On the evening of the third day of the Lunar New Year, Qin Shui was at home watching television.
Her parents were in the kitchen making dinner and frying ribbonfish. The day’s round of visiting relatives had already been completed. She sat quietly on the sofa peeling tangerines, her heart unable to settle.
She had been a sensitive child since she was young. Her family was very traditional, and no one really knew how to comfort her. It often even turned into reproach instead. Qin Shui could never forget the fact that she had lost her job. It was as if she were carrying a heavy bundle all by herself. When others asked why she was bent over, she had no words to explain.
Moreover, she had gotten that job through a middleman’s help. A state-owned enterprise had finally freed up a slot. Cigarettes had been given, liquor had been sent. Who would have thought that after spending money, she would end up sinking into a quagmire?
Only after stepping into society did Qin Shui finally understand that if a job that looked like a gift from heaven suddenly landed in front of you, you had to be extremely cautious, because any mess they let you take over was always a rotten one.
She did not dare say it out loud, but holding it in made her miserable. These past few days, what she feared most during family visits was running into the introducer, and she also feared elders asking about her job. She did not dare say she had resigned, and she felt even more ashamed to admit that she still had not found a new job.
Finding work was harder than she had imagined. Jobs suitable for deaf people were even fewer. Qin Shui felt that all those years of studying had been wasted, that she had become a useless leftover on the margins of society.
When she lived with Qin Sheng, she rarely felt anxious, but she still hurried to submit resumes and wrote drafts like crazy, doing everything she could to keep herself busy. She could not suppress this sense of distance. Even though he was her boyfriend, Qin Shui was afraid she would fail to create value.
She sat in the living room, lost in thought, heavy with worries. Her parents did not notice anything unusual. After all, she had been quiet since childhood, rarely showing emotional fluctuations, and she loved immersing herself in her own world; no one knew what she was pondering.
Dinner was not ready yet. On the television, a Coca-Cola commercial full of family happiness was playing. Qin Shui stood up and returned to her bedroom. She put on a down jacket over her pajamas and wanted to go downstairs to buy a drink.
After stepping out, once the elevator button lit up, she stared blankly at the numbers above as they continued to rise.
When the elevator reached the ninth floor, just before it came to a stop, someone suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist from behind. A hand covered her mouth as she was half-dragged into the stairwell.
“……”
The other person released her and pressed her against the wall, lifting her chin and kissing her. Qin Shui struggled fiercely and succeeded, landing a punch squarely on Qin Sheng’s shoulder.
She had not expected Qin Sheng to come. Her mood was not good, and she had no energy to flirt with him. Qin Shui turned around and closed the stairwell’s fire door, then signed to him: “Why did you come without telling me?”
“What’s the fun of spending the New Year alone at home? Just think of it as me coming to travel.”
Qin Sheng was in a good mood. He glanced cheerfully at the fluffy slippers on her feet and asked, “Aren’t you cold wearing those downstairs?”
Qin Shui shook her head. “I’m just going to the supermarket downstairs to buy something.”
Even though she tried hard to act calm and composed, Qin Sheng could still tell that she was distracted. He lifted the gift bags in his hand to show her and said softly, “I brought some gifts for your parents, but I didn’t dare knock.”
Qin Shui shook her head and waved her hands in some distress. “No! These things are too expensive. Don’t give them.”
Qin Sheng asked, “You haven’t told them yet, have you?”
“……”
Qin Shui was a little angry. How could she dare to talk about dating?
She knew Qin Sheng wanted to settle the marriage, but she still had not found a proper job and did not have much savings. She simply did not dare to get married. If her parents knew that she had been unemployed for more than half a year, had made no progress, and had even gone to live with her boyfriend, one could imagine how ugly the situation would become.
Life after marriage was different from dating. Major and trivial matters of life all need a financial foundation to balance them. If she had no value in this marriage, this seemingly happy bubble would sooner or later burst.
“I didn’t say anything,” she admitted honestly. “Now isn’t a good time.”
Seeing her attitude suddenly change, alarm bells went off in Qin Sheng’s mind. He immediately asked, “Do your parents not allow you to date?”
Qin Shui shook her head. “They didn’t say I can’t. It’s just that I don’t know how long I can keep my job situation hidden, and I definitely won’t be able to find another job that’s as decent as the last one.”
“It’s not like you absolutely have to rush to get a job,” Qin Sheng said. “You already have your own career now. If you keep developing it, it’ll only get better. What’s there to worry about? If it really doesn’t work, we can just wait for opportunities. When a good company comes along, you can go then.”
