A Brother’s Blade, Not His Rod

Chapter 8: A Brother’s Blade, Not His Rod

Having briefly discussed work matters with his senior colleague, Zhou Haochen stepped out of the meeting room and, upon checking his phone, was utterly taken aback.

The words he had typed on WeChat were deleted and re-deleted, until only a single message was sent.

“Beautiful.”

His senior colleague, walking ahead, noticed the young man’s face flush slightly, and, hooking an arm around his neck, asked with a grin, “Girlfriend?”

Zhou Haochen tucked his phone into his pocket, shaking his head. “Not yet.”

“That settles it then!” his senior colleague declared, a wide smile spreading across his face. “With your money and looks, those junior and senior girls will be practically falling into your lap!”

Zhou Haochen simply smiled. “She bought it herself, paid in full for an apartment in the city center, and drives a BMW.”

His senior colleague gasped, his expression suggesting Zhou Haochen had somehow gone astray. “No way! You’re kidding me! It can’t be that bad!!”

Zhou Haochen merely shrugged, walking past his senior. “Sorry, she’s younger than you.”

Watching the young man’s retreating back as he exited the company, his senior colleague muttered in annoyance, “Damn it, that kid just showed me up!”

****

At her uncle’s house, the family returned home after their shopping trip to have lunch, with her uncle keeping the little one company in the living room while they watched television.

Bai Sha followed her aunt into the kitchen to prepare lunch. Witnessing Bai Sha’s skillful knife work, her aunt chuckled, “Becoming a mother truly changes a person; you never used to step foot in the kitchen, and now your cooking is so superb!”

Bai Sha sighed helplessly. “When I first moved out, I cooked every single day, didn’t I? Now, it’s merely a king’s return!”

Her aunt teased, “Didn’t you eat takeout every day during that competition of yours? Are you still doing that? Come on, Xiaoyu’s mom, tell me, is takeout really clean?”

Who doesn’t eat takeout when working? After such an exhausting day, who would willingly go into the kitchen to cook?

Bai Sha replied earnestly, “Some are clean, some aren’t. But Xiaoyu is so young; for her safety, I choose to cook myself, don’t I? Auntie, you’re being prejudiced!”

Noticing her aunt open her mouth to speak, Bai Sha preemptively cut her off. “Gutter oil, dead rat meat, all sorts of additives—it’s unhygienic.”

Solving problems with a formula certainly is quick!

Her aunt, having had her words stolen, could only sigh helplessly. “As long as you know. You’re a grown woman; be careful out there on your own.”

Bai Sha glanced towards the living room, a smile playing on her lips. “I’m not alone, you know.”

Her aunt replied offhandedly, “Yes, yes, I know. You’re a mother now, so there are two of you.”

Bai Sha’s finger rested against her chin as she pondered for a moment, then, thinking of how ‘someone’ might be visiting every day in the future, she countered, “Actually, it’s more than that…”

Her aunt gasped in shock, “You’re living together?!”

“No, not really. But he often comes to keep Xiaoyu company, and on weekends, he stays at our place except for evenings. That counts, doesn’t it?”

Tears welled in her aunt’s eyes. A daughter married off was like spilled water; what objection could she possibly raise to Xiaoyu’s father coming to spend time with his own daughter? This was a clear case of ‘the pavilion nearest the water enjoys the moonlight first’ (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning ‘proximity to something gives one an advantage’).

“I’m not your uncle, but your aunt trusts you. Just make sure you handle things appropriately. You’ve always been smart, and if anything serious comes up, go to your uncle; don’t keep it bottled up.”

“Hehe, I know Uncle and Auntie love me the most!”

Her aunt, who had initially intended to pat Bai Sha’s back, remembered that she was now a mother and instead playfully poked Bai Sha’s forehead. “Your little mouth just keeps chattering.”

“Go on, go on, don’t cling to me. Go chop the chili and pork loin, or better yet, go to the living room and don’t get in my way.”

“Understood, understood!”

By half past eleven, a grand feast was ready, featuring blanched prawns, braised pork belly, roasted eggplant, sweet and sour pork loin, stewed pig trotters, stir-fried cabbage, and shredded potatoes.

Bai Sha snapped a quick photo and sent it to Zhou Haochen, while silently sympathizing with her uncle, who would undoubtedly be eating leftovers for days.

The little one, seeing such a lavish spread, stood on her stool, her mouth agape. “Wow! So much yummy food!!”

