Chapter 141: Chapter 140: A Fingertip Softness
Shi Yang was going to stay in the hospital to help look after Zhao Dazhuang, so all the business affairs were handed over to Qu Chaozong.
Before Qu Chaozong left, Shi Yang found an excuse to call him outside the ward, and the two squeezed into a corner of the hallway to talk.
Shi Yang asked him, "What’s going on?"
Qu Chaozong instinctively reached for his cigarettes, but just as his hand touched the pack, he remembered they were in a hospital. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he withdrew his hand and couldn’t help complaining, "Don’t even start. When I was chasing after you earlier, I ran into her on the stairs."
Shi Yang raised an eyebrow at him with a mischievous grin.
Qu Chaozong frowned, a bit irritated, "What are you thinking! I couldn’t shake her off; she’s like a sticky rice ball, won’t budge no matter what!"
Shi Yang chuckled, "So what are you going to do?"
Qu Chaozong glanced towards the ward door, "I’ll sneak off first, and you handle the aftermath!"
Shi Yang jested, "Heck! Being chased by a girl until you run, you’ve lost face completely!"
Qu Chaozong kicked at him, "If she were chasing you, you’d run faster than me! It’s easy to talk standing there! Alright, I’m leaving. You go back, call me if anything happens!"
Shi Yang nodded in agreement.
Qu Chaozong didn’t take the elevator, finding it too crowded and couldn’t be bothered with the fuss. He retraced his steps and headed to the stairwell.
Shi Yang accompanied him to the hallway corner before returning to the ward. As he entered, he saw Liu Xiue sitting by the chair; Zhang Xin was not in the room. He asked, "Aunt, where’s Zhang Xin?"
Liu Xiue smiled and said, "She said she would go straight home with Chaozi. You both just went out, and she followed along. Didn’t you see her?"
Shi Yang was taken aback and realized that Zhang Xin had anticipated Qu Chaozong’s escape and went to intercept him early.
He shook his head, feeling Qu Chaozong might indeed fall into Zhang Xin’s hands; a good man fears a persistent woman, and Zhang Xin seemed just like a pro at playing coy.
Liu Xiue invited Shi Yang, "Why are you standing there? Come over and sit for a while."
With a smile, Shi Yang went over and sat next to Liu Xiue on a chair.
As the tall Shi Yang sat down, Liu Xiue had to slightly lift her head to look at him. Amused, she patted Shi Yang’s shoulder with a sense of nostalgia, "Time flies so fast, you’ve grown so big now."
Shi Yang smiled at Liu Xiue, only then noticing the wrinkles starting at the corners of her eyes and a few obvious strands of white hair at her temples.
Liu Xiue was a typical housewife, busy on ordinary days taking care of Zhao Dazhuang and his father, as well as managing the grocery store. Unlike Shi Yang’s mother, who could leisurely visit beauty salons regularly, Liu Xiue paid little attention to maintaining her appearance.
Liu Xiue touched her own face, sighing, "You all have grown up, yet I am getting old."
Shi Yang sweetly coaxed, "You’re not old at all; just now Chaozi was saying that standing next to me, you look like my sister."
Liu Xiue laughed heartily, "You, like Meimei, always know how to make me happy."
The two chatted and laughed for a while, then Shi Yang, watching Liu Xiue, suddenly brought up a topic without apparent intention, "Aunt, are you and uncle really planning to move back south?"
Mentioning this matter, Liu Xiue couldn’t help but sigh, having pent-up grievances that Shi Yang’s question allowed her to finally vent: "Honestly, if we could really move back and live in our hometown, I’d be quite happy. After all, my family is all over there. I’m mainly worried about our Meimei. She’s lived in the North since birth. You have no idea—when we went back a few days ago, she couldn’t adjust for days, with all that diarrhea and vomiting."
Liu Xiue’s heart ached at this, and her tone inadvertently revealed a dissatisfaction that even she wasn’t aware of, "Food there has such mild flavors, everything is different from here. Meimei complains at night that the bedding is too damp and cold. It’s only been a few days, and she’s visibly lost weight."
"Your uncle is determined to accompany Meimei’s grandma without considering the child. You know her school year is starting, just about to enter sophomore year—a crucial time for studies. If she suddenly switches to a new school and environment, just adapting would take a while. Can her studies wait for her? If she can’t keep up, it’ll be too late to regret later."
"Moreover, can Southern and Northern teaching methods be the same? Their progress could be vastly different. Teachers and classmates have accents. Meimei only understands a bit of the local dialect; at her grandma’s, they try to speak Mandarin to her, but occasionally when they slip into a non-standard tone, Meimei can’t understand. How can she adjust in just a year or so?"
Shi Yang tentatively suggested, "Then just don’t transfer Meimei’s school, let her continue studying here?"
Liu Xiue, in a low mood, replied, "I wish we could do that, but Meimei’s grandma’s illness is too severe; she can’t be left without someone. Your uncle definitely has to accompany her, and I have to go along too. If we all go over, we can’t just leave Meimei alone here, can we? If she were older or even able to stay in a dormitory, I wouldn’t agree with your uncle transferring her..."
Shi Yang suddenly interrupted Liu Xiue, asking, "Aunt, do you trust me?"
"What?" Liu Xiue was lost in her worries and was taken aback by his question, not reacting immediately.
Shi Yang repeated his question.
Liu Xiue nodded without hesitation, like she always did with Zhao Meimei, patting Shi Yang’s shoulder, "Of course! I’ve always treated you like my own son, so do you think I trust you or not?"
Hearing this, Shi Yang was about to blurt out that she should treat him like a good match too.
The words reached his lips, but he swallowed them back down, paused, and then said, "Aunt, there’s something I’ve always wanted to say but never had the chance. Since you don’t see me as an outsider, and I’ve always considered you as family, we should speak frankly. Actually, I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to let me take care of Meimei."
Liu Xiue was stunned at his words, her eyes widening in surprise.
Seeing her expression, Shi Yang felt a pang of dread, thinking, oh no, he spoke too hastily, clearly misspeaking, and was about to explain when Liu Xiue, deeply moved, grasped his hand.
Liu Xiue hadn’t thought much about it. Hearing his words, she immediately understood Shi Yang’s meaning: he wanted to look after Zhao Meimei for them so she could continue her studies here. Shi Yang intended to help them with this dilemma.
Liu Xiue, feeling grateful and indebted, since Shi Yang’s family often helped them out, spoke incoherently from the overwhelming emotion, "Yangyang, you’re really—Auntie thanks you so much for your kindness towards Meimei, truly, so much."