CH 42

The two of them followed to the second bedroom and saw Ms. Zhao standing at the door, looking somewhat taken aback: “Someone’s living here?”

“Yes, Wanwan lives in this room.” Yu Zhou felt helpless, having already said that they were not in that kind of relationship.

“Oh, being reserved is a good thing, considering her young age.” Ms. Zhao rolled the suitcase into the room before turning around with a coy look on her face, “But now that Mom is here, and there are no extra rooms here, are you suggesting that I should sleep on the floor in the study?”

Ms. Zhao refused to sleep in the same bed with Yu Zhou because, at that time, Yu Zhou had been with Su Chang for a long time and had developed some… little habits. Once, when she went home and slept together with Ms. Zhao, she found herself accidentally placing her hand on Ms. Zhao’s chest when she woke up.

It was purely accidental, but Ms. Zhao found it quite distasteful.

“How could I possibly let you sleep on the floor? Can you please not use such a tone that makes it sound like I’m an unfilial son who doesn’t acknowledge his own mother?[1]” Yu Zhou was frustrated.

Xiang Wan stood to the side as she smiled lightly.

“You can sleep wherever you like, even in the master bedroom. I’ll discuss it with Wanwan,” Yu Zhou sighed.

“I’m not really going to sleep in the master bedroom, the second bedroom is ok. It would be a bit of a squeeze, but it’s quite cozy,” Ms. Zhao said, sitting on the bed and smoothing out the quilt cover.

“In that case,” Yu Zhou apologized to Xiang Wan, “Wanwan, please pack up your things and move to the master bedroom.”

Xiang Wan glanced at her before starting to pack up her belongings as instructed.

Ms. Zhao sat on the bed with her eyes inevitably watching Xiang Wan’s back. Yu Zhou said she had no family and only lived here, but her movements and frame seemed more refined than that of a theater performer – like a true lady.

Ms. Zhao thought her daughter had a fate of being a maid, tsk, she always loved such a lady.[2]

As Xiang Wan carried her personal belongings out of the room, Ms. Zhao grabbed Yu Zhou before whispering, “I know I’m here now so the two of you have to sleep together. But you shouldn’t act out of line either. She’s too young and might not have thought it through. When she gets older, she might blame you.”

“Mom…” Yu Zhou was rendered speechless by anger.

“Oh, oh, oh, I forgot. You’re the bottom, right?” Ms. Zhao blinked.

“In that case, it doesn’t really matter.” She mumbled to herself as she surveyed the room, considering if there was anything else she could add.

Yu Zhou closed the door and went to the master bedroom after several psychological preparations.

Xiang Wan was putting her sleepwear next to the bed before tidying up the quilt. She laughed in the gap between fluffing the quilt cover.

“It seems like Auntie has misunderstood,” she said softly.

“Yes, she never listens to what I say.” Yu Zhou leaned against the wardrobe while watching her work.

Xiang Wan asked her again, “So, in the next few days, are you sleeping together with me?”

“Don’t worry, you sleep in the master bedroom. At night, after I see her asleep, I will go out to sleep on the couch. She never fails to wake up at 6:45 in the morning and never gets up during the night. I’ll set a vibrating alarm and leave the couch to come back before she wakes up.”

Xiang Wan frowned, “It sounds a bit troublesome.”

“It’s not troublesome. I don’t have any work to do so I can just catch up on sleep during the day,” Yu Zhou said.

“Why don’t we sleep together? The bed is big enough for both of us to sleep separately so we won’t disturb each other.”

Xiang Wan thought for a moment before saying obediently, “I have a very good sleeping position so I won’t bother you.”

“Pfft.” Yu Zhou laughed, “How do you know you sleep well? Who says they have a good sleeping position?”

Xiang Wan said sincerely, “The maids told me.”

Oh, right. Being the daughter of the Minister, even her sleep attracted attention. So, she thought there was nothing wrong with sleeping with her. In her eyes, having Yu Zhou by her side was no different than having a servant watch over her at night.

Thinking about this, Yu Zhou found it a bit funny and helped to fix the bed.

