Zhan Jie turned around, looked at Zhan Xi coldly, and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Attend... an exhibition." Zhan Xi replied.
"What the hell are you wearing?" Zhan Jie asked again, his tone full of disgust.
Zhan Xi looked at her dress and said, "Hanfu, many girls on the street are wearing it now, isn't it beautiful? It's our traditional dress."
Zhan Jie: “…”
He pointed at Luo Jingyu: "Who is he?"
Zhan Xi glanced at Xiaoyu and didn't dare to answer.
Zhan Jie's voice became louder: "Let me ask you who he is?!"
He thought, this is weird, the boy never raised his head, as if he couldn't hear anything.
Zhan Xi plucked up his courage and said, "My boyfriend."
Zhan Jie was choked, his eyes widened: "When did you get a boyfriend? How long have you been dating?"
"Talking..." Zhan Xi pursed her lips and tugged at the hem of her skirt, whispering, "We met at the end of November last year, and started dating at the end of February this year. We've been dating for five months."
Zhan Jie's head was about to explode. He took a deep breath, recalled that time period and shouted: "Oh! You had to move out because of him?" He lowered his voice and said, "You two are living together?"
"No!" Zhan Xi answered confidently at this time, "We are just friends, no ...
Zhan Jie really didn’t believe it. At this moment, Luo Jingyu looked up.
Huh? Another man is chatting with Huanhuan
Before he could think of anything, Zhan Jie and Zhan Xi were already looking at him together. The three of them met eyes, and each of them had complicated feelings.
Zhan Xi saw that his elder brother had a bad look on his face and felt that he was going to fight, so he quickly grabbed Zhan Jie's arm again: "Brother, brother! Listen to me first, listen to me first!"
Luo Jingyu: “?”
He couldn't see Zhan Xi's lip reading, but his intuition told him something was wrong. Just as he was about to stand up, Zhan Xi anxiously turned around and signed to him: Don't come over here, this is my brother!
Luo Jingyu didn't dare to move: "!"
Zhan Jie: “??!!”
Zhan Xi dragged Zhan Jie out of the booth and said, "Brother, let's talk somewhere else. Listen to my explanation."
Zhan Jie was completely stunned. What did he see? Was he seeing it right? His sister didn't say anything to the boy, but gestured with her hands. What was that? Sign language
That man is deaf-mute? No way?!
The two came to a secluded corner of the exhibition hall. As soon as they stood there, Zhan Jie asked angrily: "Is that man deaf?!"
Zhan Xi saw that he couldn't hide it anymore, so he nodded and said, "Well, he can't hear, but don't call him 'deaf', it's discrimination."
"You!" Zhan Jie pointed at her with trembling fingers, and his words were almost unclear. "What kind of magic potion did you drink? Are you crazy, Zhan Xi?! There are so many men in this world, why do you want to find a deaf man? Tell me, are you just playing around? Because he looks so handsome?"
Zhan Xi slumped his shoulders and said, "I'm not kidding, brother! He's a very nice guy and treats me very well. Apart from his hearing loss, there's nothing wrong with him. I'm very happy with him. I didn't tell you before... I was just afraid that you wouldn't agree. Mom would definitely not agree, but I really like him."
Zhan Jie was going crazy: "You knew we didn't agree, but you still wanted to find him? What are you doing? Do you want to go to the tiger mountain even though you know there is a tiger there? Or do you have to go against mom? Would you be happy if you pissed her off to death? Are you in your rebellious period? Isn't your rebellious period a little too late?"
"I didn't!" Zhan Xiyou was helpless, "What can I do if I just like him? I actually broke up with him before, but I was afraid that mom would not agree. I was very sad after the breakup, so I thought about him every day. Later, we got together, and we were really good friends. You don't know him, but once you know him, you will like him."
Zhan Jie said loudly: "I am fucking sick! There is no way I would like him! He is a deaf man, a disabled person! What about you? Look at yourself, you have been praised for your beauty since you were a child, but you can't find a man? My brother-in-law can't be deaf! Don't say that mom doesn't agree! I won't agree either!"
