Seeing that it was a call from Lu Yao, Zhang Huichun quickly picked up. Her daughter rarely called her like this.
“Yaoyao, I heard from Shen Zhirou that you’re off on another business trip out of town? Why didn’t you even tell Mom before you left? I could’ve seen you off,” Zhang Huichun said with a smile.
“I’ve gone on trips like this plenty of times before. There’s no need to tell you every single one. I heard from Zhirou that you stopped by this morning?” Lu Yao asked.
“Yeah, we wanted to drop by and see you, maybe make you some breakfast. Didn’t expect you to be gone.”
Zhang Huichun’s eyes shifted as she continued, “Yaoyao, I’m not talking behind anyone’s back or anything, but I still think that Shen Zhirou isn’t good enough for you. She doesn’t know how to handle things at all, and her family’s not well-off either. I still think Ye Qi would be a better match. You two grew up together, so you know everything about each other. He’s clever too, even if his family’s not rich. At least he knows how to make people happy.”
Lu Yao’s brow furrowed slightly. She tried to be patient as she advised her parents, “Mom, I’m looking for a lifelong partner, not a pet. And I don’t like chatty people. Shen Zhirou is just fine.”
Zhang Huichun let out a heavy sigh. “I’m only saying this for your own good. Fine, whatever. It’s your marriage, so you pick whoever you want. Your dad and I won’t interfere anymore.”
What Zhang Huichun really feared was that the longer Lu Yao put it off, the less likely she’d ever get married at all—and that would be even worse than her choosing Shen Zhirou.
“Alright, Mom, I’ve got work to do. Talk later.” Lu Yao hung up the phone, frowning as she lay back on the bed. The hotel mattress irritated her to no end. For some reason, she suddenly found herself missing Shen Zhirou’s embrace.
Lu Yao closed her eyes and told herself she was overthinking it. It was nothing more than a physical need. She didn’t call Shen Zhirou or send her a message. She felt that this not-too-close, not-too-distant relationship was just right for now.
After hanging up, Zhang Huichun immediately started nagging Lu Jitong. “That Shen Zhirou must’ve gone and tattled to Yaoyao. She’s no good, but she’s quick to complain. How on earth did Yaoyao fall for her?”
“We shouldn’t meddle in this anymore,” Lu Jitong sighed. “At least with Shen Zhirou, she’s actually dating someone. Look at her blind dates—has she ever sat down for more than five minutes? Shen Zhirou’s the only one who’s lasted. If we don’t back off a little, our daughter might end up never getting married at all.”
Zhang Huichun sighed too. Her daughter’s stubborn streak meant that neither she nor Lu Jitong dared make decisions for her. But she still didn’t want Lu Yao with Shen Zhirou, and she wasn’t about to compromise on that.
~~~
On Saturday, Shen Zhirou and Shen Yumian returned to their mother’s place early. Ning Jianfang lit up with joy the moment she saw Shen Zhirou, her gaze toward Shen Yumian softening a touch as well.
“Come on in! I’m just prepping lunch. Your Uncle Kang brought back some fresh seafood from his big rig—he hauled it all the way from the coast,” Ning Jianfang said with a laugh, ushering them inside.
“Mom, you don’t need to make too much. It’s not a big crowd,” Shen Zhirou said with a smile.
“What do you mean, not a big crowd? Your eldest uncle’s whole family is coming over soon. They heard you have a girlfriend now, so everyone’s getting together,” Ning Jianfang added cheerfully.
Shen Zhirou and Shen Yumian’s faces fell at once. Shen Zhirou’s eldest uncle’s family were no saints—classic types who eyed everyone else’s possessions with envy. And with their mother being a total brother-supporting devil, the uncle’s family had grown even bolder, acting like the whole world owed them. Handing over money or doing them favors was just what they deserved, in their eyes.
Even Kang Defa sometimes couldn’t stand some of Ning Jianfang’s behavior, but to avoid fights, he put up with it. Over the years, she’d funneled plenty of cash to her brother’s family, even though their own life wasn’t exactly cushy. Kang Defa couldn’t fathom it sometimes—why not give more to her own two daughters instead? They were her flesh and blood, after all. How could she dote so much on her brother and his sons?
Shen Zhirou and Shen Yumian exchanged a glance, the joy of coming home already dimmed.
A wave of weariness washed over Shen Zhirou. She even regretted agreeing to come over on Saturday.
Their mother seemed oblivious, heading straight into the kitchen to get busy. Shen Zhirou and Shen Yumian followed to help. Before long, Kang Yunheng arrived home. He was a freshman at Jiangbei University and, with weekends usually light on classes, he came back early.
Kang Yunheng stepped inside and saw Shen Zhirou and Shen Yumian. He greeted them with a nod. “Sis, you’re here.”
“Yeah.” Shen Zhirou gave him a quick smile in response. Now that they’d reconnected and all grown up, none of them brought up those old childhood grudges. On the surface, at least, they were a bit more polite with each other.
