Afterwards 1
In a spacious underground parking lot, the sound of high heels stepping on the ground grew closer.
Jiang Yumo took the car keys out of her bag and unlocked the door.
This was a new car she had bought just two years ago, a compact model with a white body that she liked. Ever since she bought this Volkswagen Polo, she had been coming home more often. As she sat in the car and kicked off her high heels, she let out a long sigh of relief.
Last year, a new direct highway was opened from the provincial capital to Ningcheng, making the round trip more convenient than before. Starting from the airport and returning to Ningcheng now took only about two hours. It was the middle of summer, and there weren’t many vehicles on the highway in the early morning. It wasn’t until she was close to the toll booth at the north entrance of Ningcheng that the vehicles began to queue up.
While she was waiting, her phone rang, connected to the car’s Bluetooth.
Seeing that it was her Mom calling, she pressed the answer button directly.
Mother Jiang’s voice came through the car speakers, “I just went out and didn’t bring my phone. I didn’t see your call.”
The car in front of her moved, and Jiang Yumo gently pressed the accelerator.
“It’s nothing,” Jiang Yumo replied, “I just wanted to let you know that I’m on vacation these days, and I should be home in about twenty minutes.”
Mother Jiang exclaimed, “You’re almost home? Great! Have you had breakfast? I’ll go to the market and buy some carp to make soup for you.”
“Whatever, Mom. I don’t have much of an appetite.”
This time, she hadn’t planned to come back. A friend from the airline, who had come with her, had given birth to a child a few days ago, and she was planning to visit. She had informed her parents as well. However, that friend had been going through a divorce these past few days, and her home was in chaos. She sounded tired and helpless as she told Jiang Yumo that they would have to reschedule once she sorted out this mess.
So, Jiang Yumo had no choice but to change course and head home.
In her early twenties, she only wanted to get away from home. When she had just started working, her Mom was worried about her not taking good care of herself and even suggested moving to the provincial capital to live with her. She shook her head vigorously like a rattle.
Now, in the blink of an eye, she was about to turn thirty, but she found herself missing home more and more.
Whenever she had free time, she longed to go back home.
What was there at home?
There were her aging parents, friends she had known for nearly twenty years, and… him.
“Wait, where are you now?” Mother Jiang asked suspiciously.
Jiang Yumo glanced outside and replied, “I’m at the toll booth.”
Mother Jiang said sternly, “I’ve told you before, don’t make calls while driving. It’s dangerous, and you’re still on the highway.”
“I only answered because I was stuck in traffic…” Jiang Yumo defended herself, “I don’t usually answer calls while driving. Okay, Mom, based on my years of driving, I might even qualify as an experienced driver by now.”
She had obtained her driver’s license when she was twenty.
And now she was almost thirty.
She had been driving for more than five years.
“Hang up!” Mother Jiang abruptly ended the call.
Jiang Yumo : “?”
As she exited the toll booth, Jiang Yumo felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. This was the place where she was born and raised, and every tree and blade of grass felt so familiar. There was a shorter route from the toll booth to her residential area, but she always took a detour because his store was on that road.
She parked her car.
The residential area was undergoing renovation, and the bulletin board still had notices about the renovation and installation of elevators in the old neighborhood.
The notice had been posted for nearly a year now, and there had been no results yet. Neighbors were still endlessly arguing about it. Those living on higher floors were eager to have elevators installed immediately, while those on the ground floor were not pleased at all.
Jiang Yumo entered the residential building and returned home. As soon as she opened the door, a strong fragrance greeted her.
She shouted as she changed her shoes and rushed inside, “Mom, I’m back!”
Mother Jiang, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen. When she saw her daughter, she couldn’t help but smile, then habitually nagged her daughter, “Why have you gotten even thinner? Have you not been eating properly? I’ve told you before, your health is your capital. Trying to lose weight is harming yourself. It’s past nine already, and you haven’t had breakfast. This won’t do! I offered to come and live with you to take care of you, and you complain that I talk too much…”
Jiang Yumo quickly went over and hugged her Mom’s arm. “I’ve been keeping my stomach empty just to eat the breakfast you make. I’m so hungry!”
