As Chinese New Year was approaching, it seemed that every tenant was very happy, and the building in this urban village was filled with joy.
While clearing the garbage, Luo Bei noticed that the hallway was much cleaner. Most of the tenants had already bought tickets to go home and reunite with their families. Coincidentally, only Chen Lan and Fang Jingzhou from next door, Zhao Pianpian, and Jiang Sihan living in the basement were left in the last few days.
Baby Chen was sleeping soundly at this time, so Zhao Pianpian had time to help Grandma Luo make dumplings.
Grandma Luo asked with concern, “Everyone else has gone home for the New Year, do you have no relatives left?”
Their relationship was already good, so there was no need to avoid some questions.
Zhao Pianpian smiled and said, “I do have relatives, but they are not close. My father died a long time ago. My grandparents blame my mother for his death and have always been unkind to her. As a girl, I was also not favored. Later, my mother and I lived alone, and we no longer had any contact with my father’s relatives. On my mom’s side, there aren’t many relatives left, and our relationships have long been distant. Now that my mom has passed away, this relationship has been completely severed.”
Grandma Luo sighed, “When I was young, I was also not valued because I was a girl. Later, I married Beibei’s grandfather, and my life improved. My husband has no advantages, but he really likes Beibei. This harmful habit of favoring boys over girls is just not right. After all, who isn’t born from a woman?”
“It’s evident that Beibei grew up in a very good environment,” Zhao Pianpian exclaimed. “Beibei is very intelligent and knows many things clearly. She is shrewd yet kind, which is a rare trait. Some people are kind, but too blind, and some are too shrewd and lose their true self.”
Grandma Luo is very proud of this. After all, her granddaughter grew up with her. When others say Beibei is good, isn’t that praising her for teaching her well?
Zhao Pianpian said disappointedly, “I don’t know if I can teach my child well. When I take my baby out to play and see other families of three, I wonder if I’m being too selfish, bringing him into the world and letting him live in a fatherless home, is that really okay?”
Grandma Luo comforted her, “Having a child is never easy. Some say giving birth is the most painful, but I don’t necessarily agree. The most difficult and arduous thing is the next few decades of life, teaching him, and raising him to be healthy and successful. Any of those things are harder than giving birth to a child. When you decided to have your child, worrying about these things now is meaningless. It’s better to give him a warm environment as much as possible. It’s not your fault that he doesn’t have a father’s love, so you don’t have to blame yourself.”
After listening to Grandma Luo’s words, Zhao Pianpian felt much better in the atmosphere of the holiday season approaching Chinese New Year.
Luo Bei was really helpless.
Obviously Zhao Pianpian was the female lead, why did she, a passerby, keep running into the scumbag male lead, Lei Yuhao?
Before establishing a deep friendship with Zhao Pianpian, Luo Bei thought Lei Yuhao was not bad. He was handsome, fit, and wealthy. But now, things were different. She was Zhao Pianpian’s good friend, so she looked at Lei Yuhao differently.
Jiang Sihan didn’t understand why Luo Bei suddenly sneered.
He was a little scared.
Yesterday, Brother Liu brought him to audition for a role in a web drama, and he got the part of the second male lead. The payment for the job would be deposited into his account in a few days. For other actors, it might just be a small sum, but for Jiang Sihan, who had been struggling to make ends meet, it was undoubtedly a huge amount of money. His first thought was to take Luo Bei out for a meal.
“Beibei, what’s wrong?” Jiang Sihan asked in a low voice.
Their relationship had become quite close, so he followed Zhao Pianpian to address Luo Bei directly as Beibei.
Luo Bei turned her head to look forward, and couldn’t help but grip the spoon in her hand tightly.
Jiang Sihan followed her gaze and looked over. He saw a man and a woman walking into the restaurant. The woman was charming, and the man was handsome. The woman was holding the man’s hand, and her face was full of smiles.
“Your ex-boyfriend?” Jiang Sihan asked again.
Luo Bei shook her head, “No.”
Jiang Sihan inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to get into a conflict with anyone in public, but if Luo Bei really had a problem with someone, he couldn’t just sit idly by.
Luo Bei recalled the plot. Although it was told Lei Yuhao had been in a self-torturing state for more than two years since Zhao Pianpian left, but the plot didn’t describe it in detail. In this process, did he have any other lovers?
It needs to be known that before Zhao Pianpian left, Lei Yuhao was also frequently involved in gossip with female celebrities. Did he really became celibate after she left?
Before this, Luo Bei wasn’t sure, but she had initially thought that since he was the male lead, he wouldn’t play around with other women after knowing his feelings for the female lead, right?
That would be disgusting.
“Did he owe you money and not pay it back?” Jiang Sihan asked tentatively.
“No.”
Jiang Sihan: … Then why do you have an expression as if you’re looking at an enemy who killed your father?
After eating, Luo Bei’s mood had calmed down. What she saw wasn’t necessarily the truth. Just because she saw a woman holding hands with Lei Yuhao, it didn’t mean that they had a relationship, right? Misunderstandings like this often occur in novels, don’t they?
However, before leaving the restaurant, as she passed by Lei Yuhao’s table, Luo Bei still couldn’t control herself and gave him a fierce glare.
Regardless of whether they’re related or not, letting another woman hold your hand is just being a scumbag!
