Early morning, and it was yet another gloomy, overcast day.
A feeble stream of light struggled through the curtains, leaving the bedroom steeped in dimness.
Zhu Shiyu was jolted awake by a violent bout of knocking on her door.
“It’s bright and early, why are you calling for Diandian? Can’t it wait until she wakes up?”
“No! I need to ask her right now and get things straight. What is the meaning of this plane ticket?!”
The noisy argument filtered through the wooden door, slowly pulling Zhu Shiyu into full consciousness and scattering her sleepiness to the wind.
“What plane ticket?” Wearing her pajamas, she pulled the door open. Just as she steadied herself and saw Zhu Anyuan and Zhou Zhen standing outside, a white envelope was forcefully chucked right at her.
“See for yourself!”
The woman, who had just recovered from a major illness, was flushed with anger, her breathing heavy and ragged.
Zhou Zhen was in her fifties this year. Unbeknownst to anyone, white hairs had long since sprouted at her temples, and deep wrinkles had crawled past the corners of her eyes.
Over the past few years, it seemed as though her parents had aged at the speed of light.
Zhu Anyuan shot Shiyu a worried look. Without a moment to console her, he hurriedly bowed his head to support Zhou Zhen, gently patting the area over her heart.
“The doctor told you not to get too agitated. Diandian already promised us she would move back. Don’t go jumping to conclusions at the slightest breeze. Calm down first and ask Diandian what exactly is going on.”
Hearing these words, Zhou Zhen somehow reacted as if a bucket of ice water had been splashed over a raging fire. She suddenly calmed down, her eyes locking fiercely onto Zhu Shiyu.
“Then tell me, what is this all about?”
Zhu Shiyu had already lowered her head, clearly reading the plane ticket in her hands.
The flight details were printed clearly on it.
The day after tomorrow, 10:00 AM, flying from Wenbei to Beijing. Passenger: Zhu Shiyu.
She recalled the messages in her former company’s work group chat that she had ignored a few days ago. Someone had tagged her then. Having resigned nearly half a month ago, Zhu Shiyu hadn’t paid it any mind; she had simply tapped in, scrolled to the bottom, and left the group chat.
Thinking of this, she turned back into her room, found her phone, and unlocked it. Sure enough, in her “Do Not Disturb” WeChat list lay a whole string of unread messages.
The latest one, from a day ago, was from her direct supervisor.
It informed Zhu Shiyu that because her phone couldn’t be reached and they couldn’t contact her through any other means, they had mailed the plane ticket directly to her home, hoping she would reply upon receiving it.
Not long ago, for the sake of convenience, Zhu Shiyu had switched to a local SIM card, and she hadn’t given her new number to her former colleagues.
She quickly skimmed through the rest of the unread messages, let out a long sigh, and heavily massaged her temples.
Zhu Shiyu had majored in broadcasting and directing in college. After graduating, she worked at a video streaming company, climbing the ranks from a filming assistant to a project manager. During that time, she independently produced a considerable amount of video content.
Among her projects was a brand collaboration commercial. It had been shelved back then due to a last-minute change in the brand ambassador. The client kept delaying their final confirmation, so the company paused the project. It had been nearly half a year since then.
Last week, the client finally locked in their ambassador and suddenly wanted to resume shooting.
Zhu Shiyu’s resignation had been hasty; she had fully handed over her ongoing tasks to her colleagues in just a short three days. However, some early project files were still archived on her old computer.
Among them was this very commercial. The general planning materials were all there, but some crucial details required her personal confirmation.
Previously, Zhu Shiyu was the one in charge of negotiating and liaising with the client. Now, the client was arriving at the company the day after tomorrow for a project meeting.
—This brand was a top-tier name in the industry, and the company valued it highly. Her former boss’s intention was for Zhu Shiyu to fly back for a quick trip, promising her the standard project bonus and subsidies in return.
Given the urgency and her unreachable status, the assistant had no choice but to dig up the home address she had initially filled out and mail the documents and ticket directly.
Hence, this early morning scene.
Zhu Shiyu sat on the sofa, clutching her phone tightly. She picked out the key points and concisely explained the cause and effect. The living room fell into dead silence. Zhou Zhen parted her lips, about to speak, when she suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit. Under Zhu Anyuan’s continuous back-patting and soothing, she barely managed to stop, her hand pressing tightly against her chest, her lips pale.
Zhu Shiyu moved her lips but ultimately pressed them tightly together.
