Chapter 83
Jun Zishu cooked the rice first, then washed and chopped the vegetables.
Yun Zizhou did not return to her room. Instead, she went to the kitchen to watch Jun Zishu chop vegetables.
“Your cuts are really neat, Sis,” Yun Zizhou praised while helping Jun Zishu wash the vegetables. There were no cuts on her hands, so she had no problem touching water.
“Of course. I’ve practiced, after all.”
When the rice was almost ready, Jun Zishu got ready to start cooking the meat and vegetables.
“Is your cooking delicious, Sis?” Yun Zizhou asked frankly.
“I think it’s okay,” Jun Zishu replied honestly. Her cooking was based entirely on her mood. It was sometimes bland, sometimes too salty, and sometimes perfect.
“Why don’t I do it?” Yun Zizhou suggested.
However, Jun Zishu immediately shot down the girl’s suggestion, saying, “You’re a patient, so be good and take a seat on the sofa. Or are you that afraid of my cooking?”
“No, no. It’s just that you’ve been working the entire day already, Sis.”
“It’s fine. I can still manage to cook a few dishes. Go and play with your phone on the sofa. I’ll call you when I’m done,” Jun Zishu said as she chased Yun Zizhou out of the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Yun Zizhou felt a little joyful when she saw Jun Zishu’s actions, a hint of nostalgia appearing in her eyes.
When Yun Zizhou was still a teenager, she would often try to help out in the kitchen. In turn, her mother would chase her out of the kitchen in the same way as Jun Zishu did, the atmosphere in those times being warm and comfortable.
But later on…
Yun Zizhou squeezed the edges of her shirt as she sat down on the living room sofa.
People were biased creatures. After Yun Zizhou’s mother found herself a new family, she favored her new husband over her daughter.
Yun Zizhou honestly hated that kind of feeling. However, she still did her best to play the role of a polite child.
Yun Zizhou knew that her mother sincerely liked her new husband, so she didn’t object to the remarriage.
However, Yun Zizhou couldn’t find herself to like her new step-father no matter what. Her new step-father showed no intentions of having a good relationship with her, either. Thus, after entering high school, Yun Zizhou started working part-time to pay her school fees and apply for scholarships. Then, once she earned enough capital, she returned all of the money her step-father had spent on her in the past.
Although Yun Zizhou had ended up receiving a scolding from her mother over her actions, she refused to relent. She did not wish to owe her step-father anything whatsoever.
Meanwhile, because of her tense relationship with her parents, it had been a long time since Yun Zizhou had experienced the feeling of eating under the same roof with someone close to her.
Around 15 minutes later, Jun Zishu called Yun Zizhou to come to the dining table while placing dishes onto the table: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, shredded pork with peppers, and fried water spinach. They were all dishes that didn’t involve complex procedures.
After setting the dishes, Jun Zishu opened the rice cooker and filled a bowl of rice for Yun Zizhou.
“What are you looking at me for? Eat up,” Jun Zishu said when she noticed Yun Zizhou staring at her without touching her chopsticks.
“Okay.”
Yun Zizhou picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
After serving herself a bowl of rice, Jun Zishu tried tasting her cooking today and found that it tasted normal. In other words, her performance was at its peak today.
After dinner, Yun Zizhou enthusiastically volunteered to do the dishes.
“My dear little sister, I think it’s best if you rest.”
“I only hurt my arms and face, Sis,” Yun Zizhou said in exasperation. Even so, she still felt warm in her heart.
“You don’t need to work. Just go and rest.”
“I’ll watch you, then.”
“What’s so interesting about watching me wash dishes?” Jun Zishu asked, chuckling. Then, she turned on the faucet and squeezed some detergent onto the cleaning sponge.
After doing the dishes, Jun Zishu spent some time reading while she digested her food.
As for Yun Zizhou, she returned to her room, grabbed her drawing book and pencil, and started drawing. Her lips curled up slightly as she drew. She was in such a good mood that she even started humming as she immersed herself into her own little world.
