Chapter 63: What is Liking

As the hot pot feast came to an end, everyone had drunk a bit too much.

Hao Lidan returned across the street, while Ling Xiaoxin and Bei Luonan, as usual, stayed overnight in Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe’s rooms.

Outside, the night was unusually bright, with stars and the moon illuminating the sky, making it seem vast and distant.

Lying in his sleeping bag, Bei Luonan complained to Meng Xingzhe, “Your curtains don’t block out the light, and with the big moon outside like a spotlight, Xingxing, can we turn off the lamp? It won’t be dark even if we do, ha!”

Meng Xingzhe, eyes closed and voice tinged with a bit of drunkenness, grumbled impatiently, “No.”

Bei Luonan, resigned, pulled a towel over his eyes as a makeshift blindfold.

“You’re so difficult. What will you do when you get married? If your wife wants to sleep with the lights off, will you insist on keeping them on all night?”

Meng Xingzhe suddenly opened his eyes.

He stared at the ceiling, feeling dizzy and disoriented, as if he could see Yao Jia’s smiling face there.

He silently repeated her name in his heart.

If it were her, he could sleep with the lights off.

Suddenly, a sense of melancholy washed over him.

Besides her, was there anyone else who could make him turn off the lights to sleep?

---

Lying on her pillow, Yao Jia suddenly sneezed. The sneeze was so thorough it dispelled most of her drunkenness and drowsiness.

Ling Xiaoxin turned to her and said, “Someone’s thinking about you!”

Yao Jia grabbed a tissue to wipe her nose, then turned to face Ling Xiaoxin for a chat.

Ling Xiaoxin asked with a grin, “Last time you told me Yue Xuran said he liked you and wanted to pursue you. How are things progressing between you two?”

Yao Jia thought seriously and replied, “It seems like we’re still at a standstill.”

Ling Xiaoxin blinked, “How can you be at a standstill? If a guy and a girl want to develop something, it’s impossible to stay put! Hormones wouldn’t allow it!”

Yao Jia’s eyes widened, glinting like an interrogation light in the dim room, “So, have you and your crush taken a big step forward?”

Ling Xiaoxin’s face flushed, but the darkness hid it. Her eyes, however, sparkled like two lakes, reflecting the shimmer of hormones. She mumbled a response.

Yao Jia perked up, sitting up and shaking her, “What did you do? Hugging, kissing, or something more? Tell me what it felt like. Was it exciting? Thrilling? Comfortable?”

Ling Xiaoxin felt Yao Jia had turned into a little pervert under the influence of alcohol.

She stammered, “He, he stole a kiss…”

Yao Jia was excited, “Was it a chaste kiss or a French kiss?”

Ling Xiaoxin hid in the darkness, her voice dripping with shy crystals, “French…”

“So it was a tongue battle?” Yao Jia was thrilled, relentless, “Describe it to me in detail. What does a French kiss feel like? Is it really like eating jelly, as novels say?”

Ling Xiaoxin couldn’t take it anymore and pushed her away, “Oh, you’re shameless! If you want to know what it tastes like, try it with Yue Xuran yourself!”

Yao Jia lay back on her pillow, thought seriously, and said, “I don’t think I’m at the point where I can accept a French kiss with him yet.”

Now it was Ling Xiaoxin’s turn to widen her eyes, “Don’t you like him? He’s so handsome, gentle, and has a promising future.”

Yao Jia analyzed her feelings for Yue Xuran, “How should I put it? When I’m with him, eating, strolling, watching movies, it’s all quite pleasant and relaxing.” She looked at Ling Xiaoxin, “Would you say this feeling is liking?”

Ling Xiaoxin thought seriously, her voice and heart softening like a puddle of water, “I don’t know if what you described counts as liking. For me, liking means thinking about him all the time when I can’t see him, wanting to see him. And when I do see him, no matter what he says or does, I feel especially happy! Then I don’t want to part with him, wanting to extend the time spent together.”

Yao Jia frowned, “When I don’t see Yue Xuran, I don’t specifically think about him. And when we part after meeting, I don’t feel particularly reluctant. So, I guess I haven’t really started liking him yet, right?”

