After finishing their meal, Su Chang and Yu Zhou washed the dishes together. Yu Zhou found it amusing to watch Su Chang doing housework.
As she laughed, she felt a bit emotional, wondering if it is true that people have to experience loss first before knowing how to open their hearts. In merely half a year, Su Chang doing housework had become an ordinary occurrence.
She could hardly remember how she had stubbornly clung to the idea of not letting Su Chang “downgrade” her life.
The more they understood each other, the more Yu Zhou realized that perhaps this seemingly ordinary family life, which ordinary people didn’t consider particularly special, was not a “downgrade” to Su Chang, but an “upgrade.”
Sometimes, she would have strange thoughts, like how she had merely barged into Su Chang’s life because she was hospitalized. What if, at that time, Su Chang had encountered another warm-hearted, unconventional girl?
Would Su Chang have fallen for her just as helplessly?
There were still moments of insecurity, but they were not serious and could be overlooked.
As noon approached, their aunts and uncles arrived, with a younger uncle carrying a big fish, wanting to show off his culinary skills. Several aunts invited Su Chang to play Mahjong together.
That’s how aunts are – the best way to get close to their guests is to invite them to play Mahjong.
The smooth Mahjong tiles clattered and clicked as they played, reducing the tension by a significant amount. The sound of calling out their plays created a lively atmosphere, which simultaneously reducing the idle gossip vibe that lingers.
After a few rounds, everyone’s family and lives became as clear as day, just as it was said on TV – “how many people in the family, how many acres of land, how many cows in the field, and how many horns on the cows.”
Before this, Yu Zhou could not imagine Su Chang playing Mahjong.
However, she quickly realized that beautiful people even looked good while playing Mahjong – it seemed to be a meaningless statement.
Su Chang sat in the south with one leg crossed over the other, her back straight but her shoulders relaxed, looking both serious and casual at the same time. Her delicate, fair-skinned hand rested on the edge of the table as she casually tapped her fingers while waiting for the automatic Mahjong machine to shuffle the tiles. It was silent, like playing a piano with the mute pedal pressed.
The tiles were shuffled and neatly arranged on the table.
Su Chang retracted her hand, interlocking her fingers and gently rotating her wrists, stretching her fingers.
“Whoa,” Yu Zhou sat sideways with one leg on the armrest of her chair, “is this a sign that a master is about to show off her skills?”
“Huh?” Su Chang looked at her with a sidelong glance.
“You look really good at this.”
“I… don’t know how to play it.” Her innocent tone suggested her helplessness.
“Pfft.”
“So you won’t tell? People call you and you just sit down here directly, still looking like you’re going to wreak havoc.” Yu Zhou couldn’t help but laugh.
Su Chang softly said, “You teach me.”
Besides, Yu Zhou often said, one must try best even if it’s impossible and cannot be underestimated, right?
“You teach me,” Su Chang said naturally, with a hint of ambiguity. The aunts raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances with corners of their mouths lowered.
Yu Zhou sighed and gestured for her to look at the table, “Take the cards counterclockwise. After the older auntie takes a card, you take one, four at a time. Your posture should be professional; see how your aunts take their cards. Later, when you play, it’s also counterclockwise. After the player before you plays, it’s your turn.”
Older aunt couldn’t help but laugh with her chest trembling.
Su Chang, who looked like a celebrity, was very serious at this moment, sitting under older aunt’s hand and observing how she took her cards from an angle.
“Ah, take it three times. Okay, you don’t have to take it anymore. Look, auntie is starting to jump now. After the dealer jumps, everyone just takes one more card. Yes, yes, you take from here and then arrange the cards.”
“Put the same suits together and arrange them from smallest to largest.” Yu Zhou skillfully picked up a few cards and inserted them into the appropriate positions.
Then, her hands brushed over the cards as she whispered in Su Chang’s ear, “This kind, where three are connected together, is a Chow. Consider it as one group and don’t break it. Two together can form a Pong and three together can form a Kong.”[1]
Speaking louder towards the end, she randomly pointed somewhere, “Wow, you have so many groups of three here. When you see the same card, you will…”
“I’ll form a Kong,” Su Chang said softly.
Yu Zhou couldn’t help but laugh. She put one hand behind Su Chang, gently patted her on the back, signaling that she was on the right track. Actually, in Su Chang’s deck, there were no chances to form a Kong.
Su Chang tilted her head slightly, with the smile hidden deep in her eyes.
Her serious expression really fooled Yu Zhou’s younger aunt, who complained with an edge in her voice while arranging her cards, “How can you have such good luck! I’ll have to be extra careful if I get cards that are not in the discarded tiles later.”
“Auntie should indeed be careful.” Yu Zhou grinned, gently caressing Su Chang’s back.