After taking a bath, Jun Zishu entered Yun Zizhou’s room at 10 PM sharp.
“You don’t have to come here and show your support every day, Sis.”
“But I’m your fan,” Jun Zishu lazily said as she laid down on Yun Zizhou’s bed. Listening to Yun Zizhou’s voice and singing was a relaxing activity for Jun Zishu. It helped reduce the stress and unhappy feelings she accumulated from her terrible mission.
“Really?”
Yun Zizhou knew that her voice sounded beautiful and popular among the masses. It was also why she chose to use it as one of her selling points. However, she had difficulty determining whether Jun Zishu was sincerely fond of her voice or just being polite.
“Of course. Alright, you should start your stream soon,” Jun Zishu said as she pointed at the invisible watch on her wrist.
Yun Zizhou nodded and promptly focused her attention on her laptop. However, her eyes still shifted to Jun Zishu from time to time.
“What song do you want to hear, Sis? I’ll sing it for you.”
“I’m fine with anything. All of your songs sound nice,” Jun Zishu said as she propped her chin in her hands.
Yun Zizhou’s eyes glazed over momentarily, finding Jun Zishu’s face under the light to be exceptionally attractive. The little mole at the corner of the woman’s eyes also exuded an irresistible charm.
Feeling her ears burning up, Yun Zizhou turned back to her laptop in a fluster and started her stream. Then, she greeted her viewers, saying, “Good evening, everyone.”
Immediately, messages started appearing in the live chat one after another, with one comment reading:
Slowest Slowpoke In The World: I get the feeling that Zizhou is in a good mood today. Her voice when she said good evening sounded full of joy.
“Really? But I came across an upsetting matter today,” Yun Zizhou said in response to the comment.
Building A City Using Clouds: What happened?
“I visited a lake to do some sketching today and came across a catfight between a legal wife and a homewrecker. They ended up crashing into my easel and ruining my drawing,” Yun Zizhou said in a troubled tone. However, she avoided mentioning anything about her injuries.
Immediately, a bunch of viewers voiced their concerns in the live chat. Then, by some twist of fate, the conversation topic shifted to cheating scumbags.
“The man who cheated is definitely in the wrong. However, the homewrecker probably knew that the man was in a relationship. Both of them are horrible people. I hate two-timing scumbags the most,” Yun Zizhou said to her viewers.
Meanwhile, Jun Zishu, a.k.a. Miss Five-timing Scumbag, silently gulped behind Yun Zizhou.
Although Jun Zishu wasn’t the one who committed adultery, she had to shoulder the blame for adultery.
However, this was all for the sake of staying alive.
Jun Zishu sighed and continued calmly listening to the live stream.
“Let’s go with a Japanese song for today’s opening.”
“I will never again receive your love,
Nor will I ever be needed,
And that is how I find myself all alone,
What was it you told me back then?
The words that won’t reach me dance in the air,
And though I know better, today too I end up,
…”
(Departures – EGOIST)[1]
Jun Zishu understood Japanese, so she could mostly understand the meaning behind the song. It was a gentle song with a sad tune.
Partway through the song, Jun Zishu saw her phone’s screen light up—Zhang Lan had sent her a message.
Basically, Zhang Lan was saying that she had already found the house and job Jun Zishu had asked for.
Jun Zishu didn’t think that her friend would work so efficiently. After replying with an emoji, she cast aside her phone and focused on Yun Zizhou’s singing.
After the stream ended, Jun Zishu returned to her room like normal and gave Zhang Lan a call.
“You sure work quickly.”
“It’s nothing difficult. Anyway, when do you plan on inviting us out for some fun? It’s been a long time since we met up. You’ve constantly been brushing us off using either your work or relationship as an excuse.”
“We’ll see in a couple days. I’ll be sure to invite everyone out if I have time,” Jun Zishu said.
In China, “a couple days” could also be interpreted as “not possible for the moment.”
“I might not have time to travel, but I’ll probably have time to treat you to a meal,” Jun Zishu added.
“I’ll be waiting, then.”
Zhang Lan didn’t make any more comments, simply grinning and accepting Jun Zishu’s offer.
