Chapter 119 "My mom just came..."
Not long after, the door to the master bedroom rang, and Zhou Yue came out. His hair was messy, the collar of his pajamas was askew, and he squinted, clearly not fully awake yet. He looked bewildered, as if he had been dragged back to reality from a dream.
Then, he saw the person on the sofa, and froze, only managing to squeeze out a sentence after a long while: "Mom?... What are you doing here?" His tone was clearly flustered.
Wei Ran looked up, smiled slightly, and said in a tone so calm that it was impossible to tell his emotions: "I knocked on the door and called you but you didn't respond. I was afraid something was wrong, so I entered the password to come in."
Zhou Yue lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "I just got back yesterday morning. I went back to work to adjust to the time difference. I was too tired last night and fell asleep without waking up." As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze unconsciously drifted to the bedroom. It was just a brief glance, but it couldn't hide the hesitation in that instant.
Wei Ran saw it. She didn't say anything, just watched him quietly. Sunlight slanted in through the curtains, shining on his face and revealing the fine beads of sweat on his forehead.
Wei Ran said in a flat tone, "I thought something had happened to you."
"It's nothing, Mom." Zhou Yue suddenly seemed a little flustered. "Mom, would you like some water? Or some tea?"
Wei Ran slowly glanced around the living room. There were two cups on the coffee table, one of which still had a faint lipstick mark on the rim. Her gaze paused slightly before turning to the suitcase in the living room, which had a pink luggage tag on it, clearly not Zhou Yue's.
She only looked at it for two seconds before looking away, her expression unchanged, but Zhou Yue saw it; Wei Ran's face changed.
Zhou Yue noticed his breathing was erratic, his chest heaving, and a slight buzzing in his ears, making the surroundings seem even quieter. He could even hear his own heartbeat, thump, thump, thump, muffled in his chest. His fingers unconsciously rubbed against the seam of his trousers, and his palms were slightly sweaty.
He wanted to look away, but he was afraid it would be too obvious. He knew his mother had already noticed. Should he say something now? This thought kept swirling in his mind.
Perhaps this was his only chance. He didn't want his mother to hear it from someone else, nor did he want to delay any longer; the longer it went on, the harder it would be to speak up.
"Mom, I..." he finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse.
Wei Ran simply responded with a soft "Hmm?"
Just as he was about to speak again, Wei Ran picked up her bag, turned around, and said softly, "I put the things I brought for you on the table. It's nothing, I'll be going now."
Wei Ran didn't look at him. Zhou Yue opened his mouth, but couldn't even say "wait." He could only watch her walk towards the door. Wei Ran put her hand on the doorknob and paused.
"Jet lag must be tiring, right?" she said softly, her tone calm. "Then get some more rest. You guys... go back to sleep."
Zhou Yue remained standing in the same spot, maintaining his previous posture. He raised his hand to press his temple and let out a long breath. In the past few minutes, he had rehearsed in his mind countless times: "Mom, I have something to tell you."
"Mom, actually Zhiyao, she..."
"Mom, we didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just..." Every word caught in his throat, but he swallowed it back down.
He knew Wei Ran had figured it out. From the moment her gaze fell on the suitcase to the words she said as she left, it wasn't that she was unaware; rather, she was leaving him room to maneuver. She was waiting for him to speak up, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Reason urged him: since he had been caught, he might as well lay it all out. Even if she disagreed, she was still his mother, and it wouldn't matter whether he said it sooner or later.
But another emotion was holding him back; he was afraid, afraid to see the silent disappointment in her eyes, which was heavier than any blame.
After a long while, he got up and turned to the bedroom. Xia Zhiyao was still asleep. She was lying on her side, curled up in a soft arc, with her hair scattered on the pillow and a few strands falling onto her cheeks.
Zhou Yue just looked at her quietly. In that instant, the anxiety, guilt, and struggle that had been surging in the living room all quieted down.
The chaotic thoughts receded like the tide, leaving only tenderness, heartache, and a faint unease. After some time, a soft rustling sound came from the bed.
Xia Zhiyao turned over, opened her eyes, her gaze still a little dazed, and scratched her head.
"You're awake?" Zhou Yue's voice came from the doorway, low, hoarse, and somewhat suppressed.
