“I’ll cook dinner and leave.” He explained again, as if afraid she would be unhappy.
I wasn’t trying to impress my mother, I genuinely thought that with her just being discharged from the hospital, and her cooking skills, she would probably only order takeout. But it felt wrong to have someone who just got out of the hospital eat takeout.
Okay, any more reasons are just because I care about her.
Shu Ma was delighted, watching him so carefully pleasing his daughter. Her heart bloomed with joy. Although all men are untrustworthy, if they’re all untrustworthy, it’s better to find one who is handsome and pleasant to the eye, and willing to care for you, than someone who is ugly and loves to make trouble.
“Don’t leave, let’s eat together. We made so much, there’s no way we can finish it all.”
Mom Shu warmly greeted.
Zuo Yu’an glanced at Shu Tinglan. She looked cold and aloof, but when she took out the bowls and chopsticks, she reluctantly brought out three sets without showing any intention of driving him away. It was really contradictory and awkward.
Zuo Yu’an smiled, his heart feeling warm. He took the bowl and chopsticks from her hand. This time, he truly humbled himself, running to cook for someone and even having to eat while watching their face. It was just like a lowly abused wife in ancient times.
But seeing her and her mother eat with relish, he felt it was worth it.
Shu Tinglan didn’t know what she was being awkward about. She knew Zhu Yunan was good, but she felt a little inferior. A person like her, with a mother like her, could she deserve him? It was a very realistic question.
After dinner, Shu Tinglan proactively offered to wash the dishes, but Zhuo YUAN refused as always.
“You stay with Aunt, I’ll go.”
The mother and daughter sat in the living room, staring at each other with wide eyes. Shu Ma’s gaze shifted, her expression changing:
“Aren’t you going to tell the truth?” she pointed at Zhuo Yu’an in the kitchen.
“Let him do the housework if he wants to.”
He’s better than that bastard Shu Minghai, at least he knows how to treat people nicely.
“I have nothing to do with him.” She said this with a hint of guilt. She still didn’t dare admit it, for fear that if they couldn’t be together, her mother would be disappointed.
“How could it be nothing? Who would believe that?” “If it was nothing, how could he be so familiar with the arrangement of her kitchen? Those bottles and jars of spices, even Shu’s mother would take a while to find them.”
It is clear that this is not the first or second time.
“Did you sleep together?” Shu Ma continued to be unexpectedly sharp. How could she deduce this now like Sherlock Holmes? Back then, she was completely fooled by Shu Ming Hai and Wen Lan, not noticing anything at all.
She finished asking and suddenly got up, going to her bedroom to rummage through everything, turning the whole place upside down. All the clothes in the closet were tossed out, and she pulled open the drawers of the bedside table, flinging the contents one by one onto the floor.
The emotions came on too quickly, like a tornado.
Suddenly, a box of contraceptives fell out from the drawer.
Shu Ma stared at the box on the ground, her chest heaving, her face as dark and frightening as thunder. Shu Tinglan was also dumbfounded. Before, Zhuo Yu’an had bought quite a few of these, but she threw them all away when she tidied up his things. She never expected there to be one left behind.
Shu Ma suddenly lost control, picked up the box on the ground and smashed it towards Shu Tinglan, shouting as she did so.
“You’re reckless, you’re irresponsible.”
She allows her daughter to date, but she strictly forbids premarital sex. What kind of good girl can she be if she sleeps with someone before marriage? Once it’s done, will a man still value you?
Though Shu Tinglan didn’t agree with his mother’s older generation’s ideas, he didn’t argue back. He even let her beat him on the shoulders and back. It hurt a lot, but he didn’t fight back or resist. His mother was sick and needed an outlet to vent her frustration.
The commotion here was too loud, Zhuo Yu’an ran over and saw her mother holding a box of condoms, beating her constantly. The girl looked stunned and didn’t resist.
He strode over and pulled Shu Tinglan behind him, stopping her mother.
“Auntie, Auntie…calm down…”
When Shu Ma saw her, she became even angrier. She picked up a pen holder from the table and went to smash it at him. He dodged too late, and his forehead was hit with a gash, instantly bleeding. Though the blood wasn’t much, Shu Ma was suddenly frightened into a daze. She froze for a moment, then came to her senses.
“Are you alright? Are you okay? The auntie didn’t mean to, don’t blame her.”
Zuo Yu comforted her.
“It’s okay, Auntie. Don’t be nervous. Come, take a deep breath with me and relax….”
He didn’t care at all about the wound on his forehead, nor did he find Shu Ma’s madness repulsive. He was extremely patient, treating her like his own mother.
Shu Ma followed him, taking several deep breaths until finally she was calm, completely calm. Guilt surged up, and she kept apologizing, to him, and to her daughter.
Shu Tinglan felt a pang of sadness, both for her mother and for the embarrassment. She was exposing the worst parts of their lives to Zhuo Yuyan without reservation. She was acting erratically, her mother was acting erratically, and seeing the wound on his forehead, she couldn’t control her emotions anymore and yelled at him. <<<
“So, who sent you here, who did you come from…” She pushed him out, a mess, completely messed up.
She felt like she had been thrown onto a giant wheel, swept along with no control, her life tossed into chaos. She didn’t know when it would stop, and the weight of it all was crushing.
“Lanlan, don’t be angry, it’s Mommy’s fault, it’s Mommy’s fault.” Shu Ma cried, grabbing Zhu YUAN’s clothes.
“Let me apply some medicine to your wound.”
The wound wasn’t large, but there were many blood vessels in his head, so it still bled occasionally, a few drops landing on the white shirt across his chest, which was utterly chilling.
Zhuo Yu’an was forcibly dragged and seated on the sofa. Shu Ma took a medicine box and applied medicine to her wounds, looking very normal. Zhuo Yu’an had bloodshot eyes and kept staring at Shu Tinglan who sat opposite her. Shu Tinglan also looked back at her, both of them maintaining eye contact without giving way.
Well then, let you see the mire of my life. Leave quickly, run away. No one would want to stay with her and sink deeper into this swamp, Shu Tinglan thought so.
This way, how can I let go? Shu Tinglan! Zhuo Yunan had a completely different idea. The deeper she sank into the quagmire, the harder he wanted to pull her back, until he brought her to safety.
Their eyes were filled with a storm of emotions, while Shu Ma beside them was diligently tending to Zhuo Yu’s wound.
“Alright.” She breathed a sigh of relief.
Shu Tinglan looked at him, her eyes crinkled in mirth, and burst into laughter. She couldn’t help it. His head was wrapped by his mother in a haphazard mess, resembling a ninja turtle more than anything else. A handsome young man reduced to looking like an injured person.
She smiled, and Zhuo Yu’an immediately felt his mood lighten. Even though he was bandaged in an exaggerated and unsightly way, it didn’t matter!
Shu Ma’s emotions were stable. She sat down on the sofa in the middle and glanced at the two people sitting on either side of her before she spoke.
“Well, what do you plan on doing now?” We slept together, after all. At least we should have some kind of explanation.
“Mom, we’ll take that into consideration.”
“Just shut up, Yu An. Now tell me, how are you going to take responsibility for this?” Her eyes were blazing at him like a shrewd old woman.
“Mom, he’s very busy, we can talk another day.” She deflected, giving him a look to leave, but this guy, usually so shrewd, didn’t get it. He just sat there, looking thoughtful and sincere, and said to her mother, “Auntie, I intend to take responsibility for her.”