Zhang Huifang waited at home for a long time tonight but didn't see Zhang Man come back. When she called Zhang Man's phone, no one answered, so she was about to go out to look for her and found Zhang Man standing at the staircase with a boy. The boy, who was more than a head taller than her, had his hands on her daughter's shoulders and wondered what he wanted to do.
Zhang Huifang's heart burst into flames, stomping on her high heels, she walked over and raised her voice to stop him at this juncture.
"Is that you Zhang Man? Did my dead daughter finally come back? It's so late and you didn't even call me!? Eh? Is he...your classmate?"
She believes she pulled out a pretty creepy vibe.
The good thing is that the boy has some sense of propriety and immediately let go of Zhang Man when he heard her voice and stood to the side in a disciplined manner.
Zhang Huifang came closer, and by the light in the hallway took a good look at the boy standing next to her daughter.
After taking a good look, her mindset changed completely.
*Sigh, isn't this the handsome guy that I met last time when Zhang Man was sick? Zhang Huifang's eyes flashed in an instant, and the face that had just been deliberately tightened up was softened a lot. She patted Zhang Man's shoulder and smiled with her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Zhang Man, it's your classmate, right? Little student, come sit upstairs, OK?"
She called out familiarly, trying to look as kind as possible.
Zhang Man looked at her mother's before and after changes. Skimming, she raised her eyes to look at the youth next to her.
Li Wei's aura of being unapproachable in front of Zhang Huifang actually closed up; he greeted her in a disciplined manner and greeted: "hello auntie".
What a good looking and polite boy, how rare~
Zhang Huifang's expression was instantly more amiable, patting him straight on the arm and warmly inviting him upstairs for tea.
Zhang Man stood aside, looking at Zhang Huifang like an odd but enthusiastic aunt. She knew Zhang Huifang would bump into Li Wei one day, if he sent her home every day.
If she sees him she'll probably cause a lot of trouble, is what she always thought.
There was awkwardness in the air.
She hastily waved goodbye to the youth, while pulling Zhang Huifang upstairs again.
Zhang Huifang flattened her lips, and when she reached the stairs she was still looking back frequently.
When they got upstairs, the excitement in Zhang Huifang's eyes could no longer be hidden: "Zhang Man, you are so good! Such a handsome boy! It seems that you're more capable than your mother was when she was young!"
Zhang Man walked behind her, and almost stepped on the wrong step when she heard her mother's words. Is this really the attitude a normal parent should have?
She reminded in a somewhat speechless manner, "Mom, I haven't won him over yet... and...it is still early for me to fall in love..."
Unexpectedly, Zhang Huifang cut her words. "What's wrong with falling in love early? When you meet the right one, you should seize the opportunity, otherwise the older you are, the harder it is to pick. Those with good conditions are already taken, and you won't be able to get married until you're in your thirties."
Zhang Man was poked by her. In her previous life, wasn't she over thirty years old and still not married?
Zhang Huifang added with a smug smile, "With mom's vision, you're close to getting him. The way that little boy is looking at you, he's definitely in love. HAHAHA! VERY GOOD! You didn't waste the beauty genes that you inherited from your mother!"
Zhang Man smiled and blushed slightly, she touched her nose and remembered that Zhang Huifang in her previous life would have to urge her to fall in love and get married every time she called. Fine, at least she won't have this trouble in this life.
Walking away for a moment, she suddenly remembered the things she had to address today.
She took out her keys and opened the door, "Mom, go in first, I want to talk to you about something serious."
Zhang Huifang kicked her high heels, sat on the sofa humming and started knitting a sweater, which was almost finished, with only one cuff left.
She was busy gathering up the loose ends and told Zhang Man to talk quickly if she had something to say.
Zhang Man put down her school bag and mulled over the situation for a while.
Both mother and daughter, in fact, have some obstacles in expressing their feelings. She herself obviously goes without saying, holding everything in her heart, unable to say anything out loud. And although Zhang Huifang is spirited and spontaneous, best at gags to fire up the atmosphere, she tends to be clumsy when it comes to actually confessing her feelings in a straightforward manner.
For her, who used to treat Zhang Huifang poorly not just for a day or two, suddenly having to say everything clearly was really a difficult thing for someone like her who was not good at expressing her emotions.
But since she was able to be reborn once, she wanted to leave no regrets, which is why she works hard at it.