Xia Zhiyao looked towards the door, where Zhou Yue was leaning against it, half of his body hidden in the shadows, with only half of his face illuminated by the light.
Xia Zhiyao's heart jumped. She stared at him, her voice low and trembling with uncertainty: "What's wrong? What happened?"
Zhou Yue didn't say anything for a moment, walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, putting his arm around Xia Zhiyao's shoulder: "My mom just came."
"Huh?" Xia Zhiyao was taken aback. "Then what about her?"
“Hmm,” Zhou Yue said in a low voice, “She probably knows about us now.”
Xia Zhiyao became visibly nervous: "Then... what did she say?"
“She didn’t say anything.” Zhou Yue looked at her, his voice gentle but incredibly deep. “She only said that you should all get some rest.”
Xia Zhiyao's fingers clenched tighter and tighter on the bed sheet. She lowered her head, bit her lip, and remained silent.
Zhou Yue's heart tightened as he looked at her. "I'll call her right now and explain."
Xia Zhiyao looked up abruptly, almost instinctively reaching out to stop him, her fingers gripping his arm: "Now? Calm down first."
"Zhiyao." Zhou Yue turned to look at her, his voice lower but firm: "I don't want to hide anymore."
His gaze was so earnest, so earnest, that it left no room for argument. Xia Zhiyao opened her mouth, but nothing came out. In that instant, she felt her heart was in turmoil, a mixture of emotion—gratitude, fear, and a touch of bewildered panic.
Zhou Yue picked up his phone, the screen lit up, and the cold white light shone on his face, outlining his taut jawline. He took a deep breath, his fingertip hovered over the dial button for two seconds, and then he pressed it.
Wei Ran had already driven home. She put her bag on the entryway cabinet, bent down to change her shoes, walked into the living room, and casually placed her phone on the coffee table.
The phone screen suddenly lit up, followed by a ringtone. It was Zhou Yue calling. Wei Ran stood there, looking down at the two words on the screen. She stared at them for a few seconds, her expression calm, then reached out and pressed the mute button.
The ringing stopped abruptly, but the name on the screen continued to flash, stubbornly lit, as if waiting for a response. A few seconds later, the light went out. She didn't sit down; she just stood there, looking at the phone. The screen lit up again, and it was still the same name.
She didn't press the mute button again, but just watched it light up, turn off, and light up again, once, twice, three times, the buzzing was faint, but it struck her heart.
Wei Ran finally moved. She walked to the sofa and sat down. Several missed calls were displayed on the screen, all from Zhou Yue, but she still didn't answer them.
The next second, WeChat notification sounds rang in succession. She took a deep breath, opened WeChat, and the chat interface popped up, with messages flooding in one after another.
Mom, I know you're deliberately not answering my calls.
But I have to tell you, I am now with Xia Zhiyao.
I just love her. I've loved her since I was little. I came back from America to find her.
I hope you and Uncle Jiang can bless us.
Wei Ran wanted to laugh, but the laughter got stuck in her throat, turning into a bitter, suffocating feeling. She stared at the few lines of text, reading each word carefully.
Wei Ran suddenly recalled a scene from many years ago. Back then, Zhou Yue was just a skinny little boy. Xia Zhiyao had just come home from school, and Zhou Yue, who had been playing somewhere, saw Xia Zhiyao and happily ran over calling out to her, "Sister Zhiyao...!"
Xia Zhiyao stopped, turned around, smiled at him, and reached out to pull him up. The sunlight shone on her face, making her eyes bright. The scene was dazzlingly bright, yet warm.
Wei Ran happened to be by the window that day and felt somewhat comforted when she saw this scene. It's good that the child has a good older sister to accompany him and won't be lonely.
Later, as she became busier with work, Zhou Yue mostly lived with his maternal grandparents. There were few children in that old neighborhood, so he went to Xia Zhiyao's house almost every day.
One time when Wei Ran came home, he pushed open the door and saw Zhou Yue hunched over the table writing, with Xia Zhiyao sitting next to him, drinking Beibingyang soda while teaching Zhou Yue to write.
At that moment, she only felt a sense of warmth in the scene and never thought of anything else.
It turns out that everything was already traceable from that time onwards.