Zhan Xi looked at him, his face darkening: "I told you not to call him 'deaf' anymore. People with poor hearing don't like others calling them that."
Zhan Jie was speechless: "Then what should I call him? A handsome guy with bad hearing?"
"His name is Luo Jingyu," Zhan Xi said. "Luo means camel, Jing means quiet, and Yu means language. His nickname is Xiaoyu, so everyone calls him Xiaoyu."
"..." Zhan Jie roared, "I didn't ask you what his name was!"
The two of them stared at each other in silence for a while, and Zhan Xi asked, "Why are you here? Does mom know?"
This was the problem she was most worried about. She was afraid that Zhan Jie was sent by his mother to take the lead, as if Chi Guilan would rush to the venue in the next second, and Zhan Xi was not ready to confront his mother head-on.
Zhan Jie put his hands on his hips and panted: "Mom doesn't know."
Zhan Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dad saw you in the newspaper and called me secretly." Zhan Jie calmed his breath, "Did you see what was written in the newspaper? A young couple did something, and dad asked me to come and see what you were up to!"
Zhan Xi pouted and said, "We are working very hard on the exhibition. Xiaoyu's job is to do the hot stamping. You saw it just now. Look, this is the hot stamping on my hairpin."
She took off the lotus hairpin and showed it to Zhan Jie. Zhan Jie didn't understand either. He just thought it was something girls liked. How could a man do this
Seeing his brother holding the hairpin without saying anything, Zhan Xi said, "Brother, although Xiaoyu is hard of hearing, he has a job, which can be considered a career, and the income is not bad. Today is the last day of our exhibition, and I don't want anything to go wrong. So, I'll give you the address of his studio. You can come and have a look when you are free. You two can chat and you will know what kind of person he is."
Zhan Jie raised his head: "How can I talk to him? He can't hear me!"
"I can help you translate." Zhan Xi said, "I have learned sign language."
Zhan Jie opened his mouth in disbelief.
"Don't tell Dad yet." Zhan Xi took the hairpin back from his brother and put it back into his bun. "Really, brother, today is not the right occasion. We are very busy and can't talk to you too much. You have a preconceived prejudice against him, so it won't be a good conversation. Come over some other day and I'll talk to you. Believe me, Xiaoyu is really good."
Zhan Jie squinted his eyes and looked at his sister. She looked pretty good, her face was rosy, and she wasn't as thin as she was during the Chinese New Year. He asked again, "You two...really don't live together?"
Zhan Xi looked up at the sky: "Really not! Believe me, Xiaoyu respects me very much."
Zhan Jie also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were not living together and there was no such thing, there was still room for maneuver.
He threatened: "If he dares to do anything to you, believe it or not, I will tear him apart right now!"
Zhan Xi muttered: "You may not be able to beat him. You are not even as tall as him."
"Bullshit!" Zhan Jie was unconvinced, "He's not even as strong as me!"
Zhan Xi glanced at him and said, "You are fat."
"You!" Zhan Jie was so angry, "Can't you see that I have lost ten pounds?"
After he said that, Zhan Xi realized that Zhan Jie had really lost a lot of weight. It was probably because there was no one to cook for him after the divorce, and the food standard had dropped too much.
"Brother, how have you been lately?" Zhan Xi expressed his concern to him weakly.
"You still remember that you have a brother like me?" Zhan Jie snorted coldly, "I asked you to come for dinner but you refused to come. I was wondering, it turns out that you have a partner, huh."
"I'm busy. I've been busy with this exhibition for more than half a month. I haven't had a single day off." Zhan Xi took Zhan Jie's arm and led him out. "It's rare for you to come here, so go somewhere else. Just tell me in advance when you're going to Xiaoyu's place."
Zhan Jie said, "I'll go after get off work tomorrow."
"What?!" Zhan Xi was stunned. "Come tomorrow?"
