Chapter 23 Gratitude of an Ungrateful Female Lead 23 – Hoping That From Now On, Nothing Will Stand in His Way

Were their days hard?

Very hard. But no matter how hard things were, could they really compare to being sold off for a 168,000 yuan Bride Price, reduced to a baby-making machine, ordered around at will, and beaten or cursed at every turn?

So when she thought about it, if she just gritted her teeth, she could still get through it.

At the very least, she was healthy, and the person she loved was still by her side.

Once she decided to sell the apartment, Zhou He gave herself no chance to back out. She contacted an agent right away and listed it.

Xie Qingjia, on the other hand, started dragging his feet.

“The baby’s due any day now. How about we wait until after the birth to move?”

“By then there’ll be a whole pile of baby stuff, and moving will be even more troublesome. Now’s the perfect time.”

Zhou He had already contacted the school and applied for faculty housing. She happened to catch the start of the semester. If it had been in the middle of term, it probably wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.

Her salary package originally included a housing allowance. This semester, she gave that up and paid a bit extra to apply for a two-bedroom, one-living-room unit in the dormitory building.

If they rented the same kind of place outside, it would cost at least twice as much. So in a way, they were saving a little.

The school’s newer dorm buildings were in high demand, so there was no way she could have gotten one on short notice. The unit she received was in an old dorm building built in the 1990s.

The old building was shaded by thick green trees, and the landscaping was nice. The problem was that the facilities were outdated and there was no elevator. Still, it wasn’t too bad. Zhou He’s unit was on the third floor.

The day she got the key, Xie Qingjia went with Zhou He to see the place.

The apartment was old, inside and out. There were still greasy stains on the kitchen glass left by the previous tenant. The bathroom not only had a squat toilet, it was so narrow she wasn’t even sure a washing machine would fit. In some places, the wall paint had peeled off. The balcony seemed to leak too. On top of that, the lighting was poor overall.

It was livable, but the conditions really weren’t great.

Xie Qingjia didn’t say a word.

He wandered in and out of the rooms, tapping the walls one moment, feeling the floor the next, knocking on the pipes after that…

Zhou He was actually afraid he would show a guilty expression, or say something along those lines.

If he did, it would make it seem as though she were morally pressuring him. She wasn’t that afraid of hardship, but her partner’s emotions would put pressure on her.

Fortunately, he didn’t.

After a long while, Xie Qingjia finally clapped his hands and came back to her side.

“It isn’t fit to live in as it is now. Don’t worry. Before we move in, I’ll come over and fix it up a bit.”

“Sounds good. Then I’m counting on you.” Zhou He gave him a big smile.

Xie Qingjia let out a breath and smiled too. “Mama He, from now on I’m sticking with you.”

–

Because the apartment had been done up nicely, several groups came to view it in quick succession. The problem was that they needed to sell fast, so the listing price was slightly lower than what they had bought it for. On top of that, they had already paid more than half a year’s mortgage, so overall, they were taking a loss.

In the end, they sold it to a woman who could pay in full, which meant the money would come through quickly.

Zhou He felt a little reluctant to let it go. She had done a lot of research and put a great deal of thought into all the soft furnishings in the apartment. But the faculty housing was too small, and even if they took everything, there wouldn’t be room for it. So she simply packaged it all into the sale and sold it to the buyer along with the apartment.

They only took some small appliances and the houseplants with them.

Only after signing the contract to sell the apartment did the couple tell their families about the follow-up treatment plan. Xie Qingjia went alone to talk to them. Zhou He was afraid of facing their tears.

Other than the day they went to view it, Xie Qingjia never let Zhou He go back to the dorm unit again.

It wasn’t until they actually moved in that she realized it had completely changed.

The leaking spots and peeling walls had been partially repaired. Plain-colored fabric had been neatly used to cover the walls. The floors, corners, and windows had all been given a deep cleaning. A new water heater had been installed. The kitchen faucet had been fitted with a water purifier. A toilet chair had been prepared for the bathroom. Extra lighting had been added to solve the poor illumination…

After looking everything over, Zhou He asked Xie Qingjia, “Did you record any videos?”

