"Beautiful lady, which way do you want to go?"
The driver stopped at the fork in the road, turned around and saw her staring blankly, and couldn't help but tease, "Beautiful lady, you haven't even forgotten the way home, have you?"
The main road home hasn't changed much, but the village has changed a lot. For example, this fork in the road used to be a two-story ordinary cement building, but now it's a three-story villa with glazed tiles and bluestone bricks.
At first glance, it seemed she had indeed forgotten the way home.
Shen Wuqiu blinked, looked around again, and then said, "Turn right at this fork in the road, then drive straight along the right-hand road. My house is at the end of the road."
The driver jokingly asked, "Are you sure, beautiful lady?"
Shen Wuqiu wasn't in the mood for banter; he simply nodded.
The road wasn't far from its end; the driver stepped on the gas, and in less than two minutes, an old two-story villa came into view.
The driver stopped in front of the gate, turned around and asked, "Miss, is this the place?"
Shen Wuqiu nodded, but remained seated in the car.
The driver scratched his head, but didn't urge her to get out of the car. He got out himself and took the suitcase out of the trunk.
Only after the driver opened the car door for her did Shen Wuqiu pick up her handbag and get out of the car, handing over the fare as well.
The driver quickly nodded, clearly satisfied, then deftly tucked the suitcase into his jeans pocket. "Miss, would you like me to help you carry your suitcase inside?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the iron gate opened from the inside, and a tall, upright young man walked out. When he saw Shen Wuqiu, his expression clearly froze for a moment, and after several seconds he called out indifferently, "Sister."
Shen Wuqiu was equally unenthusiastic towards her younger brother. She nodded as a greeting, thanked the driver, picked up her suitcase, and walked straight into the gate.
The driver's gossipy eyes darted between the siblings, but when he noticed they were looking at him, he quickly looked away and chuckled, "Handsome, do you have a place to stay here?"
He's really not brave; he just loves money. He asked for four hundred, probably because he knew he wouldn't be able to get any customers from the village so late, and he definitely wouldn't dare cross the cliff alone. He figured he might as well spend some money to find a place to stay in the village for the night.
"have no idea."
Shen Wujun looked impatient and gave a perfunctory reply before closing the large iron gate again. Ignoring the driver's expression, he took a long stride, caught up with Shen Wuqiu, and reached out to take the box from her hands.
Shen Wuqiu shifted her body slightly to avoid his hand. "No need, I can lift it."
Shen Wujun glanced at her, then snatched the box from her hands and carried it into the house without a word.
"Who's outside? This box..." Inside the house, Su Yunzhi was chatting and eating melon seeds with several women from the same village. When she saw Shen Wujun carrying a box in, she asked while craning her neck to look outside. When she saw Shen Wuqiu, she was also stunned at first, but then she immediately threw down the melon seeds in her hand and walked towards her with a big smile, "Oh, our Wuqiu is back."
Upon hearing this, the other women also turned to look at her:
"Oh, it really is Wuqiu."
"It's been many years since I last saw him, probably five or six years."
"The feng shui of big cities really does nurture people; look at her, she's getting more and more beautiful."
"..."
With four or five mouths chattering around her, Shen Wuqiu felt overwhelmed by the noise. In addition, she didn't get along with Su Yunzhi, so she naturally disliked the women who associated with Su Yunzhi. She forced a smile and greeted them one by one.
Su Yunzhi stepped forward and pulled Shen Wuqiu to sit on the sofa. "Have you eaten? You didn't even tell the family you were coming back beforehand, so your brother could have picked you up."
"I'm not hungry. Where's Dad?" Shen Wuqiu brushed her hand away without saying a word. What she disliked most was Su Yunzhi's hypocritical intimacy. In private, she always spoke to Su Yunzhi in a sarcastic tone, but in public, she presented herself as a gentle and loving mother.
“He’s lying in his room.” Su Yunzhi frowned as she mentioned her father, “He’s been in a lot of pain these past few days and refuses to go to the hospital no matter what we tell him.”
