Chapter 8: Don’t Cry

◎ He’s determined to marry someone else ◎

Gu Ying brought home two bags of candles from the supply and marketing cooperative.

Sun Lan saw Gu Ying hopping happily across the threshold in the main hall and couldn’t help but smile. While instructing Gu Ying to put the candles into the cabinet, she teased her a little.

“What’s got you so happy? Did you find a treasure on the way back?”

Gu Ying held back her laughter but didn’t answer directly. Instead, she changed the subject and asked, “Mom, why did you ask me to buy so many candles?”

“For the next few days, there might be power outages in our compound at night, so we need to have some candles ready,” Sun Lan explained.

“Oh.” Gu Ying replied, then squatted down and half-kneeling, stuck her little head into the cabinet and stuffed the two bags of candles inside.

After putting the candles away, Gu Ying pulled back, stood up, brushed the dust off her knees, and proudly showed Sun Lan the Chinese knot in her hands.

“Mom, guess who made this?”

Sun Lan knew Gu Ying very well. She glanced at the Chinese knot and immediately understood, but teasing Gu Ying, she said, “This knot is so pretty, it definitely wasn’t made by Zhang Kuo.”

“It was him!”

Gu Ying showed off the Chinese knot, waving it twice in front of Sun Lan, her tone full of undisguised happiness. “I didn’t think he could do it, but it turns out he’s quite skillful.”

“Mom, how could a grown man make something like this? I don’t think Dad or my older brother could—they’re both so clumsy.”

Sun Lan interrupted, “If your dad is clumsy, that’s one thing, but your brother isn’t. He’s the head chef; if his knife skills were bad, he’d lose his job.”

Gu Ying stuck out her tongue and sighed dramatically, “Ah, Mom, you always take my brother’s side. I can’t say anything bad about him.”

Sun Lan pretended to be angry and grabbed a handful of Gu Ying’s hair. “Ungrateful little brat, haven’t I spoiled you all these years?”

“But you—now that you’re still living at home, your heart is already flying away. Once you get married and leave, I don’t know how many times you’ll come back to visit us each year.”

Gu Ying felt a rare flush of shyness when Sun Lan changed the subject like that. She quickly went inside the room. “I’m going to wash up. I want to go to bed early.”

There was no movement in the room for a while. When Sun Lan went back later, she found Gu Ying lying sprawled on the bed, eyes tightly closed, seemingly asleep.

Sun Lan went in and tucked Gu Ying’s quilt more snugly, then quietly left the room. Just as she stepped out, she ran into Gu Chengzhi, who had just returned from work.

Gu Chengzhi was big and sturdy, and his voice was strong and loud. As he was about to speak, Sun Lan immediately put her finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

Gu Chengzhi understood and lowered his voice when he spoke cautiously, “Is our little sister asleep?”

“Yeah, just fell asleep.” Sun Lan gently closed the door and led Gu Chengzhi to the main hall to talk.

Only then did Sun Lan notice that Gu Chengzhi was carrying things in both hands — one was a bag of candles and the other a lunchbox.

Sun Lan took the candles from him, clicking her tongue twice. “I just told Xiaoying to buy candles, and you bought a bag too? Now we’re almost drowning in candles.”

Gu Chengzhi explained, “I got a notice that there might be power outages in the compound, so I was afraid you guys would forget to buy some. On my way back, I picked up a bag.”

He put the lunchbox down on the table. “I also brought something for our little sister, but she’s already asleep, so she can’t eat it now. Mom, please heat it up for her tomorrow so she can finish it all.”

Gu Chengzhi sometimes brought Gu Ying tasty food after work from the cafeteria. Sun Lan was always touched by this. Although their family lived modestly and hadn’t had the means to give Gu Ying the best of everything, everyone cared for her and always remembered to bring her good things.

Sun Lan opened the lunchbox with a smile and asked, “What tasty treat did you bring for your little sister this time?”

But when she saw the lunchbox filled with a layer of sliced meat, her smile instantly froze. She quickly closed the lunchbox and nervously glanced out the door, as if afraid someone might see.

Sun Lan circled the table, grabbed Gu Chengzhi’s arm, and nervously questioned him, “You… you didn’t…?”

Gu Chengzhi had already understood what Sun Lan meant from her fragmented words. He waved his hand and explained, “Mom, don’t overthink it. This is my rightful share. But I didn’t eat it; I picked it out and saved it all—brought it all back.”

Sun Lan let out a sigh of relief and relaxed.

