Extra 4
The first time Wen Ci came into contact with Zhou Wu’s “family” was through a piece of social news.
The report said that a group of wealthy young men had been racing cars late at night, struck a pedestrian crossing at a zebra crossing, then fled the scene.
The incident sparked nationwide outrage and received enormous attention.
Even Wen Ci followed the updates for several days, though she treated it as nothing more than news.
Then, on Christmas Eve, which happened to fall on a weekend, Qin Yun invited them out.
While they were on the way to Blue Note, an unfamiliar number called.
Zhou Wu glanced at it and answered directly through the car’s Bluetooth.
“Zhou Wu, you’ve genuinely gone too far this time. I’ve never seen a son refuse to answer his father’s calls.”
A tired, hoarse middle-aged man’s voice sounded from the other end.
“I won’t settle the matter of those contracts you stole from me for now. Your younger brother has hit someone, and the situation has become enormous. The news is everywhere. It’s extremely difficult to handle…”
“We need your grandfather to intervene and see whether he can contact several of his old friends. You have influence with him, so you—”
“What bastard came from nowhere and thinks he deserves to be called my younger brother?”
Zhou Wu laughed and interrupted him.
His words were extremely impolite, yet his voice remained careless. He did not sound angry, merely as though he were stating a fact.
“Get as far away from me as possible.”
“I—”
“The same applies to you,” Zhou Wu added coldly.
After he ended the call, the other person called again.
Zhou Wu tossed his phone to Wen Ci.
“Teacher Wen, help me block him.”
Wen Ci did as asked.
Silence returned to the car.
After driving for a while, Zhou Wu noticed Wen Ci repeatedly lowering her head to look at her phone, then raising it to look at him.
He smiled and glanced sideways.
“What are you looking at?”
Resourceful internet users had already exposed the driver’s identity, along with photographs of the man rumoured to be his father.
Wen Ci had never thought about it before.
Now that she compared them, she realised the two people in the news were also surnamed Zhou.
She looked at their photographs, then at Zhou Wu.
“At the pictures,” she admitted.
Zhou Wu glanced at her screen and casually asked,
“What do you think?”
Wen Ci answered honestly,
“You probably resemble your mother more.”
Zhou Wu laughed.
The slight irritation caused by the unwanted call vanished completely.
By the time they left Blue Note, it was nearly one in the morning.
Wen Ci was the type to improve with practice, and her tolerance for alcohol had gradually increased.
She stopped drinking whenever she reached the verge of drunkenness.
After returning home and showering, her head still felt light and floaty.
Her steps were soft, and her entire body felt comfortable.
The first thing she did after leaving the bathroom was search for Zhou Wu and kiss him.
Zhou Wu was already accustomed to it.
He lifted Wen Ci onto his lap and held her waist, lazily returning her kisses.
Whenever she became too breathless, he released her, wiped her lips and began discussing something.
“Baby, I won’t be in Jiangcheng during the New Year holiday.”
Wen Ci was very close to him.
“Are you going on a business trip?”
“January second is the anniversary of my mother’s death. I need to return to Xingxiang.”
Wen Ci raised her eyes towards him.
Zhou Wu’s gaze lowered lazily, carrying a relaxed trace of intoxication.
There was a faint question in his eyes.
*Do you want to come with me?*
He was always like this.
He would not ask directly because he worried Wen Ci might feel embarrassed refusing and become uncomfortable.
If she had no intention of going, she could casually reply with something else and he would understand.
Wen Ci brushed the tip of her nose against his.
“Can I come with you?”
Zhou Wu did not answer.
He simply smiled, delight nearly spilling from his eyes.
He caught the back of her neck, pressed her down and continued kissing her.
…
So during the New Year holiday, Wen Ci followed Zhou Wu to Xingxiang, an ancient and peaceful city.
Zhou Wu’s maternal grandparents lived halfway up a mountain.
His mother’s grave was also in a cemetery in that area.
It took nearly two hours to drive there from the city centre.
Zhou Wu rarely used a driver, especially when he was with Wen Ci.
He took the keys from the driver and told him to leave first.
Wen Ci had only just fastened her seat belt when she heard a camera shutter.
She turned and saw Zhou Wu holding up his phone to photograph her.
After taking the picture, he lowered his head and began typing.
Wen Ci asked in confusion,
“Who are you sending it to?”
“Your mother.”
Zhou Wu answered lazily.
“I’m reporting our itinerary.”
“…?”
Wen Ci craned her neck to look.
It genuinely was her mother.
Over the past two months, Wen Ci had returned home almost every week.
Whenever Zhou Wu was in Jiangcheng, he accompanied her.
He did not mind being scolded.
Every time they finished eating, he was thrown out.
During their previous visit, after dinner, Zhou Wu had even handed Cui Qingshu a thick-looking envelope.
“Teacher Cui, these are the self-reflection essays I owed you in high school. Please see whether you’re satisfied.”
