Thirteen Wonders (ShíSānYāo) : Chapter 41 - One Wan Nine Wan
Chapter 41: One Wan Nine Wan
The washing machine at home had somehow broken down, and a few short-sleeved shirts from the previous day were piling up. Chen Xuze originally planned to wash them himself, but while he wasn’t paying attention, Zhou Yao dragged out a large bathtub from the storage room that hadn’t been used in a long time. She filled it two-thirds full with cool water, poured in some laundry detergent, and began stomping on the clothes barefoot, washing them while playing.
As soon as Chen Xuze saw this, he immediately put down whatever he was holding, pulled her out of the tub, and carried her to the living room, placing her on the table.
Zhou Yao had been laughing, but when she saw his serious expression—his face taut as if he was angry—her smile faded. She was confused. “What’s wrong with you?”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he grabbed a clean towel and, with a solemn expression, carefully dried her feet.
“Soaking in such cold water—what if it hurts later?”
So that was what he was worried about. Zhou Yao chuckled and reassured him, “It’s summer. The cold water feels nice.”
She could still smile, but Chen Xuze couldn’t. He wrapped her feet in his arms and refused to let her leave the room.
Zhou Yao sat on the table, about to protest, but before she could, Chen Xuze had already gone to the courtyard. He pulled over a small wooden stool, sat down in front of the tub, and began scrubbing the clothes by hand with a washboard. He wasn’t someone who didn’t know how to do things—soon, he had them all washed spotlessly clean. There weren’t many items, so after scrubbing them, he rinsed them twice and hung them all up to dry.
Under the eaves, the freshly washed clothes swayed gently, dripping water.
Zhou Yao sat on the table, watching through the floor-to-ceiling window as he worked in the courtyard. By the time he returned, her feet were already dry, yet he still tucked them into his arms.
“You can’t do that again next time.”
“You don’t have to be so concerned,” Zhou Yao said, pinching his cheek. “Come on, give me a smile.”
Chen Xuze remained silent. He sighed and pulled her into his arms. One hand wrapped around her foot while his chin rested on her shoulder, and in a low voice, he whispered just three words: “…I’m sorry.”
Hurting her foot was the thing he regretted most in his life.
Zhou Yao hugged him back tightly. “I told you, it really doesn’t matter anymore.”
Chen Xuze buried his face in her neck. She patted his back a few times and coaxed him, “Come on now, Shisan.”
She laughed to herself, while he only held her tighter—like he was holding onto something most precious and irreplaceable.
……
In the afternoon, someone suddenly came looking for Zhou Yao. The doorbell rang repeatedly, and then came urgent knocking, showing just how anxious the visitor was. “Yaoyao!”
“Yaoyao—!”
Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze quickly went to open the door. It was the elderly woman who had come last time to mediate on behalf of her mother.
But this time, it wasn’t about that. The old woman looked flustered. “Hurry, hurry! Your mother got into a fight with someone! The whole mahjong parlor is in chaos! Things have been smashed everywhere! Someone went to call your father! You need to go now!”
Zhou Yao instinctively tensed. The old woman, fearing that Zhou Yao might be stubborn and refuse to go because of her usual fights with her mother, quickly pulled her by the arm.
Both Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze followed the old woman. Eventually, it was the two of them helping the elderly lady along as they rushed toward the mahjong parlor.
A crowd had already gathered outside the parlor. Fortunately, the automatic mahjong tables were heavy and hadn’t been overturned, but mahjong tiles of different colors were scattered everywhere. Broken cups, spilled tea leaves, and pools of tea made the floor look like a complete mess.
From afar, they could already hear Zhou Yao’s mother’s voice in a fierce shouting match with another woman.
Before Zhou Yao even stepped inside, she heard a sharp, mean voice that sounded vaguely familiar:
“You think running a lousy mahjong parlor makes you so great? Great at what? Pfft!”
“You’re an old hag, shaking your hips around here all day—who doesn’t know what kind of woman you are?!”
