章 17: Chapter 17: Don't Regret When You're Old
Ten minutes later, a delicious bowl of scallion oil noodles came out of the pan, and Wenyan even fried an extra egg for Shen Jinghe.
These scallion oil noodles might seem simple, but making the fried scallion oil requires some skill; if done poorly, it can taste bitter.
Although Shen Jinghe claimed to be not picky with food, he was quite particular.
Even someone as fussy as him couldn't help but look at Wenyan with newfound respect upon tasting the noodles.
But complimenting her was out of the question; he couldn't bring himself to say such things to Wenyan.
So after finishing his bowl, Shen Jinghe suddenly said to Wenyan, "I owe you a favor."
Wenyan was luring Shen Pili with a cat treat when she suddenly heard this nonsensical statement and couldn't help but feel surprised.
"You mean this meal?"
"Mhm," Shen Jinghe frowned slightly and squeaked out an uncomfortable sound.
Wenyan looked at Shen Jinghe with a somewhat amused look, thinking it was unnecessary.
A simple 'thank you' would have sufficed.
[He's such a tsundere] Wenyan couldn't help but muse inwardly again.
Shen Jinghe: ...God must've let him hear this woman's thoughts just to mock him.
"I'm feeling a lot better now, you can go."
Wenyan [Talk about kicking down the bridge after crossing the river, or killing the donkey once the milling is done.]
Shen Jinghe: ...Is she ever tired of mocking? Can't she take a break?
Actually, Wenyan hadn't planned to stay long, and if it weren't for Shen Pili being such a beautiful and well-behaved cat, she would have left right after cooking.
"Wait until I finish feeding this cat treat, there isn't much left, it'll be quick."
This time, Shen Jinghe was wiser and didn't make any more remarks, turning around to take his empty bowl to the kitchen.
Soon after, Wenyan could hear the sound of washing dishes.
Shen Pili quickly finished a whole cat treat.
By the time Shen Jinghe came back, Wenyan had just opened WeChat.
She scrolled through her friend list and asked Shen Jinghe, "We haven't added each other as friends, have we?"
If he remembered correctly... Shen Jinghe nodded, "I don't think so."
"Then let's add each other," she suggested.
Shen Jinghe raised his eyebrows, "Is that necessary with the relationship we have?"
"Oh," Wenyan didn't just silently scoff this time but confronted him directly, "who was it that just said he owed me a favor?
Given our relationship, we hardly have the chance to meet, and without any contact information, how are you going to return the favor? Or were you just humoring me with polite nothings?"
"..." Shen Jinghe was at a loss for words and silently showed Wenyan his WeChat QR code.
After successfully adding each other on WeChat, Wenyan couldn't help but slightly curl up the corners of her mouth.
[To think Shen Jinghe is such a proud tsundere with a sharp tongue and hard to deal with; yet, his WeChat profile picture is a cat. How bad can someone who loves small animals really be?]
"I'm off," Wenyan said, waving her hand at the cat, "Goodbye then, Shen Pili. Take good care of your owner."
-
Wenyan took a taxi back to her apartment.
In the taxi, she received a call from Su Yang.
"Hello, Mom. ...Yes, it's over, I felt pretty good about it, they told me to wait for notification. ...I don't think it was just politeness, because they directly announced the elimination of a few other people. ...Tonight? No, I won't come back tonight, it's too late. ...Tomorrow? Oh, tomorrow is the weekend, isn't it? I hadn't noticed, but, but tomorrow I still want to—"
She hadn't finished her sentence when suddenly Wenyan realized her phone had run out of battery and shut off.
"No way, the phone died before I could finish talking," Wenyan complained as she looked at the now dark phone screen.
She was actually talking to herself, but the attentive taxi driver heard her and took the initiative to speak.
"I've got a power bank. Do you need it? You were on the phone with your mom just now, right? She'll definitely be worried about a young girl like you being outside with your phone suddenly turning off so late at night."
As he spoke, the driver handed over a power bank and charging cable.
Wenyan appreciated the driver's kindness, but she still declined.
"Thank you, Uncle, but it's not necessary. I'll be home shortly, and I'll call my mom back then."
"Oh, that's true," the driver retracted his hand, "Just a few more minutes and we'll be there. You look like you've just graduated."
"Yes, good guess, Uncle. I did graduate this year."
The taxi driver was chatty. "Job-hunting season for you then?"
"Yes."
"The call earlier sounded like you're not living with your parents."
"Right, I'm not a child anymore. It's time to be independent."
"Independence is good. My daughter is about your age; she moved out on her own after graduating last year. But girl, don't mind my meddling. No matter how independent you are, you're still your parents' treasure, raised from nothing.
In high school, you stay in a dorm, in college you leave your parents' side, after work it's even more so, and once you're married and have your own family, the chances to spend time with your parents become even fewer. You really should visit your parents on the weekends when you have time.
What can't you deal with during workdays, right? There probably aren't job interviews on weekends, and if a company calls you in for an interview then, you shouldn't go. It's definitely a place that will require lots of overtime.
When I was young, I regarded money and work as more important than life, working overtime during festivals and holidays, too busy to join family reunions. It was only after my parents passed away that I started to have regrets.
'Children wish to support their parents, but they may not be there anymore.' You're still young, you have lots of time, but don't be like me, realizing regret in middle age. Your parents are older than you; they have less time."
The driver's words came from the heart, and Wenyan could tell they were filled with regret.
They also touched her.
Who knows if she'll still be able to go back through this book in the future, if so, she definitely will take good care of her parents after returning.
For now, she should treat her adoptive parents better.
Once home, Wenyan immediately charged her phone and called Su Yang back right away.
"Mom, my phone died halfway through our call earlier, but now I'm back home."
On the other end, Su Yang's voice was full of worry, "Thank goodness you called. Otherwise, I was going to look for you at your apartment. I think you should come back and live here. I'm not comfortable with you living alone in an apartment."
"Mom, today was just a small accident. I'll make sure to charge my phone next time. I'll come to see you tomorrow."
"Really?" Su Yang sounded clearly delighted, "Didn't you say you had something to do just now?"
"Nothing is more important than coming home and reuniting with mom. Push everything else back!"
"That's right, you're supposed to rest on weekends. Tomorrow your eldest brother and Zhirou will be off too, so it'll be nice for everyone to have a meal together, then stay at home for the night, and talk about work on Monday."
"Got it."
"It's a pity that your other three brothers are all very busy, your third brother is on a business trip out of province, and the fourth one is still abroad."
Su Yang went through the whereabouts of each person, except she did not mention the second son, Shen Jinghe.
Wenyan then asked, "What about Second Brother?"
"Him? Can't get through to his phone, nobody's answering. But that's normal; he's probably filming and can't access his phone."
Wenyan, just back from Shen Jinghe's: "......"
"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've seen your second brother. As a mother, my only chance to see my son is to watch him on TV; sigh, I might as well be one of the crew members around him."
Su Yang sighed, her tone full of longing and regret.
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