been obedient and sensible, more so than me. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have survived all these years. But since I raised you, I don’t want you to make mistakes. I know you haven’t been happy all these years, if you think you’ll be happier with her, then go ahead.” She said, “Don’t come back.”
Zhou Tianzui closed her eyes.
Yu Qiao also fell silent.
The living room was quiet. Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom, you know I won’t leave you.”
Yu Qiao’s expression softened, “Then…”
“And I won’t leave her either.” Zhou Tianzui looked at Yu Qiao, her eyes pleading, “I’m sorry, Mom, I love you, and I love her.”
Yu Qiao froze.
Although Zhou Tianzui usually had a sweet tongue, she didn’t use the word “love” lightly. It was a heavy word, and Yu Qiao had never heard her say it before. Now, hearing it, she should be happy, but she felt even more heartbroken.
She slumped back onto the sofa, defeated.
Zhou Tianzui lowered her head, “Mom.”
“Don’t call me Mom.” Yu Qiao said, “Don’t call me that.”
Zhou Tianzui’s hands slowly clenched into fists. She stood quietly in front of Yu Qiao, “I’ll get you some water.”
She went to the kitchen, thinking about her outburst earlier, her impulsive words, Yu Qiao’s expression, those hurtful words, like arrows piercing her heart. Zhou Tianzui leaned against the counter, her head throbbing.
The living room was quiet. A vibration came from her bag.
Yu Qiao looked down, it was Zhou Tianzui’s bag.
She took out the phone.
The screen flashed—Teacher You.
You Ruxu.
Her face darkened. She hung up the call.
You Ruxu, hearing the call disconnect, knew Yu Qiao had hung up on her.
She pursed her lips and called Zhou Tianzui again.
The call was disconnected again.
You Ruxu held her phone, her hand trembling as a new message arrived: [Don’t contact me anymore.]
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