The Meaning of a Cockroach

Mi Cai and I walked over to meet Dad Ban. I asked, "Dad, why didn't you call me when you came? The temperature dropped so much tonight. It's so cold for you to sit here like this!"

"I did. Your phone was turned off." My father's reply was still very dull, without a trace of emotion.

After hearing what Dad Ban said, I remembered that I had thrown my phone into the moat in my drunken stupor. I couldn't help but feel heartache. I didn't earn much money and all I did was squander.

"Hello, Uncle!" Mi Cai greeted my father.

"Hello, you haven't eaten yet, right? I bought some vegetables from the supermarket to cook for you." As he spoke, he took out a bag from behind him. There were fish and some vegetables inside.

"Uncle, the porridge you made last time was very delicious." Mi Cai said to Dad Ban with a smile that I had never seen when she was in front of me. This made me realize that I was indeed an unlikeable person, and it wasn't because Mi Cai was arrogant.

Dad Ban only smiled at Mi Cai's praise and then gestured for us to go upstairs.

When we went upstairs, Mi Cai was walking in front while Dad Ban and I were behind. I asked Dad Ban in surprise, "Dad, have you been staying in Suzhou these few days?"

"I went to Guangzhou to attend an exhibition and passed by Suzhou on my way back." My father's answer was still concise.

It's almost winter. It's the time when the state-owned enterprise where Dad Ban works has the most orders for the heater. Almost every year at this time, Dad Ban has to go to many places to purchase raw materials.

Back in the house, Dad Ban went straight into the kitchen and started to work. Mi Cai wanted to go to the kitchen to help, but he refused. Then, she went back to his room to do something. I sat in the living room in a daze. There was still bitterness in my heart. I knew that this bitterness would accompany me for a long time until the day I completely forgot about Jian Wei.

After a short while, Mi Cai walked out of the room. She had changed into a set of home clothes, which made her look much friendlier. However, she was still as beautiful as ever. It was as if beauty was something in her bones. She would look beautiful no matter how she dressed up.

"Sitting like a statue! Can't you help your dad in the kitchen?" Mi Cai seemed to be dissatisfied that I had nothing to do while Dad Ban was busy.

"You don't understand. He likes to cook alone."

"There's such a thing?"

"Because he treats cooking as a pleasure, and others helping him is stealing his pleasure."

"Oh, then the food he cooks should be very delicious, right?"

"You're not a foodie. Why are you asking so many questions?"

"Do you have to be a foodie to ask? Everyone has the right to be curious." Mi Cai once again went against me with dissatisfaction.

"You'll know later. It's not a big deal."

Mi Cai didn't pursue the matter with me. She turned around and returned to her room. Then, she carried a dirty laundry basket and walked to the bathroom. I was a little surprised. So, the goddess also had to wash clothes.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom, and then the washing machine started rolling. Listening to the rhythmic rolling sound, I became even more absent-minded. For a moment, I couldn't even feel my existence.

A scream came from the bathroom. Naturally, it was Mi Cai's voice. The decibel was so loud that it instantly woke me up from my daze. Dad Ban had already run to the bathroom before me with a big spoon in his hand. Then, I ran over as well.

Even though Dad Ban and I had made the battle formation very big and could kill a wolf, Mi Cai was only facing a cockroach lying on the bathtub. The cockroach was shaking its tentacles fearlessly, while Mi Cai's face had already turned pale. This was obviously an unbalanced battle. The funny thing was that the one on the weaker side was actually a living person.

Mi Cai saw that I was coming and instinctively retreated to hide behind me. It was exactly the same as the plot of a melodramatic Korean drama at 9 o'clock. I also got a chance to be the hero to save the beauty, even though my opponent was only a cockroach.

I walked to the side of the bathtub and picked up the cockroach by its tentacles. The cockroach's emotions were very unstable. It struggled violently and Mi Cai screamed again. I found it funny. Every time she choked me until I wanted to vomit blood, but a cockroach hiding in a dark corner could scare her to death.

I lifted the cockroach and said to Dad Ban, "Add another dish. I haven't eaten meat for a long time. Should I stir-fry or steam it?"

Mi Cai felt disgusted.

Dad Ban seemed to be very protective of Mi Cai. His face darkened as he said, "Stop fooling around. Throw it away quickly."

I held the cockroach and smiled disdainfully at Mi Cai. Then, I threw the cockroach out of the window and sighed, "Sigh! If he didn't fall to his death, he would become a homeless and disabled cockroach that couldn't take care of himself. He might as well be more careful and fall to his death!"

