“Dad, what’s for dinner tonight?”
Wei Qinglu, oblivious, walked past her and asked Wei Qingye: “Aunt and Uncle cooking tonight? Where’s Mom?”
“Your mom’s got something, coming later.” Wei Qingye glanced at Wei Shuyu and called, “Shuyu’s back too. Come sit. Grandpa and Grandma haven’t seen you in ages; they’ve missed you.”
Wei Shuyu smiled and sat on the other end of the sofa, holding Grandma’s hand and asking how she’d been lately.
Grandma was old. A few years back, she’d gotten Alzheimer’s and was long past lucid. Seeing her, she just called, “Baby’s back?”
She didn’t even know who she was.
Even knowing that, Wei Shuyu still felt her eyes sting a bit.
She said nothing, took the fruit puree bowl from Wei Qingye, and fed Grandma spoonful by spoonful.
If people were built from memories, then her existence in this world had long since dissipated bit by bit along with Grandma’s memories.
Before she met Jin Yizhu, probably only Grandma had truly needed her and cared about her, right?
Although Wei Qinglu called her big sister and chased after her, although she had many friends and they could chat about anything, she still felt lonely.
What Wei Shuyu wanted… had always been that one-of-a-kind favoritism.
That kind of favoritism had slowly disappeared along with Grandma’s memories.
Now Grandma didn’t even remember herself anymore, let alone remember her.
The Grandma who once held little her in her arms and coaxed her to sleep now couldn’t even eat an apple by herself.
“Little Yuyu still cares about Grandma the most.”
Wei Qingye watched her careful movements and sighed.
“If you were this good to your parents too, who knows how happy they’d be.”
Wei Shuyu hooked the corner of her lips: “Who told them not to take me when I was little? It’s too late now.”
“They didn’t mean to leave you at your old home; they had to make money.”
Wei Qingye scratched his hair and glanced toward the kitchen, wanting to plead for his big brother:
“Look, Grandpa and Grandma raised you pretty well too, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, so I’m good to Grandma too.”
She patted Grandma’s shoulder. The old lady remembered nothing, but she grinned happily at her.
“Nuan Nuan good, Nuan Nuan pretty, Nuan Nuan eat fruit too.”
The old lady pushed her hand, making her take a bite of the applesauce.
Wei Shuyu ate a mouthful and smiled at Wei Qingye: “See, Grandma’s even giving me apple.”
Wei Qinglu’s eyes stung. She didn’t know why, but today she always felt like crying.
She stood up from the sofa and went to the kitchen to check on dinner. Moments later, Wei Qinglu carried out a bowl of soup while Zhao Rou carried a dish, and the two came out together.
Zhao Rou set the dish on the table, wanting to say something, but seeing her daughter feeding the old lady apple, she swallowed her words.
After a while, Wei Qingguo came out too and called loudly first: “Dinner’s ready! Lulu, grab the liquor from the cabinet. Tonight, your dad and I are gonna have a good drink.”
With that, he turned to Wei Shuyu and asked: “Little Yuyu, join us for a couple glasses?”
Wei Shuyu lifted her face and looked at him with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes: “I don’t drink.”
Wei Qingguo got a cold reception and shook his head: “When you were little, you’d drink if I told you to. Now that you’re grown, you’re not as good as you were back then.”
Wei Shuyu slammed the bowl down on the table hard: “You still have the nerve to say that? Which dad teaches his daughter to drink from childhood?”
Her movement was so big it was practically smashing the bowl, making a loud bang that startled the old lady into shrinking her shoulders.
Wei Shuyu immediately picked up the bowl again, scooped a spoonful of applesauce, and brought it to Grandma’s mouth: “Ah~”
Her coaxing tone was so gentle that for a moment, everyone in the living room stared at her, their expressions like they’d seen a ghost.
“What, worried I’m having a split personality?”
Wei Shuyu lifted her face and smiled at them:
“Don’t worry, if I go crazy, none of you will escape.”
The living room went deathly quiet, so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Wei Qingguo looked horrified, holding the liquor bottle in his hand, unsure whether to set it down or not.
Zhao Rou looked at her daughter’s dazzlingly beautiful face with its flamboyant smile and belatedly realized that her daughter was no longer that little bun who let them push her around and only cried in the corner.
There wasn’t a trace of the past on that radiant face; her pitch-black eyes were full of cold indifference, as if every word she said was serious.
When exactly had Wei Shuyu become like this?
Where was that daughter of hers who did whatever she said, whom she teased when in a good mood, pushed away when in a bad one, and who always whined for Mommy no matter what?
Why wouldn’t she listen to them now? What was the point of raising her then?
“What kind of makeup is that? Lipstick so red—it doesn’t look like something from a proper family!”
Zhao Rou felt uneasy, afraid her daughter had changed and she could no longer control her, so she blurted out:
“Girls should dress neatly and refreshingly. That spaghetti strap isn’t proper at all; what would Grandpa and Grandma think?”