“Wait a bit,” Mother Jiang said irritably. “It will be ready soon. Luckily, your Aunt Liu bought some yellow croakers today. I’ll make them for you. After you finish eating, just leave the dishes in the sink. You don’t have to worry about it. I’ll go to the market later and buy some bones to make soup for you.”
A few minutes later, Jiang Yumo sat down at the dining table to eat noodles.
Mother Jiang walked back and forth, unable to contain herself, and finally asked, “You and that person… have you become friends on WeChat?”
Jiang Yumo lowered her eyes and replied, “Yes, I have.”
“Is the conversation going well?” Mother Jiang asked cautiously. “I’ve seen his photos. He seems like a decent young man, and he appears honest. Your Dad and I even asked around, and his parents are good people too, with no bad habits. They’re a well-behaved family.”
Jiang Yumo chuckled, but her smile seemed somewhat weak. “Would you like to see the chat history between us?”
“Why would I need to see that?” Mother Jiang asked. “Have you met in person?”
Jiang Yumo felt restless. When she was younger, she would get angry with her parents when she was annoyed. But now, she had to handle it herself, even though she didn’t have as much patience. She answered the question, “He’s invited me to have lunch and watch a movie this afternoon.”
Mother Jiang’s face lit up with a smile. “Well, that sounds nice.”
—Why do people get married, anyway?
Jiang Yumo couldn’t figure out this problem. If possible, she hoped to always be with her parents.
What about when she gets old? She’ll handle it! She has a house and savings.
What if she gets sick and has no children? She’ll go to the hospital, and aren’t there always nurses busy taking care of patients?
What if she dies at home and no one finds her? Will she come back to life if someone does find her?
She thinks, as long as she’s lucky enough, decades from now, nursing homes will definitely be more organized and better.
Jiang Yumo realized that she didn’t know when she became a ‘nitpicker’ when it came to ‘marriage”‘and ‘blind dates.’
The blind date prospect looks decent for now.
But she feels like an empty reservoir, unable to muster any enthusiasm to enter into a relationship with a stranger. She even dreads receiving messages from the blind date prospect—
[Good morning! Are you awake?]
[Good night!]
[Have you eaten?]
She knows that the other party is perfectly normal.
He’s not like those extreme blind date prospects people complain about online. Or when she thinks about it carefully, maybe she’s the extreme one.
This is their first meeting. The blind date prospect smiles warmly, wearing a white shirt. His appearance is indeed decent, not extremely handsome but certainly not ugly. He’s also attentive, knowing that this restaurant is popular, so he got tickets early. When they arrive at the restaurant, their number is called right on time.
“Miss Jiang, do you have anything you can’t eat?” he asked her. “Can you eat cilantro?”
Jiang Yumo nodded with a smile, “Yes, I can.”
“How about garlic?”
“Sure.”
…
“What about scallions?”
Jiang Yumo hesitated for a moment, instinctively looked up at him, and finally nodded slightly, “It’s fine. I have nothing I can’t eat.”
After a meal, the two of them had a fairly good conversation.
“I bought movie tickets,” he said again. “I don’t know what type of movies you like, but this is a light comedy. I checked the reviews online, and they say it’s pretty good.”
Jiang Yumo was already quite tired.
She felt like a dried-up pond.
Her colleagues, some of whom were still single, were eagerly anticipating a surprising and unexpected romance. They would occasionally discuss blind dates with great enthusiasm, their eyes shining with excitement.
But she seemed to have no interest in blind dates and was not enthusiastic about the kind of love that could be compared to a meteor striking a subway.
She was like a puppet.
There were a few strings pulling her, directing her to do what she should do.
Like nodding in agreement.
As they left the restaurant and walked towards the escalator, they unexpectedly ran into her old acquaintance. Zhao Zheng was holding two cups of milk tea and looking for the elevator.
Zhao Zheng saw her first, and as he was about to greet her with a smile, he noticed the man by her side. His smile froze instantly, and the movement of raising his hand came to a halt, making him look quite awkward.
Jiang Yumo suppressed a smile.
They had known each other for many years and had a strong understanding. Zhao Zheng didn’t call out to her, and she didn’t introduce him to the man next to her as a potential match. They passed each other like strangers.
In that moment, Jiang Yumo’s heart ached for a few seconds.
