The Hot-tempered Young Master and His Village Flower Child Bride - Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
Grandma’s words made Zhao Xunyu feel very uncomfortable.
The phrase ”all eager and excited” made him feel utterly despised. His already sensitive heart was shattered.
This time, Zhao Xunyu was really angry and disappointed. He looked away and ignored her, lowering his head and continuing to eat.
Chu Zhi Lu felt a shiver run down her spine. “I brought it for him.”
Grandma Chu uttered a noncommittal “Oh,” nodded, and went back to her room.
A cold tension filled the living room. The drama on TV, with the frantic actions of the second female lead, seemed even more dramatic and shrill.
After finishing his meal, Zhao Xunyu cleaned up the leftovers. His emotions were noticeably calmer. “Thank you. But you don’t have to pity me.”
This well-intentioned deception made him seem pitiful.
“…” Chu Zhi Lu wanted to explain but didn’t know how.
Not pity…? But he seemed pitiful.
Zhao Xunyu called his father. His tone was calm. However, when he heard his father call him “son,” he inexplicably felt a pang in his ch*st.
“Dad, I want to go home…”
When Zhao Qingtang heard the trembling in his voice, he frowned. He remembered how Zhao Xunyu cried a few years ago when he was sick and hospitalized.
“What’s wrong? Tell me.”
Zhao Xunyu sniffed and stretched out on the bed.
“Grandma doesn’t like me at all, she’s sick of me, and I don’t want to talk to her. I didn’t eat for two days and she didn’t care. I thought she felt bad about the mosquito bites and bought me long sleeves and pants, but it turned out she just wanted me to do chores. I didn’t eat tonight and she didn’t care. When she came back and saw me eating, she even laughed at me for mooching so shamelessly!”
Zhao Xunyu’s emotions escalated, and there was a change in the tone of his voice. When he realized this, he felt ashamed. Was it really necessary to cry? A grown man crying… What a loser!
So he hardened his voice.
“It’s just… unbelievable.”
Zhao Qingtang crouched down by the door and felt a headache coming on. He understood Zhao Xunyu. He had always wanted to be close to his grandmother, after all, she was his mother’s favorite person. In Zhao Xunyu’s childhood memories, it was Old Lady Chu who helped his mother take care of him. After his mother’s death, Grandma Chu had distanced herself from them for years. Zhao Xunyu wanted to be filial to his mother, and he also wanted to hold on to the people and things that were related to his mother.
“Your grandmother is your elder, why are you angry with her? She used to be a soldier, known as the Iron Lady. Threatening her with a hunger strike definitely won’t work, she is amenable to persuasion but not to coercion. When your mother brought me home to meet her, she said she didn’t want to see me. Your mother, being reckless, said she would elope with me if she didn’t agree. Because of this threat, I couldn’t even enter the Chu family gate. Your grandmother had her dog chase me away several times. On several occasions I would kneel before her during the day and go to the temple at night to beg her and worship the Buddha. It took half a month before she allowed me to eat at her house. Tell me, isn’t she treating you kindly now?”
Zhao Xunyu choked. “Your courtship was quite exciting. But back then, you were a wild boar trying to get a cabbage, and I am the only child of her eldest daughter. How can it be the same?”
“…Think about it yourself! Just don’t get into a fight with her. You’ll just end up making yourself miserable. You went hungry for two days because you were stubborn. Just learn your lesson and don’t challenge her authority. You were sent there to reform, remember?”
Zhao Qingtang continued, “Your little sister is pretty good to you, right? You should get along well with her. As for your grandmother, try to be understanding. Just do what she asks you to do. Even though she is not close to you, she will never hurt you. If it really doesn’t work out, wait until the college entrance exam results come out. If you do well, you can come back.”
Zhao Xunyu switched hands to hold the phone. His depression and frustration were swept away.
“You said it yourself, you’ll let me go back when the college entrance exam results come out!”
Knowing that he had been appeased, Zhao Qingtang said, “Your grades and performance decide everything. You’re so spoiled that you think the whole world revolves around you. So you cry when your tantrum fails? I thought you were so tough.”
“Hey… Dad, tell me the truth, am I that annoying?”
“I do find you pretty annoying, but it looks like plenty of others love you. Some of your female classmates even blocked your doorway just to give you love letters. Your so-called ‘brothers’ are always hugging you and even dyeing their hair to match yours, just like a couple, aren’t they? And then there’s your cousin. Just a few words of encouragement from you, and he’s rushing ahead recklessly. Now your uncle has sent him to the Arctic or the Antarctic. Tell me, does he love you or not?”