Ling Xiaoxin said, “Seems like it.”

Yao Jia thought for a moment and made a decision, “Alright, I’ll wait until I think of him even when I can’t see him before accepting his pursuit. By then, I should have started liking him!”

---

The next morning, everyone left for work with a slight hangover.

That day, Tian Huasheng changed how he addressed Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe. He used a sweet, childlike voice to call Meng Xingzhe “Big Brother” and Yao Jia “Third Sister.”

Yao Jia then called him “Second Brother,” but Tian Huasheng immediately objected.

“No, no, that’s too anatomical!”

“…” Yao Jia thought, fine. But the term “Second Brother” felt too cheesy for her to say.

She wanted to continue calling Tian Huasheng “Little Sweetie,” but Tian Huasheng stomped his foot in protest. He felt that without a rank in their titles, it lacked a sense of belonging, like a fake sibling bond.

Yao Jia, utterly resigned, reluctantly called him “Second Senior Brother,” which Tian Huasheng surprisingly accepted.

“Though it sounds a bit like the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy, at least it has a rank. Let’s go with that!”

After sorting out their titles, Tian Huasheng then worried about how Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe addressed each other.

Meng Xingzhe, lazily leaning on his chair, raised an eyebrow at Yao Jia and snorted, “Come on, call me brother.”

Yao Jia shivered.

Meng Xingzhe squinted.

“Then just call me bro.”

Yao Jia looked at Meng Xingzhe’s face. He glanced at her with half-closed eyes, looking a bit unruly and lazy, like an outsider waiting for a show, as if the person she was supposed to call had nothing to do with him.

Yao Jia opened her mouth for a long time, tried hard, then closed it again.

“I can’t say it!”

Tian Huasheng still tried to guide her to call Meng Xingzhe “Big Brother.”

Meng Xingzhe spoke up, “Forget it, let’s just keep calling each other like we used to. Go on, Second Brother, get ready for work.”

“…” Tian Huasheng, burdened with the “Second Brother” title given by the boss, sulked back to his desk.

Meng Xingzhe straightened up from his chair to grab his headset.

Before putting it on, he suddenly glanced at Yao Jia with a half-smile, “I’ll make sure you call me brother eventually.”

Yao Jia shot back, “Ha!”

---

During the morning break, someone came to tell Meng Xingzhe that someone was looking for him outside the call center. As Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng headed to the break room, they saw that the person looking for Meng Xingzhe was Lu Fangfei.

She was talking to Meng Xingzhe.

After a while, Meng Xingzhe joined Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng in the break room.

He told Tian Huasheng, “Don’t include me for dinner tonight.”

Tian Huasheng gave an “oh” and asked, “Big Brother, are you going on a date to find me a sister-in-law?”

Meng Xingzhe said, “Not a date. Someone’s treating me to dinner.”

Based on what he saw and heard, Tian Huasheng guessed, “Is it the pretty lady from the Human Resources Department across from us, Lu Fangfei?”

Meng Xingzhe nodded.

Yao Jia felt something was off. After thinking, she said, “Aren’t you supposed to stay loyal to your blind date? Why are you agreeing to meet other ladies?”

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow at her, exuding a hint of mischievousness, “Having a meal counts as a date? Then am I not dating you every night?”

For some reason, Yao Jia’s heart skipped a beat. She turned her head away, ignoring Meng Xingzhe.

That evening, as Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng were sitting in the living room watching TV after dinner, Meng Xingzhe returned home.

He entered with a sullen expression.

Tian Huasheng greeted him warmly, “Big brother!”

Meng Xingzhe interrupted him, “Tian Tian, from now on, just call me ‘brother’ and call her ‘Jia’. Let’s keep our sworn brotherhood in our hearts without making a big deal out of it. Otherwise, people might say we’re forming cliques.”

Tian Huasheng nodded obediently and asked, “Brother, what’s wrong? Why do you look so unhappy?”

Yao Jia also leaned over the sofa armrest to observe Meng Xingzhe, noting his darkened expression. It seemed as if she could almost see a shadow over his face.

