Chapter 87 The Secret is Discovered "It's... a marriage certificate."...
That afternoon, Zhu Liushuang didn't know what she was feeling when she returned home. The only thing she remembered was that the wind was particularly strong in the latter half of the night, and when she opened the window the next morning, the cement road in the community was covered with scattered osmanthus blossoms.
She was still angry, but couldn't find a legitimate reason to vent. So, she unilaterally decided to cut off contact with He Ming for a few days, waiting until her resentment had subsided before considering their future relationship.
On the fifth day of the stalemate, Zhu Liushuang unexpectedly received a WeChat message from He Ming.
Are you going to set up a stall at the food street this Sunday?
At that moment, she was at her workstation arguing with the client company's finance department over reconciliation issues. Their keyboards were practically smoking from typing, yet they remained firmly convinced of their own positions.
The moment Zhu Liushuang saw the message, the anger in her chest instantly subsided. The other party was still typing on the DingTalk chat, so she gave up on retaliating and calmly typed a single sentence.
"Sister Wu, what you said makes sense. How about this, I'll make time to come to your company next week, and we can spend some time checking things out in person."
After receiving a reluctant response, she rubbed her aching neck and leaned back in her chair. With her eyes closed, she reached for her phone on the corner of the table, and a smile inexplicably crept onto her lips.
“Liu Shuang…” A head suddenly popped up on the other end. Zhuang Xiaoqian hesitated, as if she was troubled by something.
Zhu Liushuang hid her phone and asked frankly, "Sister Zhuang, this is the fourth time! What exactly do you want to tell me?"
"It's just... I wanted to sound you out again," Zhuang Xiaoqian stammered shyly, her voice escaping through her teeth.
What's your stance?
Zhuang Xiaoqian rested her chin on her hand, her eyebrows furrowed: "Old Liu's cousin... are you really not going to consider it?"
Isn't Liu Lanjun's cousin Yue Lin?
Zhu Liushuang shook her head decisively: "Dr. Yue is so qualified, there's no need for him to waste his time on me."
"If it weren't for Lao Liu insisting that I act as a go-between..." Zhuang Xiaoqian continued, "Yue Lin has studied for so many years and has remained single. He finally met someone he liked, but you didn't like her! Sigh... Don't be fooled by his appearance, which makes him look like a womanizer; he's actually a blank slate."
Whether Yue Lin was innocent or not, Zhu Liushuang didn't know, and she didn't care to know. But the fact that Yue Lin liked her was quite inexplicable to her. They had only met a few times, let alone gotten to know each other well. Was liking someone so easy?
"Liu Shuang, aren't you single right now? Why don't you try again? Chasing someone and being chased are two completely different experiences!" Zhuang Xiaoqian thought she was wavering, so she pressed her advantage.
The phone vibrated twice more.
If you set up your stall, I won't work overtime.
Zhu Liushuang glanced at him briefly, then made up her mind and said to Zhuang Xiaoqian, "Sister, I have a boyfriend."
Anyway, He Ming said that if anyone asks, they should say that they are in a "boyfriend and girlfriend" relationship.
"Oh my god! When did this happen?" Zhuang Xiaoqian exclaimed in surprise. "My best friend said that a very handsome guy came to the main table looking for you at the banquet that day... Could it be you?"
Looking at the other person's startled expression, a hint of helplessness inadvertently welled up in her eyes.
"It's been a while." Saying only half and hiding the other half is her usual trick. If she added any more details, Zhuang Xiaoqian would probably dig up all the secrets in no time.
"You've been hiding it well!" Zhuang Xiaoqian said with a sidelong glance and a smile. "Oh my, you're getting shy already."
Zhu Liushuang pursed her lips and lowered her head shyly. Of course, shyness could be feigned. Using embarrassment as an excuse could help her avoid many questions.
"Alright... I'll go talk to my husband right away. Let Yue Lin give up on that idea as soon as possible." Zhuang Xiaoqian stopped gossiping and said loudly, "After all, poaching someone's partner is too unethical, we can't do it."
