< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >
Ninth Period (2)
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
They didn’t end up watering the plants, temporarily getting changed to a cleaning task.
And the area they were cleaning was on the second floor.
Zhou Yanli recalled whose bedroom was on the second floor, his brows furrowing.
His dad sure was impressive, abusing his power to deliberately create an opportunity to be alone together.
Zhou Yanli won’t allow this kind of thing to happen.
He won’t allow them to give birth to him this early. They were still just high schoolers.
Thus, in Zhou Jinwei’s room, an extra person joined in on the cleaning.
Zhou Yanli held a vacuum cleaner in hand. This thing, he didn’t know how to use either. Even if it’s presently the most expensive and the most advanced model, compared to twenty years later, it was practically an antique.
He study it for quite a while, nearly sucking in the rug as well.
In the end, he wanted to turn it off, but he couldn’t find the switch anywhere.
“How the hell do you turn off this thing, damn it!” He angrily started cursing.
Zhou Jinwei came out after changing, just happening to see him holding the vacuum with an annoyed look.
He walked to the wall and pulled out the plug.
The vacuum cleaner finally stopped running.
Zhou Yanli looked up, feeling a bit awkward.
“Too busy, so wasn’t thinking straight.” He was giving an explanation for his stupidity just now.
Zhou Jinwei didn’t have the slightest ripple in the bottom of his eyes, indifferently asking, “What were you busy with?”
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Zhou Yanli felt that this question of his was baffling, “Wasn’t I cleaning the floor just now?”
“This is the floor you cleaned?”
He took a step back, revealing that ‘masterpiece’ by Zhou Yanli beneath his feet.
The wool rug was crumpled up, half of it inside the vacuum cleaner. In fact, even a section of the floorboard was cracked. Judging from the marks, it was very new, should be from less than half an hour ago.
Zhou Yanli although was in the wrong, he was still irritated, “Do you really have to lose your temper at me over a stupid vacuum cleaner?”
Zhou Jinwei revealed a look of disbelief, “When did I lose my temper towards you?”
“Isn’t that the case right now?!”
Swords were drawn between them, the atmosphere tense as if they were about to fight at anytime.
Jiang Huihui feared that they really will start fighting, so hurriedly went to mediate, blocking between the two of them, “Alright, both of you enough already, don’t fight.”
She was very petite, especially when standing between them, not having the least bit of intimidation.
Zhou Yanli shamelessly complained first, “You also heard just now, didn’t he lose his temper at me?”
Regarding this matter, Jiang Huihui actually wanted to side with Zhou Jinwei.
His tone wasn’t heavy, and Zhou Yanli indeed had made a mistake.
But considering Zhou Yanli’s temper, if she were to not side with him, he certainly will sulk.
So, she hesitatingly nodded, “……En, he did.”
Zhou Jinwei slightly narrowed his eyes, asking Jiang Huihui in a heavy voice, “Have what you said just now repeated.”
Seeing the situation Zhou Yanli reached out to block him, “What, even starting to threaten? Even if you ask a hundred times, it’s still your fault. Now apologize to me, perhaps this young master will even forgive you.”
Zhou Jinwei tightly furrowed his brow, truly getting irritated by him, finally willing to look him in the eye.
Zhou Yanli, in this moment, had a kind of childishness that was exclusive to three year-old children, “Of course she’d stand on my side, I’m the one that’s the closest with her. Even if you’re her husband, it’s also useless.”
The room suddenly fell silent. Don’t know if it was because of something he said, Zhou Jinwei’s face actually returned to normal.
He no longer dwelled over this problem.
After a few seconds of silence, he walked to his desk, picked up the receiver, and dialed the number for the living room, letting someone come up to clean up the mess.
Pausing for a moment, he asked Jiang Huihui, “Are you hungry? I’ll let someone bring up some food.”
Jiang Huihui reached out to feel her stomach, indeed feeling a bit hungry, but…..she came here to work, not as a guest. How can she trouble the owner of the place.
Without waiting for her to open her mouth, Zhou Yanli took over the response, not the least bit reserved, “Just let them make a bowl of noodles, then bring a serving of tangyuan for her, sesame filling.”
Jiang Huihui blanked for a moment, feeling shocked, “How do you know that I like eating sesame filling tangyuan[1]?”
