Liu Zhi hummed in agreement and didn't say anything more.
"You haven't used hand cream again these past few days." Meng Yang frowned. "Can't you take better care of your hands and avoid surgery recently?"
Liu Zhi's fingers were long and slender, with no nails, and looked clean. Because she usually cleaned them too much, her skin was dry and felt slightly rough to the touch.
“I think this is just right,” Liu Zhi said. “I’m not that precious.”
Meng Yang took out his phone and wrote down the instructions for applying hand cream to Liu Zhi in his notes. After writing it, he showed it to Liu Zhi.
Liu Zhi tapped her knee twice with her fingertips, but didn't say anything.
Suddenly, Meng Yang's clothes were tugged. A child darted to her side.
"Sister, can I trade you a doll?"
Meng Yang lowered his head and happened to see the little shark doll that the child was holding.
"Sister, is it okay?"
"Of course!" Meng Yang willingly handed over the Peashooter and hugged the little shark.
"He's like a little kid." Liu Zhi picked up the little shark and examined it closely.
The doll wasn't very well made; its two eyes were slightly misaligned, making it look rather silly.
"Love knows no age." Meng Yang picked up the little shark and placed it on his lap.
...
The wedding ceremony ended at 9:30.
Liu Zhi and Meng Yang took a taxi back.
The traffic was a bit congested, so the two chatted casually.
"I haven't seen you eat anything today. Do you need to eat something when you get home?" Meng Yang grabbed Liu Zhi's hand and rubbed it against her.
"It's best not to eat after 8 p.m.," Liu Zhi said, watching Meng Yang rub her hand.
"Why are your fingers so long?" Meng Yang pressed his fingers against Liu Zhi's five fingers. "They're a whole section longer."
"I'm so much taller than you, it's a bit unreasonable that my fingers are shorter than yours."
"Such beautiful claws, and you don't even take care of them," Meng Yang said, annoyed. "Can't you cherish yourself a little more?"
Liu Zhi repeated that sentence.
"I don't have anything to treasure."
Meng Yang's rubbing fingers stopped.
“How can there be nothing to cherish?” Meng Yang said seriously. “The thing we should cherish most is ourselves.”
Liu Zhi hummed in agreement, and Meng Yang knew she didn't take it to heart at all.
With the driver listening from the front, Meng Yang didn't say much. Once she got home, she was determined to have a serious talk with Liu Zhi and correct her misconceptions.
At 10:10, Meng Yang and Liu Zhi arrived home.
Meng Yang urged Liu Zhi to take a shower, but Liu Zhi only remembered that her hair dryer was still hanging outside after she finished showering.
She wrapped her hair in her discarded clothes and sought help from Meng Yang.
After calling out once with no response, they called again, and the little dumpling meowed.
Meng Yang has gone out.
Liu Zhi searched the house but found no one.
She stood at the window and looked out, just in time to see Meng Yang carrying two plastic bags as he passed under the poplar tree.
Four minutes later, the door was opened.
"Why aren't you drying your hair?" Meng Yang put the bag on the table, breathed on it, and rubbed his hands together.
"Just about to blow it," Liu Zhi said.
"Bring me the hair dryer." Meng Yang took off his coat and threw it on the sofa.
Liu Zhizhao did as Meng Yang suggested.
Meng Yang's hands were a little cold, and it took him a while to warm them up. Liu Zhi sat leaning against the sofa, his head feeling heavy.
After drying his hair, Meng Yang untied the bag, took out a round paper lunchbox, and opened it on the coffee table.
"The red bean dumplings should still be warm," Meng Yang said. "I'll reheat them if they get cold."
Liu Zhi tasted a spoonful, and the sweetness bloomed on her tongue.
"Is it good?" Meng Yang sat down next to Liu Zhi.
"Delicious." Liu Zhi fed Meng Yang a spoonful.
"I haven't had this in a long time, and I really miss the taste," Meng Yang said contentedly.
"Then why did you only buy one bowl?" Liu Zhi asked, puzzled.
Meng Yang replied matter-of-factly, "Eating at night makes you fat."
Liu Zhi fed her another spoonful, and said in a drawn-out voice, "So you came here to torment me, didn't you?"
“You’re not fat.” Meng Yang wrapped his arm around her waist. “Look at this waist, it’s the waist of my dreams.”
Liu Zhi was amused by Meng Yang, "Why are you so talkative?"
"To be honest," Meng Yang pinched Liu Zhi through her clothes, "you're too thin."
