HR Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Upon receiving the woman’s call, Lu Qingshuang remained silent for a long while.

The other end also fell silent.

Nie Zhiping took a nervous, deep breath, carefully choosing her words as she spoke softly, “I bought movie tickets. Come out, and I’ll go with you to watch it.” Feeling that her tone wasn’t gentle enough, she quickly added, “Okay? Yoyo?”

The almost pleading tone made Lu Qingshuang feel even more uncomfortable. He was no longer the little boy who could cheer over a movie. No matter how many movies he watched, no matter how wonderful they were, they meant nothing to him.

The opportune moment, once missed, was missed forever, irreparable.

But that was, after all, a wish he had once yearned for in his youth, a wish that had never been fulfilled. Lu Qingshuang didn’t directly refuse, only saying, “I’m in rehab now, I can’t go out for too long.”

“Not long, not long, it’s no problem.” Her surprise and joy were evident. Nie Zhiping grinned, smiling like a child who had received a lot of candy, fine lines crinkling at the corners of her eyes, her mouth turned upwards in happiness.

“The movie starts at seven in the evening, I’ll wait for you at the entrance of the cinema.” Nie Zhiping carefully instructed, ” Tianjia Cinema, East Gate. I’ll wait for you near the ticket booth at the East Gate. You, don’t be late.”

“I know, I won’t be late.” After saying that, he hung up. Lu Qingshuang exhaled.

If Nie Zhiping acted like she had done nothing wrong, was innocent, or blameless, Lu Qingshuang would definitely refuse without hesitation, severing all ties with this woman. But she insisted on acting like she was guilty, like she was sorry and begging for forgiveness, humble and devout.

After all, she was his mother, a woman who once held him in the palm of her hand, who once tried hard to create a world for him, and who once brought him joy. Just remembering this one good thing was enough for Lu Qingshuang to forgive her.

Lu Jianwei didn’t quite agree with Lu Qingshuang going out at this time. His drug withdrawal was unstable and unpredictable, and if his addiction flared up during his outing, it would be very troublesome.

Lu Qingshuang insisted on going out, glancing at Lu Jianwei and coldly asking, “Do you want me to be like Nie Zhiping back then, breaking my promise to others?”

Lu Jianwei frowned in displeasure, his tone unkind as he said, “Yoyo, your addiction hasn’t been completely kicked. The possibility of relapse is one hundred percent.”

“Whatever you want. If you want me to use, I’ll use. If you want me to quit, I’ll quit.” Lu Qingshuang seemed to have a “nothing to lose” attitude. Lu Jianwei was even more displeased, but said nothing more.

At six thirty, Lu Qingshuang left on time, only to see Lu Jianwei’s car parked at the door, gesturing to him.

“You’re going too?” Lu Qingshuang was very unwilling.

Lu Jianwei didn’t speak. Only after Lu Qingshuang got into the car did he start the engine and speed off. Lu Qingshuang was jostled back and forth, his forehead hitting the back of the seat, and he almost shed tears.

Lu Qingshuang discovered that ever since Lu Jianwei confessed to him, he had become particularly prone to tears. Just thinking of Lu Jianwei’s coldness made his eyes heat up, and when he recalled Lu Jianwei’s previous ruthless treatment of him, tears would fall uncontrollably.

Lu Qingshuang didn’t dare let Lu Jianwei see. He already had a feminine face, and if he cried like a woman, Lu Jianwei probably wouldn’t like it.

So most of the time Lu Qingshuang endured it, but he couldn’t bear it when it came to trivial matters. And here it was, tears falling again, unable to be wiped away in time.

A large pack of tissues was thrown from the front. Lu Qingshuang grabbed it and hugged it in his arms, pulling out a few sheets to cover his nose and blow his nose.

Before, Lu Qingshuang refused to lose face in front of Lu Jianwei, always dressing up flamboyantly, always like a rooster ready to enter battle at any moment. But now, he had a “an ugly daughter-in-law or a beautiful daughter-in-law is still a daughter-in-law” kind of degenerate state.

Lu Jianwei didn’t have much to say about his image, but he had a lot to say about these tears: “I didn’t realize you were such a crybaby before. When I treated you harshly, you only shed two tears silently. What’s wrong now? Is there a problem with your tear ducts?”

Lu Qingshuang glared at Lu Jianwei with red eyes, and the tears instantly disappeared without a trace. With such a heavy hand to ruin the atmosphere, who would shed tears?

When the redness in his eyes subsided, the car stopped steadily at the East Gate of Tianjia Cinema. Through the car window, he already saw that thin figure waiting by the roadside.

Lu Jianwei withdrew his gaze, took out a cigarette to light, glanced at Lu Qingshuang, and threw it back. His hand lightly tapped on the steering wheel: “Go ahead, I’ll wait for you here. Come out immediately if you feel something is wrong.”

Lu Qingshuang got out of the car, bent down and said to Lu Jianwei, “Why don’t you come in with me? Won’t you be bored here?” Seeing the ridicule in Lu Jianwei’s eyes, Lu Qingshuang’s expression became embarrassed, and he turned and left.