He had noticed that since Qin Shui returned home, her state had not been very good. Her reply frequency had clearly dropped, and sometimes she did not even answer calls. The reason Qin Sheng suddenly rushed over was because he wanted to see what she was actually doing and whether her family had arranged blind dates for her.
“I just…” Qin Shui raised her hand and then lowered it. “I’m too unstable like this. It’s not a long-term plan. You’ll be under a lot of pressure.”
Qin Sheng quickly interrupted her. “No job is truly stable. I’m not under any pressure. Supporting a family is no problem for me. If you want to work, then work. If you don’t want to work, then stay at home and do what you like. These things don’t conflict.”
Qin Shui irritably patted the back of his hand and pointed at the gifts. “I’ll take you to the hotel downstairs.”
“……”
He obediently followed Qin Shui out of the stairwell. Before she could even press the elevator button, her apartment door opened. Qin Shui’s mother came out carrying a bag of trash and happened to see Qin Sheng and Qin Shui standing outside the elevator.
After confirming it was her own daughter, she hesitated and signed, “What are you doing standing in the hallway?”
Qin Shui felt like the sky had collapsed. Before she could come up with a suitable excuse, Qin Sheng had already raised his hand and greeted, “Hello, Auntie.”
“Hello there,” her mother replied as she opened the door wider. “Are you Qin Shui’s friend? Why didn’t you knock and come in to sit?”
Qin Sheng carried the things inside, with Qin Shui silently following behind him. The smell of fried fish and cooked dishes filled the air. Qin Sheng handed over the gifts properly and bowed slightly to the elders in a very respectful manner.
“Hello, Uncle and Auntie. My name is Qin Sheng. I came to visit you during the holiday.”
Qin Kang, who was frying vegetables in the kitchen with an apron on, came out when he heard the noise. Seeing a strange young man, he had a hunch right away. He quickly turned off the stove, took the bags of gifts and New Year goods from his wife’s hands, and brought Qin Sheng to the living room to drink tea.
The moment Zhang Haimei saw her daughter’s lifeless expression, she knew something was wrong. The two of them had been standing in the hallway just now, looking exactly like a pair of high school sweethearts caught in an early romance. She keenly guessed that Qin Shui had a boyfriend outside and had not dared to let them know.
She was already almost twenty-two, still obedient and timid. Clearly a good thing, yet she had gone to great lengths to hide it.
Qin Kang called out, “Haimei, bring out the cold dishes I prepared. Let’s get ready to eat.”
Her mother went back to the kitchen to continue working. Qin Shui did not help. Feeling as if needles were pricking her back, she returned to her bedroom, took off her down jacket, and leaned against the wall, struggling to steady herself.
Qin Sheng and Qin Kang chatted happily in the living room. Qin Shui could not hear them, but she could tell. At the same time, her mother waved for her from behind the glass door of the kitchen, pulling her inside. The two of them were shut together in the steamy kitchen.
“Is that your boyfriend?”
Qin Shui did not respond. Her mother asked again, “Why is your mouth so tight? Why wouldn’t you tell your father and me?”
She wanted to pretend to be deaf and mute, then realized she did not need to pretend at all. As her mother plated the food from the pot, she instructed, “Go set the table. Ask them if they want rice.”
Qin Shui stood in front of the television and signed, “Do you want staple food?”
Both of them nodded that they did, so she went to serve the rice.
Qin Kang thought that this young man’s manners were generous. He was tall and looked very much like a television actor who had become popular a few years ago. Seeing him arrive with so many bags, it was obvious that he took his daughter very seriously.
The four of them sat down to eat. Qin Shui and Qin Sheng sat side by side, with Qin Kang and Zhang Haimei sitting across from them.
Both parents were good cooks. They added an extra dish specially for their guest. Qin Sheng always ate with a great appetite. He obligingly finished six ribs and did not forget to pass the chicken leg that his future mother-in-law had given him into Qin Shui’s bowl.
He did not think meeting Qin Shui’s parents was anything embarrassing. Qin Kang had already asked about his family situation earlier and had not said much about the single-parent issue. Qin Sheng could tell that Qin Shui was in low spirits, and it was not hard to guess what was weighing on her mind, but to him, it was not worth worrying about at all.
Wherever the small boat of life carried a person, that was where they would dock and disembark. If this chance was missed, there would always be another boat that came later.
Zhang Haimei put a piece of ribbonfish into Qin Shui’s bowl and asked, “Xiao Qin, where are you working now?”
“I work at a car factory doing maintenance and damage assessment.”
Qin Sheng swallowed, afraid that his future mother-in-law might be dissatisfied, and quickly added, “Oh! My take-home pay after tax is over ten thousand a month. Five social insurances and two funds. It’s fairly stable. I’ve bought a house and a car in the provincial capital. The car has no loan, but the house has monthly payments.”
