GV – Chapter 57

The house they were in now was not Ye Chu’s property. It was a home Si Zhen’s parents had bought for her in A-City with their life savings when she got married. People from Sichuan province doted on their daughters, and the girl they had raised by their side was now being taken so far away by a man she had only met a few times, without a single look back. Si Zhen’s elderly parents had scolded her and reasoned with her until they were blue in the face, but Si Zhen was too busy packing her bags, dismissing her parents’ admonitions.

She was about to rush toward the love she had fought so hard for. This was the happiest moment in Si Zhen’s memory.

Later, after Si Zhen gave birth, Father Si went to see her, bringing his savings book with him.

After spending over half a month in A-City buying the house, Father Si sat beside his daughter and handed her a brand-new property deed.

He had already spent most of his life navigating the mortal world. He never expected that in his old age, his most obedient and sensible eldest daughter would abandon her family for a man. He had been here for so long, yet that man had not shown his face even once. She had even named the child herself.

This was the man his child had chosen?

If it weren’t for the fact that there was a baby and a new mother in the house, Father Si would have long since ignored his doctor’s advice and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day just to quell the rage in his heart.

“You take this deed. It’s in your child’s name. Consider it a small gift from me, her maternal grandfather.”

Si Zhen tried to refuse. She was already embarrassed enough in front of her father and didn’t want to be even more so. “There’s no need. It’s not like we don’t have a place to live. Ah Chu has many houses.”

At her words, Father Si’s eyebrows twitched, and he sneered, “Still calling him ‘Ah Chu.’ He didn’t even show up when you gave birth. What could possibly make him that busy?”

Si Zhen’s face was pale. She hugged the child in her arms tightly and forced a smile. “He’ll definitely come back. This is his first child. No matter what, he wouldn’t miss seeing her.”

The daughter he had raised in the palm of his hand was now relying on a child to hold onto a man’s heart. Father Si was furious, but he had no outlet for his anger. He paced back and forth in the hospital room like a caged beast.

That day, the father and daughter parted on bad terms. The next time they saw each other would be a final farewell between the living and the dead.

And that house—Ye Yuhuan and her mother moved into it when she was eleven.

It was because Ye Chu had carelessly brought a woman home. Si Zhen had a huge fight with him and then left.

Ye Chu never came looking for her. Even though Si Zhen sent him her address the next day, he didn’t even reply to her message.

Ye Yuhuan only knew bits and pieces of these events, fragments of truth she had caught during their arguments.

If Song Zhiqing wanted to know about this, she had nothing to hide.

The drunk Ye Yuhuan was very well-behaved, her hands placed on her knees like a primary school student on a field trip, answering every question asked.

Song Zhiqing kept her promise and didn’t ask Ye Yuhuan about her current feelings for her. She could already feel it—that heavy door had finally been pried open a crack, and now she could breathe in the joys, sorrows, and angers that Ye Yuhuan kept hidden deep in her heart.

She also didn’t want to touch too much on Ye Yuhuan’s past. After briefly asking about Ye Yuhuan’s relationship with her mother and the cause of her mother’s death, Song Zhiqing decided there were other, more important things to do—things that required the use of a liquor-filled chocolate.

Song Zhiqing reached out and kneaded Ye Yuhuan’s face, dispelling the stiff, good-girl posture. “Huanhuan, is there anything you’ve always wanted to do?”

Ye Yuhuan furrowed her brows, looking very confused. Perhaps because she had gotten drunk this time with some preparation and trepidation, a single string of tension remained, leaving behind a sliver of rationality. Her crescent-moon brows were knitted with a force amplified by this lingering reason, as if trying to pluck a cloud from the sky.

“You know, things you regret, things that make you unhappy or dissatisfied. Tell me, okay? I can do them all with you.”

I will pull you out of that past, Song Zhiqing told herself silently.

“There’s nothing. Everything I wanted to do, I’ve already done.” This sentence was so calm it made Song Zhiqing suspect the liquor-filled chocolate was a counterfeit product.

Then, Ye Yuhuan opened her palm and began to count on her fingers. “I’ve made Auntie live more happily than before.”

“I’m doing my best to make Song Zhiqing’s life complete.”

“I’ve avenged my mother against my father.”

“I haven’t become a person like my parents.”

After finishing, she nodded emphatically, affirming herself. “So far, I’ve done a great job.”

“But are you happy?”

In all these things, Ye Yuhuan hadn’t gained anything for herself. It was as if she had exhausted all her energy just to avoid losing too much, or to recover a tiny bit of her losses after they were gone.

