PSE - 52

Since it was the weekend, the Cultural Bureau had begun a three-day holiday the day before. On Saturday, Jinzi accompanied Xiao Yu to the hospital for a check-up, and on New Year’s morning, he drove over 200 kilometers to a friend’s ranch to buy New Year’s goods.

With the start of the new year, Suicheng’s transportation services were fully restored. Wu Fangtian had also taken leave to travel home by train to reunite with family.

At Ha Yue’s house, Aunt Siqin stayed behind to keep Zhao Chunni company, while Chunni’s convenience store was left in the hands of only one person that morning—Cao Xiaoyu.

Because she hadn’t experienced any early pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness or loss of appetite after being discharged from the hospital, and despite only being 18 weeks pregnant, Cao Xiaoyu’s weight had been increasing rapidly. Her belly had grown significantly, making it impossible to hide her pregnancy even under loose winter clothing.

During yesterday’s medical check-up, the baby’s Down syndrome screening results came back normal. However, due to Xiaoyu’s excessive weight gain and high blood pressure, the doctor gave her a stern lecture. If she couldn’t control her weight before the next prenatal check-up, the doctor would consider having her hospitalized again for fetal protection and referred her to the nutrition department for dietary guidance.

Therefore, as soon as they got home that day, Jinzi immediately followed the doctor’s advice and, together with his mother, strictly controlled Xiaoyu’s diet.

In order to manage her weight and stabilize her blood pressure, snacks were no longer allowed, nor were greasy, salty barbecues, spicy hot pot, or麻辣烫 (spicy hot noodles). So today, Xiaoyu’s breakfast consisted of boiled vegetables and cooked beef.

Breakfast was tasteless, and after opening the shop for business, Xiaoyu sat behind the counter staring longingly at the snack area, swallowing saliva.

It wasn’t even lunchtime yet, but her mouth felt so bland, and her teeth itched. She wanted to eat everything in sight, almost wishing she could gnaw on her own arm. Every few minutes, she’d go over and rummage through the lunch box her mother-in-law had packed for her, checking what food was inside.

Two sweet potatoes, three boiled eggs, and half a box of celery stir-fried with chicken — by the time she finally figured out what was in the bag, all the food had already made its way into her stomach.

At 11:30, Xiaoyu let out a burp while looking toward the windproof door curtain. Her stomach was too full, and the electric heater in the steel-paneled room was burning too hot, making her drowsy. As customers kept coming in to buy things, she worried about accidentally miscalculating their bills while feeling groggy. So, she stood up near the doorway, “exercising” by bumping her back against the doorframe while scrolling through short videos on her phone.

That’s why when she saw the name Xue Jing, she didn’t immediately realize that the “jerk” everyone was talking about online was actually her neighbor and benefactor, Teacher Xue.

But who would have thought there would be so much news about Xue Jing? After finishing one video, just a few clips later, Xue Jing’s face appeared on her screen again. She quickly opened the comment section to see what everyone was talking about.

The short video didn’t provide enough context, so under the guidance of another enthusiastic netizen, she hurriedly downloaded a Weibo app, registering just to get the full story behind the gossip.

To her surprise, the drama turned out to involve her own circle. Seeing the sarcastic comments and heated arguments about Xue Jing and his supposed “girlfriend,” Xiaoyu panicked and immediately sent the full Weibo post to Ha Yue.

However, Xiaoyu wasn’t deliberately trying to cause trouble. As soon as she hit send, she regretted it, realizing she might have meddled unnecessarily.

Her parents often said that pregnancy makes you stupid for three years. At first, she resented the saying, but recently, due to her pregnancy fatigue, her brain — which wasn’t particularly sharp to begin with — seemed to function even more slowly.

“It’s better to destroy a temple than to break up a marriage.”

In her eyes, Ha Yue and Xue Jing were a match made in heaven. She didn’t want to ruin their impending relationship because of her foolishness or believing online rumors. That’s why she quickly retracted her message and added an awkward excuse at the end.

