Chapter 72: Unwavering (Partial sibling storyline; purchase with caution if you mind)
As Chen Jizhou spoke, his hands were also busy. He went over to help Ms. Ye with her suitcase. Seeing his eagerness, Ye Zhaoxu gave him a chance to show off. Chen Jizhou helped her with the suitcase and then quickly took the bag from her hand.
"What did you do during the day?" she asked, looking at him seriously.
Jiang Meng: "Let's play cards."
Ye Zhaoxu was skeptical, and his gaze swept back to her face.
The cold, imposing aura of the inspector lingered between the two for a moment.
Chen Jizhou neatly arranged his things, his face serious: "Yes, it's just a gathering of friends, nothing else."
Ye Zhaoxu said "Oh," his expression relaxing slightly, and then asked, "Have you eaten?"
Jiang Meng glanced at Chen Jizhou, then nervously clasped her hands together: "I just ate."
Ye Zhaoxu said, "So what do we do after we've finished moon-gazing?"
Jiang Meng didn't answer but asked instead, "Are you staying at home tonight?"
Ye Zhaoxu coldly replied, "I don't live at home, I live on the street?"
"Oh, that's not what I meant. I thought you were going out to see your friends again, and I wasn't sure if you were coming back to stay..."
Ye Zhaoxu sat down and said calmly, "I'm not going out today."
If she comes back to stay, then Chen Jizhou's plan to have her stay overnight will have failed.
Chen Jizhou was a bit troubled. He hadn't expected his mother-in-law to come back today, and he hadn't made any preparations. He had almost been caught in the act of adultery. However, he had a trump card that he could use at any time. He remembered that he had learned from Wang Qi that Ye Zhaoxu had been doing cosmetic procedures in recent years. He quickly changed the subject: "By the way, Auntie, I got a membership at a beauty salon next to the school. There are a few doctors there who are hard to get an appointment with, but I've already told them. It will be more convenient for you if you go there in the future."
This tactic worked somewhat; Ye Zhaoxu's expression indeed relaxed: "Really?"
Jiang Meng looked at him in disbelief: You have this trick up your sleeve?
Chen Jizhou retorted with his eyes: I'll take care of everything, okay?
A glass of water was handed to him, and Ye Zhaoxu drank it without hesitation. After taking a sip, he asked, "Why did you pour me tea?"
He said, "Politeness."
"This is my home."
Jiang Meng was dumbfounded.
Chen Jizhou smiled instead, deftly deflecting the question by saying, "Well, you've had a long journey, so of course you should enjoy our services. I happen to be here—is there anything else you need, Teacher Ye?"
The two of them stood beside the sofa, neither daring to sit down, as if waiting for her approval.
The beauty card was quite appealing, and Ye Zhaoxu briefly forgave the two of them for enjoying the moon in the room. Just as she was about to ask if there was anything else she needed, someone knocked on the door.
Jiang Meng went over and opened the door.
Standing at the door was Su Yu.
"Who is it?" Ye Zhaoxu put down his teacup and peeked out.
Su Yugang exchanged a few words with Jiang Meng, then noticed her mother had returned and greeted her at the door with, "Hello, Auntie."
Ye Zhaoxu nodded: "Hello, Su Yu."
Su Yu's eyes showed a hint of surprise. Then, meeting the curious gazes of the three people in the room, she said, "Excuse me, I left my hat here."
Ye Zhaoxu said, "Oh, come in."
Jiang Meng ran into the room and quickly handed Su Yu her hat.
Su Yu realized that the "battle" here was intense, so she prepared to take her things and leave.
She had always been quite intimidated by Jiang Meng's mother's strict mother image. This type of person often doesn't give their own children a kind look and treats outsiders the same way. During their school years, their cold parental traits of prioritizing studies can scare away some friends.
During high school, Su Yu visited Jiang Meng a few times. The two were quite careful in their interactions. Jiang Meng said that her parents did not want her to bring classmates home, but they still ran into them by chance.
Su Yu was surprised that Ye Zhaoxu still remembered her name.
With his savior arriving, Chen Jizhou relaxed a little and asked Su Yu in a low voice, "Did you come here by yourself?"
