As the Spring Festival approached, many festive topics appeared online, and no one wanted to mention the sordid affair between Lin Yan and Liu Jie anymore. They simply disappeared from the screen.
The movie "Life is Beautiful" is being promoted in a lively manner. Xu Zifan and Qiao Zixin have also appeared on several well-known variety shows, bringing along several young actors and actresses with more roles in the movie to show their faces to the public.
The Qiao family of three was watching TV on the sofa on the weekend. As soon as the program started, the young man sitting in the middle exclaimed, "Isn't that Qiao Zixin? She's back to her old self, isn't she? When is she coming back?"
Mrs. Qiao glanced at Mr. Qiao's face and said, "Your sister doesn't always come back for the New Year, but she will definitely send gifts." She handed over the peeled oranges and said with a smile, "These oranges are very sweet, they cost more than ten yuan a pound, they are very expensive, Xiaopeng, you should eat more."
Qiao Zhipeng glanced at the oranges that cost over ten yuan a pound, then looked at the glamorous Qiao Zixin on TV, and pouted, saying, "Aunt Yu, you're too frugal. Doesn't Qiao Zixin send you money every month? You're complaining about the price of oranges?"
"That's not what I meant. The money was used to buy a house, and I wanted to keep the rest for emergencies..."
"Alright, if you want to watch TV, then watch TV. Stop with the nonsense!" Mr. Qiao frowned. "Sun Yu, call Zixin and ask if she's coming home for the New Year. What's the point of a girl always staying away from home? It's like I can't tolerate her. Remember to find out what's going on between her and that Director Xu something. We can't have a child with a bad reputation in our family, otherwise what will people think of me?"
"Okay, this child is just disobedient. I'll have a good talk with her." Mrs. Qiao put down the oranges, picked up her phone, and went back to her room to make a call.
Qiao Zixin was having dinner with Xu Zifan at home when she saw it was her mother calling. She paused for a moment, then answered, "Mom? You called me?"
"If I hadn't called you, you wouldn't have bothered to call home and check on us. We've raised you all these years and you're still so uncaring. All you do is cause trouble outside. Your dad asked me to ask you if you're coming home for Chinese New Year. I think you have to come back. You've caused such a big mess. You have to come back and explain things to your relatives so they can see that you're doing well. Otherwise, I won't be able to face them."
Qiao Zixin frowned. "Mom, I haven't done anything wrong. What's there to be ashamed of? If you want to compare your kids to theirs, their kids aren't good at studying or working. Aren't I making you proud enough?"
"What kind of face do you have? You're more like a disgrace! Look at you hugging and kissing people in the movie, do you look like a good girl? By the way, what's that Xu thing again, your director, the one you acted with? What's going on between you two? I heard from your brother that people online are saying you two are a couple. You've already been burned once and you still haven't learned your lesson, now you're involved with a director again. Your brother says that directors and pretty actresses don't have any innocent relationships..."
Xu Zifan picked up the soup bowl from the table and went to the kitchen to ladle out some soup. Qiao Zixin lowered her head awkwardly, feeling that he had heard everything she said. She said angrily, "Mom, what are you saying? You doubt me like that? You believe everything Qiao Zhipeng says? Is he your biological son? Has he ever called you 'Mom' in all these years? When will you be able to properly respect your own daughter and stop believing whatever they, father and son, say?"
"What do you mean 'they'? That's your father and your brother!" Mrs. Qiao frowned deeply. "You're getting more and more disobedient. Just like your father said, you've become wild and unruly outside. Now you're lecturing your mother because you think she's senile? Don't you remember how I, a woman, raised you after your father passed away? If it weren't for your father taking us in, I think you would have starved to death long ago. You need to know how to be grateful and respect him."
Qiao Zixin said helplessly, "I don't disrespect him, but that doesn't mean he has to arrange my life for me, right? He wants me to be a junior clerk. I don't have the education to get promoted. Am I supposed to be a junior clerk for the rest of my life? What's wrong with me now? I give you money for household expenses every month, I bought you a bigger house, and I even bought Qiao Zhipeng a car. If I were a junior clerk, could I afford all of that? I wouldn't even be able to support myself."
"You're saying this again! All you do is give the family some money, right? You haven't been around us all these years, and Xiaopeng has been taking care of us the whole time. Shouldn't you give the family more support? Besides, you're the older sister, not your father's biological daughter. If you don't do more, how can the family accept you? Alright, alright, just tell me, what's your relationship with that director?"
"Don't worry, friend, I don't have a boyfriend." Qiao Zixin didn't want to say anything more. It was something they had argued about countless times, and there was no point in trying to reason with her anymore.
After thinking for a moment, Qiao's mother said, "You have to come back for the New Year. When relatives get together, they will definitely mention you. If you are not at home, it means you don't care about your family, which will make me feel very embarrassed."
"Mom, I have a new movie that's going to be released during the Spring Festival, and I have work to do..."
"Don't make up any excuses. You have to come back. You decide on the time yourself, and let me know when you've decided. That's all. Long-distance travel is very expensive."