Mi Cai naturally knew I was using the cockroaches to mock her for always chasing me out, but she still hadn't recovered from the cockroach incident just now. She just kept silent with a terrified expression. Therefore, I suddenly had a childish and somewhat funny idea. If the rich were as afraid of cockroaches as Mi Cai, I would take a bag of cockroaches to extort them and get rich easily.

After the incident ended, Dad Ban still went to the kitchen to get busy, but Mi Cai didn't allow me to leave the bathroom. She asked me to accompany her to wash the clothes, afraid that another cockroach would jump out from another corner. It could also be a group of them. In short, it must be the relatives of the cockroach just now.

After a while, she finally finished washing. Mi Cai took the clothes out of the roller while I sat in the bathtub and looked at her.

After a moment of silence, I said to her, "I'm moving out tomorrow."

"I know."

"You must be quite lonely alone, right?"

"Why should I be lonely?"

I pretended to be very disappointed, "Oh yeah, how can you be lonely? There are cockroaches here to accompany you. They'll play hide-and-seek with you when you have nothing to do. It's very lively!"

Mi Cai was stunned. She looked at me angrily, but I said calmly, "Hurry up and hang the clothes. We're going to eat soon."

...

At the dining table, I, Dad Ban, and Mi Cai sat on one side each. Dad Ban, who had always been dull, surprisingly took the initiative to ask Mi Cai, "Is the food to your liking, Young Lady?"

"Uncle's cooking is delicious!" Mi Cai nodded.

I knew that this was definitely not an exageration. Dad Ban's cooking was really good, especially the sweet and sour fish. It could be said to be superb. Mi Cai also knew what was good and chose the sweet and sour fish to eat.

After Mi Cai praised him, Dad Ban nodded and smiled. Then, he looked at me as if he was telling me, "Son, your father can only help you up to this point. You have to rely on yourself for the rest!"

I would rather have misinterpreted the meaning in Dad Ban's eyes, because it was impossible for Mi Cai and I to develop into a couple. Firstly, she was extremely disgusted with me. Secondly, I haven't gotten over the trauma that Jian Wei and Xiang Chen gave me. Thirdly, and most importantly, I'm not worthy of her. Who has ever seen a beautiful girl driving a luxury car fall in love with an unreliable scumbag!

It wasn't a wonderful arrangement for us to meet. It was just that the heavens wanted me to understand how big the gap between people was, and then let me die in shame.

As I was thinking about it, Dad Ban said to me, "Zhao Yang, fix the water pipe after dinner. There's a little leakage at the joint. If the weather is a little colder, the pipe might explode."

"Got it." I responded.

Dad Ban nodded. After a while, he said to me, "Next time, I'll bring more rice and flour from home. You have to go home early after work to cook. It's wasteful and unsanitary to eat outside." After a while, he added, "The two of you are living together. You have to take care of the girl more. You know how to cook too. You have to do more work."

According to the agreement between Mi Cai and me, I have to move out tomorrow. Dad Ban even used his fantasy to forcefully tie my life with Mi Cai in the future. I was a little helpless, but I couldn't say anything. For example, if I told him about moving out, he would most likely be disappointed.

I nodded again and looked at Mi Cai. Her expression didn't change and she just focused on eating.

Finally, his attention shifted from me to Mi Cai. He asked Mi Cai, "Miss, did our Zhao Yang cause you any trouble by staying with you?"

I was afraid that Mi Cai would expose my various crimes, so I kicked her under the table to signal her not to speak nonsense. However, I didn't expect her to take the opportunity to step on my toes. It was so painful I almost threw away the chopsticks in my hand.

"Uncle, he's pretty good… He just liked to smoke in the house and I couldn't change his mind." Mi Cai first praised and then criticized me as she exposed my crimes to Dad Ban.

Dad Ban looked at me with a dark face. I pretended not to see it, but Dad Ban's eyes were still sharp and he looked at me unwillingly. Mi Cai, on the other hand, had a gloating expression.

"Change, I'll change." I helplessly compromised, but I felt that such a compromise was meaningless. Mi Cai was bored enough. I was about to move out. Was it worth fighting over whether I smoked in the house or not?

After this little episode, Dad Ban seemed to be in a good mood. He asked me to go to the kitchen to get the glutinous rice wine he brought last time. I poured a cup for him and asked Mi Cai, "Do you want some?"

Mi Cai passed the empty cup in front of her to the front and said, "I'll drink a little."

I poured a little for Mi Cai and a little for myself. So the three of us sat around a small table and had a family dinner on this night.

Don't get me wrong. The family atmosphere I'm talking about is only different from dining outside because Mi Cai and I aren't from the same family. I'm afraid that after I move out, it'll be difficult for me to even meet her in this huge city!