After Saving My Possessive Best Friend, I Couldn't Escape (GL) - Chapter 16

The car picked up Ye Yu and drove in the direction of the Zhou family’s residence.

In the car, Ye Yu said to the butler sitting in the passenger seat, “Uncle Yang, what are we having for dinner tonight?”

Butler Yang was a middle-aged man in his forties who had watched Ye Yu and Zhou Meize grow up since childhood. Ye Yu liked this uncle, who used to bring her candy when she was little, more than her own eternally strict parents.

Butler Yang smiled gently. “Aunt Sun prepared dinner. She knew you were coming and made your favorite dishes.”

Ye Yu hugged the cushion in the back seat and sweetly pleaded, “Then I want Aunt Sun’s strawberry shortcake.”

“You can only have dessert after dinner,” Butler Yang smiled helplessly. “Xiaoyu must be obedient.”

“Okay,” Ye Yu nodded obediently. “Then I want two.”

Zhou Meize and Ye Yu were sitting in the back, separated by one seat. Because they were going home, Zhou Meize’s mood was consistently low. She stared out the window with a cold face.

Butler Yang lightly coughed, reminding her, “Xiaoze, hasn’t it been a while since you and Xiaoyu went home together?”

Zhou Meize turned her head, her tone somewhat impatient. “Didn’t I just go home last month?”

“This time, Xiaoyu is a guest at the house,” Butler Yang subtly reminded her. “It’s been a long time since you two came back together.”

Zhou Meize said coldly, “Ye Yu’s parents wouldn’t let a big kid who is seventeen go home every day.”

They were two people who were engaged, and Ye Yu often visited the Zhou family for the sake of appearances between the two families, but their own young lady often displayed this attitude. Even if she had grievances toward her parents, she shouldn’t show it at this time, let alone involve her fiancée.

Their young lady had always been willful and immature since childhood.

Butler Yang sighed, shaking his head and turning back around.

Ye Yu sat quietly in the back. This scene had played out countless times; she was used to it and did not offer any comment.

After getting out of the car, the two followed the butler inside. Zhou’s mother was already waiting in the living room and immediately came over when she saw them return.

“Xiaoyu must be tired. Hurry up and put your schoolbag down,” Zhou’s mother’s face showed no trace of age; she smiled gently and kindly. “Come here and let Auntie look. Have you grown taller again?”

Zhou Meize interjected to spoil the atmosphere, “You saw each other just last month.”

Zhou’s mother exclaimed, “Seventeen is when a child is growing. They can shoot up in a month! You have the nerve to say that. Why haven’t you been home in a month!”

“I’m back now, aren’t I?” Zhou Meize threw off her schoolbag, replied perfunctorily, and headed straight upstairs.

Zhou’s mother called out, “Dinner is about to start! What are you doing upstairs!”

Zhou Meize didn’t look back. “I’m going to take a shower first. You guys eat without me.”

“This child,” Zhou’s mother frowned and withdrew her gaze, then smiled apologetically at Ye Yu. “I spoiled her when she was little. She’s probably a bit tired from just getting back. Let’s eat first and not wait for her.”

Ye Yu smiled understandingly. “Classes have been quite busy lately. She must be tired.”

Hearing about the stress of classes, Zhou’s mother immediately took Ye Yu’s hand and asked if she was keeping up, what her teacher’s name was, how she got along with her classmates at school, and about her sleep quality. She inquired about everything in detail.

Ye Yu answered with her head down, without the slightest impatience.

While they talked, Zhou’s mother led her to the dining table, placed all her favorite dishes from childhood in front of her, and urged her to eat more.

“Xiaoyu has always been so thin. High school is too tiring. You must eat more to keep yourself healthy.”

“I’ve seen the calligraphy Xiaoyu wrote for the mid-term exam. It’s truly beautiful. Auntie thinks you’re wonderful.”

“Xiaoyu, if Xiaoze bullies you, you must tell me. With her bad temper, I certainly won’t let you suffer any injustice.”

Zhou’s mother was garrulous and long-winded. Throughout the meal, her voice echoed in Ye Yu’s ears. That pure, heartfelt care carried the sincere love of a mother in every single word.