"Equals," Liu Zhi said calmly. "We're both equally bad."
"Do you want more? I'll get a bowl and serve you some."
“No need, I can share a spoon with you.” Meng Yang looked up at Liu Zhi. “You look down on me?”
Liu Zhi shook her head.
"Oh, right, and this too." Meng Yang took out three hand creams from the bag and lined them up one by one. "Try each one first and see which one feels the most comfortable."
The three products Meng Yang selected were ones she had used before with good results, and she was determined to take good care of Liu Zhi's hands.
Liu Zhi started repeating that sentence again—"I'm not that precious."
"I wanted to argue with you in the taxi," Meng Yang said seriously. "What do you mean by 'not that precious'?"
"Liu Zhi is the most precious person in my heart!"
Liu Zhi and Meng Yang stared at each other for a while, but Liu Zhi eventually gave in and randomly picked one and squeezed a little into his own hand.
"You can squeeze out a little less, too much is uncomfortable." Meng Yang pulled Liu Zhi's hand and helped her apply the ointment. "Don't rub it so roughly, be more careful."
"I don't expect you to be as meticulous as a surgeon in disinfecting your hands, but you should at least be responsible for your own hands."
Meng Yang was very serious when applying hand cream to Liu Zhi, almost like he was performing acupuncture. Her eyelashes were very long, casting a shadow under the light when she lowered her head.
"Take another look, doesn't it feel much better?" Meng Yang said with a hint of pride, a smile playing on his lips.
"Hmm." Liu Zhi looked at the back of her hand and had to admit that the area where Meng Yang had applied the ointment was much smoother.
“I’ve always wanted to correct your point of view.” Meng Yang’s expression turned serious after his smugness. “Why do you always say you don’t cherish yourself? You are the one who deserves to be cherished the most.”
“I don’t know where you got this idea from,” Meng Yang said. “If you don’t even cherish yourself, how can you take care of others?”
The phrase "cherish yourself" evoked a less-than-pleasant memory for Liu Zhi.
Leaving her somewhat isolated little home and traveling from Yancheng to the capital, what she cherished most along the way were her family's expectations and her indomitable spirit.
Every time I finish a phone call with my family, whether it's my maternal grandparents, my parents, or my younger brother, the ending is always the same: "Take good care of yourself."
To be fair, Liu Zhi never took good care of herself.
Long-term sleep deprivation and irregular meals are the norm in Liu Zhi's life.
This kind of life was too oppressive, and Liu Zhi became numb from it all.
Before reuniting with Meng Yang, she was like a robot, only able to stop operating when the power source was cut off, living within a pre-programmed routine, every day incredibly dull and boring.
Meng Yang's appearance was like a timely rain after a long drought, revitalizing Liu Zhi's withered heart.
Liu Zhi didn't know how to answer Meng Yang's question; she already had the answer. She kept it hidden deep in her heart, afraid to tell anyone.
She wanted to escape, to get as far away as possible.
Chapter 34 Oddities
The sentence Liu Zhi heard most often in her life was, "Your parents are counting on you from now on, so you must work hard."
When Liu Zhi was in elementary school, she regarded this sentence as her belief. Every time she encountered that old-fashioned essay topic—"My Ideal"—Liu Zhi's opening was always similar.
"My dream is to study hard, get into a good university, find a good job, and live a good life with my parents."
Later, Liu Zhi heard a different version of what happened.
"Your parents and younger brother will be relying on you from now on, so you must work hard."
During junior high school, Liu Zhi developed a stronger sense of independent thinking. Although she found her parents' words somewhat strange, she never showed it.
Days passed, and Liu Zhi consistently excelled academically. She was strong-willed and never allowed herself to fail.
During high school, Liu Zhi's horizons broadened. She met many people, and their beliefs about life and study seemed to be different from hers.
Some students hold onto their dreams as their belief, while others hold onto the pursuit of material enjoyment as their belief...
When faced with another semi-open-ended essay topic about ideals, Liu Zhi suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
In a mock exam during her second year of high school, Liu Zhi performed poorly, dropping more than a hundred places in the rankings. During physical education class, she hid alone in the study room, feeling dejected for a long time.
When her mother learned about her grades, she let out a long sigh.
This sigh was like a knife, deeply piercing Liu Zhi's heart.
When her mother said those words again, Liu Zhi, for some reason, felt a surge of rebellious emotion.
From then on, her relationship with her mother continued to deteriorate, and at its worst, they could have a cold war for a whole week.
Her mother imposed her own ideals on her.