She replied softly, "Yes, I'll take a taxi."
Where is Xie Zhuo?
"He went home. I didn't tell him; I was just taking a hat."
He thought for a moment, then glanced inside at the stern-faced Ye Zhaoxu: "Perfect timing, I'll give you a ride."
Jiang Meng handed the hat back, and then heard her mother say, "Go get some snacks for Su Yu—what are you doing standing at the door? Come in and sit down."
Jiang Meng said with a laugh, "She's not a child anymore, she doesn't eat snacks."
Su Yu smiled obediently: "Auntie, please rest early. I haven't finished my work yet, so I won't sit down. Otherwise, I'll have to work overtime until very late today."
Chen Jizhou was able to find an excuse to slip away. Before leaving, he remembered something and suddenly smiled, saying, "Oh, right, Auntie, I have another gift for you, but I need some time to prepare it. It might be in the spring."
Ye Zhaoxu raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then I'll look forward to it."
When Jiang Meng talked about her childhood, even though it wasn't anything major, such as not being able to bring classmates home, she still felt an indescribable sadness.
Mom might feel apologetic and want to make up for the expired gift, but she doesn't like to say sorry. She'll just casually tell her friends as she closes the door, "Come visit often."
Some acts of kindness, once the best opportunity has passed, become meaningless.
But Jiang Meng would still lower her head and wipe her sore eyes.
Ye Zhaoxu finally smiled slightly: "You've all gone out to study and work, so the house is much quieter. I usually do the same thing, finding a few mahjong partners every now and then to liven things up."
Chen Jizhou replied with ease, "Then I'll come often, to give you some fresh card partners, and exchange some techniques I've learned outside. I should be more knowledgeable than these old men and women."
Ye Zhaoxu couldn't help but laugh and called him a sly fellow.
On the way back, the winter wind was biting. Su Yu felt much warmer after putting on her hat. In Chen Jizhou's car, Su Yu wanted to ask what had happened, but she wasn't overly interested in other people's affairs. Usually, she would listen carefully when others talked, but she wouldn't overstep her bounds if they didn't bring it up themselves. Besides, judging from the scene, she could guess most of it. The only unexpected thing was that someone like Chen Jizhou could be so meek and submissive.
He drove towards Su Yu's house. The car was quiet for a while as Chen Jizhou pondered something. He thought to himself, "I suspect that the mother and daughter conspired to frame me."
Chen Jizhou looked at Su Yu: "Is that possible?"
Su Yu said casually, "If my child falls in love with a spoiled brat like you, I'll have a real headache."
"Why would even you say that? Am I really that bad?"
She thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Actually, I'm quite gentle."
Chen Jizhou asked her for her opinion: "If you were a parent, what kind of child would you like?"
Without hesitation, Su Yu replied, "Someone like Xie Zhuo."
Knowing her tendency to betray her family long ago, Chen Jizhou adopted a disdainful expression as if he had expected this: "Asking you is pointless."
After driving for a while, Chen Jizhou glanced at Su Yu and saw that her face was red from the cold and she was secretly rubbing her hands. He asked, "You really didn't tell him, or was he just too lazy to make the trip?"
“I really didn’t tell him,” Su Yu said. “What’s wrong? Are you going to go and scold him?”
Chen Jizhou thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, it won't do me any good to make things difficult for him."
Su Yu's lips curved into a smile until he calmly asked the next question: "Are you still taking your medication?"
She suppressed her smile and replied, "Much better."
Last year, when Su Yugang was dating Xie Zhuo, she hadn't yet told Chen Jizhou. When she went to Canada to attend his graduation ceremony, she specifically asked him, as if to inquire, "Do you think Xie Zhuo is a reliable person?"
Chen Jizhou casually countered with a question: "You used to like him, didn't you?"
After a moment of surprise and disorientation, she softly admitted, "Yes."
She thought he would speak up for Xie Zhuo, saying things like, "He's a good guy, my good brother. I feel very reassured leaving you with his brother."
But Chen Jizhou's answers always surprised her. He said, "I can't make this decision for you. The needs of friends and lovers are different. I can't judge whether he is a good lover from a friend's perspective."