What on earth did Lu Fangfei do to upset him this much?

Meng Xingzhe strode over to the sofa, sat down, sighed, and shook his head.

“Lu Fangfei actually asked me to lend her money.”

Yao Jia couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Meng Xingzhe, known for being perpetually broke, must have felt like his life was being threatened by such a request.

She teased him deliberately, “How could you, my freshly minted big brother, still warm from the oven, refuse her? If you like her and want to lend her money, I’ll lend it to you so you can lend it to her!” Yao Jia said, patting her chest.

Meng Xingzhe shot her a glance, his face even longer than before.

If liking someone meant lending them money—

“I don’t want to lend her money; I’d rather lend it to you. How about that?”

Yao Jia grinned at him, “Dream on! If you give me money, it’s not a loan, it’s repayment!”

Later that night, just before bed, there was a knock at the door.

Yao Jia went to open it and found Lu Fangfei standing outside.

“Are you looking for Meng Xingzhe?” Yao Jia immediately offered to call him.

But Lu Fangfei stopped her.

She looked a bit embarrassed, as if she had to ask something she didn’t want to, “Yao Jia, do you have any money on hand? Could you… lend me some?”

Yao Jia was momentarily stunned.

Though she was tight on money herself, she ended up lending Lu Fangfei five hundred yuan.

After receiving the money, Lu Fangfei didn’t leave.

“?” Yao Jia felt a bit awkward.

Lu Fangfei also seemed awkward and said, “Um, is Tian Huasheng or Tong Yumo here? Could you ask them to lend me some money too?”

???

Borrowing money everywhere?

Yao Jia instinctively felt that something must have happened to Lu Fangfei.

In the end, Lu Fangfei borrowed two hundred yuan from Tian Huasheng, while Tong Yumo said she had no money.

The next day, Hao Lidan quietly informed Yao Jia and the others that Lu Fangfei had also asked her and Chen Luoxi for loans.

Yao Jia asked, “Is something going on with Lu Fangfei?”

Hao Lidan replied, “I don’t know for sure, but I do know she has a younger sister attending university in the city. She visits the dorm on weekends to stay with Lu Fangfei. It seems like Lu Fangfei is supporting her sister’s studies. Her family situation doesn’t seem great, and besides supporting her sister, she sends money to her mother every month. She’s usually quite frugal and reserved, only wearing two sets of work clothes alternately, giving off a very stern and aloof impression.”

Yao Jia thought that if Lu Fangfei was borrowing money everywhere, there must be some trouble at home.

That evening, after work, when Yao Jia returned to the dorm, she found Tong Yumo in the room dieting while watching dramas. Yao Jia, Meng Xingzhe, and Tian Huasheng were having dinner together.

Just as they finished eating and hadn’t yet cleared the table, they heard a commotion outside the door. It sounded like someone was shouting angrily.

Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng went to the entrance to take a look.

It turned out to be a middle-aged woman in her fifties, banging on the door of the opposite dorm, yelling for Lu Fangfei and Lu Fangfang.

Her words were comically dramatic, like a character from a soap opera: “Lu Fangfei, Lu Fangfang, I know you’re both home, open the door! Open up!”

When she heard the door open behind her, she immediately stopped her door-knocking rap and turned to look at Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng. She then approached them with a fierce and self-righteous tone, “I know you’re colleagues with Lu Fangfei. Fine, if she won’t open the door for me, I’ll just wait here with you!”

As she spoke, she raised her hand and pushed Yao Jia on the shoulder. Caught off guard, Yao Jia stumbled backward, only managing to steady herself by leaning on Tian Huasheng.

Tian Huasheng immediately became protective, “Ma’am, what’s with you? Why are you pushing people and barging into someone else’s home without permission?”

The middle-aged woman shouted loudly, seemingly for the benefit of those across the hall, “What’s wrong? I’m old, can’t I come in and sit? Don’t you know to respect the elderly and care for the young? If you don’t like it, call Lu Fangfei out, and I’ll leave.”

As she spoke, she had already made her way to the living room sofa and sat down with a swagger.