Ms. Zhao did not act like a guest at all and she was never idle. As soon as she put down her luggage, she came over and leaned against the doorframe, asking, “What’s for dinner? What does Wanwan want to eat? What does Zhouzhou want to eat?”

She put Xiang Wan first to show how open-minded and respectful she was towards her daughter-in-law.

There would be no mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts in their family.

But she was thinking if it is appropriate to say “daughter-in-law” when her daughter was actually the bottom? She often forgets this fact.

At the time when Yu Zhou broke the news to her, she felt like she was struck by lightning. She couldn’t help but want to shave her head to be a nun. Occasionally, she would send Yu Zhou WeChat articles about how “homosexuality may be a mental defect” but Yu Zhou remained unmoved.

Later, Ms. Zhao came to terms with it. Even if Yu Zhou had a serious illness, she would still take good care of her. At least she was still alive.

And besides, her daughter Yu Zhou was good in every way. A little flaw could also be tolerated.

After a long period of mental preparation, when she met Su Chang, she had only one feeling — was this girl blind?

Tall, beautiful and from a good background, Su Chang could easily be a female lead on TV, more than worthy to be with a wealthy and handsome man. How could she not see that and instead want to come home with Yu Zhou?

Although Yu Zhou did look quite good, inheriting her mother’s looks. Ms. Zhao thought so.

The three of them left the house and went to the supermarket in the community to buy some groceries. At some point, Ms. Zhao’s hand found its way onto Xiang Wan’s arm.

She said to Xiang Wan, “There is an Auntie Qin in my square dance team, who always talks about how great her relationship is with her daughter-in-law, and they often walk together arm in arm. We should do that too in the future. A harmonious family life can dispel all our worries.”

She spoke as if Yu Zhou was struggling outside.

Xiang Wan laughed as she covered her mouth before glancing at Yu Zhou.

What a drama queen. Yu Zhou looked away, feeling embarrassed.

When they got home and started cooking, Ms. Zhao first cleaned the kitchen, lamented the omnipresent cat hair and then began to show her culinary skills.

She made five dishes and a soup, including frying, stir-frying, deep-frying and boiling. Everything was perfect.

As she enjoyed Yu Zhou’s insincere praise and Xiang Wan’s sincere compliments, Ms. Zhao sat down contentedly and took a picture for her Moments first: “Sharing happy times with my good daughter.”

“Don’t forget to block my dad,” Yu Zhou said softly.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot.” Ms. Zhao tilted her orchid finger and tapped the screen a few times with her middle finger.

After finishing the pre-meal ritual, Ms. Zhao put down her phone, giving Xiang Wan a few pieces of chicken while casually asking, “Wanwan, can you cook?”

“I…” Xiang Wan certainly couldn’t, but she glanced at Yu Zhou, unsure whether this was related to Yu Zhou’s girlfriend-hunting skills and hesitated to answer.

“No, she can’t,” Yu Zhou replied.

“Oh, that’s okay. Zhouzhou can cook. You two should develop the habit of cooking at home and don’t always eat takeout. Those takeout foods are made with gutter oil, which is very fattening. I think your figure isn’t as good as when you came back last time, Zhouzhou.”

“Okay,” Xiang Wan smiled before picking up her bowl to start eating.

The girl seemed to have been giggling since Ms. Zhao arrived.

Was it really that funny?

Yu Zhou glanced helplessly at Ms. Zhao’s curly hair, well, it actually was.

After a few bites, Ms. Zhao suddenly remembered something, put down her chopsticks and ran to the second bedroom, then came back mysteriously with a stack of banknotes wrapped in kraft paper on the dining table.

“I won’t stay for free. Here, lodging and living expenses. Twenty thousand, generous enough, right?” Ms. Zhao proudly held up two fingers.

Yu Zhou understood. All that arguing with her dad was just an excuse. Even if she were to spend a few days here, it wouldn’t cost 20,000.

She was just worried that Yu Zhou might not have enough money and noticed that she hadn’t been posting on her WeChat Moments lately. She was concerned that Yu Zhou wasn’t living well, so she wanted to take care of her and find an excuse to give her some money.

“Mom…” Yu Zhou said just one word.

“Oh dear,” Ms. Zhao looked at her expression, “You don’t have to be so touched.”