"But I think you've already done a great job, Su Yu."
"If being in a relationship doesn't improve your life, it's okay to be alone."
It was truly unexpected; almost no one would have told her that it was okay to be alone.
And it's not that they're giving up because they can't find a partner.
He genuinely believed that her life could exist without love.
Chen Jizhou rarely showed a serious demeanor. During the meal, he spoke to her earnestly, like a proper older brother: "My advice is, don't lower your standards just because you once liked him. Love is not based on worship, and it can't be based on worship. His charm is his own, and what he gives you in return depends on whether you can accept it. That's the most important thing."
"Making up for regrets is not a necessary condition for love; getting along well is. It depends on personality, or rather, whether you are compatible on a soul level. Your needs at this moment are the key things you should consider."
He hoped she wouldn't care too much about so-called youthful sentimentality, since love is about looking forward.
It's in the future, not in the past.
Su Yu was touched, but she just smiled gently and replied, "You're so concerned about me."
Chen Jizhou smiled and said, "Of course, love is a good thing. I hope you can thrive in it."
"And what about you?"
"Let me look again." His unusually serious expression vanished, and his eyes regained their usual carefree ease. "I haven't had enough fun yet."
...
Chen Jizhou parked his car outside the residential area and walked with her for a while, seemingly still worried about Ye Zhaoxu's difficult behavior. "Once I get through this, we'll have a good get-together after the New Year. I'll invite a lot of people."
"You're treating?"
He laughed and said, "Of course, I'm the oldest, how could I possibly take advantage of you?"
He was a month older than Jiang Meng and almost a year older than Xie Zhuo and Su Yu, making him the true eldest brother, and naturally he should bear some responsibility.
There's a roasting oven for sweet potatoes at the entrance of the residential area, emitting smoke in the cold winter.
The once young and strong aunties have become middle-aged and elderly, yet they still roast sweet potatoes at this stall day after day, year after year.
Chen Jizhou bought one for her so that Su Yu could try it and see if it tasted the same as before.
Su Yu studied in her hometown from a young age. Her parents only brought her to Pingjiang when she was in high school. Relatives only met during holidays. Her memories of her cousin Chen Jizhou were fragmented. The fragments that remained in her heart pieced together to form a warm image.
I forget which grade I was in in elementary school, but we were learning the harmonica in music class. Su Yu accidentally dropped and broke her harmonica, shattering it into pieces. Her parents thought there was still a chance to fix it, so they found some small screws and screwed it back on. It seemed to be working again, but there was still a small problem inside. Some notes kept coming out wrong. She told her parents that when she played the harmonica, those screws kept coming loose, and she had to press them down with her hands to make a sound. She felt embarrassed and that her classmates would laugh at her, but they didn't care. They said it was just music class, and it wasn't important, so she could just get away with it.
Chen Jizhou helped her resolve this matter.
It was also winter when her parents brought up the matter at the family dinner table, saying that the child was ignorant and didn't know the value of money when she wasn't in charge of the household. She even threw a tantrum over a harmonica. Su Yu silently slurped the chicken bones that had long since lost their meat in the corner, quietly listening to the criticism.
Chen Jizhou took out all his belongings and bought her a new one at a convenience store near the restaurant.
A harmonica costs ten yuan, and his entire fortune consisted of ten yuan, which was a five-yuan bill plus five coins.
However, Chen Jizhou only gave him nine yuan, hid the last coin, and negotiated with the shopkeeper: "Can I buy one on credit?"
The boss glanced at him and asked lazily, "If you run away, where am I supposed to find you?"
"I won't do that. I'm a Young Pioneer, and I was the brigade leader for three days!" he said proudly, demonstrating his integrity.
After a moment's thought, the shop owner pointed to the coal stove in front of his house and said, "Put those coal briquettes in the corner of the wall into the stove for me, and I'll give you a discount of one dollar."
Chen Jizhou glanced at it and quickly said, "Okay, okay."
"Don't burn yourself."
"Don't worry!"
He found the coal briquette clamps and started working enthusiastically there.