“Grandma’s just old, not blind. She just said I was pretty,” Wei Shuyu said with a half-smile. “Still eating? If not, I’m leaving.”
She walked straight up to Wei Qingguo, snatched the liquor from his hand with a smack on the table, and said:
“Weren’t you all aggressive this morning? Two years without seeing me, and you’ve forgotten what I’m like?”
Wei Qingguo and Zhao Rou looked at each other, saying nothing.
Their daughter had been fine before, but these past few years, who knew what had gotten into her—she wouldn’t listen to reason, and at the slightest dissatisfaction, she’d kick up a fuss.
If they’d known sending her to such a good university would turn her into this after graduation, she might as well not have gone.
“You can play your zero-sum games at home; I don’t care.”
Wei Shuyu said coldly, her knuckle rapping the table with a dull thud.
“If you want to drag me into it, dream on.”
Wei Qinglu was stunned for a long time before she finally realized why her sister had put on such makeup.
That sharp aura paired with makeup more vibrant than a rose… it was so cool!
“Exactly, if it’s time to eat, then eat. What harsh words, son-in-law?” Wei Qinglu clapped while chiming in. “You just want to drive Sister away, don’t you?”
“Alright, alright. It’s rare for everyone to be home for dinner; why talk about this and hurt feelings?” Wei Qingye snapped out of it, jumped up from the sofa, and ran over to play peacemaker. “Little Yuyu, you too—just fine a moment ago, and now you’re snapping again.”
“I’ve said it long ago: however others treat me, that’s how I treat them.”
Wei Shuyu grabbed her bag, walked to the sofa, kissed Grandma on the face, hugged the delighted old lady, and said sweetly:
“Grandma, they don’t want to give me dinner, so I’m heading out first. I’ll come see you next time.”
With that, she walked straight out the door without looking back.
At a time like this, if she turned around and saw Grandma’s eyes, she’d definitely soften.
But she couldn’t stop, couldn’t give them a chance to grasp her weakness, couldn’t let them discover that she still had a soft side.
Wei Shuyu kept her back straight, shoulders tense, until she walked out of the compound and hailed a taxi.
Only when she sat in the back seat, smelled the car’s distinctive leather scent, watched the scenery outside the window recede continuously as it headed toward the city center, did Wei Shuyu slump into the seat like she’d lost all strength, staring blankly out the window.
The elevated bridges wound around the city in circles. Neon lights illuminated the entire street too brightly, as if even the moon in the sky couldn’t compete.
Skyscrapers stood tall in the distance, their glass facades gleaming coldly, one after another, lights scattered in the windows like they would never go out.
Traffic lights flashed, street vendors squatted in corners chatting, people strolled after dinner everywhere. The prosperity outside the window pulled away like a curtain bit by bit, while the night deepened.
The taxi drove onward, and Wei Shuyu’s thoughts drifted farther and farther.
Neon flickered outside the window; among countless lights, there wasn’t one that belonged to her.
Heavy loneliness pressed down from the night sky. Wei Shuyu gripped her phone tightly, almost pressing her forehead to the screen.
She wanted to call Jin Yizhu, just like Jin Yizhu called her—no matter the time or place, no matter if it was convenient—as long as she needed, she could find someone to rely on.
But she couldn’t.
This was an unequal relationship.
When Jin Yizhu needed her, she had to be there. When she needed Jin Yizhu, Jin Yizhu didn’t have to be.
She could call, of course, but Jin Yizhu might not pick up. She might be working overtime or busy with something else. She didn’t need to tell Wei Shuyu what she was doing; she had no obligation to her.
Wei Shuyu almost laughed. Gamble on the odds? Bet that Jin Yizhu happened to be free right now?
She could gamble usually, but not now.
If she called now and Jin Yizhu didn’t pick up, she’d definitely harbor resentment.
But that wouldn’t be fair to Jin Yizhu.
Jin Yizhu had never explicitly said she had feelings beyond friendship for her.
All along, their relationship was built on money. Even the so-called friendship might just be her own painstaking illusion.
And her, who had fallen for Jin Yizhu, delusional about becoming her girlfriend and staying together forever…
Was it losing all her supports and clutching Jin Yizhu as a lifeline? Or being drawn to that similar loneliness, wanting to confirm her existence through Jin Yizhu? Or knowing Jin Yizhu needed her, wanting her to keep her in this world…
All selfish and vile emotions, unrelated to love.
But aside from those, her heart was still full of that person’s shadow.
The Jin Yizhu who inexplicably came close and smiled at her, who draped her jacket over her shoulders, who tugged her clothes and said empty Tokyo Disneyland was scary, who held an umbrella for her in the rainy night at Victoria Harbour.
The tangible, gentle Jin Yizhu—every detail of her was so cute.
She liked all of her, all of her.
Lost in a daze the whole way, Wei Shuyu finally flung herself onto the guest room’s big bed. Unable to hold back anymore, she buried her face in the pillow and let out a sob:
“What do I do…”
“Jin Yizhu, I miss you so much.”