Shen Wuqiu nodded and hummed in agreement, then headed straight for the bedroom.
As soon as she turned to leave, the women who remained outside immediately gathered around Su Yunzhi and whispered among themselves:
"This girl's temperament is still the same as before."
"Being a stepmother is really tough. You can't hit her or scold her, and you have to watch your stepmother's mood."
"..."
Su Yunzhi looked aggrieved, but said generously, "Well, that's just her temper. I'll just do my duty as a mother."
Her voice was always shrill, and she wasn't trying to lower it this time. Shen Wuqiu, who had just entered the bedroom, didn't pay special attention, but she still heard what she said clearly. She knew without thinking that these people outside were talking about her again.
This is not surprising. Birds of a feather flock together. Su Yunzhi is a two-faced, two-faced person, so those who are friends with her are naturally not good people either.
Shen Wuqiu didn't care much about what these people were saying. She turned around, closed the door, took a deep breath, and then looked at the bed.
Mr. Shen, who was lying in bed, hadn't been asleep; he had just closed his eyes to rest. Hearing the noise, he opened his eyes and, at first glance, thought he was seeing things when he saw Shen Wuqiu. He closed his eyes again, and after a few seconds, he looked at Shen Wuqiu again. Once he was sure she was really back, he feigned calmness and said, "You're back..."
The old father before her was frail and haggard, a far cry from the dignified and somewhat domineering father she remembered. A strange pang of sadness welled up in Shen Wuqiu's heart. Seeing that the man was having difficulty sitting up, she quickly went over and helped him up. She wanted to call out, but it felt like something was stuck in her throat. After a long while, she finally managed to utter, "Dad."
As always, Mr. Shen was stern and unsmiling. He nodded and hummed in agreement, but quickly returned to his cold expression: "You still know to come back. I thought you'd only come back after I was buried."
Shen Wuqiu didn't want to argue with him. "Auntie said you were in a lot of pain, why didn't you go to the hospital?"
"Why go to the hospital and suffer like that when you're already in this state?"
Even though they hadn't seen each other for many years, there was no warmth in their conversation. Every word he said was met with a sharp rebuke, and Shen Wuqiu lost his temper, saying, "Do as you please."
Mr. Shen's words remained barbed, "If it's not up to me, do you think you can make the decision for me?"
"Seeing how energetic you are, it seems there's no need for anyone to worry about you for the time being. In that case, I'll go back to my room to rest."
Mr. Chen snorted and then laboriously lay down again. "Go on, don't get in my way of resting."
Upon hearing this, Shen Wuqiu did not hesitate for a moment, pushed open the door and walked out.
The other women from the village had already left, and Su Yunzhi was sitting on the sofa in the living room, continuing to eat sunflower seeds. When she saw her come out, she said warmly, "Wuqiu, do you want me to make you something to eat?"
"No need." Shen Wuqiu didn't even glance at her before preparing to go upstairs to her room. Reaching the top of the stairs, she seemed to remember something. "Is my room still available?"
"I left it, but you've been gone for five years and I haven't cleaned it much. It's probably a bit dusty. Sigh, if you had told me beforehand, I definitely would have cleaned it for you... Or should I go upstairs and tidy it up for you now?"
"No need." Shen Wuqiu decisively rejected her feigned kindness and went straight upstairs.
The room was cleaner and tidier than she had imagined, except the bed wasn't made, which showed that someone cleaned it regularly.
She walked to the cabinet, and the things inside were the same as before, but the smell was a bit strong. It seemed that the sheets and duvet covers inside couldn't be used tonight. Just as she was hesitating whether to go find Su Yunzhi, Shen Wujun came over carrying a quilt.
Shen Wuqiu looked at her younger brother, who had suddenly grown to be half a head taller than her, and felt a mix of emotions.
The immature teenager, annoyed by the stares, snapped, "What are you looking at? Do you expect me to make your bed?"
