Chapter 107: Make Up for It |
Lan Yixian felt deeply guilty, so she wanted to do something to make up for it.
Liu Changqing glanced down at the hand holding his arm, then raised his head to look at her face.
He shook his head.
“Forget it. I’ll handle it.”
“Let me do it…”
“No need. You can rest on the sofa for a while. If you’re bored, the remote is on the coffee table; you can watch some TV.”
With that, Liu Changqing gently moved her hand away, walked a few steps, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV.
A rerun of a historical drama was playing on the screen.
After lowering the volume, Liu Changqing handed the remote to a dazed Lan Yixian.
He didn’t give her a chance to respond before turning and heading into the kitchen.
Lan Yixian held the remote in her hand, unsure of what to do.
This wasn’t her house, and with her daughter already helping clean the room, she felt even more awkward standing there alone.
Her gaze shifted to the TV screen, where the drama continued playing.
Her mind wandered.
It had been a long time since she’d watched TV. Their cramped rental apartment didn’t have one, and she had never been particularly interested in such things, always too busy to enjoy any leisure activities.
The sound of water running in the kitchen caught her attention.
Is he washing vegetables?
She thought for a moment, then turned off the TV, gently placed the remote on the coffee table, and, after some hesitation, headed toward the kitchen.
Liu Changqing was scrubbing vegetables when he sensed someone standing behind him. He turned his head and saw Lan Yixian.
He looked puzzled.
“Not watching TV?”
“Mm…”
Lan Yixian nodded, stepping forward until she was next to him in the kitchen.
She reached out her hands.
“Let me help…”
“No need. Just rest in the other room.”
“Let me do something. Otherwise, I’ll feel really bad…”
“…”
Hearing this, Liu Changqing stopped what he was doing and looked at her face.
The events of the day had clearly taken a toll on this woman in her thirties. The bandage on her brow and her pale complexion gave her a frail, vulnerable appearance.
After a moment of thought, Liu Changqing put down the vegetables in his hands.
“Alright, you can wash these then.”
“Got it!”
A smile broke out on Lan Yixian’s face as she quickly stepped in to take over.
Liu Changqing shook the water off his hands and stepped back, watching as she earnestly scrubbed the vegetables.
She’s so eager, it’s kind of silly…
With a helpless smile, Liu Changqing wondered how long this arrangement would last.
Liu Zhiyue had replaced all the bedding in his room and cleared the clutter on the desk.
Meanwhile, Zhou Shiyan had fetched a dirty rag from the bathroom and was crouching down, scrubbing one corner of the desk.
The two worked in silence.
While wiping a stain beneath the desk, Zhou Shiyan accidentally bumped into Liu Zhiyue’s leg. For the first time since entering the room, their eyes met.
After a brief pause, Zhou Shiyan spoke softly, “Could you move over a bit? I’m cleaning the desk.”
“Zhou Shiyan, what exactly are you trying to do?”
Unable to hold it in anymore, Liu Zhiyue spoke first.
He set aside the items he was sorting and looked at the crouching Zhou Shiyan.
He didn’t understand.
“…”
Zhou Shiyan didn’t answer. She continued scrubbing as if she hadn’t heard him.
“Zhou Shiyan!”
His sharp tone made her stop. She slowly stood up, raised her head, and looked at Liu Zhiyue.
Her eyes were steady, without a hint of fear. She parted her lips slightly.
“We’re just staying for a while.”
“Why?”
“For reasons I can’t explain right now. It’s not convenient to talk about.”
With that, Zhou Shiyan walked out of the room, rinsed the rag in the bathroom, and returned to continue cleaning.
The room fell silent once more.
Liu Zhiyue, watching her work diligently, had a conflicted expression.
As she cleaned, Zhou Shiyan said, “We won’t trouble you for too long.”
Her words caught Liu Zhiyue off guard.
He hurriedly replied, “That’s not what I meant. I just want to know why…”
“I’ll tell you later.”
Cutting him off, Zhou Shiyan’s tone was calm as she focused on the stubborn stain on the desk leg.
It wouldn’t take long…
Cleaning the room didn’t take much time.
By the time Liu Zhiyue moved all his belongings to his father’s room, lunch wasn’t ready yet.
Liu Changqing’s room, the master bedroom, had old furniture but was fully equipped.
Liu Zhiyue pulled out some long-stored bedding and pillows from the wardrobe and carried them back to his old room. After setting them on the bed, he stepped out.
From Lan Yixian’s bandaged forehead, Liu Zhiyue had a vague idea of what might have happened, though he wasn’t sure.
His mind wandered to the time Zhou Shiyan had asked him strange questions, as well as the day she’d come to his house with an excuse to invite his father for dinner. His father had brushed off his questions with vague answers.
Stopping in his tracks, Liu Zhiyue turned his head slightly, looking toward the kitchen.
His gaze landed on the two figures inside, and a thought crossed his mind…
Could Zhou Shiyan be…
“Zhiyue!”
“Yes!”
The shout from the kitchen interrupted his thoughts.
He quickly responded and hurried over.
“What is it?”
“Clear off the dining table outside, then go downstairs and buy three yuan’s worth of steamed buns. I didn’t have time to cook rice today.”
“Okay.”
Answering promptly, Liu Zhiyue left the kitchen to clean the table.
Back in the kitchen, it was just Liu Changqing and Lan Yixian.
Lan Yixian stared at the pot he’d just covered with a lid.
Standing at the cutting board, Liu Changqing deftly chopped ingredients, saying, “The sauce is almost done. I didn’t use much chili since you don’t handle spicy food well.”
Snapping out of her daze, Lan Yixian quickly waved her hands.
“No need to worry about me. If you like spicy food, don’t hold back on my account…”
“I wasn’t holding back for you. My daughter doesn’t eat spicy food, and if it’s too spicy, she won’t eat at all. My son can only handle a little bit. Out of the three of us, I’m the only one who likes spicy food.”
Setting the knife down, Liu Changqing turned to Lan Yixian.
“Does your daughter have any food preferences?”
“She’s okay, though there are some things she doesn’t eat.”
“Let me guess—she doesn’t like winter melon or carrots?”
Liu Changqing tilted his head, pretending to think before speaking.
To his surprise, Lan Yixian’s face showed clear astonishment.
“How did you know that?”
“Uh… she really doesn’t like those?”
“Yeah, ever since she was little, she’s hated carrots, winter melon, and milk!”
Hearing this, an image of the petite Zhou Shiyan flashed in Liu Changqing’s mind.
He chuckled to himself.
“Got it. Now I understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Nothing. Just a suggestion—get her to eat more of those now while she can still benefit from it.”
Lan Yixian couldn’t make sense of what he meant. She thought about it for a long time but couldn’t figure out what eating carrots, winter melon, and drinking milk had to do with “making up for it.”