Chapter 17 Gathering

When she thought of this, Hang Liumei was so angry that she hit her chest with a hammer. Why didn't she pay attention to Huang Hanwen at the beginning? It was all because she was too young and naive at that time. If she had stopped Sister Xiuchun from jumping into the fire pit, there wouldn't be so many things later.

It's a pity for this painting of "Water Moon Guanyin". If I had known this would happen, I would have finished it in one go. Things that come together will eventually separate, as fate has it. They broke up, but the painting is always innocent.

Hang Liumei groped her way back to bed and lay down. The older you get, the weirder your memory becomes. You often forget things that just happened, but you always suddenly remember things from decades ago. Things can't just end like this. If Feng Lazi doesn't come find her, then she'll go find her.

"Dream of Red Mansions" is not finished yet, and her relationship with Sister Xiuchun is not finished either!

Pu Zhihe, who was already dozing off in the guest room, suddenly heard the phone ring beside her pillow. Without even glancing at the screen, she sat up and answered, "Zhu Fu, it's so late. What dinner party did you get drunk at?"

"Pfft, I didn't drink. No, I drank but not too much. I came to you for serious matters."

"Pu Pu" was the nickname he'd given Pu Zhihe when they first started dating. Pu Zhihe always called him by his full name, and Zhu Fu complained that other girls used cute emojis and double-words to describe their boyfriends, but why were they so distant, like boss and employee? He'd initially thought of calling her "little sweetie," but Pu Zhihe's cold face made him unbearable. Later, calling her "Pu Pu" became "Pu Pu," becoming a unique name.

I don't know when they stopped using these nicknames between them. When he called her this today, Pu Zhihe was a little touched and her tone became better: "It's half past two, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I just finished writing the materials and then I remembered that I forgot to mention something. Let's get together tomorrow. I don't want to wake you, but I'm afraid it will be too late for me to tell you tomorrow morning when you have your work arrangements. My parents will definitely blame me if you don't come. Pupu, give me a day tomorrow so we can sit down and have a meal with the parents, okay?"

When he spoke like this, Pu Zhihe suddenly felt a little sorry for him. She said, "Okay, since they are coming to Xi'an, I should go see them. I'll be at your house at 10:30 tomorrow morning."

Zhu Fu was still chattering over there, Pu Zhihe yawned to show that she was sleepy. After hanging up the phone, she couldn't continue with the dream she had just had, and slept in a daze for the rest of the night.

The next day, she said goodbye to Hang Liumei and Xiaomai and went out. When she was almost at the door, she called Zhu Fu, but he drove out of the garage and rolled down the window for Pu Zhihe to get in.

"It's an emergency. Let's go to a restaurant instead." Zhu Fu's phone was buzzing non-stop. He turned the steering wheel and handed the phone to Pu Zhihe. "It must be that old Niu guy assigning me another job. He's getting married tomorrow, and I'm a groomsman. Our car has to join the fleet. We took it in for maintenance yesterday. How is it? It looks pretty good, right? Just check the group chat. I wonder what he's up to."

"Niu Ben? Didn't he just cheat on his wife? Who is he going to marry now?" Pu Zhihe unlocked his phone expressionlessly and scrolled through their noisy group chat.

The cheerful Zhu Fu knew what she was upset about at a glance: "Don't be so upset with her. That colleague knew he wasn't done with her and tried to hook me up, so she dumped him. His ex-girlfriend and he's reconciled, and now they have a child. He's also changed his mind and is taking responsibility, right? They're both fine, so why are you getting so upset?"

In the group of brothers, the groom-to-be asked one person to pick up the bouquet, and then asked another person to order desserts. He specifically tagged Zhu Fu to help him get two people to the hotel tomorrow.

After flipping through the chat history a few more times, Pu Zhihe saw a string of borderline GIFs and obscene jokes before throwing the phone back to Zhu Fu: "You guys call this a gaming group, but the content in there has nothing to do with gaming."

"This is a normal group for men," Zhu Fu knew what she meant. "If it's a purely male group and it's clean, where they only talk about games and basketball, then there's a problem. They delete everything that can't be seen by others, or they're just playing charades, you know."

"I won't go tomorrow. I'll go next time he gets married."

"Ah? What are you saying? Why are you so vicious? They invited both of us, so why am I the only one going?" Zhu Fu got anxious when he heard what she said. He turned around to argue with her, but he didn't pay attention and the car hit the iron pillar next to him.

He rushed out of the car and checked it with concern. A small piece of paint was scratched off on the left side of the front of the car.

