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“Jiang BeiBei, where are you?”
An early morning call came from Huang Yuanbao.
Jiang BeiBei replied, “I’m off today, not at the office.”
“Did you drive?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Come pick me up on Chang’an Road,” Huang Yuanbao said. “I took leave to go on a blind date today, but I got stood up. What a disaster...”
“Hmm, I might not be able to make it.”
“Are you going to the hospital to see your second brother?”
“...Huh? Yuanbao!” Jiang BeiBei was astonished. “How did you know?”
“Haha!” Huang Yuanbao teased. “My family has been fortune-telling for generations. I’m actually the reincarnation of the Yellow Immortal—you see my surname is Huang, right? With a quick calculation, I already knew what you were doing without even asking.”
“I’m serious!” Jiang BeiBei asked curiously. “How did you really know?”
Song Lang hadn’t mentioned to Jiang BeiBei that Huang Yuanbao had come to his shop to chat, so Jiang BeiBei was half-suspicious and almost believed Huang Yuanbao’s absurdity.
“I’ll also visit your second brother—come pick me up,” Huang Yuanbao said. “There’s a flower shop called Mirror Flower next to me. Come here to pick me up, and I’ll grab some flowers for your second brother.”
“...Yuanbao, you’re amazing!”
“My name is Huang! H-u-a-n-g!” Huang Yuanbao burst out laughing. “Hey! I just realized how fun it is to tease you. You believe everything I say, like a little kid. Hurry over—I’ll tell you everything when you get here. I’m preparing a special feature plan about your brothers.”
“For real?”
“Not a single lie,” Huang Yuanbao said. “Journalist Jiang, we don’t let good stories slip through our fingers. How could I miss such great material right in front of me?”
Huang Yuanbao’s words reminded Jiang BeiBei of Qin Yuan. She laughed, “Hahaha, this line makes me want to laugh.”
She wondered what expression Qin Yuan would have after his father told him.
She felt a bit sorry for him but couldn’t help but find it amusing.
“Ah, I shouldn’t... I’m terrible.” Jiang BeiBei giggled secretly.
Meanwhile, Qin Yuan was lying at home, lamenting loudly: “It’s unbearable... I’m going on strike!”
He lay sprawled across the bed, his long legs dangling off the edge. A robotic vacuum cleaner spun around his feet, while the cat he had brought back to charm Jiang BeiBei was now perched atop the vacuum, surveying the Qin family domain.
Qin Yuan’s mother sneezed in the kitchen and scolded him. “Get rid of that cat soon! You know I’m allergic, and you still brought it back! You’re just itching for trouble!”
Qin Yuan looked at the cat with drooping eyes, feeling as though its current haughty gaze was mocking his foolishness.
This was intolerable!
Qin Yuan dialed Chu Yao.
Chu Yao picked up quickly: “What is it?”
Perhaps it was Qin Yuan’s imagination, but Chu Yao’s tone seemed smug.
Qin Yuan sighed. “Yao Er, I heard...”
“What is it?”
“My dad saw you and BeiBei at Carrefour yesterday.”
“Mhm, so?”
“What do you think?” Qin Yuan struggled to ask.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Are you on the road?” Qin Yuan asked.
“Yes, heading to a neighboring city for training. Ask whatever you want—I’ll answer honestly now, but maybe not later.”
Qin Yuan thought silently: Why does that sound so strange? What does he mean by ‘honestly now, but maybe not later’? What’s he trying to imply?
He dared not dwell on it.
Finally, Qin Yuan blurted out: “When did this happen between you and BeiBei? Without anyone noticing?”
“...Just started,” Chu Yao replied, his tone dropping slightly, no longer as smug as before. “Or would you prefer to hear the details?”
“No, forget it... Let’s talk when you get back. We’ll have dinner together—bring BeiBei along. I’m hanging up.”
As the call ended, Qin Yuan thought he heard Chu Yao’s laughter.
“What’s there to be smug about?” Annoyed, Qin Yuan picked up the cat with one hand and headed downstairs.
Qin Yuan’s mother asked, “Are you getting rid of the cat?”
“No, leaving it downstairs. BeiBei can help take care of it for a few days.”
Qin Yuan’s mother smirked and asked, “Aren’t you going to work today, Debt Collector?”
Qin Yuan snapped back, “No!”
Halfway down, he turned back and pulled out a card. “Mom, you can spend freely from this card—but on one condition: never call me ‘Debt Collector’ again!”
Qin Yuan’s mother softened her tone and tapped his forehead with her fingertip. “What’s there to show off about, Debt Collector?”
________________________________________
Huang Yuanbao bought a large bouquet of carnations. As soon as she got into the car, Jiang BeiBei laughed. “Are you visiting my second brother or an old lady?”
