Chapter 4 (4)
Before Yu Shuang went to her brother's place, Yu Rui brought Yu Qi to meet her. Since her sister was in the big city for the New Year, she should have taken the initiative to pay her respects. But Yu Rui would rather have Shi Tongguang spend more money than cause trouble for Shuang.
However, when Yu Shuang heard Qi say they wanted to stay in a hotel, he immediately disagreed, slammed his keys on the table, and said with a smile, "It's a waste of money to live in a ready-made house. My mother is gone, and you are all my relatives." Yu Rui kept saying it was too much trouble. Yu Shuang said, "Kang Long will come with me during the New Year. He doesn't stay with me during other times."
Yu Rui sighed and said that such a good man must be caught.
Yu Qi lost no time in saying, "Congratulations, Sister Shuang."
Yu Rui emphasized, "He is a doctor and a professor."
"Associate Professor." Yu Shuang corrected.
"It will be straight in a few years." Yu Rui said with a smile.
"Oh my god," Yu Shuang said, embarrassed. "Don't talk about that. I'm under pressure. I can't give anything to others, and I'm afraid of owing them anything. Anyway, I said, we're just friends. I don't want to get married right now." Yu Rui and Yu Qi remained silent. Yu Shuang continued, "Look at Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Carina Lau, Sandra Ng and Peter Chan. They've been married for so many years and are still together. It's just a piece of paper."
Yu Rui's perspective differed from hers. On this issue, she shared a similar perspective to Yu Jia, and her approach was similar to Yu Meng's. Yu Rui ended the conversation, "Alright, stop saying this in front of my sister. You'll end up single."
Yu Shuang said, "It's so harsh to say that. I'm choosing not to get married, which is completely different from being single." Then he asked, "How are you and that little boss?" Yu Rui was a little embarrassed by Yu Shuang's choice of words. In front of her sister, Yu Qi, she never called Tong Guang "little boss." She thought the term was a bit derogatory. But Shuang was a person who spoke without restraint. And she had just given him the key. She couldn't let her get down.
Yu Rui said calmly, "Look around first."
Yu Shuang then said to Yu Qi, "You've seen it, what do you think? From a relative's perspective."
"As long as my sister likes it, that's all." Yu Qi achieved a great result with little effort.
While she told others to look around first, internally, Yu Rui was "tightening the screws." She believed her relationship with Shi Tongguang shouldn't drag on too long.
The longer the night, the more dreams one has.
It wasn't that Yu Rui lacked confidence in herself. She simply habitually demanded to achieve her goals. Once a relationship had begun, it had to move forward, not stagnate. Shi Tongguang rarely brought her to meet his friends. To interpret this in a positive light, it was that he was possessive and afraid of losing her. To interpret it in a more serious way, it was that he didn't want to give her his resources and was wary of her.
Yu Rui doesn't consider herself a "gold digger." She believes love and progress go hand in hand, and she truly dedicates herself to every relationship. Without emotions, without feeling, she wouldn't fall in love. But she's not without ambition. Yu Rui likes to cite Maggie Cheung, a top actress in her field, as an example. "If she hadn't fallen in love, would she have made such great progress? The last film she made, 'Clean,' yes, the award-winning one, was directed by her ex-husband."
So now, during the Spring Festival, the question of whether Shi Tongguang would take her to meet his parents became the issue on the table. In the past, he could avoid it. But not now. Yu Rui made full preparations for this meeting. It was her sister who reminded her.
Yu Qi asked, "Sister, are you really not working now?"
"Why aren't you working? I'm an actor, I act."
Being an actress is a profession. But in the eyes of middle-aged and elderly people, it's not what a good daughter-in-law should have. To improve herself, Yu Rui called Yu Meng and said she wanted a title. Yu Meng was abroad with Weng Yue, visiting their son and taking a trip. But as soon as Yu Rui mentioned it, Yu Meng knew what she meant. Wasn't it just like when she, Yu Meng, got divorced? She needed a title, a reputation. Only then could she make her mark in society.
Yu Meng agreed without saying anything. She was offered the job of assistant to the general manager of the shell company. A general assistant. Sounds good.
