What Are Your Tastes? chapter 42
An Unexpected Visitor
“If you meet the right person, I would wish you well too.”
Lu Yunchu wore a helmet, the brim casting a shadow above his nose.
“Let’s talk about that when it happens.” He lifted his head, all his unspoken thoughts dissipating with his distant gaze until he saw the edge of the forest up ahead. “We should head back, right?”
“Sure.” Zhou Yanchuan pulled the reins, turning his horse. His horse obediently took a few steps, but his companion’s horse didn’t follow.
He turned around immediately.
Lu Yunchu’s horse hadn’t turned and was still in the same spot, suddenly raising its front legs in fright.
“Lu Yunchu!” Zhou Yanchuan started to move forward, but the horse quickly dropped its hooves and bolted in the opposite direction.
In the chaos, Lu Yunchu lay low, hugging the horse’s neck tightly. The jolting was much more intense than before, but the horse soon calmed down, resuming its slow pace.
Zhou Yanchuan caught up, and Lu Yunchu straightened up, waving back at him.
Even knowing the other was wearing a helmet and armor and that the sandy ground wasn’t hard, Zhou Yanchuan was still shaken by the sudden incident, his mind briefly blank.
“Good thing Xiao Wang taught me what to do in emergencies,” Lu Yunchu’s expression remained unchanged, “I rode well, didn’t I?”
“…Yeah,” Zhou Yanchuan’s heart was still pounding wildly. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. “Are you alright?”
“You saw it yourself, I didn’t fall off,” Lu Yunchu glanced at his somewhat pale face, “Anyone who didn’t know might think you were the one who almost fell.”
Zhou Yanchuan didn’t deny it. If he had been the one in that situation, he might not have been so alarmed, but for some reason, he felt an urge to get closer, almost riding side by side with Lu Yunchu.
It was almost mealtime, so they didn’t ride back to the main road. The side path they took also led to the stables, just a bit further.
The stable’s restaurant was a two-story building beside a small artificial lake, and Zhou Yanchuan had reserved a window seat with a view of the lake.
“The food here is quite natural,” he said, familiar with the place from his many visits.
Lu Yunchu had noticed during their morning ride that the stables included a vegetable garden. Not everyone came here just for the horseback riding; some came for the farmhouse dishes or to enjoy the lakeside scenery and relax.
The restaurant’s vegetables were home-grown, and the meat was also mostly sourced from local farms, natural and healthy. The menu changed frequently, and Zhou Yanchuan always found something new each time he visited.
This was Lu Yunchu’s first time here, and he was looking forward to the fresh local produce. After a morning of moderate activity in the sun, his cheeks had a light rosy tint.
The riding incident had left Zhou Yanchuan a bit shaken, and he held his phone, feeling dazed.
He heard the sound of tea being poured and saw Lu Yunchu filling his cup. He took a silent breath and nonchalantly asked, “How about the braised chicken?”
“Sure.”
“How about stir-fried three-color lilies?”
“Sounds good.”
He picked each dish, confirming with Lu Yunchu, and it took them seven or eight minutes to order everything.
Lu Yunchu propped his chin on his hand, glancing toward the lake where a few children were feeding the fish. He seemed to be lost in thought and murmured, “It’s almost New Year.”
“Yeah,” Zhou Yanchuan was about to ask about his New Year plans, so he followed up, “Are you spending New Year alone here?”
“Yeah,” Lu Yunchu spread his arms in a gesture of ‘nothing to do about it’, “What about you?”
“I’m pretty much the same…” Zhou Yanchuan didn’t mention that An Wan had invited him for New Year’s Eve dinner, instead watching Lu Yunchu’s expression.
“Why don’t we spend it together?” they both said almost in unison and then shared a smile.
Spending New Year together for two people who weren’t much for big celebrations meant just having a simple meal together. They didn’t discuss the topic further but reached an unspoken agreement.
Having promised Lu Yunchu, Zhou Yanchuan told Mo Ziyang at work the next day that he had plans for New Year.
“I’ll visit Auntie on the third day of New Year.”
“Who is it that’s so important you’d ditch my mom for them?” Mo Ziyang sniffed out the gossip, “Is it that female friend who had a crush on you?”
“Knock it off, she didn’t have a crush on me,” Zhou Yanchuan was amazed at his intuition, “And it’s not…it’s a guy.”
“Oh, not her then…” Mo Ziyang, straightforward as always, ruled out the possibility it was the same person when he heard it was a man, losing interest in probing further.
Zhou Yanchuan didn’t bother explaining and continued with his work.
As New Year approached, Zhou Yanchuan visited the cemetery on a weekend before the holiday. His parents were now buried together in a cemetery in the western suburbs.
He tidied the area around the grave, replaced the offerings with fresh fruits and flowers, lit incense, bowed, and then stood quietly for a while, hearing someone softly sobbing behind him.
Crying in a cemetery was understandable, perhaps someone had recently lost a loved one.
Zhou Yanchuan felt that staying longer might make him share in the sorrow, so he turned and walked back down the gentle steps.