He saw Shen Zhirou and Shen Yumian helping out in the kitchen. Kang Yunheng felt too awkward just sitting in the living room waiting for dinner to be served, so he followed them in to lend a hand. The tiny kitchen was now crammed with four people, but the atmosphere felt much warmer than before. They chatted idly about this and that while bustling around, washing vegetables and prepping the meal.
Shen Zhirou and Shen Yumian focused on deveining the shrimp, while Kang Yunheng helped Ning Jianfang with the vegetables and meat.
Shen Zhirou figured that the few of them, plus Uncle Kang, would be plenty for a casual family meal. She couldn’t fathom why they had to drag Uncle Ning’s whole family into such a low-key gathering.
As she worked on the shrimp, lost in thought, a knock came at the door. Ning Jianfang grinned from ear to ear and hurried off to answer it. “That must be your uncle.”
Shen Zhirou glanced toward the direction her mother had gone and noticed Kang Yunheng’s expression souring. They exchanged a look, a silent understanding passing between them.
Voices from Ning Guofu’s family already echoed from the entryway. Just hearing them made Shen Zhirou’s head throb.
“Second Aunt, grab me a cola. It’s scorching out there.” Ning Lei flopped onto the sofa like a rag doll, sprawling out in a big X and waiting expectantly to be waited on.
In truth, he was twenty-five already, three years out of college. He had sky-high ambitions but zero follow-through—any job he landed lasted less than a month before he quit. He spent his days mooching off his parents at home, and yet Ning Jianfang doted on him like he was made of gold, spoiling him even more than her own son.
“Sure, what kind do you want? I’ve got all your favorites ready.” Ning Jianfang beamed as she asked.
“Orange juice, I guess. Been pulling too many all-nighters lately—no more fizzy stuff.” Ning Lei slouched sideways on the sofa, fiddling with his phone as he spoke.
“Got it. I put them all on the coffee table for you.” Ning Jianfang bustled over happily and set down several bottles.
Ning Lei twisted open a bottle with practiced ease and dove back into his phone. Ning Guofu mirrored him from the other end of the sofa. Shen Zhirou’s aunt, Liu Fengxia, poked her head toward the kitchen, her eyes locking onto Shen Zhirou.
“Zhirou, I heard your new girlfriend’s some big-shot general manager? Your brother’s still out of work. Think you could ask her to hook Ning Lei up with a job? Something cushy, where he doesn’t even have to show up but still gets paid.”
Everyone knew Auntie had skin thicker than a rhino’s hide, but hearing Liu Fengxia lay it out like that turned Shen Zhirou’s neutral expression icy. She kept deveining shrimp as she shot back, “No company in their right mind hires dead weight like that. And anyway, she’s just a project manager—she doesn’t call those shots.”
Rather than running interference for her daughter, Ning Jianfang jumped in to back Liu Fengxia. “Zhirou, there’s really nothing open at Lu Yao’s company? We’re family. Helping out your brother with a job is the least you could do.”
Shen Zhirou set down the shrimp and fixed her mother with a steady gaze. “I’m with her because I like her, not so she can pull strings for me. Since this dinner isn’t really for me and Yu Mian anyway, we’ll get out of your hair. Enjoy the rest of the meal.”
Shen Zhirou wiped her hands and shot her sister a meaningful glance. Shen Yumian set aside her work, wiped her own hands, and got ready to leave with her.
Liu Fengxia’s face hardened at the sight of them heading out, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Oh-ho, look at you. Landed a new meal ticket and now us poor relations are chopped liver? Like the old saying goes—give a person money, and they turn rotten. And you haven’t even got much yet.”
Shen Yumian bristled, itching to charge over and set her straight, but Shen Zhirou held her back. Drawing a deep breath to tamp down her fury, she replied evenly, “I’m sure Auntie isn’t lumping me and Mianmian in with that. I remember when my sister and I were kids with no one looking after us—you and Uncle never once came by. Even after Mom and I started talking again, you weren’t exactly warm to us. But now that I’ve got a girlfriend, you’re suddenly all buddy-buddy?”
“What kind of way is that to talk? Calling me a gold-digger?” Liu Fengxia’s voice spiked shrill and piercing, loud enough to wake the dead.
Kang Yunheng had been side-eyeing their whole family from the start. He muttered under his breath, “That’s putting it mildly.”
That set Liu Fengxia off even more. She jabbed a finger toward Kang Yunheng. “Hey, what’s that mumbling about? Those two sisters of yours don’t even share your dad—why are you sticking up for them? Guofu, get over here! They never meant for us to stay for dinner anyway. Fine, we’re out. We’re out!”
Ning Lei had long heard the noisy quarreling from inside. He frowned, took a sip of orange juice, and said, “I’m not leaving, I’m just not leaving. We agreed to eat sea shrimp—where am I supposed to go if I don’t get any? If you want to leave, then you go.”
Ning Guofu also walked over to the kitchen and started criticizing Shen Zhirou’s faults. “What’s the matter with you, child? They do say that kids raised by their grandparents have cold hearts, and it turns out it’s really true.”
Shen Zhirou’s face turned ashen. She could endure anything, but she absolutely could not tolerate others insulting her grandmother.
