Chapter 92
The internet was already abuzz with memes, but the two involved were unaware, heading home chatting and laughing.
Teacher Zhang next door was playing mahjong with Fang Xingyan. She suddenly stopped and pointed at the blank television screen, saying, "Hey, isn't that Fengxue? How come she's on TV again after just a moment?"
Fang Xingyan and the others looked over and witnessed the entire interview, bursting into laughter.
Teacher Zhang chuckled, "The girl next to her is quite pretty, Xia Linxia, right? She's perfect standing next to Fengxue."
Another person chimed in, "Exactly. She traveled all this way to wish you a happy new year, and you, Lao Fang, ran off to play mahjong. You're something else."
"Who was it that said they were one short and insisted on dragging me here?" Fang Xingyan retorted. "Besides, the girl looked quite nervous when she saw me. Isn't it better to give her some space to adjust? Oh, don't mention her being nervous; I get nervous seeing her too."
Teacher Zhang teased, "No way, Professor Fang? Even you, the stern professor, are afraid of young people?"
"Of course, she's likable," Fang Xingyan said, subtly sighing after playing a card. "Ji Fengxue really cherishes her. It's rare for her to bring someone home, so I can't be a burden to this brat."
Before she could finish speaking, the others suddenly fell silent, all looking towards the doorway.
"Mahjong!" Fang Xingyan quickly swapped a card when no one was looking, then turned back as if nothing had happened, only to see Ji Fengxue and Xia Linxia standing at the door, both with mischievous smiles.
These people usually spoke loudly, and since the door wasn't closed, they had no control over their volume. A good half of their conversation had been overheard.
Ji Fengxue, rarely moved by this plastic mother-daughter affection, was about to speak when Fang Xingyan interrupted her, "You're back. Go prepare dinner. Does Xiaxia know how to play mahjong?"
"I do!" Xia Linxia raised her hand, requesting to join.
"Perfect, you can take my place. I need to go prepare dinner too," said the teacher sitting opposite Fang Xingyan, getting up.
"Then I won't be polite," Xia Linxia immediately sat down at the mahjong table.
Ji Fengxue stood alone at the door. Before leaving, she said, "Teacher Zhang, my mom just cheated."
Teacher Zhang exclaimed, "Fang Xingyan!"
As Xia Linxia drew a card, she remembered a fatal question—
If you are at the same mahjong table as your mother-in-law, do you win or lose?
For someone with her intense desire to win, this question was as difficult as choosing between saving her partner or her mother.
"Xiaxia, play your card," Fang Xingyan called out. Xia Linxia immediately snapped back to attention, focusing on the game.
However, she soon forgot the question because the other three players were all seasoned mahjong veterans and didn't need her to "feed" them tiles.
Half an hour later, Xia Linxia had a pile of money in front of her. She feigned modesty, saying, "Excuse me, everyone. I haven't played in ages, so my skills are rusty."
Teacher Zhang muttered, "That annoying look is just like Fang Xingyan's."
Fang Xingyan smiled proudly, "How could that be? Xiaxia is surpassing her master."
"You flatter me," Xia Linxia said, beaming.
The new round began intensely, with everyone waiting for a specific tile. Fang Xingyan frowned at her hand. While Teacher Zhang was looking at her phone, she quickly peeked at her cards, and Xia Linxia, sitting opposite, caught her in the act.
They shared a moment of silence.
Xia Linxia, as if blind, casually glanced elsewhere for a moment, then looked down, pondered for a bit, and played an eight of wan.
"Mahjong!" Fang Xingyan slammed the table. "Pay up, pay up."
"No way, did Xiaxia intentionally let you win?" Teacher Zhang asked.
Xia Linxia replied, "No, no, no, I really didn't mean to." I did it on purpose.
As long as mother-in-law is happy.
In the second half of the game, she kept "feeding" tiles. To show fairness, she also "fed" tiles to the other two players, not only losing all her winnings but also incurring some debt.
The game only stopped when Fengxue called them for dinner. The mahjong players happily counted their winnings and went home.
Teacher Zhang looked teasingly at Fang Xingyan, "Your daughter really knows how to pick a partner. Both of them are good at 'feeding'."
"Huh?" Xia Linxia feigned ignorance. "I didn't! I'm really bad at it."
"Stop pretending," Fang Xingyan said with a smile, taking her hand as they walked home. "Don't worry, Ji Fengxue also loses money to everyone. They're used to it."
She lowered her head, looked at Fang Xingyan's hand, and proactively linked her arm through hers, leaning over and affectionately nuzzling Fang Xingyan's shoulder. "Auntie, you're not mad at me, are you?"
Fang Xingyan froze for a few seconds, then looked at her fluffy head and couldn't help but pat it. "Ji Fengxue never does that."
"Hmm?" Xia Linxia looked confused.
"It's nothing, I'm praising her," Fang Xingyan said with a smile. "Bringing back such a lovely person, she did well."
Xia Linxia:
So! Very! Happy!
During dinner, Ji Fengxue suspected she had lost favor. Fang Xingyan kept piling food onto Xia Linxia's plate, while Xia Linxia responded with a barrage of compliments.
It was even more so after dinner. Ji Fengxue had only gone to wash a bowl, and when she came out, Xia Linxia was nowhere to be found. According to the informant Shengsheng, Xia Linxia had gone for a walk with her mother and friends.
She chased after them and saw Xia Linxia standing among a group of older ladies from afar. Their laughter broke the cold, lonely night.
She followed from a distance, listening to their idle chatter. They were currently discussing work.
