“By the way, Qingyu,” her mother said suddenly, “the Pei family would like to have you over for dinner tomorrow night.”
Shen Qingyu froze for a moment.
“So soon?”
“It’s not soon at all. You’re back, so of course you should meet them. It’s just a simple dinner to get acquainted. You don’t need to feel pressured.”
Shen Qingyu said nothing.
“You’ve met Auntie Lin, Pei Huaijin’s mother, when you were little. She even held you once. Don’t you remember?” her mother went on.
“I don’t.”
Jiang Manlin continued, “She’s such a lovely person—so gentle. I’ve been friends with her for years, and I’ve never seen her lose her temper with anyone. And you’ve seen Pei Huaijin’s photos. He’s handsome, isn’t he? Mother’s telling you, he’s even more handsome in person than in the photos.”
Shen Qingyu gazed out the window and didn’t answer.
“Qingyu?”
“I heard you,” she said. “Tomorrow night, right?”
“Yes. Seven tomorrow evening, at the Pei family’s private club. It’s a lovely place.”
Shen Qingyu murmured, “Mm.”
The car continued on, and her mother started talking about other things: the name Auntie Liu had given the stray cat, how her father had gotten a little thinner from all the work lately, and how they could go browse the new mall that had just opened in Jingbei.
Shen Qingyu listened, her gaze resting on her own reflection in the car window.
Tomorrow night, she would meet Pei Huaijin.
She thought of his cool, distant eyes in the photograph.
Eyes that reminded her of someone else.
She shook her head, quickly banishing the thought. She shouldn’t be thinking of that.
It was only a coincidence.
There were plenty of people in the world who looked alike.
The car stopped outside a villa.
Auntie Liu had been waiting at the entrance for some time. When she saw Shen Qingyu get out, her eyes reddened.
“Qingyu’s home!” She hurried over and looked her up and down. “You’ve lost weight—so much weight. Were you not eating properly overseas?”
“Auntie Liu, I haven’t lost weight…”
“And you say you haven’t? Just look at that little face.” Auntie Liu took her hand, looking concerned. “Come inside. It’s cold out. I made your favorite soup. Have a couple of extra bowls and put some weight back on.”
Auntie Liu led her inside. The moment she stepped through the door, Shen Qingyu caught the familiar aroma of home-cooked food: the sweet-and-sour scent of pork ribs, the savory aroma of shrimp with garlic and vermicelli, and the fresh fragrance of corn and pork rib soup. Mixed together, they smelled just like home as she remembered it.
“Go wash your hands. Dinner’s almost ready.” Auntie Liu ushered her toward the bathroom. “Your mother said you probably didn’t eat properly on the plane. You must be starving, right?”
After washing her hands, Shen Qingyu smiled at herself in the mirror, dried them, and went out.
The dining table was covered with all her favorite dishes. There was hardly room for anything else, but Auntie Liu was still busy in the kitchen, saying she’d just make one more vegetable dish.
“Qingyu, come sit down.” Her mother served her a bowl of soup. “Have some first to warm your stomach, then you can eat.”
Shen Qingyu sat down and picked up the bowl.
The sweetness of the corn and the savory richness of the ribs warmed her from her stomach all the way to her fingertips.
Suddenly, she felt like crying.
Whenever she video-called home from overseas, she’d always smile and say she was doing well, that everything there was great, and that they didn’t need to worry about her.
But sitting at the dining table she’d grown up with, drinking Auntie Liu’s soup and listening to her mother chatter beside her about everyday things, she realized just how much she’d missed home.
“Is it good?” Auntie Liu came out of the kitchen with the last dish and watched her expectantly.
“It’s delicious.” Shen Qingyu nodded. “Really delicious. Auntie Liu, your cooking is unbeatable.”
Auntie Liu’s eyes crinkled with delight. “If you like it, have plenty. I’ll make you more tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Auntie Liu.”
“Such a good girl. You don’t have to thank me.”
Shen Qingyu ate, listening to her mother and Auntie Liu chat and occasionally joining in with a word or two.
For now, the memory of that night was buried in the deepest part of her heart.
.
It wasn’t until nine that evening that her father came home.
When Shen Huaiting walked in, Shen Qingyu was curled up on the sofa watching TV, while her mother flipped through a fashion magazine beside her.
“Dad, you’re home.” Shen Qingyu stood up.
Shen Huaiting paused in the entryway, looking at his daughter.
Then he walked over and patted her on the shoulder.
“It’s good to have you home,” he said, his voice a little hoarse. “You’ve lost weight.”
“Mother says I’ve lost weight, and Auntie Liu says I’ve lost weight too,” Shen Qingyu said with a smile. “Did you all plan this?”
Shen Huaiting smiled too, but his eyes were a little red. He turned away, cleared his throat, and said, “I’ve been swamped with cases. I’d meant to take you out for Japanese food tonight, to the place you loved when you were little.”
“Mother told me.”
“That restaurant’s still open. The owner knows you now. Every time your mother and I go, he asks when you’re coming back.”
Shen Qingyu felt her heart soften.
She knew her father had never been the sort of person who expressed his feelings. Growing up, her mother had been the one to fuss over her and show concern, while her father had been the one to earn money and keep quiet. But in that moment, looking at her father’s reddened eyes, she understood all the words he hadn’t said.
At ten that night, Shen Qingyu lay in bed in her own room.
The room was exactly as she’d left it. The books on the shelves were still the same, and the photos from her high school days still sat on the bedside table. The curtains were pale pink, chosen by her mother. She’d liked them as a child, then later thought they were tacky, but her mother had never changed them. “What’s tacky about them? They suit you so well.”
And now, she really did think they looked nice again.
She turned over and picked up her phone.
There was a new message on WeChat from her mother.
“Qingyu, get a good night’s rest. Don’t overthink dinner tomorrow night. Just think of it as meeting a friend.”
Shen Qingyu read the message and smiled.
Her mother was urging her to marry into the Pei family while also telling her not to overthink it.
She put her phone on the bedside table and closed her eyes.
Sleep gradually crept over her.
In a half-asleep haze, that man flashed through her mind again.
Irritated, Shen Qingyu rolled over and buried her face in the pillow.
What was wrong with her? Why did she keep thinking of him at the drop of a hat?
“One careless misstep, and you regret it for a lifetime…”