“Huh?” He clearly hadn’t followed her train of thought.

Zhou He said, “A big rental makeover. Those are really popular online right now. Our place changed so much, if you’d filmed it and uploaded it, it definitely would’ve gone viral.”

“Next time,” Xie Qingjia said with a smile. “Next time you can film it for me.”

And just like that, the couple moved into the dorm with Auntie Xie.

She had heard that women in confinement¹ weren’t supposed to strain their eyes too much. So before giving birth, Zhou He wanted to stockpile more chapters so she could keep updating, but sitting for too long was really uncomfortable. Xie Qingjia gave her an idea and suggested she write by voice input.

It really was a good idea. Once she got used to it, her speed practically doubled. Afterward, she only had to make a few minor corrections to punctuation and typos.

But there was one problem with voice typing. If someone was nearby, it was unbelievably embarrassing!!!

Especially because what she was writing was a story based on herself and Xie Qingjia.

Was she really supposed to say out loud, right in front of Xie Qingjia, how the male and female leads fell in love and interacted with each other?!

“I don’t mind,” Xie Qingjia said.

Zhou He: I mind, okay?!

So whenever Zhou He needed to work, she avoided Xie Qingjia. But the place was only so big, barely bigger than the palm of a hand, and a lot of the time she wished she could just sit in the bathroom and never come out.

In the story, the plot had reached the point where the male lead’s younger sister fell ill, and the whole family was trying a new treatment plan. Without hesitation, Zhou He wrote that the treatment worked beautifully and that the male lead’s sister recovered completely. She also wrote many scenes she had imagined, about the sister after her recovery, about her own life, and about the warm, happy, hope-filled moments she shared with her family.

No matter what the result might be in real life, in the story, Zhou He was willing to give Xie Lingge a perfect ending. It was her blessing for her.

Ending the story there felt just right as well.

After giving birth, Zhou He felt that even after finishing confinement, she probably still wouldn’t have the time to keep updating.

She planned to end her story.

By the time she reached the ending, the marriage arc alone had already grown to more than three hundred thousand words.

The moment she typed the words “The End,” a huge sense of accomplishment welled up inside her.

She had to work, run to the hospital, look after the Little Watermelon in her belly, and she had still managed to write so many chapters. Even she was impressed with herself.

When she posted an update and mentioned that she was planning to finish the story, some readers left comments asking for a new one.

This book had started by pure accident in the first place, and she wasn’t sure whether she would keep writing. But if she could manage the workload, she still hoped to continue.

After browsing everyone’s preferences on the homepage, Zhou He picked a genre she liked too – baby stories!!!

Once her own Little Watermelon was born, it would definitely give her tons of inspiration!

–

The payment for the apartment came through, but it still fell short of the hospital’s estimated costs by quite a bit.

After thinking it over, Zhou He gathered up some of her belongings and planned to sell them to a secondhand shop. There were the three gold wedding pieces² Xu Meijuan had given her, as well as the bags Xie Qingjia had bought her before.

Other than the necklace Xie Qingjia had given her at the very beginning, which she kept as a memento, she arranged through a local secondhand blogger who made short videos, someone Fang Ya helped contact. That blogger also owned several physical stores and could even come by in person to collect the items.

Fang Ya actually didn’t approve of Zhou He’s sell-everything-to-keep-things-going approach. Even while helping her make contact, she was still trying to persuade her. “I’ve never been married, but I’ve heard enough about it. People always say that after marriage, you should take care of your own little family first, then everyone else. Otherwise the relationships only get messier and messier. To be blunt, if you throw yourself into saving someone like this, there’s a good chance you’ll exhaust yourself and get nothing in return. Have you really thought it through?”