"You said the exhibition will end today!" Zhan Jie said angrily, "Why? Do you want to delay it? Do you think I want to intervene in your affairs? If mom finds out, you won't even know how he and you died! I advise you to break up with him as soon as possible, and don't let mom know. People with deaf... bad hearing definitely can't do that, really can't do that! Huanhuan, you have a brain problem too, you want a world war so badly? I won't care about you then, I'm too lazy to care about mom now."
He poked his sister's head and pouted: "Okay, you can tell me tomorrow when you come. Brother, please keep it a secret for me and don't tell Dad. I'm afraid he'll let it slip. Just say Xiaoyu is a good guy. I'll try to get along with him first. If we get along well, I'll tell them myself."
"Are you dreaming? Will mom agree if we get along well?" Zhan Jie thought his sister was too naive. "Although mom has always asked you to find a partner in the system, I also think it's a bit too much. There are many excellent men in all walks of life now, but disabled people are really not an option! Huanhuan, how can we bring this home? We will be laughed at by others. How can you, a good girl, find such a person?"
Zhan Xi's voice also got louder: "Why are you alone? Why are you alone? I think Xiaoyu is good in every way! Oh, I won't talk to you anymore. If you think he is not good when you come tomorrow, go tell mom and dad! I will tell them myself. I will tell them sooner or later anyway."
Zhan Jie looked at her for a long time and asked, "Are you determined on him? Have you ever thought that if our mother always dislikes him, even if you elope with him, you two might get divorced in a few years, just like Qin Fei and I."
Zhan Xi looked at him coldly: "You and Qin Fei divorced because you didn't protect her. If you had protected her, would you two have been able to get divorced? And me! I will protect Xiaoyu!"
Zhan Jie was choked and speechless.
Zhan Xi finally sent her brother away. She thought that as long as her mother didn't know, she wouldn't be so nervous about her brother and father. After all, they could make sense and would not do anything excessive or hurt Xiaoyu for no reason.
Back at the booth, Luo Jingyu's presentation was almost over.
Zhan Xi had been away for a short while when he encountered some difficulties. Someone asked him a question, and he could understand the other person's lip language, but his hands could not stop moving, so he could not answer, and could only use simple sign language to tell the other person that he was deaf and could not speak.
Everyone watching him make flowers was very surprised. They had never realized that this handsome young man was actually deaf-mute, and they started whispering to each other.
Luo Jingyu felt like sitting on pins and needles, desperately hoping that Zhan Xi would come back soon. He was the only one in the booth, and he looked up at the many strangers in front of him, who were like a dark mountain pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe. He once again wished that he could be invisible, and didn't want to spend any more time, just wanted to find a place to hide.
Fortunately, just when he was about to give up, Zhan Xi came back.
The moment she saw her lotus-pink figure, Luo Jingyu realized how much she could not live without her.
—
The three-day exhibition officially came to an end, and Zhan Xi and Luo Jingyu did not go to other booths in the end. The boy who made pottery came over again and invited Zhan Xi to go and play quickly, otherwise it would be over.
Luo Jingyu looked grumpy, Zhan Xi said to the boy: "I'm sorry, I can't leave here, I'll come to your studio next time I have a chance."
The boy gave her a business card and said, "My place is actually a pottery bar. Drinks are served on the first floor, and pottery is made on the second floor. Just send me a WeChat message before you come."
Zhan Xi took it and saw the name printed on the business card - Tian Jun. He smiled and said, "Okay, thank you Teacher Tian. I will go if I have the chance."
It took a long time to pack up, and Zhan Xi contacted a truck to take the screen and other stools and materials to Luo Jingyu's house. He had an empty guest room that he used as a warehouse.
They took a taxi and followed the truck. On the way, Zhan Xi told Luo Jingyu that her brother Zhan Jie would visit Luo Jingyu's home the next evening.