"Look at you, why were you so angry? Now look at the front of the car. It's going to pick up the bride tomorrow morning. Where can you get it repainted now? I don't know how long it took to finish lunch. Everyone is in a hurry at this time..."

"Is it only three sentences? Does that count as losing your temper?" Pu Zhihe retorted in her heart, too lazy to argue with him. Her feet hurt from standing in high heels, so she opened the car door and got in the driver's seat. "Get in! It's just a small problem, so we don't need to wait for the insurance company. You're in a hurry, right? Let's find a place to touch up your paint job now."

"Hey? Where are you going? I ordered this paint later, so I have to go to a special store to repair it..." Zhu Fu got into the car and was intimidated by Pu Zhihe's eyes, but he kept talking.

Pu Zhihe didn't drive far. He stepped on the gas and rushed to the car dealership across the road. He backed the car into the garage neatly, got out and walked inside to look for the boss, but saw a familiar face. It was Xiaomai's father.

Dad Mai also recognized Pu Zhihe and raised his hand to greet her, but he couldn't remember her name: "Hey, hello, Xiao Fu, right?"

"Just call me Xiao Pu, the Pu of Pu Songling. Teacher Jiang, are you here to repair the car too?"

"I run this car dealership. Is your car broken?" Dad Mai said as he walked to the side of the car. Pu Zhihe pointed to the place for him. He squatted down and took a look and said it was a minor problem that could be repaired, then called the guy to come and deal with it.

"Who's this? He's so handsome," Zhu Fu asked quietly, standing next to Pu Zhihe. Today, Mai Dad was wearing a shirt and overalls, with his sleeves rolled up to his upper arms, revealing the twisted veins on his arms and hands. He was immediately attracted by Mai Dad's wild and rugged appearance. When Pu Zhihe told him that he was Hang Liumei's son and Xiaomai's father, Zhu Fu nodded. "Father and son look quite alike, both are handsome. What do you think about me growing some stubble?"

Pu Zhihe ignored him, and Zhu Fu went to Mai's father in a bad mood. Mai's father said that it would take half a day to repair it, so they had to call a taxi and leave first.

Just after the two people left, another guest came in. It was none other than Hang Liumei.

"Mom, why are you here? Where is Mai Xu? Why didn't he accompany you and let you run around alone?" Seeing Hang Liumei, Mai's father straightened his collar and sleeves consciously, and started talking about his son.

Hang Liumei took off her sunglasses and put them in her handbag. She found a chair and sat down as if she were familiar with the place. She took out her thermos and drank slowly before saying, "Xiaomi has gone to school. Don't tell me all this. I need to ask you two things today. You have to help me with them. First, ask Mai Sui to ask about Qi Xiuchun. She said she works in a jewelry store. You can find out the address for me, but you can't say it was me who asked. Second, look at how sloppy you are. Come with me to get your hair cut today. I'll also buy you two sets of clothes. They'll be useful for your relationship later."

"Mom, I can ask Aunt Qi about your matter. I won't go to the store to get a haircut or buy clothes. There's a lot going on in the store, so please don't make trouble." Dad Mai said as he started to put on the white gloves that were already stained with motor oil.

Hang Liumei stood up and threatened that if he didn't go, she would cut his hair herself. Ever since she fell ill last time, she hadn't been so energetic. Dad Mai took it as a rare opportunity to take care of her good mood and accompanied her to the hair salon.

After washing their hair, mother and son emerged from the shower, wrapped in white scarves, sitting side by side. A director with graying hair approached and asked what they were thinking. Hang Liumei, looking in the mirror, said, "My hair is long, and I'm always busy with it, so it doesn't seem like anything needs to be done. Let's give it a simple style." Then, raising her voice and pointing at her son, she said, "Give him a proper haircut. Keep it clean and refined. Dye it and give it a perm."

Daddy Mai crossed his hands on his lower abdomen, sat with his legs apart and looked majestic. He was like a mountain and refused in a gruff voice, saying no.

"No, sit still! Young man, design the clothes according to his face shape and his overall temperament, and dress him up smartly, okay." Hang Liumei assigned tasks to the director in the mirror with a smile.

The director stole a glance at Mai Dad and decided to listen to Hang Liumei: "Okay, no problem. I'll go mix the color first. You two wait a moment." He didn't dare ask them to apply for a card. He just picked up the intercom on his chest and instructed the workers: "Someone come and pour some drinks for the grandmother and big brother over here."

Hang Liumei watched him walk away, then she leaned over to her son and whispered, "Last night at home, I saw you holding Suizi and talking to her. What did you two say?"

Mai Dad's eyebrows jumped: "Mom, why are you so gossipy now? I didn't say anything."

