Others might not see through the scheme, but I was secretly laughing my head off. He really is the type to hold a grudge; I merely yanked off his pliers and swung them a couple of times, and he was about to bite me to pieces.
With so many people at home, the meal was incredibly noisy. Little Rouyuan ran around the table, while He Yuncong and Su Zhenzhen chased after her, one with a bowl and the other with a spoon, trying to feed her. Little Rouyuan, however, ignored them completely and refused to eat. One minute she'd run to me for a piece of meat, the next she'd run to my dad for some soup. My uncle and dad were gossiping about work, while my mom and grandma kept piling food onto Qu Ling's plate.
In short, everything was harmonious to the extreme.
After finishing his meal, Qu Ling quickly said goodbye and left. His mother and grandmother tried their best to persuade him to stay a little longer, but Qu Ling said that he had a meeting that evening and could not stay long. In the end, he could not resist his mother's enthusiasm and had to promise to come again in a couple of days before he was able to leave.
My mother insisted that I see Qu Ling out. What was the point? Her car was parked right at the gate, only a dozen steps away. But I was too lazy to argue with her, so I turned the wheelchair and took Qu Ling to the center of the yard.
"Yuanyuan, don't see me off anymore, go back!"
"Okay, be careful on your way."
I'll come see you another day.
"Okay, goodbye!" I waved to him, then suddenly noticed a suspicious dark figure crouching outside the gate.
"Who's there?" I shouted.
Qu Ling also saw the dark figure, so she walked over to it and looked at it carefully before asking, "Who are you looking for?"
The dark figure slowly raised its head, tilting its face up in the dim light, and said, "I'm looking for Su Yuanyuan."
Qu Ling looked at the man's face, her brows furrowing little by little.
"Who is it?" I spun my wheelchair to the door and pulled open the iron gate.
Upon hearing my voice, the dark figure immediately stood up. "Su Yuanyuan!"
The boy's round, bright black eyes were brimming with tears, as if he had suffered some great injustice.
"Zhuang Yuan!" I was so shocked I almost fell off my wheelchair.
"Su Yuanyuan! Why are you lame?" Zhuang Yuan's eyes were still filled with tears, but as soon as he saw me sitting in a wheelchair, his eyes widened and he jumped up.
"What nonsense are you talking about! I only broke a bone in the accident. But you, weren't you supposed to be in England? How come you've suddenly reappeared?"
"I...I..." Zhuang Yuan's expression changed rapidly, and now he said with a bitter smile, "It's a long story!"
I suddenly remembered that Qu Ling was still there, so I pulled Zhuang Yuan into the yard and said, "Go inside and eat first, we can talk about other things later."
"Hmm." The boy lowered his head and obediently walked into the house, leaving only Qu Ling and me in the yard.
"Yuanyuan, who is this child? Is he a relative?" Qu Ling asked with a smile.
"Sigh, him! He's my cousin's classmate. He likes my cousin, but my cousin doesn't like him. Looks like he's suffered another setback with my cousin. Dean, don't you have a meeting to attend? Aren't you leaving?"
"Let's go now. By the way, Yuanyuan, what did you call him just now?"
"Zhuang Yuan".
"Zhuang Yuan..." Qu Ling frowned as if trying to recall something, "This name sounds familiar."
*****
To tell you about Zhuang Yuan, the story goes back many years. I was in high school then, and one summer vacation my cousin Fang Jingyan came to visit from N city. She found this runaway boy on the street and, feeling sorry for him, took him in. Turns out, this guy was born in the Year of the Dog, and whoever found him, he'd stick to them relentlessly. Coincidentally, Fang Jingyan and he ended up in the same class in high school, and they became classmates. That made him even more of a clingy pest.
Fang Jingyan has a childhood sweetheart named Ye Zihang. Although they have their ups and downs, I know Jingyan only has Ye Zihang in her heart, and they will be together sooner or later. As for Zhuang Yuan, no matter how hard he tries, he will only end up as cannon fodder. Actually, thinking about it, this guy is quite pitiful, so devoted to the other person but getting nothing in return. Alas, it's all because of love.
Zhuang Yuan ate two bowls of rice but still wasn't full. Unfortunately, there were many people eating at home today, and the last bit of rice crust in the rice cooker was scraped clean, so my mother had to make him a bowl of noodles.
If Zhuang Yuan doesn't speak, just sitting there quietly with his two big, dark eyes looking at you, you might get the illusion that he's so adorable it's heartbreaking. My mother, for example, was deceived by that expression. Knowing that Zhuang Yuan's parents are divorced, she dotes on this unrelated child even more.
"Su Yuanyuan, who was that man at the door just now?" Zhuang Yuan asked while slurping his noodles.
"Oh, it's my boss..."
“Hehe, that’s Yuanyuan’s fiancé!” my mom chimed in with a cheerful laugh.
"Pfft—" Zhuang Yuan spat a mouthful of noodles onto the table. "Su Yuanyuan! You think you can get married?"
"Pah!" I rolled my eyes at him. He really can't say anything nice. "Why can't I get married? I'm not missing any limbs."
Zhuang Yuan chuckled and looked at my leg, saying, "It's just a broken leg!"
"It's not like I'm bad at growing up!" I glared at him again. "But you! You were doing fine in England, how did you suddenly reappear?"
"I..." Zhuang Yuan stirred his noodles, head down, "I was rejected by Jing Yan..."
"However! I won't give up!" He looked up at me and said through gritted teeth.
As expected. It's not that I don't want to help Zhuang Yuan, it's just that Jing Yan and Ye Zihang are a better match. I've met Ye Zihang, and that kid is more suitable for Jing Yan than Zhuang Yuan. Besides, their relationship is something they've cultivated since childhood; can Zhuang Yuan, this unexpected outsider, compare?
However, the persistence in Zhuang Yuan's eyes was chilling. He was still just a blank slate, and behind his fierce persistence lay a fragile vulnerability that could be shattered at any moment.
Suddenly I thought of Qu Ling again. When he was just a blank slate, did he also have the same vulnerability as Zhuang Yuan?
Author's Note: For the story of Wu Jinshu, Su Zhenzhen, and He Yuncong, please refer to "Pillow on Rose Petals". It contains a detailed account of Su Yuanyuan and Qu Ling's first meeting when they were children. At that time, Su Yuanyuan quite fiercely rode on Qu Ling's shoulders.
For the stories of Zhuang Yuan, Fang Jingyan, and Ye Zihang, please refer to "An Unbreakable Bond". Zhuang Yuan's final fate is written specifically for him in the epilogue.
I thought it was a good ending; he finally found his own happiness.
A single banquet can determine the fate of a nation.
I sleep all day at home with nothing to do, which makes it hard to fall asleep at night.
When you can't sleep, you're bound to have all sorts of wild thoughts.
The person I think about most is Qu Ling.