Lu Jianwei lowered the car window and watched Lu Qingshuang walk towards the woman’s side. He picked up the cigarette, lit it, and took a deep puff, only raising the car window after the two people entered the cinema.

The cinema was very crowded, almost full. The film was an art-house romance film, with a lingering and tortuous love between a man and a woman. Although it was full of vicissitudes and helplessness after the passage of time, it was still beautiful as ever in the eyes of the lovers.

Nie Zhiping bought popcorn, one bucket each, holding it in their arms, occasionally eating a couple of pieces to avoid embarrassment due to the unspoken silence.

If it was Lu Qingshuang at that age, they should be watching cartoons or martial arts films, not this kind of sentimental love film. For them, who had once sold themselves for a living, it was even a kind of irony.

Nie Zhiping felt deeply helpless, her heart full of bitterness. She looked at Lu Qingshuang several times, wanting to say something, but couldn’t open her mouth. All the way until they walked out of the cinema, their dialogue consisted only of one sentence when they met.

“Yoyo, you’re here.”

“Yeah, it’s about to start, let’s go in.”

They were mother and son, biological mother and son, but they had nothing to say.

“Yoyo, Mom has something to say to you.” Nie Zhiping never dared to call herself Mom, fearing that she would see disgust in Lu Qingshuang’s eyes. Fortunately, Lu Qingshuang’s expression was indifferent, and didn’t show any signs of dislike. Nie Zhiping breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the black Bentley parked on the side of the road, and boldly made a request: “Walk with me for a while, okay? There’s a park not far ahead, let’s go sit there.”

Lu Qingshuang didn’t speak, but withdrew his footsteps towards the Bentley and walked towards the park that Nie Zhiping had mentioned. Lu Qingshuang had passed by that park before, and it looked nice.

Nie Zhiping silently and carefully walked step by step beside Lu Qingshuang, her head lowered, not knowing what she was thinking. She was staggered by a person walking towards them, Lu Qingshuang quickly reached out to help, blurting out, “Mom, be careful!”

Nie Zhiping was shocked and stunned in place. She never thought that Lu Qingshuang would still call her Mom.

Lu Qingshuang regretted his actions, withdrew his hand, and strode forward. After a while, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind him, and the hem of his clothes was gently tugged by a pair of hands that were no longer fair and tender.

Lu Qingshuang looked down, pretended not to see, and continued to walk forward.

There were benches in the park. They chose a quieter place to sit. Nie Zhiping seemed to have thought about what to say and awkwardly opened her mouth: “Are you doing well now? You must have suffered a lot these past few years, right? I heard you were using drugs, he made you use them.”

“Yeah, I’m in rehab now.” Lu Qingshuang said it lightly: “I’m doing fine.”

Nie Zhiping still wanted to say something, but in front of the Lu Qingshuang who was neither sad nor happy, all those grievances and injustices disappeared. She knew that her Yoyo was more qualified to be dissatisfied, but he wasn’t, he accepted it calmly, and she seemed to have no need or qualification to be dissatisfied.

“Is there anything else you want to say? Say it all today.” Lu Qingshuang had been outside for too long, it was time to go back, and Lu Jianwei was still waiting for him in the car.

Hearing Lu Qingshuang’s intention to leave, Nie Zhiping was a little nervous, staring at Lu Qingshuang’s face that resembled her own, slightly lost in thought, and vaguely asked, “Yoyo, have you fallen in love with Lu Jianwei?”

“Yes.” Lu Qingshuang was like he would answer any question. Nie Zhiping couldn’t help but sigh, and said tentatively, “You guys aren’t suitable. He’s already 55, and you’re only 27. You’re 28 years apart in age, he could be your grandfather in a normal family.”

“Age is not a problem.” Lu Qingshuang gave his answer after Nie Zhiping finished speaking.

Nie Zhiping lowered her head and didn’t speak, not knowing what she was thinking. She suddenly asked, “Do you think he ever liked me, even a little bit?”

After asking, she laughed first. A mother asking her son, did your man ever like me? Just thinking about it was ridiculous. Lu Qingshuang couldn’t help but show the first smile since they met today.

But Nie Zhiping thought of an even more serious problem: “Does he like you? Does he mind that you were once…”

Lu Qingshuang understood the words she didn’t finish. He didn’t know if Lu Jianwei minded that he was once a prostitute, but he knew that Lu Jianwei liked him now. To reassure this woman who was sincerely worried about him, Lu Qingshuang told a small lie: “Don’t worry, he admits that he likes me and can’t live without me.”

It was really time to go. Lu Qingshuang embraced Nie Zhiping and said calmly, “Live a good life from now on, your son can’t be with you.”

Nie Zhiping’s tears flowed down her face, and she nodded heavily: “I will take care of myself, you take good care of yourself. Mom is sorry to you, I didn’t care about you before because of myself, I’m content that you don’t hate Mom.”

Lu Qingshuang gently hummed, wiped Nie Zhiping’s tears, got up and strode away, without saying another word of farewell.

Nie Zhiping watched the increasingly distant figure with teary eyes, and couldn’t help but cry out, “Yoyo, Yoyo…”