Chapter 57: Stamp
The sound of a cup falling to the ground came from outside. Ye Qizhen walked out upon hearing it and saw Wen Qiuxian about to bend down to pick it up. She hurried forward, “Auntie, I’ll do it.”
Seeing only Ye Qizhen come out, Wen Qiuxian glanced at the bedroom from the corner of her eye. There was no movement from there at all. She pretended to ask casually, “Is she still angry?”
Ye Qizhen poured another glass of water for Wen Qiuxian. Asked like this, she didn’t know whether to nod or shake her head.
“I just asked her to come back once, and she throws such a big tantrum at me.” Wen Qiuxian took a sip of water, muttering unhappily, “Tell me, whose daughter is like her? Doesn’t come home once all year round.”
Ye Qizhen bit her lip secretly. After brewing in her heart for a while, she looked at Wen Qiuxian and whispered, “Auntie, actually, if you miss Wen Yu, you can tell her directly.”
“I…” Wen Qiuxian paused, then raised her voice, “Why would I miss her? Heartless thing.”
This sounded more like sulking. She cares about Wen Yu too, right? Ye Qizhen thought. Why are both of them so stubborn? Clearly caring about each other. “No, Wen Yu is very worried about you.”
Hearing the little girl speak every word softly and gently, Wen Qiuxian subconsciously lowered her voice. She turned her face away, muttering, “If she worried about me, she wouldn’t have no reaction after hearing I had surgery.”
“Maybe she doesn’t say it, but she really cares about you. She was very nervous when she received the call this morning and bought a plane ticket to rush back immediately. Auntie, you shouldn’t have scared her.” Ye Qizhen told Wen Qiuxian a lot in one breath, her nose unconsciously souring. Wen Yu being wronged made her feel worse than being wronged herself.
Wen Qiuxian put down the water glass in her hand and fell silent. She was in a bad mood this morning and in a fit of anger; what she said on the phone was indeed exaggerated and severe.
…
Wen Yu was in the bedroom, preparing to tidy up the sheets and bedding. Footsteps came from behind. She thought it was Ye Qizhen, but turning around, she found it was Wen Qiuxian.
Wen Qiuxian held a new three-piece bedding set in her hand. When she spoke, her voice carried a trace of coldness: “How long has it been since you lived at home? The set in the closet has been there too long, can’t use it, change to a new one.”
Wen Yu took the duvet cover from Wen Qiuxian expressionlessly.
Wen Qiuxian got annoyed again. “Is it necessary to give me such a face? I’m your mother after all.” She didn’t say how qualified she was as a mother, but in terms of food, clothing, and expenses, she had never been stingy. Whatever Wen Yu liked, she gave, spending money without hesitation.
Ye Qizhen stayed alone in the living room. After Wen Qiuxian went to Wen Yu’s bedroom, she began to nervously pay attention to the movement in the secondary bedroom. Hearing Wen Qiuxian’s raised voice from the room, her heart tightened.
Argued again?
Just as she was about to get up and go over, she stopped.
Because no quarreling sounds came from the room.
The two stood stiffly face to face, the air silent for a moment. Wen Qiuxian touched her arm, looked left and right, and threw out a sentence: “I shouldn’t have lied to you.”
Wen Yu remained silent.
“I know you dislike me for being uneducated, dislike me for knowing nothing and being unable to communicate with you. And that thing before…” When Wen Qiuxian reached this point, she stopped to take a breath before continuing, smiling coldly, “I made you unable to lift your head in school. Having a mother like me is shameful, very shameful.”
Physically weak, Wen Qiuxian’s voice trembled slightly when saying these words, completely lacking her usual aggressive posture, even appearing calm.
Wen Yu listened quietly with lowered eyes, clenching the sheet in her palm.
“I can’t control what others say. Believe it or not, I fish for men, but I’m not cheap enough to like being a mistress everywhere…”
After a good while, Ye Qizhen saw Wen Qiuxian walk out empty-handed. She went up and greeted Wen Qiuxian. Wen Qiuxian seemed very tired, smiled at her, and went back to her own room.
Ye Qizhen returned to the secondary bedroom and saw Wen Yu organizing the sheets. She immediately went up to help, tidying up with Wen Yu. “Just now, didn’t argue, right?”
Wen Yu looked up. “No.”
Ye Qizhen breathed a sigh of relief.
Wen Yu added, “You shower first, I’ll take you to the bathroom.”
Ye Qizhen: “You wash first.”
Wen Yu was helpless. “Want to play rock-paper-scissors?”
In the end, Ye Qizhen went to wash first.
Spending the night in a completely unfamiliar room.
The quilt smelled dry and pleasant. Ye Qizhen sat leaning against the headboard, unable to resist looking around at the details in the room, full of curiosity about the place where the person she liked had lived.
The room wasn’t small, but there were very few things, and no photos or the like could be seen. Although Wen Yu hadn’t been back for a long time, she found the room was still spotlessly clean. Should have been specially cleaned.
