Chapter 11: The Handset

Zhuo Yao left in such a hurry that she even forgot her backpack in Wan Chu'er's room.

Seeing that eyesore of a backpack, Wan Chu'er didn't think twice. She picked it up and walked out in just a couple of steps. On the second floor corridor, she saw Zhuo Yao running down the stairs toward the courtyard gate.

"Zhuo Yao, take your crappy backpack, don't dirty our house!"

Wan Chu'er yelled loudly and then threw Zhuo Yao's backpack down from upstairs.

"Bang!" The backpack hit the ground in the courtyard hard, kicking up a cloud of dust.

People in the Family Quarters were stunned by Wan Chu'er's words and actions. It looked like a quarrel between two young girls. It was time people returned from work, so the yard was crowded; all of a sudden, everyone's attention was drawn to the commotion.

Zhuo Yao had not expected Wan Chu'er to do this, and with so many people watching, she felt extremely embarrassed. She bent down to pick up her backpack. When she raised her head, she said righteously:

"Wan Chu'er, you repay kindness with ingratitude and fail to recognize goodwill. Today, Zhuo Yao, I cut my ties with you!" She needed to say something, to claw back some dignity for herself.

Upstairs, Wan Chu'er smirked disdainfully and coldly retorted: "Thanks for sparing me from your double-dealing, malicious bitch!"

"You!" Zhuo Yao was infuriated. She looked up at Wan Chu'er, feeling short of breath and all the more flustered as people in the courtyard started whispering and pointing at her. In the end, all she could do was huff and, with her head down, quickly leave the Glass Factory Family Quarters.

Wan Chu'er dusted off her hands and went back into her house.

As soon as she entered, she saw Bai Zhixi standing in the living room with a face full of guilt. "Chuchu, Mommy is sorry. I actually failed to see Zhuo Yao's true colors and let you be deceived by her for so long."

Bai Zhixi felt that as an adult, she should be more mature in thinking than Wan Chu'er, and raising her daughter was her responsibility. However, she had not been careful with the company her daughter kept and felt she had let her down.

Seeing Bai Zhixi's remorseful expression and her serious apology, Wan Chu'er felt uncomfortable. After standing there for a while, she finally forced out a sentence:

"It's not your fault, I was just too dumb to see the true character of people."

Her blind trust in Zhuo Yao was indeed her own fault. If she had not realized it on her own, no matter what Bai Zhixi said, she wouldn't have listened. Maybe she would have even argued with Bai Zhixi and gotten further apart from her.

Hearing her daughter's words, Bai Zhixi felt overjoyed. It had been a long time since Chuchu had spoken to her like this, admitting her mistakes.

She remembered back in Southern City, when Chuchu brought porridge and buns home for her and later made her aware of Zhuo Yao's ill intentions. The joy on Bai Zhixi's face gradually faded, replaced by a serious look. She looked at Chuchu and tentatively asked:

"Chuchu, is there something bothering you? You must tell Mommy if anything's wrong."

Wan Chu'er blinked, and bluntly responded: "Nothing's wrong."

"Then today you..." Bai Zhixi cautiously masked her worry.

Wan Chu'er inwardly muttered: What a nuisance. Nevertheless, her face remained expressionless as she told her mother: "Don't overthink, I'm still your bad-tempered daughter, and unless I'm dead, no one can separate us!"

"Spit, spit, spit, talking about death. There should be no taboo in what a child says," Bai Zhixi quickly corrected.

No matter how you heard it, these didn't sound like words a daughter would say to her mother, but Bai Zhixi relaxed, a smile broke out on her face. She didn't continue to probe the issue; the fact that Chuchu had given any explanation at all was good enough. These things needed to be approached step by step. Pressing too hard might only push her daughter further away.

No matter what, as long as her daughter was heading in a good direction, it was a good thing, so Bai Zhixi redundantly advised once more, "From now on, you must stay far away from Zhuo Yao."

Seeing her mother's joyful expression, Wan Chu'er felt incredibly unfilial for a moment, realizing that just a few ordinary words made Bai Zhixi so happy. She wanted to say more but found it too saccharine, so she could only say, "Go and cook."

"Alright, good."

Wan Chu'er then headed to her own room, and just as she was about to reach the door, she stopped, turned around, and said, "Braised pork." She then stepped straight into her room and closed the door.

Bai Zhixi, who had been watching her daughter's back, was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized what was happening, and a smile spread across her face once again.

Braised pork was her specialty and also her favorite dish; Chuchu had loved this dish before she turned ten.

Was Chuchu finally going to revert to her previous self as her little cotton-padded jacket?

Bai Zhixi cooked with full enthusiasm, reflecting on her daughter's changes that day.

While they ate, Wan Chu'er forcefully shared half of her braised pork with Bai Zhixi. If Bai Zhixi showed even the slightest reluctance, Wan Chu'er would put down her chopsticks and stare at her mother with a stern face until Bai Zhixi began to eat the meat with big bites. Only then would Wan Chu'er let it be.

It had been nearly twenty years since she had eaten the braised pork made by Bai Zhixi, a dish she used to love. Simply because Zhuo Yao liked stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots, she stopped liking braised pork. And when Bai Zhixi left, she wanted to eat it but couldn't anymore.

Wan Chu'er tasted the braised pork carefully, feeling it was truly the most delicious thing in the world. She chewed slowly, bite by bite, and her usually cold face softened.

Bai Zhixi swallowed the braised pork in her mouth, looking at her well-behaved daughter, her thoughts becoming a bit messy. Slowly, her eyes moistened, her nose soured, and her throat began to ache.

"Snap—" Bai Zhixi placed her bowl on the table, sloppily muttered "I'm sorry," then hurried into her own room and closed the door from inside.

Wan Chu'er, who had been eating seriously, looked up in confusion. She glanced at Bai Zhixi's bowl, which had only been eaten few bites, then at her tightly shut bedroom door. After thinking for a while, she put down her bowl and chopsticks and stood up to walk into her own bedroom.

Her bedroom was just a wall away from Bai Zhixi's, and when Mr. Wan was still around, he had made a listening tube connecting the two rooms, keeping the newly independent Little Chu'er company, giving her the courage to sleep alone at night.

Wan Chu'er crawled under the bed, took out the listening tube that had not been used in a long time, and without regard for the dust on it, placed it to her ear. Then, she heard the sobs of Bai Zhixi.

Inside the master bedroom, Bai Zhixi sat on the bed's edge, one hand tightly covering her mouth with a towel to suppress her sobbing, as tears flowed down and dripped into the towel. Her other hand held a photo of her deceased husband.

"Shi Guo, Chuchu... Chuchu has finally become sensible. Today she didn't lose her temper with me, she... she bought porridge and buns for me today and shared half her braised pork with me... Chuchu hasn't turned out badly, she... knows right from wrong, knows how to treat me well, from now on... when I get down there, I will have the face... to see you... woowoo... Shi Guo, I miss you..."

Next door, Wan Chu'er silently put down the listening tube, climbed out from under the bed, stood in her room for a long while, then touched her own face, which was completely dry.

"You're just an ungrateful wretch!"

She said to herself, but made up her mind that she would treat Bai Zhixi well in the future, and would give all the goodness to Bai Zhixi.

She quietly returned to the dining table and continued eating until she finished. Bai Zhixi didn't come out.

Wan Chu'er cleared the dining table, reheated the leftover food in the pot, and then left a note on the dining table before heading out.