The full moon was brightening in the sea of twinkling stars, complementing the beauty of the city's night view.
After having dinner, Jianyu finished the work before he was about to dial Xiulan's number. A phone call entered and surprisingly he saw her name in the caller icon.
Xiulan had been deliberating whether she should divulge her failure to him or not. In the end, giving a call was her conclusion as she was missing his voice too. So when there was still an excuse, she would grasp that opportunity. She dialed his number decisively. To her surprise, he picked up quite fast. She could hear the man's alluring voice, "Hello."
His warm tone put a smile on her face. She felt ineffable delight and replied softly, "Hi. Are you free to talk?"
Jianyu beamed at her change of tone. She was pretty fierce back then with Tang Quan. Honestly, he had never encountered that side of her and he was caught by surprise earlier. "Yeah, I am. How's your first attempt at cooking?"
"I called to tell you about it. I am sure the food would have been quite delicious because I carefully selected each and every ingredient as well as the amount of seasoning." She paused.
Jianyu grinned silently and harrumphed his throat before he uttered, "So, the dinner went pretty well. That's great."
"Huh?" The first thought that came to her mind was to let it be and not to correct his assumption. However, she didn't feel comfortable, "Nah, I messed up. It burned and my mom and my big brother had to step in and prepare dinner. I did try very hard to cook it. I even accidentally cut my fingers while chopping and dicing." She whispered slowly and lowered her head dejectedly. Her voice lacked energy.
"Hey, you did a great job. Just the idea of you wanting to cook for your family is utterly beautiful. I am so proud of you." He coaxed her like he always did to his daughter.
His words got her to crack a smile, "But the fact that I ruined it is still the same." She mumbled and pouted her lips slightly.
"This is your first attempt. You failed. So what? You just need to learn from the mistake and try again. Keep your chin up, Xiulan. You've got my back." Jianyu assured her.
His words brought solace and invigorated her. "Thank you."
"Have you applied ointment to your wound?"
"No, it is just superficial bruises. It will heal automatically."
"Anyway, you should get some gel on it. It will reduce your pain faster."
"Fine. I will." She complied and immediately strode towards a first aid kit on a shelf. "I am applying now."
"Good girl." His fruity voice was as captivating as always.
Xiulan grinned from ear to ear at his remark. She felt her cheek muscles getting tired from excessive smiling.
Both of them stopped talking for a minute. She racked her brain to find a topic to discuss as she wasn't willing to end the call. Unfortunately, their quiet conversation was disturbed by a familiar voice, "Jianyu Ge! Oh, if you are busy, I will come later."
Xiulan overheard the comprehensible whispers. It seemed like he saw his big brother was on the phone and didn't want to interrupt him. But the most important matter was that intruder's voice, she was very familiar with it. "Ah, I have applied it thoroughly. Then, that's it. Thank you for listening to my blubbering." She ended the call reluctantly with a heavy heart. She was certain that the voice she heard was that of Tang Weimin.
***
Weimin came upstairs to have a chat with his big brother about the footage of his case. He scanned the surroundings and found his brother on the verandah. He rushed to where his brother was and uttered, "Jianyu Ge!"
Ony when Jianyu tilted his head in the direction of the sudden noise, Weimin realized he was on the phone, so he excused himself and left. After ending the call, Jianyu dialed his brother's number to inquire about his abrupt arrival.
Weimin went up to him as quickly as he could. Surely he wasn't wondering about how the recruitment of Hualing turned out since he didn't even know much about his big brother's work. He was there to bargain again about the case. He wanted to find the real perpetrator behind the curtain and end all of this once and for all.
"Weimin, I am a mere broker. I really can't give you any more than that. You know that I have already done everything in my power to help you." Jianyu uttered with the most sincere tone in the world.
Weimin rolled his eyes and whispered quietly. "I don't think so."
"What are you mumbling?"
"Ah? Nothing! Thank you again for your help. For the culprit, I will figure it out by myself." Weimin predicted that his big brother wouldn't blab anything. Since he didn't anticipate anything beforehand, he didn't feel any disappointment.
