Chapter 11: She didn't respond; it was as if she were communicating with him from years ago...
Their first meeting brought her much more joy than their reunion tonight.
After taking the last bite of his hamburger, Zhu Liushuang clicked into Yueyin FM and, without fail, began listening to the "Human World" radio station.
Her arm was supporting her heavy head, and the light from the desk lamp shone on her tear-streaked face. After listening to the program, her tears stopped abruptly.
Zhu Liushuang seemed to have forgotten her earlier sadness and began to cheer up as she wrote her commentary.
In this episode, He Ming took advantage of his holiday to travel alone to Kunming. The cover of the program features a scene in a park, where brightly dressed elderly men and women are singing and dancing in a pavilion, with lush, moist green leaves and continuous raindrops behind them.
He Ming mentioned on the show that this was Cuihu Park in Kunming. He happened to be passing by that day and couldn't resist stopping to capture this lively scene with his camera.
For Zhu Liushuang, the places He Ming had visited were places she had only seen in books and on television. She dreamt that one day, when she had earned enough money, she would follow in his footsteps and see the beautiful landscapes of her motherland.
Late that night, she gazed at the dark night outside the window and left him a comment.
I once read about the rain in Kunming in Wang Zengqi's book, and I longed for that "bright, full, and moving" rainy season. If I had the chance, I would also like to see the cacti hanging upside down and stroll through the market filled with all kinds of mushrooms. I wonder what made you go there?
Gucheng also has a rainy season, but unfortunately it's the annoying, endless plum rain season. Humid, muggy, and swarming with mosquitoes… after the plum rain comes endless sweltering heat. I really hope summer ends soon.
...
In the early hours of the morning, Zhu Liushuang got out of bed and ran to the bathroom to vomit, emptying all the beef burger she had forced into her stomach before bed.
Meanwhile, in an apartment building more than ten kilometers away from her, someone else came out of the bathroom.
The man wore loose-fitting linen-colored cotton trousers, his upper body completely naked. The cold white light from the bedroom wall lamp bathed his bare skin.
Light and shadow danced across his broad shoulders and muscular chest. Down his chest was his firm abdomen, with his V-line faintly visible.
He strode over to the sofa, picked up the pajamas he had carelessly tossed there, and put them on. His chiseled face, framed by his long neck, was pale, and his chapped lips added to his haggard appearance.
He Minggang vomited violently in the bathroom before he finally sobered up. Leaning his long legs against the edge of the sofa, he casually picked up the honey water on the low table and drank it all in one gulp.
His two suddenly furrowed eyebrows revealed that he did not like the cloying sweetness of honey water.
Outside the bedroom is a windowed balcony with a clear view of a large lake.
He Ming took his phone and sat on the recliner on the balcony, his long legs crossed, and his slanted eyes showed a hint of weariness.
His gaze fell on the lake surface where fishing lights flickered in the distance, as if deep in thought.
A moment later, he lowered his eyes, his long, strong fingers sliding into the work WeChat group. A dozen unread messages, all from the interns in his team.
After briefly answering a few questions, he went to his phone's notification bar.
With his index finger pressed against the tip of his nose, He Ming stared blankly at the notification message, "You have a new comment." His eyes narrowed slightly; this was the first time Yueyin FM had sent him a comment notification in several days.
Prior to this, Yueyin FM had been absent from his phone for more than two years.
The reason he didn't delete the audio software was probably because it contained memories of his past life.
During his university years, He Ming experienced a period of severe insomnia. The root cause of his insomnia stemmed from his deceased mother.
During his rebellious youth, he had disagreements with his mother, and that one and only heated argument made him an "accomplice" who indirectly "killed" his mother.
If his maternal grandparents hadn't taken him back and cared for him properly when he was in a state of extreme distress, he might have already given up on himself and become a walking corpse.
From junior high to high school, He Ming restarted his life and studies with the help of his two elderly parents. He once thought that he had emerged from the shadow of his mother's death.