Zhao Zheng stood there, looking foolish.
Until his phone rang and he saw the caller ID, he didn’t hesitate to answer.
A furious voice came from the other end, “Zhao Zheng, did you go abroad to buy milk tea for me? Look how long you’ve been out, it’s been almost an hour! If I knew, I would have ordered delivery!”
Zhao Zheng’s throat felt dry, and he didn’t have his usual patience.
The person on the other end of the phone sensed something was wrong and asked, “Zhao Zheng?”
“I’m asking you, Sister Mo, is she on a blind date?” Zhao Zheng lowered his voice, his cheek tightly clenched. “Is she on a blind date, with someone else?”
The other end was silent.
Zhao Zheng was on the verge of exploding. “Yan Qing, you tell me, what is Sister Mo doing? Does she know…”
Does she know that someone has been waiting for her all these years?
Yan Qing also raised her voice. “Zhao Zheng, don’t be like this. Yumo had no choice. Her Mom had a suspected breast cancer last year, and she had to bear everything until the biopsy results came back. Fortunately, it was benign, but she’s still scared. I’ve never seen her cry like that.”
Zhao Zheng tightened his grip on the bag of milk tea and said in a deep voice, “I need to tell this to Brother Duan.”
Yan Qing felt helpless but also knew that the friendship between Zhao Zheng and Duan Ye was not shallow just like her relationship with Yumo.
Zhao Zheng drove to Duan Ye’s shop.
At this hour, the shop was still open, and this year, he had expanded the storefront, with two floors, and Duan Ye usually lived upstairs alone.
Duan Ye was at the counter counting inventory. When he saw Zhao Zheng, he casually asked, “What brings you here?”
Zhao Zheng wanted to smile, but he couldn’t muster the strength. “I just happened to be passing by and brought you a cup of milk tea. By the way, it’s this late, and the shop isn’t closed yet?”
“There’s a customer with low tire pressure. They’re coming soon,” came the reply.
Sitting beside, Zhao Zheng had initially intended to speak directly. However, at this moment, his throat felt as if he had swallowed half a cup of medicine, making it difficult to speak. He struggled to find his words, sitting there with a sense of unease.
Duan Ye turned around, casually glancing at him. “What’s the matter? Spit it out.”
In a few more months, Duan Ye would turn thirty-one.
He appeared much like his student days, yet different too.
His shoulders were still broad, and his hairstyle was the same old crew cut.
Having just entered summer, the weather was sultry. Duan Ye had thrown on a loose pair of shorts.
“Brother Duan, you see, Lao Guo is getting ready to get married,” Zhao Zheng said with difficulty, “How about I introduce a girlfriend to you?”
Duan Ye didn’t even lift his head, biting the cap of a pen as he jotted down the quantity of goods on the paper.
He couldn’t be bothered to respond to this topic.
After all these years of friendship, Zhao Zheng understood that this was a rejection.
If there were even a trace of such intention, Duan Ye would have had a partner long ago, maybe even children by now.
Zhao Zheng knew how difficult it was.
Getting Brother Duan to accept another possibility in life was harder than him winning a billion in the lottery tomorrow.
Winning a billion, while the odds were slim, was still possible, something to hope for and dream about.
But Brother Duan had absolutely no possibility of accepting another person.
Seeing that Zhao Zheng hadn’t left yet, Duan Ye tossed the paper and pen aside, picked up a wrench to work. He bent over, revealing the contours of his back, silent.
Zhao Zheng couldn’t hold back anymore; he wasn’t someone who could keep things to himself.
“Brother Duan, I ran into Sister Mo today.”
Duan Ye’s shoulder twitched.
“It seems like she’s on a blind date.”
Duan Ye continued working, and a few seconds later, he threw the wrench.
Zhao Zheng only then noticed that Duan Ye had just injured his hand, there was a cut on the back of his hand, and it was bleeding.
“Brother Duan…”
“I’ll go rinse it.”
Duan Ye’s body was almost rigid. He went to the bathroom on the first floor without turning on the lights. Under the faucet, water washed over the wound on his hand.
It should have been very painful.
But he didn’t even furrow his brow, as if he had lost all sensation of pain.
why give me angst after my sweet sweet dog food 😭😭😭😭😭
😭😭😭