Zhou Yanli lifted his chin at Zhou Jinwei, “Your husband told me.”
Zhou Jinwei: “……”
Hearing the address from his mouth, Jiang Huihui’s face once again turned red, softly scolding him under her breath, telling him to stop talking.
Zhou Yanli laughed, “It’s only a matter of time.”
Coming here was just like being in his own home, casually looking around, touching left and right.
A month ago when he was living here alone on his own, he never expected that a month later their family of three would reunite here.
Zhou Yanli fiddled with a little ornament on the table. It may seem unremarkable, but in reality, it was an antique worth over a million yuan.
There were antiques all over this place—–the vase in the corner of the living room, the paintings in the study, and even those European-style plates in the cabinet.
They were all acquired at high prices from the auction houses.
But, a month ago, when he was living alone in this extravagant yet cold castle, what was he thinking about?
It was the memories of when his parents once lived here, his mother’s grave, and also the last place she stayed before the end of her life.
He turned around and looked at that bed.
Seven years from now, in this very spot, he lost his mother.
Zhou Jinwei personally buried his wife.
His little aunt once said, when his mom passed away, she didn’t even weigh 30kg(66lbs). After going through countless chemotherapy, her fair and tender skin became yellow and dry, her thick dark raven hair slowly falling out.
She lay in his dad’s arms, forever closing her eyes, ending her life that was tormented by illness.
When his mom passed away, his little aunt was also present. She told Zhou Yanli, your dad didn’t cry.
He very calmly tucked your mom in and gently kissed her forehead. He said, “Sleep, once asleep, it won’t hurt anymore.”
According to their hometown’s customs, whenever someone passes away, their clothing and personal effects must also be burned as well.
His dad spent a very long time going through those things.
Every time he went through one, he would always stop and stare at it for a very long time.
As if repeatedly recalling in his mind what she looked like wearing this outfit.
Before the funeral, his dad personally drove his mom to the crematory.
Waiting outside the cremator, watching the billows of smoke rise from the chimney, and seeing the ashes get pushed out……….
Heavy snow fell upon Pingjiang City. According to the weather forecast, it was the first time in nearly eighty years encountering a super strong cold front.
Heard people say that when the ashes first get pushed out from the cremator, it would still remain in the shape of a human. Some of the bones were too hard, unable to burn to ashes, thus need to be crushed in the end.
After going through chemotherapy that many times, a portion of her bones had even turned black.
Seeing that scene, what was he thinking of at the time?
That man who could hold up the sea and sky, standing in a high position, wielding great power, yet when facing his wife’s suffering from illness, completely helpless, exactly what was he thinking inside?
Did he want to leave together with her, or did he recall that he still had a son who’d just turned one waiting for him at home?
His wife became a pile of cold ashes.
Did he cry? Does he know how to cry?
Little aunt said: “When your mom passed away, you were still very small, so don’t have any memories. But, your dad witnessed all of this with his own eyes. The agonizing cries from the chemotherapy room, the adverse reactions to the medication, the drastic loss of weight, and the hair loss. These are all a hundred times more devastating than what can be conveyed by words.”
Zhou Yanli would always return to Pingjiang a few times every year.
Every time when he felt wronged and had no one to talk to, he would come here and complain to his mom.
Occasionally, when the wind blew, he would feel that it was his mom responding to him.
He would stare at the picture on the gravestone. At the time, she was still healthy and pretty. Her smile towards the camera was gentle and serene, her eyes containing the flash from the camera and also the person holding the camera taking the picture for her.
Zhou Yanli could tell that was his father.
They must have been very happy at the time. Although he wasn’t clear exactly how much his dad loved his mom, she was nevertheless the person he wanted to marry even if it meant going against his entire family, not hesitating to break ties with them.
There more or less should be some genuine feelings, right?
And now, in this moment, at present.
They’ve reunited at the end.
Zhou Yanli looked at them, looking at the two before him.
It was the healthy Jiang Huihui who hasn’t been tormented by illness.
It was the Zhou Jinwei who has yet to experience the pain of losing his wife.
Fortunately, fortunately in this world, she was still alive.
Jiang Huihui was still perfectly alive.
There was still time, there was still time.
He will save her.
Save the person he loved the most in this world.
[1] Tangyuan – Glutinous rice balls with various kinds of fillings inside.
< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >
