Chapter 120: Blind Date
After Zhou Tianzui left, You Ruxu sat on the sofa, looking around the apartment. When she first moved in, she hadn’t been used to Zhou Tianzui, always prickly, every approach met with a sharp jab, she hadn’t thought she would be happy here, but now, looking back, it had been her happiest time.
She had greedily enjoyed the rare softness beneath Zhou Tianzui’s thorns, using atonement as an excuse to stay by her side, to embrace her, to share a bed with her, she missed those days terribly, they felt like a dream now.
A dream that had ended.
You Ruxu held the key Zhou Tianzui gave her, the cold metal burning her skin, she couldn’t hold it steady. She curled up on the sofa, hugging a pillow, her shoulders trembling slightly.
The wind howled outside, a chilling coldness seeping into her bones. Zhou Tianzui got into her car, the heater on full blast, yet she felt numb, like a puppet, her movements mechanical. After a long while, she called Yu Qiao.
Yu Qiao, seeing her call, froze. The person beside her said, “Your phone, your phone’s ringing.”
She returned to her senses and answered the call.
It was Zhou Tianzui, asking where she was, if she was coming home for lunch. She said she was staying here and told Zhou Tianzui to come over. After hanging up, she heard someone ask, “Was that Xiao Tian?”
She looked up and said, “Yes, it was Xiao Tian.”
“That child of yours, she’s the most filial.” Auntie Yang said with a smile, “Gives you her salary, doesn’t go out partying, and her friends are all so successful.”
“Indeed.” The person across from them said, “Yu Qiao, you’re truly blessed, you wouldn’t find a child like that even if you searched for eight lifetimes.”
Yu Qiao said, “She’s not that good.”
“Not that good?!” Auntie Yang was surprised, “Compared to mine? She has a good job, good connections, knows everyone at the TV station, and she’s so good to you, you should be grateful!”
Yu Qiao looked down, not replying.
“Consider it a reward for all your past hardships. After all the suffering you endured, God gave you Xiao Tian as compensation.”
“But who’s her partner? Didn’t you say she was dating someone?”
“Xiao Tian has a partner?”
Exclamations of surprise. Several people crowded around Yu Qiao. She said, “No, I thought she did, but I was wrong.”
“It’s about time for her to settle down, get married, have children.” The same old topic again. When Zhou Tianzui arrived, they were still discussing it. Yu Qiao watched as she entered, Zhou Tianzui hadn’t bought any new clothes for the New Year, which reminded her, Zhou Tianzui hadn’t bought new clothes for several years now, but she would always take Yu Qiao shopping. A few times, she offered to buy Zhou Tianzui new clothes, but Zhou Tianzui always said there was no need, she often had to work at the hospital during the holidays. So, for several years, she hadn’t had any new clothes for New Year’s.
This year, she also hadn’t bought any, just wearing a beige down jacket, light blue pants, and flat shoes.
Yu Qiao watched her greet the elders. Auntie Yang said, “Xiao Tian, have you lost weight?”
Zhou Tianzui smiled faintly, “Have I?”
“Yes, you have.” Auntie Yang said, “Your chin is so sharp now.”
Yu Qiao looked at her, Zhou Tianzui had been eating and sleeping normally, yet she did seem thinner. Her heart ached, she didn’t say anything, listening to the aunties chat with Zhou Tianzui.
The topic turned to blind dates, Zhou Tianzui said, “Ask my mom, she gets to decide.”
This unusual compliance surprised Auntie Yang, the words caught in her throat, she looked at Yu Qiao, who said, “We’ll talk about it later.”
Zhou Tianzui sat beside her, hearing this.
The aunties continued chatting, about their children and grandchildren, Zhou Tianzui and Yu Qiao sitting together. Yu Qiao said, “You’ll really listen to me?”
Zhou Tianzui wasn’t like before, immediately rejecting any mention of blind dates. She was calm, almost eerily so, “Yes.”
Yu Qiao said, “No conditions at all?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “No conditions, as long as you’re happy.”
Yu Qiao took a handful of sunflower seeds, rolled them around in her palm, then suddenly put them back and stood up.
Auntie Yang said, “Where are you going? Lunch will be ready soon.”
Yu Qiao said, “Someone’s coming over, I have to go back.”
Auntie Yang was surprised: “Who’s coming?”
Yu Qiao said, “A friend.”
Zhou Tianzui stood up and followed Yu Qiao. Yu Qiao didn’t say anything. They walked home together, the cold wind swirling fallen leaves around them, Zhou Tianzui’s hair whipping around her face. Near their apartment building, two children were building a snowman. She stood there, watching them for a moment. Yu Qiao, seeing she wasn’t following, looked down and went inside.
Zhou Tianzui followed shortly after.
She saw Yu Qiao sitting on the sofa, sulking, “Mom, I’ll make lunch.”
“You’ll cook?” Yu Qiao said, “What can you do besides make me angry?”
Zhou Tianzui was silent.
Yu Qiao went to the kitchen. Zhou Tianzui followed and helped her, the two working in silence, only the sounds of chopping and washing vegetables, “Go out, I don’t need your help here.”
