Chapter 50: Don’t Look Back

The boy pretended not to see Wang Zhao as he got into the car. The events he encountered today were already enough to make him socially die. He had finally met an excellent woman, but she was already married, and her husband’s belly was at least seven or eight months along, looking like he was about to give birth.

The person in the driver’s seat noticed his silence and turned back to look at him.

This underage high school boy was feeling somewhat embarrassed at this moment, his heart was about to scream wildly.

He could hardly believe it now, that he had actually asked for the WeChat number of a married woman.

On the other side, after the group opposite got into the car, Li Zhenguan withdrew his gaze and looked at Wang Zhao beside him, seeming to want to say something but hesitating.

He wanted to ask, but didn’t know how to start. In the end, he pretended not to care and said, “Just now in the supermarket, I turned around and you were gone.”

“I saw you were seriously selecting fruits, so I went to get a few boxes of cherries,” Wang Zhao explained apologetically, adding a few more sentences, “Originally I was just two or three steps away, I could see you with one turn. But there were too many people in the supermarket today, one turn and the crowd pushed people away. At that time, a child in front of me almost fell, so I helped him up, and when I turned back, I couldn’t see you.”

“A child?” Li Zhenguan asked puzzled.

Wang Zhao nodded, closed the trunk, and opened the passenger door, letting Li Zhenguan sit in first. By this time, Wang Xuechun and Zhang Ke had already gotten into the car.

She felt embarrassed to say such things in front of the two elders, so she just patted Li Zhenguan’s head, and while helping him fasten his seatbelt, she leaned in and whispered in his ear: “I’ll tell you when we get back.”

On the way, Li Zhenguan couldn’t stop turning his head to look at Wang Zhao. Even Zhang Ke in the back seat noticed and asked if there was something wrong, or if they had forgotten to buy something.

Li Zhenguan’s face suddenly turned red, unusually stammering in front of Zhang Ke.

Wang Zhao laughed, looking at her parents in the back seat through the rearview mirror. She met Zhang Ke’s gaze and smiled, “We didn’t forget anything. I just told him a joke earlier, but only half of it. He’s curious about the second half.”

Zhang Ke didn’t quite believe it: “What joke? Since when did you learn to tell jokes? You, who can’t even clap properly, learned to tell jokes to Zhenguan?”

Li Zhenguan remained silent, quietly watching the woman beside him deceive people without blinking.

Wang Zhao wracked her brains and finally thought of a not-so-funny cold joke that one of her colleagues had told during a company meal. She had only half-heard it then, but now it came in handy.

But before she could speak, Wang Xuechun interrupted her: “It’s the children’s business, why are you asking so much?”

Wang Xuechun patted Zhang Ke’s back and said to Wang Zhao in the driver’s seat: “Don’t mind your dad, just focus on driving.”

Li Zhenguan smiled.

Wang Zhao also smiled, she made a sound of agreement and started the car.

Zhang Ke sat back in the rear seat, glancing at Wang Xuechun, but ultimately didn’t say anything. The car returned to silence, only the tip of Li Zhenguan’s ear, who was looking out the window, turned slightly red.

The group returned home, parking the car downstairs. As they were taking things out, someone came out from inside. Wang Zhao and Li Zhenguan didn’t pay much attention, lowering their heads to organize the trunk. Only Zhang Ke glanced and then raised his head again after preparing to lower it.

“Brother Wang, has Qingchun from your family come back?”

Li Zhenguan instinctively looked up when he heard Zhang Ke’s voice. The middle-aged couple walking in front were their neighbors, and behind them was a young man who must be the Qingchun Zhang Ke mentioned. He glanced but didn’t pay much attention, then lowered his head.

“Leave these two boxes in the trunk, no need to carry them up. It’s cold now, so they won’t spoil. Anyway, Mom and them will take them away in a day or two,” Li Zhenguan said softly.

Wang Zhao nodded, standing there waiting for Zhang Ke to exchange a few words before they all went up together.

“It’s Spring Festival, of course he has to come back. This kid hasn’t been home for over two years since graduation. This time he specifically told his company he’d stay at home for a while,” the person Zhang Ke called Brother Wang came over, smiling as he spoke to Zhang Ke, his gaze falling on Wang Zhao and Li Zhenguan.

“This is Wang Zhao and your son-in-law, right?” Wang Zhao left early and returned late every day, barely encountering anyone in the neighborhood, while Li Zhenguan rarely went out even once a day. The two of them had married, but basically no one in this building had seen them.

Wang Zhao greeted, “Uncle Wang.” Li Zhenguan followed behind Wang Zhao, also smiling and greeting, then fell silent. They usually couldn’t join in the conversations of middle-aged people.

However, Li Zhenguan felt someone’s gaze, and following this feeling, he looked over to find it was the man called Qingchun walking behind the middle-aged couple. Meeting Li Zhenguan’s gaze, the man expressionlessly moved his gaze away.

Li Zhenguan looked at him for a while before casually moving his foot.

Sure enough, Wang Zhao beside him noticed and leaned in to ask, “Can’t stand anymore?”

Li Zhenguan’s current body wasn’t suitable for standing for long periods.

“My legs are a bit sore,” Li Zhenguan replied softly.

Wang Zhao placed her hand on his lower back, applying a bit of force to support Li Zhenguan, then said quietly to Zhang Ke who was still talking, “Dad, you and Mom chat with Uncle Wang for a bit longer. Zhenguan and I will go up first.”

Zhang Ke looked at Li Zhenguan and immediately understood, adding a reminder, mainly directed at Wang Zhao: “Then you two go up first. Quickly divide the bought items into preservation bags and boxes, and put them in the refrigerator’s fresh-keeping and freezing compartments.”

Wang Zhao nodded.

She carried a lot of things, trying to free one hand to support Li Zhenguan. The two went upstairs together. Once they entered the corridor, she asked, “Can you climb?”

At this moment, she was finally grateful that their floor wasn’t high, otherwise it would be life-threatening for Li Zhenguan, a pregnant man, to go up and down.

“I can climb,” Li Zhenguan said. He looked down at the things in Wang Zhao’s hands, hesitating, “Do you want me to carry some?”

“No need,” Wang Zhao said with a smile, “You getting yourself up there is already helping me.”

Actually, Li Zhenguan’s body wasn’t as fragile as she thought. Although his belly had grown during pregnancy, he still exercised daily. Zhang Ke and Yang Jin had suggested that he walk around the house when free, as it would be beneficial for the delivery.