Jiang Chuanmin: "It's alright, it's alright. Maybe your sister-in-law misses me."
The New Year's atmosphere at the Lin family's house was not as lively as at the Jiang family's house; instead, it was deathly still. Lin's father was in bed, and they ate their meals in the bedroom. Only his mother and daughter were at the dining table, and the two of them didn't say much. Only the TV program that was playing made the house feel a little more human.
Lin's mother put a dish on her daughter's plate: "Xiaozhi, look how thin you are, eat more."
Lin Zhi nodded without saying a word.
After finishing her meal, Lin Zhi got up to clear the table, but her mother stopped her, saying, "Xiao Zhi, sit down. Mom has something to tell you."
Lin Zhi put down her chopsticks and sat up straight: "Please speak."
Lin's mother put down her chopsticks, rubbing her rough hands, her full head of white hair was quite striking: "Xiao Zhi, look at our family, it's always so cold and impersonal, there's no human touch at all."
"Are you planning to invite Xiaofeng to our home for the New Year? I have no objection, but Xiaofeng is still not fully recovered and her health is not good. I'm afraid it will have to wait until next year. You can ask my dad to ask about Wang Chunmei. But I have one condition: Xiaofeng can come, but Wang Chunmei cannot. Otherwise, this family will be either her or me."
Lin's mother nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, your father and that woman have nothing to do with each other anymore. If it weren't for Xiaofeng, they would never have been in contact. But there's something else I want to say..."
Lin Zhi knew it wouldn't be that simple. Her mother had been hesitating all morning; it couldn't be just because of this one thing.
"Go ahead and say it. I'm your daughter. You don't need to be so formal with me."
Lin's mother breathed a sigh of relief: "You're twenty-nine this year, right? That's thirty by the traditional Chinese age reckoning..."
Alarm bells rang in Lin Zhi's mind. She knew without guessing what her mother was going to say. She twisted the tablecloth into a pretzel, but her face remained calm.
"I won't go on blind dates."
Lin's mother became anxious and waved her hands repeatedly: "It's not a blind date! It's just to let you two get to know each other! I'm not forcing you. Even if it doesn't work out, you can still be friends. The other person is a doctor who studied abroad, so he'll have connections at the hospital. Don't people in your line of work always say that having more friends means having more opportunities?"
Her mother was right, and Lin Zhi couldn't refuse. She really wanted Jiang Lai by her side, but she couldn't use Jiang Lai as a shield and say, "I have a girlfriend, she is Jiang Lai, and we love each other very much."
Lin Zhi sighed, got up, picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and went into the kitchen. Her mother was still following behind, asking questions. Her attitude was so humble that she was practically crawling on the ground, and she had no motherly demeanor at all.
"Xiao Zhi, is it alright if you meet him? Just meet him... If you don't like him, Mom won't force you."
The water in the sink was icy cold, but Lin Zhi was numb and couldn't feel it.
"Xiao Zhi..."
"Mom, stop talking, I'll go."
Lin's mother finally smiled and praised her daughter for being sensible. However, where she couldn't see, a tear rolled down her cheek and flowed into the pool, creating ripples.
It is helplessness, powerlessness, and even more so, a resentment towards one's own powerlessness.
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Author's Note:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 20:20:00 on May 6, 2022 and 22:14:55 on May 7, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Ah You 1;
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Ayou (50 bottles); Xinqing (10 bottles); Jingyiluohai (8 bottles); Yu (3 bottles); mxy42 (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 66
With the Spring Festival approaching, red lanterns have been hung on the streetlights, and children are setting off firecrackers in the alleys, the crackling sound always startling passersby.
Before the sun had even set, every household was already busy. Steam filled the kitchens, obscuring the view of people, and the television played background music as children played.
Lin Zhi carried two large bags of meat and vegetables and followed her mother through the alley. The hustle and bustle belonged to others; once inside the house, she shut out the excitement outside.
As deserted as ever.
Lin Zhi put the vegetables at the door, took off the red scarf her mother had knitted for her, washed her hands, and prepared to go to the kitchen to help.
Lin's mother stopped her and told her to go watch TV on the sofa. The only thing that still had a festive feel was the fruit on the coffee table, but Lin Zhi didn't like to eat these. She had rarely been able to eat them since she was a child. Her family was poor, and her father had never bought them. Even the White Rabbit milk candy that every child in the family had was a luxury for her.
But now, this place not only has White Rabbit milk candy but also Bulaolin sugar-filled pastries and other treats that we couldn't afford when we were kids. The colorful array of items is dazzling.
"No need, Mom, I've learned a few dishes."
Lin's mother was somewhat surprised: "When did you learn that?"
Lin Zhi smiled, her heart filled with sweetness as she thought of the child: "He learned it from an artist in the company."
"Oh my, which celebrity is it? Does Mom know them?"
Lin Zhi shook her head, took her phone out of her pocket, and typed Jiang Lai's name into the Baidu search box. The internet speed was a bit slow, and it took a while for the child's photo to appear on the screen.
"Look."
Not many people would get their daughters to learn to cook on their own initiative, let alone someone from the company. Lin's mother became interested, put down the dishes, and took the phone to look at them.
"You're so good-looking."
Lin's mother had never seen many good-looking people. In their hometown, Lin Zhi was considered the prettiest girl in the village at the time. As for Jiang Lai, she was fair-skinned and had beautiful features, but she didn't seem to smile much.
In their words back then...
"Does this child not like to smile? Why does he have such a deadpan face?"
Lin Zhi's smile vanished instantly. She took back her phone and went to Weibo to find a few photos of Jiang Lai smiling: "Look, that's not a deadpan face, that's called aloofness. Besides, when that photo was taken, we asked her not to smile. It was supposed to be a cool and edgy style. She actually smiles a lot."