Unexpectedly, Zhuang Xiaoqian let her off so easily this time. Zhu Liushuang picked up the teacup on the table with surprise and relief, and took a sip of water to moisten her throat.
He Ming sent two WeChat messages ten minutes apart, so he must be quite free right now?
With that thought in mind, Zhu Liushuang unlocked her phone, preparing to send him a message.
Unexpectedly, just as her index finger tapped the WeChat page, her mother, Gu Chunling, called urgently. Without thinking, she answered, "Hello, Mom. What's up?"
There was an eerie silence on the other end of the phone.
"Mom? Mom?" Receiving no response, Zhu Liushuang assumed her mother had dialed the wrong number and prepared to hang up.
"Xiao Shuang," the woman's voice suddenly rang out, her tone unusually serious, "Can you go home now?"
"Oh? There's still an hour and a half until we get off work." Zhu Liushuang asked quickly, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"Hmm... why don't you take a leave of absence and come back?" Gu Chunling's voice sounded stiff, as if she was restraining herself.
Given a mother's nature, even if she's in excruciating pain, she'll endure it. Why is she asking me to go home today?
Although she was puzzled, Zhu Liushuang didn't ask too many questions on the phone, and simply replied obediently, "I understand, I'll ask for leave now."
After hanging up the phone, she hurriedly rolled up her notebook, stuffed it into her bag, and got up to leave.
"What's wrong with Auntie?" Zhuang Xiaoqian asked casually.
“I might not be feeling well. Sister, I’m going home for a bit…” Zhu Liushuang stopped abruptly at the door and lowered her voice, “If President Guo asks, just say I went to the bank to do some business.”
More than half an hour later, Zhu Liushuang arrived at the building. Afraid of being late, she ran up to the sixth floor in one go.
"Liu Shuang, you're off work early today!" Qiu Yan greeted her cheerfully as she opened the door.
Zhu Liushuang, still catching her breath, exhaled and called out, "Aunt Qiu."
Since severing ties with Lü Feng, the two families have had less and less contact. Qiu Yan, on the other hand, has become increasingly polite to her.
"Your mom is doing a big clean-up today. I saw her throwing away a lot of old things," Qiu Yan said as she walked towards the stairwell.
Spring cleaning?
Zhu Liushuang's heart skipped a beat.
Her hand, which was fumbling for the keys, trembled uncontrollably, and her face fell.
Could it be... that her mother found her marriage certificate?
Probably not? During regular deep cleaning, my mother wouldn't rummage through my wardrobe without my permission.
She must be overthinking it! Zhu Liushuang reassured herself repeatedly.
Her thoughts were in turmoil, and she opened the door with a heavy heart. The curtains were drawn tightly, and the living room was poorly lit, no different from being at night.
"Where is she?" she muttered as she changed her shoes in the entryway. Her mother had called her home in such a hurry, but she herself had disappeared somewhere.
She felt her way along the wall to press the light switch, when suddenly she saw a dark, shadowy figure on the sofa. The instant the ceiling light came on, her mother's gaze fixed on her.
"Mom, you're home! Why aren't the lights on?" The living room was unusually quiet, so Zhu Liushuang deliberately made some noise, pretending to be nonchalant.
Gu Chunling, wrapped in a pilling cardigan, stared motionlessly at her daughter. A bright red booklet lay open on her lap. "Xiaoshuang, can you tell Mom what this is?" she asked, her hands trembling as she picked up the red booklet, unfolding the pages outwards.
Her smile froze on her lips, and Zhu Liushuang's face instantly drained of color. Directly in front of her was her marriage registration photo with He Ming. Her breathing quickened, and she stammered, "Mom...it's...it's our marriage certificate."
Gu Chunling jumped to her feet, her face contorted with rage: "Good, very good! My daughter got her marriage certificate... and I, as her mother, didn't even know. Zhu Liushuang, do you even consider me your mother anymore?"