After descending two steps, the woman who had been crying suddenly stopped and, trembling, called out to him, “Yan…Yanchuan?”
Zhou Yanchuan didn’t initially notice who it was. Hearing the voice, he turned his head to look.
“Qingru?”
“It’s me.”
Liu Qingru hadn’t changed much; her eyebrows and eyes were just as they were back then. However, Zhou Yanchuan hadn’t seen her for so long that his memory had blurred.
“Are you here to visit Uncle?” Liu Qingru couldn’t be sure. She remembered Zhou Yanchuan’s father was buried in Wen County.
“Not just my dad, but also my mom,” Zhou Yanchuan said. “They’re together now.”
“So Auntie too…” Tears stained her face, but she didn’t bother to wipe them away. “When did it happen?”
“A long time ago, nine years.”
“That means…” Liu Qingru immediately understood. Not long after their breakup, Zhou Yanchuan’s mother had also passed away.
“Yeah, you…”
Zhou Yanchuan’s gaze fell on the tombstone in front of her. Liu Qingru understood, “I’m here to see my dad. He passed away six months ago.”
Zhou Yanchuan was familiar with Liu Qingru’s parents. In the past, her parents strongly opposed their relationship. After all, Liu Qingru was a university graduate, a year older than Zhou Yanchuan, and had a much better job. In their eyes, their daughter could find a more outstanding partner.
A few months after Liu Qingru confronted her parents, Zhou Yanchuan’s sincerity and filial piety moved the elderly couple, and they no longer opposed the relationship.
Just before they were about to get married, Liu’s father had a sudden heart attack and needed a lot of money for surgery. Neither Liu’s family nor Zhou Yanchuan could come up with the money.
Liu Qingru had a deep bond with her parents and didn’t want to get married while her father was in pain. Her later husband offered a helping hand at that time.
“Auntie… how is your mother?”
“She’s doing well,” Liu Qingru said. “She’s at home with my daughter today.”
Zhou Yanchuan wondered why he didn’t see her husband at the grave, but he knew it wasn’t his place to ask.
Thinking of the elder resting in the cemetery who was an old acquaintance of his, he bowed three times to the tombstone, then bid farewell to Liu Qingru. “I’m leaving now. Take care.”
Liu Qingru didn’t stay long. Zhou Yanchuan saw her again at the parking lot. Their parking spots were not far apart.
“Yanchuan,” Zhou Yanchuan opened his car door and heard Liu Qingru calling his name loudly, “Can I have your contact information?”
He hesitated for a moment and then half raised his head towards her direction. “Qingru, there’s no need. You should take good care of your family.”
Sitting in his car, he still didn’t understand why Liu Qingru wanted his contact information after all these years.
After they broke up, he never deleted Liu Qingru’s number but never contacted her either. When his mother had just passed away, he was very lonely. He and Mo Ziyang were just ordinary friends back then, and he had no one his age to talk to.
Once, he was troubled by a difficult client, felt low, drank a lot, and wanted to cry but couldn’t. His mother often said, “We don’t ask for wealth and status, just to be happy.”
Under the influence of alcohol, he randomly dialed a number from his contacts, only to hear a cold voice saying, “The number you have dialed is not in service.”
Squinting to see clearly, he realized it was Liu Qingru’s number, whom he hadn’t contacted for a year. She had already changed her number.
I never intended to disturb you, so why did you change your number? At that time, Zhou Yanchuan felt even worse.
Thinking about it now, he just felt a sense of disorientation. It wasn’t a deliberate revenge for what she did back then; he had indeed moved on, and it was inappropriate.
Even if he wanted to catch up with his ex, he couldn’t find anything to talk about. Besides, she was already married and had a loving husband. Wasn’t she afraid her husband would be jealous?
Back in the city, Zhou Yanchuan didn’t think about meeting Liu Qingru again. It even felt unreal, like a confused memory.
Ten years can change a lot.
He had long since stopped wanting to linger in the past.
On New Year’s Eve, a dinner for just two people was never going to be a lively party.
Zhou Yanchuan and Lu Yunchu spent the morning together, having dim sum at a Cantonese restaurant that was open, staying from just before eleven until after noon.
They had celebrated the New Year at Zhou Yanchuan’s place, and Lu Yunchu suggested spending New Year’s Eve at his home. He had gradually prepared quite a bit of food over the past few days, more than enough for the two of them.
In the afternoon, Zhou Yanchuan brought a yellow croaker to Lu Yunchu’s house, saying he would make squirrel fish.
“You can cook this dish?”
“Yes, it’s a bit complicated,” he started listing the ingredients, “but it’s interesting to make something delicious.” He usually didn’t cook such complex dishes, but the New Year called for something different.
“That’s true.”
“Hey, is someone knocking on the door?” Zhou Yanchuan asked, straining to listen.
“Who would come at this time?” The knocking on the stainless steel door soon resumed, urgent and irregular. Lu Yunchu also believed someone was outside. “I’ll go check.”
He suspected it might be an advertisement or even a scammer. Opening the door lazily, he felt like a bucket of cold water was poured over him, sending a shiver through his body.
“Mom… why are you here?”