“No, I mean, since you’re giving cash, I have to go to save it, can you just transfer it to me through WeChat instead?”

Ms. Zhao was furious; she stood up, intending to find a broom to beat her with.

However, the broom never fell on Yu Zhou; instead, Ms. Zhao started using it to clean the room. Yu Zhou and Xiang Wan went to wash the dishes together. When the two finished and dried their hands, they joined Ms. Zhao to watch TV.

As she was peeling an apple, Ms. Zhao asked Xiang Wan, “I heard from Zhouzhou that you’re still in school?”

“Yes,” Xiang Wan replied.

“What are you studying?”

“I’m learning,” Xiang Wan thought for a moment before not using English this time, “to be a voice actress.”

Ms. Zhao’s pupils shook violently, almost stabbing her hand with the knife.

“Wanwan was like her…[3]” she muttered, hinting her resentment towards Yu Zhou with a phrase she’d learned from a TV series.

“Wanwan? Me?” Xiang Wan was bewildered.

“Mom!” Yu Zhou was getting irritated.

“No, no, no, never mind,” Ms. Zhao continued peeling the apple.

“So, where are you from?” she asked.

“Local,” Yu Zhou answered for Xiang Wan.

“Oh, how are your parents doing?”

“Mom, can you not interrogate her like you’re checking her household registration?” Yu Zhou took a deep breath as she looked at Xiang Wan. “Wanwan, weren’t you planning to study?” Today’s lesson on learning characters from the dictionary hasn’t even started yet.

Getting the hint, Xiang Wan excused herself before going back to the master bedroom.

Ms. Zhao’s gaze followed Xiang Wan until the latter disappeared down the hallway and closed the door. Only then did she scoot closer to Yu Zhou, taking her hand and gently patting the back of it.

Here it came; the long talk.

“How long have you been together?” Ms. Zhao solicited, “She just lived for a month or so, so you haven’t been together very long, have you?”

“I think Wanwan is very well-behaved, but you can still think it over. You haven’t been apart from Su Chang for too long either. It seems a little like you’re fickle.”

It’s already been half a year, Mom… Yu Zhou rolled her eyes internally.

“I do like Wanwan’s appearance. Su Chang looks a bit like a star, you wouldn’t believe how worried I was that she wouldn’t eat well at home. Wanwan, on the other hand, is easygoing and never picky. She’s always smiling no matter what she’s eating.”

Ms. Zhao opined based on dinner observations.

“But of course, Su Chang is definitely taller. Wanwan seems to reach up to here.” She gestured an arc. “She seems to be about your height. I think it’s necessary to have some height difference, that way it’s more pleasing to the eye.”

“You have to consider age as well, don’t you? Changchang is 29, right? Just perfect. Eighteen is too young, even if you don’t like listening to your mother, but there’s a lot of uncertainty in a young girl’s future. She’s still in school, and once she enters society, everything will be different. Her thoughts and perspectives will change and she might not even be interested in you then.”

Yu Zhou was speechless. She felt fortunate not to be a man, otherwise, Ms. Zhao might have brought up the issue of height influencing the next generation.

Why was this so feudalistic? Comparing two people like this? Was your daughter some kind of delicacy? Can I even pick others?

She finally said, “Let me tell you one last time, believe it or not, there is nothing between me and Xiang Wan. You don’t need to pick, neither is a possibility. One is already an ex and the other has never been lesbian.”

“Not a lesbian?” Ms. Zhao glanced at the master bedroom door. Although she found Xiang Wan’s age a bit young, she felt it would be a pity if Xiang Wan was not a lesbian at all.

“So, can the old ticket of Su Chang board your broken ship?” She quickly found another option and asked.

Yu Zhou rolled her eyes, stood up and left without even bothering with her.

“Ah, you never like to listen. You’re 25 already, not young anymore. I already had you when I was your age. Given your current situation, I don’t expect you to have a baby, but you should at least have someone who cares for you, understands your needs. What’s so good about being single? When you go to the hospital alone, there is no one to help you register.”

The master bedroom door closed again before Ms. Zhao grumbled unhappily as she sat down.

“Young girls these days are so wilful.”