Chapter 12 Gratitude of an Ungrateful Female Lead 12

Zhou He reflected deeply on just how awkward their interactions had been before. Otherwise, how could Xie Qingjia have gotten so shy and flustered just because she acted a little coy with him?

Oh, what a pitiful boyfriend.

Mm, what an innocent Xie Qingjia.

Ahhh, how can he be this adorable?!

People really are strange. When you don’t like someone, even the way they breathe feels wrong. But when you do like someone, even their clumsiness seems unbearably cute.

Zhou He couldn’t help herself. She rose on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.

Xie Qingjia turned to look at her in shock, and in his eyes it was as if a thousand troops and ten thousand horses¹ were charging straight at her.

“What are you still staring at? Hurry up and carry the rest of these gift boxes upstairs. We’re going home. It’s almost midnight. Don’t you think it’s late enough already?”

“Oh, right.” Xie Qingjia quickly picked up several bags. “Just wait here for me. I’ll be right back.”

As he walked off, he kept turning back to look at her, as if she would vanish the moment he took his eyes off her.

Poor fool. How could she possibly disappear? And now, how could she bear to leave him?

–

Xie Qingjia took her out for wontons at a stall near the crossroads not far from the residential complex where he rented his place.

It was a wonton stall run by an elderly couple. Xie Qingjia said they only set up at night and stayed open until two or three in the morning. They had a great reputation nearby. Taxi drivers, people getting off the night shift, lots of people came to eat there.

The old man was cooking behind the stall while the old woman handled miscellaneous chores beside him. Though the two elders moved a little slowly, everything at the stall was very clean. They were both also wearing white cotton caps, sleeve covers, and aprons, all spotless. Just looking at them made people feel at ease.

The old man’s wontons didn’t seem to be made in the local style. He even added freshly blanched minced meat and a poached egg to the soup.

Zhou He was curious, so she asked about it.

The old man said he was from Jiangsu and had moved here to settle down with his wife after they got married.

“It’s been decades now. This old man here speaks the local dialect even more authentically than you young folks who only speak standard Mandarin².”

Zhou He said, “Then why don’t you two set up during the day? Working this late at night must be really hard.”

The moment she asked that, a girl waiting for her food nearby burst out laughing. Zhou He looked at Xie Qingjia and saw that he was smiling too.

The girl beside them explained, “Then you don’t know the story. The two elders run this stall for fun. They’re not doing it for this little bit of money. Their children are all very successful, all big bosses. Before retiring, Grandpa and Grandma both had stable government jobs too.”

“Hiss…” Zhou He put on an exaggerated look of shock and hurriedly said, “So today I’ve run into hidden masters in disguise³. My apologies, my apologies.”

Grandpa and Grandma were both amused by her words and chuckled happily.

“Let’s not talk about all that,” the old man said. “When you get old, you don’t need much sleep. And this old lady learned that bad habit you young people have of staying up late, and she just can’t change it. So we might as well come out at night and do something. Better than lying around at home playing on our phones.”

The old woman chided him, “What’s this old man muttering about? Can’t you see how many people are waiting in line?”

The old man said, “Oh, I was saying I don’t like playing on my phone. I only like working.”

This time Zhou He was genuinely shocked. She hadn’t expected this stall to actually be the result of the old man trying to cure his trendy wife of internet addiction. You really couldn’t judge a book by its cover. Grandma was old enough to be wearing reading glasses, yet she had adapted to modern society a little too well.

Following up on his wife’s remark, the old man added, “Seeing hardworking kids like you, who’ve been busy all day and only get off work late at night, able to have something hot to eat makes us happy too.”

Although, still…

Was it possible that among these young people working late, there might be a small portion who were actually working for your son or daughter, the big boss?

Forget it. Better not think about it. It was too heartbreaking.

Zhou He shot Xie Qingjia, fellow corporate slave⁴ that he was, a sympathetic glance. He had no idea why.

Zhou He quietly shared her “clear-eyed” conclusion with him.

You work yourself to the bone all day for someone else’s son or daughter, and then after finally getting off work at night, you hand over your hard-earned money to that same someone’s parents for late-night snacks. And not only do you not feel that anything is wrong, you even envy how successful their children are while also feeling touched by how hardworking the elderly couple is…

Just tell me, isn’t that miserable? Isn’t that tragic?

Xie Qingjia: “…”

Normal people wouldn’t think about it like you do, okay?

Zhou He said, “Well? Aren’t you stunned by what an exceptionally perceptive heart I have?”

Xie Qingjia: Not really. I’m just stunned that my girlfriend might be suffering from a bit of persecution delusion.

He didn’t dare say it.

When the steaming hot wontons were served, Xie Qingjia pulled out a pair of chopsticks and handed them to his girlfriend, who was all but begging for praise and approval, then urged, “Eat up. If you leave them sitting too long, they’ll get soggy.”

“Oh.”

Good food made people feel good.

And with someone wonderful by your side, the deliciousness of the food doubled.

The soup was fresh and flavorful, the egg tender, the meat springy. Delicious!

Mumbling through a mouthful of food, Zhou He announced her plan. “We’re coming back tomorrow night too.”

Smiling, Xie Qingjia agreed. “Okay, we’ll come again tomorrow.”

By the time the two of them got back to Xie Qingjia’s place, it was almost one in the morning.

It was an old residential complex in the old district of the city. The environment wasn’t great, but the area looked lively and full of everyday life, and it was very convenient.

“This old building doesn’t have an elevator, and the stairs are pretty narrow too. Be careful when you walk,” Xie Qingjia reminded her.

“What floor do you live on?”

“The ninth, I guess.”

Why did he sound so unsure?

“Hm? Then how many floors does this building have in total?”

