Chapter 211: Chapter 210: A Kind of Friend You Can Truly Connect with (Part 2)
Since it wasn’t mealtime, the spicy skewer shop was almost empty. Zhao Meimei and Zhang Zhao ordered a pot of skewers and deliberately chose a private room near the innermost side.
As the bubbles in the pot of skewers rose and fell, a large amount of white steam overflowed. Even sitting across the table, looking at each other’s brows and eyes, there was a shadowy visual effect.
Zhang Zhao exhaled, the smile on his face gradually dimming, and said stiffly, "When I was seven, I moved into my current home with my mom. My biological dad died in a car accident shortly after I was born."
Zhang Zhao recounted his experiences in a straightforward manner. Whether speaking about his stepfather or his new, unfamiliar, and luxurious home, his expression was indifferent. However, when he mentioned Zhang Xin, his eyes suddenly lit up with a bright glow.
"My sister is six years older than me. She didn’t go to school that day because she knew my mom and I were moving in. She walked downstairs, looked at us with particular disdain, and even had the servants kick us out." Zhang Zhao lowered his head, then revealed a slight bitter smile, "She especially didn’t like my mom and me because her mother had just passed away then. She always suspected that my mom, as the other woman, took the place that led to her mother’s death."
Zhao Meimei didn’t know how to respond, feeling that saying anything would be quite awkward, so she just listened quietly.
Zhang Zhao’s gaze slowly began to lose focus. He sat quietly, staring at a certain point in the air, murmuring softly, "I initially hated my sister a lot and was quite afraid of her. When she argued with my mom and dad, I didn’t dare to cry or step forward to intervene. I would just watch from a corner by myself. My mom wanted me to call her sis, but I didn’t dare. I was afraid she would scold me, and you have no idea how fierce her gaze would be whenever she looked at my mom and me. I didn’t even dare to meet her eyes."
A faint blush slowly appeared on Zhang Zhao’s face, as if baked by the steam rising before him, or as if recalling an exciting event made his heart beat too fast: "When I was young, I was thin and small and wasn’t fond of talking to people. No classmates in my class wanted to play with me, and there were two particularly naughty ones who loved to bully me."
Zhang Zhao lowered his eyes, his thick lashes dampened by the steam, appearing particularly heavy: "One day after school, I was blocked by them on the playground and bullied, just as my sister was forced by my dad to come pick me up..."
Zhang Zhao could never forget how Zhang Xin looked then, wearing a bright red dress, her long legs, her fair and exquisite face, so beautiful that one couldn’t look away.
Zhang Xin looked down coldly at the kids bullying and bullied Zhang Zhao, her voice icy without warmth, "Finished? Finished, then scram!"
Whether it was because Zhang Xin looked a lot older than them, or because the malice in her eyes was chilling, those two bullying classmates ran away, leaving behind Zhang Zhao, shivering like a frightened little quail.
Zhang Xin cursed, "Loser!"
Then she turned to leave, but after a few steps, she stopped, turned back to him, and said lightly, "Aren’t you leaving yet!"
Zhang Zhao was completely stunned, as if suddenly an invisible string appeared in Zhang Xin’s hand, one end tied to the center of his heart and the other held by Zhang Xin. With just a slight tug from Zhang Xin, a great wave would instantly rise in his heart.
"I can’t really say when it started, but my gaze could only notice my sister, following her, chasing after her." Zhang Zhao’s words were so vague it was as if they would disappear as soon as they touched his lips. He muttered, "And my sister is so beautiful, I, later on, fell in love with her..."
Zhao Meimei finally understood, and she was completely stunned, struggling hard to process the whole event.
Zhang Zhao propped his chin with one hand, the other resting on the table, falling into silence as if lost in some distant memory.
Between the two, Zhang Zhao was the first to snap back. He rubbed his face and looked at Zhao Meimei, "Since high school, my sister’s character became a bit strange. She often dated boyfriends, a few of whom I personally saw, looking different each time. Later, she even started playing with blood behind everyone’s back. It was from then on that my dad often took her to see doctors. The doctors said she had depression, quite severe, and prescribed a lot of medication every time, which she took handful by handful."
Zhang Zhao’s voice began to tremble, and the hand that propped his chin clenched into a fist, "The doctors said she had very severe suicidal tendencies, like standing in front of open windows at home and suddenly wanting to jump out, and even experiencing hallucinations. But my sister said she never wanted to die or had hallucinations. I believe her; I believe everything she says. I’ve never thought there was anything wrong with her."
Zhang Zhao painfully curled his head down, his Adam’s apple quivering, "To care for my sister’s condition, my dad asked my mom to move out. I couldn’t bear to part from my sister, so I stayed at home, visiting my mom on weekends. But half a year ago, my mom suddenly came home privately. She just wanted to see me. That time, weren’t we preparing for final exams? We didn’t rest on weekends either. My dad worried I’d be too tired, so he didn’t let me go back. In that situation, my sister and my mom ran into each other.
My sister left home with her luggage. My dad had been searching for her, and shortly after, a call came from the hospital. She was hospitalized, cut her wrists. Although they saved her, her mental state was too unstable. She stayed in the hospital for a long time and was discharged just a while ago."
Zhao Meimei couldn’t help but ask, "You know what your sister did was wrong, and yet you imitated her and cut yourself with a knife?"
Zhang Zhao’s eyes suddenly grew moist, unfocused, and he said dejectedly, "I didn’t mean to imitate her. I just wanted to understand why she would want to do something like that."
Zhang Zhao looked up at Zhao Meimei, "Can you understand how I feel? Do you know what it’s like to like someone? Do you understand how it feels to watch someone you like suffer?"
Zhao Meimei thought to herself, how could I not know what it feels like to like someone? How could I not understand your feelings!
Zhao Meimei still didn’t say a word, didn’t lay down her relationship with Shi Yang on the table. She was cautious, knowing now wasn’t the time to flaunt her sweetheart.
Zhao Meimei earnestly said, "Honestly, even though you and your sister aren’t blood-relatives, just because of your parents’ relationship, there’s no way between you two."
Zhang Zhao was painfully hit by Zhao Meimei’s blunt truth. He stood up, enraged, "I know! I never hoped for anything! Let’s go, we’re leaving!"