Chapter 66: The Song of Taotie (VI) Sisyphus's Pie. ...

They chatted until around three in the afternoon. Later, Huang Jingjing said she was going to the gym, and Liu Bo also had to go back to prepare tomorrow's lesson plan, so the two left.

Zhang Deng offered to help Li Mai clean up, but Li Mai refused, saying, "It's hard enough making you cook."

Zhang Deng was a little confused about how they got along. It seemed that Liu Bo and Huang Jingjing came here just to have a meal and did not take on any housework. They left very decisively and did not stay for even a minute longer.

Zhang Deng was still thinking about this until they left the community. He even asked Wei Yuanye, "Aren't they good friends?"

"Wouldn't Li Mai be happy to clean up the mess by himself?" Zhang Deng thought to himself, if he cooked a table full of dishes, and his friends left after eating, leaving him to clean up by himself, he would probably feel a little sad.

Wei Yuanye said: "Maybe this is how they get along."

Zhang Deng: "Is this kind of relationship possible?"

"It's fine if you like it." Wei Yuanye said.

Zhang Deng returned to the hotel half-believing and half-doubting, and saw the new photos posted by Li Mai. They were some pictures of today's party. The decoration was very exquisite, but there was no group photo.

Sister Hong commented below: "Birthday? Happy birthday, beautiful lady."

Li Mai replied with a cute emoticon: "Thank you, Sister Hong."

Zhang Deng opened his novel and tried to write something, but he was still not satisfied.

Sometimes it's just like this, things don't go smoothly, as if there's something stuffy in my chest. Zhang Deng feels that he is in this state right now, with no inspiration and it's difficult to clarify what he wants to express.

The day was about to end like this. Wei Yuanye saw that Zhang Deng was in a bad mood, so he suggested that they go out for a walk together and find something to eat. But just as they were out of the door, Zhang Deng's phone suddenly rang. When he saw that the caller was Li Mai, he subconsciously frowned, and inexplicably felt that something might be wrong.

At this moment, a phone call came in. Zhang Deng answered the phone nervously. Li Mai asked him, "Do you have time now?"

"Yes," Zhang Deng said, "What's wrong?"

Li Mai said, "Can you come to the hospital?"

"My leg seems to be injured," Li Mai said, "I need someone to stay with me in bed."

Zhang Deng was stunned for a moment. His first reaction was, how could he find him? Logically, shouldn't he find a girl?

But he didn't refuse and agreed first: "Okay, send me a location."

Li Mai said, "Can you... ask Wei Yuanye to come too?"

Zhang Deng had a hunch that something was wrong. When he arrived, Li Mai was sitting on a chair in the hospital with his pants rolled up high. His ankle was swollen and seemed to have been treated with medicine.

There were two men standing next to her, one old and one young. Judging from their postures, the atmosphere was not very good.

When Zhang Deng walked over, he looked into the eyes of the young man. The man's eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Li Mai's, but the way he looked at people made people feel physically uncomfortable.

"What happened?" Zhang Deng asked, "Did you hurt your bones?"

Li Mai said, "I'm injured. Sorry to bother you."

Wei Yuanye didn't come over. He stood behind the two men with his hands in his pockets, and his aura gave him the look of someone who was not easy to mess with.

Zhang Deng asked, "Are you in the hospital?"

"I want to go home," Li Mai said, "Please take me home."

Zhang Deng helped him up. The older man reached out and held Zhang Deng, saying, "Wait."

"Don't touch my friend!" Li Mai seemed to be suddenly stressed and pushed the man away. Zhang Deng quickly supported Li Mai.

The man said, "Do you really have to do it like this?"

"Who on earth had to do this?" Li Mai collapsed. "Who is it? Who is it?"

"Don't get excited," Zhang Deng said, holding Li Mai with one hand and stopping the man from moving forward with the other. "Let's talk it over. Impulsiveness won't solve the problem!"

Li Mai was so excited that she lost control of her emotions. Her lips trembled as she announced, "I want to go home."

The man glared angrily: "How dare you."

This was a hospital, and Zhang Deng didn't want to start a scene here and embarrass Li Mai. However, it seemed like neither of them could handle the situation calmly. Zhang Deng said, "Let's talk outside, can we?"