“I’ll curse you! I’ll curse you all I want! What can you do about it? You wretched woman—!”
The place was packed. Before Zhou Yao could squeeze in, a familiar neighbor saw her and immediately called out, “Yaoyao! You’re here! Hurry, go take a look!”
Zhou Yao anxiously asked, “What happened?”
The neighbor sighed and explained, “It’s that woman—Lin’s second daughter-in-law from the alley. She lost money at your family’s mahjong parlor last time and tried to skip out on the debt. She got into an argument over it, and your mother told her that if she was going to refuse to pay, she shouldn’t come back. They had a big fight.”
“Lin’s second daughter-in-law was in the wrong. She paid up that day and hadn’t shown up for a while. But for some reason, she came back today. When she saw your mother, the two of them clashed again, and here we are!”
“I see. Thanks. I’ll go take a look!” Zhou Yao said, dragging Chen Xuze with her as they pushed through the crowd.
As soon as they squeezed inside, they saw Lin’s second daughter-in-law—who turned out to be the same woman Zhou Yao had overheard talking badly about her at the market. No wonder Zhou Yao had felt so puzzled back then about why this woman held such a grudge against her. It turned out the enmity started with her mother.
Both women were being held back by others. Mahjong tiles were strewn across the floor, yet they still managed to grab whatever tiles were within reach and hurl them at each other. Just as Zhou Yao was about to intervene, Lin’s second daughter-in-law turned her insults toward her.
“Your whole Zhou family is shameless! All the women are sluts! You raised a daughter with no shame—so young and already living with a man! Clinging onto him every day—”
“What a little vixen, bringing disgrace to everyone!”
“I bet your daughter hasn’t been pure for a long time! She looks good, though—she should start earning money for the family already. Back in the old days, she’d be the most popular whore in the brothel!”
Chen Xuze’s face turned ice-cold in an instant, and Zhou Yao’s expression hardened as well. Just as they were about to speak, the situation in front of them suddenly took a sharp turn—
Zhou Yao’s mother, who had been restrained, suddenly exploded with fury. Her face had already turned red from the argument, but upon hearing those words, her eyes widened like a wild beast’s. With a forceful jerk, she broke free from those holding her back and lunged at Lin’s second daughter-in-law, tackling her to the ground.
“What did you say?!”
“What did you just call my daughter, a whore?!”
No one had time to react before Zhou Yao’s mother raised her thick, strong hand and delivered two vicious slaps—’PA! PA!’—directly to Lin’s second daughter-in-law’s face. The force made her see stars, twisting her features in pain as she squeezed her eyes shut.
The crowd was stunned. Zhou Yao, too, was momentarily frozen.
People scrambled to pull them apart, but Zhou Yao’s mother was faster. She straddled Lin’s second daughter-in-law, yanked off her own shoe, and with the sole, smacked her across the face.
“PA!”
“How dare you insult my daughter?!”
“PA!”
“Who allowed you to insult my daughter—”
“PA!”
"My daughter has good grades, she's obedient and sensible—ten of your brats couldn't compare!"
“PA!”
“The one you gave birth to is the real vixen!”
“PA!”
“Who allowed you to insult her—!”
“PA…”
Mad with rage, red-eyed and crying, Mother Zhou lashed out with her shoe sole after every word.
“I'll make you regret it!”
“Whore!”
“I'll make you regret it!”
……
The scene was utter chaos. Lin’s second daughter-in-law, so arrogant before, was now pinned down, unable to move. Her face quickly swelled, and she started wailing as Mother Zhou’s shoe sole struck her again and again. When the crowd finally reacted, it took a group of people to pull Mother Zhou away.
Lin’s second daughter-in-law, previously full of bluster, was now sniffling and crying, still cursing under her breath but no longer daring to get close to Mother Zhou.
By the time Zhou Ma arrived, the situation had already escalated. Seeing Zhou Yao, he didn’t have time to say anything before rushing over to support Mother Zhou, who looked disheveled and shaken.