“You wouldn’t understand—carnations are traditional for visiting the sick.”
“They’re usually for women,” Jiang BeiBei pointed out. “I know why you bought them.”
Jiang BeiBei pressed the gas pedal and drove off, laughing. “I saw the ‘Special Offer Today’ sign outside. Mr. Tightwad Huang.”
“If you weren’t running a household, you wouldn’t understand how expensive things are,” Huang Yuanbao said. “Also, doesn’t your second brother already have someone? If I gave something too elaborate, it wouldn’t look right. Sister, this is called tact.”
“Ahh, alright,” Jiang BeiBei agreed. “So, how did you really know about my second brother’s heroic injury?”
Huang Yuanbao stopped teasing and told her honestly: “On the day your second brother got injured, I was at Song Lang’s place—we were chatting. It was your fourth brother, right? I didn’t remember wrong. He’s easy to talk to, and he has a great spirit. After I left, I thought about it and decided we could record it. I’ve asked them to draft a preliminary plan. I figured we’d interview all your brothers. I’ve already thought of the shots: start with a wide shot of your residential building, then slowly zoom in, introducing each floor one by one. What do you call this? This is called, ‘The People Around Us.’ They live quietly in our midst, in unassuming little buildings, but if you zoom in on them, you’ll discover their extraordinary professional lives...”
Jiang BeiBei high-fived Huang Yuanbao. “Completely OK! Make it into a special feature, release a DVD—I’ll collect it!”
________________________________________
At the hospital ward, before Jiang BeiBei even entered the room, she sensed something was off.
Outside Tang Xizhou’s ward, several people were gathered, seemingly spectating. Their expressions were amused, their gazes filled with curiosity.
From inside the room came the sound of a woman shouting. Upon closer listening, Jiang BeiBei recognized it as Tang Xizhou’s mother.
When she heard her angrily demanding to know who someone was, Jiang BeiBei had a bad feeling. She quickly pushed through the onlookers at the door and entered the room. Huang Yuanbao stood at the entrance, holding the bouquet in confusion, unsure of what was happening.
Tang Xizhou lay in bed, turning his face away, not even opening his eyes. It was clear he had argued with his mother.
A nurse was present, trying to persuade Tang Xizhou’s mother that this was a hospital area and that visitors shouldn’t disturb other patients’ rest.
“Auntie Zhang,” Jiang BeiBei gently pulled Tang Xizhou’s mother, whose chest was heaving heavily, and asked, “What happened? Everything was fine earlier... Did you argue with my brother?”
Tang Xizhou’s mother’s hands were icy cold, and she clutched Jiang BeiBei’s hand so tightly that her knuckles turned blue.
Jiang BeiBei could feel the anger radiating from her. Tang Xizhou’s mother’s face was contorted, her hands trembling as she asked Jiang BeiBei, “BeiBei, who came to see him last night?”
Jiang BeiBei’s heart skipped a beat—she already had an inkling.
Her eyes flickered, and she replied vaguely, “Everyone came yesterday. What’s wrong? Did something get lost?”
“Well said!” Tang Xizhou’s mother suddenly raised her voice, seething with rage. “You’ve completely embarrassed me! All this fussing around isn’t shameful? Letting others laugh at us! Still hiding it? I see you’re still trying to deny it!”
Jiang BeiBei thought that if she didn’t hold Tang Xizhou’s mother back, her next move might be to take off her shoe and throw it at Tang Xizhou.
“What did I do?” Tang Xizhou suddenly interjected, his tone rebellious like a defiant teenager, his brows furrowed and his eyes cold. “Tell me, what’s so embarrassing? You come here early in the morning looking for trouble, huh? Go ahead, say it!”
“I’ll say it!” Tang Xizhou’s mother pointed her finger toward the young girl in bed number one, glaring at Tang Xizhou, her voice shaking. “Stop pretending! You think I don’t know about your disgraceful behavior? Kissing a man, huh!”
As soon as she said that, even her neck turned red. The young girl in bed number one, with a stern expression, suddenly snapped, “You talk about your family affairs—why drag others into it? If you have something to argue about, go outside! You’re disturbing everyone’s rest!”
She rolled her eyes, pulled the blanket over herself, and covered her head.
Jiang BeiBei glanced at her, her gaze chilling.
Huang Yuanbao was dumbfounded, frozen in shock. Coming to her senses, she quickly followed the nurse to disperse the onlookers and close the ward door.
The elderly woman in bed number two pretended to nap, feigning ignorance.
After Tang Xizhou’s mother finished speaking, before Jiang BeiBei could say anything, Tang Xizhou lazily retorted, “Yes, that’s right—it happened. So what? What’s your problem with it? Do you have any objections?”