Weimin was at the entrance of his room when his phone vibrated.
Xiulan contemplated for a while before she made a call. She remembered clearly how his voice sounded on the phone, but she was going to make sure before she drew any conclusions.
"Hello." His tone lacked strength.
'Of course, it's his voice.' Xiulan closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and sighed to calm herself down before she muttered worriedly, "What's wrong? Your voice sounds so lethargic."
"It is about that proof you want me to find. I was negotiating about it with my big brother just now. But I didn't get any useful information."
'So that's why he went up to Li Jianyu.' Xiulan pondered while gulping in apprehension. She blinked her eyes nervously and her breathing rate became erratic.
It was wrong. According to the moral standard of the country, for an unmarried woman, there was no virtue in falling in love with a single father. If one did, she'd get disparaged, alongside her family members for not being able to nature a good daughter. Hualing's case was one of the perfect examples although the situation didn't superimpose exactly. Despite her being innocent, she was called out for infidelity and received hatred. The criticism was the worst in ancient times and it was getting lighter as time went by. But that cultural norm still lingered in the society to decide what was morally right and wrong.
Xiulan clutched her left palm into a tight fist and her right palm was put on top of the left fist. The sharp nail of her right thumb pricked the skin of the back of her left hand. She could feel the pain spread out from the area where her nail was piercing her bare skin and blood traces could be seen with naked eyes. Only when the painful sensation was conveyed to her consciousness, she could focus on that soreness and maintain her composure.
'Get a grip, Zhang Xiulan. It might not be the way you think. Li Jianyu isn't Yaoyao's father. He can't be.' Until she witnessed it with her own eyes, she couldn't draw a conclusion and believe the fact.
"Do you want me to compromise with your big brother about it?" She had no idea why she suggested it.
"Nah, it's alright. It won't make much difference. He won't disclose anything. And you don't know him. I am sure you won't even have a chance to talk to him."
She was so eager to confirm it, "Tell me his name. Perhaps we have already been friends. Don't underestimate my social skills."
"Thank you for your offer, but I can't divulge anything about him." He cleared up quickly, "Not that I don't want to tell you. It's just…"
"That's fine. No sweat. I understand. Even blabbermouth Quan doesn't spill the beans about your big brother's private information."
Weimin massaged his temple, "It's kind of a rule. And we can't afford to offend him, so we have no choice but to give in."
Xiulan naturally believed it was down to age stratification, "That's great, giving the oldest brother a face! My younger brother doesn't respect me at all."
His memory of what Zhang Shaiming said over the phone to Tang Quan and he chortled softly.
"Why are you laughing? Are you belittling me because my younger brother doesn't show any respect to me?" She jokingly said.
"I am really grateful that you call me. Chattering with you instantly lifts my mood."
Xiulan clicked her tongue, "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You have lost yourself a wife material. Poor you."
Weimin responded with big chuckles. After a tiny moment, he stopped grinning and turned on his serious mood, "For real, I appreciate your existence."
Deep down, he knew that if it was not for Xiulan, if there were another woman in her place, he wouldn't survive as peacefully as he was now after all the problems he had caused to her and her family's business.
"I know I am such an amazing human being. So stop with your ingratiating. It's giving me goosebumps all over my body." She spoke while rubbing her arm.
Weimin couldn't stop laughing at her words before he muttered, "By the way, why did you call me?"
Xiulan recalled what her father said in the dining room, "Ah, my dad was thinking of making an appointment to discuss that yard in the new city. So here I am, to confirm whether it is still available or not before my father takes any action. I am afraid it would just be a waste of energy if it is already occupied."
"Grandpa gave it to my big brother. It's in his possession now. I am not sure whether it is vacant or not. I will ask about it later and let you know."
"Okay. Thanks." The call ended.
She stared at her phone screen until the light faded and completely turned off. She kept staring at it before she grab a pencil to sketch a phone on the paper. Some finishing touches made it seem like it was her phone. There was the name 'Generous Li' on the caller ID of the drawing and a neat question beneath the phone. 'Who are you?'