Then he was thrown out again.
Wen Ci stared blankly.
“When did you add her?”
“I kept sending friend requests. She only accepted after I handed in the self-reflection essays last time.”
Zhou Wu put down his phone and sighed.
“Auntie is extremely aloof. She never replies to my messages.”
Wen Ci looked down at her own phone and silently thought that sometimes receiving no reply was a good thing.
Two days earlier, she had messaged her mother to report her New Year plans.
Cui Qingshu immediately called.
“You are not allowed to go! Just try going and see what happens!”
When their flight landed earlier, Wen Ci sent another message saying they had arrived safely.
She received the following replies:
**Mother: Why are you still messaging me? Does anything I say matter?**
**Mother: I raised you for nothing.**
Wen Ci sighed and was about to put away her phone when it unexpectedly vibrated again.
**Mother: Be polite when meeting someone else’s family. Bring gifts. Don’t make them think you have no manners.**
Wen Ci froze.
After a long time, she smiled and replied:
**Wen Ci: All right, Mum.**
**Mother: Don’t call me Mum. I don’t have such a disobedient daughter.**
**Wen Ci: Love you, Mum.**
Mother Wen did not reply again.
Wen Ci held the phone in both hands and smiled foolishly at the distant mountains.
After a while, her brows lowered with worry.
Zhou Wu glanced at her.
“What are you thinking about?”
Wen Ci answered honestly,
“I’m worried your grandparents won’t like me.”
Zhou Wu burst out laughing.
He slowly reached for her hand.
His voice was lazy yet certain.
“Impossible.”
“No one could dislike you, Teacher Wen.”
…
Zhou Wu was right.
The moment the elderly couple saw Wen Ci, their eyes curved so deeply with smiles that they almost disappeared.
His grandmother was especially enthusiastic, almost too much for Wen Ci to handle.
First, she gave Wen Ci a large red envelope that required both hands to hold.
Then she took her hand and placed an obviously valuable jade bangle around her wrist, saying she had prepared it long ago for her future granddaughter-in-law.
Wen Ci was startled.
She did not dare forcefully remove it because she was afraid it might fall and break.
So once they were in the car heading towards the cemetery, she secretly took it off and pushed it towards Zhou Wu.
They were riding in a people carrier, with the two of them seated at the very back.
Zhou Wu watched her holding the bangle with both hands and wanted to laugh.
He was about to use his usual argument.
“Its value comes from you—”
“No! It would still be expensive without me!”
Wen Ci no longer fell for it.
Speaking in a whisper, she said,
“Help me return it to Grandma.”
“She won’t take back anything she gives away.”
Zhou Wu laughed.
“That’s the truth.”
“Then keep it safe for her first.”
Zhou Wu raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t want to be her granddaughter-in-law?”
“That isn’t it. But I’m not one yet.”
Wen Ci said, “So I can’t accept it.”
“All right.”
Zhou Wu nodded.
“I’ll keep it for you, Teacher Wen.”
There were few people in the cemetery during the New Year holiday.
Zhou Wu told the driver to wait below while the four of them climbed the steps together.
The cemetery was extremely clean.
It was obviously maintained every day.
But in the depths of winter, no matter how carefully it was cleaned, several leaves still drifted down in front of the gravestone.
The moment they arrived, Zhou Wu’s grandmother lowered her head and began wiping away tears.
Wen Ci quickly handed her tissues, then could not resist looking up.
The woman in the gravestone photograph had bright eyes and white teeth.
Her smile was beautiful and elegant.
Her eyes and brows were almost identical to Zhou Wu’s.
Zhou Wu’s grandparents stood before the grave and spoke for a long time.
His grandmother especially seemed to have endless things to say.
Towards the end, she took Wen Ci’s hand.
“Zhou Wu brought his girlfriend home this year. Look at her.”
Hearing her name mentioned, Wen Ci bent down and placed the flowers she had brought before Zhou Wu’s mother’s grave.
“Hello, Auntie. My name is Wen Ci.”
“She’s especially beautiful, isn’t she?”
Zhou Wu’s grandmother wiped her tears and continued,
“I saw photographs before, but she’s even prettier in person. She’s also very kind…”
The elderly couple had chosen to retire here partly because it allowed them to remain close to their daughter.
Zhou Wu’s grandmother visited often, yet every time, she still seemed to have endless things to say.
Then a cold gust of wind swept over.
The elderly woman turned her head and coughed several times.
“That’s enough. Let’s return to the car.”
Zhou Wu’s grandfather worriedly patted his wife’s back.
Descending the steps was dangerous.
Wen Ci moved closer and supported his grandmother’s arm.
“I’ll help you down.”
Zhou Wu looked deeply at the photograph on the gravestone.
He wanted to remain behind and say something, but he worried Wen Ci might feel uncomfortable alone with his grandparents.
