Chapter 57 Deception
"Really?" Zhou Anping's eyes lit up, then he sighed with emotion, "It seems you've really learned a lot."
After finishing their noodles, Zhou Anping offered to help clear the dishes and then insisted on following Nan Zhiyi into the vegetable garden to pick green beans together.
"I've never picked green beans before, but I'll get to experience it today."
Nan Zhiyi felt as if she had heard her words somewhere before.
Seeing her insistence, Nan Zhiyi had no choice but to teach her how to select and tie the items for easy drying.
Zhou Anping did a very good job, and in no time he finished picking all the old green beans.
When it came time to cook dinner, Zhou Anping insisted on helping out.
"Anping, why are you so diligent today? I remember you never did anything at home!"
When this is mentioned, Zhou Anping is full of complaints.
In the Zhou family, Song Lanxin and the maid usually take care of household chores, while Zhou Anping rarely does housework.
But ever since she came into contact with Wang Lili's family, Deputy Director Wang had made it clear that anyone with a maid was a bourgeois, so Song Lanxin had no choice but to let the maid leave.
She hadn't originally intended to mention Wang Lili in front of Nan Zhiyi, but now that Nan Zhiyi was married to Fifth Brother…
She then directly handed over all the details of her family affairs.
Her mother arranged for her brother, Zhou Zhengping, to go on a blind date with Wang Lili, but didn't tell him. She only said it was a meal with relatives and friends... Unexpectedly, Wang Lili exposed the truth about the blind date at the dinner table, and Zhou Anping turned around and left immediately.
“You have no idea how ugly things were back then. My brother hid in the army camp and even had my dad pull strings to get him transferred here…”
Zhou Anping didn't want to talk about his brother and Wang Lili's unpleasant past anymore, so he changed the subject, his tone tinged with complaint:
“Our housekeeper quit, so my mom has to do all the housework, especially since my grandparents are getting old. My mom… can’t manage it all, so I have to help. Every day when I get home from get off work, I have to wash a huge pile of clothes…”
Her tone shifted abruptly, and Nan Zhiyi only listened without intending to ask for clarification. She simply looked at her friend with sympathy and occasionally chimed in with righteous indignation.
The two chatted as they worked, and it wasn't until Gu Xiao returned home that they realized it was already completely dark.
Gu Xiao was also carrying a net bag containing two meat dishes he had brought back from the cafeteria.
"Fifth Brother!"
Zhou Anping stood up and greeted him respectfully.
Gu Xiao glanced at his wife first, then nodded to Zhou Anping: "Anping's here. Welcome."
He walked a few steps to Nan Zhiyi's side and got very close. "The cafeteria has braised pork and braised spare ribs today. It's a good opportunity to add a dish."
Nan Zhiyi was shy and nudged him, "Go set the table."
Gu Xiao scratched her fingertips. "Okay, I'll do it. Go wash your hands."
Dinner was very plentiful.
Nan Zhiyi prepared three dishes, plus the meat and vegetables that Gu Xiao brought back, which filled about half the table.
Zhou Anping kept praising Nan Zhiyi's cooking skills, saying that the stir-fried vegetables were crisp and tender, and the braised pork was stewed until it was soft and tender...
Nan Zhiyi knew perfectly well that her cooking skills were only average, so she quickly put some food on her plate, saying, "Don't praise me like that, aren't you ashamed of yourself..."
"I'm not ashamed at all, what you made is delicious! It's even better than our cafeteria chef! Let me tell you, last time the chef made a dish..."
Gu Xiao didn't say much, he just ate in silence, occasionally putting a piece of Nan Zhiyi's favorite dish on her plate.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was quite harmonious thanks to Zhou Anping and Nan Zhiyi's lively interaction.
After dinner, Gu Xiao stood up to clear the dishes. Nan Zhiyi followed him to the kitchen and whispered to him, "Anping rarely comes over. Tonight, she'll sleep with me. You...can you sleep on the sofa in the living room?"
Gu Xiao paused in his washing of dishes, turned his head, and whispered in her ear: "Okay. But... next time I make a request, you have to agree."
His tone was ambiguous, and Nan Zhiyi instantly understood what kind of request he was making. Her ears burned, she glared at him, and then nodded.
Agree first, then discuss.
Gu Xiao saw through her little scheme, leaned in and pecked her cheek before focusing on washing the dishes.
---
It was late at night, and after washing up, Nan Zhiyi and Zhou Anping squeezed onto the bed in the inner room, the fan gently oscillating.
"Zhiyi, are you asleep?"
Nan Zhiyi patted her back, "No? What's wrong? You're not used to sleeping in the same bed?"
The emotions that had been suppressed during the day finally found an outlet.
In the darkness, Zhou Anping's voice trembled with tears: "Zhiyi...you're lying."
Nan Zhiyi was taken aback: "What did I lie to you about?"
Zhou Anping's tears fell silently onto the pillowcase.
“You wrote in your letter that Fifth Brother took care of you… said everything was fine… but I saw it all… you were picking green beans in the vegetable garden, your hands were covered in calluses… you were cooking in the kitchen, so skillfully… this is not how someone takes good care of you? Fifth Brother… he didn’t take good care of you at all.”
Nan Zhiyi felt a pang of sadness and grasped Zhou Anping's hand.
“Anping, listen to me, Fifth Brother is really good, much better than we imagined. He does all the heavy work around the house. Whenever he's home, he insists on doing the laundry and cooking. He was worried I'd be bored, so he found a way to get me a washing machine, a TV, and a tape recorder. He… he's already doing his best to take care of me.”
"Then...then why do you still do it...? Fifth Brother can do it all..."
Zhou Anping still felt sorry for him.
Nan Zhiyi sighed softly and tightened her grip on her hand.
“Anping, tell me, in this world, no matter which man a woman marries, can she truly escape these things?”
Zhou Anping held his breath in the darkness.
"Washing clothes, cooking, sweeping the yard, raising children... these trivialities, these everyday moments, are the essence of life. Whether you marry a prince or a commoner, once you start a family, these burdens will eventually fall on a woman's shoulders, more or less. The only difference is whether the person you marry takes it for granted and treats you like a maid, or whether he is understanding and willing to share the burden with you."
She knew Zhou Anping was naive and always oversimplified things. So she habitually broke things down and explained them to her in detail.
“Anping, Fifth Brother wants to protect me and not let me do anything. This is already a rare blessing. But life is about two people living together, and I can't just take his kindness for granted.”
Learning to do these things doesn't mean he can't take good care of me; it means I've chosen to step into the mundane details of daily life, into the realities of living.
For a woman to truly stand on her own two feet and live a secure life, she cannot ultimately rely entirely on another person's "care." Even the best man cannot withstand a clinging vine.
Nan Zhiyi's words shattered Zhou Anping's long-held, vague notion that she should "find a good man to marry."
So... that's how it is?
She had never thought about it from this perspective. What she considered "grievances" were, in Zhiyi's words, transformed into a conscious choice and the foundation upon which she stood?
She lay there in a daze, recalling how Fifth Brother naturally picked up food for her at the dinner table, how he took the initiative to clean up after the meal, and how he quietly prepared bathwater...
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