Zhou Tianzui didn’t insist and went to the living room to watch TV, a replay of the Spring Festival Gala, the performers on screen laughing and joking, and she smiled faintly, watching them. Yu Qiao, passing by, saw her smiling profile, her hair casually tied back, a hint of exhaustion in her relaxed posture.
She didn’t say anything, just went back to the kitchen. After finishing the preparations, she called Zhou Tianzui for lunch and saw that she had fallen asleep on the sofa, without even a blanket, her head turned to the side, her makeup still impeccable, a clear sign of whom she had met with this morning.
Yu Qiao wanted to go back to her room, annoyed, but she paused, then went to get a blanket and covered Zhou Tianzui, turned down the TV volume. Outside, the festive atmosphere was lively, but their living room was quiet and cold, the food on the table also cooling down.
Zhou Tianzui was sound asleep, not even waking when her phone rang, a New Year’s greeting from a colleague. Yu Qiao turned off the ringtone and placed the phone on the coffee table, her gaze lingering on the screen.
You Ruxu was also looking at her phone.
She sat on the sofa, had been sitting there all morning, Wu Xiulian hadn’t come back yet, probably assuming Zhou Tianzui was still here. She was alone in the apartment, the silence unsettling.
She wanted to call Zhou Tianzui, to hear her voice, even though they had just broken up a few hours ago.
She held her phone, but she didn’t message her, didn’t call, just held it tightly, her gaze falling on the red string bracelet on her wrist, she touched the peach pit, turned it over, Zhou Tianzui’s initials carved on the bottom.
Her finger traced the carved characters, the uneven surface a reminder of Zhou Tianzui, every line and curve.
Thinking of Zhou Tianzui’s parting words, You Ruxu put down her phone.
Fireworks and firecrackers exploded outside.
Zhou Tianzui was startled awake by the firecrackers, her body aching, probably from her awkward sleeping position, or perhaps because she had been too tired recently, she felt completely drained. She glanced at her phone, it was almost one o’clock, she had slept for over two hours.
Yu Qiao wasn’t in the living room, the kitchen was also empty. Zhou Tianzui frowned, calling out, “Mom?”
No response. She sat up, a dull ache in her lower back, and sat on the sofa for a moment, then enduring the pain, she stood up and saw the door to Yu Qiao’s room was open. Yu Qiao was looking at a photo album. Zhou Tianzui relaxed slightly.
Yu Qiao looked up, hearing her, “You’re awake.”
Zhou Tianzui hummed in response and walked in, seeing Yu Qiao looking through old photos, they hadn’t taken any photos together for years. When Zhou Qiming was still alive, they often took photos, several albums filled with them. Since his death, Yu Qiao hadn’t been interested in taking photos, so they were all old photos.
Yu Qiao pointed at one of the photos, “Remember this one?”
Zhou Tianzui honestly shook her head.
Yu Qiao said, “Your third birthday, your father bought a cake, you loved it, but I didn’t let you eat too much, and that night, you sneaked out of bed and ate the rest of the cake from the refrigerator, you got a terrible stomachache, we were so scared.”
Zhou Tianzui had no memory of it, her childhood memories mostly just cold stares and whispers.
Yu Qiao said, “You’ve always been disobedient, even now.”
Zhou Tianzui listened quietly. Yu Qiao closed the album, “I’ll reheat the food, let’s eat.”
She walked past Zhou Tianzui and into the kitchen. The microwave hummed. Zhou Tianzui followed her, and half an hour later, they sat at the dining table. After taking a bite, Zhou Tianzui said, “I’m moving back home.”
Yu Qiao’s eating paused.
She looked at Zhou Tianzui.
Zhou Tianzui continued eating calmly, picking up some rice, chewing slowly, then serving some food to Yu Qiao, “I went to see You Ruxu this morning.”
Yu Qiao’s grip on her chopsticks tightened.
Her expression changed slightly, her face darkening, as if trying to avoid the topic. Zhou Tianzui, seemingly oblivious to her reaction, continued, “I gave up the apartment.”
Yu Qiao asked, “You’re not going back there anymore?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “No, not anymore.”
Yu Qiao’s expression softened a little. Then Zhou Tianzui added, “And I broke up with her.” Her tone was calm and casual, as if she was simply stating a fact, completely different from her usual explosive reactions whenever the topic of breaking up was mentioned. They had argued about You Ruxu countless times, and now, hearing Zhou Tianzui say those words so casually, it felt unreal.
Zhou Tianzui continued, “From now on, if you want me to go on blind dates, I will, and if you find someone you like, if you want me to get married, I’ll try.”
Yu Qiao said, “What do you mean? Can’t live without her?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “It has nothing to do with her.”
“Nothing to do with her?” Yu Qiao said, “Then why are you doing this?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Mom, I just thought, instead of both of us being unhappy, why not let one of us be happy, you were kept in the dark about Dad’s case all these years, you suffered so much, now that the truth is out, you should be happy, I don’t want you to be like before anymore, I want you to be happy.”
Yu Qiao’s grip on her chopsticks tightened, her voice low, “You think I’ll be happy because of this?”
Zhou Tianzui looked at her, “Then what else can I do?”
“You!” Yu Qiao took a deep breath, her chest heaving, the chopsticks in her hand bending under the pressure. She glared at Zhou Tianzui and said, “Fine, you said it, then starting tomorrow, you’re going on blind dates!”
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