It was the most genuine and simple concern from a mother. Ye Yu hadn’t experienced much of it since she was a child. The rare moments she had experienced almost always came from this “other person’s mother” in front of her. Yet, her own daughter, who was blessed, did not know how lucky she was, resented her discipline, distorted her concern into control, and recklessly distanced and alienated herself from her.

“Godmother,” Ye Yu really couldn’t eat anymore. She interrupted Zhou’s mother’s intention to bring her a plate of strawberry shortcake and said to Aunt Sun, “Please pack it for me. I’ll take it back later.”

Aunt Sun immediately smiled and went to the kitchen to pack it for her.

Zhou’s mother paused, then quickly nodded. “Indeed, you shouldn’t eat too much. You used to have food accumulation when you were little, and eating too much makes it hard to digest.”

Ye Yu wanted to coax the woman in front of her into smiling more. She thought for a while, then suddenly spotted the cat squatting on the side waiting for them to finish eating. A thought flashed in her mind. “Godmother, shouldn’t Emma be bathed?”

After dinner on Friday night, Ye Yu accompanied Zhou’s mother to personally bathe and dry the cat, and together they clipped its nails and trimmed its paw fur. They were busy until ten o’clock that evening before Ye Yu finally got into the car to go home.

Zhou’s mother stood at the door, reluctant to part. Her own daughter was not close to her, and she genuinely liked Ye Yu. She wished Ye Yu would marry in tomorrow and keep her company. As Ye Yu was leaving, she held her hand tightly. “Xiaoyu, Godmother is hoping you graduate from college early. Get your marriage license right after graduation, and Godmother will wait to travel the world with you.”

Ye Yu smiled, curving her eyebrows, and said softly, “Why wait until college graduation? We have three months off after the college entrance exam. Let’s tour Europe first.”

Zhou’s mother smiled broadly. “That’s a wonderful idea!”

“If your parents weren’t waiting for you at home,” Zhou’s mother said, “I would really keep you here overnight.”

Ye Yu patted Zhou’s mother’s hand. “I’ll come back to see you next week.”

“No need. Your studies are intense. Coming back every week is too tiring,” Zhou’s mother sighed, apparently thinking of something else. “Look at Xiaoze, she doesn’t want to come back. She finds me annoying even once a month. I don’t know how to communicate with teenagers anymore.”

Ye Yu lowered her eyes and said nothing.

“Sigh, it’s getting late. Hurry up and go back.” Zhou’s mother’s eyes were a little moist. She released Ye Yu’s hand and had Butler Yang drive her home. “Be careful on the road!”

Ye Yu sat in the car going home. Butler Yang apologized to her the whole way for Zhou Meize’s lack of sense.

“That’s just how Xiaoze is. We will talk to her. Please don’t take it to heart.”

Ye Yu shook her head. “Uncle Yang, we are good friends. I won’t mind these small things. But we should find a time to talk about it. Godmother really misses her. She can’t just hide in her room as soon as she gets home; it’s not right.”

Butler Yang sighed deeply. “There’s nothing to be done. Children grow up and want independence, they want to leave their parents, but Madam still dotes on her like a small child.”

“Isn’t being a child good?” Ye Yu’s voice was almost inaudible, almost to herself. “Having someone to dote on you, isn’t that good?”

She had never been treated this way since she was little.

Butler Yang didn’t hear her last sentence. The two families didn’t live far from each other; the drive was only ten minutes.

As they turned a corner, due to a road blockage, Butler Yang drove the car onto another small road.

“Is this the route that circles behind my house?” Ye Yu asked.

“Yes, there’s a small road in the back, all with un-demolished low-rise houses,” Butler Yang explained to her. “The road ahead is blocked, so taking this route is quicker.”

Ye Yu nodded, just about to look away, when she suddenly paused as she glimpsed someone by the side of the road.

Fang Zhile got off the last bus. Her shoulder-length hair was a little messy, her face carried a faint, almost imperceptible fatigue, and she was walking forward with her backpack on.

She looked like a lonely, deeply tired… big mushroom walking into the night.