“Zhao Qingtang, you are really good at speaking.”
“Hahahahahahahahaha, my son is a heartthrob and I am proud of him, isn’t that enough?”
Zhao Xunyu was too lazy to joke with him.
“… By the way, Dad. Where’s that temple you went to all those years ago? I think I need to go worship there as well!”
“It’s on Moon Mountain. I don’t know if it’s still there after all these years. Ask your grandmother or your little sister. If it is, ask your little sister to take you there. The college entrance exam results will be announced soon. You two should go and pay your respects, and when the time comes, I’ll throw a celebration for both of you.”
Zhao Qingtang chatted with him for a while to make sure his mood had stabilized before hanging up.
Zhao Xunyu’s pent-up emotions subsided. He got up and went to wash his hair and take a shower.
He didn’t dry his hair after showering. He rubbed it roughly with a towel and draped it over his shoulder before going downstairs.
Chu Zhi Lu was still watching television.
He sat down next to her. A drop of water fell from his hair and slid silently down Chu Zhi Lu’s smooth arm.
It tickled a little.
Zhao Xunyu saw the small spicy fish on the coffee table. Without asking, he took one and put it in his mouth.
“Little sister A-Lu, do you know if the temple on Moon Mountain from many years ago still exists?”
Zhao Xunyu realized that sympathy, despite its negative connotations, was a valuable emotion. It was something that had to be acknowledged, something that had to be protected, something that made his little sister worth looking after in the future.
Calling her “little sister” was genuine, expressing his firmness and recognition.
Chu Zhi Lu wasn’t accustomed to being called that. After a moment of consideration, she responded, “It’s still there, but not many people go there anymore. It’s quite dilapidated.”
“Are you free tomorrow? Could you take me there to worship?”
Chu Zhi Lu’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed. “But that’s the Temple of Guanyin of Childbearing.”
It was said that the incense there was quite popular over a decade ago. But later the county had a bigger and better temple. Moon Mountain was a two-hour hike. Nowadays, young people don’t believe in such things, and most of those who want children already have them. The temple on Moon Mountain gradually fell into disrepair.
“Huh? Then how come my dad said that after worshipping at the temple on Moon Mountain for half a month, Grandma agreed to marry my mom? Is there another temple?”
“No, there’s always only been one Temple of Guanyin of Childbearing on Moon Mountain.”
“Let’s go worship anyway; it should be similar. My dad’s prayer for marriage worked. I was conceived two years after their marriage. The goddesses could pass on a message to each other, right?”
Chu Zhi Lu didn’t know whether he believed that or not. He believed it in a rather casual way. Yet, he was willing to walk for two hours to worship.
“If you want to worship, you can go to the county temple. It’s closer and you can worship whoever you want.”
“I want to worship the one on Moon Mountain who blessed my dad. There’s too much incense in the county temple, so the goddess might not notice me. You should also worship and wish for good results in the college entrance exam!”
Chu Zhi Lu never believed in such things, but she said, “Okay, I’ll prepare two sets of incense.”
“Mm-mm, let’s go tomorrow after breakfast.”
Zhao Xunyu picked up another spicy fish and looked at the TV.
They were very close. Chu Zhi Lu accidentally noticed a small red birthmark behind his ear. She couldn’t see it clearly, so she couldn’t help but move closer.
Zhao Xunyu felt a subtle warmth, and goosebumps broke out. When he turned his head, he was breathing almost the same air as Chu Zhi Lu. Remembering the spicy fish he had just eaten, he instinctively held his breath and leaned back to prevent Chu Zhi Lu from smelling it.
He didn’t even look at her and didn’t dare to open his mouth. “What’s wrong?”
Chu Zhi Lu remained calm. “It seems to have faded.”
“…” Zhao Xunyu wanted to reach out and touch his head to confirm, but both of his hands were stained with oil.
Chu Zhi Lu stood up, took the towel off his shoulder, and turned him around slightly. “Keep eating, I’ll wipe it off for you.”
Zhao Xunyu looked at his hands, hesitated for three seconds, and gave up the fight.
Gentle, patient, soft, comfortable.
And the slight tickle of Chu Zhi Lu’s skirt brushing against his knees.
Zhao Xunyu thought it was really nice to have a little sister.
But he was more concerned about…
“Has it faded?”
“No. It might be the reflection of water droplets. I must have seen it wrong.”