“Aiyo, you brought a friend back to swindle our money?” Younger Aunt was sharp-tongued and quick-witted. “Eight of Characters, there! Take it to form a Kong!”
“What swindle? That’s so ugly. If we win money, that’s a red envelope from Aunties!” Yu Zhou pulled out a card and pushed it to the table.
The younger aunt and the older aunt exchanged glances, “Aunties’ red envelope has been prepared well in advance. You never call anyone to pick it up. So what, do you want to take it away this year?”
Tsk tsk, probing.
“Whether we can take it or not depends on our luck. Pong, Two of Characters.” Yu Zhou avoided giving a direct answer while effortlessly playing her cards.
It was Yu Zhou who was dominating the game.
Su Chang watched her nimble left hand and then glanced at her casually chatting and laughing while quickly drawing cards with her mind spinning fast. She had to admit that Yu Zhou was really skilled at playing mahjong.
Yu Zhou looked down at her, “What’s the matter? Why are you staring at me as if I’m so handsome?”
Su Chang slightly curved her lips before lowering her eyes to look at the cards.
“Have you learned enough? You can play by yourself now.”
“I’ve learned, but I’m a bit slow.”
“That’s fine, we’ll wait for you.”
Yu Zhou straightened her posture, withdrew her hand from Su Chang’s back, and grabbed a handful of melon seeds. She remained seated next to Su Chang like a dowager empress in retirement who ruled behind the curtain.
“One dot.” Su Chang’s voice was so pleasant it was killing.
“Hey, are you silly?” Yu Zhou hurriedly stopped her with melon seeds in hand. “How can you discard the one dot card? Look at this one, there are no cards below it. Why are you keeping it?”
“No regrets in playing cards,” the younger Aunt complained.
“She doesn’t know how to play. Take it back, take it back, play another one.” Yu Zhou patted Su Chang’s shoulder.
“No regrets even if you don’t know how to play.”
Su Chang pressed her lips together and said, “I won’t take it. Just one dot.”
Then, with her left hand, she reached behind Yu Zhou and gently caressed her back.
As long as the elders were happy.
Younger Aunt was indeed pleased, “Ah, I think Changchang has a better card character than you. A good character in playing cards is a sign of good character in general, Zhouzhou.”
She said meaningfully while grabbing a card.
Yu Zhou knew exactly what she meant but would not take the bait.
It was a little tiring sitting on the side, yet Su Chang wouldn’t let her leave. While they played, Yu Zhou went behind her and lying on her back, with her arm around Su Chang’s right neck and her chin resting on the other shoulder.
Su Chang picked up the game quickly. She was already exceptionally clever, and after a few rounds under Yu Zhou’s guidance, she began to form an all one suit.
Yu Zhou rarely managed to form an all one suit, as she wasn’t very patient and always felt like she couldn’t get the card she needed. But Su Chang had patience, so she calmly and steadily played her cards, her movements elegant and beautiful, making Yu Zhou feel a bit dazed.
Seeing that Yu Zhou didn’t speak, Su Chang took a break from drawing cards and retracted her right hand to touch the back of Yu Zhou’s hand resting on her chest.
“How come you’re not talking?” she asked softly.
Yu Zhou’s face was very close to her, as well as her breath, “Watching you play.”
The warmth was like a honey peach unintentionally rubbing against her.
Younger aunt was getting fed up with their clinginess, but these actions were the ones that could be done between close friends, so it wasn’t too much. Even though she felt uneasy, she didn’t say anything.
She only cleared her throat: “After four more rounds, we’ll stop playing, it’s time for dinner.”
Even though she felt stuffed.
“Alright, alright.” All Aunts agreed.
Yu Zhou stretched her hand, pulling open the small box in front of Su Chang, counted the cards as she said, “Hehe, you’re still winning.”
“Who’s winning?” Uncle looked away from the news and straightened his back as he came over to check.
“Zhouzhou~ Zhouzhou is winning.” Older aunt pointed her lips towards her.
“The winner will treat everyone to a barbecue later,” older uncle set the rule and took a look at older Aunt’s cards, “Oh my, your cards are a mess. Did you even look at how many cards are left? You still want to make a clever pair of sevens, there are no cards left!”
“You know nothing,” older aunt pushed him away with a swing of her hand and looked back at the cards, “Just now, your Uncle said that whoever wins will treat us to a barbecue.”
“I heard that,” Yu Zhou leaned back onto Su Chang’s back again, “If we have to treat, we’ll treat. Our Boss Su is rich.”
“Ohyo.” Aunt laughed as she exchanged a glance with younger aunt.
After playing cards for so long, they finally heard the phrase “our Boss Su.”
They took another look at Boss Su across the table, whose ears were slightly pink.
It was almost certain; aunt closed her eyes and subtly nodded her head.
Understood. The antennas of the other two aunts had received the message.