Luo Jingyu: “…”
He was so surprised! He was shocked when he saw Zhan Jie before, and was suddenly told that he would formally meet his "brother-in-law" the next day. He was really a little overwhelmed.
"Don't be nervous." Zhan Xi comforted him, "My brother should be eating dinner, just act like you usually do. Don't worry, if he dares to beat you, I will scold him."
Luo Jingyu: “?”
Is there still a chance of getting beaten
He recalled the painful experience of being beaten by Ji Hongzhe when he was a child. He could neither run away nor fight back, and was always defeated by the little boys in the yard.
That night, Zhan Xi was too tired to stay on the 15th floor and went back to the 8th floor. After taking a shower, Luo Jingyu received a WeChat message from Fang Xu, asking him when he would start designing custom clothes for the Hanfu Festival after the exhibition was over.
Luo Jingyu thought for a while and answered—
What a big fish: I am not free tomorrow, it’s 3 days away, I will send you the sample on the 23rd.
Fang Xu: 23rd, it can’t be any later.
Luo Jingyu sat on the sofa blankly for a few minutes, took out her cell phone and sent a WeChat message to Gao Yuan, saying that she wanted to have a video chat with her brother-in-law.
He is Gao Yuan's brother-in-law. Luo Jingyu was there when Gao Yuan came to their house for the first time. He was only in his early twenties at that time and was very curious to see what kind of partner his sister had found.
Gao Yuan has a bad leg. He suffered from myelitis when he was a teenager, which made his lower limbs not very strong. But he always insisted on using crutches more often instead of sitting in a wheelchair. Luo Mingsong lives on the fourth floor, and there is no elevator. From the first time he came to his house until now, Gao Yuan has always insisted on going upstairs with crutches, without any complaints.
At first, his parents did not agree with this marriage because Gao Yuan was both hearing and disabled. They always felt that he and Luo Xiaomei were not a good match, and it was hard to say who would be a burden to whom.
Later, the whole family got to know Gao Yuan better and knew that he was honest and simple, and that he was particularly fond of Luo Xiaomei, so they gradually accepted him.
Luo Jingyu wanted to ask her brother-in-law for advice on how to face her girlfriend's family. He was too nervous, after all, his girlfriend's family were all hearing, and he felt that it would be difficult for him to get through this stage.
Gao Yuan signed to him in the video: Xiaoyu, just behave like you usually do. You are a very good boy. You should let your girlfriend's brother know that you will take good care of his sister and will not let her suffer any grievances. Then, don't put yourself down too much. Remember to talk about your own strengths and give yourself extra points.
Luo Jingyu was very confused: What are my strengths
Gao Yuan laughed for a long time at the other end: Just tell them how much you can earn a year and how much your house is worth now. I believe my brother-in-law, people are very realistic, and economic conditions are definitely one of the key points of the investigation!
Luo Jingyu frowned in doubt: Really
Gao Yuan: Really! Remember to praise yourself, don’t be too modest!
—
The next morning at 6 o'clock, Luo Jingyu got up and prepared to clean the house.
I haven't had much time to clean recently, so the house is a bit messy. Luo Jingyu climbed up and down to do the work, and cleaned the kitchen, balcony and bathroom. All the countertops and floors were sparkling.
The gift kept following him everywhere. Luo Jingyu pointed at the kitten and said in sign language: Huanhuan's brother is coming to visit tonight. You have to be good and don't make any trouble.
Gift: "Meow~"
At noon, Luo Jingyu went out to do some shopping under the scorching sun and bought a bunch of ingredients for dinner, as well as fruits and snacks. After she brought them home, she found Zhan Xi coming and staring at his house in a daze.
"Oh my God! What time did you get up?" Zhan Xi slept until noon and followed Luo Jingyu into the kitchen. He watched him take things out of the bag one by one. This man actually bought a lot of seafood and it seemed that he spent a lot of money.
Luo Jingyu smiled and signed to her: It's your brother, eat well.
Zhan Xi was touched, hugged his waist and looked up, saying coquettishly: "Xiao Yu, you are so nice."