Hang Liumei clenched her fist and hit him with a hammer: "You are so mean. I helped you to get her new boyfriend last night, and even created a topic for you to talk to Suizi today. Why are you so wary of me even for such a small matter? Then don't ask her about Qi Xiuchun for me. I will ask her myself, and then I will also ask you what you said to her."

After listening to her, Dad Mai let out a cry and stood up from his chair. "I just want her to remarry me, okay? Wait a minute, what do you want Aunt Qi's shop for? Are you going to look for her?"

Hang Liumei didn't answer his question, but instead turned the topic to her son's relationship: "How can you be so outrageous! She's in a relationship, and you come in and talk about remarriage. Who can accept that? A strong woman is afraid of a clingy man. You have to take it step by step."

Dad Mai remained silent. The director and his men cut their hair, using a few large hairpins to separate the wet hair into layers here and there. The two looked more ridiculous than the other, and after a busy period, they both put on the curling machine.

Finally, there were no outsiders. Hang Liumei couldn't think straight, so she reached out and patted her son: "We haven't finished talking just now, what are your plans next?"

Seeing that he didn't reply, she continued to give him advice: "I helped you plan it last night. Why don't you go get some glasses? You don't want that expression. Plain glasses will do. Haven't you noticed that Suizi likes gentle men now? Maybe you were too reckless when you divorced and hurt her, so she's looking for someone different now. You have to let her see your change. Xiaomai's birthday is coming soon. You can borrow it for your son's birthday and ask Suizi to meet..."

Mai Dad wasn't indifferent; some of Hang Liumei's suggestions did hit the mark. As he got older, he felt somewhat restrained. Pursuing someone again after a passionate love affair was just a little harder than the first time.

After sitting there for four hours, they finally finished tidying up their two heads. Dad Mai wanted to take Hang Liumei home, but Hang Liumei asked him to take her to the beauty salon instead. She even asked Dad Mai if he wanted to take care of his skin as well. Dad Mai declined her invitation on the grounds that he was going camping in the mountains that night.

"Okay, I'll go by myself," Hang Liumei reminded him, "ask me where Qi Xiuchun's shop is right away. I'll be waiting for your news inside. The barbers in this shop are pretty good, but the stools are uncomfortable when I sit on them for too long."

Pu Zhihe was also feeling very uncomfortable at this moment.

Only after entering the private room did she realize she wasn't dining alone with Zhu Fu's family, but rather with their family of three. She wanted to turn around and leave, but a second thought forced her to stay. Perhaps it was a sudden thought of Hang Liumei's words last night about not managing people well enough to just leave. She wasn't trying to manage Zhu Fu, but rather to avoid upsetting her parents.

But she couldn't eat a single drop of this meal. It was the first time for both sets of parents to meet, and they were both pretending to be friendly, with their words circling around in the air.

Zhu Fu's mother also sensed this emptiness. She finally spoke, throwing her long-prepared words onto the table: "Actually, we came here hoping to settle things for our two children. We've already bought a house. It's a bit far in the new district, but as you know, there aren't many good properties in the old city anymore. The subway is very convenient there, and there are schools from kindergarten to high school, so their children won't have to worry about their future education..."

Master Pu and Director Ou had long noticed their daughter's dismal complexion, but they didn't dare to back down. They just nodded in agreement, "Okay, okay, we all focus on the child. The best thing is for the child to be well. We don't have any other requirements..."

Zhu Fu's father jokingly pushed his wife, "This is just our first meeting, aren't you in a hurry?" Then he added, "We're just expressing our feelings. Look how close the two kids are. This is a natural progression. There's no need to rush it. His mother and I are staying in Xi'an for quite a while this time, so we'll have plenty of opportunities. But we both really hope we can get along and become a family soon!"

He then called for a toast. Pu Zhihe lifted her arms like a puppet being pulled by strings. Beside her, Zhu Fu was so happy that his crow's feet formed from his laughter. She and he, both approaching thirty, were being arranged for their lifelong events at the dinner table, while the others happily made the arrangements as if it had nothing to do with her. She found this absurd.

Zhu Fu boasted that Pu Zhihe was currently working with a renowned artist and had been quite busy lately, hence the late dinner. She then explained that she was at a crucial stage, hoping to participate in international exhibitions, which was crucial for her career, and that she would have little free time this year.

But no one seemed to care about her hidden meaning. Pu Zhihe was distracted in the second half of the game. She suddenly wished Hang Liumei was here too. She wanted to tell Hang Liumei what happened immediately.

She didn't listen to anyone and just wanted to hear what Hang Liumei would say.