“I don’t care what’s going on with your former company. You’ve already resigned anyway, so you are not allowed to go,” she said with a dark expression, having finally caught her breath.
“That’s right, Little Yu, you’ve been gone for so long, why would they suddenly call you back?” Zhu Anyuan also looked at her with deep worry, his tone disapproving.
“My work handover wasn’t fully completed, I need to take responsibility. This was part of the agreement I signed with the company,” Zhu Shiyu explained patiently, trying to persuade them.
“Besides, it’s just a one-day trip and I’ll be back.”
Zhou Zhen pushed away Zhu Anyuan’s supporting arm and struggled to sit up straight. Her lips tightened into a thin line as she spoke with unquestionable authority: “How much is the penalty fee? I’ll pay it.”
In the end, Zhu Shiyu never caught that flight.
After a round of communication and apologies, the meeting was shifted to an online remote video call. She spent the entire day negotiating and coordinating with all parties. Just before wrapping up, she politely declined the company’s annual gala invitation.
The talking hadn’t stopped from morning until night. Shutting down her computer, Zhu Shiyu stood up from her desk, only to realize her mouth was parched and her lips were peeling.
The atmosphere at home plummeted to the freezing point because of this incident. For the next few days, the dining table was exceptionally silent.
Zhu Shiyu hadn’t lived at home for so many years, making a certain awkward distance inevitable. The relationship that had slightly thawed because of her resignation and return had, overnight, reverted right back to how it used to be.
“Have you been in touch with Little Meng these past few days?” At the dead-silent breakfast table, Zhou Zhen suddenly spoke. The clinking of bowls and chopsticks instantly vanished as Zhu Shiyu and Zhu Anyuan simultaneously froze in their tracks.
“Yes,” Zhu Shiyu paused before replying, “But not much.”
“See if he has any free time these next two days. Your dad and I will cook up a few good dishes and invite him over for a meal, so we can formally meet.”
Zhou Zhen spoke as if it were the most casual thing in the world: “It’s been so long and we still haven’t met Little Meng. I wonder what kind of person he is.”
Zhu Shiyu sat there in silence. Zhu Anyuan slowly picked up his bowl and used his spoon to scoop some porridge, not making a single sound throughout the entire process.
After a long while.
Zhu Shiyu’s voice sounded.
“I’ll ask him.”
Meng Siyi’s profile picture was a simple white design, like a watercolor-painted cloud, blurry and atmospheric, with the faint outline of a water droplet right in the center.
Zhu Shiyu opened their chat box. Scrolling from bottom to top, it was entirely filled with brief, everyday exchanges—very plain, yet there weren’t many gaps in the dates of their chat history.
The longest gap was about three days without any contact.
It wasn’t an intentional ghosting, nor did they go out of their way to seek each other out. Time just passed routinely, and when it suddenly came to mind, they would realize they had vanished from each other’s lives for a few days.
That night, right before Zhu Shiyu went to sleep, the time nearing midnight, she received a new message on her phone.
From Meng Siyi.
[Goodnight]
In that split second, amidst the dead of the quiet night, Zhu Shiyu felt as if she could once again smell the scent of lemon-infused sea breeze at the tip of her nose.
Regarding the dinner invitation, Zhu Shiyu carefully organized her wording and sent it over.
Meng Siyi’s reply came quickly. He didn’t ask too many questions, simply agreeing to it and directly finalizing a date.
Zhou Zhen and Zhu Anyuan both seemed rather excited, starting their menu preparations early on. On the day of his scheduled visit, just as the sky outside began to lighten, Zhu Shiyu woke up to the sound of chopping echoing from the kitchen.
Piled on the chopping board was seafood meat filling, along with perfectly rolled-out dumpling wrappers.
It was Zhou Zhen’s signature dish: seafood dumplings.
Ever since she left home for college, Zhu Shiyu hadn’t tasted them again.
During the college entrance exams, she had stubbornly applied to a university in Beijing for a broadcasting and directing major, completely falling out with her family. The pent-up conflicts of several years completely exploded when, upon graduation, she insisted on staying in Beijing, outright refusing her family’s suggestion to return home and take the civil service exams.
From that moment on, Zhou Zhen hadn’t spoken a single proper, kind word to her.
Meng Siyi arrived right on time—in fact, he was extremely well-mannered, showing up half an hour early. When he arrived at the door, both his hands were full of gifts. Zhu Shiyu was the one who opened the door, and the moment she did, she was startled by his grand formality.
“Why did you… bring so much stuff?” Zhu Shiyu glanced back at the kitchen and lowered her voice to ask him.