Jiang Sihan initially thought it had nothing to do with him, but little did he know that after leaving the restaurant, Luo Bei asked him a question that hit his soul, “Can you men really love one person in your heart and still hold another person in your arms? Won’t that give you a split personality??”
“I…I’ve never been in love, so I don’t know,” Jiang Sihan admitted honestly. Although he had written many love songs, he had no experience and hoped that Luo Bei wouldn’t take out her anger on him.
Luo Bei didn’t let him off the hook, “But you’re still a man, don’t you understand men’s psychology?”
“This kind of thing is not a matter of gender,” Jiang Sihan tried to explain, “it’s related to a person’s character, not gender. Don’t women also eat from their bowls while looking into the pot1?”
“I see, you men are still very good at making excuses. The term ‘scumbag’ isn’t wrong for men like you,” Luo Bei said.
In fact, Luo Bei was just upset. While Zhao Pianpian was suffering through the pain of childbirth all night and taking care of the baby without sleep, what was Lei Yuhao doing?
Jiang Sihan : “… I’m not, I didn’t mean to.”
After walking a few steps, Luo Bei suddenly came to her senses and turned around to say to Jiang Sihan, who was still in a daze, “Sorry, I’m not in a good mood. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
Since it was destined that Lei Yuhao would be Zhao Pianpian’s husband, and Zhao Pianpian was not the kind of person who would allow others to bully her, it meant that Lei Yuhao still had many good qualities.
In the plot of the novel, the family of three did end up living happily ever after.
Since that was the case, as a bystander, she should not deny the male lead because of such a trivial matter.
Jiang Sihan sighed, “My feelings have been hurt.”
“How can I make it up to you?” Luo Bei chuckled at him.
Jiang Sihan pointed to a nearby stall, “Buy me a pack of candied hawthorn.”
When Luo Bei was on her way back, she happened to run into Chen Lan, who was dressed up and looked attractive.
Chen Lan had been in a good mood lately, and the neighbors all knew about it.
Jiang Sihan didn’t want to talk to Chen Lan, so he went straight down to the basement. Chen Lan caught sight of him and couldn’t help but say, “Luo Bei, are you dating Xiao Jiang?”
“No.” Luo Bei shook her head, but she was a little unsure in her heart. Jiang Sihan occasionally asked her out to eat and chatted with her on WeChat. Their relationship had improved a lot from before, but no one had taken that first step. Sometimes Luo Bei felt that Jiang Sihan might like her, but other times she felt that he only saw her as a good friend. To be honest, she was quite troubled.
Jiang Sihan had already decided to star in a web drama. When he became popular, he would move out, and their contact would become less and less.
Luo Bei was not sure if she liked Jiang Sihan, and Jiang Sihan had not said anything, so they could only continue to get along like this.
She hadn’t dated in a long time and couldn’t tell whether Jiang Sihan liked her, nor could she tell whether she was interested in him.
Chen Lan smiled and said, “Actually, Xiao Jiang is quite good. He’s handsome and tall, although he’s a bit thin, his figure is still okay. He just doesn’t have money. He still lives in the basement at his age. It feels like he doesn’t have much future. Of course, Luo Bei, you don’t lack money. This whole building will be yours in the future. Even if Xiao Jiang marries into your family, there won’t be a problem.”
Luo Bei : “… No, we’re just good friends.”
Chen Lan waved her hand. “There’s no such thing as friendship between men and women. Okay, let’s stop talking about this. Anyway, my boyfriend is taking me to his home for the Chinese New Year. What do you think would be a good gift to bring?”
“You could consider bringing some fruits or tea. If his mother is not too old, you could also consider a set of skincare products.”
Chen Lan nodded and then revealed her true purpose. “Luo Bei, I know you guys like Jingzhou. I want to ask if you could take him in for the New Year. Of course, I’ll pay you. I originally wanted to send him straight home, but since it’s the New Year, I can’t get train tickets and plane tickets are too expensive. And my mother isn’t feeling well recently, so I have to wait a few more months.”
Luo Bei didn’t mind having Fang Jingzhou with them for the New Year. It would make their home more lively. But…
“Chen Lan, here’s what I think. If your boyfriend is taking you home for the New Year, it means he is serious about you and may even have plans to propose to you.”
“That’s right. He even asked me what brand of diamond ring I like. I think he’s going to propose to me,” Chen Lan’s face was filled with the joy of love.
Luo Bei knew it wouldn’t be pleasant to say anything discouraging at this point. “Your boyfriend is serious about you, and you want to marry him. I think you should be honest with him. After all, Jingzhou is a real child. You can’t hide him forever. If your boyfriend finds out you lied to him one day…”
Chen Lan interrupted her impatiently. “If I tell him I have a child, he won’t want to marry me or be serious about me.”
- meaning that women could also have interest on other men while already having a partner ↩︎
Chen Lan is just Soo selfish and stupid, if your prospect will not be serious or like you again after finding out you are a single mother, then why are you in a relationship with him.
Just to cause another dog-blood drama again?
Chen Lan is not that bad, but she is a horrible mother and a selfish lover
Basically, I agree with JSH about “looking at the pot while eating from the bowl”. It’s unrelated to their gender. For me, there’s nothing wrong with appreciating beauty as long as we stay away from and avoid cheating, fornication, and adultery.