"Bullshit! Your veins are full of alcohol, you'll drink yourself to death at this rate."
Ignoring him, I poured myself another glass.
"Alright, tell me, what exactly is going on between you and Zhang Qian?"
I picked up my wine glass and sat back on the sofa. This time, I put my feet up on the tea table.
That's all there is to it.
"Are you serious?"
"Um"
"You're not kidding?"
Is he trying to make me swear an oath? If I were to swear an oath, I wouldn't do it to him.
Do I look like I'm joking?
"Hard to say." He snatched my glass and chugdled it down his throat. "You little rascal, last time you got that 'celebrity' to go see a mental hospital, tell me, what kind of joke was that?"
The celebrity he was referring to was the one in bed 44. I didn't expect this to spread so quickly.
"This is for his own good."
"And another thing!! What did you say when you took my mom's lab report last time?" He pointed at my nose and asked menacingly.
"I'm doing this so you can show your filial piety."
"You...you bastard, don't, don't bump into my hand!"
"Zhang Qian was just here." This time I told the truth.
"She came here?"
"Um"
"You...you're alright, aren't you?"
He asked the question subtly, but I understood what he meant.
"I wanted to, but it didn't happen."
"Disgusting!" he cursed at me through gritted teeth.
"You're not exactly clean yourself!"
"Tell me, are you truly sincere towards them?"
How can a man be a "teapot"?
"Um"
Explain yourself!
"I confessed my feelings to Zhang Qian, but I can't utter a single word to you!"
"Good...good...you've got guts! Remember this, don't run into your brother's hands next time."
What time does Zhang Qian usually get off work?
"Six o'clock, sometimes it might be a little later, why?" He looked at me warily, which made me feel like a terrorist.
"Why did you have to provoke Zhang Qian? There are so many girls in the world waiting for you to provoke them, and you just had to pick on this one!! Tell me, are you... are you... shameless?"
I figured it out; he's Zhang Qian's father.
Are you a good match for him?
"What's wrong with an unmarried man and an unmarried woman being a bad match?" I haven't considered the practical issues at all.
"You just have to spell it out for me. What kind of family do you come from? What kind of family does she come from? She... she's not exactly a young woman, she has a child to support. Tell me, do you think she'll have a good life with you? Just do her a good deed and let her live!"
Reason was clouded by lust—this is a very real and cruel problem. How many people can accept a woman like Zhang Qian? Even though she's still a girl in my eyes, in other people's eyes she's already a woman.
"Meeting her is enough for me to live. It's that simple." Every word I uttered expressed my feelings for Zhang Qian.
"Bullshit! Do you think you're in a lowbrow comedy?! You're still alive? I think you're better off dead!" The kid jumped up arrogantly.
"You've only met her a few times, and you're already so deeply in love?"
Who exactly is the poor chat addict?
Are you sure your feelings for her aren't pity but love?
"Um"
"You...you should settle your family matters first!"
"What's so difficult about that? Just get a marriage certificate with Zhang Qian and that's it. That should show my feelings, right?"
"You little rascal, you're truly an incurable idealist!"
"Thanks"
"I didn't flatter you! You think things are that simple? Whether you can get past your parents is another question. Zhang Qian just casually goes to get a pass with you? I think you're asking for trouble."
“My parents are not a problem.”
"You're just going to eat her like that?"
"Um"
"I knew you'd say that, damn it, I guessed it all right!" He scratched his head in frustration.
"Anqi!"
"what?"
"Our hospital, together with the city, organized a rural poverty alleviation and medical assistance program."
My eyelids kept twitching.
"I've registered you."
"What?"
Zhang Qian
Zhang Qian
Anqi left, vanished suddenly before my eyes. Sometimes I think it was a dream, an overly vivid dream.
Grandpa came back to live with us, and he still saw through my intentions, even though I kept trying to deny it.
Dongdong is very well-behaved and obedient, but he often asks why the uncle who bought him toys doesn't come anymore. Hu Lu, on the other hand, comes to my house often and brings news about Anqi from time to time.
I think I'm such a coward, what's there to hold onto? We're not even close friends, I've only known them for a short time. Besides, we're not really compatible. My grandfather often tells me, "Everyone has their place, and the original couple is the best."
Yes, my first wife is no longer Anqi. And Anqi's first wife shouldn't be someone like me either. I often think, what kind of girl is worthy of a man like Anqi?
She should be a woman whose family background is comparable to his, and whose qualities match his in every way. If I were single now, if I had a normal family and loving parents, if I weren't who I am now, I would take a chance.
Too many factors have entangled and bound me, leaving me powerless and unable to break free.
Anqi is too outstanding; someone like him is beyond my reach. Perhaps I should ask my "Third Aunt" for help finding someone similar to me. Springtime makes people prone to romantic feelings, and I'm not afraid of romantic feelings themselves, but rather of making mistakes.
Hu Lu asked me to go out for a heart-to-heart talk on Sunday, and I went with Dongdong.
When we arrived at the designated restaurant, we saw Hu Lu sitting alone by the window, staring blankly at her phone. I nudged Dongdong, signaling him to go up and scare Hu Lu to bring her back to her senses.
"What would you like to eat?" Hu Lu handed me the menu.
I said whatever without even looking at it.
"This is not something to be taken lightly."
"Then two kids' meals will do."
I was eating the same set meal as Dongdong, which made Hu Lu laugh out loud.
Aren't you curious why Anqi suddenly left?
"Not curious."
The beef here is good. I stuffed a piece into my mouth and then grabbed the portion from Dongdong's plate.
"Hey, I'm telling you, you two are just the same."
"oh"
I took a tissue and wiped Dongdong's mouth clean.
"You really don't want to hear it?"
"In no mood."
Hu Lu's eyes scanned me from head to toe like an X-ray. "I think I've figured it out."
"What?"
“You and Anqi are both hormonally imbalanced,” he said loudly. Everyone in the restaurant turned to stare at us, feeling like we were sitting on pins and needles.
"Keep your voice down, what nonsense are you talking about?" I kicked him under the table.
"They even speak in the same tone."
Hu Lu sent Dongdong to play in the children's playground.
"I was the one who told Anqi to leave."
"oh"
"I don't know if Anqi is sincere, I only ask him, is it pity or love for you?"
I had already thought of that. There are people who sympathize with me, but I don't care about their sympathy.
"Now it's time for you to consider whether you feel grateful or in love with Comrade An Qi. If I had been the one to come to your rescue back then, wouldn't you be offering yourself to me now?"
"Get lost!" Hu Lu has always been like that, always trying to take advantage of me with her words since we were little.
"You'd better think this through carefully," he emphasized repeatedly.