After finally severing his mother-son relationship with Cui Xuemei as he had wanted, Chu Ci felt his mood improve. Phone in hand, he walked slowly downstairs.
The owner was still hard at work trying to draw in customers.
Chu Ci's conversation with Cui Xuemei had seemed long, but in fact, it had only lasted a little over ten minutes.
So the owner was a little surprised to see Chu Ci. "Aren't you going to spend more time with your mother?"
"She's not my mother anymore."
There was an unmistakable smile in Chu Ci's voice.
The owner: "?"
But Chu Ci had no intention of elaborating. He cleared his throat twice. "Also... I seem to have accidentally damaged your mahjong tiles. Let's discuss compensation."
In fact, when Chu Ci had asked the owner about the price of the mahjong tiles, he had already planned to overturn them onto the floor.
His reason for doing so was simple.
It was difficult for people to think normally when they were extremely shocked or frightened. Moreover, Cui Xuemei was already used to the original owner's submissive nature. If Chu Ci wanted to gain the upper hand in negotiating with Cui Xuemei, he had to break her established impression of the original owner and let her know he was not someone to be trifled with.
At that, the owner finally understood why Chu Ci had asked him about the price of the tiles and the mahjong table beforehand. Having spent years in the mahjong parlor, he had heard most of what had happened between Cui Xuemei and Chu Ci, so after standing there stunned for a few seconds, he understood Chu Ci's actions.
Those who gave birth to children without raising them did not deserve to be parents.
"I'll go upstairs and check the damage to the tiles first..."
The mahjong parlor was noisy to begin with, and the second floor was far enough away that he had not heard any loud crashes. He had no idea how badly Chu Ci had damaged the tiles.
"Okay."
Chu Ci stood on the first floor, waiting for the owner with his eyes lowered.
With the matter of Cui Xuemei resolved, the burden on the original owner's shoulders had lightened considerably.
[Master, Grandma has come out looking for you...]
Only after hearing Lele's words did Chu Ci belatedly remember that he had come out to buy groceries. The market was only a few minutes from Grandma's home, and more than half an hour had already passed. Grandma was probably afraid something had happened to her.
But it would take another twenty minutes to get back by taxi from here. Grandma already had trouble seeing the road clearly. What if she accidentally knocked into something or bumped herself?
Just then, the owner came downstairs.
Thinking of Cui Xuemei's disheveled state in the room, he could not help muttering, "What a sin..."
Cui Xuemei often bragged to them about how filial and sensible Chu Ci was, but she had never raised him. What right did she have to demand that he be filial and sensible?
Ultimately, the strength of Chu Ci's body was limited. The mahjong tiles were not badly damaged; they were just scattered all over the floor and might be a nuisance to pick up.
"No need to pay this time. You can go."
Cui Yuemei always played for substantial stakes whenever she came to the mahjong parlor, yet she had no proper job. Combined with her constant boasts about how well Chu Ci was doing, it took no thought at all to realize that all her money had been demanded from Chu Ci.
Knowing it was not easy for Chu Ci to earn money, the owner smiled and waved him off, teasing, "When you become a big star, remember to give our mahjong parlor some publicity..."
"Okay."
Worried that Grandma might be in danger, Chu Ci nodded and said, "Okay," then hurried out of the mahjong parlor.
"What's happening now? Where's Grandma?"
After getting into the car, Chu Ci communicated with Lele through his mind.
As the mecha of the interstellar God of War Chu Ci, Lele had many special abilities, such as being able to check on places he had visited at any time. It was equivalent to the present-day function of surveillance cameras.
The difference was that Lele covered a wider area than surveillance cameras.
[...Why is he here?]
There was unmistakable confusion in Lele's voice.
"Who?"
There was unmistakable urgency in Chu Ci's tone.
[Ye Qingzhou.]
Hearing the familiar name Ye Qingzhou, a flicker of surprise crossed Chu Ci's eyes. "Didn't Ye Qingzhou already leave? Why did he turn back halfway?"
Could he have something to tell me?
[I'm not sure about that, but I can see Ye Qingzhou carefully helping Grandma across the road, so she probably won't be in danger for the time being.]
At that, Chu Ci let out a sigh of relief.
Once his mind relaxed, it was easy for his thoughts to wander to all sorts of things, such as those two ambiguous kisses he had shared with Ye Qingzhou while filming Let's Fall in Love...
The first had been a "kiss" through a candy wrapper. Although the wrapper had been between them, he had indeed felt the softness of the other man's lips.
The second had been a genuine "kiss."
Chu Ci remembered how he had been unable to resist instinctively licking Ye Qingzhou's lips with the tip of his tongue.
They had been very sweet.
Sweeter than the mint candy he had eaten.
Chu Ci had not felt much about it while filming the show, but now that he thought back on it, that seemed to have been his first kiss...
Back in the interstellar era, Chu Ci had been famous for his lack of interest in women. Before bringing Wu Zhou back to the interstellar battlefield, his daily life had revolved entirely around the battlefield. Only after bringing Wu Zhou back had his life gained another element: Wu Zhou.
Wu Zhou's arrival had not burdened Chu Ci. Instead, it had added a little enjoyment to his dull, uninteresting life.
Wu Zhou had inherited the imperial family's looks and was strikingly handsome. Occasionally, Chu Ci would see a trace of his mother in Wu Zhou's face.
As Chu Ci grew older, more and more people offered to find him a match, but Chu Ci politely declined them all.
His greatest wish in life was for interstellar unity, and for all the people across the stars to have enough to eat, warm clothes to wear, and a good night's sleep.
Chu Ci hoped they would no longer have to fear the ravages of war or suffer displacement and separation from their wives and children. Romance, however, was not among his considerations.
Although Chu Ci politely declined their good intentions, there were still people who refused to give up and secretly slipped people aboard his spaceship.
Once, Wu Zhou happened to pass by and see it. He gave an angry snort, then left in indignation.
In Chu Ci's heart, Wu Zhou was already family. Not wanting Wu Zhou to go to bed upset, Chu Ci tried to talk to him and find out exactly why he was angry.
Wu Zhou said nothing, silently sulking on his own.
Chu Ci could only voice his own troubles. "I don't know what they're thinking, either. I've already said I don't plan to start a family for now, but they keep sneaking people aboard my spaceship behind my back..."
"You didn't agree to this?"
Wu Zhou interrupted Chu Ci without warning.
Although he did not know why Wu Zhou would ask that, Chu Ci still nodded honestly.