Fortunately, Ha Yue, whom she admired greatly, handled the situation much more calmly. She didn’t seem angry at all and quickly replied, “It’s okay, I know.”

The two chatted happily about children and the convenience store, and Xiaoyu finally returned to the counter, holding her waist as she sat down again.

She had just taken a sip of water when Jinzi returned. He cheerfully lifted the door curtain and told Xiaoyu that he had picked out two whole sheep in the pastoral area this time, spending quite a bit of money. One sheep was sent to her parents’ house, and the other was brought home for processing. The head, tail, offal, and trimmings would stay with them, while both hind legs and the ribs would be sent to Ha Yue’s house.

This was also a gesture to repay Ha Yue for not charging them interest on the transfer fee for the shop.

As soon as the couple sat down, Xiaoyu rushed to the shelves, picked out a bottle of orange juice and several small bags of puffed snacks, and placed them in front of Jinzi with a forced smile. “These are close to their expiration dates. You’ve worked hard all morning; have a little snack.”

Jinzi didn’t hesitate and immediately tore open the packaging, shoving the snacks into his mouth. Xiaoyu watched him eat with sparkling eyes, casually telling him about the gossip she had read online regarding Xue Jing.

Xiaoyu was halfway through her story when Jinzi started to lose patience. He threw away the snack wrapper, unscrewed the drink cap, and said nonchalantly, “Can anything on the internet be trusted? Look at those netizens, bored out of their minds, caring more about others’ affairs than their own parents’. How can you believe what they say? Don’t you know what kind of person my brother is?”

“Anyway, I heard from the director at the Cultural Bureau that they’ve already started drafting a list of book donations. Most of them are children’s books, and there are quite a few about women’s education. I don’t know the specifics, but you should go take a look when the time comes.”

“Don’t spend your days in the shop just watching short videos. Many leaders at the bureau say that prenatal education is very important. Why don’t you buy a few books and sit here reading?”

Jinzi’s impatience made Xiaoyu reluctant to continue. She muttered under her breath, “I’m not a college student. What do I need to read books for? You know how I always fell asleep whenever I studied in school.” As she spoke, her attention was still on the snack packages. She flipped one over, found it empty, and her face immediately fell. Checking a few more, she realized her husband had devoured everything. She then stared at the bottle of orange juice in his hand and continued recounting how she had messaged Ha Yue, though fortunately, Ha Yue said it was fine.

This time, Jinzi was so angry that he threw the orange juice bottle directly into the trash and pointed at his wife’s face, saying, “Oh, you! You’re really something else. Do you think Sister Ha Yue would get mad at a pregnant woman like you? How do you know she truly doesn’t care?”

“She’s not someone who takes things lightly either. I need to call my brother and ask if they’ve already started fighting at the airport.”

“What if they break up because of you? Would we even have the face to keep running this shop? Didn’t Sister Ha Yue bring you gifts from abroad?”

Jinzi frowned and pulled out his phone, preparing to call Xue Jing, when suddenly Xiaoyu let out a loud yelp.

Tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes, quickly pooling at her double chin. Rain poured down her face as her voice thundered like lightning: “That’s it! I’m done with you!”

“Whoever wants to be with you, let them! I’m done!”

Jinzi thought he hadn’t said anything harsh, so why was she saying they were done? He hastily reached out to wipe her tears and asked, “Why are you crying now? I didn’t say anything to you. Wasn’t sending that message wrong? Are you trying to stir up trouble?”

“If you can’t read books, fine, but you have to do prenatal education. Didn’t you say before that both of us suffered from not studying, and no matter what, we must let our child go to college?”

“It’s not about that!” Xiaoyu wailed as she sat back on the stool, angrily shouting, “Jin Zhenliang! You eat all by yourself and don’t leave me a bite! Barbecue and stuff we can’t eat much of, but can’t I even taste one shrimp strip? And the orange juice! There was still half a bottle left, how could you throw it in the trash? Couldn’t you give me a sip?”

“And the food Mom made for me has no flavor at all; it doesn’t satisfy me.”