Qin Kang shook his head tolerantly. “Our place here only finished paying off the mortgage last September. Housing prices are too high these days. Loans are unavoidable.”
“I can tell you’re very ambitious!” Zhang Haimei smiled at her husband, unable to hide her happiness. “Our Qin Shui doesn’t talk much. She hid this from us. Auntie guessed that your relationship isn’t just that of friends, right?”
Qin Sheng quickly weighed things in his mind and answered carefully, “Auntie, I was the one who pursued Qin Shui. We’ve been together for half a year. She’s a very good girl. This time, I came unannounced because I wanted to visit you and Uncle and thank you for raising such a wonderful daughter.”
“……”
Qin Kang and Zhang Haimei’s attention was elsewhere, filled with novelty and joy, while the food in Qin Shui’s bowl only kept increasing. Words about marriage were on the verge of coming out of Qin Sheng’s mouth. He was just about to stand up and go to the living room to get the gifts he had brought when Qin Shui suddenly put down her chopsticks and firmly grabbed his hand.
Qin Sheng was a little surprised.
Then he saw Qin Shui sign a series of gestures toward her parents.
She said: Dad, Mom, I lost my job. I’m sorry.
Qin Sheng immediately sat back down at the table and looked at her parents’ expressions. Zhang Haimei reacted first. The smile on her face was quickly replaced by shock and urgency as she asked again, “Qin Shui, what are you saying?”
Qin Shui repeated slowly and firmly, “I lost my job. I resigned.”
Qin Kang asked, “When did you resign? What happened? Why didn’t you tell the family at all?”
Qin Sheng had not expected her to suddenly confess at this moment. Before he could fully react, he decisively stepped in to soothe them. “Uncle, please don’t get upset first. Qin Shui can’t explain it clearly. Let me explain.”
“Qin Shui resigned in August. That same month, she was involved in a rear-end car accident. When both parties came to the factory for repairs and damage assessment, I met her. At that time, she was already interviewing everywhere.”
He kept it as concise as possible. “Uncle, please don’t blame Qin Shui. She wasn’t fired. It was the top leader at her unit who bullied her, scolding and berating her every day, and even after work, she couldn’t have peace. A job like that… I think it was better to quit.”
Zhang Haimei was so shocked that she covered her mouth and immediately stood up to look at Qin Shui. “When did you get into a car accident? Was it serious? Huh?”
Qin Shui rolled up her sleeves and pajama legs to show the scars left from back then and brushed it off casually. “It wasn’t serious. Just superficial injuries.”
“If she bullied you, why didn’t you say anything?” Qin Kang slapped the table in frustration and asked, “We could’ve gone to talk to the introducer! Even if she’s the top leader, that state-owned enterprise is still public! After five years, she’ll have to step down anyway. Was it worth smashing your iron rice bowl over something like this?”
“……”
At this point, Qin Sheng more or less understood why Qin Shui had kept it from her family.
He immediately spoke up for her. “Uncle, that woman scolded her so badly that she ended up in the hospital. How could anyone endure that until she moved to a secondary position? By that time, she’d already driven Qin Shui to the brink.”
Zhang Haimei also snapped back at Qin Kang. “I still want my daughter! Was it easy raising her this big? She’s never been beaten or scolded at home, and she goes outside just to be trampled on by others?”
She went to the living room to grab her phone. As she passed Qin Sheng, she patted his back to signal him to sit down and shouted loudly to Qin Kang, “I’m calling the introducer right now and telling him to give me that damn female leader’s number. I’m getting justice for our Qin Shui!”
Qin Kang immediately wilted. It was obvious he didn’t want to blow things up. Qin Sheng stepped forward first to stop her, soothing her with gentle words, taking the phone from her, and guiding Zhang Haimei back to the dining table.
“Auntie, please don’t worry. Qin Shui already contacted the introducer in time and got the compensation she deserved. Over the past half year, she’s been developing a side business, has stable income, and is living better than before.”
After settling the two elders, Qin Sheng explained in a low voice, “Qin Shui told me that when she had only been at the company for half a month, the leader made her work overtime on the weekend to write the annual summary for the business department. That Sunday, she had Influenza A and a high fever of thirty-nine degrees. She wanted to take half a day off on Monday to get an IV drip, but that so-called leader called her six times in the middle of the night to scold her and refused to grant leave.”
“She wasn’t even in the business department, and she had only joined at the end of October. How was she supposed to write a report? And it was assigned on Friday. By Saturday afternoon, Qin Shui had already handed in the first draft. The leader wasn’t satisfied and made her call partner units to coordinate. She knew perfectly well that Qin Shui was deaf. How was she supposed to do that job?”
