Chapter 52

Judging by her face, Yang Jie was that kind of good-natured auntie. She had a good figure and a pleasant voice. During their first meeting, Shu Chi had felt quite favorably towards her.

But this favorable impression turned into pressure now. Shu Chi didn’t quite dare to look at her.

Ding Ya had already gone inside. She got slippers for Yang Jie while simultaneously pulling Shu Chi inside. “She knows. I told her not to tell you.”

Shu Chi promptly shut her mouth.

Ding Ya had already seen that honesty was ingrained deep in this person’s bones. She’d likely hardly ever lied in her life.

Yang Jie looked at Ding Ya. “If you act like this, Mom is going to get angry.”

Ding Ya: “I’m telling you I’m dating someone. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even tell you.”

She smoothly fell into bickering with her mother. Shu Chi had long since silently slipped away to the kitchen to cook.

The sky outside was already dark. Yang Jie sighed. “I worry about you.”

Ding Ya gave two hums of agreement. “I know you’re worried, which is why I told you.”

She slightly lifted her face, looking towards Yang Jie. Her glance held a fleeting light. When she smiled, the dimples were sweet enough to melt anyone’s heart.

The lecture Yang Jie had ready in her gut couldn’t be uttered.

She remained skeptical. As her mother, of course, she knew how high Ding Ya’s standards were.

“Then tell me about him… Oh dear, did Little Shu just take the sausages I brought? I was going to cook for you…”

Yang Jie exclaimed, just realizing she’d neglected the friend visiting Ding Ya’s home.

Ding Ya: “I told you she’s cooking.”

Yang Jie swatted her lightly. “How can we let a guest cook?”

Ding Ya laughed. “A guest? She’s my friend. You don’t get it. You’re still too superficial in your view of us young people’s relationships.”

But Ding Ya couldn’t hold Yang Jie back and watched helplessly as Yang Jie headed for the kitchen.

The kitchen was so small, it was crowded enough for one person to turn around.

Ding Ya thought: Shu Chi, be strong.

Ding Ya had no intention of helping. She went to wash her hands and very straightforwardly took out the bowls and chopsticks.

In the kitchen, Shu Chi was preparing to make hand-pulled noodles. The water wasn’t boiling yet. Standing behind her made her very uncomfortable.

Yang Jie asked Shu Chi, “Little Shu, you know how to make noodles?”

Previously, whenever she visited Ding Ya, the kitchen was empty save for the pile of pretty plates her daughter had bought. One wouldn’t know, she’d think they were ornaments.

Shu Chi hummed.

If this were a business situation, Shu Chi wouldn’t be nervous. Yet facing this type of homely, casual conversation, she was always at a loss.

The woman asked again, “Did Ding Ya ask you to come over? That child always orders takeout for herself, and now she’s bossing around her friends.”

Yang Jie noticed her particularly practiced movements and added a compliment: “Your skill is no ordinary skill.”

A bit embarrassed, Shu Chi said quietly, “I did this line of work before.”

Trades that earn money shouldn’t inherently be deemed high or low, but after years navigating society, Shu Chi still occasionally felt conflicted with the idea of ‘respectability.’ She could accurately grasp the other person’s feelings towards her.

Yang Jie was very surprised. She asked, “Aren’t you running a company?”

She also felt it was bad to just stand there. Seeing Shu Chi finish rolling the noodles and about to stir-fry the scallions, ginger, and garlic, she rolled up her sleeves to help.

The woman’s efficient manner was completely different from Ding Ya’s. Shu Chi couldn’t refuse and let Yang Jie squeeze in.

All she could do was step aside a bit, saying softly, “Before opening the company, I ran a stall.”

Yang Jie glanced at her face. “Before? Does Little Shu have a partner now?”

Shu Chi lowered the noodles into the pot and covered it, letting out a hum of agreement.

Standing closer, Yang Jie got a clearer view of the scar on the woman’s face.

People tend to care about appearances to some extent. The first time they met, Yang Jie had noticed Shu Chi’s scar. That was also why she still remembered Shu Chi.

After all, it was rare to see a girl with a scar on her face.

Shu Chi’s demeanor was composed and unbothered. She seemed steady and polite towards others. At first glance, Yang Jie had a rather good impression.

Ding Ya appeared outgoing on the surface, but essentially disliked engaging deeply with people. Her sharp tongue was no use for that.

Making friends wasn’t hard. Maintaining those friendships was.

Before Ding Ya started university, Yang Jie and her husband worried if their daughter would again spend four years isolated.

Their younger daughter had had many classmates before, even school companions, but Yang Jie never heard Ding Ya talk about amusing school events. There were no words about wanting to go out and play with classmates.

