Chapter 33: Quite Compatible

On the way back to the dormitory, Jian Li recalled everything that had happened since National Day but didn’t find any traces that Zhou Shubei had already noticed.

So, on New Year’s Day, he saw through their probing attempts. She thought she had disguised it well, but it had already been seen through. He only chose to address it today, just between them.

Her phone rang in her pocket, an unknown number from Xi Yuan.

Jian Li hesitated for a few seconds before answering, pressing it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Big sister, have you eaten yet? Is it lively in Beicheng for the New Year? It’s so lively here, there’s a dragon and lion dance in the square, and even acrobatic performances. We’re getting ready to set off fireworks now,” Jian Yun Jie happily shared, and in the background, she could hear Jian Zhi Guo and Zhang Wen Xiu talking about where would be the best place to set off fireworks. Upon hearing Jian Yun Jie on the phone, Jian Zhi Guo said, “Why are you calling her? It would be best if she never came back, as though we never had her.”

“Xiao Jie, hang up the phone quickly,” Zhang Wen Xiu urged. “She’s not your sister.”

“Why not?” Jian Yun Jie didn’t understand.

“Oh, don’t waste time, hurry up, or someone else will take the spot.” Zhang Wen Xiu grabbed the phone from Jian Yun Jie and told Jian Zhi Guo to take her away. Then she spoke to Jian Li, “Since you’ve chosen to go to Beicheng and think we’ve treated you badly, go find the life you want.”

Jian Li looked at the dim road, “Okay.”

“Don’t call us again. We won’t call you either. Whether you live or die, it’s up to fate. We raised you to eighteen, that’s enough,” Zhang Wen Xiu said, “Just treat it as repaying a debt from the previous life.”

Each word pierced Jian Li’s heart like a sharp needle.

The suppressed emotions were close to breaking down. She covered her face and took a deep breath, wanting an answer to the questions that had plagued her for years. Her voice trembled as she asked, “Am I not your biological daughter? Didn’t you carry me for ten months and give birth to me? What did I do wrong? Why do you not like me? If you didn’t want a daughter, why did you even give birth to me?”

“How can we not like you? Didn’t we raise you? You got sick when you were little, I carried you to the hospital in the middle of the night. If we didn’t like you, would we spend money on your education? When you were late from school, your dad would take a flashlight to pick you up, have you forgotten all of that?” Zhang Wen Xiu raised her voice, “I was in pain for over ten hours when I gave birth to you, I carried you everywhere, your dad took you out to buy food and toys every other day. How else could we have liked you more?”

Her eyes, burning with tears, couldn’t hold back any longer, and the hot tears fell.

She couldn’t deny it. They had loved her once, but it felt like there was an invisible ruler—on one side, their past care and affection, and on the other side, the neglect that came later. That ruler had pierced through her skin, pulling her back and forth, like a dull knife cutting into her.

She had no right to blame them. They gave her life and raised her, even risking their lives to give birth to her.

Jian Li lowered her head to look at her shadow. “Sorry.”

“I will slowly pay back the money you spent raising me for eighteen years.”

Her voice was low and soft, but she had used all her strength. After saying that, she hung up.

The surroundings were silent. Something cold hit her face, icy and sharp. Jian Li looked up, and snowflakes softly fell from the sky, like blown dandelions.

“Hasn’t it snowed heavily in Beicheng before?”

“It has.”

“Limited time.”

The words from that evening echoed in her ears. Jian Li opened her palm, and the snowflakes quickly melted away, disappearing. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hold on to them, but the coldness in her palm proved they had existed.

So, the limit on snowfall was this.

That night, the dumplings were too spicy, and her stomach still hurt. Jian Li could barely hold herself up and squatted down to try and relieve the pain, large tears falling to the ground, melting with the snow.

…

The snow fell for an entire day and night, covering the city in silver. The snow on the streets was cleared to the sides. Jian Li still went to school every day and to the convenience store, drawing a straight line. After the first day of the New Year, the festive atmosphere seemed to fade a lot, and the girl who took over her shift told her about what had happened after Jian Li left that night.

“No matter how you tagged her, she didn’t respond. They got even angrier, but not long after, they found an excuse to backtrack. They never reflect on themselves,” the girl said. “I really envy their confidence.”

Jian Li smiled, double-checking the accounts before grabbing her bag and leaving.

There were more people on the snow-covered streets, many were building snowballs and having snowball fights.

When she passed a bookstore, Jian Li went in to buy two books. Just as she stepped out and crossed the crosswalk, a snowball hit her. She turned around, and a little girl with a ponytail came up to her, apologizing timidly.

“Sorry, sister, I didn’t mean to. Please forgive me.”

With eyes like glossy grapes, her voice was sweet and very cute. Jian Li smiled, “It’s okay.”

The little girl looked up at her, blinking, “Sister, are you not happy?”

“No.”

The little girl took a lollipop out of her bag and handed it to her. “Sister, eat this. When I’m not happy, my mom gives me candy. After I eat it, I forget all the things that make me unhappy!”

Jian Li looked at the pink-wrapped Alpenliebe candy. Before she could speak, a surprised voice interrupted her, “Jian Li?”

Jian Li looked up and saw Sheng Ying, and behind her was a slim, unfamiliar figure.

Sheng Ying ran over. “What are you doing here? Haven’t you gone home?”

“Just passing by,” Jian Li said.