Qin Sheng didn’t know whether Qin Shui beside him could hear clearly or not, but he had to speak up for her. This was a literal case of suffering in silence. He couldn’t imagine how many times Qin Shui had swallowed her grievances throughout the first half of her life.
Zhang Haimei was already crying while pulling out tissues. Qin Kang looked at his expressionless daughter, sighed lightly, and in the end said nothing more.
Qin Shui knew that her father was a responsible man who worked hard to support the family and pay for her education. But she also knew very well that Qin Kang was both timid and concerned about saving face. Whenever something happened, he always retreated, leaving her mother to charge ahead.
It was impossible to expect her family to stand up for her. Unfortunately, she herself was even more timid than her father and couldn’t even stand up for herself.
It had already been half a year since she resigned, yet Qin Shui still hated and detested her former leader. She just didn’t say it out loud.
That woman was fifty-two, middle-aged. It was hard for women to get by within the system. In addition to her limited educational background, despite having benefited from the era of guaranteed job assignments after graduation, her career prospects did not align with her ambitions. On the family front, the daughter she had pinned high hopes on only got into a second-tier university, and her relationship with her husband was tense. She had been psychologically unbalanced for years.
Qin Shui found many explanations for the suffering that this job and this superior had brought her, turning it into self-doubt and inferiority buried deep in her heart, until today, when Qin Sheng finally spoke it out for her.
The table fell silent. No one moved their chopsticks anymore. Qin Shui’s gaze dropped beneath the table, shifted slightly, and landed on Qin Sheng’s left hand.
That hand was long, strong, with well-defined knuckles. As she looked at Qin Sheng’s wrist and fingers, she felt very safe.
In the end, it was Qin Sheng who gave her the courage to “say it out loud,” making Qin Shui willing to believe that as long as he was there, things wouldn’t get too bad.
“Uncle, Auntie,” he raised his glass and said, “Qin Shui is very smart, and she has good fortune. This is heaven saving her. We should celebrate for her.”
Zhang Haimei wiped away her tears. Seeing Qin Shui slowly raise her glass and clink it with Qin Sheng’s, she also said, “That’s right. A salary of just over four thousand isn’t worth it. If the job’s gone, it’s gone. We’ll find something suitable again.”
The three of them raised their glasses, and Qin Kang joined in as well. Only then did Qin Sheng go to the living room to bring over the gifts. He first said to Zhang Haimei, “Auntie, this is a small meeting gift I picked out specially. See if you like it.”
The ten-plus grams of pure gold were clearly valuable. Zhang Haimei hurriedly pushed the box back and refused. “It’s already very nice of you to come see us during the New Year! Auntie can’t accept this gift. I really can’t!”
“There’s one for Uncle too.”
He firmly pressed the box into Zhang Haimei’s hand, handed the liquor and cigarettes to Qin Kang, and said solemnly to the two of them, “You don’t need to feel any burden. I also don’t want Qin Shui to feel pressure. This is just a junior’s personal token of sincerity, and it’s also asking the two of you to help me settle Qin Shui.”
The shock from just moments ago was overtaken by this turn of events. Of course, the Qin Kang couple hoped that Qin Shui could find a satisfactory husband and a good home. After hearing Qin Sheng’s words and seeing that he knew how to cherish Qin Shui and wouldn’t let her be wronged, they saw that he was very responsible.
Zhang Haimei held the box, neither accepting nor returning it, and simply asked Qin Shui, “My daughter… do you agree?”
Qin Sheng looked at Qin Shui nervously, his palms drenched in sweat.
At first, she didn’t respond. She only reached out and took the necklace, stared at it for half a minute, then finally made up her mind, nodded, and said with her lips:
“I agree.”
When people are vulnerable, they easily lose control. Qin Shui’s heart was contracting rapidly, pumping blood at high speed. Qin Sheng’s courage and initiative almost made her dizzy. This joy turned into a single word of agreement. No matter what her parents said, she loved Qin Sheng.
She truly loved Qin Sheng.
Qin Kang looked at the gifts on the table and hesitated. “Xiao Qin, even if we agree, if your parents know about Qin Shui’s situation, will they agree?”
“Uncle and Auntie, you really don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already settled it,” Qin Sheng said with a quick, clever smile. “My mom remarried and moved to Zhuhai more than ten years ago. I explained Qin Shui’s situation honestly, and they don’t object. Especially my dad. He’s very satisfied with Qin Shui and has already given me his savings book. Five hundred thousand. The five pieces of gold jewelry are also bought and ready. We’re just waiting for our two families to meet.”