After ending her call with Zhang Lan, Jun Zishu picked up a book and read it to pass the time. She would also write down notes with a pen from time to time.
Amidst her reading, Jun Zishu heard knocking sounds from the door. When she shouted “come in,” the door opened, and Yun Zizhou walked in with a bowl in hand.
“Do you want some fruit salad, Sis? I just made some.”
At some time, Yun Zizhou had switched from calling Jun Zishu “Big Sister” or “Big Sister Wentong” to just “Sis.” It could be seen that she felt much more intimate with Jun Zishu now.
“Did you buy the fruits today?”
“Mhm, mhm. Let’s share them.”
The bowl contained sliced apples and bananas topped with yogurt. At first glance, the fruit salad looked very appetizing.
Although Jun Zishu had already brushed her teeth when she bathed just now, she didn’t mind brushing her teeth again later on.
There was only one office chair in Jun Zishu’s room. So, after placing the bowl on the desk, Yun Zizhou ran back to her room to move her chair over. Then, she sat beside Jun Zishu and started picking apart her fruity creation.
Jun Zishu decided to stop reading and enjoy the refreshing supper as well. Although a cold wind was blowing into the room because Jun Zishu did not close her window completely, neither Jun Zishu nor Yun Zizhou felt cold at this moment. On the contrary, the cold wind felt rather comfortable when it hit their warm bodies.
After finishing the fruit salad, Yun Zizhou left the room with the empty bowl. Then, she returned again to move her chair back to her room, bidding Jun Zishu goodnight while doing so.
…
February 13th, nighttime.
After much effort, Jun Zishu successfully received approval for her leave application for Valentine’s Day.
The train ticket Jun Zishu bought was scheduled for the 14th. Although there were evening trips available on the 13th, she had no desire to travel to C City ahead of time. The less time she had to spend with Shi Yu, the better.
Two days ago, Shi Yu had called her telling her that he was finished with his work and that he was already waiting for her in C City.
After staring at her train ticket for some time, Jun Zishu lazily stretched and massaged her shoulders. Then, she got up to pack her luggage.
Fortunately, she didn’t need to pack much since it would only be a one-day trip. If everything went according to plan, she’d be out of C City before Valentine’s Day was even over.
…
At 7 AM the next day, Jun Zishu put on her makeup and got ready to head out.
Yun Zizhou woke up ahead of time when she heard the noise Jun Zishu made. Then, when she shuffled out of her room with droopy eyes and saw Jun Zishu getting ready to leave, her eyes instantly snapped wide awake.
“Where are you going so early in the morning, Sis?” Yun Zizhou asked as she took a look at the wall clock to make sure she didn’t oversleep.
“I’m going out to meet a person.”
“Is it a date?”
Yun Zizhou knew that it was Valentine’s Day. However, she had always assumed that Jun Zishu did not have a boyfriend since Jun Zishu had been returning home straight after work every day. She seldom left home at night, either. Moreover, Jun Zishu would also spend an hour listening to her live streams every night. No matter how Yun Zizhou looked at it, Jun Zishu did not seem like someone with a partner.
“Mhm… You can think of it like that.” More like finding trouble again.
After putting on her high heels, Jun Zishu couldn’t help but wonder if she would be successful in her break-up this time.
“With your boyfriend?” Yun Zizhou asked, her hand that was placed on the door handle tightening. For some reason, she felt a little unhappy about this situation.
“Something like that.”
“Is he trying to pursue you?”
“I’m trying to break up with him,” Jun Zishu said as she ran her fingers through her hair.
“Just break up with him, then.”
Jun Zishu grew inexplicably happy when she heard Jun Zishu’s words. However, she did her best to suppress her elation.
“I wish it was that easy. I’m heading out now, goodbye.”
Jun Zishu opened the door and waved goodbye at Yun Zizhou.
TL Notes:
[1]Departures – EGOIST: Another song from the anime Guilty Crowns.
#InoriShouldHaveLived #OumaShitShouldHaveDiedInstead
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