Broadcast
To accept a radio drama.
He Jinmei stood outside the door. Seeing no movement inside, she spoke doubtfully to the person beside her, “Could it be that Qiuqiu went out?”
Jin Wei shook his head. “Go in and see?”
The words had just fallen when the door was opened. Jin Shuilan was standing in the doorway. Jin Shuilan had only been kissing for two seconds before Lu Zhenqiu bit the corner of her lip and said, “Hurry up and get the door.”
She wanted to continue, but Lu Zhenqiu said, “If you don’t go, I won’t let you kiss me anymore.”
Without hesitation, Jin Shuilan immediately turned around and opened the door. He Jinmei was surprised to see her standing there. “Lanlan? Why are you back?”
“No, when did you get back?” He Jinmei asked. “Why didn’t you call us?”
Jin Shuilan said, “Just arrived. I called Zibo.”
He Jinmei nodded, shot her a glare, then turned to Lu Zhenqiu inside the room and said, “Qiuqiu, Auntie brought your phone over for you. I was afraid you might need to contact someone.”
Lu Zhenqiu’s nose tingled, and her eyes grew hot hearing those warm words. She nodded. “Thank you, Auntie.” At last, seeing Jin Wei at the door, she added, “Thank you, Uncle.”
Jin Wei waved his hand. “It’s nothing. Rest well.”
After he finished, Jin Shuilan spoke, “Dad, are you free?”
Jin Wei looked at her. “Hm? What is it?”
Jin Shuilan nodded. “It’s about the platform. I want to talk to you about it.”
Hearing the word “platform,” Lu Zhenqiu bit her lip. Her hand subconsciously clenched the edge of the blanket, causing it to wrinkle noticeably. Her body tensed, and her pupils contracted. Jin Shuilan, watching her reaction from the corner of her eye, lowered her head. “Let’s go outside to talk.”
He Jinmei was helpless. “The moment you’re back, you start talking about this stuff. You really are…”
Jin Shuilan said, “Mom, please take care of Qiuqiu.”
He Jinmei nodded. “I know.”
She saw the fruit on the coffee table and asked Lu Zhenqiu, “Do you want to eat an apple? Or a tangerine?”
Lu Zhenqiu’s mind was unsettled. It took several seconds after hearing the question for her to come back to her senses. “A tangerine, please.”
He Jinmei took two tangerines and handed them to her. Sitting beside her, just as Lu Zhenqiu was about to take them, He Jinmei had already started peeling one for her. Lu Zhenqiu looked down at her own hands, still twisted in the edge of the blanket, her knuckles white.
He Jinmei finished peeling one and handed it to her, saying, “I used to like eating tangerines too.”
Hearing her speak, Lu Zhenqiu turned her head, her expression earnest. He Jinmei fell into reminiscence. “When Auntie was young, several people were pursuing me.”
At this, she looked at Lu Zhenqiu. “Qiuqiu, don’t you dare disbelieve it. Auntie was very good-looking when she was young.”
Lu Zhenqiu thought of Jin Shuilan’s similar features and believed her completely. She nodded. “Auntie must have been the prettiest when she was young.”
“Such a sweet talker.” He Jinmei continued, “Back then, they knew I loved tangerines, so they would bring them to me every day. I couldn’t finish them all, so I told them not to bring any more. After a few times, the others stopped, but your Uncle, he would give me one every day. He said, you can always finish one, right?”
“So I accepted it.”
“Later, I changed jobs and got sick once. In the middle of the night, I was really craving a tangerine, so I posted on my Moments1—oh, we didn’t call it Moments back then, it was just a platform where you could post your mood and things. I posted it, and those few guys who were chasing me all sent messages, saying they would buy some for me tomorrow morning. Only your Uncle, in the middle of the night, called me, panting, and said he had bought some for me.”
Thinking of this, He Jinmei probably found Jin Wei’s earnestness silly, and she laughed. “When we got married, people would ask me, what do you see in him? His salary isn’t as high as others, his job isn’t as good as others. I said, what do I see? I see that he’s good to me, and that I like him. When I’m in a relationship, when I’m getting married, if I don’t look for someone who is good to me, someone I like, then what’s the point of dating and marrying? Am I supposed to find a rich man and I’ll be happy? It’s not like that.”
