The Gaze of the Radio Girl (GL) - Chapter 25

“Arrange a meeting?”

“Yeah.”

“But if we meet, what can I say to her?”

“Say what you want to say.”

Some words, Wu Lele had never shared with anyone because she hadn’t figured them out herself.

She’d shut herself off for too long, thinking that if she didn’t feel or react, the feelings and emotions wouldn’t exist, and she could find peace in life.

But unprocessed emotions were like a bomb buried deep underground, ready to explode at any moment.

Xue Ran knew exactly what lay behind her smiles.

Over the past year, through extensive reading and social interactions, it was like peeling an onion, slowly uncovering that bomb. Wu Lele began to experience more complex emotions, no longer brushing everything off with a simple smile.

Now, what lay before them was the core of it all.

What she truly needed wasn’t to walk away but to fully dismantle that core.

Xue Ran said to her: “If you’re not ready, we can wait. But Lele, don’t make yourself wait too long. A brighter world is waiting for you.”

Wu Lele blinked at Xue Ran.

Xue Ran wasn’t sure if she understood, but she believed Wu Lele’s courage had never faded.

She could pick up scissors to protect her without hesitation, and she could protect and cherish herself too.

Leaving the ice shop, Wu Lele’s mind felt much calmer.

In this home, she only needed to think about her own thoughts, her own desires.

Passing the market, Xue Ran bought a big bag of seafood to grill at home.

Tao Tao came too.

“Thanks for the invite, you two. A thank-you banquet for the teacher shouldn’t involve the teacher cooking, right?”

Xue Ran: “Of course not. We’ll cook for you.”

Tao Tao took a sip of jasmine oolong iced tea, feeling refreshed: “Lele, how’d you make this? It’s so good.”

“Really?”

“Really. When has Tao Tao ever lied to you?”

“Then come over more, and I’ll make you different ones, hehe.”

“Deal! I’ll come every other day. Just don’t get sick of me.”

“No way, Old Tao.” Xue Ran placed the clams on the grill, waiting for them to pop open before sprinkling salt.

In the small garden, the sun slowly sank.

Tao Tao sipped her drink, enjoying the cozy sunset and evening breeze under the outdoor umbrella.

Xue Ran didn’t let Wu Lele help with the rest, so Wu Lele held her cup, sitting next to Tao Tao.

The grill sizzled, and the sparkling water in her hand fizzed silently.

Looking at the bubbles, she suddenly asked: “Tao Tao, is it possible for Wu Haosen to get a reduced sentence?”

Tao Tao turned to her, speaking softly: “Lele, I heard he’s not cooperating in prison, so he might not get a reduction. Also, three years from now, he’ll need a full mental health evaluation. If it’s not good, he might be transferred to a psychiatric hospital for long-term treatment. Of course, that would need your signature.”

“Could he get better?”

“Depends on him.”

“…”

“Lele, that’s his personal issue, not yours.”

“But… my mother wants him to live a normal life.”

“Your mother found you?” Tao Tao shot up from her chair. “You met?”

Wu Lele shook her head: “I’m scared.”

“…Silly child,” Tao Tao touched her face. “They’re adults. They should take responsibility for their actions. How dare they guilt-trip you? It’s infuriating.”

Xue Ran brought a big plate of barbecue to the table, sat down, handed each a large shrimp, and said: “Old Tao, you’ve met lots of parents. Got any advice?”

Old Tao, engrossed in peeling shrimp, said: “Parent-child relationships are always the most complicated. A big part of Lele’s situation comes from not separating her issues from theirs.”

Wu Lele: “Separating issues?”

Tao Tao: “Like your parents. Their relationship had problems they didn’t resolve, but you paid the price, caught in the middle like a sandwich cookie. That’s a classic case of not separating issues.”

Wu Lele: “So what’s my issue?”

Tao Tao: “Things directly related to you, one-on-one relationships.”

Wu Lele fell quiet, half-understanding.

Tao Tao: “Lele, feel your own thoughts, follow your own will. Don’t get tangled in others’ consequences, and don’t let others sway you.”

That night, Wu Lele thought for a long time until her head hurt. She slipped into Xue Ran’s bed, holding her tight.

Xue Ran patted her head, saying nothing.

A day later, when Wu Lele got another text from her mother’s unfamiliar number, she replied with a meeting time and place.

That afternoon, she and Xue Ran arrived early at Ange’s café.

It had been a while, but Ange hadn’t changed a bit.

She placed coffee in front of them, saying: “It’s all our people here. If anything happens, just shout.”

Wu Lele: “Thanks, manager.”

Soon, the crisp sound of wind chimes rang out, the glass door opened, and a middle-aged woman walked in.

They looked up, first noticing her reddish-brown long hair, then her yellowish, rough skin, sunken eyes and cheeks, and dry, wrinkled lips, pale as paper.

This was very different from Wu Lele’s memory.

But it made sense—back then, Liu Yang was only in her early twenties. How could she look the same now in her forties?

Still stunned, Liu Yang spotted Wu Lele and walked straight to them.

“Lele, you’ve grown so much…” Liu Yang tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Wu Lele felt awkward, unsure how to address her, and only said: “Please sit. What do you want to drink?”

“You order for me. My treat.” Liu Yang looked at Xue Ran. “And this is…?”

Wu Lele: “My good friend for now, Xue Ran.”

Xue Ran, usually expressionless, gave a rare smile: “Hello, Auntie.”

“Oh, you’re Xue Ran. I saw you in the school media video. So you two… live together now?”

Xue Ran: “Yes.”

“Hehe, is that so, yeah…” Liu Yang rubbed her hands alternately, squinting with a smile. “Then you probably know a lot about our Lele’s family situation, right?”

Xue Ran: “I know some.”

