Chapter 15: The Miserable Zhou Yu

Xu An dragged Zhou Yu forward, not stopping until they were far away from Su Xiaoyang’s home. She turned her head and saw the man lazily glancing at her, his gaze moving down to her hand that was still gripping his arm. Xu An quickly retracted her hand.

She bit her lower lip, feeling a little guilty, and said in a low voice, “I told you to manage the money before, but you refused. Now… you can’t blame me.”

Zhou Yu stared at the wrinkled sleeve she had tugged on, and her increasingly quiet voice. He said nothing and continued to walk beside Xu An.

Wen Yaowu, walking in front of them, kept his ears perked up, trying not to turn back. He couldn’t help but admire Brother Yu. His little sister-in-law was beautiful and kind-hearted. Brother Yu finally got what he deserved.

The three of them walked through the alleyway, one after the other. It was almost dark, and they met many neighbors returning home. Their eyes were fixed on Wen Yaowu, and seeing his buzz cut, which was even shorter than Zhou Yu’s, they looked at him with disdain and fear. Their whispers were not quiet at all.

“Another gangster. This week the Second child is useless.”

“He must have met him in prison. They’re all no good.”

“Don’t say it. They’re probably all ex-convicts. We ordinary people can’t afford to mess with them.”

Xu An heard bits and pieces, none of it good. She tilted her head and looked at the man beside her. He was completely unfazed.

Wen Yaowu, however, glared fiercely back at those who were gossiping about his brother. His buzz cut and intimidating expression scared the neighbors into dispersing and returning to their homes.

The three of them walked in silence. When they reached Zhou’s courtyard, Xu An used her key to open the door and pushed it open.

She was thinking about what to cook for dinner and was about to grab a pot from the cabinet when she suddenly heard a bang behind her. She turned around immediately and saw Wen Yaowu, who had been fine just a moment ago, kneeling before Zhou Yu.

Xu An took a deep breath. She was almost getting used to the frequency of kneeling today.

She looked up at Zhou Yu and saw him frowning, staring at Wen Yaowu who had suddenly knelt down.

“Get up.” Zhou Yu’s voice was soft.

Wen Yaowu knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Zhou Yu, then looked up at him, his voice filled with gratitude.

“Brother Yu, I’ll do whatever you ask me to do from now on, I’ll repay you for the rest of my life.”

Zhou Yu glanced at the man kneeling before him, and said in a deep voice, “When did you get out?”

Wen Yaowu answered honestly, “Last night.”

“Did you go home?”

“Yes, I went home.”

Xu An still didn’t understand what was going on, but then she saw Wen Yaowu wiping his face haphazardly and looking at Zhou Yu.

“Brother Yu, my grandma has been under your care all this time.”

Speaking of his only relative, Wen Yaowu’s voice became choked with emotion. “Last night, Grandma told me everything. She said that when you went to see her, she was already on the verge of death. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to wait for me to come back. You saved her in time, so I could see her when I got out.”

“Brother Yu, you’re my grandma’s lifesaver. You’ve been taking care of her every day. You’re my lifesaver too. I’ll listen to you from now on.”

Hearing Wen Yaowu’s fragmented account of Zhou Yu taking care of his grandma, Xu An felt a pang of sympathy. She turned to look at Zhou Yu’s expressionless face, and suddenly understood.

No wonder Zhou Yu was gone every morning before she woke up. He had been taking care of the old woman.

This man, who seemed like he could intimidate anyone, had a warm heart.

Zhou Yu stared at the man kneeling on the ground, and said in a deep voice, “Get up. I won’t help you anymore. Take care of yourself.”

Wen Yaowu nodded repeatedly, “I know.”

He quickly got up from the ground, “Brother Yu, I won’t do anything stupid again. I’ll stay by my grandma’s side and take care of her.”

Zhou Yu uttered a low “hmm.”

Wen Yaowu took a deep breath to calm himself down. When he relaxed, he looked at Xu An beside Zhou Yu, his eyes filled with awkwardness, and said with a smile, “Sister-in-law, I’m sorry for making a scene.”