Everything was ready. Now, how should I bring it up? Of course, I couldn't just say it directly. That would be too lowbrow. He wasn't the Empress Dowager Cixi. There was no need to openly ask for an audience.
Yu Rui thinks it can be guided.
I couldn't offer guidance myself. It was best to let Yu Qi do it. It seemed like my sister's trip to the big city was perfectly timed.
That day, Shi Tongguang and Yu Rui took Yu Qi to get glasses. She usually wore contact lenses, but she also needed to get glasses for nearsightedness. The previous day, she accidentally sat down and broke two legs. She had to get new glasses. Yu Qi walked back and forth wearing her prescription glasses. The optometrist in the back said, "Right, right, try it and see if it makes you dizzy." Yu Rui and Tongguang stood nearby.
We expedited the process. It didn't take long before we had our new glasses. The three of us went to a small restaurant for dinner. Yu Qi was still fiddling with her glasses when she suddenly said, "I only dare to go out now that I have these. Otherwise, if my contact lenses break, I won't even be able to find the station." She was nearsighted, with a slant of 800 degrees. Without them, everything was blurry.
Yu Rui and Tong Guang smiled.
Yu Qi added, "Sister, brother-in-law, don't worry about me during the New Year. I've signed up for a two-day trip. You guys go about your business."
"What two-day tour?" Shi Tongguang laughed.
Yu Qi continued, "You are a family, brother-in-law. I can't always go with you to meet your parents." He paused, "I won't go. You two can reunite, and I can just have fun by myself."
The question has been raised. Let's see how Shi Tongguang responds.
Shi Tongguang smiled, looking around and talking about something else. Nothing more happened. Yu Qi's proposition vanished like water on the beach, leaving no trace. Yu Qi wanted to attack again. Yu Rui gave her sister a look.
Yu Qi had no choice but to call off the troops.
He's unwilling. That's already his attitude; there's no point in asking further. For many things, don't force them when there's resistance. Wait until everyone agrees and is willing, and things will naturally flow faster.
Yu Rui couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He still despised her? She'd chosen him, thinking she'd looked down the barrel. In terms of looks, talent, and abilities, how did he stand out? And he still felt wronged?
Yu Rui changed the subject and said with a smile, "Xiao Xi, you're right. After the New Year, I still have to do something serious. It's too wasteful to be idle at such a young age."
This was also a message to Shi Tongguang.
"Just act," he said.
Yu Rui was silent.
"I can't go back to work," he added.
Yu Rui smiled. "Why not? I have my own career. Who can I rely on?" Shi Tongguang looked a little embarrassed. In the past, he would have taken on all the responsibility. However, he hadn't answered the previous question, and with Xiaoxi nearby, he had to be more reserved.
After checking out, Yu Qi moved in with Yu Shuang, and Yu Rui followed, never to return. The two sisters lay in the guest room at Yu Shuang's house, where Meng Jie used to live. There were also clothes there.
Yu Qi tentatively said, "Sister, I don't want to join the group anymore. It's boring."
Yu Rui clicked her tongue and said, "Just have fun."
Yu Qi wanted to ask more questions, but when he saw that his sister was in a bad mood, he had to stop talking. On the 29th day of the twentieth year, Shi Tongguang came.
After a leisurely stroll through the bookstore, Yu Rui sat alone in Yu Shuang's house, in her pajamas, the stove cold. She had no plans to cook for the New Year. Ever since she started acting, she'd always eaten sparingly. Beauty was paramount. She always remembered the words of a senior actress: "If you want to eat the rice in your hand, you can't eat the rice in front of the camera." But now, with a deep sense of crisis, Yu Rui still lacked a stable and secure meal. Ridiculous, stability? What exactly is stability? From childhood to adulthood, Yu Rui has lived in precarious times.
Shi Tongguang stood. In Yu Shuang's living room stood a giant dry branch. It was Kang Long's "masterpiece." He knew a bit about the I Ching and fortune-telling. He said Yu Shuang's destiny lacked wood, so he placed the tree trunk in the southeast corner of the living room to overcome it.
"Don't worry about me, just go about your business." Yu Rui said softly.