She had just thought that Gu Chengzhi was sneaking around in the factory canteen, taking things home without permission.

She had reminded him many times to be an upright person, not to take any small advantages, so as not to risk losing his job.

Gu Chengzhi understood his mother’s concerns well. Their father, Gu Changming, had often been the subject of gossip. Sun Lan had heard many disparaging remarks, and she was really afraid that if Gu Chengzhi did anything wrong, it might affect his father’s job.

So Gu Chengzhi had always conducted himself properly at the canteen, doing his work straight and upright, never giving anyone a reason to complain.

Sun Lan felt comforted by Gu Chengzhi’s behavior. She put away the lunchbox and said, “Don’t just think about your little sister. You should eat some too. Don’t leave it all for her.”

Gu Chengzhi tapped his arms on both sides and said, “I don’t need to gain weight. If I gain any more, it’ll be harder to find a wife. But my little sister still needs to gain weight. She’s so skinny, she needs to eat more.”

“You know your sister’s taste well enough. She’s never liked eating meat; at most, she just takes a couple of bites,” Sun Lan said, picking up a rag to wipe the grease off the table.

Gu Chengzhi sat down on the bamboo chair, then suddenly leaned toward Sun Lan with a gossipy tone, asking, “Mom, have you heard any news about Ming Xue in the compound? I heard she’s getting married.”

Sun Lan paused, lifted her eyes and asked, “Who told you? I haven’t heard anyone mention it. Who is she marrying?”

“I heard it from Aunt Wang in the canteen who’s in charge of cleaning. They say this time Ming Xue took the initiative. She’s going to marry Zhang Kuo. Have you heard of him? I don’t really have any special impression—just that he seems like an ordinary guy.”

“Mom, this Ming Xue is really strange. She just broke off her engagement with Gui Xiwen, and now she’s about to marry Zhang Kuo right away. Are there any young men better than Gui Xiwen in our compound? What do you think she’s thinking?”

Gu Chengzhi talked for a long while but didn’t get any response from Sun Lan. When he looked up, he found Sun Lan holding the rag and daydreaming.

“Mom, mom, what’s wrong?” Gu Chengzhi called softly.

Sun Lan came back to herself and looked at him steadily, as if seeking confirmation: “You said Ming Xue is marrying who? Zhang Kuo?”

“Yes, that’s what Aunt Wang said.” Gu Chengzhi hesitantly asked, “Mom, why do you look so pale? Do you know this Zhang Kuo?”

Sun Lan seemed doubtful and asked, “Is your news reliable?”

Gu Chengzhi shrugged, “I don’t know if it’s reliable. I just heard it from Aunt Wang. But wait, we’ll know for sure tomorrow. If it’s true, the whole compound will be talking about it.”

Sun Lan’s heart suddenly beat faster. Feeling uneasy, she clutched her chest, threw the rag on the table, and walked back to her room with a heavy heart.

Gu Chengzhi was puzzled: What’s going on?

Early the next morning, Sun Lan quickly left the house—not for anything in particular, just wanting to take a walk and gather some news.

When Sun Lan returned, Gu Ying was sitting by the window doing handiwork. Hanging nearby was the Chinese knot that Zhang Kuo had given her, treasured in the most prominent place in her room.

Sun Lan’s eyes suddenly reddened.

She entered the room, gently crouched beside Gu Ying, and softly asked, “Xiao Ying, when do you want to settle down?”

Gu Ying was startled and turned to look into Sun Lan’s eyes. “Mom, why are you asking this all of a sudden?”

“Nothing,” Sun Lan sat close to Gu Ying, rubbed her head, and after a long pause forced out, “Xiao Ying, there’s something I lied to you about. I have to apologize.”

Gu Ying found Sun Lan acting strange today. She looked seriously at her, confused: “Mom, what is it? What did you lie about?”

Sun Lan reached out, gently pulled Gu Ying into her arms, trying to hold back her emotions, and said in a calm voice, “Actually, Mom doesn’t want Zhang Kuo to be my son-in-law. Really, not at all.”

Gu Ying suddenly struggled free from Sun Lan’s embrace, looking at her in bewilderment: “Mom, what’s wrong?”

Seeing Gu Ying so clueless, Sun Lan couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. They flowed down her cheeks little by little, falling to the ground.

Gu Ying hurried over and wiped Sun Lan’s tears, her voice hoarse: “Mom, what’s wrong? Has someone outside been bullying you?”