“Last night before I went to bed, I said I wanted to eat cherries today, but you didn’t listen and turned your back, saying those things have too much sugar, and wouldn’t buy them for me! But I want to eat them! Am I eating them for myself? The baby wants to eat them too.”

Xiaoyu cried loudly, and Jinzi was afraid she would disturb the fetus. He couldn’t scold or comfort her, and in his silence, he hurriedly hugged her shoulders to calm her down.

In the shop, the young couple was having an emotional quarrel over Xue Jing and cherries. Meanwhile, forty kilometers away from the airport in a large cold chain logistics center in the neighboring city, Ha Yue and Xue Jing were selecting boxed fruits in the imported fruit and vegetable area.

Half an hour ago, Xue Jing also received Zhou Shuang’s message in the underground parking lot.

But unlike Zhou Shuang’s concern about marketing black spots, since the book numbers had already been approved and the publishing contract signed long ago, Xue Jing’s entire focus was on how to preemptively prepare Ha Yue.

He remained clear-headed and completely indifferent to online rumors about him fraudulently donating, smearing his private life, or making money through advertisements and selling courses. He felt no grievance because these were facts and beyond reproach. If people thought he disgraced the integrity of literati, they should curse him to vent their anger.

However, Xue Jing was genuinely afraid that Ha Yue would see that video interview where he “defamed” his ex-girlfriend.

And heaven and earth bore witness that those sarcastic remarks were not just said once. When he bought a Bentley with the royalties from “Afternoon Rooftop” and thought of Ha Yue, he said it once. At the Jixi University alumni meeting when he didn’t see Ha Yue, he said it again. During his visit to Yale, when he had a high fever and found that Ha Yue hadn’t removed him from her blacklist, he mentioned it again.

In short, after the breakup, his mental state was poor. Knowing that thinking of Ha Yue would make him suffer, he deliberately allowed himself to dwell on those thoughts. Every time he thought of Ha Yue, he almost compulsively repeated this anecdote as a joke.

The grave-digging party was quite polite, only capturing his “complaint” debut. He should thank their ancestors eight generations back.

He should also thank fate that after the breakup, Ha Yue never paid attention to his works or mingled in literary circles, otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a chance to reconcile with her. After reuniting, forget about riding in a three-wheeled electric cart used to transport pigs, he didn’t deserve to eat with her or accept her apology. She might kick him into a ditch.

Any person would dislike being labeled “materialistic” and “snobbish” by their ex in public. Besides, those were misunderstandings. Ha Yue had her own difficulties; she wasn’t any better off during the breakup. If roles were reversed and he heard that Ha Yue was bad-mouthing him everywhere after their breakup, he would be angry too.

Being angry is reasonable, but breaking up over this would be exaggerated, considering they were no longer in a simple romantic relationship. Psychologically speaking, relationships progress through stages: the first is physical, the second is daily trivialities, and finally, sharing each other’s hidden spiritual traumas.

Their current relationship far surpassed these three stages; their soul compatibility had already broken through the atmosphere.

So, Ha Yue probably wouldn’t break up with him over such a minor issue of him lacking grace and having a loose tongue, right?

Even though he kept thinking this way and gave himself a long psychological pep talk, Xue Jing became increasingly unsure, his heart pounding. He didn’t speak during the drive, nor while finding a parking spot at the cold chain center, and remained silent as he followed Ha Yue to look at fruits.

His mind was preoccupied with drafting the right words, leaving him unable to manage his expressions. His demeanor grew cold, making him look like a thousand-year-old vampire freshly emerged from an ancient castle.

Ha Yue’s sharp eyes naturally noticed Xue Jing’s pale face and gloomy expression. She assumed he was angry due to the unbearable criticism from netizens. Thinking about the painful experience of a great writer falling from grace, she let him be quiet, wanting to give him some time to process his emotions.

Thus, the two appeared together yet distant, squeezed among the crowds purchasing New Year goods, busily moving several boxes of fruits, seafood, and dried goods back to the car using borrowed hand carts. Only then did Ha Yue catch her breath, glance at her watch, and suggest they eat a bowl of noodles at a nearby small eatery before continuing their journey.