Meng Xingzhe emerged from his room, frowning, “What’s all this noise?” Seeing the middle-aged woman on the sofa, his frown deepened as he asked Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng, “What’s going on?”

The middle-aged woman turned to see Meng Xingzhe, her eyes lighting up.

“You’re Meng, right? The young man who often treats our Lu Fangfei to meals, that’s you, isn’t it?” She got up from the sofa and walked over to Meng Xingzhe, “Wow, you’re quite handsome!” She then bypassed him to enter Meng Xingzhe’s room.

“Oh, you have a massage chair! And a carpet! Wow, your wardrobe must be expensive, right?” She looked around and then turned to Meng Xingzhe, “Your family’s well-off, aren’t they? Do you have your own place?”

Meng Xingzhe held back his anger, looking down at the middle-aged woman with a cold voice, “Who are you?”

The middle-aged woman replied, “Me? I’m Lu Fangfei’s mother! Aren’t you her boyfriend? I heard her mention you to Lu Fangfang. Let me tell you, if you’re well-off, you should help your brother in the future!”

Meng Xingzhe laughed in disbelief at her absurdity, “I don’t have a brother.”

The middle-aged woman immediately said, “Once you marry Lu Fangfei, my son will be your brother!”

Yao Jia was dumbfounded by what she heard and saw. She had encountered many oddities since joining the Customer Service Department, but someone as naturally bizarre as this was truly unique. She felt she had gained new insight into the world.

Meng Xingzhe coldly told the middle-aged woman, “I do have someone I like, but it’s not your daughter. We’re colleagues with her, but not with you, so please leave now.”

The middle-aged woman instantly changed her expression, “I thought you were something special, but you’re just abandoning my daughter, huh? Fine, if you don’t give me an explanation today, I’m not leaving!”

Meng Xingzhe took out his phone to call the police, but just then, two people rushed in from outside. It was Lu Fangfei and her sister, Lu Fangfang, returning.

Their faces were ashen. Lu Fangfei apologized to Yao Jia, Meng Xingzhe, and Tian Huasheng, then turned to the middle-aged woman, “Don’t stay here; this is my colleagues’ dorm. Come with me!”

The middle-aged woman shook off Lu Fangfei’s hand, “You’re afraid of losing face here, aren’t you? Well, I’ll say it right here! Your brother needs money for auditions, packaging, promotion, and all that. You need to come up with 300,000 yuan.”

Yao Jia was stunned. There are mothers like this in the world? She now felt her own mother was an angel.

Lu Fangfei’s face was drained of color, “Do you think I’m a money-printing machine? I don’t even earn 300,000 yuan a year! How can you ask for so much money without considering how Fangfang and I are supposed to live?”

The middle-aged woman pointed at her nose and scolded, “I raised you this big, sent you to college, and now when I ask you to bring some money home, you start whining? You have only one brother, and no matter how much you spend on him, it’s your duty! He wants to pursue his dreams, and you have to support him unconditionally!” She then turned her gaze to Lu Fangfang, her anger intensifying. “Lu Fangfei, are you out of your mind? You’re even paying for her college? Why support a girl like her? Wouldn’t it be better to save that money for your brother?”

Lu Fangfang couldn’t hold back her tears. “Mom, I’m your child too. Why are you like this?”

Yao Jia was shaken by Lu Fangfang’s cry and her question. Her nose tingled as she thought about how fortunate she really was. Though her parents sometimes compared her to her sister, they were just pushing her to be better, never giving up on her.

But this mother seemed to treat her daughter like a rag, a piece of waste paper, something useless.

The middle-aged woman, annoyed by Lu Fangfang’s noise, shouted, “Shut up! Stop wailing like I’m dead!” She then turned to Lu Fangfei, “Hurry up and get the money for your brother, or I won’t leave. Tomorrow, I’ll go to your company with you.”

The woman sprawled on the sofa.

Meng Xingzhe wanted to call the police, but Lu Fangfei came over, holding back tears, begging him, “I’ll find a way to get her to leave. Please don’t call the police! I don’t want this to blow up. If it affects my job, I’m afraid the company will let me go!”

Meng Xingzhe glanced at her and put away his phone.

Lu Fangfei tried to pull the woman off the sofa, but she wouldn’t budge, sticking to it like glue, demanding 300,000 before she’d leave.

Lu Fangfei was in tears, saying she had no money.

The woman pointed at Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe, saying, “Borrow from them! Keep borrowing until you have enough!”

Young Lu Fangfang couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into tears.

The woman scolded her, “What are you crying for, you worthless thing! I’ll go to your school tomorrow and withdraw you. Go get a job and earn money!”

Yao Jia watched the family drama unfold in the living room, feeling a headache coming on.

The commotion soon led to a call from the property manager.

The manager said, “Your neighbors upstairs are complaining about the noise. It’s disturbing their child’s work on a thesis. They said if you don’t quiet down, they’ll call the police!”

Yao Jia apologized repeatedly, promising, “It’ll be quiet soon, I promise!”

But after the call ended, no one could deal with the stubborn woman in the living room.

Meng Xingzhe, respecting Lu Fangfei’s wish to keep her job, couldn’t call the police. Being a man, he couldn’t physically confront a woman or an elder. He was completely stuck, unable to stop the chaos.

Tian Huasheng was pacing anxiously.

Yao Jia wanted to reason with the woman, but she wouldn’t listen and even cursed at her.

“Your parents must be unlucky to have a nosy, worthless daughter like you!”

Yao Jia was so angry she almost went to the kitchen for a knife.

Meng Xingzhe held her back, placing her behind him. Then, with a cold expression, he said to Lu Fangfei, “If you can’t control your mother, I won’t hold back anymore. I’ll call the police. She’s already started attacking innocent people.” He was referring to Yao Jia. He couldn’t stand seeing her suffer any injustice.

Yao Jia stood behind Meng Xingzhe, her heart racing.

Lu Fangfei was on the verge of breaking down, clasping her hands together, apologizing, saying she’d find a way to get the woman to leave.

At that moment, Tong Yumo’s door swung open.

She stood at the doorway and shouted, “What’s all this noise?”

Her voice was so strong it shocked everyone. In that instant, she was a completely different person, her usual gentle demeanor gone, her doe-like eyes now fierce.

She walked up to the sofa, looked at the woman, and started scolding, “Are you insane? Squatting in someone else’s home, have you no shame? Is your brain waterlogged, only thinking of your son? Isn’t your daughter a person? Didn’t you give birth to her? With such a preference for sons over daughters, why didn’t you strangle yourself at birth?”

Her words were sharp and fluent, a relief to hear.

The woman immediately sat up from the sofa, pointing at Tong Yumo, and yelled, “Who do you think you are? What’s this got to do with you? Didn’t your parents teach you how to speak to elders? You uncultured, worthless thing!”

Tong Yumo slapped the woman’s arm away with a fierce, powerful motion, knocking her back onto the sofa.

“You old hag, what right do you have to question others’ upbringing? Where do you get the nerve to think you’re qualified to be an elder?” Tong Yumo shouted back.

The woman paused, then started wailing at Lu Fangfei, “Are you blind? Your mother is being hit, and you’re just watching?”

Lu Fangfei was at a loss, trying to pull Tong Yumo away.

Tong Yumo shook her off. “Don’t touch me! Why are you stopping me? This is my dorm! Lu Fangfei, are you stupid? Does your mother treat you like her child? And you’re still trying to stop me?”

Lu Fangfei halted.

The woman cursed at her, “You ungrateful thing! I raised you for nothing, you ungrateful wretch!”

Tong Yumo pulled out her phone and started recording.

Lu Fangfei tried to intervene, but Yao Jia held her back.

“Get a grip. Your mom’s confused, but are you too? Do you want to live your whole life under her thumb?”

Lu Fangfei’s eyes reddened, and after a moment of hesitation, she steeled herself.

She stood still, allowing Tong Yumo to handle her mother.

Tong Yumo recorded the woman’s tantrum, sneering, “Amazing, truly amazing! Old woman, let me tell you, I heard everything from inside. Don’t you have a son? Don’t you want him to audition? Well, if you keep squatting here, I’ll post this online and let the whole internet scold you and your son! He won’t even be able to show his face on the street!”

The woman got up from the sofa, screaming, “You dare?!”

The next second, Yao Jia was stunned.

Tong Yumo grabbed the woman’s collar with incredible strength, dragging her to the door, opened it, and tossed her out.

Tong Yumo, seemingly still fired up, stood at the door with her hands on her hips, yelling, “I can’t stand parents like you who favor sons over daughters, giving the best to the son and fooling the daughter with fake bags! Do you deserve to be parents, huh?!”

After catching her breath, she waved her phone at the woman, saying, “Get out! If you keep squatting here, I’ll post the video online and let the whole country know your son has a mother who curses like a shrew. Let’s see how he makes a debut then!”

She slammed the door shut, not even glancing at the people in the living room, and went back to her room.

Everyone in the living room was left dumbfounded.

Tian Huasheng ran to the door, peered through the peephole, then turned back and said, “Incredible, she’s gone! Seems like only a villain can deal with another villain!”

Lu Fangfei and Lu Fangfang collapsed into each other’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Lu Fangfang, choked with sobs, kept asking, “Why, why was I born to this woman?”

Yao Jia looked at them, thinking how truly pitiful they were.

It took a while for the Lu sisters to calm down.

They sat on the sofa, and Lu Fangfang, still a bit frightened, asked, “Sis, what if she comes back? How will we handle it…”

Lu Fangfei interrupted her, “Don’t say anything. Let me think.”

At that moment, Tong Yumo came out to get some water. It was like she had performed a miracle transformation; she was back to her usual delicate and pitiful self.

She blinked her doe eyes, her voice as soft as ever, and said to Lu Fangfei, “If your mom comes back to cause trouble, just call me. I’ll handle her. I love dealing with people who favor sons over daughters.”

After saying that, she filled her glass and floated back into her room.

“…” Yao Jia belatedly realized that given Tong Yumo’s earlier strength in dragging the woman out, if they really fought, she might not be able to take her…

Before bed, Yao Jia called Gan Yu. She recounted the events that had just unfolded in the living room.

Gan Yu was taken aback, sighing repeatedly, “How can there be such a mother? How can she be so biased? She doesn’t deserve to be a parent!”

Yao Jia, for some reason, felt her nose tingle, and she called out, “Mom.”

Gan Yu responded, “Hey.”

Yao Jia sniffled and turned off the room’s light. The darkness became her shield. She wanted to try opening her heart in the dark.

Holding her phone, she said, “Mom, I used to think you were biased. I felt you cared more about my sister than me, and I was so angry. But today, I saw a coworker’s mom who doesn’t let her daughter study, only making her work to support her brother. That’s when I realized you pushed me to study and improve myself. Even when I was rebellious, you never gave up on me. Sometimes you were strict, but now I understand it’s because you love me and never gave up on me. I finally see how wonderful you are, Mom!”

After a pause, she whispered, “Mom, I love you!”

Gan Yu’s choked voice came through the phone, her words barely forming, “Silly child, I love you too, just as much as I love your sister!”

Yao Jia thought she should thank Lu Fangfei’s mother for helping her realize how great her own mother was.

That night, she slept exceptionally well.

The next day at work went smoothly enough, without any particularly troublesome clients. However, when Yao Jia returned to the dormitory after work, she was stunned.

Not just her, everyone from both dorm rooms stood in the hallway, equally shocked.

The walls of the corridor and the door of the dormitory opposite Yao Jia’s were splashed with red paint.

In bold, blood-red letters, it read: “Debt, Repay!”

The scene was so grim it felt like a crime had happened or was about to happen.

Yao Jia swallowed hard and turned to ask Lu Fangfei, “Isn’t your mom a bit too harsh?”

Lu Fangfei was trembling all over and said, “It shouldn’t be her.”

— Translator’s Notes —

• Second Senior Brother” and “Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy: In the classic Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’ (popularized in English as ‘Monkey King’ stories), ‘Second Senior Brother’ refers to the character Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), who is the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy (Tian Peng Yuan Shuai), a humorous and gluttonous pig demon.