Until his stepmother, in order to consolidate her position in the family, flaunted her power in front of him and used the most despicable words to provoke him.
He Mingcai realized with despair that deep down, he had never forgiven himself. All the calm and tranquility was merely a facade to maintain a living.
After realizing the truth, he was once again consumed by regret and self-blame. He Ming didn't have the habit of confiding in anyone, and he had very few close friends. As a result, he fell into a vicious cycle of endless internal conflict.
Later, heeded his grandfather's advice and began to travel around in his spare time to relax and get rid of the nightmares.
The "Human World and Plants" radio station was established during that period, serving as an outlet for him to vent his emotions and express his feelings to the outside world.
As memories flashed through his mind, a hint of gloom crossed He Ming's face.
The rain made the floor-to-ceiling windows appear even clearer. The last fishing lights on the lake went out, and he tapped into the long-missed Yueyin FM app.
The recent comments all came from the same person, whose ID was a string of random numbers and letters.
He Ming guessed that it was randomly assigned by the system during registration. Unlike the hastily written ID name, her comment was longer than any of her previous comments.
Even if no one clicked on the other person's profile, He Ming knew that it must have been left by a girl.
When he saw the fourth comment, his gaze lingered on the words "Gucheng".
It's a coincidence that they live in the same city.
The girl's rambling comments seemed like a conversation with him from years ago. A ripple appeared in He Mingshen's unfathomable eyes, but quickly vanished without a trace.
Everyone has their own secrets, especially online. This stranger who suddenly appeared might have just happened to click on the radio station and found some solace there.
He Ming exited the radio interface, not wanting to disturb her rashly, so he didn't reply to her at all.
Not a single star could be seen outside, so he got up and opened half of the glass window on the side of the balcony.
A warm breeze rushed towards him, carrying the dampness of the rain and an indescribable stuffiness.
Like the stranger girl, he hoped the rainy season would end soon.
————
June is more than halfway over, and the plum rains in Gucheng have been falling for more than half a month.
The Zhu family doesn't have a dryer, so the amount of clothes hanging on the balcony keeps increasing. Without the sun's exposure, the clothes that dry in the shade always have a lingering, unpleasant odor.
Zhu Liushuang gathered a bunch of short-sleeved shirts into her arms, brought them close to her nose and sniffed them; sure enough, they still smelled.
Left with no other option, she threw all the clothes in her hands into the washing machine and washed them again. Then, following a method she found online, she hung some of the clothes to dry in the bathroom with the heater on. The remaining half of the clothes were hung on a standing clothes rack in her room, waiting for the air conditioner to dry them overnight.
It was raining, so she didn't go out to set up her stall this Sunday. Instead, she stayed home with her mother to clean up the moldy furniture.
The rainy season in previous years wasn't this severe; only this year has seen continuous heavy rain. The wooden shoe cabinet, cupboards, and several storage cabinets in the house are all covered in mold.
Fortunately, these were all old pieces of furniture, so there was no need to worry about them changing color during the treatment. Under her mother's guidance, Zhu Liushuang sprayed all the moldy cabinets with 84 disinfectant and then wiped them clean with a towel.
Her mother followed behind her, and after she finished wiping, she wiped her again with a cloth soaked in water, and then dried her completely with a hairdryer.
After they finished their work, Gu Chunling stopped Zhu Liushuang from making lunch. She pulled her daughter to sit on the sofa in the living room, while her other hand, which was behind her back, kept tugging at the cushion.
"Xiaoshuang, Mom has something to discuss with you." Gu Chunling finally spoke after a long pause.
Zhu Liushuang listened quietly: "Please speak."
"It's just... it's just that your aunt called me a while ago and said she wanted to invite you to dinner." Gu Chunling said haltingly, "Your uncle and aunt care about you a lot and want to introduce you to them."