Su Yu didn't understand why he hid that one yuan. She stood there blankly for a while, then decided to go over and help. Chen Jizhou brushed her hand away as she was about to hold the coal briquettes: "I can do it myself. Don't make things worse for me."
After finishing his work, the boss leaned comfortably against the recliner in the cash register, watching with a smile as the little boy efficiently completed his task. He tossed the brand-new harmonica onto the table and said, "Here you go, Young Pioneer."
"hey-hey."
The harmonica touched his hand for less than two seconds before it fell into his sister's hands. Chen Jizhou smiled happily and said, "There's a new one!"
New things are so precious to a child who has lost her way and is poor; from that moment on, she felt like crying.
They walked quite a distance in the snow on the streets of their hometown, their footsteps crunching. Su Yu then asked him, "Why did you hide a dollar?"
He exclaimed, "I have a clever use for it!"
He hid a dollar, which he eventually used to buy Su Yu a roasted sweet potato.
"You're drooling, aren't you? You've been staring at me like that." Chen Jizhou looked at her with a grin.
Su Yu stuffed the harmonica case into the pocket of her down jacket, took the steaming sweet potato, and looked up to see his smiling eyes: "Just say if you want some, I'll buy it for you."
Su Yu was stunned. When she was little, what troubled her most was interpersonal relationships. She was shy and not good at building connections. Holding the hot sweet potato, she finally asked in a low voice after a long while, "Do you want some?"
Chen Jizhou generously said, "You eat it, I won't."
"..."
She didn't speak. He looked down and exclaimed, "You're still crying?!"
Su Yu didn't say anything, but put the sweet potato in her mouth, burning her teeth and lips.
Chen Jizhou put his hands on his hips, sighed, and said like a little adult, "Go ahead and cry, you're such a child."
She silently shed tears and whispered, "I want to grow up, brother."
The second time was at the start of the second semester of senior year.
Su Yu had already lived in Pingjiang for a long time by then. When she transferred here, she felt completely unfamiliar with No. 1 Middle School. Gradually, other people's schools also became her alma mater. She became familiar with it, nostalgic, sentimental, and reluctant to leave.
The two walked one after the other at the school gate without saying a word. It was a long way, and Su Yu quietly watched his leisurely figure from behind.
He wore a winter school uniform, carried a black backpack, and had his hands in his pockets, always looking carefree and without a care in the world.
However, Su Yu was very perceptive; she could sense that Chen Jizhou hadn't been very happy lately either.
Is it because of parting?
She didn't know why, and she didn't ask.
When Chen Jizhou handed her the sweet potato, Su Yu lowered her head, took a bite, and thought of many past times and the divergent paths they had taken after their separation. Her nose tingled slightly: "So many regrets, brother."
...
Now, no longer fixated on a dollar or two, and knowing that sweet potatoes aren't something you can buy for a dollar or two, she held the food in her hand and finally tasted some of its flavor. Smiling, she looked at Chen Jizhou in the cold night: "So sweet."
Seeing that she liked it, Chen Jizhou went back and bought her two more: "This old lady is setting up her stall for the last time before the New Year, so buy a few more to take home and eat."
She said, "I can't eat that much."
"I gave some to my parents."
If Chen Jizhou and Jiang Meng were to get married, Su Yu had thought of some necessary lines, something like saying to him in a warning tone: "Jiang Meng is my best friend, you have to treat her well, or I won't let you off the hook!"
However, as she held the warm sweet potato in her hand and looked into his clear eyes, she swallowed back these clichéd warnings.
She didn't need to say these words; Chen Jizhou's love came before her threats.
Su Yu has nothing to worry about; he is very good at loving people.
So in the end, she just laughed and said, "I think the mother and daughter are indeed conspiring to scam you. But don't worry, no one will dislike you."
Idealism is rare these days, and no one readily believes in the unwavering commitment in vows anymore. But Chen Jizhou always manages to make you imagine eternity in a fleeting moment, without even needing any vows to embellish it.
Whether as an older brother or a partner, she could see the most beautiful and pure emotions in him.
Everything flows, moves forward, grows, and changes, yet he remains the same.
Unwavering, from this day forward.
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