“No,” Sun Lan wanted to hold back but couldn’t. Her tears grew more fierce.

Gu Ying panicked a bit, cupping Sun Lan’s face as she wiped the tears, “Mom, don’t cry. What happened? Please tell me, okay?”

“Is it because of Zhang Kuo? Is he going to marry another girl?”

Sun Lan froze, her tear-filled eyes fixed on Gu Ying without blinking.

From Sun Lan’s expression, Gu Ying knew she guessed right. She stepped forward, wiped the tears off Sun Lan’s face with her sleeve, smiled, and said, “Mom, really, Zhang Kuo marrying another girl—why are you so upset? You didn’t know, so you thought it was because you had to marry off your daughter.”

Sun Lan was confused by Gu Ying’s attitude. She took out a handkerchief, wiped her nose, and looked uncertainly at Gu Ying, “Xiao Ying, are you really okay?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Gu Ying shrugged indifferently.

“But you used to get along well with Zhang Kuo, right?” Sun Lan’s wording was very gentle, but in her heart, she knew well that Gu Ying had clearly liked Zhang Kuo before.

“Yes, I did get along well with him. But that doesn’t mean he can’t marry another girl.”

Sun Lan studied Gu Ying’s expression carefully. After a long time, she still couldn’t see a single sign of deception. Finally, unable to hold back, she asked, “Zhang Kuo is going to marry Ming Xue. Are you really not bothered at all?”

Ming Xue?

Gu Ying blinked very lightly. “Oh, really? Then I’ll go congratulate him.”

Upon hearing the news that Zhang Kuo was going to marry Ming Xue, Gu Ying neither cried nor made a fuss. She quietly sat by the window and finished her handiwork obediently, behaving unusually well.

Sun Lan peeked into the room several times, only to see Gu Ying’s calm and indifferent face.

What’s going on? Could it be that Gu Ying doesn’t actually like Zhang Kuo?

Sun Lan shook her head, dismissing the idea. Gu Ying clearly cared so much about the Chinese knot Zhang Kuo made for her—how could she not care about Zhang Kuo himself?

But now, acting so calm without crying or making trouble was really unlike Gu Ying’s nature. With her temper, she would have gone to find Zhang Kuo and demand an explanation by now, not sit quietly at home doing nothing.

It was very strange.

Yet despite the strangeness, Sun Lan felt much relieved. Not seeing Gu Ying sobbing uncontrollably was a big blessing. If Gu Ying were heartbroken over Zhang Kuo, she wouldn’t know how to comfort her.

After all, the other party was Ming Xue—a bright-eyed, beautiful, radiant girl—and Gu Ying had almost no chance.

Thinking this, Sun Lan couldn’t help but feel a little resentful. Ming Xue had such good conditions and yet she rejected the equally well-off Gui Xiwen to fixate on Zhang Kuo.

Rather than resentment, it was more like confusion. Sun Lan was genuinely puzzled. She recalled the question Gu Chengzhi asked her last night and honestly, she couldn’t understand what Ming Xue was thinking.

While Sun Lan was lost in her thoughts, Gu Ying suddenly came out of the room and said calmly, “Mom, I’m going out for a bit. Zhang Kuo should be off work now. I’m going to see him.”

Sun Lan’s eyelids twitched at the name Zhang Kuo. Worried, she asked, “What are you going to see him for?”

“To congratulate him. Isn’t he getting married? As a good friend, I want to ask what kind of gift he wants.” Gu Ying spoke straightforwardly, shutting down all of Sun Lan’s worries with one sentence.

Sun Lan stood silently for a long time, unable to say a word. Finally, she only moved her lips and reminded, “Then come back early for dinner.”

“Okay.”

Gu Ying responded and turned to leave.

Zhang Kuo’s house wasn’t far—only a ten-minute walk—but Gu Ying took twenty minutes.

As she approached Zhang Kuo’s home, another uninvited guest rushed inside first.

Gu Ying recognized the man—it was Zhang Tao, who often hung around with Gui Xiwen.

Gu Ying stepped closer, hearing a harsh question from inside.

“Zhang Kuo, I’m asking you: is it true about you and Ming Xue? Are you really getting married?” Zhang Tao’s rough voice was full of urgency, desperate to know the truth.

Gu Ying stood outside, leaning against the wall, holding her breath, expression unreadable. She was waiting for the answer too.

After a while, Zhang Kuo’s usual calm and indifferent voice came from inside: “It’s true. I’m going to marry her.”