She walked to Zhang Huifang's side and sat down, looking at her seriously, "Mom, the last time you and Aunt Xu Yan talked on the phone, I heard it all at the door."
Hearing her say so, Zhang Huifang stopped the sweater needle in her hand. She was surprised and a little embarrassed by the look in her eyes.
She remembers the day she lost her confidence, lost face in the bar, and lost control of her emotions. She thought she was alone in the house, and Zhang Man was not there. When she called Xu Yan, she seemed to be breaking down in tears, but did not remember much about what she was crying about.
She looked at Zhang Man strangely: This dead girl, if you heard it, you heard it! Why are you poking your head in? It's weird and embarrassing ah!
To her surprise, the girl continued: "I went to see Uncle XuTranslator's Note:I think I need to make it clear here, Xu Yan and Xu Shang are not related. Also, in Asian countries, it's normal to call someone's elder 'Uncle' or 'Aunt' as a sign of respect. Shang today, and he said he still likes you. Mom, I think he's nice and treats you well."
Zhang Huifang put down the knitted sweater. She stood up from the sofa, and got annoyed: "Dead girl, you still care about your mother's business!? Why did you go to him!?"
Zhang Man also stood up and carefully said to her, "Mom, I heard it all, you said you don't want to be with him because he wants to have another child. You're only in your thirties, it's perfectly fine to have another child."
Hearing this, Zhang Huifang froze for a moment, and then looked at her in some silence.
She has always known that Zhang Man is very precocious, usually silent with a bored expression, but the heart is clearer than anyone else.
Zhang Huifang suddenly felt a little emotional in her heart.
She had thought she could never do it on her own.
When Zhang Man was born, she was so scared that she cried a lot. She had been kept awake by her noise for so long that she got up to change her diaper and hold her and coax her. She was so small that when held in her hands, she was less than her arm length, so fragile as if she would not survive any minor illness.
Zhang Huifang was also young, and often anemic. She did not even have milk, so she had to go to the supermarket to buy a box of milk powder to brew, and feed it to her spoon by spoon. As a result, Zhang Man will eat a bite and vomit half of it. Perhaps, she is uncomfortable or choking and will immediately start crying with her mouth open.
The baby can't be coaxed.
So when Zhang Man was crying, she cried too, and both broke down.
At that time, she was sitting on the simple mattress at home, thinking, she certainly can't raise it, and even if she does she will definitely not bring it up well. It's so tragic that she was born into her belly.
But time flies, and in a flash that little baby has grown up to the present, tenaciously, without growing crooked, and knows how to think of her.
Zhang Huifang turned her head sideways and blinked a few times to avoid letting Zhang Man see that she was a bit misty-eyed.
She ruffled her long hair and rubbed her head with a smile: "Zhang Man, you are still young, you don't understand. I'm used to being free. I don't like to be bound by other family members. It's enough of a headache to have you, so having another child makes no sense."
Zhang Man knew that she was talking nonsense again.
She is only in her 30s, there are still infinite possibilities in life. Who doesn't want to have children and grandchildren around her in her old age and have a partner to stay with until she grows old?
Obviously, she was concerned about her.
She has always been like this, seemingly sassy and frank, but more tongue-in-cheek than anyone else.
Zhang Man suddenly felt that Zhang Huifang and she were actually very similar in some places.
Her inability to express her emotions may have been inherited from her.
A detached balance is created between two people who are not straightforward, but this balance will always have to be broken by someone.
"Mom, I'm going to be 18 next year, so I'll be almost as old as you were when you had me. I'm not a kid anymore, I'm grown up, and you should have your own life."
With that, she squeezed her palm, gritted her teeth and stepped forward, gently hugging her mother.
The woman has a nice perfume smell, her body is very soft and her skin is very good. Zhang Man suddenly can't remember the little old lady who rambled all day long with white hair and hunched back later in her previous life.
She hopes that in this life, her mother can always live recklessly and openly.
When Zhang Man hugged her, Zhang Huifang felt her whole body tremble.
"Mom, thank you for giving birth to me and taking care of me for so many years. I'm old enough to take care of you from now on, and I want you to be happy."
"En... you try on that sweater later, I'm almost done with it. It's the color you like."
Zhang Huifang inclined her head and wiped her hot and wet eyes at an angle Zhang Man couldn't see, and changed the subject stiffly.
Translator's Note:
A kuudere daughter and a tsundere mother~ hehehe