After finishing their meal, Su Chang and Yu Zhou washed the dishes together. Yu Zhou found it amusing to watch Su Chang doing housework.
As she laughed, she felt a bit emotional, wondering if it is true that people have to experience loss first before knowing how to open their hearts. In merely half a year, Su Chang doing housework had become an ordinary occurrence.
She could hardly remember how she had stubbornly clung to the idea of not letting Su Chang “downgrade” her life.
The more they understood each other, the more Yu Zhou realized that perhaps this seemingly ordinary family life, which ordinary people didn’t consider particularly special, was not a “downgrade” to Su Chang, but an “upgrade.”
Sometimes, she would have strange thoughts, like how she had merely barged into Su Chang’s life because she was hospitalized. What if, at that time, Su Chang had encountered another warm-hearted, unconventional girl?
Would Su Chang have fallen for her just as helplessly?
There were still moments of insecurity, but they were not serious and could be overlooked.
As noon approached, their aunts and uncles arrived, with a younger uncle carrying a big fish, wanting to show off his culinary skills. Several aunts invited Su Chang to play Mahjong together.
That’s how aunts are – the best way to get close to their guests is to invite them to play Mahjong.
The smooth Mahjong tiles clattered and clicked as they played, reducing the tension by a significant amount. The sound of calling out their plays created a lively atmosphere, which simultaneously reducing the idle gossip vibe that lingers.
After a few rounds, everyone’s family and lives became as clear as day, just as it was said on TV – “how many people in the family, how many acres of land, how many cows in the field, and how many horns on the cows.”
Before this, Yu Zhou could not imagine Su Chang playing Mahjong.
However, she quickly realized that beautiful people even looked good while playing Mahjong – it seemed to be a meaningless statement.
Su Chang sat in the south with one leg crossed over the other, her back straight but her shoulders relaxed, looking both serious and casual at the same time. Her delicate, fair-skinned hand rested on the edge of the table as she casually tapped her fingers while waiting for the automatic Mahjong machine to shuffle the tiles. It was silent, like playing a piano with the mute pedal pressed.
The tiles were shuffled and neatly arranged on the table.
Su Chang retracted her hand, interlocking her fingers and gently rotating her wrists, stretching her fingers.
“Whoa,” Yu Zhou sat sideways with one leg on the armrest of her chair, “is this a sign that a master is about to show off her skills?”
“Huh?” Su Chang looked at her with a sidelong glance.
“You look really good at this.”
“I… don’t know how to play it.” Her innocent tone suggested her helplessness.
“Pfft.”
“So you won’t tell? People call you and you just sit down here directly, still looking like you’re going to wreak havoc.” Yu Zhou couldn’t help but laugh.
Su Chang softly said, “You teach me.”
Besides, Yu Zhou often said, one must try best even if it’s impossible and cannot be underestimated, right?
“You teach me,” Su Chang said naturally, with a hint of ambiguity. The aunts raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances with corners of their mouths lowered.
Yu Zhou sighed and gestured for her to look at the table, “Take the cards counterclockwise. After the older auntie takes a card, you take one, four at a time. Your posture should be professional; see how your aunts take their cards. Later, when you play, it’s also counterclockwise. After the player before you plays, it’s your turn.”
Older aunt couldn’t help but laugh with her chest trembling.
Su Chang, who looked like a celebrity, was very serious at this moment, sitting under older aunt’s hand and observing how she took her cards from an angle.
“Ah, take it three times. Okay, you don’t have to take it anymore. Look, auntie is starting to jump now. After the dealer jumps, everyone just takes one more card. Yes, yes, you take from here and then arrange the cards.”
“Put the same suits together and arrange them from smallest to largest.” Yu Zhou skillfully picked up a few cards and inserted them into the appropriate positions.
Then, her hands brushed over the cards as she whispered in Su Chang’s ear, “This kind, where three are connected together, is a Chow. Consider it as one group and don’t break it. Two together can form a Pong and three together can form a Kong.”[1]
Speaking louder towards the end, she randomly pointed somewhere, “Wow, you have so many groups of three here. When you see the same card, you will…”
“I’ll form a Kong,” Su Chang said softly.
Yu Zhou couldn’t help but laugh. She put one hand behind Su Chang, gently patted her on the back, signaling that she was on the right track. Actually, in Su Chang’s deck, there were no chances to form a Kong.
Su Chang tilted her head slightly, with the smile hidden deep in her eyes.
Her serious expression really fooled Yu Zhou’s younger aunt, who complained with an edge in her voice while arranging her cards, “How can you have such good luck! I’ll have to be extra careful if I get cards that are not in the discarded tiles later.”
“Auntie should indeed be careful.” Yu Zhou grinned, gently caressing Su Chang’s back.
