Chapter 611: Mum cried (1/2)
Evening. 8 pm.
The moon is up, and the stars are shining brightly.
Dong Xuebing smiled and lit a cigarette as he watched Qu Yunxuan drives off in her Mercedes Benz. He hummed a song as he walked back to his residential building.
First floor….
Second floor….
Third floor….
As Dong Xuebing was about to open Aunt Xuan’s apartment, he noticed the lights of his old apartment were switched on from under the door. His first thought is someone had broken into his old apartment. He quickly took out his keys and opened the door.
“Who is it?” A woman asked.
Dong Xuebing was relieved to hear this voice. He had listened to this voice his whole life. “Mum, why are you in Beijing?”
“Xiao Bing?” Luan Xiaoping walks out of the kitchen with a broom. “Why are you here?”
“I was here since yesterday. I am here for some official matters.”
“Why didn’t you let me know?” Luan Xiaoping grumbled. “You frightened me. I thought someone had broken into our house.”
“You are the one who had frightened me. I was wondering why the lights are switched on.”
“Sit there and stop walking around. I had just mopped the floor. Look at your shoeprints.”
Dong Xuebing laughed. “Why have you come back to Beijing?”
Luan Xiaoping took a mop from the bathroom to clean the dirty shoeprints. “It’s Sunday tomorrow, and Old Yang is not working. He wants to come to Beijing to look at our former apartment. That’s why I came back to pack up the house and buy some groceries. It’s been vacant for more than a year. How can we have guests over in this state? Lift your legs.”
Dong Xuebing lifted both his legs. “Why is Old Yang coming over?”
Luan Xiaoping mopped the floor. “He wants to see our apartment.”
“What’s there to see in this small rundown apartment? Did you two register your marriage?”
Luan Xiaoping blushed. “We are considering this, but it’s not finalized.”
Dong Xuebing is unhappy. “You had met his family, and Old Yang is coming to our house. Isn’t this the proper procedure? What do you mean by it’s not finalized?”
Luan Xiaoping gave Dong Xuebing a stare. “Don’t try to be smart. Go and change to slippers, and help me clean the windows. I can’t reach as I am short.”
“Sigh…. I am tired.” Dong Xuebing mumbled as he massaged his aching waist. He took a cloth and started wiping the windows unwillingly. “This is going to happen eventually…. I can understand this feeling.”
Luan Xiaoping overheard him. “What did you say?”
“Err…. Nothing. I am saying you have become prettier.”
Ring… ring… ring… Luan Xiaoping’s phone rang.
Dong Xuebing turned and saw his mother wiping her hands and answering the call. “Hello… Yes…. I’m Luan Xiaoping. Oh…. Zhaojuan…. That’s right…. what’s wrong? Oh, you are coming with your Mum and Old Yang tomorrow? Of course, I welcome you all… Are you driving over? Then…. Then…. I will go and fetch you all.”
Dong Xuebing asked after his mother hung up. “Who was that?”
Luan Xiaoping replied with a somber tone. “It’s Old Yang’s sister, Yang Zhaojuan, and their mother.”
“Yang Zhaojuan? Is she Su Jia’s mother? The one I met before?” Dong Xuebing could not remember their names.
“No.” Luan Xiaoping replied. “The one you met in the City Committee family quarters is Yang Zhaofen. Zhaojuan is Old Yang’s youngest Sister. You had not met her.”
“Oh, why are they coming over?”
Suddenly, Dong Xuebing noticed his mother’s phone was still on. He frowned and picked it up. “It’s not hung up.”
Luan Xiaoping looks over. “I am not good with mobile phones. Help me hang up.”
“Wait…. The other party had not hung up, and someone is talking.”
“What are you doing?”
“Shh…. Don’t say anything.”
Dong Xuebing could hear the sounds of cloth rubbing against the cloth and could not hear the conversation. But he can hear someone saying his mother’s name. He put the phone on speaker and increased the volume.