Zhou Yao stood stiffly, unsure what to say as she watched her mother.
Mother Zhou saw her too. She didn’t speak, just turned her head away, crying as she pointed at Lin’s second daughter-in-law and shouted, “Say one more word, I dare you!”
Chen Xuze placed a steadying hand on Zhou Yao’s back, sensing the storm of emotions within her.
Zhou Yao stood dazed, her gaze fixed solely on the place where her parents stood.
That woman— Took a sharp breath, tears and snot running down her face, utterly disgraceful. She had been insulted plenty before, always through words, never through violence. But when someone insulted her, her mother had flown into a blind rage, completely losing control.
That was her father.
And that—was her mother.
“Alright, alright, nothing more to see! Everyone, go home.”
A familiar neighbor stepped forward to disperse the onlookers. Some people from Lin’s second daughter-in-law’s side urged her to leave as well, saying that if she stayed any longer, things would only get worse.
Within ten minutes, the crowd slowly thinned out.
Mother Zhou was still crying, wiping her tears without looking at Zhou Yao. She turned and walked into the back of the mahjong parlor.
She had twisted her ankle in the scuffle, and Zhou Ma quickly went to help her over the threshold. The old grandma beside them nudged Zhou Yao. “Why are you still standing there? This is your home, Yaoyao.”
Seeing Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze move to follow, the grandma sighed, then slowly shuffled home, closing the mahjong parlor doors behind her.
The moment Zhou Yao stepped inside, she noticed something was different.
Her brother’s photo, which had always been on the cabinet, was gone. She didn’t ask. This wasn’t the time.
Mother Zhou sat on a stool while Zhou Ma patted her back.
Zhou Yao stood there, unable to find the right words.
When Mother Zhou looked over, her first instinct was to avoid her gaze—but she forced herself to hold it. In that instant, Mother Zhou’s eyes turned even redder.
“...Next time you see that shrew, stay away from her,” Mother Zhou wiped her nose. “Or she’ll bully you! With that flimsy frame of yours, one push and you’d go flying!”
She spoke in her usual rough tone, scolding yet protective.
Zhou Yao was silent for a long time before slowly nodding.
Mother Zhou turned away, tears slipping down her face as she muttered,”It's fine. I won. Didn't lose. That shrew will be hiding from our family for a long time now. No big deal…” She took a deep breath, exhaling shakily. “...Go home.”
She stood up to head upstairs but, in that brief moment, glanced at Chen Xuze and whispered, so quietly it was almost inaudible—
“...Don’t bully her.”
Then she walked away, her footsteps fading up the stairs. Zhou Ma looked at the two kids, sighed, and asked, “Staying home tonight?”
Zhou Yao, who had been silent all this time, slowly reddened around the eyes. Seeing Zhou Ma’s disappointed expression, she shook her head.
“Alright. Just make sure you eat properly, cook real meals, don’t just make do with whatever.” Zhou Ma turned to Chen Xuze. “Yaoyao staying with you must be a lot of trouble. Keep an eye on her, will you?”
Chen Xuze replied, “It’s no trouble.”
“I’ll go check on your mom.” Zhou Ma told Zhou Yao, “Come home anytime you want, okay? Be good.” As he passed her, his rough, calloused hand landed on her head in a light pat.
When his heavy footsteps disappeared up the stairs, only Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze were left in the room.
“If you want to cry, just cry,” Chen Xuze said softly. “It’s okay.”
Zhou Yao pressed her lips together and turned slowly into his embrace, resting her forehead against his shoulder.
One tear fell, then another, and another. Her chest felt tight, like something was blocking her breath. It hurt. It hurt so much.
That day, Mother Zhou cried for her, and she cried for her mother.
But neither of them could say anything.
The gap between them had been there for over a decade—too long, too deep, too distant.
At this moment, neither of them knew how to cross it.
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