Lu Zhenqiu turned to look at He Jinmei, her eyes red-rimmed.
No one had ever told her what relationships were like, the way He Jinmei did. She admitted that after being abandoned by her mother, she had a bit of an inferiority complex. That was why when she was with Tang Yingxia, knowing that Tang Yingxia’s family situation was similar to hers, she didn’t struggle with it too much.
But when facing Jin Shuilan, that inferiority complex that struggled up from her very bones would still occasionally overwhelm her.
He Jinmei’s words were light, yet every sentence landed in her ears, engraved on her heart.
“Qiuqiu, if his salary isn’t as high as others, we can earn money together. If his job isn’t as good as others, we can work hard together. But having someone who is good to you, and whom you like, that is something that can be encountered but cannot be sought2.”
“As for Lanlan, she has many shortcomings, but she likes you and wants to give you the best. This is the common sense of people. Auntie wants to ask, what is ‘like’? ‘Like’ is favoritism, it’s being special, it’s not being able to stop yourself from wanting to be good to someone. If you can’t even manage this bit of favoritism, what’s the point of talking about ‘like’? Qiuqiu, don’t you think so?”
Lu Zhenqiu was silent for two seconds, then nodded slightly at her words.
He Jinmei patted her shoulder. “Qiuqiu, money and possessions are things outside the body3. To solely guard one person’s heart. When two people are together, the most important things are tolerance and understanding. With a lot of money, you live a life with a lot of money. With little money, you live a life with little money. But the premise is, who do you want to live that life with?”
After speaking, she smiled. “Auntie thinks our Qiuqiu is so beautiful and so outstanding at her job, maybe in three or four years your career will be even more impressive than Lanlan’s.”
For the first time, an elder had affirmed her career like this.
Waves of soreness hit Lu Zhenqiu’s nose. The corners of her eyes grew redder, and a lump seemed to be stuck in her throat, making it impossible to speak.
When Jin Shuilan entered the hospital room, He Jinmei was peeling an apple, chatting with Lu Zhenqiu about something. Lu Zhenqiu was smiling faintly, the blush at the corners of her eyes even more pronounced, and her complexion had improved quite a bit. She walked in, and He Jinmei turned her head. “Where’s your dad?”
“Outside,” Jin Shuilan said. “He’s waiting for you by the elevator.”
He Jinmei put down the apple. “Alright then, I’ll head back and rest too. Do you need us to come over tonight?”
Lu Zhenqiu gave two muffled coughs. Jin Shuilan glanced at her and said, “No need. I’ll take care of Qiuqiu tonight.”
He Jinmei nodded, said goodbye to Lu Zhenqiu, and left. Jin Shuilan took over peeling the apple, handed a slice to Lu Zhenqiu, and asked, “What were you two talking about just now?”
Lu Zhenqiu ate the apple and said, “We talked a little about my childhood.”
She thought she had long forgotten, but unexpectedly, the memories were still fresh. Jin Shuilan was curious. “What about your childhood?”
Lu Zhenqiu glanced at her and said nothing. Jin Shuilan let out a questioning “hmm?” and turned her head to meet Lu Zhenqiu’s gaze. Lu Zhenqiu bit her lip. “Nothing.”
Jin Shuilan watched her lips go from pale to having a trace of color, bright and red. She moved closer and called out, “Qiuqiu.”
Lu Zhenqiu could see her intentions in her eyes and turned her head away. “No.”
Jin Shuilan asked her, “Why?”
“I have a cold,” Lu Zhenqiu said. “I’ll give it to you.”
Jin Shuilan smiled. “That’s perfect. Infect me too, and then we can have a cold together.”
What a strange quirk.
Lu Zhenqiu was amused by her. Just as she was about to refuse, Jin Shuilan kissed the corner of her lips. It wasn’t the frenzy from before He Jinmei and the others arrived, just a dragonfly dipping in water4, a light, shallow kiss. Lu Zhenqiu’s heart swayed, bewitched by her. When Jin Shuilan pulled away, she took the initiative to lean in and kiss her.
Jin Shuilan’s hand supported Lu Zhenqiu’s waist, pulling her into an embrace. Her slender fingers pressed against the thin hospital gown, the warmth of her palm seeping through the fabric. Lu Zhenqiu shifted her waist, leaning against Jin Shuilan.
