Chapter Thirty: Tying the Red Thread
It was a rare weekend without overtime. Hua Mei invited her to go shopping, and upon asking, she learned that Zeng Ziyu would be there as well. How could she possibly intrude upon a newlywed couple enjoying their time together? She found a casual excuse and declined.
She washed her sheets and duvet cover, took them out to the balcony to dry, and as noon approached, the shadows on the ground shrank, gathering in a dark clump beneath her feet. She looked down, leisurely shifting her steps, watching her shadow slide across the floor with her movements—it was quite amusing.
"Xiao Xiao." Hearing her landlady call, she walked to the edge of the balcony. The landlady stood below. Perhaps she had played mahjong late into the night, for now she emerged in her pajamas to take out the trash. She frowned at the flies buzzing around the bin and, from a distance, tossed the garbage bag toward it. The force of her motion nearly dislodged her loosely draped coat from her shoulder. She brushed the dust off her hands, fished a bag of sunflower seeds from her pocket, and began shelling them expertly, spitting the husks everywhere. Spotting Xiao Xiao on the balcony, she called out, then asked curiously, "Was that boy who came by the other day your boyfriend?"
The landlady was from Sichuan, and her Mandarin was often less than perfect. She muddled the words for 'le' and 'ne,' and 'boyfriend' always came out as 'blue-friend.' Xiao Xiao understood and replied nonchalantly, "No, you're overthinking it."
The landlady finished a few more seeds and, after spitting out the husks, observed, "When we wrapped up that night, he was leaving too, and he had his own driver. He seemed quite impressive."
"Aren't you supposed to be cooking?" Xiao Xiao hinted.
Catching the subtext, the landlady refrained from gossiping further and slipped back inside. Xiao Xiao checked the time and decided to visit home. Her mother was eating when she arrived. Xiao Xiao grabbed a bowl and chopsticks, sitting down beside her and eating absentmindedly. Her mother watched her for a while, then asked with concern, "Having trouble at work?"
"No, it's fine," she answered, continuing to eat with her head down. In truth, work had never gone smoothly, but what she feared more than this was her mother saying, "It's okay, come home, I'll take care of you." They were already stretched thin, and she knew she had no right to shirk her responsibilities.
That evening, her mother knocked on Xiao Xiao's door, bringing her a photograph to look at. Glancing at the decent-looking man in the picture, Xiao Xiao immediately understood her mother's intention.
Sure enough, her mother said slowly, "This is the son of your father's old colleague. He's two years older than you, but still single. His family asked about you the other day, thinking you're about the same age, so I wanted to keep an eye out for you." She watched Xiao Xiao's calm expression and continued, "I've already asked about his situation. He had a job a few years ago, but the company wasn't doing well, so he left and is now looking for something new." Noticing Xiao Xiao's slight frown, her mother hastened to add, "But a few months ago, their neighborhood was included in an urban redevelopment project. The developer gave them twenty million in compensation, plus four apartments and two shopfronts. Even if he never works, that's more than enough to live on."
At this point, Xiao Xiao understood his background. In other words, he was one of those 'second-generation demolition heirs,' who became overnight millionaires thanks to the city's village redevelopment. He looked quite polished, but beneath it all remained a certain vulgarity. Judging by her mother's tone, he might spend the rest of his life living off compensation, achieving nothing of consequence. Looking at the photo again, she couldn't help the goosebumps that crept over her skin.
Lonely times are not for love, Chapter 30: The Red Thread has been updated!