Later, she divorced and remarried. During that time, Zhou Yue was at his most silent. He didn't make a fuss or speak, and his eyes seemed to be shrouded in mist.
She asked him if he would like to move to the new house, and he shook his head, saying only, "I'd rather stay at my grandma's house." She thought he just hadn't adjusted yet, but now that she thinks about it, maybe he just didn't want to leave that neighborhood, didn't want to leave Xia Zhiyao.
He and Xia Zhiyao were in the same school throughout their primary, middle, and high school years, and even in university. They applied to the same university for graduate studies.
When Zhou Yue was a child, he would squat by the flower bed waiting for Xia Zhiyao to get out of school, clutching a chocolate in his hand, saying he wanted to save it for Sister Zhiyao. During her adolescence, she would see them sitting side by side on the steps eating popsicles at the school gate. In her third year of junior high school, Xia Zhiyao gave Zhou Yue all of her high school review materials. Later, he was going to the United States.
On the day she saw him off at the airport, there was a suppressed reluctance in his eyes. At the time, she thought it was because he was reluctant to leave home, but now she realized that it was because he was reluctant to leave the people behind.
He had lived in the United States for several years. Every time they video chatted, he didn't talk much and would just say "I'm fine" no matter what she asked. She thought it was a personality issue, that he wasn't good at expressing himself.
Several times he said he wanted to go back to China, and Wei Ran advised him to work for a few more years. Until a year ago, he stopped asking her questions as before and told her firmly, "I want to go back to China." It turned out that he came back to find her.
“So that’s how it is…” Wei Ran murmured softly, his voice almost inaudible, “He’s always… in his heart.”
Xia Zhiyao, how could she not like Xia Zhiyao? She was the little girl she had watched grow up since she was a child.
In my memory, Xia Zhiyao peeked into the kitchen doorway as Wei Ran cut a watermelon. She looked up and asked, "Aunt Wei, can I help?"
Wei Ran asked her to wash the grapes. The little girl held the fruit plate and carefully washed each grape one by one. After washing them, she held them up to show her: "Look, are they clean?" Her eyes were clear and bright.
She genuinely liked her; the liking was pure and natural. She even thought that if she had a daughter, she would probably hope she would be like Zhiyao.
But now? Wei Ran opened her eyes. "How did she end up with Zhou Yue?" She didn't say it aloud, but asked it again and again in her heart.
It's not resentment, nor is it blame; it's just an indescribable discomfort, like a flower you've nurtured for years suddenly being taken away, pot and all. You know rationally that the person did nothing wrong, but you feel empty inside, just uncomfortable.
She wasn't old-fashioned, nor did she lack understanding of young people's feelings. She understood love and choices, but when that "choice" fell on her own son, when the little girl who used to snuggle in her arms and act coquettishly became her "daughter-in-law," she suddenly felt that the whole world had gone awry.
It's not Zhiyao's problem, nor is it Zhou Yue's problem; it's her own problem.
My son is serious, and Zhiyao is also a serious person. That girl is too smart, so smart it's unsettling.
She knows how to be tactful, how to advance and retreat, and what to say and what not to say, handling things perfectly.
In other people's eyes, that was an advantage, but in Wei Ran's eyes, it was like a layer of fog that she couldn't see through. She stood up and walked to the window.
The night outside the window was deep, and the light from the streetlights was fragmented by the shadows of the trees, scattering haphazardly on the ground. As she looked at those lights, she suddenly understood.
In the past, she could dote on that child without any reservations, buying her dresses, celebrating her birthday, and listening to her chatter about the little things at school. Back then, she was the elder, "Aunt Wei," and Zhiyao was the child, "someone else's daughter." Everything felt so natural.
But things are different now. Now she's no longer just that cute child; she's become the woman who will lead Zhou Yue away.
She became the one who had to redefine family, the one who forced her to reconsider and be wary of her.
"Zhiyao..." she whispered, her voice weary, as if calling someone very familiar, yet also someone she could never get close to again, "How can I still look at you the way I used to?"
The wind outside the window rustled through the treetops. Wei Ran leaned against the window, as if looking at a past that could never be returned to: the little girl who helped her wash grapes in the kitchen, the child whose eyes sparkled when she smiled, and Zhiyao, whom she had once loved without reservation. They would never come back.
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