Zhou He was grateful for her concern. “We’ve already sold the apartment, so these bags and jewelry don’t make much difference now. Besides, you know what things are like with our two families. At this point, there’s no real distinction between a small family and a bigger one. And putting everything else aside, just because this is something Xie Qingjia wants to do, I’ll definitely help him see it through. Even if… anyway, I know I won’t regret it.”

Fang Ya said, “As long as you’ve thought it through. Honestly, I’m kind of envious of you, being able to find someone you can trust completely and give yourself to wholeheartedly. But people these days… who dares to hand over their whole heart anymore?” She sighed. “Anyway, I’ve stopped hoping.”

Zhou He said, “It’s just that your person hasn’t come along yet. I believe you’ll meet them too.”

Gold holds its value better than luxury goods. After selling everything, Zhou He managed to scrape together nearly another two hundred thousand. She transferred it straight to Xie Qingjia so he could put it toward the medical fees. With the money they had borrowed added in, it was more or less enough.

At this point, all they could do was try their best and leave the rest to fate. No matter how things turned out in the end, at least this was one matter finally settled.

The Xie Family saw everything Zhou He had done. They did not say much about it, but she could clearly feel that they were treating her even better than before.

Auntie Xie hardly let her lift a finger at home, and even brought water right to her hand every time she drank.

Zhou He liked eating water chestnuts, but they were such a pain to peel that she did not have them often.

After Xu Meijuan found out, she bought a huge bag and sat peeling them whenever she had free time at the hospital. She trimmed every one until it was smooth, round, and snowy white, without a single flaw, then washed them clean and had Xie Qingjia bring them back. There were so many of them, and who knew how much time that must have taken.

Father Xie went to the village to buy free-range chickens and eggs. So she could always have them fresh, he never bought too much at once, and every seven or eight days he would make another trip back and forth between town and the Provincial Capital.

They were all caring for her in their own way.

As her due date drew near, Zhou He was admitted to Xiping Hospital as well.

Mother Xie had gotten to know a whole group of older ladies at the hospital, and they all came to visit her, bringing all sorts of things. Later, Auntie Xie told Zhou He they had come to see for themselves the legendary filial daughter-in-law of Xu Meijuan.

“…”

She had no idea how Mother Xie must have praised her in front of other people. She only hoped that when those aunties saw her in person, her halo would not shatter completely.

Little Watermelon planned to check out right on schedule, which Zhou He found very gratifying.

The labor started at dawn, and by afternoon the baby was born. Everything went very smoothly. The doctor who delivered him praised her for staying active and moving well throughout the pregnancy.

That was thanks to her constantly running between school, the hospital, and home.

Maybe that counted as a blessing of sorts?

Little Watermelon was not all that little, almost seven jin.

A healthy baby boy.

The birth of a new life always brought joy. This was probably the best news the Xie Family had received after being shrouded in gloom for so long.

Mother and child were safe, and all the elders were beaming with delight.

Holding his grandson in his arms, Father Xie asked, “What are you planning to name him?”

Xie Qingjia had prepared a lot of names during the pregnancy, for both boys and girls. But now that the moment had come, he was having trouble deciding.

The registration was coming up fast, and he still had not chosen one.

Zhou He suggested, “How about Xie Yu³?”

Father Xie said, “Xie Yu? The yu from jade? Doesn’t that sound a bit like a girl’s name?”

“The character has yu on top and heart below, and it carries two layers of meaning. The first is an added degree of depth and advancement. I hope that whatever he wants to do in the future, he will always have that extra push, that everything will go his way, and that no effort of his will ever be wasted.”

Looking at the little one whose features had not even fully opened up yet, Zhou He, as his mother, could only offer her blessings. She hoped he would be luckier than his father and mother.

“As for the second meaning, it’s much more direct and familiar. It means recovery, healing. So, Xie Yu.”

Hearing Zhou He’s explanation, Xu Meijuan nodded repeatedly. “Good, good, good. That’s a wonderful name.”

Translator’s Notes