Something brushed the back of his hand.
Zhou Wu turned his head and met Wen Ci’s eyes.
She smiled.
“I’ll wait for you in the car.”
“…All right.”
Zhou Wu briefly held her fingers.
“I’ll be there soon.”
Only Zhou Wu remained before the grave.
He stood silently and looked at the photograph.
Ten years had passed, but Zhou Wu’s memories of his mother were still clear.
He remembered her smile when she held him.
He remembered the carefree expression she wore while dancing.
He remembered the year she became gravely ill—her face pale, her eye sockets sunken, her appearance exhausted yet still beautiful.
Before she died, she had held his hand and said she hoped he would live happily.
He should not be like her.
She had taken everything too seriously and had been unable to let anything go.
In the end, she discovered that the only person suffering was herself.
Zhou Wu had listened.
He let go of half of it.
He no longer obsessed over the Zhou family’s wretched affairs.
But he held tightly to the other half.
Every single thing Zhou Huacheng had deceived his mother out of, Zhou Wu intended to recover.
Zhou Wu bent down and naturally knelt.
He reached out and slowly brushed the fallen leaves away from the gravestone, speaking casually to her.
“Mum, it’s been a long time.”
“I came this year because I wanted to introduce someone to you.”
“You saw her earlier. Her name is Wen Ci, and she’s my girlfriend.”
“I’m planning to propose to her.”
Older people tended to be superstitious.
Zhou Wu remembered that every time he visited, his grandparents always said:
“If anything happens, tell your mother. Her spirit in heaven will protect you.”
“I think she’ll agree, so I won’t ask you for help with that.”
After brushing away the final leaf, Zhou Wu stood and smiled towards the woman in the photograph.
“I want to bring her to see you every year from now on.”
“So if your spirit truly is watching from heaven, please bless us to grow old together.”
“Mum.”
…
They did not stay overnight halfway up the mountain.
Wen Ci had never visited Xingxiang before, and Zhou Wu wanted to take her around the city.
After dinner that evening, they set off back towards the city centre.
The moment they entered the car, Zhou Wu took Wen Ci’s hand.
Wen Ci had poor circulation, and her fingers became icy after only a short time outdoors.
Zhou Wu skilfully warmed them and turned up the heating.
“Should I drive for a while on the way back? Are you tired?” Wen Ci asked.
“You can drive?”
“I can. I simply don’t do it often.”
“Then I’ll experience Teacher Wen’s driving skills next time.”
Zhou Wu nodded.
“Not today.”
Wen Ci smiled.
“All right.”
Zhou Wu took out his phone and was about to toss it onto the storage compartment when he noticed a reply.
He raised an eyebrow.
“Your mother replied to me.”
“What did she say?”
“She said one of my self-reflection essays is missing and told me to return and complete it.”
Zhou Wu laughed.
“Teacher Wen, we might not be thrown out the next time we go home.”
Wen Ci stared at her mother’s reply for a long time.
Then she apologised.
“Sorry. Probably not.”
“Mm?”
“I’m planning to resign after finishing this term. I’ll tell my mother when I return.”
Wen Ci touched her nose.
“So we… might… still be thrown out.”
“…”
Zhou Wu turned away and laughed for a long time.
“All right. Where does Teacher Wen plan to seek better employment?”
“I want to apply for postgraduate study first, then… try the legal professional qualification examination.”
Speaking of the dream she had held since childhood made Wen Ci slightly embarrassed.
“Am I too old to begin now?”
“No.”
Zhou Wu called her,
“Lawyer Wen.”
“…That’s far too early.”
Although Wen Ci said that, her eyes curved with laughter, and the corners of her lips nearly reached her ears.
Halfway through the journey, small white dots began landing against the windows.
Wen Ci froze.
After a moment, she understood and shook the hand intertwined with Zhou Wu’s.
“Zhou Wu, it’s snowing.”
“Mm.”
Zhou Wu casually asked,
“When does your holiday begin, Lawyer Wen?”
Wen Ci burst out laughing.
“The fifteenth.”
“Shall we go skiing in Switzerland then?”
Zhou Wu slowly described his plans.
“We’ll fly from Bincheng. I’ll take you diving first. I promised you before.”
“Can we still dive in January? Won’t it be too cold?”
Zhou Wu smiled.
“No. You can dive there throughout the year.”
“All right.”
Wen Ci agreed seriously.
She began recalling how much money remained in her private savings and planned to spend carefully over the next two weeks.
Even if she could only treat Zhou Wu to several cocktails in Bincheng and one cheese fondue in Switzerland.
In the past, Wen Ci had always felt that working days and holidays made no difference to her.
Her life had seemed long and dull, as though she could see its ending at a glance.
Now, as Wen Ci watched the snow drifting outside the window, she had already begun looking forward to the next holiday.
**End of the Wen Ci × Zhou Wu Extras**
Leave a Reply