“Aiyo, you brought a friend back to swindle our money?” Younger Aunt was sharp-tongued and quick-witted. “Eight of Characters, there! Take it to form a Kong!”
“What swindle? That’s so ugly. If we win money, that’s a red envelope from Aunties!” Yu Zhou pulled out a card and pushed it to the table.
The younger aunt and the older aunt exchanged glances, “Aunties’ red envelope has been prepared well in advance. You never call anyone to pick it up. So what, do you want to take it away this year?”
Tsk tsk, probing.
“Whether we can take it or not depends on our luck. Pong, Two of Characters.” Yu Zhou avoided giving a direct answer while effortlessly playing her cards.
It was Yu Zhou who was dominating the game.
Su Chang watched her nimble left hand and then glanced at her casually chatting and laughing while quickly drawing cards with her mind spinning fast. She had to admit that Yu Zhou was really skilled at playing mahjong.
Yu Zhou looked down at her, “What’s the matter? Why are you staring at me as if I’m so handsome?”
Su Chang slightly curved her lips before lowering her eyes to look at the cards.
“Have you learned enough? You can play by yourself now.”
“I’ve learned, but I’m a bit slow.”
“That’s fine, we’ll wait for you.”
Yu Zhou straightened her posture, withdrew her hand from Su Chang’s back, and grabbed a handful of melon seeds. She remained seated next to Su Chang like a dowager empress in retirement who ruled behind the curtain.
“One dot.” Su Chang’s voice was so pleasant it was killing.
“Hey, are you silly?” Yu Zhou hurriedly stopped her with melon seeds in hand. “How can you discard the one dot card? Look at this one, there are no cards below it. Why are you keeping it?”
“No regrets in playing cards,” the younger Aunt complained.
“She doesn’t know how to play. Take it back, take it back, play another one.” Yu Zhou patted Su Chang’s shoulder.
“No regrets even if you don’t know how to play.”
Su Chang pressed her lips together and said, “I won’t take it. Just one dot.”
Then, with her left hand, she reached behind Yu Zhou and gently caressed her back.
As long as the elders were happy.
Younger Aunt was indeed pleased, “Ah, I think Changchang has a better card character than you. A good character in playing cards is a sign of good character in general, Zhouzhou.”
She said meaningfully while grabbing a card.
Yu Zhou knew exactly what she meant but would not take the bait.
It was a little tiring sitting on the side, yet Su Chang wouldn’t let her leave. While they played, Yu Zhou went behind her and lying on her back, with her arm around Su Chang’s right neck and her chin resting on the other shoulder.
Su Chang picked up the game quickly. She was already exceptionally clever, and after a few rounds under Yu Zhou’s guidance, she began to form an all one suit.
Yu Zhou rarely managed to form an all one suit, as she wasn’t very patient and always felt like she couldn’t get the card she needed. But Su Chang had patience, so she calmly and steadily played her cards, her movements elegant and beautiful, making Yu Zhou feel a bit dazed.
Seeing that Yu Zhou didn’t speak, Su Chang took a break from drawing cards and retracted her right hand to touch the back of Yu Zhou’s hand resting on her chest.
“How come you’re not talking?” she asked softly.
Yu Zhou’s face was very close to her, as well as her breath, “Watching you play.”
The warmth was like a honey peach unintentionally rubbing against her.
Younger aunt was getting fed up with their clinginess, but these actions were the ones that could be done between close friends, so it wasn’t too much. Even though she felt uneasy, she didn’t say anything.
She only cleared her throat: “After four more rounds, we’ll stop playing, it’s time for dinner.”
Even though she felt stuffed.
“Alright, alright.” All Aunts agreed.
Yu Zhou stretched her hand, pulling open the small box in front of Su Chang, counted the cards as she said, “Hehe, you’re still winning.”
“Who’s winning?” Uncle looked away from the news and straightened his back as he came over to check.
“Zhouzhou~ Zhouzhou is winning.” Older aunt pointed her lips towards her.
“The winner will treat everyone to a barbecue later,” older uncle set the rule and took a look at older Aunt’s cards, “Oh my, your cards are a mess. Did you even look at how many cards are left? You still want to make a clever pair of sevens, there are no cards left!”
“You know nothing,” older aunt pushed him away with a swing of her hand and looked back at the cards, “Just now, your Uncle said that whoever wins will treat us to a barbecue.”
“I heard that,” Yu Zhou leaned back onto Su Chang’s back again, “If we have to treat, we’ll treat. Our Boss Su is rich.”
“Ohyo.” Aunt laughed as she exchanged a glance with younger aunt.
After playing cards for so long, they finally heard the phrase “our Boss Su.”
They took another look at Boss Su across the table, whose ears were slightly pink.
It was almost certain; aunt closed her eyes and subtly nodded her head.
Understood. The antennas of the other two aunts had received the message.