She had learned independence from a young age. She could do most things alone.

Weekends could be spent alone reading a book or doing crafts, needing no excessive communication. Mixed in a crowd, she was just an ordinary student.

Yang Jie also knew her daughter was inherently not close to people, the kind that seemed easy to get along with at first glance but wasn’t.

As if, from her student days, she already deeply understood the social ways of adults—not opening her heart to avoid being hurt or seeking too much happiness.

Compared to her older brother Ding Shuqing’s student days, full of mischief and tomfoolery, Ding Ya caused much less worry.

This question made Shu Chi’s hand tremble slightly, but she was gripping the pot lid, so nothing looked amiss.

Yang Jie also knew the question wasn’t easy to answer. She smiled. “Auntie’s being bothersome. Quick, tell me how to make hand-pulled noodles chewier. It’s truly embarrassing to say, but my cooking at home just repeats the same few dishes.”

This topic was something Shu Chi could talk about. Ding Ya, outside, glanced over occasionally.

She thought to herself: Not bad, Shu Chi, you’re actually chatting now.

She took a photo and sent it to her brother—

No problem at all.

Ding Shuqing immediately replied: What’s the situation?

Ding Ya: Mom doesn’t know. She’s cooking for me with my girlfriend right now [cute].

The meme she sent was particularly aggravating in this context. Ding Shuqing found it both helpless and amusing.

It wasn’t that Ding Shuqing wanted to pour cold water on Ding Ya. Even if Ding Ya really settled down with Shu Chi and got past Yang Jie, their father would still be very difficult.

But looking at the cheeky, swaggering meme Ding Ya sent, Ding Shuqing thought: Forget it, as her brother, I need to do something too.

Ding Ya didn’t wait long. The hand-pulled noodles were ready.

Yang Jie was the one who brought the noodles out. Shu Chi was still inside making dishes.

Ding Ya asked, “Are you making more?”

Shu Chi: “Your mother is here.”

Yang Jie’s cooking was limited to stewing soup. In their family, the one who usually cooked had always been the father. But Father was often busy too, and Mother spent most of her time working.

The children’s meals were prepared by a hired auntie.

Shu Chi had prepped some ingredients in the afternoon. When everything was cooked and placed on the table, it wasn’t too late yet.

“Little Shu’s cooking is truly wonderful,” Yang Jie said, smiling at Shu Chi. She glanced at her own daughter, who was already taking pictures. “Why don’t you learn from her?”

Ding Ya laughed and retorted, “I’m not learning. I won’t starve to death.”

Seeing Shu Chi about to turn away again, she very naturally grabbed Shu Chi’s clothing. “Where are you off to now?”

Shu Chi: “Washing my hands.”

Yang Jie watched Shu Chi’s back, then looked at the table full of dishes. “When did you two become so close?”

Ding Ya, expressing high praise for the hand-pulled noodles, was simultaneously bombarding Shen Mu’s WeChat to show off.

Shen Mu responded by retaliating with memes.

Ding Ya: “Just collaborating. The two companies often have activities. We hung out on New Year’s Day too.”

She wasn’t lying. With Shu Chi, it was purely work-related interactions. It was just that Ding Ya harassed her daily, escalating it even further by the time of the team-building event.

Yang Jie remarked with a sigh, “Little Shu is really nice. Has zero airs of a big boss.”

Ding Ya replied cheerfully, “Yes, yes. When looking for a partner, you should find someone like this, right?”

Shu Chi, just returning from wiping her hands, felt her heart leap into her throat at this sentence.

Yang Jie: “Indeed. But Little Shu is a girl.”

Ding Ya: “What’s wrong with being a girl?”

While drinking her noodle soup, she picked up a piece of egg yolk pumpkin for Yang Jie. “Try this. Yesterday, Shu Chi and I had this dish at a restaurant, and she made it today.”

When Shu Chi sat down, Ding Ya happily leaned against her. “Even if I wanted to, Shu Chi wouldn’t be interested in me.”

Perhaps because Shu Chi exuded a ‘I am a decent person’ aura from head to toe, Yang Jie also knew it wasn’t good to joke about this. She gave Ding Ya a reproachful glance. “Don’t say that.”

Ding Ya nudged Shu Chi’s shoulder. “Would you get mad?”

Shu Chi sighed.

Yang Jie: “See? You’re tormenting the poor thing.”

Shu Chi: “Auntie, let’s eat. It must have been tiring rushing over here. Are you heading back today?”

Ding Ya: “You’re leaving right after dinner, right?”

Yang Jie: “I haven’t even eaten yet and you’re already shooing me away?”

