Luo Jingyu had gotten used to being doused with buckets of cold water.
Fang Xu didn’t approve, Yue Qi didn’t approve, and now even his own mother didn’t approve.
They all believed that deaf people should only be with other deaf people. Even if they were to date someone who could hear, that person should also have some disability to make it “normal.”
Yan Yajuan talked with Luo Jingyu for a long while, continuously analyzing the difficulties of dating a healthy girl:
Would her parents approve?
She doesn’t know sign language – wouldn’t there be communication problems over time?
Could she handle the pressure from society?
What about the issue of children?
Would she agree not to have children? Would her family agree?
If they had a child and it was hearing-impaired, could she love the child like a deaf mother would? If she couldn’t accept such a child, would she leave?
If they broke up, could Luo Jingyu handle the pain of heartbreak?
Yan Yajuan couldn’t understand why her son would choose such a girl. Being with someone who could hear meant he would always be at a disadvantage – from the very beginning, they would be unequal. Luo Jingyu had always been introverted, barely interacting with girls. For his first relationship to be so shocking was unexpected.
Looking at the sweet smiles of the young couple in the photo, they appeared well-matched on the surface. But Yan Yajuan knew this would be extremely difficult. Her foolish younger son had fallen head over heels – what if he couldn’t get back up?
During his conversation with his mother, Luo Jingyu remained calm, trying to explain that he was serious about this relationship and had thought it through. Even if things didn’t work out, he wouldn’t regret it.
Seeing his mother’s anxious expression as she signed, Luo Jingyu wondered – was his relationship with Huanhuan really that strange? Was he being too bold, or was Huanhuan being too reckless?
But their mutual attraction was undeniable. That kind of liking couldn’t be hidden – he could feel Huanhuan’s sincerity, and he was equally wholehearted in his feelings for her.
Later, it was Luo Xiaomei who came to comfort their mother. His sister supported him, perhaps because of her own experience dating Gao Yuan. Regarding Zhan Xi’s normal hearing, she took a more accepting stance.
Luo Xiaomei signed to their mother: [Little Yu is a good boy. As long as he and that girl can communicate well, they should try being together. Only by trying will they know if they’re compatible. If they’re not, they can separate. Little Yu is grown up now, he knows his limits. It’s his first time liking a girl, and she likes him too – we should be happy for him.]
However, Luo Xiaomei still warned Luo Jingyu: [Little Yu, before any talk of marriage, you shouldn’t do anything improper with the girl, even if she’s willing. You understand what I mean, right?]
Luo Jingyu’s face turned red. He never expected his sister would one day seriously discuss this topic with him. Actually, he didn’t need his sister’s reminder – he already thought the same way. This wasn’t something he couldn’t control; he had been single for so many years already.
A lifetime is very long. Even normal couples face changes, like Huanhuan’s brother and sister-in-law who were getting divorced. In others’ eyes, he and Huanhuan had barriers between them. While the beginning of their romance might be pure and romantic, the path ahead would inevitably be full of thorns and obstacles.
He wanted to persist, but he wouldn’t force Huanhuan. If one day she couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to separate, Luo Jingyu would definitely let her go.
Therefore, he absolutely couldn’t do anything that might hurt Huanhuan or affect her future happiness. This was a decision he made in his heart when they started dating.
Luo Jingyu nodded to Luo Xiaomei and signed: [I understand, I won’t.]
—
On the second day of the Qingming holiday weekend, Zhan Xi went to the cemetery with her parents and brother to sweep the graves. In the afternoon, she said goodbye to her parents and rode back to Qiantang in her brother’s car.
Having successfully spent one night at home, she felt relieved, thinking about how she could be away from her mother again and live freely with Little Yu in Qingque Garden.
In their social circle, this relationship didn’t need to be hidden. Their neighbors, university roommates, even the vegetable seller at the market knew they were a couple, along with Teacher Zhou, Fang Xu, Yue Qi, Ji Hongzhe… even Dong Cheng, Mrs. Wu, Yuan Sichen knew about it. Add to that Little Yu’s family members – wow, quite a lot of people knew already!
When Zhan Xi got home, it was completely dark. She went to the eighth floor first to change out of the clothes she had worn to the cemetery. Taking out a clean set of home clothes from the closet, she held them up to smell – mmm… so fragrant! It was a light citrus scent.
The fragrance came from the clothes hanger aromatherapy in the closet, from a French fragrance brand that Little Yu had bought for her.
After getting together, Zhan Xi finally discovered what that cool, bitter woody scent on Luo Jingyu was. He had always used a cypress-scented aromatherapy hanging in his closet, making all his clothes smell like it. Zhan Xi loved it, so Luo Jingyu bought her one too, choosing a citrus scent for her.
After changing into her home clothes, Zhan Xi eagerly went to find Luo Jingyu on the fifteenth floor. When she opened the door and entered, she smelled the aroma of fried food and remembered the dish she had ordered – salt and pepper ribs, which was already steaming hot on the dining table.