Hearing the dial tone, Qiao Zixin rubbed her forehead and tossed her phone onto the table. It was always like this; her mother would finish saying what she wanted to say and then hang up, never showing any concern or listening to her. In short, the whole family was always right, and she was the only one in the wrong. Just because she was a girl, and a burden at that, not the man's biological daughter.
Xu Zifan brought out the soup, ladled a small bowl for her, and said with a smile, "Drink the soup. You made it yourself, so you should drink more. I just had a few sips, and it's delicious."
Qiao Zixin looked at him and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, that's just my mom's personality. She thinks there are no good people in the entertainment industry. It's not that I'm targeting her."
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "It's okay. When have I ever cared about what other people think? But you must be having a hard time. Do you want to talk about it?"
Qiao Zixin paused, lowered her head, picked up a spoon, and unconsciously stirred the soup in her bowl. After a while, she said, "Actually, this kind of thing is very common. I guess I'm lucky. My hometown is a small town with a closed-off culture. My father passed away when I was five, and we didn't have any money. My mother was struggling to raise me alone. Later, someone introduced her to my current father, who was also widowed and had a four-year-old son. After they got married, I changed my surname to Qiao and lived with them. But the Qiao family favored boys over girls and treated me like a burden. All the relatives were indifferent to me. My mother couldn't have any more children because I damaged her health, so she treated Qiao Zhipeng even better, wanting to raise him as her own son. So every year, only Qiao Zhipeng got new clothes and toys, while I could only wear my cousin's hand-me-downs and play with toys that Qiao Zhipeng didn't want."
"I was a poor student, and no matter how hard I tried, I could only get average grades. They thought I was stupid and that going to school was a waste of time, so they suggested I find a job to help support the family. I worked as a clerk for almost a year. When I saw Qiao Zhipeng get into a regular college, they threw a banquet to celebrate. I felt a bit resentful and didn't want to live like that anymore, so I came to Beijing to try my luck. Unexpectedly, I was lucky enough to be spotted by a talent scout, and I became famous with my first movie. I thought I could finally hold my head high, but they were extremely opposed. My dad said it was too embarrassing for him to play love roles in movies."
Qiao Zixin laughed, "Actually, I've figured it out now. I'm very grateful to them for raising me, so I'm willing to support them in their old age. I'll also fulfill Qiao Zhipeng's requests if they're not excessive. After all, I've earned a lot from acting, so giving them some money is nothing. It's like spending money to buy peace and quiet. But I don't want to go home. The Qiao family relatives start lecturing me as soon as they see me. They firmly believe that the entertainment industry is a cesspool with no good people, as if being a star is some kind of improper profession. We have different beliefs, and we're all unhappy when we get together. I don't know why my mother insists I go back this time. Maybe it's because the relatives have been nagging her too much."
Xu Zifan opened his phone's schedule and looked at it. "So, are you going back? It's three days around the Spring Festival. I'll go back on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month and come back on the first day of the new year. Is that okay?"
Qiao Zixin nodded, "Just these three days, I'll take an early morning flight back and an evening flight back."
Xu Zifan thought about how Qiao Zixin died alone in the original world, suffering from depression without any family by her side. He figured her mother probably didn't have much affection for her. He was a little worried about letting Qiao Zixin go back like that, so he said, "I'll go back with you. I'll stay in a hotel, and we'll leave together when it's time to go. If you need anything, just come to me. Don't suffer any grievances."
Qiao Zixin looked at him and couldn't help but laugh, "I'm a grown-up, how could I let myself be wronged? But since you're spending the New Year alone here, why don't you come to my hometown and see where I grew up? When they're having a mahjong party, I'll go out with you for a stroll."
"good."
After finalizing the itinerary, Qiao Zixin told her mother that she was going back and didn't mention Xu Zifan, so as not to get another scolding from her mother.
Work on "Life is Beautiful" kept them busy until the 27th of the twelfth lunar month. Afterwards, Xu Zifan handed over his company affairs and returned to his hometown with Qiao Zixin. The small town didn't have an airport, so they had to fly to a nearby third-tier city and then take a train home.
After getting off the bus, Qiao Zixin took him to the best hotel in their area and helped Xu Zifan settle in. The room wasn't big, just a double room, but thankfully it was very clean, with a private bathroom, computer, and TV. They were lucky to have arrived; there was only one room left. Any later and they would have had to go to some smaller hotel.
Seeing Qiao Zixin checking the facilities inside, Xu Zifan smiled and said, "It's just for two days, as long as it's not damp. You should go back now, they might be keeping track of the time."
Qiao Zixin nodded, put on a hat, scarf, and glasses, covering herself up completely, and instructed, "Don't go to remote places since you don't know anyone here. Let me know where you're going."
"Okay, I won't go out, don't worry. But you, remember to call me if anything happens, I'm always on 24/7."
"Mmm." Qiao Zixin smiled, her eyes crinkling, and waved to him as she left the room. Every time she came home, she felt a sense of oppression, but this time, with Xu Zifan by her side, she felt relaxed and didn't seem so averse to going home and listening to people nagging.