TVDC 19: Gloomy

When Qiu Xuning and He Zhiyuan got home, it was already close to midnight.

At the door, Qiu Xuning pulled out her keys and fumbled around for the keyhole. She tried for a long time but couldn’t get it in. In the end, He Zhiyuan couldn’t stand it anymore, snatched the keys from his hand, and opened the door himself.

But just as the door swung open, before either of them could step inside, they saw Zhou Mingmei.

Qiu Xuning: “…”

He stared in shock at Zhou Mingmei’s darkened face. From the way she sat there in the living room, it was obvious she knew they had gone out and had been waiting for them to come back.

Her expression was ugly, her eyes wide and fierce as if she were about to devour them. She demanded loudly, “Where did you two go?”

Qiu Xuning had seen her lash out before, but this was the first time she had ever been that harsh toward him. He couldn’t help shrinking his neck back miserably and stammered, “I—I was hungry, wanted something to eat, so I asked He Zhiyuan to come with me.”

He lifted his face and gave her a fawning little smile, then whispered, “Mom, why are you still up?”

Zhou Mingmei snapped, “You still have the nerve to ask! Going out this late at night, did you even ask me first!? Get over here!”

It was the first time Qiu Xuning had ever seen her look at him with such fury, and he was too stunned to react for a moment. When Zhou Mingmei saw him standing frozen, she immediately got to her feet, strode over, and reached out to grab him.

Qiu Xuning was truly frightened, letting himself be pulled inside like a puppet. Toward him, Zhou Mingmei was all thunder with no rain and after dragging him in, she turned her fury on He Zhiyuan.

“You want to sneak around at night? Then don’t bother coming back! Restless every single day. I must have eight lifetimes of bad luck to have ended up with an ungrateful brat like you!”

Her eyes then fell on the keys in his hand. She snatched them away, and with a loud bang, slammed the door shut.

Qiu Xuning stood there helpless, trying to explain himself, but Zhou Mingmei cut him off. “Ningning, what are you doing going out with that jinx? I’m warning you, don’t get too close to him. Just look at him, he’s got that cursed look about him. For all I know, his parents died because of him. Ever since he came into our house, your dad’s factory started going downhill, talking about layoffs, and your sister’s pig farm was hit with swine fever, killing so many pigs. Don’t tell me that’s not his curse at work—I wouldn’t believe it!”

She picked up a bowl of water from the table, gulped down more than half, then went on, “Now pork prices have gone up to over thirty yuan a jin. Every time I think about it, I get angry. He’s nothing but a walking disaster!”

She couldn’t just throw him out. The more Zhou Mingmei thought about it, the angrier she became. She turned, grabbed Qiu Xuning’s arm, and said, “No, he has to sleep on the third floor. He can’t stay with you on the first floor, what if his bad luck rubs off on you?”

She rattled on nonstop, leaving Qiu Xuning no chance to cut in. When she finally paused to catch her breath, he spoke quickly, almost pleading, “How could this have anything to do with He Zhiyuan? It’s probably just a coincidence.”

Reasoning with Zhou Mingmei was pointless. She didn’t believe him at all, and had her own twisted logic to cling to. “What do you know? If his life weren’t cursed, would his parents be dead? Would the company have gone under?”

Qiu Xuning’s voice grew steadier. “Mom, you can’t believe in things like that. Please, don’t. Him coming to our house will definitely bring good things. If you don’t treat him a little better, what if he changes his mind later?”

Zhou Mingmei froze, caught off guard by his words. She hadn’t thought of it that way but all she could see was the streak of bad luck she believed He Zhiyuan had brought with him. The more she dwelled on it these past days, the more convinced she became that he was the problem. The moment he arrived, the family’s feng shui seemed tainted. Otherwise, how could Qiu Shunming’s factory suddenly decline and talk of layoffs begin? Haiyan’s pig farm—never once had there been swine fever, yet suddenly pigs started dying. To say it had nothing to do with He Zhiyuan, she simply refused to believe it.

All she could see now were those misfortunes and when she thought about Qiu Xuning going out late at night together with He Zhiyuan, her anger flared again. Unreasonably, she snapped, “I’m your mother, you listen to me. Don’t let me catch you with him again, or I’ll be furious!”

Qiu Xuning had no way of dealing with such overbearing words. His head drooped, his face clouded with gloom, his whole figure radiating dejection, like a leaf struck by frost.

Zhou Mingmei frowned at him. “Why are you acting like this? Do you really like him that much?”

Qiu Xuning muttered weakly, “I just want an older brother.”

“…” Zhou Mingmei said, “What kind of brother do you think he is to you?”

Qiu Xuning lifted his eyelids to glance at her, then lowered his gaze again, murmuring, “He’s pretty nice to me. He even glued my test papers back together.”

Zhou Mingmei glared at him in exasperation, hating iron for not becoming steel. “And he also split your head open! You don’t hold a grudge at all? Just because he patched up a test paper, you’re already bought off?”

Qiu Xuning hung his head in defeat and said quietly, “I provoked him first. It was my fault. Mom, please don’t always blame him.”

Zhou Mingmei frowned at him, feeling that her younger son was becoming more and more spineless, bound to be bullied in the future. The thought gave her a headache, and she said irritably, “Go to bed. Hurry up and sleep.”

Qiu Xuning stayed where he was, looking at her pitifully. “What about He Zhiyuan?”

“What about him!? Let him sleep outside if he wants. I don’t care, and you’re not allowed to care either!”

As she spoke, she shot Qiu Xuning with a sharp look. “Did you hear me?”