“It’s my first time visiting, this is just basic courtesy,” Meng Siyi stood upright outside the door, his features proper and calm.
Hearing this, Zhu Shiyu gave a small nod, said no more, and stepped sideways to welcome him in.
The two in the kitchen had already heard the commotion. Hurriedly untying their aprons, they rushed forward to greet him with overflowing enthusiasm.
“Little Meng, you’re here! Why did you bring so many things? This is too grand! Next time you come, no need to bring all this. Just treat this as your own home.”
Zhou Zhen said with an affectionate smile, ushering him to sit on the living room sofa. Zhu Anyuan quickly went to take the items from his hands, carefully placing them on the living room cabinet.
“Would you like some tea? This is your uncle’s favorite Maojian tea, or would you prefer hot water?”
The icy atmosphere that had plagued the house for days was replaced by an unprecedented warmth and liveliness, all thanks to Meng Siyi’s arrival. Compared to their bustling excitement, Zhu Shiyu, sitting quietly on the sofa to the side, looked more like an outsider.
The dinner table boasted six dishes and one soup, perfect in color, aroma, and taste. The incredibly intricate Hibiscus Prawns dish in the center was exquisitely plated.
“Little Meng, come try your uncle and auntie’s cooking.”
The two of them enthusiastically hosted Meng Siyi. In no time, the food piled in his bowl formed a tiny mountain.
That plate of seafood dumplings was placed closest to Zhu Shiyu. She picked one up with her chopsticks and placed it in her bowl. With just one bite, the familiar flavor rushed straight to her nose.
The rising steam stung her eyes, making them ache.
This flavor had accompanied her through almost every single morning of her senior year in high school.
High school life was grueling, especially senior year when the academic pressure was the heaviest. First High School had strict management; no one was allowed to be absent from early morning or late evening study sessions, meaning she had to get up and head to school before dawn every single day.
During that time, Zhou Zhen, terrified that her daughter was working too hard and lacking nutrition, would prep the dumpling ingredients the night before. Then, bright and early the next morning, she would wake up to wrap and boil them so Shiyu could take them to school.
For a whole year, over three hundred days, she practically never missed a single morning. Later, afraid she might get sick of them, she even switched up the routine, preparing all sorts of other breakfast styles for her.
Before her falling out with her family, Zhu Shiyu had been meticulously pampered like a priceless treasure for eighteen years.
They delivered umbrellas when it rained, added layers when it was cold, and cared for her at her bedside down to the smallest detail when she was sick. From her food and clothes to her daily expenses, they had always poured in their best efforts. Growing up, Zhu Shiyu hadn’t even been allowed to step foot in the kitchen a single time.
Her most abundant memories were of plate after plate of endless fruits being brought into her room and placed on her study desk.
Of Zhou Zhen shooing her away to study or rest every time she tried to help with the chores.
Of countless acts of care, and innumerable ordinary, harmonious moments of their family of three.
Zhu Shiyu kept her head ducked low, her chest swelling with a bitter ache. Her eyes uncontrollably dampened for a fleeting second before she swiftly suppressed it, blinking the moisture away.
In the end, she finished the dumpling in her bowl in large bites, but never reached out her chopsticks for a second one.
As the dinner drew to a close, the twilight hues of dusk had already risen outside the window.
Meng Siyi set down his chopsticks and, as always, picked up a napkin from the side.
The bustling chatter and pleasantries at the table seemed to hit the pause button, unexpectedly quieting down for a moment.
Zhu Shiyu lifted her face in confusion, only to see Zhou Zhen exchange a glance with Zhu Anyuan before her gaze landed right on Meng Siyi, preparing to speak.
Her heart gave a light skip, a sudden premonition welling up inside her.
The very next second, she heard Zhou Zhen’s question directed at Meng Siyi.
“Little Meng, when do you plan on getting married?”
Meng Siyi’s movements paused.
He turned his head, his gaze falling lightly upon Zhu Shiyu. The woman sat there, her side profile as delicate as porcelain white. Her eyes were slightly wide, and for a long moment, she didn’t react, as if completely stunned.
He withdrew his gaze, his eyes lowering slightly to fixate on the white porcelain plate in front of him, his demeanor entirely docile and considerate.
“I’ll listen to Shiyu. Whenever she wants to get married, I’m fine with it.”
Translator’s Anecdote: If answering “whenever she wants” to a surprise mother-in-law marriage interrogation doesn’t scream absolute green-flag male lead energy, I don’t know what does! 💍✨