Around 8 o’clock, I woke up, got dressed, and went downstairs. My mother, Aunt Liu, Mai Sui, and Shen Youyi were already in the dining room, with a simple breakfast laid out on the table.
"Good morning." I pulled out a chair and sat down, trying to look as natural as possible.
"Good morning." Mom looked up at , her eyes calm and expressionless.
Aunt Liu smiled gently.
Mai Sui kept her head down and sipped her porridge, not looking at .
Shen Youyi stared straight at with a complicated expression.
The atmosphere was subtly quiet.
Until footsteps were heard at the top of the stairs.
Su Wantang ca down.
She was wearing a loose dress, but her gait... was noticeably stiff and awkward. Her legs seed hesitant to co together completely, and she took each step cautiously, with a touch of fragility after being exposed to the first rain.
This pose is so iconic.
Mai Sui and Shen Youyi looked up at almost the sa ti. Their eyes t briefly in the air before quickly looking away.
The knowing look in his eyes, along with a barely perceptible hint of bitterness, was impossible to hide.
Shen Youyi turned her gaze to , pouted, and drew out her voice, filled with jealousy: "Brother~ Brother~ Did you sleep well last night?"
The word "brother" was uttered with a thousand and one turns.
My mother put down her spoon and calmly looked at my face.
Aunt Liu looked at her daughter with a tender gaze tinged with heartache.
I suddenly felt like I was being stared at by four pairs of eyes, and my scalp tingled.
He could only chuckle awkwardly and scratch his head: "Cough...it’s...it’s alright, I slept quite well."
As soon as Su Wantang walked to the table, upon hearing Shen Youyi’s question and my dry reply, her face flushed bright red, like a ripe shrimp. She lowered her head, pulled out a chair, and sat down, wishing she could bury her face in the bowl.
The awkward silence almost froze.
"Ahem~"
Aunt Liu spoke up at the right mont, her gentle voice breaking the silence, "Mo Mo, get Tang Tang a bowl of porridge. She went to bed late last night... cough, she must be hungry."
She cleverly used "going to bed late" to gloss over certain unspeakable facts.
I felt like I had been granted a pardon and quickly stood up to serve Su Wantang porridge.
Thank you for your silence.
Su Wantang’s voice was barely audible.
To completely change the subject, I quickly asked my mother, "Mom, what are we having for lunch today?"
Mom slowly wiped her mouth, looked up at , and a aningful smile appeared on her lips: "Eat us, huh?"
"puff..."
Shen Youyi almost spat out her porridge. Mai Sui also choked a little.
Su Wantang lowered her head even further.
Aunt Liu shook her head with a helpless smile.
Even with my thick skin, I couldn’t hold back any longer: "Mom!"
"Alright, alright, I’m not teasing you anymore."
Mom finally stopped being mischievous and returned to her normal deanor. "Are we eating out again today? Or what should I say?"
These words were like a switch being turned on.
Aunt Liu, Su Wantang, Mai Sui, and Shen Youyi imdiately started chattering.
"The seafood place I went to yesterday was alright, but it was a bit far..."
"How about we try so local food?"
I want to eat hot pot!
"Isn’t it too hot to eat hot pot at midday?"
I glanced out the window. It was cloudy today, the sun wasn’t too strong, and the weather was quite comfortable.
An idea popped into my head.
How about this?
I raised my voice to interrupt their discussion, "Let’s just grab sothing simple for lunch, and then have a BBQ tonight? We can cook it ourselves, right here in the yard."
Considering I’ll be going out for lunch again, and possibly facing the heat, plus the ti I’ll probably be short on ti to prepare the ingredients, I think I’ll have more ti in the evening.
"It’s too hot at noon, and there’s no ti to prepare. Evening is perfect."
"BBQ? Great!" Shen Youyi was the first to jump up in response, her eyes sparkling.
"I agree!" Mai Sui nodded imdiately.
"I...I have no objection," Su Wantang whispered in agreent.
Seeing that we kids were all in agreent, Mom and Aunt Liu exchanged a glance and nodded with a smile: "Okay, let’s have a barbecue tonight."
As for Uncle Su and my dad, who are still lying dead upstairs? Their opinions? Ha, they don’t matter anymore.
After a quick breakfast, the won disappeared to their rooms to change clothes, put on makeup, and prepare to go out shopping.
I took out my phone, slumped on the sofa, and browsed maps and Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social dia platform) for nearby large shopping malls and restaurant guides.
For lunch, it’s best to buy so ready-made cooked food or semi-finished products to save the trouble of cooking.
I’ve been waiting so long, I’m practically withered from waiting.
Uncle Su and my dad both yawned and went downstairs, rubbing their hangover heads as they looked for sothing to eat. There was still no sound from upstairs.
"Where are they?" my dad asked vaguely, his words barely audible.
"They said we’d have a BBQ tonight, so we went grocery shopping. We were planning to do so shopping first, and I even went upstairs to change clothes. I’m still changing now."
I pointed helplessly upstairs.
Uncle Su stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth and chuckled indistinctly, "Then you’ve got a long wait. Won going out? They won’t be back for at least an hour, they’re so slow!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Aunt Liu’s cheerful voice ca from the stairwell: "Su Jianming, do you have a problem with how fast I changed my clothes?"
Uncle Su jumped, nearly choking on his bread, and quickly forced a smile, "No, no, no! Absolutely not! Honey, you can change it for as long as you want! As long as you want! I’ll wait for you!"
