cast a peach

Chapter 20 She's Not Happy

"child?"

Mom was also taken aback for a moment, and then she understood, "You mean the child from the Zhao family?"

Tan Mingli told her parents about Xiao Shui, and she nodded slightly.

Mom hesitated, and said slowly: "You and her... getting along well?"

He spoke more clearly, and added softly: "After all, he is a child of the Zhao family."

"pretty good."

Tan Mingli saw her mother's unspoken concerns, and comforted her with a smile, "That's a very good child, really."

Perhaps it was too good, Tan Mingli thought, and even made her feel dependent.

"I like it very much," she said softly.

The father also laughed, patted his wife on the shoulder, and said heartily: "What are you worried about? Mingli can make a gift with his own hands, which means that the two get along very well! Mingli is so big, you see her Who did you make something for yourself?"

Tan Mingli was also a little shy when she heard the words, and said coquettishly in a low voice, "Dad...don't laugh at me."

Mom let out a sigh and said, "I'm not worried. Mingli finally got out of the Tan family and got involved with the Zhao family... The old man of the Zhao family is not comparable to the Tan family. He—"

"Mom." Tan Mingli stopped her mother's words with a smile, and shook her head to signal her not to say any more, "You can eat some fruit."

Mother Tan froze for a moment, knowing that she had made a slip of the tongue.

She looked at her daughter who was sitting in front of her. She had a beautiful and gentle appearance, a dignified and calm demeanor, and she was an outstanding person in every aspect. Even if she was unhappy, her expression was still gentle and light, showing no signs of happiness or anger.

She knew that Mingli didn't like to hear her say this, so she was a little angry.Mother Tan sighed softly and stopped talking.

Mingli has a deep heart, is too smart, thinks too much, and always acts properly and never makes mistakes. As a mother, she is often in trouble. I don't know when, even she can't figure out what her beloved daughter is thinking. .

But she knew one thing clearly: Mingli was not happy.

...It would have been fine if I hadn't returned to China back then.

Maybe Mingli won't be like this now.

The atmosphere froze for a while, and Dad hurriedly changed the subject with a smile: "Eat fruit, Mingli, you can eat it too."

It's better not to speak, what is this saying?Mother Tan gave her husband a helpless look, peeled the orange and handed it to Mingli: "Your father bought it specially, try it?"

Tan Mingli took it and ate a piece silently.

She lowered her eyes and said, "Don't worry about me, Mom, I get along well with Xiao Shui."

Mom walked down the slope, picked up her topic, and asked some other questions, and she mentioned it unintentionally: "My colleague's son has recently returned to China. He is in his 30s. He is a doctor. I think he looks pretty decent. I……"

"I won't get married again, Mom." Tan Mingli interrupted her mother, showing a rare unquestionable toughness.

"Ah," Mom was also stunned, and then asked slightly hesitantly, "Then...Mingli, girl, do you like it?"

"What?" Tan Mingli was startled, and was confused for the first time, almost thinking that he had heard it wrong.

"I mean, it's not impossible for girls. Don't set too many restrictions on yourself. Mom and your dad are very open."

Mom said sincerely and bumped her husband with her elbow, and Dad hurriedly nodded to her to express his approval.

"..."

Tan Mingli couldn't laugh or cry, she leaned on the sofa helplessly and said, "What are you talking about?"

"I do not like……"

——Woman, just as she was about to say that, a pair of clear and bright eyes suddenly appeared in her mind.

small water.

Tan Mingli was startled, and held his fingers in a daze.The river wind from last night seemed to blow past again, but this time the wind and waves were churning in her heart.

The girl has a slender and flexible waist and a sweet voice. When looking at her, she is serious and enthusiastic, as if she is the only one in the world who can see her eyes.

...Maybe it's not that she doesn't like women.

The feeling when holding Xiaoshui seems to still be in the palm and heart.

Tan Mingli was in a daze for a moment, and continued in a low voice: "...I don't like anyone yet."

"Don't worry about me, I'll talk to you when I meet the right one." Tan Mingli held her mother's hand reassuringly, "I'm not a pedantic person, and I don't care about these rules and regulations."

She peeled an orange and handed it to her mother, a little distracted.

This orange is very sweet, Xiao Shui should like it quite a bit, Tan Mingli thought subconsciously.When you go home, you can ask Dad where he bought it, and bring some for Xiao Shui.

What is Xiao Shui doing now?She should have gone to sister Zhihua's place, right?

"Hug, sorry for disturbing you..."

Zhao Guangshui closed the door at a loss, his mind went blank, he stayed there for several seconds and ran away.

Mom was kissing a girl she didn't know.

The girl looked young...probably not much older than her.She was flustered and didn't know how to face her mother, so she had to be alone for a while.

My heart is in a mess.

After Zhao Guangshui walked a long way, she realized that she didn't know when she was crying, and the tears were falling drop by drop. She sobbed in embarrassment, wiped her face, and found a place to squat down.

I really want to go home, I really miss my grandpa, I really miss my little attic, and I really miss Sister Li.

If only Sister Li was here, she lowered her head and held back her tears.