The man said, "This is our family matter. You can leave now."

"I'm lucky I didn't call the police," Zhang Deng said. "Do you think domestic violence is a good thing?"

The man said, "I didn't hurt her."

Li Mai said, "If you don't stop me, will I fall?"

"I just want to know your mother's address," the man said. "I have the right to know where she lives now."

Li Mai said, "I don't know."

Zhang Deng probably understood the whole story. He rationally judged that this matter could not be resolved by simply sending Li Mai home, but Zhang Deng still decided to send her home first. He winked at Wei Yuanye, and Wei Yuanye sidestepped in, getting very close to the man and looking down at him.

He didn't say anything, but his meaning was very clear.

Zhang Deng took advantage of this opportunity to hurry up with Li Mai, but the boy suddenly stopped them: "Sister."

Li Mai looked at his younger brother with a complicated expression, and finally pinched Zhang Deng's arm, signaling him to hurry up.

When they got in the car, Li Mai calmed down a little and still had enough energy to ask Zhang Deng, "Is Wei Yuanye okay?"

"Ah?" Zhang Deng said, "He...your dad doesn't have any underlying diseases, right?"

Li Mai said, "His stomach isn't feeling well."

Zhang Deng murmured, "That should be fine."

Li Mai recovered, her hands began to tremble, and she realized she was very cold. She said, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

Zhang Deng took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her. Li Mai took it and wiped her tears and snot. After a long time, she said to Zhang Deng, "I'm taking a day off tomorrow."

"Oh," Zhang Deng said, "Annual leave?"

Li Mai laughed: "What time is it? Why are you still asking this?"

Zhang Deng did feel uncomfortable asking about other people's private affairs, and he didn't know how to start.

Li Mai said, "My mother must have run away again."

"Their divorce wasn't clean," Li Mai said. "My dad still visits her sometimes, so he must still have feelings for her. He really hits her when he does, but he forgets everything afterward. My mom has no memory, and no matter how many times I tell her not to change, she won't change. Last year, my dad probably still had some money for her, but someone was killed at a construction site, and the compensation bankrupted him. That's how men are. When they're frustrated, they take it out on women."

"I know what you're thinking," Li Mai said. "When he had money, my mother would follow him even if he was beaten or scolded. But when he ran away, my mother ran away. He went to the ends of the earth to beg her for money. You probably think my mother is very mean."

What a huge pot, Zhang Deng said: "I didn't do it."

Li Mai said, "Really? That's what I think."

"I've always felt she was short-sighted and selfish since I was little," Li Mai enumerated her mother's shortcomings. "She always made friends for the smallest favors, and everyone could see how mercenary she was. The men she chose were all rich and had nothing else to offer. From her food, clothing, and social life, she never betrayed her modesty."

Those were harsh words, but why did Zhang Deng want to cry when he looked at her face as she said these words?

Li Mai pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and opened the car window. Cold air poured into the enclosed space. Li Mai apologized to the driver, then leaned out to take a puff of his cigarette. He said, "I don't understand. My friends and classmates curse their parents every day. I just think, what's there to curse about? Didn't they raise you well? I haven't cursed them yet."

Li Mai said: "To be honest, my sister was sent away. I think she is very lucky."

"My mom is such a jerk," Li Mai said. "She's so selfish. She only lives for herself, and her insults are so harsh. How can a mother call her own daughter a 'slut'? Have you ever seen that?"

Zhang Deng shook his head.

Li Mai's eyelids drooped, and he looked at his manicure, which had fallen off, and felt ironic: "Then what do you say? I still love her."

The tears in Zhang Deng's eyes suddenly fell out of his sockets.

Li Mai saw him crying and started crying too.

Li Mai cried and laughed, then cursed herself, put out the cigarette, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and sighed.

There are many things that no longer need to be said, and there are no better words to say them.

Li Mai thought many times why she had to give money to her mother. It was obvious that her mother didn't care what kind of life she was living. She would only ask her for money. Li Mai was unwilling in her heart, but she would still give it.

She would still grit her teeth and say she didn't know when the man asked her for her address.

Maybe the daughter's genes contain the code "love mother". Even if she hates being born into this world, she cannot hate her mother.