No matter what, Wen Yu’s mother still cares about Wen Yu, right? She thought persistently about this question tonight. She just hoped that in this world, more people could be good to Wen Yu.
Wen Yu came back after showering and saw Ye Qizhen still sitting. “Why not sleeping?”
Ye Qizhen patted the bed beside her. “Waiting for you.”
After getting into bed, Wen Yu didn’t say anything, directly pulling Ye Qizhen to lie down on the bed. Ye Qizhen hadn’t rested well during this period, especially in the last few days; probably tired silly.
Separated by half a pillow’s distance, Ye Qizhen asked with concern, “Did Auntie talk to you tonight?”
Wen Yu nodded.
“Auntie might… want you to accompany her.” Ye Qizhen whispered hesitantly.
Wen Yu thought of Wen Qiuxian’s appearance speaking tonight, very unfamiliar. “Mn.”
Physically and mentally exhausted day. Not sure if they were overtired, lying in bed, neither felt much sleepiness. The night was quiet, very suitable for peaceful chatting.
“Actually, my mom conceiving me was an accident too. She didn’t plan to have me initially.” Wen Yu suddenly said to Ye Qizhen. Don’t know what happened tonight, just wanted to talk to her more—someone to accompany, someone to confide in.
This was the first time Ye Qizhen heard Wen Yu talk about these things. “Then how…”
“She conceived me without being married. At the time, she thought having a child would make the other party marry her, but no. Maybe because of me too, she never married afterward; hard to marry with a child. Later, she met a man who was very good to her and said he was willing to marry her.” Speaking of this, Wen Yu’s thoughts flew far away. She remembered vividly that day Wen Qiuxian, like a normal mother, cheerfully said to her, Mom found a dad for you, okay? She had never seen Wen Qiuxian so happy…
Listening to Wen Yu, Ye Qizhen’s heart clenched. “Did they marry?”
Wen Yu said lightly, “That man didn’t marry her either.”
“Why?”
“Don’t know. I also thought they would marry…” Also thought I would have a new home. After all, that man was very good to Wen Qiuxian, but later he changed. Wen Yu gazed at Ye Qizhen, saying in a low voice, “Because liking changes?”
Ye Qizhen paused, saying stubbornly, “That means he didn’t like her enough.”
“Since then, she never thought about marriage,” Wen Yu continued, “But she changed many boyfriends, including that one in high school. You should have heard about it, right?”
Sensitive topic.
“Mn.” How could Ye Qizhen not know? It caused a huge uproar in the whole school back then, and Wen Yu was isolated and slandered because of this.
“That person lied to her, said he wasn’t married. Result, you know…”
Ye Qizhen listened with anger and heartache. If not for this scene, Wen Yu wouldn’t have been dragged into so many rumors. Thinking of this, she wanted to curse out loud. “What a terrible person.”
Hearing Ye Qizhen curse, Wen Yu couldn’t help smiling. Never seen anyone curse so obediently. The next moment, she hugged Ye Qizhen silently. When Wen Qiuxian told her these things with red eyes tonight, it actually made her feel a bit bad.
“It’s all in the past,” Ye Qizhen hugged Wen Yu tightly, her palm stroking gently on her thin back, “And I think Auntie cares about you.”
“Mn.” Wen Yu inhaled lightly. After saying these things, a heavy burden was lifted, inexplicably much more relaxed.
The corners of Ye Qizhen’s mouth rose slightly, saying softly, “Must have been scared today, hug me more.”
Wen Yu smiled suddenly. Does she have to be so sweet and cute? She hugged the person in her arms greedily, becoming more and more dependent.
“I have something to tell you too.”
Wen Yu hugged Ye Qizhen tightly. “What?”
Ye Qizhen’s eyes and tone were serious. “Now you are not alone anymore. You have me. No matter what happens in the future, we face it together.”
A heartwarming and firm promise. Hearing it should be moving, but Wen Yu felt faintly uneasy. She was the opposite of Ye Qizhen; born pessimistic, afraid that expecting too much would lead to disappointment in the future. That day Qi Yun told her first love would think they would be together forever, but she didn’t think so. Perhaps because she had seen too many unbeautiful realities with her own eyes, influenced by what she saw and heard. Growing up, the words she heard most from Wen Qiuxian were not to trust feelings. Before meeting Ye Qizhen, she never expected love, let alone believed in it…
Ye Qizhen knew Wen Yu was more sensitive than the average person. When they were apart, she could clearly feel Wen Yu’s lack of security. She cupped Wen Yu’s cheek with one hand. “There’s a fool who will always accompany you.”
Wen Yu looked into Ye Qizhen’s eyes, holding the hand Ye Qizhen placed on her cheek, something in her heart wavering. “Don’t lie to me.”
Ye Qizhen hooked her pinky finger with Wen Yu’s. “Pinky promise.”
Wen Yu smiled. “Childish or not.”
“Then…” Ye Qizhen leaned in and kissed the corner of Wen Yu’s mouth, “Stamp.”
