Thirteen Wonders (ShíSānYāo) : Chapter 45 - One Tiao Nine Tiao
Chapter 45: One Tiao Nine Tiao
The chaotic scene was getting out of control, and if it continued, things would become irreparable. Facing her mother’s tearful pleas, Zhou Yao felt even more unsettled. This was the first time in her life that her mother had ever apologized to her, and the moment she spoke, she even knelt down. How could Zhou Yao’s heart not be shaken?
She couldn’t let the four adults keep arguing and fighting. Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze exchanged a glance and made their decision.
Zhou Yao quickly agreed and, accompanied by her parents, left the place without hesitation.
As they walked away, Mother Zhou cried and repeated, “Let’s go, let’s go, we won’t stay in this wretched place!”
The Chen’s parents watched them leave with cold eyes, and Mrs. Chen let out a disdainful scoff.
When Zhou Yao and her parents arrived home and shut the door, Mother Zhou, who had held back her tears on the way to avoid drawing attention, finally broke down. She collapsed to her knees, hugging Zhou Yao, consumed by guilt.
“My daughter…”
“My daughter!”
Zhou Yao kept calling out to her, “Mom! Mom, get up! Mom—”
But she just cried, “My daughter, why are you so foolish… My Yaoyao… Yaoyao…”
Zhou Ma’s expression was solemn. He sighed and asked Zhou Yao, “Back then, when Chen Xuze pushed you down the hill, why didn’t you tell us? All these years, you never said a word?”
Zhou Yao was silent for a moment before answering softly, “…It wasn’t his fault.”
“If not his fault, then whose?!” Mother Zhou sobbed and shouted in anger. “If he hadn’t pushed you, would your leg have ended up like this? Would you have been pointed at and gossiped about your whole life? Would you have had to transfer schools in elementary school? You’re outstanding in every way—sensible, neat, even the city’s top scorer in the college entrance exam. You tell me, my daughter, who could have been envied and admired by all, flawless in every way—just because of him, she got hurt! And now, his parents have the audacity to call you a cripple to your face! Who do they think they are? Who else should we blame if not him?!”
Zhou Yao wiped her mother’s tears with both hands, trying to help her up, but she refused, kneeling there, clinging to Zhou Yao’s waist, tears falling uncontrollably.
As they were speaking, Zhou Yao received a call from Chen Xuze, asking her to come over.
The moment she hung up, Mother Zhou became wary. “It’s Chen Xuze? He’s asking you to go over? He still has the nerve to call you? No! We’re not going to that wretched place! We’re not going to be humiliated by them again!”
“Mom,” Zhou Yao said, “some things have to be settled, no matter what. Don’t worry, I won’t be bullied. I’m going there to put an end to this.”
She spoke seriously, and given her nature, she never made empty promises. Zhou’s parents were silent for a few seconds but didn’t object.
Zhou’s mother wiped her tears. “Then we’ll go with you!”
“There’s no need, really.” Zhou Yao reassured them. “I promise, nothing will happen to me. Trust me.”
……
At the Chen household, the moment the Zhou family left, Mrs. Chen couldn’t hold back her complaints. “Look at them! Just look at the way they act! Completely uneducated! The moment they arrive, they start fighting—how could you possibly spend a lifetime with people like that?”
She didn’t just target Zhou’s parents—she turned to Zhou Yao’s leg as well. “And that Zhou Yao, she’s a cripple! Son, think this through! In the future, you’ll leave this place, just like your father and I did. The world outside is vast—are you not afraid of being laughed at if you have a crippled wife?”
Zhou Yao’s leg had always been something Mrs. Chen looked down on.
Seeing that Chen Xuze was looking at her, she remembered what he had said earlier and continued, “Even if you did push her, so what? Does that mean you have to marry her to make up for it? There are plenty of ways to make amends—why are you being so foolish?”
She went on and on, implying that Zhou Yao had tricked him, that he was young and blinded by emotions. “I will never agree to you two being together. She can forget about marrying you!”
Only after she finished did Chen Xuze slowly, unhurriedly say, “I’m going to make a call.”
He turned and walked into the courtyard, made one call, then another. When he came back inside, he said to his parents, “I want you to meet someone in a bit.”
“Who?”
Chen Xuze didn’t answer. Not long after, Zhou Yao arrived. Mrs. Chen sneered, “Oh, I thought it was someone important. It’s just her? It doesn’t matter what she says—I will never agree to this!”
Chen Xuze said, “No, the person you need to meet will be here soon.”
Ignoring them, he pulled Zhou Yao to sit down, and the two of them calmly resumed folding the clothes they hadn’t finished earlier.
Watching them, Mrs. Chen grew more and more frustrated. The way they moved in sync, working seamlessly together—it looked like they had been a married couple for years. The more she watched, the angrier she became. Just as she was about to speak, footsteps echoed from outside.
The bright daylight spilled in, illuminating a young man walking toward them. The light framed him, casting his face in shadows, but even from the side, he looked strikingly familiar.
The boy sat down beside Zhou Yao, cross-legged among the pile of clothes. He glanced at the two of them folding clothes, then shifted his gaze to the Chen couple. The three of them sat perfectly in a straight line.
His hair was cropped short, and his sharp features were accentuated by his relaxed posture. His lazy yet mocking smile sent a jolt through the Chen couple’s hearts. Their pupils shrank. Mrs. Chen abruptly stood up, instinctively stepping back. She nearly tripped, barely catching herself by grabbing the table.
“Hey there, Uncle Chen, Auntie Chen. Do you recognize me?”
The boy leaned back on his hands, greeting them lazily, then introduced himself, “My surname is Gu. My name is Gu Yujun.”
He raised an eyebrow, amused. “Hmm, how come my parents didn’t come with you today? Weren’t the four of you always so close? Or is it—”
“After all these years, are you finally sick of each other?”
A wave of shock crashed over the Chen couple. Staring into those three clear, unwavering gazes, it felt like all their secrets had been laid bare.
Gu Yujun’s smile carried malice, while Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze remained expressionless, silently watching. Yet to the guilty, their gazes were filled with mockery and disdain.
It was a look that stripped them of all dignity, pushing them into the dirt.
Mrs. Chen suddenly felt short of breath. Clutching her chest, she gasped for air. Mr. Chen supported her, but both their faces were ashen.
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