“Is being happy… that important?” Ye Yuhuan asked in return.

“As long as I’m not in pain, that’s enough.”

Oh, so that’s how it is.

But that won’t do.

Song Zhiqing touched her cheeks, which were flushed from the alcohol, and encouraged her gently, “But I want to make you happy.”

Ye Yuhuan seemed lost in thought, then whispered, as if sharing a shameful little secret, “I’ll tell you something. When Song Zhiqing is by my side, I’m happier than when she’s not.”

“Wow!” Song Zhiqing also whispered, as if imparting some crucial secret technique. “Just being by your side is enough? Let me tell you, you can ask for more, even more. It’s okay. Song Zhiqing is super generous.”

Not only can I stay by your side, but I can also do so many happy things with you. Whether it’s seeing snow in July or buying roses in the middle of the night, I can do it all with you. To be honest, that’s just how much I like you.

It seems that ever since the day I realized I liked you, I’ve liked you more and more each day, even if you’ve done nothing at all.

Ye Yuhuan’s eyes widened with a “wow,” and she said excitedly, “Then, can I ask her to do pottery with me?”

“Of course. Anything else?”

Ye Yuhuan shook her head, troubled. “I can’t think of anything else for now. I’m sleepy. Can I go to sleep first?”

Song Zhiqing glanced at the time. Huh? It had only been ten minutes. Last time Ye Yuhuan was drunk, she was a handful for almost half an hour.

Tsk, looks like this brand of chocolate is no good. Next time, I’ll ask Shen Wei to get a few bottles of that rice wine from her family’s shop.

Song Zhiqing regretfully ended today’s heart-to-heart session early. She wasn’t completely satisfied, but at least she’d gotten one thing out of her.

Pottery, huh? Hmph, Ye Yuhuan, I’ll show you what a 21st-century Rodin looks like.

Eh? Wasn’t Rodin a sculptor? Oh well, whatever, they’re close enough. It’s all just clay.

When I return from my studies, I will definitely give you the perfect experience.

At that moment, Ye Yuhuan, who was already lying in bed with her eyes closed, felt a strange blush spread over her body, like a pink flamingo.

Luckily, she’d had the foresight to cover herself with the blanket.

This liquor… was stronger than last time.

Ye Yuhuan had swallowed the liquor-filled chocolate, but she had only swallowed it, not bitten into it. However, she knew that with her constitution, once that chocolate broke open in her stomach and the liquor flowed out, she would pour out her heart like a waterfall.

There was nothing about herself that she couldn’t say. Even if Song Zhiqing found out about those unseemly thoughts, it would be fine. She could explain them properly and work hard to digest those feelings.

But there was one thing, and one thing only, that she could not say: the truth of this world.

She was so close to succeeding. She couldn’t afford any setbacks now. Even if it meant acting cute in a shamelessly embarrassing way, it didn’t matter. As long as she didn’t say it, no one would ever know that the tough-as-nails Ye Yuhuan would do such a thing.

Once this matter was over, next time, next time she would bite it open before swallowing.

But… Song Zhiqing lied.

She didn’t hug me.

Ye Yuhuan suddenly felt so wronged she wanted to cry.

But the tiny bit of remaining rationality told her she was probably entering the drunken state. She bit her lip, driving away the pitiful expression that was about to appear on her face, and with great effort, took a sleeping pill from under her pillow and swallowed it.

But, Song Zhiqing didn’t hug me.

She lied to me. I didn’t even lie to her. I was telling the truth.

“Wuuu—”

Song Zhiqing, who was tidying up the clothes Ye Yuhuan had taken off, was so startled by this childish whimper that it nearly sent her soul flying. She turned around and tenderly touched Ye Yuhuan’s forehead. “What’s wrong?”

“Want a hug.”

Before sleep could overcome her, Ye Yuhuan bravely stated her demand.

And Song Zhiqing, as if struck by ten Cupids at once, grinned like a fool. “Okay, hugs!”

She quickly took off her coat, slipped into the quilt, and hugged an adorable soul drifting off to sleep.

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At that moment, in the Song family home, Song Chen, who was reading a book by the fireplace, turned a page, then turned it back.

He glanced at his perfectly composed wife out of the corner of his eye.

Turned the page again.

Turned it back again.

“I say, it’s almost dark. Why isn’t our girl back yet?”

Gao Yiren was very calm. “Isn’t it not dark yet?”

