Chapter 4 3. Fifteen-Year-Old Jiang Xiaoyu
At fifteen, Jiang Xiaoyu was the adolescent goddess Zhang Luo harbored a secret crush on.
At eighteen, Jiang Xiaoyu was the bare-faced goddess who shot to internet fame with a single photo from her arts college entrance exam.
At twenty-two, Jiang Xiaoyu was the entertainment industry goddess who rocketed to stardom with *Yesterday's Stars*.
At twenty-five, overnight, Jiang Xiaoyu became the "other woman" everyone condemned. The entire internet cursed her for seducing a director, saying she had slept her way to the top.
At twenty-six, Jiang Xiaoyu committed suicide by jumping off a building due to depression.
At twenty-six, Zhang Luo spent a long time accepting her departure. Then, after another four years, he finally buried her in a grave within his heart.
Inside that grave—
At sixteen, Jiang Xiaoyu had told him her dream was to become an actress.
At twenty-four, after learning his father needed a large sum for gastric cancer treatment, Jiang Xiaoyu had specifically asked a mutual friend for his account number and sent him a huge sum of money.
At twenty-five, eyes red and swollen from crying, Jiang Xiaoyu said over the phone that she hadn't done those things, that she had been framed.
At twenty-six, one week before her suicide, she had come to eat a late-night snack with him. She showed no signs of anything wrong. Faced with his worry, she said it was all in the past, that she didn't care at all.
That day, she said to Zhang Luo, "You're just a coward."
Zhang Luo didn't understand what she meant.
Jiang Xiaoyu had drunk too much. Pointing at him, she accused, "Didn't I just reject you once when we were sixteen? Why didn't you dare confess to me again after that?"
Zhang Luo was at a loss. "You wanted to be an actress. I'm just an ordinary person. I couldn't help you."
"Who asked you to help me!" Jiang Xiaoyu cried. "Do you even get it?"
Zhang Luo really didn't get it.
The next day, Jiang Xiaoyu called in a panic, asking if she had said anything random while drunk yesterday.
Zhang Luo played dumb, saying he had drunk too much and couldn't remember.
Jiang Xiaoyu let out a huge sigh of relief.
"That's good, then. You have to work hard and stop always saying you're just a salted fish. You're excellent, you're amazing, you will definitely succeed!"
Zhang Luo would always remember Jiang Xiaoyu's energetic voice cheering him on over the phone.
So, Zhang Luo never understood.
Why would someone so vibrant and energetic jump off a building just like that?
He didn't understand later, either.
He would never understand.
-
"What are you doing? Why are you suddenly crying?" Liang Fengying looked at Zhang Luo in shock. "Son, don't scare me."
Zhang Luo raised his hand and wiped his tears, performing with practiced ease. "Huh? I'm crying? Something got in my eye?"
Liang Fengying: "..."
Zhang Luo broke into a bright smile.
"Mom, what do you think about me becoming a star in the future?"
"Sure," his mom said. "You inherited your mother's good looks. You're a handsome young man now, much better looking than those male stars on TV."
"Uh, although I'm narcissistic, I wouldn't dare say something so unrealistic," Zhang Luo said.
His mom: "True, after all, you only inherited half my genes. The other half was ruined by your father."
"..." Zhang Luo sighed. "Mom, what if I told you I'm serious?"
"Serious about what?"
"About wanting to be a star."
"Huh?" Liang Fengying swung a slap—oh, no, placed her palm on Zhang Luo's forehead. "Do you have a fever? Why are you suddenly talking nonsense? You never pay attention to celebrities. You said they're all flash and no substance, a bunch of good-for-nothings who can only rely on their faces to earn a living."
"I—" Zhang Luo thought, he used to have such backbone when he was younger? At thirty, all he could think about was how being a star meant having a lot of money.
Rely on his face to eat? A good-for-nothing? As long as he could earn that money, people could call him whatever they wanted.
"It's like this," Zhang Luo said. "I took a nap this afternoon."
"I knew you weren't reading!" Liang Fengying roared. "What did I say before I left? Read books! Read books! Read books!"
With each shout, Liang Fengying's palm came down on Zhang Luo's back.
Zhang Luo was smacked until he nearly coughed up blood.
Only after she finished did the murderous aura at the corners of her eyes finally recede.
"..." Zhang Luo turned his head, pointing at his still-damp eyes. "I know why I was crying just now. I had a premonition of the torture I was about to receive."
Liang Fengying gave him a sidelong glance, her smile not reaching her eyes.
"No, Mom, I'm serious. I had a very, very long dream. I dreamed that I became a genius, that there were endless good stories and good songs in my head. If I become a star, I'd be a creative artist, a genius artist."
Liang Fengying: "You're dreaming?! You know you're dreaming?!"
A single sentence woke him up.
Zhang Luo was stunned.
Yeah, he was just dreaming. What was he doing?
What nonsense was he saying?
Wanting to be a star?
Idiot.
This was a dream.
When the dream ends, you're still the thirty-year-old stinky salted fish. What right do you have to daydream inside a dream?
He laughed self-mockingly.
"Auntie, you're here! Zhang Luo!" Jiang Xiaoyu's crisp shout jolted him out of his daze.
Outside the restaurant, Jiang Xiaoyu was carrying a stack of plastic stools, about to move them inside.
She smiled at them under the setting sun.
Fifteen-year-old Jiang Xiaoyu's smile was youthful and sweet, crashing straight into his heart.
Heavens, let this dream last a little longer.
Please.
Zhang Luo rubbed his eyes.
Liang Fengying smacked his back again.
"What are you standing there for? Go help Xiaoyu move the stools!"
Zhang Luo woke up as if from a dream and hurried forward.
Jiang Xiaoyu had already nimbly pushed open the shop door with her hips. "No need, I can do it myself. Auntie, Zhang Luo, come in!"
-
Jiang Xiaoyu Restaurant was one of the most popular restaurants in the area.
It specifically served the locals here, so whether in terms of ingredients or prices, its main selling point was being affordable and down-to-earth.
Otherwise, it couldn't have survived in this residential neighborhood.
"Zhang Luo, look at Jiang Xiaoyu. She's the same age as you, a classmate from your same school! Classmate! She actively helps her family on weekends. And look at you. I don't even expect you to help me—I just want you to read more books. And you?!"
Liang Fengying began laying into Zhang Luo as soon as she sat down.
Zhang Luo: "Mom, actually, I can help you with things."
"What can you help me with?" Liang Fengying's face was full of disdain.
"I can help you play mahjong. Really, I can help you draw the winning tile."
The atmosphere was silent for two seconds.
Then, Liang Fengying raised her hand and began slapping Zhang Luo's back—the reason she didn't hit the back of his head was because Ms. Liang Fengying believed you shouldn't casually hit the head, as it was easy to damage.
"I'll give you a winning tile! I'll give you kongs and blooms!"
Zhang Luo saw that Jiang Xiaoyu was actually looking their way.
The shame of that moment.
He quickly dodged.
"Mom, stop, stop, stop! I need to use the bathroom!" He ran.