"Angry again." Shi Tongguang still smiled.
Cynicism won't always solve the problem.
Yu Rui was unhappy. "Why are you angry? It's inexplicable."
"Just a few hours, have a meal, and then I'll be back with you."
"No need, it was you who forced me to accompany you." Yu Rui retorted.
"I know you're feeling wronged, but on New Year's Eve, I can't not go back and show up. I'm a filial son." Still smiling playfully. Lubrication was ineffective.
"Does it have anything to do with me?" Yu Rui held her breath, her brows raised.
"You don't know my parents' temper."
"A tiger? A man-eater?"
"Ah!" Shi Tongguang paused, glanced at her sideways, and continued, "Actually, there are some things I haven't told you. It's not that I'm hiding it on purpose, but I just don't think it's necessary. My dad insisted that there's a girl I'm suitable for, saying we're childhood sweethearts and know each other well."
As expected. Yu Rui had a premonition long ago. She even spoke out loud and brazenly.
"But I don't like it. It's impossible. I'm still arguing, so I didn't tell you. First, I was afraid you'd be angry, and second, it's probably just for a while. What era is it now? How can you not bow your head and force it? It's impossible." Shi Tongguang kept talking, "One step back, the sky is wide open. We are the younger generation, dear. I know you've been wronged. This living expenses..."
"Don't mention money to me!"
"No, what I mean is, after the third day of the Lunar New Year, we can go out and play. We can pick any place and go whenever we want!" He still looked very tolerant.
Shi Tongguang's willingness to bow his head had already dissipated a bit of Yu Rui's anger. Never mind, his attitude was quite sincere, so he would be placed on probation.
"What does that woman look like?" She frowned and teased him on purpose.
"Ugly! You can't compare to me."
"Let me see."
"Oh, that might not be the case." Shi Tongguang pulled out his phone and searched. He actually found one. A selfie. Yu Rui leaned over to take a peek.
She looks similar to some Korean women before plastic surgery.
"It suits you well." She said calmly.
"Well...this..." Shi Tongguang touched the back of his head.
After she had dealt with her emotions and sat for a while, Shi Tongguang left. He had his own family. She and he were not one family.
Families were reunited. Although she had her younger sister by her side, the feeling of home, at that moment, was magnified by the media and the surrounding atmosphere. Yu Rui suddenly yearned for a home of her own. A husband, a child. A scene kept popping up in her mind: her husband sitting on the grass with their child, the child giggling. Because of this, Yu Rui couldn't quite understand Yu Shuang, who insisted on being single, or Yu Meng, who insisted on divorce. Life is about endurance, and marriage is even more so. She and Yu Jia were on the same side when it came to marriage, but Yu Rui wouldn't choose a husband like Li Ren. Too old-fashioned. Too serious. She only desired a decent middle-class life. Better than the rich, better than the poor.
It was almost noon when Yu Qi returned. She'd been on time. Worried her sister wouldn't be alone, she'd gone out that morning to avoid her brother-in-law. Yu Qi had bought an almanac. The kind you hang on the door. When I was little, there was always one at home, and we'd tear off a page every day. It felt good. "Let's go out for dinner," Yu Qi said.
"Do it yourself." Yu Rui said.
"Hmm?"
"Go to the supermarket." Yu Rui ordered.
Do it yourself, have enough food and clothing, the two sisters went to the supermarket to buy, Yu Rui cooked, Yu Qi made dumplings, and finally at two or three in the afternoon, they had the food to eat. Yu Rui said with a smile, when you can cook a whole table for the whole family, it means you are the leader of the family.
"I forgot to buy some wine," Yu Rui remembered. She went to Yu Shuang's locker and rummaged through it. There were two bottles. She felt the need to call Yu Shuang first. Be polite, and she'd buy them at the price.
After calling, Yu Shuang immediately agreed.
"What's wrong?" Yu Rui could tell that the other end was in a bad mood.
"It's okay. Happy New Year." Yu Shuang tried his best to control himself.
Kang Long sat beside her, silent. Yu Rui's feeling was correct. Yu Shuang was angry. And very angry.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