That ability to change one’s expression so quickly is truly remarkable.
Aunt Liu gave a light snort, rolled her eyes at him with a charming smile, and then gracefully went downstairs.
Behind her, Su Wantang had also changed her clothes, wearing a fresh floral dress that made her face look even more delicate.
She walked straight to my side and naturally took my arm.
My dad nudged Uncle Su with his elbow and winked, "Old Su, look, it seems like good things are just around the corner for our two families!"
Uncle Su looked at his daughter leaning against like a little bird, sighed, and said in a half-joking tone, "Oh, my beautiful little cabbage, in the end, was still taken by your pig."
"Get out of here! Can’t you talk properly!" my dad laughed and scolded. "They’re a perfect match, a match made in heaven! Our two families know each other well, isn’t that great!"
As they were talking, Mom, Mai Sui, and Shen Youyi ca downstairs.
Mai Sui imdiately noticed Su Wantang holding my arm. She paused for a mont, and the light in her eyes dimd slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and returned to calm.
Shen Youyi puffed out her cheeks, looked unhappy, and rushed over. Without saying a word, she grabbed my other arm, hugged it tightly, and glared at Su Wantang in a defiant manner.
Uncle Su chuckled at the sight of her "embracing two girls": "Hey, Youyou’s jealous!"
Mom ca downstairs, glanced at us, and imdiately decided, "Alright, let’s go."
She then looked at my dad and Uncle Su, "Are you two going or not?"
The two shook their heads vigorously: "No, no! You go! We’ll stay ho/watch TV!"
As we left, my dad and Uncle Su gave us looks that were full of... pity?
Yeah, it’s that kind of deep pity, like "Bro, take care while you’re out shopping with a woman." I get it.
There were two cars; Mom drove one, and Aunt Liu sat in the passenger seat without hesitation.
I then squeezed into the back row with my three "young ladies".
Su Wantang held my left arm, Shen Youyi held my right arm, and Mai Sui could only sit next to Shen Youyi, leaning against the car door.
The car started and drove towards the shopping mall.
The carriage was completely silent.
The only sound was the air conditioner blowing air.
The silence was even more suffocating than it had been in the restaurant. I felt extrely uncomfortable, as if the air itself had frozen.
Just as I was racking my brains trying to find a topic to break the deadlock, Shen Youyi spoke first.
She turned to the side, tilted her little face up to look at , her big eyes were watery, and her voice was soft and aggrieved: "Brother, are you... with Su Wantang?"
She asked very directly.
I fell silent.
The silence itself is the answer.
Shen Youyi looked at , her eyes instantly reddening, her voice trembling with tears: "So... you’re not going to want us anymore?"
The "we" she ntioned clearly included Mai Sui, and possibly even her mother and Aunt Liu.
Mai Sui also suddenly raised her head to look at , and I could clearly see the tears quickly welling up in her eyes.
I took a deep breath; I couldn’t run away any longer.
"Won’t."
My voice wasn’t loud, but it was firm: "I love you all. I love every single one of you."
Shen Youyi was about to say sothing when I interrupted her, my gaze sweeping over them. "Tangtang... she already knows about us. But she still... barged in without hesitation."
Shen Youyi and Mai Sui both looked at Su Wantang in surprise.
Su Wantang t their gazes, her cheeks flushed but her eyes resolute: "Anyway... I will not give up my silence. If... if you are unwilling, you can leave."
These words carried a slight barb, but more than anything, they reflected her determination.
"I’m not leaving!"
Shen Youyi imdiately hugged my arm tightly, like a little animal guarding its food, "Even if you all leave, I won’t leave my brother!"
Wheat looked at us, her lips moved, she wanted to hug but there was no room, and in the end she just said in a low but clear voice: "I...I have fallen in love with silence."
This sentence is like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.
My heart ward, and I forcefully pulled my right hand away from Shen Youyi’s embrace, which made her snort in dissatisfaction. She stretched out her arm, reached past Shen Youyi, and grabbed Mai Sui by the window, hugging her tightly and affectionately pressing her forehead against hers.
Mai Sui’s body stiffened for a mont, then softened, leaning against , burying her face in my shoulder, her shoulder twitching slightly.
I held them both, looking into Aunt Liu’s eyes in the passenger seat and into my mother’s eyes in the rearview mirror. My voice was deep and clear, as if I were declaring, or perhaps making a promise:
"I will be good to each and every one of you. Mom, Aunt Liu, Tangtang, Youyou, and Maisui."
I paused, admitting my greed, "Maybe... I am greedy. But I really... don’t want to give up any of you. My heart is divided into many pieces, but every piece is full of love for you."
Aunt Liu turned around from the passenger seat, her face bearing her usual slightly mischievous smile: "Oh, that’s easy to say. But what if you et other pretty girls in the future? Will you have to tear your heart out again?"
I t her gaze and said firmly, "No. With you all, I have enough."
The tone left no room for argunt.
Aunt Liu looked at , her smile deepening, radiating a satisfied glow.
Tangtang, Youyou, and Maisui in my arms snuggled even closer to .
The suffocating silence in the carriage disappeared, replaced by a strange, bittersweet yet incredibly warm current.
Although my mother didn’t say anything and was focused on driving, I glimpsed in the rearview mirror that the corners of her mouth were curving upwards in a pleasant arc.
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