Ding Ya laughed again.

Yang Jie laughed too and said to Shu Chi, “That’s just my daughter—no sense of seniority.”

Shu Chi had never experienced such a relaxed mother-daughter relationship. Her own parents didn’t have much to say to each other either, and her mother didn’t have much to say to her daughters.

She had thought before that even if she hadn’t become mute, it might still be the same as it is now.

Shu Chi: “Your relationship is very good.”

Hearing that Shu Chi had run a stall years ago, Yang Jie faintly sensed this child might come from a less privileged background.

At this moment, she asked, “Where is Little Shu from?”

Ding Ya answered for her.

Yang Jie: “That’s a bit far.”

Shu Chi nodded.

Yang Jie: “But nowadays, transportation is convenient. It’s just a quick flight.”

She also noticed Shu Chi didn’t seem upset mentioning what she’d done before. Yet, she was never a chatty person and struggled to initiate topics.

Yang Jie hadn’t come for Shu Chi anyway. Halfway through the meal, she couldn’t help but ask Ding Ya: “What’s the situation with that boyfriend of yours? Is he a local?”

Ding Ya was happily eating her noodles. “Nope.”

Facing her own cooking, Shu Chi found it hard to swallow, purely from nervousness.

Yang Jie: “Then where is he from?”

Biting into a piece of egg yolk pumpkin, Ding Ya squinted and said, “Same place as Shu Chi.”

Under the table, Shu Chi’s shoe gently bumped against Ding Ya’s shoe.

Yang Jie: “Ah? That far?”

Ding Ya: “What’s wrong with far? You just said flights are fast. Besides, she works here.”

She took the chance to compliment Shu Chi’s noodles. “Shu Chi, this is so good. If only I had met you sooner.”

These words, at this time, were completely unproblematic. But, unexpectedly, Shu Chi’s heart felt struck, as if by a perfect arrow. She found it hard to describe the feeling at this moment.

It stirred an impulse within her. She wanted to hold Ding Ya’s hand.

Yang Jie seemed not to pay attention either, continuing to press. “Here? What does he do?”

Ding Ya: “Runs a company.”

Yang Jie pressed on. “How old is he then? What does he look like? Let Mom see a photo.”

Ding Ya: “Same age as Shu Chi. Looks very… very reliable.”

She shook her head. “Mom, I’m not about to get married. Why are you so anxious? It’s just dating.”

Ding Ya looked towards Yang Jie. “When I first started university, you told me not to date too early. Then the moment I graduate, you want me to go on blind dates. How can it be so fast?”

Her tone carried a hint of complaint. “Even if it were marriage, I’d have to like the person, right? I know you and Dad want the best for me.”

Shu Chi didn’t say a word. Her mind was stuck on the phrase ‘just dating.’

That’s really terrible then. For Ding Ya, it’s just dating.

But I’ve already started to delude myself into spending the rest of my life with her.

Outside the window, the sky had turned completely dark. The sounds of children playing could faintly be heard.

Some household was shouting about clothes falling down; another, in a fit of emotion while helping a child with homework, had yelled out. There were also faint dog barks. Inside the house, even Yunbao instinctively raised its little head.

Shu Chi’s place didn’t have many residents yet. On weekends, what she could hear were the sounds of renovation.

Coming back from work was very quiet. Few lights were on. The common areas of her apartment building were especially empty.

When she first bought the house, she felt she was buying a home.

After all, over all these years—from communal bunks, to a plank bed in a janitor’s room, to a narrow bed in a rented room—she never had many belongings.

Each time she moved, her suitcase wouldn’t even be full, as if she was used to drifting, used to being a transient population.

Shu Chi’s household registration had been transferred to Bramble City. She owned a house. Yet, at this moment, she realized it wasn’t buying a house that gave her a home.

She still craved someone’s company.

Yang Jie was still very concerned and said, “Easy for you to say, but Mom still worries. What if someone deceives you? And you said that person’s education isn’t high. How is that acceptable, huh?”

Ding Ya was eating with great relish. The chili oil added to the hand-pulled noodles smeared all over her mouth. Just as she reached out her hand, Shu Chi passed her a napkin.

Seizing the opportunity, she retorted to her mother, “Does high education necessarily mean good character?”

Ding Ya sighed again, pursing her lips. “He managed to build a company from scratch all by himself. He’s very impressive.”

“If I were like him, with no family support, going out to work in my teens, I definitely wouldn’t be this…”

Shu Chi appeared to be absorbed in her meal, but her eye sockets stung with the threat of tears.

I’m that impressive, originally?

Being praised feels like this.