Zhang Deng sent Li Mai home. Li Mai leaned on the sofa, took out his cell phone and made a call.

When the call was connected, Li Mai was very calm and asked, "What are you doing?"

The woman opposite was in a noisy environment and seemed to be busy: "What else can I do? What's wrong and you remembered to look for me?"

"Where did you go?" Li Mai asked.

The woman immediately said, "He went to find you."

Li Mai: "Be careful that his poker friends might tell on him."

"No, I'm playing somewhere else," the woman said. "Is he there? Did he hit you?"

"No."

"Don't be afraid of him," her mother said, gaining strength. "He wouldn't dare to hit you."

There was the sound of someone lighting a cigarette, and then the woman's voice became a little unclear: "Did he make trouble in your company?"

"No."

"That's fine," the woman said. "If he makes a scene, call the police and have him arrested. Xiaomai, is it your birthday today?"

Li Mai said "hmm", and the woman said, "Did your sister contact you?"

"No." Li Mai's heart sank again.

"Xiaoya, you're such a fool! Why don't you call me or give me a gift on a day like this?"

Li Mai said, "What about you?"

"Um?"

"Didn't you also not call or send a gift?"

"I thought you were asleep," the woman said quickly, "and I bought you a present, which was very expensive—"

Li Mai said, "You're always like this, always saying this. Is this another piece of clothing worth over twenty yuan?"

Woman: "Twenty or so yuan is the discounted price. The original price is over two hundred yuan. Are you a noble person? You can't wear clothes that cost more than twenty yuan?"

Here it comes again. Li Mai felt cold and said, "Forget it, I'm hanging up."

I no longer paid attention to the voice on the other side.

Zhang Deng felt inexplicably sorry after hearing this phone call, and didn't know what to say.

Li Mai suddenly remembered something and said, "But my sister actually sent me a message."

Seeing Zhang Deng's expression change, she thought Zhang Deng was very interested in her sister and asked, "Do you like her?"

Li Mai said: "It's quite strange. She took the initiative to talk to me, and when I replied she disappeared again."

Zhang Deng asked, "Do you two keep in touch?"

“Almost nothing,” Li Mai said. “Our relationship isn’t very good. I don’t think she even remembers my birthday.”

The two of them sat on the sofa waiting for Wei Yuanye. Zhang Deng was browsing his phone when he suddenly saw a piece of news. He read it out loud: "Three female high school students jumped off the building in Century Plaza."

Li Mai was ordering takeout when he heard this and said, "Why is there always something wrong with that piece?"

Zhang Deng said tentatively, "I heard it has something to do with your sister's billboard."

"How is that possible?" Li Mai thought it was outrageous. "That's too superstitious, isn't it? By the way, what are you eating?"

No matter what happened, Li Mai's appetite would not be affected. In fact, because of Zhang Deng and Wei Yuanye, she could order more. In the end, the table was full. Wei Yuanye went upstairs with the delivery man and helped the delivery man get two bags.

Wei Yuanye asked, "Who else wants to come?"

"No more." Zhang Deng said.

Li Mai couldn't wait to open the package. With limited mobility, she rested one leg on the sofa and the other on the floor, reaching for the takeout box. "When I was a kid, my mom never made me any delicious food," she said. "She also didn't let me eat much, thinking I was too fat. That's when I got too greedy. Now I want to eat everything I see."

Zhang Deng said, "A good appetite is a good thing. It proves that you are in good health."

However, Li Mai's appetite was a bit too good. He ate two boxes of rice alone. After finishing the rice, he had another bowl of noodles. Feeling that it was too salty, he also had two pieces of cake. When he wanted to order milk tea, he was stopped by Zhang Deng.

Li Mai may have become familiar with Zhang Deng and the others, so she stopped pretending and said, "It's okay, just let me eat it. Otherwise, I can't spit it out."

Zhang Deng actually knew this a long time ago, but he pretended to be surprised: "Are you going to vomit?"

"I don't vomit every time, I only vomit when I eat too much," Li Mai said. "I won't vomit when you two are around. It's quite disgusting."

"Can't you eat less?"

"I can't control it," Li Mai said. "Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy. I feel uncomfortable all over when I can't put the food in my mouth."

Li Mai wanted to smoke again. She said, "I'm really screwed."