Comfort her
"It's time to eat."
Zhuang Yu'an stood aside with his hands hanging down, looking at her eagerly, like a silly but loyal Alaskan dog.
Zuo Xiao hesitated for a moment: Should I continue to let him hold me?
Let’s not do it.
Zuo Xiao reached for the crutches beside the sofa, but Zhuang Jinghao got them for her first. With the brother and sister watching, she leaned on the crutches and took a glorious step like landing on the moon.
Yes, it feels good to be held by someone, but I feel more at ease when I walk on my own.
At least, I don't have to endure the embarrassment of being too close to Zhuang Yu'an and hearing his breath...
The awkward feeling only appeared this morning.
She was completely dazed at the time, and only realized she had rested her head on someone's chest when they were carried into the bathroom. Her cheeks flushed, and when she looked up, she saw Zhuang Yu'an's face flushed as well. When their eyes met, he looked embarrassed and quickly looked away.
Indeed, no matter how she tried to justify it, this level of contact was far too intimate. Furthermore, the two were clearly enemies, and not long ago, the guy had doxxed her and threatened her. How could he suddenly change his ways? Was there something fishy going on?
"Wow! What a feast!"
Before he could see what was on the table, he was startled by the little cutie's exclamation. Zuo Xiao looked carefully and saw that the dishes on the table were indeed dazzling:
Hot dishes included steamed sea bass, pan-fried black tiger prawns, lemon and garlic pan-fried chicken wings, sweet and sour pork ribs, and stir-fried loofah; a cold dish was mint beef rolls; and the soup was bamboo fungus and chicken broth. There was also a plate of egg fried rice sprinkled with something black, like black truffles?
"Have you ever been to New Oriental?" she couldn't help but tease.
The little cutie giggled beside him, Zhuang Yu'an's mouth corners slightly curved, but he didn't say anything.
"My brother is self-taught!" the famous "brother-boasting" began to ramble again. "If there's anything I want to eat, my brother will research how to make it. No matter what cuisine it is, domestic or foreign, within three attempts, he can get it to restaurant quality! Hehe, even if you want a full banquet, I can whip up a whole table for you!"
Zuo Xiao chuckled: "With your brother's talent, it would be a shame if he didn't open a private restaurant."
"This is his pension insurance!" she said proudly. "I told him a long time ago that if the company goes bankrupt one day, we will open a restaurant!"
"Alright, alright, eat quickly." Zhuang Yu'an urged helplessly.
This meal made Zuo Xiao's belly bulge. After putting down his chopsticks, he touched his obviously bulging belly and said, "If I keep eating like this, I'll gain five pounds in a week."
"Five kilograms a week, that's twenty kilograms a month. In less than six months, you'll be a 200-kilogram fat man. Hahaha!"
"...Thank you."
We had the meal early and it was still light when we finished.
"How about the three of us play a board game?" Zhuang Jinghao suggested. "Jingjing gave me a set of 'Settlers of Catan'. It's so fun!"
Zuo Xiaozheng was feeling sleepy. The thought of having to learn the rules from scratch made him even sleepier. He said, "Let's do it another time. I'm a little sleepy after eating so much." Zhuang Yu'an also said, "I still have work to do."
Zhuang Jinghao had no choice but to give up: "Then let's go take a shower first, watch some TV after that, and go to sleep when we feel tired, how about that?"
Zuo Xiao was picked up by Zhuang Yu'an again. This time, she didn't put her arm around his neck. He also held his neck stiffly and tilted his head back, not looking at her the entire time.
In the evening, Zuo Xiaozheng and Zhuang Jinghao were watching TV side by side when their cell phone suddenly rang. Zhuang Jinghao pressed the pause button on the remote control and handed the phone to her.
It was his father calling, saying there were still a few days of summer vacation left and he wanted to visit Beijing. Zuo Xiao quickly tried to dissuade him from coming, saying that Beijing's summer heat was scorching and wouldn't be hot until October. She also said she'd been working a lot of overtime lately, keeping weekends busy and unable to spend time with him. After much persuasion, she finally managed to convince him to stay.
He wasn't done yet. He added that a colleague had recommended a few good guys, and they should wait for Zuo Xiao to get home on the 11th to arrange a meeting. They should add each other on WeChat for the next two days. Zuo Xiao argued with him, saying she'd just broken up and how could she possibly be in the mood for a relationship? He persisted, even going so far as to say, "Stock up first, so you don't have to look for a date when you want one," like hoarding toilet paper.
Finally, he warned again: Never become an online anchor! He said a colleague's daughter was an anchor, and a man kept giving her gifts. They ended up getting together, and the man's wife came to their house and scolded them, even throwing feces at the door. Another colleague's relative's friend's daughter was tricked into going to Myanmar by a fellow anchor, and her fate remains unknown...
"I know, I know. Your daughter would rather starve to death than become a streamer. Don't worry!"
"I'm going to take a shower, I'm hanging up now!"
Zuo Xiao hung up the phone and saw that they had been talking for over half an hour. Zhuang Jinghao brought a plate of diced watermelon and said with a smile, "Listening to you on the phone was like firing a gun. I was laughing to death."
"How dare I? He was the one who shot me."
Zhuang Jinghao sat down: "Xiaoxiao, how often do you talk to your dad on the phone?"
"About once a week."
"What about your mother?"
"Once every one or two months?"
"oh……"
Zuo Xiao probably guessed what the little guy was thinking, and was a little curious, so he asked, "Have you kept in touch with your parents after they went abroad?"
"I haven't heard from my dad since he left. As for my mom, she used to call us about once a month. But she hasn't called since I went to college..." Her eyes were a little dim. "My brother said that Mom started a new family in the United States, and her family has always been dissatisfied with her contacting us, so she had to..."