“Five hundred thousand?” Zhang Haimei sighed.
Qin Sheng nodded. “Auntie, the reason I came this time… was also to ask you and Uncle about the betrothal gift, to see how much your side would like. I’ll go back and prepare.”
“The bride price isn’t that important. In the end, we’ll give it all to Qin Shui and leave it for the two of you to use,” Qin Kang said. “Let’s wait until after the New Year. When we meet your father during the formal proposal, we can discuss it then.”
Qin Shui tugged at Qin Sheng’s shirt sleeve. “Let’s eat first.”
Zhang Haimei was very satisfied with her prospective son-in-law. Although his education was on the lower side and he wasn’t a civil servant, at least he had a skill and wouldn’t go hungry. Besides, when they sent Qin Shui to work in the provincial capital back then, they had hoped she would broaden her horizons and find a local boyfriend to stay there.
Qin Sheng had a house and a car, and his family didn’t mind Qin Shui’s hearing issue. Such a steady and handsome young man exceeded what she and Qin Kang had expected.
“Xiao Qin,” she said kindly, “our place is small, only two bedrooms. Auntie will book you a room at a chain hotel downstairs later. You can stay there tonight, okay?”
Qin Sheng gnawed on a rib and declined politely. “I’ll go by myself, Auntie. We’re family now. Feel free to make use of me. Don’t be polite!”
Zhang Haimei smiled. “Then let Qin Shui walk you downstairs later.”
Qin Sheng was quite happy with that suggestion. After the meal, he helped carry the dishes to the kitchen and rushed to wipe the table. Once he was sure everything was done and the gifts were properly given, he said goodbye to the two elders and went downstairs with Qin Shui, who was still wearing her down jacket over her pajamas, to find a place to stay.
This time, the atmosphere between the two was much more subtle. The moment Qin Sheng stepped into the elevator, he hugged her and kissed her, smugly saying, “See? There was nothing to be anxious about. Doesn’t it feel much better once you say it out loud?”
Qin Shui smiled with relief, wrapped her left arm around his waist, and leaned tightly into his embrace.
“If anyone ever bullies you again, you have to tell me,” he said as he held her and walked out of the elevator, joking. “You’ve got to be tougher too, just like earlier. You were really brave.”
She signed, “I only dared to say it because you were there.”
Qin Sheng stopped in his tracks, bit his lip to hide the smile spreading across his face, and replied, “We just ate. Walk with me for a bit, okay?”
This time, Qin Shui finally answered him out loud. “Mm.”
The children in the neighborhood who had been secretly setting off firecrackers had all gone home to eat. Qin Sheng and Qin Shui strolled to the small plaza, where red paper scraps covered the ground. Qin Shui linked her arm through his, both hands tucked into her pockets, absentmindedly kicking around with her snow boots.
They walked to the covered bridge by the garden. There was no one around. Qin Sheng’s right hand stayed in his pocket the entire time, rubbing the satin ring box.
Above the corridor was a hollow wooden trellis for climbing flowers. In winter, there were no flowers or leaves, so looking up, you could see the moon. The third day of the New Year was a widely known auspicious day. The heavens cooperated. The night sky was cloudless.
Just as they were about to walk out from under the corridor, a burst of star-shaped fireworks bloomed in the southern night sky. The crackling sound snapped Qin Sheng back to his senses. He took out the box, went down on one knee, and held the diamond ring up in front of him.
“Qin Shui.”
He said, “It’s a little late, but are you willing to marry me?”
The ring box had a small built-in light with a soft glow. Qin Shui stepped back in surprise, stumbled on the flat ground, and nearly fell. Qin Sheng hurriedly reached out to steady her and guided her to sit under the corridor, then brought the box closer again.
Qin Shui had never seen such a large, bright diamond. Her mother’s ring was only about the size of a grain of rice. She had once thought that was the normal size of a proposal ring.
Until today.
“……”
She puffed out her cheeks and looked at Qin Sheng, who was half-kneeling on the ground. Just as she was about to take her hand halfway out of her down jacket pocket, he had already taken out the ring, held her palm, and slid the diamond ring, still gleaming in the dark, onto her ring finger.
Qin Shui couldn’t help laughing. She pulled Qin Sheng up from his one-knee pose and casually brushed the dust off his knees.
Staring at this especially eye-catching and high-profile proposal gift, she signed, “I’m willing. Thank you.”
Qin Sheng tightly held Qin Shui’s left hand, feeling the hard, cool touch of the diamond pressing against his palm. He guided Qin Shui’s hands and made a gesture that was completely different from “thank you.”
That gesture meant I love you.