“You bastard! You won’t get married! And you call yourself a police officer! What good are you if you can’t even honor your parents by getting married!” Tang Xizhou’s mother lunged forward, clawing at him. Seeing the situation escalate, Jiang BeiBei shouted, “Auntie, please don’t misunderstand!”
“Don’t misunderstand!” Jiang BeiBei took a deep breath, tears welling up in her eyes as she prepared what to say next. “Auntie, I don’t know where you heard this…”
She suppressed her rising anger and continued, “But my second brother… he didn’t refuse marriage because of anyone else…”
Sadness welled up inside her.
Her voice softened. “Auntie, I never imagined that Second Brother hadn’t told you… He had a first love, a classmate of his. Back then, we all knew how much he loved her—her name was Chen Lu. I even used to call her ‘Second Sister-in-Law’…”
Tang Xizhou froze, suddenly understanding something. He closed his eyes with a bitter smile.
“But Sister Chen Lu… she had leukemia…” Jiang BeiBei hesitated, her voice trembling. “Do you remember, Auntie? It was during my senior year of high school. Second Brother worked himself to the bone back then, not taking a single day off all year… Later, Sister Chen Lu passed away. My second brother said he no longer had the heart to marry anyone else. He promised Sister Chen Lu that he would only ever love her…”
Tang Xizhou licked his lips, feeling awkward. He wanted to laugh but tears unexpectedly streamed down his face.
How pitiful—he couldn’t even admit it.
Jiang BeiBei also cried. “Auntie… please don’t push Second Brother anymore. He told us once—he just wants to keep a promise, even if it means disappointing you and Uncle. All these years, he hasn’t dared to mention marriage again, not even agreeing to blind dates arranged by others. He just… can’t forget Sister Chen Lu.”
Her tears fell freely.
Jiang BeiBei gripped Tang Xizhou’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
Tang Xizhou didn’t react. He stared blankly out the window for a long time before letting out a sigh.
“Let’s… let this matter rest, Mom. I don’t want to explain anymore.”
________________________________________
After Tang Xizhou’s check-up results came back, aside from a mild concussion, there were no other issues. He completed the discharge procedures, and Jiang BeiBei drove him home.
Huang Yuanbao was also in the car, nervously biting her nails and staying silent.
After dropping Huang Yuanbao off, only Jiang BeiBei and Tang Xizhou remained in the car. Tang Xizhou finally asked, “Who is Chen Lu?”
“A classmate of mine.”
“…Did she die of leukemia?”
“No.” Jiang BeiBei said. “That classmate of mine just liked making up dramatic stories to tell us.”
Tang Xizhou muttered, “…And you actually cried. Impressive.”
“Didn’t you cry too, Second Brother?”
The car fell silent for a long time before Tang Xizhou spoke. “Thinking about not being able to admit it… it hurts. BeiBei, actually, my mom probably has some idea. She must have known, which is why she came here to lash out at me.”
“Who told her? Was it the girl in bed number one?”
“It must have been. Before my mom arrived this morning, she went outside to take a call… Probably went out to gossip with her friends.”
“Big Brother came last night?”
“Yes… Sigh.” Tang Xizhou said. “BeiBei, do you know how sometimes feelings can’t be hidden? Logically, I know I shouldn’t act this way, but I just want to show off. The more people around, the more I want to do something to make them guess… I just want to tell them, to let them see—I love him. Maybe there’s something wrong with me… Yao Lan knows too. It’s probably because I showed off too much. After all these years, sometimes I just… feel like hiding it, like no one knowing about it makes it meaningless.”
“Huh? Auntie Yao Lan knows?” Jiang BeiBei was stunned.
“Yes. Yao Er said that on Halloween, his mom saw me and Qingming together…” Tang Xizhou smiled faintly. “On Halloween, Qingming and I were in the alley outside San Yuan Bar…”
“…Second Brother, don’t be sad.”
“I’m not.” Tang Xizhou patted Jiang BeiBei’s head with one hand. “BeiBei, Second Brother envies you.”
“…I envy Second Brother too.”
“Do you envy me for being so pathetic?”
“No. I envy Second Brother… for realizing his feelings for Big Brother so early and being so clear about them. As for me…”
“Is it because you’re too familiar to fall in love?” Tang Xizhou suddenly smirked mischievously. “Heh, I knew your hurdle was with Yao Ge. How should I put it? In matters of love, you’re too confused, and he’s too restrained. That’s why the two of you…”
“The two of us what?” Jiang BeiBei tensed up.
“For others, confessing is like a starting gun, but for you two… it’s probably just the key to holding hands and giving a peck on the cheek, hahaha. Two immature kids. Sigh, who knows when you’ll reach third base.”
Jiang BeiBei grabbed the stuffed pig from the front seat and threw it at Tang Xizhou’s face.
“Second Brother! Don’t get cocky!!”
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