After a good while, both were breathing heavily. Lu Zhenqiu said, “You’re going to catch a cold.”
Jin Shuilan hummed in agreement but continued to hold her. Lu Zhenqiu listened to her heart beating, thump, thump, thump, fast and intense, yet she felt exceptionally at ease. She pulled herself out of Jin Shuilan’s embrace. “You should get some sleep.”
This time Jin Shuilan didn’t argue, simply lying down beside her. Lu Zhenqiu picked up her phone to check it; Jin Shuilan had used it until the battery was almost dead. She asked Jin Shuilan, “Did you bring your charger?”
Jin Shuilan took a charger from her bag and gave it to Lu Zhenqiu. Seeing her plug it in and start playing on her phone, she couldn’t help but say, “Don’t play on your phone while it’s charging.”
Lu Zhenqiu said, “Oh,” and put the phone down. Seeing her like this, Jin Shuilan’s heart softened. “Do you want to sleep for a bit?”
“I can’t sleep.” She had slept for a long time from last night until now and didn’t feel the least bit tired. Jin Shuilan took her own phone from her side. “Play a game for a bit?”
Then she looked at her eyes again. “You can only play for a little while. Your eyes aren’t better yet.”
Lu Zhenqiu said, “It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
The swelling had also gone down, though the edges were still a bit red. Jin Shuilan was still worried. “Then you can still only play for a little while.”
Lu Zhenqiu smiled. “Okay.”
She took the phone, didn’t mess with anything else, and just opened a game. Jin Shuilan had originally intended to supervise, but listening to the sounds, she fell into a deep sleep. She was truly exhausted. One second Lu Zhenqiu was talking to her, and the next she heard Jin Shuilan’s steady breathing. She turned her head and saw Jin Shuilan’s eyes tightly closed, with dark circles underneath, a weary expression, and her fine hair slightly messy.
Thinking about how she had rushed over despite being so tired, Lu Zhenqiu’s heart was a mess of warmth. She kissed Jin Shuilan’s cheek, smoothed her hair, and then looked back at the phone. Someone in the game had actually sent an invitation.
She hadn’t logged into her own account just now, but had directly logged into Jin Shuilan’s, so it must be a friend of Jin Shuilan’s. Lu Zhenqiu didn’t know them. Just as she was about to let the countdown end and enter the game, the other person sent another request. She had no choice but to accept.
As soon as she entered, her friend started voice chat. “Teacher Jin, why did you go back? I was looking to have breakfast with you this morning.”
The girl’s voice was clear and crisp; she sounded young.
Lu Zhenqiu typed in the chat channel: 【Not the person herself.】
However, her friend didn’t seem to see it and continued chatting, “Teacher Jin, are you going back to M City? My home is also in M City. Can you give me a ride next time you go back?”
Lu Zhenqiu bit her lip. Her character in the game didn’t move, just stood there. Her friend continued, “But why are you playing a game? You haven’t had a proper rest in days. Why aren’t you resting properly?”
Hearing how familiar she was with Jin Shuilan’s situation, Lu Zhenqiu suddenly thought of her many pursuers. She pressed her lips together, a sour and irritable feeling rising in her heart. She lowered her head and continued to play the game, sending another message: “Not the person herself.”
This time her friend saw it and said via voice chat, “Oh, not her. I was just saying, she’s so tired, how would she have time to play games.”
Lu Zhenqiu operated her game character.
There was barely any communication during the entire match. After Lu Zhenqiu’s character died and was waiting for the respawn countdown, she looked at the other game ID, feeling sullen. She looked down at Jin Shuilan’s sleeping profile and suddenly reached out a finger to poke her cheek. Jin Shuilan frowned, and Lu Zhenqiu immediately retracted her hand. Jin Shuilan leaned forward, directly wrapping an arm around Lu Zhenqiu’s waist, burying her face in her hospital gown. The tip of her nose touched Lu Zhenqiu’s skin, sending a numbing tingle through her. Lu Zhenqiu, clutching her phone, had her mind go blank for several seconds. Seeing that she hadn’t moved after respawning, her teammate asked strangely, “Why aren’t you moving?”
Lu Zhenqiu immediately operated her character to move out and typed with her head down: 【Moving now.】
The typing was like clouds are pale and the wind is light5, but her cheeks were red and hot, hot enough to steam an egg!
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