Qiu Xuning let out a quiet “oh,” then carefully glanced at Zhou Mingmei. Seeing her still staring at him, he blinked, pressed his lips into a thin line, and obediently said, “I won’t care.”

Zhou Mingmei’s expression eased a little, and her voice softened as well. She urged, “Go back to your room and sleep. You still have class tomorrow.”

Qiu Xuning answered meekly, then turned and went upstairs. Only after hearing the sound of his door closing did Zhou Mingmei finally feel satisfied and return to her own room.

After a long while, Qiu Xuning tiptoed downstairs. He crept to the front door and slowly began to open it. His little heart was pounding the whole time—though the weather was freezing, a sheen of sweat beaded his forehead. His ears stayed tuned to the slightest sound from Zhou Mingmei’s room. Fortunately, she never appeared, even as the door finally eased open.

Once it was open, Qiu Xuning let out a quiet sigh of relief. He changed his shoes, slipped outside, and didn’t shut the door completely, just pulled it gently, before heading down the stairs.

He didn’t have a phone, and He Zhiyuan didn’t either, so there was no way to contact him. He could only go out and look. In this cold weather, if he didn’t come back, where else could he have gone?

The more Qiu Xuning thought about it, the more anxious he became. Luckily, as he walked into the courtyard, he saw He Zhiyuan. He was standing beneath the outer wall, head tilted up, staring at the Qiu family’s house.

The streetlight cast its glow on him, clearly illuminating the expression on his face and it was actually gloomy.

Qiu Xuning had never seen that expression on his face before, and he froze instantly.

It seemed He Zhiyuan noticed Qiu Xuning’s gaze. He turned his head and looked over, and the gloomy look on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by his usual blank expression.

He Zhiyuan stared at Qiu Xuning for a moment. When he didn’t say anything, He Zhiyuan asked, “What are you doing out here?”

Qiu Xuning was still shaken from seeing that expression and hadn’t recovered yet. For a while, he didn’t dare say a word, he just stared at him in a daze.

He Zhiyuan frowned slightly and took a step toward Qiu Xuning. Qiu Xuning instinctively stepped back a few paces.

He Zhiyuan paused, stopping in his tracks, his gaze dark as he stared into Qiu Xuning’s eyes. Qiu Xuning didn’t dare meet his gaze. He lowered his eyes, nervously twisting his fingers in silence.

Neither of them said a word. After a long moment, Qiu Xuning let out a breath, took a few hesitant steps toward He Zhiyuan, and mumbled, “I came to tell you to go back and sleep.”

After a pause, Qiu Xuning spoke up for Zhou Mingmei. “My mom just has a bad temper… don’t take it to heart.”

He Zhiyuan looked at him but didn’t say anything.

Qiu Xuning glanced up at him, took a deep breath. He knew just how fake his words sounded. Zhou Mingmei’s disgust and rejection toward He Zhiyuan were never hidden. Forcing him out in this freezing weather—it was basically abuse. What was the point of saying all this now?

“…You should go inside,” Qiu Xuning said quietly.

He Zhiyuan said quietly, “You’re telling me to go inside, did your mom agree to it?”

Qiu Xuning panicked for a moment. He opened his mouth, just about to say something, when He Zhiyuan added, “Don’t lie.”

Qiu Xuning froze, instantly falling silent.

Seeing his reaction, He Zhiyuan understood. “Go back,” he said.

Qiu Xuning pressed his lips into a thin line. After a moment, he reached out and grabbed He Zhiyuan’s arm, turning to pull him toward the front gate.

At first, He Zhiyuan didn’t move. Qiu Xuning, out of options, turned back to look at him, eyes filled with pleading. “Don’t be so stubborn. It’s freezing, do you really want to suffer out here? No one feels sorry for you right now, so you have to care about yourself.”

He Zhiyuan looked at him, and in just that brief moment, his eyes began to turn slightly red.

He really was a crybaby. Whenever something didn’t go his way, his eyes would turn red almost instantly.

He Zhiyuan lifted his foot and, without needing Qiu Xuning to pull him, walked calmly and steadily through the gate.

Qiu Xuning moved in close to He Zhiyuan, tugged on his clothes to make him lean down slightly, and whispered in his ear, “Keep your voice down. Don’t make a sound.”

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything, but his footsteps became much lighter.

The whole process went smoothly. The two of them, in perfect sync, stayed quiet and made it upstairs without alerting Zhou Mingmei or the others.

Once they reached the second floor, Qiu Xuning stopped, hesitated for a moment, then looked at He Zhiyuan and whispered, “You… you should get to bed early.”

He froze again, remembering He Zhiyuan’s face under the streetlamp, shadowed and heavy with gloom. After a moment’s hesitation, he murmured, “Don’t blame my mom. She’s just a regular person.”

A regular person—ignorant and rough at times, but with her own good sides too. She was still a good mother.

Even if saying this felt unfair to He Zhiyuan, Qiu Xuning still wanted to tell him, “Don’t… don’t hold it against her.” I’ll make it up to you.

In the end, Qiu Xuning didn’t say that last sentence. He knew all too well that words without action were nothing more than empty slogans.

He Zhiyuan looked down at his slightly red nose from the cold. He didn’t seem moved by what Qiu Xuning had said. He replied quietly, “…Good night.”

Qiu Xuning sniffled. Seeing that He Zhiyuan didn’t react much, he felt a little disappointed, but still did his best to smile lightly. In a soft voice, he said, “Good night. Sweet dreams.”