Shen Wuqiu shrugged. "If you want to help, I won't mind."
"Dream on." Shen Wujun scoffed, threw the blanket on the bed, and left.
Shen Wuqiu was used to his sarcastic remarks and quickly made the bed.
She was so tired that she collapsed onto the bed as soon as she finished making it. She only intended to take a short nap before washing up, but she ended up sleeping until midnight.
In her half-awake state, she heard the cat's meow that sounded like a baby crying again. She covered her ears in frustration, trying to ignore it, but the sound seemed to be ringing in her ears, refusing to go away.
Is it really because spring has arrived?
Shen Wuqiu was completely awakened by the disturbance. Helplessly, she opened her eyes wide and stared at the ceiling above her head, the annoying meows still echoing in her ears.
Finally, Shen Wuqiu couldn't stand the noise any longer, so she got up and drew back the curtains.
Meow~~
Before Shen Wuqiu could search, a white cat suddenly caught her eye. When it saw her, it even meowed at her very obediently.
"..."
A note from the author:
Happy first post! Love you all, muah!
Chapter 3 White Cat
Shen Wuqiu instinctively felt that the white-furred, blue-eyed cat sitting on her small balcony was the same one she had seen at Yai Mountain, but when she thought about how Yai Mountain was nearly 20 kilometers away from here, she wasn't so sure.
Separated by a screen window, she and the cat faced each other, and for a moment she didn't know how to argue with a cat.
She couldn't say she particularly liked these fluffy little creatures; it was mainly because the cat was exactly her type. Even though it disturbed her peaceful sleep, she couldn't get angry. After staring at each other for a while, she inexplicably meowed.
Meow~
Hearing her response, the white cat became excited and stretched out its front paws to start scratching at her screen window.
The sharp claws made an annoying "squeak" sound on the screen window. Shen Wuqiu couldn't stand the sound at all and subconsciously reached out and pulled the screen window open.
Without the screen window to block the view, the white cat nimbly leaped into her room, giving her no chance to refuse.
The white cat that jumped into her room wasn't polite at all. It strutted around the room with its head held high, then leaped onto her bed, sitting right in the middle, continuing to stare at her, meowing.
It seems the cat isn't planning on leaving anytime soon.
Shen Wuqiu yawned, closed the screen window again, walked to the bedside and looked down at the white cat, "This is my territory, you better behave."
Hearing her speak, the white cat tilted its head, seemingly deep in thought, then its mouth slightly opened: "Meow~~"
So cute and adorable, it's absolutely irresistible.
Shen Wuqiu sighed, defeated, and tapped the white cat's forehead: "You really know how to meow..."
"Meow~ Meow~"
"..." Shen Wuqiu stared at the little thing that was addicted to acting cute. After two seconds, she reached out again, this time grabbing the cat by the scruff of its neck, and said fiercely, "No acting cute!"
Meow~
Whether it was her imagination or not, Shen Wuqiu could detect a hint of grievance in her voice.
After a moment, she lowered her head and chuckled again—could it really be because spring has arrived? How could she be so bored as to argue so much with a cat?
Thinking of this, she decided to ignore the cat for now, took out toiletries and a change of clothes from her suitcase, and went straight to the bathroom.
After washing up, skincare, and blow-drying my hair, the whole process took an hour.
When she came out wrapped in a bath towel, the white cat was still in the same spot, only now it was curled up instead of sitting.
"Meow~"
Seemingly displeased that she had been hiding in the bathroom for so long, the white cat meowed mournfully when it saw her come out.
Shen Wuqiu was also annoyed by the white cat that wouldn't leave her bed. Although she wasn't a germaphobe, she still couldn't accept sharing a bed with a stray cat that had appeared out of nowhere.
However, she never thought of kicking the cat out. After thinking about it, she decided to find an old coat from the closet to make a temporary cat bed for the little darling.
In the end, she was the one who started to dislike it, always feeling that the clothes stored in the closet had a strange smell.