Zuo Xiao felt a little heavy-hearted, and at the same time, he wondered: Are there really such heartless parents in the world? Could it be that the brother and sister were adopted?
At this time, I heard Zhuang Jinghao say, "Tell me, are my brother and I adopted children? Otherwise, why didn't they call?"
Zuo Xiao smiled wryly. As expected, even the person involved found it hard to understand such parents. She thought for a moment and asked, "Does this make you sad? How sad?"
Zhuang Jinghao was silent for a moment, then said, "It's actually not that bad once I get used to it. It's just that during holidays, when I see other families reunited and happy, I feel a little sad: Don't they miss us at all? Even if they're divorced, they can still come back to see us! Even if it's too far away and inconvenient, they can still call!"
Zuo Xiao shook her hand and said, "Our parents are the ones who brought us into this world. That's the only thing that's certain. Other than that, how much affection they have for us, how much fate they have with us, is uncontrollable. Since you can't force it, just accept it. Do you think you can accept it? What if they look at you like a stranger, without any emotion?"
Zhuang Jinghao thought about it, frowned, and said, "I can't. I have feelings for even a kitten or puppy, let alone my own children. Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me and my brother, or if we've caused trouble and obstacles for my parents, so they don't love us at all and want to abandon us completely."
Zuo Xiao shook his head. "Whether your parents love you or not is their business. It has nothing to do with whether you're good or not. Take me for example: my parents lost their affection very early on. They put up with me for over a decade because of me, and only divorced after I graduated from elementary school. When I was little, they were busy with their own things, and they didn't love or care for me like other parents would. So, do you think they don't love me because I'm not good enough?"
Zhuang Jinghao took a breath and said quickly: "No, no, you are already very good..."
Zuo Xiao still shook his head. "What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to be good enough to be worthy of love, nor does it mean someone will love you just because you're good enough. There are many reasons why someone loves you or not. Ultimately, it's their subjective choice, not something you can decide, and it's certainly not your fault."
Zhuang Jinghao thought thoughtfully: "You mean, don't look for the reasons in yourself?"
"Right, don't look for the reasons within yourself. And don't think it's a big deal if someone doesn't love you. It's because they lack vision and don't know how to appreciate you. It's their loss, okay? Just like your parents, they missed out on such a lively, adorable, and caring little girl, and they also missed out on a son who cooks delicious meals and makes money. They're unlucky!"
"Haha, that's right!" Zhuang Jinghao hugged her and rubbed her shoulders affectionately.
At this moment, Peter Pan, who had been lying on the carpet, suddenly stood up and ran away. They both looked over, and a moment later, Zhuang Yu'an appeared at the stairs.
"Brother, are you done?"
"Yeah. I'm going to walk the dog."
"Oh, go ahead." Zhuang Jinghao said, pressed the remote control and continued playing the movie he had just watched the beginning.
This is a silent animated film called "Robot Dreams," about a lonely puppy who buys a robot as a companion, but an accident separates them. Zhuang Jinghao, who has a low tear point, cried several times before the film was even halfway through.
Zuo Xiao also found the film enjoyable. Whether it was the puppy's initial loneliness without companionship, the small happiness he felt after having the robot, or the unfillable black hole in his heart after their separation, it was deeply moving. However, the psychological enjoyment couldn't overcome the intense sleepiness she felt. Her eyelids grew heavier, and before she knew it, she fell asleep.
When I woke up, I was filled with the satisfaction of a good sleep. With the morning light filtering through the gaps in the curtains, I found myself in bed, my heavy walking boots replaced with relatively soft and lightweight ankle braces.
She was transferred from the sofa to the bed and her protective gear was changed, all while being completely unconscious. It must have been incredibly sleepy, but it also meant she was being treated gently. The image of someone carrying her into the house reappeared in her mind, and she couldn't help but feel bewildered:
What on earth was this guy thinking? Did he really think that her sprained ankle was her sister's fault, so "brother pays sister's debt"?
Today's breakfast was another varied affair, a fusion of Chinese and Western cuisine. At noon, my aunt cooked a few dishes. Although her cooking skills were clearly not as good as Zhuang Yu'an's, they were enough to satisfy Zuo Xiao's taste buds.
Zuo Xiao's unpretentious nature as a foodie, eating whatever is available, is a virtue she's cultivated since childhood. Thanks to this quality, she grew up healthy and didn't starve to death at home. Even after graduating and becoming financially independent, with a wider range of culinary options, she'd rather spend her money elsewhere, like on a better home, travel, or small, cheerful things.
After dinner, Zhuang Jinghao said mysteriously that there was an important dinner party in the evening.
It turned out that a silver economy expo was opening in Beijing the following Friday. Zhuang Jinghao had heard that Chen Liqing's company would be participating, and she hatched a plan. She asked a reporter from a prestigious media outlet she knew to introduce her to a colleague who would be covering the event. They were to have dinner together tonight, learn about their reporting plans, and find a way to connect Chen Liqing's company.
"Great, Xiaojing!" Zuo Xiao gave a thumbs-up. "You're worthy of being our company's PR guru! Whether Chen Liqing can turn things around depends on you!"
"No, no! It's still uncertain whether it will succeed!" Zhuang Jinghao said with a blushing face, "Don't tell Chen Liqing yet, wait until things are settled. Also, keep it a secret from my brother, and keep your story consistent with mine..."
Zhuang Jinghao left at four o'clock, saying she was going to pick out a gift for someone. By then, her aunt had also left, leaving only her and her dog at home, along with a cat that was elusive.
Zuo Xiao played guitar for a while, then felt sleepy again, so he simply lay down on the sofa. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a dog barking, and suddenly it went to the door.
Her heart suddenly tightened. She quickly sat up and looked up, and the door opened.
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