Liu Yang: “Do you think it’s appropriate to interfere in someone else’s family like this?”

“Mom!”

“You finally called me ‘Mom’?” Liu Yang glanced at Wu Lele. “You refused to meet me before because of them, right? Lele, in this world, only we are family. Only family truly cares for you. Others can’t be trusted.”

Wu Lele felt this person was a stranger. The gentle, whispered care in her memory shattered into dust at that moment.

“It’s really unbelievable,” Wu Lele gave a bitter smile. “You abandoned me for over ten years, and now you come back to tell me we’re family.”

“Lele, bl00d is thicker than water. No matter what, you’re mine and Haosen’s child. We know you best.”

Wu Lele’s hands, hidden under the table, crumpled her denim skirt.

In the past, she could easily endure Wu Haosen’s mood swings, but now, it took all her strength not to explode and flip the table.

She tried to stay calm: “If you know me so well, do you know what I’m thinking now?”

“Mommy’s back.”

“And then?”

“Get Dad out, and we’ll be a family again.”

“And then?”

“What do you mean, and then?”

“Then you’ll abandon me again, go back to your family abroad, while I keep getting beaten black and blue by Wu Haosen?”

The last half of the sentence slipped out, her tone rising slightly. Ange, at the counter, glanced at her, took the latte she was holding, and personally placed it on their table: “Your coffee.”

Their standoff paused. Liu Yang looked at Ange: “Why do you keep staring at our Lele?”

Ange laughed: “None of your business.”

Before Liu Yang could react, Ange deliberately winked at Wu Lele and walked away.

Always stirring the pot, Xue Ran gave a wry smile but, for a moment, thought Sister An was kind of cool.

Wu Lele’s tone calmed.

She said: “He’s in prison because he deserves it. If you want to take care of him, go ahead.”

Liu Yang clearly didn’t expect Wu Lele to refuse so bluntly, even…

“Disobedient… How can you talk like that?”

Wu Lele: “Mom… when you left, why didn’t you take me?”

Liu Yang froze.

After a while, she said: “It’s been so many years. Why bring it up?”

…So it couldn’t be mentioned?

Wu Lele gritted her teeth: “The radio you gave me, I thought it was a communicator, something you left so you could come back for me…”

“What communicator?”

Wu Lele looked up, staring at Liu Yang in disbelief.

“Oh, that machine? It still works? Back then, we couldn’t afford toys. One day, after kindergarten, we passed a trash pile, and you thought it was fun, so you picked it up yourself.”

Wu Lele’s eyes widened, and she quickly lowered her head.

So… that’s how it was?

She gave a bitter smile.

She didn’t remember at all…

Liu Yang didn’t notice Wu Lele’s expression, as if recalling a childhood anecdote, smiling: “You acted like you found treasure, didn’t mind it being dirty, hugged it every day, tinkering with it. The day I left, you wouldn’t let go, so I lied to you. A joke, and you held onto it all this time?”

Was it her fault for remembering too well?

Wu Lele covered one eye with her hand, a smile on her lips.

Liu Yang continued: “Haosen was always good to you. He hit me, but he gave you whatever you wanted. Why did you put him in prison? Isn’t it better to have one more family member?”

“He’s not my family,” Wu Lele whispered. “He hit me, kept hitting me, nearly killed me. Many times, I almost died. Did you know?”

Liu Yang opened her mouth but said nothing.

Wu Lele stood, lifted her shirt, and showed the bruise on her waist.

Liu Yang glanced: “That’s it?”

Wu Lele looked at her stomach.

Over the year, with the Xue family’s care, the bruise had mostly faded, leaving only a brown scar.

She pulled her shirt down, silent.

Did she have to get hurt again for her to let it go?

Liu Yang: “You don’t remember how he beat me. Even now, every time I go through security, the machine beeps because my legs are full of metal pins. Lele, compared to me, he was really good to you.”

Wu Lele: “Violence is violence. Why compare like that?”

“It’s not about comparing. I just want you to understand, Wu Haosen loves you. He just has mental issues. With proper care, he’ll be fine. You don’t know what they say in the village… back home? They call you ungrateful, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, putting your own father in prison. Unheard of. I came here for your own good. Don’t you care about your reputation? A bad reputation, and what’s the point of getting into a top school? Don’t you want to return to your roots?”

Wu Lele suddenly found it laughable, and she did laugh: “If you didn’t mention it, I’d forgotten I had a hometown, had relatives.”

Liu Yang: “…That’s family business. How could they interfere?”

“Then why are they interfering now?”

“…You child, why won’t you listen?”

“Bullshit logic… Wasting time arguing with you.” Wu Lele stood. “I’m clear. I can’t agree to your request.”

“Lele!”

“And we’ve never been on the same household registry, not before, not ever. As for Wu Haosen, he has to answer for what he did. There’s nothing more to discuss. While your visa’s still valid, go back to your country.”

“Lele, don’t go! Wu Lele!”

Liu Yang stood, reaching for Wu Lele’s arm.

Xue Ran, quick on her feet, grabbed Liu Yang’s wrist: “What are you doing?”

“I’m talking to my daughter. It’s none of your business.”

“I’m her real family. Please respect that, Auntie.”

Liu Yang’s eyes widened, then she realized: “You stole my Lele? You freak!”

She grabbed the glass cup on the table and threw it at Xue Ran.

“Ran!” Wu Lele, without thinking, stepped in front of Xue Ran. The cup hit her back with a dull thud.

It hurt, a lot.

Wu Lele clenched her teeth, forcing back tears.

“Liu Yang,” she said evenly, like speaking to a stranger, “I don’t belong to anyone. I belong to myself. I choose to be with Ran, to stay with this family. It’s none of your business, and you have no right to interfere.”