Song Chen tensed his jaw, trying his best to put on the air of an open-minded father. “It’s not that I’m against our girl dating, but, you see, for these young people to be alone together for so long… isn’t it a bit inappropriate? A date should be about over by now, right?”

Gao Yiren lifted her eyelids and snorted softly. “Right now, it’s probably not that little Ye won’t let her go, but that our Qingqing is clinging to her and refusing to leave.”

Don’t think I can’t see it. The moment she sees little Ye, she’s like she’s been fully revived on the spot. A daughter really can’t be kept at home once she’s grown.

Gao Yiren had been busy filming back then, so the little Song Zhiqing was practically raised single-handedly by Song Chen. He had a special kind of partiality for his daughter. “Ahem, even so, little Ye could still persuade her a bit, right?”

Gao Yiren couldn’t be bothered with him. She directly exposed his little scheme and handed him her phone. “Why don’t you call and rush them?”

Song Chen waved his hands awkwardly, smiled, and obediently picked up his book again to study how a successful man should manage his family.

It’s not like he didn’t have eyes, okay? He was only hinting for Gao Yiren to rush them because he knew Song Zhiqing listened to her more. Why did she have to kick the ball back to him!

Dejectedly, Song Chen turned to a new page. This time, he finally saw the content clearly.

“The first principle for a good man to make his wife and children happy is to learn to give them their own space.”

Song Chen: “…”

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Song Zhiqing had opened the door midway to get a Meituan delivery that Ye Yuhuan had ordered. Looking at the person still sleeping soundly in bed, Song Zhiqing lifted the groceries in her hand and decided to mercifully show off her skills—though it seemed she didn’t really have any.

But it’s just a simple bowl of tomato and beef brisket noodles. I can definitely do it.

Song Zhiqing gave herself a pep talk. The internet is so advanced these days; learning anything is a piece of cake.

Full of confidence, Miss Song opened her phone and started searching for how to make a perfect bowl of tomato and beef brisket noodles.

First, wash the vegetables.

Ha, extremely simple.

Then, cut the beef brisket into chunks, and score the skin of the tomatoes before steaming them in a pot.

Hmm, still… still not too difficult.

Song Zhiqing silently hid her hands, which she had washed three times.

Next, blanch the beef brisket, and peel and puree the tomatoes into a sauce.

Song Zhiqing exited the webpage and started searching for what “blanch” meant.

Having completed her studies, Miss Song once again started with full confidence. After putting a pile of unevenly sized beef brisket chunks into the pot, Song Zhiqing ended up with some small, rock-like things.

Song Zhiqing poked them with her chopsticks, her lips pressed together tightly, her cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish.

It’s fine. Ye Yuhuan bought a lot of beef brisket.

By the time Ye Yuhuan woke up, the house was filled with steam. Her first thought wasn’t that the great Miss Song had deigned to cook, but rather that Song Zhiqing might have set up a stage in her house or something.

But as soon as she stepped out of her room, she heard Song Zhiqing’s low roar: “Why, why are these noodles bitter!”

“No, I’m going to report that blogger. She’s basically teaching people how to make poison.”

Ye Yuhuan followed the voice and saw a frantic Song Zhiqing facing a bowl of red potion. She wasn’t wearing an apron, so her beautiful, cream-colored long dress was splattered with a few unsightly drops of tomato sauce. Her once perfectly curled bangs were now a mess from the steam.

Looking at the trash can, it was already filled with several half-finished failures.

Ye Yuhuan stood at the kitchen doorway, as tense as a flowering vine.

After her fit of madness, Song Zhiqing decided to switch to a different tutorial. Just as she was carrying the hateful evidence of her culinary disaster to go destroy it, she came face to face with Ye Yuhuan’s inscrutable expression.

“You-you’re awake.” Song Zhiqing quickly hid the bowl of noodles behind her back.

Wuwuwu, this is so embarrassing.

How can I not even make a simple bowl of noodles?

Ye Yuhuan walked over and took the bowl from Song Zhiqing’s hands.

She sat at the dining table and ate it all, very seriously.

The entire time, Song Zhiqing was terrified that Ye Yuhuan would be poisoned and pass out.

Indeed, this was a bowl of noodles comparable to Chinese medicine, Ye Yuhuan honestly critiqued in her mind.

But, she smiled so beautifully that it made one wonder if this ugly-looking bowl of noodles had some special merit.

“This is the most delicious bowl of noodles I’ve ever eaten.”

Ye Yuhuan stated it with the certainty of someone presenting a Nobel Prize.

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