Xu An shook her head, “It’s okay.”

“Sister-in-law, Brother Yu is a good man. You two should live a good life.”

Xu An’s lips moved, but before she could speak, she heard Zhou Yu beside her click his tongue impatiently, “You talk too much. Shut up.”

Wen Yaowu playfully raised an eyebrow at Xu An, closed his mouth, then bent down and patted the dust off his knees. He then greeted Xu An and Zhou Yu.

“Sister-in-law, Brother Yu, I’ll go back then.”

It was already dark outside. Xu An quickly invited him to stay, “It’s almost dinner time. Don’t go back yet. Stay for dinner and leave after you’ve eaten.”

Wen Yaowu waved his hand, “No need, Sister-in-law.”

Xu An tilted her head and looked at Zhou Yu, smiling, “Even if you don’t eat, your grandma needs to eat. Stay here and help. After dinner, take a portion back for your grandma.”

Wen Yaowu’s cooking skills were not good, and he had planned to buy a portion for his grandma to heat up. Now that his sister-in-law offered, and he had smelled the fragrant lean meat porridge she made today, even though he hadn’t tasted it, he couldn’t help but swallow. He nodded.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law. I’ll help you.”

Xu An nodded. To ease his mind, she nodded towards him, “Go wash the vegetables we need.”

“Okay.” Wen Yaowu eagerly picked up a basin and went to wash the vegetables. His movements were quite agile.

Xu An rinsed the rice and put it on the stove to boil. Zhou Yu stood by the door, arms crossed, his leg propped up, glancing at the man washing vegetables diligently at his doorstep. He stared at Wen Yaowu’s back, feeling a little itchy.

“Zhou Yu, the bowls from lunch haven’t been washed. Can you wash them?”

Zhou Yu’s unhappy expression paused. He curled his lips and walked over to Xu An, feigning annoyance as he agreed. He took the dirty bowls to wash them.

When the rice was cooked, Zhou Yu took a towel and placed the pot on the stove to keep it warm. Xu An picked up the iron pot and asked Zhou Yu to pour water. She quickly cleaned the pot, poured out the water, and blanched the prepared pork belly. It was getting late, and thinking that the old woman must be hungry, Xu An didn’t plan to make anything complicated.

She started with a dish of Twice-cooked Pork. Her brows were focused as she stared at the wok, mist swirling around her face, her expression gentle.

Wen Yaowu, who had finished washing everything, stood beside Zhou Yu and whispered to him, “Brother Yu, where is Sister-in-law from? She’s so beautiful and capable. How did you two meet?”

Zhou Yu glanced at him impatiently. Wen Yaowu closed his mouth. Okay, Brother Yu was good at keeping secrets. He wouldn’t even answer a simple question.

Zhou Yu stared at the woman’s fair complexion, his casual gaze unconsciously becoming a little heavy.

Xu An made three dishes and a soup. Zhou Yu carried the food to the long bench, and Wen Yaowu, with a keen eye, took bowls and chopsticks from the cabinet to serve rice.

Xu An took a metal lunch box and said to Wen Yaowu, “Pack a portion for your grandma first. Keep it warm on the stove. We’ll eat later. After you’ve finished, hurry back.”

Wen Yaowu’s hand paused as he served rice. His eyes welled up, and he nodded dumbly, “Sister-in-law, thank you.”

His sister-in-law hadn’t even thought about giving his grandma leftovers. It was already good enough that they were eating leftovers.

Xu An filled the lunch box for the old woman and placed it on the stove.

Wen Yaowu served rice for Xu An and Zhou Yu, and then the three of them sat down to eat dinner.

Wen Yaowu’s stomach couldn’t help but rumble. Seeing Xu An look over, he felt a little embarrassed, “Ahem, Sister-in-law, I haven’t eaten anything this delicious in years. All the hunger pangs in my stomach have come back.”

Xu An smiled, “Then eat more.”

