Chapter 5
Chapter 5
The second time my life crossed paths with Qiao Xia was two years later.
Old Zhao invited me out for hot pot, then said we could shoot some hoops in the evening.
During dinner, his wife Xiaoyu kept making calls. She seemed to be comforting someone, saying, “We’re over on Nanjing Second Road. Hurry over.”
I couldn’t help asking, “Who’s coming?”
Old Zhao shrugged. “Her best friend, Qiao Xia. She broke up with her boyfriend recently.”
Qiao Xia?
The name sounded kind of familiar.
Oh, right. Two years ago, at Old Zhao’s wedding, the girl I met in the elevator.
I didn’t think much of it and kept eating.
Just then, Xiaoyu hung up.
She poured herself a full glass of beer and started cursing under her breath. “That bastard Hou Junfei.”
Old Zhao asked, “What happened?”
Xiaoyu rolled her eyes. “The two families had dinner together this time to discuss the wedding. Ugh, you should’ve seen Hou Junfei’s mother!”
“Our Xiaxia is making big money now, right? But Hou Junfei’s mom is still that same old traditional, feudal-minded snob. She kept putting Xiaxia down at the table, saying Xiaxia only went to a third-tier college while her son has a PhD from a prestigious university. To put it bluntly, she just couldn’t stand seeing her son outshined by Xiaxia.”
“She even went on about how, since ancient times, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants were ranked in that order, with scholars first and merchants not worth mentioning.”
“Xiaxia couldn’t take it anymore and said right there at the table, ‘Auntie, if you look down on me that much, then Junfei and I don’t need to get married.'”
“Hou Junfei’s mother flipped out on the spot and called Xiaxia ill-mannered.”
Old Zhao asked, “So what’s the situation now?”
Xiaoyu took a sip of beer. “Hou Junfei’s mother told her son to break up, all smug and proud, saying her son is handsome and highly educated, and he can find someone with a better family background. But her son can’t bear to let Xiaxia go.”
“Xiaxia told Hou Junfei, ‘Unless your mother apologizes to me, there’s no future for us.'”
“So there you go. Deadlock. The two of them broke up.”
I shook my head and smiled.
When it came to conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, at the end of the day, it usually meant the son was useless.
I had no interest in this sort of family drama, so I only listened and didn’t comment.
Unexpectedly, Xiaoyu suddenly looked at me. “Louzi, I remember you’re single. How about I introduce my best friend to you?”
I shook my head and waved it off. “Forget it, forget it. I wouldn’t be lucky enough to handle that.”
But Xiaoyu directly sent me Xiaxia’s WeChat contact card.
When she saw I didn’t react, she actually snatched my phone, grabbed my finger to unlock it, and added Qiao Xia for me herself.
Old Zhao got angry. He grabbed my phone back and roared at his wife, “What are you doing? You’re even grabbing someone else’s phone now? What if Louzi has confidential case information on his WeChat? Do you know that’s illegal?”
Xiaoyu was clearly embarrassed and a little panicked. She quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Louzi. I… I got too worked up just now.”
“I’m just mad on Xiaxia’s behalf. What gives the Hou Junfei family the right to be so arrogant? Are all the men in the world dead, so it has to be him? I just wanted to prove that our Xiaxia can find someone better anytime she wants.”
After knowing Xiaoyu for so long, I understood her temper.
She was a little loud and impulsive, but she was a kindhearted person.
I casually cracked a joke to ease the awkwardness. “Then if Qiao Xia and I don’t hit it off, you two had better introduce someone else to me.”
The truth was, I had no intention of meeting Qiao Xia at all.
And I wasn’t thinking about dating anyone right now either.
Xiaoyu laughed. “Xiaxia will be here soon. You’ll know when you see her. She’s a total beauty, the kind everyone loves.”
As we were joking, my phone rang.
I picked up. After exchanging a few words with the person on the other end, I quickly grabbed my car keys and jacket and stood up.
Old Zhao sensed something was wrong and got up too. “What is it, Louzi? Did something happen?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Something happened at my little girl’s kindergarten. Her grandmother just called and told me to hurry over.”