Luo Jingyu kissed her on the mouth, then shook her head with helplessness in her eyes.
Zhan Xi said in a coquettish voice: "No, you are really good."
Luo Jingyu's smile gradually disappeared. He broke free from Zhan Xi's arms and said in sign language: I'm afraid your brother doesn't like me because I can't hear.
"It's enough that I like you." Zhan Xi hugged him again, "My brother's own marriage is a mess, how can he be qualified to control me?"
Luo Jingyu didn't understand the word "qualified". She imitated the lip shape of "enough" with her lips and her eyes were full of doubt.
Zhan Xi laughed and thought he should use sign language to tell him: What I mean is, my brother can’t control me, no one can control me, I have to decide my own affairs.
Luo Jingyu blinked and asked anxiously: Will he really hit me
Zhan Xile was so happy that he shook his head: "Don't worry, it won't happen."
In the afternoon, Luo Jingyu took a shower, changed into a white T-shirt and sports trousers, and looked at himself in the mirror. His hairstyle was okay, as it had just been cut. His beard was also shaved cleanly. Looking at his eyebrows and facial features, he was considered a handsome young man... right
He signed to the person in the mirror: Don't be nervous, Xiaoyu, be more confident, you can bring happiness to Huanhuan.
Zhan Jie left work early and drove to Qingque Jiayuan. He went to the eighth floor first with a bag of fruit. Zhan Xi was waiting for him at 802.
He insisted on going to his sister's house to confirm that Zhan Xi was indeed not living with that man. After walking around the house, Zhan Jie believed it.
He could still tell whether someone lived in a house or not. Besides, if Zhan Xi lived with someone, why didn't he vacate the house
After leaving 802, the brother and sister took the elevator to the 15th floor. In order to avoid suspicion, Zhan Xi did not use the key to open the door, but pressed the doorbell of 1504.
Zhan Jie asked: "Can he hear the doorbell?"
Zhan Xi glanced at him and said, "The doorbell is connected to a light. When you press it, the light will turn on. He has some minor troubles in his life, but they can be solved if you think of a way. This is the age of technology."
At this time, Luo Jingyu opened the door, and Zhan Jie stood and met him for the first time. His first reaction was that this man was quite tall and handsome, and he really had the kind of appearance that girls liked.
Luo Jingyu's nervousness was almost reaching its peak. She gestured to Zhan Jie and his sister to come into the house and brought them slippers. Her whole body was tense and Zhan Xi felt that he was about to walk incoherently.
After entering the room, Zhan Xi introduced them to each other first. Luo Jingyu hesitated for a moment and extended her right hand to Zhan Jie.
Zhan Jie stared at his hand without moving: "..."
Zhan Xi patted him, and he reluctantly shook hands with Luo Jingyu. Luo Jingyu even shook his left hand, and shook it up and down vigorously. He couldn't call for help, so he could only express his respect with his eyes.
Zhan Jie had the illusion that he was being warmly shaken hands with by his fellow villagers at the grassroots level.
Zhan Xi suppressed his laughter and said to Zhan Jie, "Brother, you can talk to Xiaoyu. He can read lips. Just speak slowly."
After introducing each other, Zhan Jie still had a stern face and didn't say a word. Luo Jingyu felt very embarrassed, so she made a few signs to Zhan Xi.
Zhan Jie looked at him coldly, and saw his sister nodded slightly and answered in sign language, then turned to him and said, "Brother, Xiaoyu said he would go to cook first, so let me show you his house, and we will have dinner soon."
Zhan Jie said in a cold tone: "I don't want to eat. I'll leave in a while."
Zhan Xi complained, "It's already half past six. Where are you going to eat if you don't want to eat now? Xiaoyu has prepared a lot of dishes, some of them are already ready."
She pointed to the three hot dishes already on the table: deep-fried hairtail, steamed swimming crab, and Huadiao chicken.
Zhan Jie swallowed his saliva: Gurgle.