Xie Qingjia said, “Eight.”

Zhou He: “…”

The building only has eight floors, but you live on the ninth… There’s really nothing wrong with that?

Xie Qingjia looked back at her innocently.

“Bro, don’t scare me in the middle of the night.”

Xie Qingjia’s brow twitched.

“Don’t call me that.”

Zhou He said, “Huh? Then what should I call you, gege⁵? Why?”

Xie Qingjia didn’t look at her and started climbing the stairs first.

Zhou He followed behind him, chattering nonstop. “Answer me, gege. Why is that, gege? Gege~ Gege~ Why aren’t you talking? Don’t you like me, gege~”

She was having the time of her life when Xie Qingjia suddenly turned around, startling a soft cry out of her.

Xie Qingjia reached behind her waist and pulled her forward, then turned sideways and pinned her against the wall in the stairwell, his gaze blazing as he looked at her.

Still blissfully courting disaster, Zhou He pushed it a little further. “Gege, you scared me~”

Privately, she was very satisfied. Mm, that bit of coquettishness had been pretty good. The tone and the context had both felt much more natural. Looks like she had judged correctly, acting spoiled was a skill too, and it took practice~

Xie Qingjia lowered his head until the tips of their noses touched, then demanded, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? If you call me that again, I’ll scare you into tears. Believe it or not? Hm?”

It had to be said, there was something incredibly potent about the way Xie Qingjia said that “hm.” Zhou He instantly grasped the essence of it.

Like an overbearing kitten suddenly pulling in its claws, she meekly shrank back, trapped between Xie Qingjia and the wall.

Seeing her like that, Xie Qingjia let out a soft laugh and rubbed his nose lightly against hers. “So obedient?”

She nodded rapidly like a pecking chick. Yes, she was super obedient.

Only then did Xie Qingjia take his now-quiet girlfriend by the hand and lead her upstairs.

Climbing nine floors in one go was honestly pretty exhausting.

When they finally reached the place, Zhou He understood what Xie Qingjia had meant earlier.

The building really did have only eight floors, but he lived in the attic above the eighth floor. Calling it the ninth floor wasn’t wrong either.

The attic’s ceiling was very low, and the roof was slanted. Along one side near the wall, Xie Qingjia had to bend over when he walked past.

The inside was probably only a little over ten square meters, but it had been divided into three sections: a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. In any case, it was pretty small.

Xie Qingjia had only rented this place in the past two years, and she had never come here before.

Xie Qingjia bent down and rummaged through the cabinet at the foot of the bed, pulling out a pair of women’s slippers with the tags still on for Zhou He. Seeing her looking around the room, he said with a smile, “It’s a little small, but at least for the same price, I don’t have to share with roommates. If you’re not used to it, we can book a hotel.”

Zhou He flopped onto the bed and put on a shameless little act. “I’m not leaving. I’m staying right here.”

Xie Qingjia crouched down to help her change shoes. Zhou He jumped in surprise, but he caught hold of her foot. “What are you wriggling around for? You’ll be more comfortable in slippers.”

Watching Xie Qingjia crouched on the floor, carefully changing her shoes, Zhou He felt a little at a loss.

Xie Qingjia stood up. “Stunned silly?”

“Hmph. I was just wondering, I’ve never even been here before, so why are there women’s slippers?” Zhou He stood up and tested them with a few steps. “They fit pretty well, too.”

Xie Qingjia sighed. “Still pretending? Do you really want me to say it? I was hoping you’d come, so I got them specially for you just in case. Happy now?”

“Barely, barely. I’ll still need to keep observing your performance.”

Zhou He had eaten a little too much and started pacing back and forth around the room.

Seeing that, Xie Qingjia said, “I didn’t finish introducing the place earlier. There’s another pleasant surprise in this apartment.”

“What is it?”

He pulled aside a fabric curtain. Zhou He had thought it was just wall decor before, but now she realized there was actually a glass door behind it.

Calling it a door wasn’t quite accurate, since it wasn’t very tall. It would be more fitting to call it a slightly taller window.

After opening it and stepping outside, Xie Qingjia beckoned to Zhou He. “Come.”

Zhou He bent over and squeezed her way out.

“Oh…”

Outside was a large terrace. To her surprise, the view was quite open. The nearby old city was dimly lit, but across the river in the distance was a commercial center, along with the bridge spanning the river under glittering lights. The night view was beautiful.

It really was a wonderful surprise. This apartment was worth it for the terrace alone.

Xie Qingjia said, “The old city has its own charm.”

Zhou He agreed with that. “At the very least, the food culture is incredibly developed.”

Xie Qingjia set up a folding table on the terrace, and the next morning they ate breakfast out there. The sunlight was especially lovely, pure enjoyment.

“I still need to go to the company this morning to wrap up some work. Do you want to go out and have fun, or stay home?”

Zhou He said, “I’ll stay here and soak up the sun.”

“All right, then be good and stay home. Once I’m done, I’ll buy groceries on the way back and make you something delicious.”

The sun made people feel lazy and pleasantly drowsy. Zhou He thought of the chapter she had posted last night.

She opened the backend and took a look. Fine… zero clicks, zero bookmarks.

It didn’t matter. She was only writing it as a record of being in love anyway. Even if no one read it, it wouldn’t affect her enthusiasm for writing in the slightest.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard in a rapid clatter, and before long, another few thousand fresh words were done.

Maybe because she was writing all this with love in her heart, when she went back and read through it, there wasn’t much bitterness in the childhood between the lines. Instead, it was one little sweetness after another with Xie Qingjia, the kind that at the time had seemed so ordinary.

The more she read, the more she found herself smiling.

Translator’s Notes