Her swollen eyes were bloodshot, and Gu Chunling's tone was sharp and shrill, as if she had completely lost control.
Zhu Liushuang clenched her fists tightly, forcing back the tears welling in her eyes. She had never seen her mother so angry. In her mind, her mother had always been mild-mannered and timid.
She had envisioned this day coming, but she never expected it to be so sudden and violent.
She was too arrogant!
Gu Chunling's brows furrowed deeply, forming a menacing deep line. She slammed the red booklet shut and threw it to the ground, her voice as cold as ice: "My daughter has grown up and has her own little secrets, that's normal. After all, I'm old and can't keep up with you young people. But marriage... how can you keep it a secret? If I hadn't found it out today, how long were you planning to hide it?" As she finished speaking, two lines of tears rolled down her cheeks.
After swaying a few times, Gu Chunling slumped back onto the sofa.
Over the years, she has raised her daughter with great difficulty, only to be met with her daughter's deliberate deception, which is something she finds hard to accept.
Gu Chunling felt extremely frustrated. She sobbed, and soon her low sobs turned into loud wailing.
Regret washed over her like a tidal wave. Zhu Liushuang suddenly hugged her mother, tears streaming down her face: "Mom, I'm sorry. I was wrong... I know I was wrong. I... shouldn't have kept it from you... shouldn't have made all the decisions on my own... Please don't cry, crying will worsen your eye condition... If you're angry, you can hit me or scold me."
How could Gu Chunling bring herself to hit him?
Over the years, she never said a harsh word to her daughter. She was just too heartbroken, so heartbroken that her heart ached terribly.
Tears fell like beads from a broken string, dripping onto the back of Zhu Liushuang's hand.
The mother cried until her voice was hoarse and her shoulders trembled, and Zhu Liushuang also couldn't stop crying.
The two women wept together. On the white wall behind them, Zhu Xiangdong in a photograph still looked as he did in his youth. He smiled faintly, his affectionate eyes gazing tenderly at his wife and daughter.
————
The old building had poor sound insulation, so the commotion naturally drew concern and inquiries from the neighbors.
One by one, the windows downstairs opened, and someone leaned out and shouted, "What happened? Who's crying?"
After venting their emotions, the mother and daughter calmed down and looked at each other in silence.
After a long while, Gu Chunling reached out and wiped away the tears from Zhu Liushuang's eyes. As a mother, she was angry and heartbroken, but seeing her daughter kneeling before her, crying her eyes out, she couldn't bear it.
"Tell me, why did you keep it from Mom?" Her face was still cold, but her tone was no longer harsh.
Zhu Liushuang turned around and picked up the marriage certificate from the ground, pressing her face against her mother's knee: "I've been dating him for several months, and we get along quite well. Dr. Xie suddenly had an accident and is in the intensive care unit, his life hanging in the balance. We want to minimize his regrets..."
She glanced at the light above her head, wrapping her half-truthful words in a calm tone.
"Dr. Xie was able to treat me because of Xiao He's connections, right?" Gu Chunling suddenly interrupted. "I couldn't understand it at the time. Every time I went for a follow-up appointment, the old man would always pull me aside and ask me about you. So it seems... he already knew?"
Following her mother's words, Zhu Liushuang hummed in agreement. She didn't lift her head, but leaned lightly against her mother's lap. The corduroy pants were a bit rough, rubbing against her flushed cheeks.
"Mom is eager for you to find a good husband soon... But what about you? You tell me you're not in a hurry to find a boyfriend, but you're secretly dating someone and even getting a marriage certificate behind my back..." Gu Chunling tapped her daughter's temple and said, "What are you thinking?"
"At first, it was because we hadn't been dating long enough, and I wanted to wait a little longer before telling you." A lie wrapped in sincerity becomes sweet as honey. Zhu Liushuang paused, then made her reason even more plausible. "Later, we hastily got our marriage certificate, and fearing your objection, we decided to keep it a secret for now..."
"Let's have Xiao He come over tonight!" Gu Chunling said with a sigh, adjusting her cardigan.
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