"Concern?" Zhu Liushuang's face instantly turned cold. "Did they show any concern for us when they instigated Grandpa and Grandma to seize Dad's compensation money?"
"Half of your father's compensation already belongs to them," Gu Chunling said, hesitating to finish her sentence.
Zhu Liushuang was furious: "Let's not even talk about how Grandpa and Grandma always sided with Uncle's family when Dad was alive. Take the compensation money for example, you gave them 100,000 out of 150,000, which is already more than enough. Grandma wouldn't even let you in the door after she took the money... In the end, didn't that money still end up in Uncle and Aunt's pockets!"
She practically growled out the last sentence. Gu Chunling helplessly stroked her daughter's hand, trying to comfort her: "It's all in the past, it's all in the past... After all, they are your father's only remaining family in the world."
"Tell me, what are they planning this time?" Zhu Liushuang asked calmly.
Gu Chunling didn't dare look into her daughter's eyes, and forced herself to say, "Your aunt said there's a young man in her workplace who's quite eligible, but he hasn't found a partner yet. She's been working for two years now, so why don't you get to know him and see how things go?"
"Mom—" Zhu Liushuang suppressed her anger, "Didn't I tell you last time that I'm not ready to date? Besides, why is Auntie suddenly thinking of introducing me to someone?"
"It's my fault... I just mentioned it casually when she called. I didn't expect her to have someone else on the way so quickly," Gu Chunling said softly. "How about we go meet her, have a meal, and come right back?"
"I'm not going..." Zhu Liushuang said firmly, "I have no interest."
“Xiao Shuang—the daughter of your Aunt Zhang downstairs, she’s a year younger than you, and she already has a baby,” Gu Chunling continued to persuade her. “Maybe she’ll meet the right person?”
Seeing her mother's evasive gaze, Zhu Liushuang sensed something was amiss, so she asked in a low voice, "Mom, tell me the truth. Why are you insisting that I go see the person Auntie mentioned?"
"I..." Gu Chunling hesitated to tell the truth, but after Zhu Liushuang's repeated questioning, she finally spoke.
When Zhu Xiangdong was alive, he lent his younger brother Zhu Xiangqian 30,000 yuan without writing an IOU, only verbally promising to repay it in two years.
But before the two-year term was over, Zhu Xiangdong passed away unexpectedly. Zhu Xiangqian then denied everything, insisting that Gu Chunling had made a mistake.
Later, Gu Chunling sat at their doorstep and refused to leave, crying and pleading. Only then did the Zhu couple change their story and say they remembered. But the money was never repaid.
When Zhu Liushuang's aunt, Cui Li, called this time, she unexpectedly brought up the matter of borrowing money from years ago. She said that as long as Zhu Liushuang agreed to go on a blind date, they would repay the money in due course.
Gu Chunling's thinking was simple: Liu Shuang was at the age where she should be dating, and meeting more people through blind dates wouldn't be a bad thing. More importantly, the family had many expenses, and although she was no longer able to work, she wanted to save more money for Liu Shuang's dowry, so she agreed to this arrangement.
After the whole truth was revealed, Zhu Liushuang couldn't bear to shatter her mother's "dream," but her firm tone softened: "Mom, don't worry, I'll go on the blind date. When?"
"Tonight. 5:30, the Lotus Hotel in the city center," Gu Chunling said urgently.
It turns out it was arranged a long time ago, but they only told me today. This shows that her mother knew deep down that she didn't want to go on a blind date.
Zhu Liushuang lowered her head, her loose black hair covering half of her small face, making it impossible to see her expression: "Okay, I understand. Then we'll cook more for lunch today, and save the rest for your dinner."
Although she obediently agreed on the surface, she knew exactly what was going on in her mind.
For so many years, my uncle's family has never brought up repaying the money. Now that they're bringing it up, it's like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken.
Therefore, tonight's so-called blind date was nothing more than a "trap" in her eyes.
Since she couldn't refuse, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and see what they were up to.
A note from the author:
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