If Sister Li was here, she would know what to do, she would hold herself in her arms very gently to comfort her, she would...

Zhao Guangshui covered his face and wept.

I'm sorry, she shouldn't have come to her mother, she was a mistake, a burden, and a nuisance to her mother, and she clearly saw the surprise and bewilderment in her mother's eyes when she found her standing at the door.

Just like my mother told her not to come over in disgust many years ago.

What to do, it seems to be causing trouble to my mother again.Mingming thought that her mother would be happy that she would spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with her, and she thought that her mother gave her a bicycle to get along with her, but she seemed to have messed up again.

Zhao Guangshui barely held back his tears, turned on his phone, and bought the nearest ticket back to Jiangcheng.

I want to go home, I want to see Sister Li instead of staying here.

Zhao Zhihua lit a cigarette irritably, took a puff and extinguished it.

Li Runyue looked at her timidly, and asked softly, "Is that your girlfriend?"

This question seemed particularly ironic in this situation, and Zhao Zhihua almost laughed out loud, but he still didn't, and just said in a weary whisper: "She is my daughter."

"Then you..." Li Runyue was stunned, as if she didn't expect her to have such a big daughter, she said cautiously, "Aren't you going to find her?"

The girl looked flustered as she ran away.

"I called, but she didn't answer."

Zhao Zhihua sighed, what's the matter.She rubbed the center of her brows distractedly: "I have already sent someone out to look for it."

She looked at her watch and decided to call the police if she couldn't find anyone later.

Just thinking about it, the phone rang.Zhao Zhihua immediately answered: "Hello?"

"Mother."

It's Xiaoshui.

"Where are you?" she asked eagerly.

"I...I don't know," the girl's voice was a little hoarse, and her tone was very quiet, "I just ran out and didn't look for the road. May I send you a location?"

"Okay, send it to me." Zhao Zhihua put on his clothes and hooked up his shoes, "Stand still, I'll pick you up by car."

She turned around and nodded to Li Runyue: "Go back first, and then contact me." After speaking, she left in a hurry.

"what do you want to eat?"

Zhao Zhihua flipped through a few pages of the menu and handed it to Zhao Guangshui.

"Just order it, I can do it." Zhao Guangshui said softly without answering.

The girl's face was a little pale, but when she was found just now, her expression was very calm and polite. She didn't even ask her who the woman was, and asked her to do useless work on the belly draft she had typed on the way there.

Zhao Zhihua glanced at his daughter, was swayed by her soft resistance, pursed his lips and did not speak, ordered a few dishes skillfully, asked the waiter for a glass of orange juice for Xiaoshui, poured himself a glass of wine and drank slowly .

"Mom, I bought a ticket for one o'clock in the afternoon, and I will return to Jiangcheng later." Zhao Guangshui took a sip of orange juice quietly and said very gently.

"..."

Zhao Zhihua took a sip of his wine: "Just arrived and are you leaving?"

"Ah."

Zhao Guangshui looked at his mother calmly, unexpectedly, he didn't lose his momentum under the woman's scrutiny.Zhao Zhihua smiled wryly in his heart, as expected of a child brought up by his father, even she couldn't suppress the firm pride in her bones.

"Whatever you want." Zhao Zhihua said.

"But I want to tell you one thing, Xiao Shui. This is my private life. Even though you are my daughter, you can have opinions." She glanced at Xiao Shui lightly, "But I won't care about you .”

"I didn't intend to interfere with your private life." Zhao Guangshui was silent for a moment before he said slowly, "It doesn't matter if that lady is your girlfriend or..."

"Your lover," she raised her face and said calmly and warmly, "I don't even care. You are single, so of course you can have your own love life."

"As for, you don't care about me."

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Zhao Guangshui's face, and he lowered his eyelashes, "I think you forgot...you never cared about me."

"I'm leaving first, Mom." Zhao Guangshui finished his orange juice, picked up his schoolbag, and handed her a small box, "A Mid-Autumn Festival gift for you."

"Mom, I have another question." The girl had already walked a few steps, but suddenly came back to stare at her seriously.

"How did you know I liked my bike?"

Her eyes were too clear, Zhao Zhihua was stunned, and subconsciously whispered:

"It's Mingli..."

Mingli.Tan Mingli.Sister Pear.

Zhao Guangshui took a deep breath, her eyes were sore, she had to lower her head to hide the tears that were about to burst into her eyes: "...Thank you, I understand."

Even this last bit of warmth and kindness is fake.

She turned away.

Xiao Shui left.

Zhao Zhihua's eyes were empty, and after drinking the last sip of wine in the glass, he realized that he had pinched the white mark out of his palm at some point.

She took the carefully packaged small box and opened it. Inside was a pair of chess pieces, emitting a soft light, as if polished by herself with stones.

Zhao Zhihua picked up a chess piece in a daze, and a card fell out of the small box, with a stick figure drawn on it.

It was a woman, sitting in front of the window, lighting a cigarette with a calm expression.

Here is a line of fine print:

"Mom, I always feel that you are not very happy. But at least today, I hope you will be happy! Also, please smoke less!"