The aroma of Twice-cooked Pork filled her nostrils, making her mouth water and her appetite grow. Wen Yaowu nodded repeatedly and picked up a piece of Twice-cooked Pork, burying himself in his meal.

Xu An chewed slowly, then turned to see Zhou Yu beside her, eating with gusto. Wen Yaowu beside him wasn’t far behind. The two of them had such big appetites that Xu An unconsciously sped up her eating pace.

At that moment, she heard Zhou Dandan’s undisguised call from the courtyard, “Big Brother, Big Sister, you’re back.”

Zhou Hongguang responded with a faint “hmm,” followed by Pan Hehua’s voice.

“Hongguang, anyone can come into this house now. I bet your father and I won’t even dare to walk around the house freely anymore.”

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Big Brother, Second Brother brought some shady characters home today. They were making a racket, and they scared Mom. I just came back from the bookstore, and I heard the neighbors talking too. They’re probably not good people. Second Brother even brought them home. This house is no longer a place for Mom and Dad to feel comfortable.” Zhou Shuwen explained to Zhou Hongguang in a soft voice.

The family started talking in the courtyard.

They all spoke, not at all minding Xu An and Zhou Yu in the east room.

Wen Yaowu felt a little awkward and looked at Zhou Yu with worry, “Brother Yu, I’ve caused you trouble.”

Zhou Yu shook his head casually, “We’ve split the family. We’re all living our own lives. Don’t worry about it.”

Wen Yaowu relaxed, but then a surge of anger filled him. He felt sorry for his brother.

“Second Brother, come out for a moment.”

Xu An frowned. It was Zhou Hongguang’s voice. She looked up at Zhou Yu beside her.

Zhou Yu calmly swallowed the food in his mouth, placed his clean bowl on the bench, stood up, and walked out in two large strides.

How could he go alone? Xu An immediately put down her chopsticks and followed Zhou Yu out.

As soon as they stepped out, they saw the Zhou family gathered in the courtyard, ready to confront them with a sense of righteous indignation.

As soon as the three of them came out, Zhou Hongguang looked at Zhou Yu and sighed, “Second Brother, I don’t want to interfere with your making friends, but you can’t bring just anyone home. Not to mention the neighbors gossiping behind our backs, they didn’t even shy away from us. Even Mom was so scared today that she didn’t dare to go out. You need to choose your friends carefully.”

“That’s right, Second Brother. People say this guy you met in prison. How could he be a good person? Don’t make friends with gangsters and ruin our family’s reputation.” Zhou Dandan frowned and looked at Zhou Yu with disapproval.

“Second Brother, you trust someone who’s been in prison, but we don’t. If you really want to be friends with someone, don’t bring them home.” Zhou Shuwen also stared at Zhou Yu with disapproval.

“Second Brother! I think you just want to scare your father and me to death someday to be happy. He’s got that buzz cut. If he’s not just out of prison, what is he? You’re going to drive me to my grave!”

Pan Hehua was furious, her hands protecting her chest, afraid that she would be scared to death if she wasn’t careful.

The Zhou family members all stared at Zhou Yu, venting their anger on him.

“I met Brother Yu in prison. And I need to thank all of you. If you hadn’t forced Brother Yu to take the blame for Zhou Hongguang, that hypocritical bastard, I wouldn’t have met my brother, Brother Yu, who is such a good man.”

Wen Yaowu rushed to Zhou Yu’s side and launched into a barrage of mockery at the Zhou family. His words were like a bolt of lightning, striking the Zhou family courtyard. The Zhou family members, who had been criticizing Zhou Yu, were speechless and couldn’t utter a word.

The entire courtyard was eerily quiet. Xu An’s ears picked up Wen Yaowu’s words, and they exploded in her mind. She couldn’t react.

She glanced at Zhou Yu beside her, who looked lazily indifferent, as if it weren’t about him. Seeing her looking at him, he even grinned at her, and Xu An felt a sudden pang in her heart.

Her gaze fell on the united Zhou family members opposite them. For the first time, she found their faces terrifying, sending chills down her spine.