A mahjong friend from the afternoon, whose family member was a teacher, asked, "Xiaxia, you must earn quite a lot of money with your job, right?"
"It's okay," Xia Linxia replied, linking her arm with Fang Xingyan's. "It's just too busy, and I rarely have time to come home and accompany my family."
"Isn't that the truth? Fengxue spent two Chinese New Years in the film crew before, which made Lao Fang so lonely," the friend laughed heartily.
"Don't talk nonsense, I enjoyed my freedom immensely," Fang Xingyan said.
Xia Linxia swayed her arm. "Auntie, don't be afraid. If she's in the film crew again, I'll come and keep you company for the New Year."
Fang Xingyan was a little touched. "Look, can I swap daughters with your mom?"
The friend clicked her tongue and added, "Maybe I should let my daughter marry someone from the entertainment industry too. Big stars are good-looking and earn a lot of money."
Fang Xingyan said coolly, "No social security or year-end bonuses, though."
The friend immediately rejected the idea. "That won't do." Nothing beats a stable job!
Xia Linxia laughed until she was doubled over.
Ji Fengxue, watching her from behind, also smiled.
Teacher Zhang changed the subject, recalling past events with emotion. "So many years have passed in a blink of an eye. I still vividly remember the last time Lao Fang hit Fengxue, hahahaha."
Fang Xingyan: "......"
Ji Fengxue: "......"
Xia Linxia looked at Teacher Zhang in confusion. Teacher Zhang explained, "Nonsense. When Fengxue was in her third year of high school, she came home and casually said she had a girlfriend. Lao Fang slapped her right then and there."
Fang Xingyan: "..."
Xia Linxia wasn't actually surprised. Society's attitude towards homosexuality was still quite closed more than a decade ago. A highly educated family like theirs would surely have high hopes for Ji Fengxue, and it wouldn't sound good if it got out. Fang Xingyan's impulsive action was understandable.
However.
"Did Lao Ji cry?" she was more curious about this question. Besides acting, she hadn't seen Ji Fengxue cry before and suddenly wanted to see a tearful Ji Fengxue.
"Cry my ass," Fang Xingyan couldn't help but curse. "She caught me completely off guard. She deliberately waited for me to hit her so I'd feel guilty and uneasy. Then I made a deal with her: we'd talk about it slowly after the college entrance exams."
"Sigh," Xia Linxia sighed, then asked, "Did Lao Ji cry often when she was little?"
"I don't think so," Fang Xingyan recalled. "I only laid hands on her that one time. Her dad usually took care of her. He was a doting father, which is why he spoiled her rotten."
Ji Fengxue: "....." Don't I have any dignity?
To prevent her past from being exposed, she pretended to have just caught up and ran forward to join them, then nudged Xia Linxia with her elbow.
Xia Linxia reflexively linked her arm through Ji Fengxue's. Seeing her hands holding someone on both sides, she couldn't help but laugh. "I'm really living up to the song 'Returning to My Mother's Home' now. A chicken in my left hand—"
!!!
Realizing her slip-up belatedly, she quickly shut her mouth. Receiving everyone's gaze, she quickly offered a dog-head apology: "A Ji Fengxue in my left hand."
Everyone burst into laughter.
.......
Before going to bed, Xia Linxia received a red envelope from Fang Xingyan and happily rolled around on the bed. She held the red envelope, looking at it repeatedly, reluctant to open it.
Ji Fengxue walked over and pinched the red envelope. "So thin, stingy."
"What do you know? This is the thought that counts! This is recognition!" Xia Linxia snatched it back and hugged it to her chest. "Auntie said this is your dowry, hehehe."
Whose dowry is given first? It must be the betrothal gift. But Ji Fengxue didn't expose her, letting her enjoy herself.
Xia Linxia carefully opened the red envelope. Instead of money, she saw a card. Feeling a bit hot to the touch, she quickly placed it on the bed. "Ah..."
Ji Fengxue glanced at it. It looked very familiar. This was the card she always transferred money to Fang Xingyan with. Fang Xingyan didn't like shopping much, and there were no major family events, so she probably hadn't used the money in it.
"Take it. It's not much. The password is my birthday."
Xia Linxia naturally didn't believe her but obediently put the card away. She got out of bed and trotted to the next room. "I'll go thank Auntie again."
Ji Fengxue chuckled, picked up her pajamas, and went to take a shower. Then she lay on the bed playing with her phone. There were a lot of New Year messages. It took quite some time to open them one by one, let alone the overwhelming amount of news on Weibo.
She scrolled to Xia Linxia's Weibo. There were three professionally retouched photos, with very official captions, clearly posted by her team.
She saved the photos one by one. Then she searched for content related to Xia Linxia and saved all the photos she hadn't seen before, not noticing the bedroom door gently closing.
Someone suddenly climbed onto the bed, squeezed between her hands, wrapped their arms around her, and kissed her cheek. "Checking up on you. Who are you chatting with?"
"Don't mess around, I'm looking at a beauty," Ji Fengxue teased.
Xia Linxia bumped her head against Ji Fengxue's chest, saying fiercely, "Who?"
"Here, her," Ji Fengxue showed her the phone. Xia Linxia saw her old photos and giggled. "Lao Ji, I have a dream."
"......"
After the lights were turned off, they hugged for a while. Ji Fengxue waited for a long time but didn't get any action, sighing.
Xia Linxia, exhausted from the day's activities, felt her whole body screaming with fatigue once she relaxed. Holding Ji Fengxue's soft body, she fell asleep directly.
Ji Fengxue: "......" Tensed up for nothing.
In the face of sleepiness, a top's dream was insignificant.
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