When Luo Jingyu brought out the egg custard, he saw Zhan Xi changing her shoes, and his face immediately broke into a smile. Zhan Xi wanted to hug him, but he dodged slightly, pointing to his apron, probably thinking it was too oily. They just lightly touched lips instead. Luo Jingyu pointed to the kitchen and signed: [Wash hands, time to eat.]
Zhan Xi responded in sign language, her expression very animated: [I’m so hungry! I only ate a little at lunch.]
Luo Jingyu smiled: [Eat more tonight.]
Zhan Xi: [I’ll eat two bowls of rice, the meat smells good.]
Luo Jingyu: [Go wash your hands quickly, the meat will get cold.]
Zhan Xi gave an [OK] sign and bounced into the guest bathroom.
Luo Jingyu watched her back, thinking about how quickly Huanhuan’s sign language had improved – they could already have simple conversations. Like the scene just now, if strangers saw it, they might think it was two hearing-impaired people communicating.
When Zhan Xi signs, she occasionally speaks at the same time to help Luo Jingyu understand better, and also to remember the sign language vocabulary. Sometimes she makes mistakes with the gestures, but Luo Jingyu can guess what she means and corrects her.
Zhan Xi was mastering more and more sign language vocabulary related to daily life. When they’re together, whether walking outside or staying at home, they’ve developed a small habit. Zhan Xi points at something, and Luo Jingyu shows her the sign for it. She practices it several times, memorizes it, and can accurately sign it next time she encounters it.
What Luo Jingyu didn’t know was that Zhan Xi had already taken four sign language classes at Zhou Lian’s home, and practiced sign language in front of the mirror for an hour every day. Zhou Lian told Zhan Xi that at her current practice rate, she would be able to communicate quite smoothly with Little Yu in three or four months.
Zhan Xi was full of anticipation for such a scenario, making her practice even more diligently.
—
April and May were extremely busy for the Human Resources Department, with team building in April, training in May, and the very important graduate recruitment matters in between. As a flexible staff member who could fill in wherever needed, Zhan Xi was incredibly busy at the company every day.
Department transfers and promotions were happening simultaneously. After the promotion candidate list was drafted by each department manager and submitted to HR, transfers could be applied for by individuals to their department managers, with the deadline at the end of April.
The company had previous cases of sales staff transferring to the marketing department, administrative clerks passing the bar exam and moving to the legal department, and even factory workers being promoted to the business department due to their quick thinking and social skills, now becoming key business personnel.
Compared to external hires, internal transfers were more competitive due to their familiarity with company business, and their salary requirements were lower than external candidates. Zhan Xi made thorough preparations, just waiting for the team building to end before submitting her application to Wenqin.
She thought Wenqin would understand – an experienced HR person wouldn’t be so petty.
The team building was on the weekend, a two-day-one-night trip to a scenic area in a neighboring city.
Luo Jingyu stuffed Zhan Xi’s backpack with lots of snacks. Zhan Xi laughed, saying he was like a father preparing food and drinks for his daughter’s spring outing. Luo Jingyu smiled and shook his head, then added an umbrella, several packs of tissues and wet wipes to her bag. Finally, he pulled her to sit on his lap and signed: [Be careful.]
Zhan Xi nodded and signed back: [Mountain climbing, I don’t like it, too high.]
Luo Jingyu smiled: [You’re afraid of heights?]
Zhan Xi immediately frowned, nodded and spoke: “Remember last time at the Youth Palace, that drop tower? I didn’t dare ride it, it was too scary.”
Luo Jingyu hugged her and took out his phone to type: [I travel once a year, mostly mountain climbing, planes, trains, alone, early June to early July.]
Zhan Xi was surprised: “You travel alone once a year?”
Tsk tsk, Little Yu wasn’t just a refined boy in daily life, he was quite romantic too, living such an exciting life on his own!
Unlike Zhan Jie – in the five years since Zhan Xi came to Qiantang for school and work, Zhan Jie had only taken his wife and child on one trip north in the second year. When they returned, he said traveling was pointless, expensive and tiring, and he’d never go again.
Luo Jingyu nodded and typed somewhat shyly: [Would you like to travel with me?]
Zhan Xi was delighted inside and signed: [I want to go with you.] Then she thought and said, “Is it all mountain climbing? Do you really like climbing mountains?”
Luo Jingyu frowned slightly and typed: [Mountain climbing is fun, for the views. Alone, other places aren’t fun, going to the beach alone is silly.]
Zhan Xi burst out laughing and hugged his neck: “Alright, we can travel together, whether it’s mountain climbing or the beach, cultural tours, food tours, city sightseeing… anything! I haven’t been to many places, and long-distance travel has always been with tour groups, which isn’t fun at all. I’ve never traveled independently.”
Luo Jingyu raised his eyebrows, proudly pointed to himself, and made an “OK” sign, indicating that he always travels independently.
Zhan Xi kissed his lips and said, “Then it’s settled, we’ll travel together, and you can arrange everything.”
Luo Jingyu smiled and nodded, thought for a moment, then typed: [2 rooms, don’t worry.]
Zhan Xi: “???”
Luo Jingyu blushed and made a simple sign: [Can’t sleep together.]
Zhan Xi: “…”
Awooo! She punched his shoulder: “Who said anything about sleeping together!”
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