“Xiao Xiao, do you know this beautiful sister?” the girl asked.

“This is my teacher, Jian Li, from Beicheng University,” Sheng Ying introduced, acting like a little adult. “This is my cousin, Liu Mu Xi, and this is my cousin, Liu Hui Zhou.”

Sheng Ying held Jian Li’s hand and told her that her math had improved by more than ten points this semester, and that Liu Xin Lan rewarded her with a giant Mickey Mouse Lego set. After resting for a while, the two kids went to have a snowball fight again. Before they left, Liu Mu Xi seriously looked at Liu Hui Zhou.

“Brother, you help Xiao Xiao and me host Jian Li, we’ll be back soon. Stay here and don’t run off, or we won’t be able to find you.”

Liu Hui Zhou exchanged a glance with Jian Li and smiled, rubbing Liu Mu Xi’s head. “Okay, brother understands.”

Liu Mu Xi handed Jian Li the Alpenliebe. “Sister, stay here and wait for us.”

The candy wrapper was hard to open. When Jian Li was young, she would always break her nails trying to peel the wrapper, so she stopped eating them after a while. She tried twice but couldn’t get it open, and then a hand reached over.

“I’ll help you,” Liu Hui Zhou said.

Liu Hui Zhou was handsome, with a warm voice. His features weren’t as imposing as Zhou Shubei’s. Zhou Shubei exuded a pressure when he didn’t smile, but the sharpness was softened by a smile, creating a rare mix of cold and wild.

Jian Li paused for a moment, refusing Liu Hui Zhou’s offer. “No, thank you.”

The glass door opposite opened, and Zhou Shubei walked out. His business partners were laughing, discussing their future collaboration plans. Zhou Shubei smiled along with them but his eyes casually swept over to where Jian Li was sitting with a man, laughing and talking.

“Mr. Zhou, what are you looking at?” one of the partners asked, following his gaze and smiling. “They’re quite compatible. I heard you’re very popular at Beicheng University. Haven’t you met someone you like?”

Zhou Shubei’s eyes narrowed.

Compatible?

“My family has already arranged a match for me,” he answered coolly.

“Right, right, with the Qi family. A strong match,” his partner replied, smiling widely. “After the collaboration, the money will keep flowing in, just thinking about it makes me so happy.”

After sending off his partners, Zhou Shubei lit a cigarette.

Nicotine helped clear his mind. He took a few puffs and then asked his assistant, “Compatible?”

The assistant, unsure of his meaning, followed the principle of honesty and replied, “Quite compatible.”

Zhou Shubei smiled, narrowing his eyes as he watched the two of them. The man leaned a little closer to Jian Li, his clothes brushing against hers, and his hand reaching out to hold hers.

Zhou Shubei bit the end of his cigarette, feeling a strange emotion bubble up inside him. Before he realized it, he was already in front of them, twisting the man’s arm behind his back with force.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Jian Li’s pupils dilated. She heard Liu Hui Zhou suck in a sharp breath in pain, and without thinking, she pulled the arm Zhou Shubei was twisting from his grip.

“Are you okay?” Jian Li asked.

Liu Hui Zhou shook his hand. “I’m fine.” Then he turned to Zhou Shubei. “Who’s this? Your boyfriend?”

Jian Li’s eyelashes fluttered. “No.”

Zhou Shubei looked at her, seeing her concern for another man. The strange emotion inside him quickly intensified, and his voice grew sharp. “Then is he your boyfriend?”

Jian Li paused, looking at him in confusion and surprise.

Since New Year’s Eve, they hadn’t seen each other. He hadn’t deleted her, nor blocked her from his friends list, as though nothing had changed. But it was because she didn’t need him to waste his time doing that.

She had clicked on his profile countless times, read through their past chats from start to finish, with many questions she wanted to ask, but she deleted them after typing.

What would asking change? She had gotten close to Zhou Shubei, received his kindness, his care, his advice, all of which were just out of politeness and courtesy. She had been greedy, wanting more, dressing up those actions with the fantasy of “he likes me too.”

“No,” Jian Li answered.

Zhou Shubei’s hostility gradually faded. He glanced at the unwrapped candy wrapper in her hand, reached over, and tore it open with force. Then he handed it back to her.

“Strawberry isn’t as good as blueberry,” he said with a slight smile, as if giving advice.

“Not true, strawberry is the best!” Liu Mu Xi’s voice came from behind them. The little girl frowned, looking up at Zhou Shubei. “Why did you hit my brother and say the candy I gave to sister isn’t good? Are you sent by the True Knowledge Candy team?”

Jian Li couldn’t help but laugh. “Mm, strawberry is the best.”

“Yeah!” Liu Mu Xi nodded heavily, standing on tiptoe to whisper in Jian Li’s ear, “Sister, this brother is so rude, don’t talk to him. Let’s go quickly.”

Zhou Shubei raised an eyebrow, amused, and reminded, “Little one, I’m still here. Don’t talk bad about me when I’m around.”

Liu Mu Xi made a face and ran to Liu Hui Zhou, grabbing one of his hands.

Sheng Ying came over a moment later, introducing everyone. Zhou Shubei understood their relationships and saw that Liu Hui Zhou was fine. Jian Li wasn’t staying longer, so she grabbed her things and left.

Zhou Shubei watched her leave without looking back, his hand tightening around the candy wrapper.