Lin's mother smiled and nodded: "It looks much better this way. Hmm... why does it look so familiar?"
Lin Zhi put away her phone and went to the kitchen to sort the things she had bought: "Of course she looks familiar. She visited you when you were on night duty at the hospital and even bought you fruit."
Lin's mother suddenly recognized her: "Yes, yes, it's her! I knew she looked familiar. Where is this child from? Why don't you invite her over for dinner?"
Lin Zhi certainly wanted Jiang Lai to come to her home for dinner, but was this home really a place where people could come over for dinner?
Lin Zhi shook her head with a wry smile: "Forget it, Mom. She still needs to spend time with her family. How many times a year can someone in this line of work see their family?"
Lin's mother agreed with her and nodded, "That's right, that's right, it's not easy for anyone."
As the sun sets, leaving a long red shadow, the festive atmosphere is at its peak. It's a time of celebration, with fireworks that have been going off since before dark, now even more dazzling, like a hundred flowers vying for attention.
The villa is in the suburbs, so you can't see the dazzling display of fireworks blooming and vying for attention. You can only occasionally hear the crackling sounds. When you look out the window, you can see the fireworks blooming and disappearing in the distance.
"Jiang Lai!" Jiang Wanqiu called out to her, and she reluctantly left from the window, washed her hands, and went to the kitchen.
Min Xuehua tossed the rolling pin to her and began assigning tasks: "Jiang Lai is in charge of rolling out the dumpling wrappers, and Wanqiu and I are in charge of wrapping them."
Jiang Wanqiu and Jiang Lai exchanged a glance. The latter shrugged helplessly and mouthed, "I'm used to it on set."
Jiang Chuanmin waited for a long time but didn't hear his task, so he hurriedly asked, "Where's my task? What's wrong with you? You've forgotten about someone as big as me?"
Min Xuehua gave him a disdainful look and handed him the flour: "You should be more observant. Sprinkle flour on the flour and then put it in the pot."
Jiang Chuanmin sighed and said helplessly, "Fine, fine, I'm the most useless person here."
The Spring Festival Gala officially began with the host's speech. On the huge TV screen, dancers and singers cooperated perfectly, and the stage setup was surprising and touching. Every mechanism was carefully designed.
Jiang Lai took a bite of food, pointed at the person singing on TV, and said, "My God, she's actually on the Spring Festival Gala? No wonder she hasn't been chatting with me these past few days."
Jiang Chuanmin asked, "Who is it?"
Min Xuehua explained, "They're students from our school. They seem to have a pretty good relationship with Lai Lai. By the way, Lai Lai, when are you going to be on the Spring Festival Gala? It's fine if you don't do a skit or just sing. Didn't Wanqiu cultivate you back then?"
Jiang Wanqiu shrugged and focused on eating: "I've trained him, but he doesn't want to sing. He says he wants to focus on acting."
Jiang Lai regretted speaking up; she should have just focused on cooking like her aunt!
As the countdown to the Spring Festival Gala began, Jiang Lai stood up when the countdown reached one, smiled broadly, and offered her blessings to several elders. At the end, she didn't forget to ask for red envelopes.
Jiang Chuanmin laughed at her a few times, then took a red envelope from the drawer and threw it into Jiang Lai's arms: "Here you go!"
Jiang Lai accepted the red envelope but then turned her back on her, hurriedly running upstairs with the money.
Jiang Chuanmin was stunned. He watched Jiang Lai run upstairs and cursed her for being a snob.
Jiang Wanqiu and Min Xuehua didn't say anything, but they both knew perfectly well that this was a way of sending blessings to Lin Zhi at midnight!
After Jiang Lai entered the room and locked the door, she took out her phone and saw that a minute had passed. Just as she was feeling sad, her phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw that it was indeed Lin Zhi.
"Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year."
The two of them blurted it out almost without thinking.
Jiang Lai sat on the hanging chair by the window, the occasional bursts of fireworks reflecting on her face, adding color to the young girl's appearance.
"There seem to be very few fireworks over there. Does no one set them off?"
Indeed, Lin Zhi's place is noisier than Jiang Lai's, but the noise is only outside.
"Oh, my area is relatively remote, with fewer people living here, so there are naturally fewer fireworks."
"Oh~ How are you? Happy today?"
This question was practically a no-brainer; Lin Zhi could feel Jiang Lai's joy even through the phone screen, and she couldn't hide the smile on her face.
"Of course I'm happy! I received a red envelope!"
"A red envelope..." Lin Zhi hadn't seen a red envelope in years, or rather, a red envelope that someone had given her.
"show me."
Jiang Lai held up the red envelope next to her face. The envelope was very thin, and Lin Zhi couldn't see it clearly, but she guessed it didn't even contain five hundred yuan.
After all, she was older than Jiang Lai. Even if the "sugar baby" arrangement didn't count, she should still give Jiang Lai a red envelope, since Jiang Lai had already greeted her.
Jiang Lai showed it off briefly before ruthlessly tossing the red envelope onto the bed. She didn't throw it over, and ignored it when it fell to the ground, focusing instead on talking to her sister.
When will I be able to see you?
Lin Zhi calculated the dates and said, "Let's go see a movie together in the second year of junior high. Your movie is about to be released."
"Oh right!" Jiang Lai had been having too much fun these past few days and had completely forgotten that her movie was coming out, even though she had just posted the official announcement on Weibo.
"Then it's settled, don't stand me up!"
Lin Zhibai said, "When did I stand you up? You should go and be with your family. It's not good for us to talk for too long."
Upon hearing that she was about to hang up, Jiang Lai suddenly became hesitant.
Looking at her slightly flushed cheeks, Lin Zhi really wanted to strip her naked and roll into bed with her.
......