Bai Sha gently lifted the little one down. “Careful, don’t fall. Go ask Uncle to serve you some rice.”

Her aunt untied her apron, a smile gracing her lips. “If it’s tasty, Xiaoyu can eat a lot later.”

The little one nodded vigorously, then, walking up to her aunt, said in a sweet, childish voice, “Auntie, you worked so hard! Thank you, Auntie!”

Her aunt’s smile grew even wider, which made Bai Sha feel a little hurt. Watching the little one who had already scurried into the kitchen, she murmured, “What about Mama?”

The little one, too, came pattering back, and after being scooped up by her mother, she planted a kiss on her cheek and declared, “Mama isn’t jealous! Mama is the best! The hardest working! Thank you, Mama!!”

All three adults couldn’t stop smiling.

Her uncle remarked, “Just like you when you were little—sweet-mouthed and charming.”

The little one, wise beyond her years, climbed down from her mother’s embrace and ran up to her uncle, saying, “Uncle, please serve baby some rice. Uncle, you also worked hard! Thank you, Uncle!”

Outside the kitchen, an atmosphere of joy permeated the air.

After the meal, Bai Sha checked WeChat.

[Xiaoyu’s Dad: So lavish!]

[Bai Shazi: What did you eat for lunch?]

Zhou Haochen replied with a photo of him eating braised chicken with rice in his dorm room.

[Xiaoyu’s Dad: I helped my roommate get lunch, so I ate the same thing as him.]

[Bai Shazi: We’ll be heading back soon. I still have 直播时长 (TL Note: Livestreaming hours that need to be made up) to catch up on. Could you take Xiaoyu out to play this afternoon?]

[Xiaoyu’s Dad: No problem.]

“Xiao Bai! Do you want to take some of these dishes home with you? It’ll save you from cooking again tonight!”

Her aunt, already holding plastic wrap, began to pack up the dishes.

Bai Sha considered for a moment. She truly wouldn’t have time to cook that afternoon, and given that there were two women, one man, and a child at lunch, they hadn’t actually eaten much, leaving a significant amount of food. How many meals would her uncle have to eat from these leftovers!

“Let’s take a few dishes! The three of us won’t eat much anyway, and he has classes tomorrow, so it’ll just be Xiaoyu and me at home.”

And so, Bai Sha carried several dishes and a few sets of clothes and underwear back home.

A little past two in the afternoon, as the mother and daughter opened the elevator door, they saw Zhou Haochen standing idly by their doorstep.

“Daddy!”

Noticing Bai Sha had her hands full, Zhou Haochen quickly stepped forward to take the items.

“For this fingerprint lock, I’ll register your print later; it’ll be more convenient for you then.”

Once inside and after the items were put away, Bai Sha addressed Zhou Haochen, “I’ll be in the bedroom this afternoon. You can play with Xiaoyu, or even go out if you like. My car keys are in the first drawer. You have a driver’s license, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“That’s fine then. My car is in the basement; Xiaoyu knows where it is. I’m off now; you two have fun.”

“Uh… wait a moment.”

Bai Sha turned back, a questioning look on her face. “What is it?”

“You really look wonderful in a dress, like a fairy! Uh… truly!”

A faint blush rising on her cheeks, Bai Sha turned and headed towards the bedroom, muttering under her breath, “Father and daughter are exactly alike—both so annoying!”

****

Inside Fox’s livestream channel,

A viewer named “Optimus Prime Himself” (TL Note: The username literally means ‘Optimus Prime, the original Optimus Prime’, implying a devoted fan or an attempt at humor/authenticity) donated over 300 and asked:

“Streamer, my roommate saw your photo and seems to have ‘turned gay’ (TL Note: Chinese slang ‘弯了’ (wān le) means to ‘turn gay’ or ‘become homosexual’), what should I do?”

Bai Sha was speechless. “Seriously, buddy?! What else can you do? Celebrate it grandly!!”

“But honestly, buddy, putting aside your perverted (TL Note: ‘bt’ is a common internet abbreviation for ‘变态’ (biàntài), meaning ‘perverted’ or ‘abnormal’) roommate for a moment. Let me give you a piece of advice, and you’d better remember it.”

“As a man, if something’s going to stab you in the back, it should only be a knife. You’d rather it be a brother’s knife than a brother’s rod.”

Bai Sha watched as the chat flooded with comments like, “[Words of experience.]” “[Not a rod.]” “[Not unwilling.]”

Sigh, how did her livestream channel end up like this?!