The Gaze of the Radio Girl (GL) - Chapter 26

Liu Yang stood frozen, her shoes covered in spilled coffee and glass shards.

Ange walked over with a few staff members.

The staff were students, practically Wu Lele and Xue Ran’s seniors. They formed a wall, pulling Wu Lele and Xue Ran behind it.

Ange said to Liu Yang: “Ma’am, you’ve endangered other customers’ safety. Please leave now, or I’ll call the police.”

“Lele…”

Liu Yang raised her hand toward Wu Lele. But Wu Lele only glanced at her, quickly turned away, and didn’t look back.

She shook her head, shifted her raised hands, grabbed her handbag, and left.

“Lele, quick, wipe yourself.” A staff sister handed her a towel.

“There’s a spare uniform in the storage locker. You two go change in the back.”

Wu Lele: “Sorry for the trouble.”

Ange, holding a broom and mop, said: “You should say, good thing it happened here.”

Wu Lele blinked and smiled.

In the changing room, they stood back-to-back, peeling off their sticky clothes.

Xue Ran couldn’t help but laugh: “Look at you, blocking like that. One drowned rat would’ve been enough, but now we’re both soaked.”

Wu Lele pouted: “How could I know… I forgot I’m shorter than you.”

“You’re not just shorter, you’re skinnier too.”

“Hmph.”

“Learning to get mad? That’s good.”

“…My back hurts…”

“Let me see.”

On Wu Lele’s back, right at her shoulder blade, a red mark had formed.

The shocking bruises from before had mostly faded, but the scars from pigmentation lingered stubbornly on her back. Xue Ran leaned down, placing soft, scattered kisses on them.

Wu Lele stiffened, her voice hoarse as she called: “…Ran?”

Xue Ran’s cool lips pulled away, and she smiled, gently stroking the scars, chanting: “Pain, pain, pain, all fly away!”

“…Are you still the class leader I know? Or… are you Deep Space Witch now?”

“Didn’t you say it? Both are me. Let’s go home.”

For days, Liu Yang lingered around Yuanshan Lake like a ghost.

Soon, she found the Xue family’s house.

Whenever Wu Lele or Xue Ran opened the curtains, they saw Liu Yang standing under the streetlight, staring at them for a long time.

From then on, they never opened the curtains again.

On the evening of August 7, Xue Haichao and Lin Ran returned early from their hometown, carrying bags of stuff.

Lin Ran: “Oh man, when they heard we added someone to the family, everyone was thrilled and prepared a ton of things. Lele, come here!”

Wu Lele was watching Xue Ran unpack gifts, not expecting to have her share.

Lin Ran pulled out two big red envelopes: “First, these are from Grandpa and Grandma, one for each of you.”

Wu Lele: “I get one too?”

“Of course!” Lin Ran opened a suitcase. “Then, Grandpa and Grandma heard our Lele loves seafood, so they packed a big bag of dried squid, whole shrimp jerky, squid strips, fried baby crabs, shrimp chips… all hometown specialties. You can snack on them while reading or watching shows.”

“Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma.”

“And this is plaster from your cousin and uncle from their trip, for bl00d circulation and scar removal… It has a lot of uses, I can’t remember them all. Take it.

“Then… these dozen boxes are face masks for all three of you. And candies…”

Lin Ran kept introducing more, and Wu Lele, who’d never seen such a variety of gifts all for her, felt overwhelmed behind the mountain of bags and boxes.

Xue Ran leaned over: “Big Ran, what’s this stack of books at the bottom? Grappling Techniques, Self-Defense, Muay Thai Basics?”

Lin Ran: “Oh, your cousin, the one who graduated from police academy this year, said to share with her sisters for self-defense.”

Xue Ran: “Why’s she worried about this…”

“I think it’s great, but the first rule is to run, never fight a bad guy head-on. Oh, Lele, come here.” Xue Haichao waved her over.

Wu Lele put down Grappling Techniques and went to a cardboard box.

Xue Haichao patted the box: “Check if this model’s right. If it is, I won’t return it. We’ll put it on the dining cabinet.”

Xue Ran leaned in: “Old Xue, since when do you drink coffee? Buying such a fancy machine?”

Xue Haichao: “Lele likes making drinks, right? I want to try them too. Plus, this way, Lin won’t keep drinking instant coffee. All that three-in-one isn’t good for bl00d sugar… So, Lele, is the machine okay?”

It was a home model Wu Lele had heard the café manager talk about. She nodded: “It’s good, it’s good.”

Xue Haichao: “I’m no expert, so it’s up to you to figure out. Have fun.”

Wu Lele’s eyes sparkled. Once the coffee machine was moved to the dining cabinet, she circled it endlessly.

In the living room, the three were unpacking.

Lin Ran whispered: “Old man, looks like we got the birthday gift right.”

Xue Haichao: “Hmph, I may not chat with Lele much, but I’m pretty good at spotting what people like.”

Xue Ran glanced at Wu Lele and asked: “Why’d you come back early? Weren’t you staying till the end of the month?”

Lin Ran: “The neighborhood committee called us. Said that woman’s been watching our house. We had to come back and check. Just you two at home—how could we not worry?”

“Did the committee tell you who she is?”

Xue Haichao: “Who?”

“Lele’s mother, Liu Yang.”

Lin Ran: “…”

Xue Haichao: “…”

Lin Ran: “They didn’t mention that…”

Xue Haichao: “Missing for so long, why’s she back now?”

Xue Ran glanced guiltily at Wu Lele, who was engrossed in the coffee machine, and waved Lin Ran and Xue Haichao over.

The three huddled, quietly recounting recent events.

Lin Ran couldn’t help but slap her thigh, about to lose it, but saw Wu Lele look over at the noise and smiled: “It’s okay?”

“Yeah!” Wu Lele beamed, returning to her tinkering.

Lin Ran sighed in relief: “I feel for her, but she can’t treat Lele like that.”

Xue Haichao: “She’s at our doorstep now. We can’t let her keep standing outside, right? Should we invite her in to talk? Lele doesn’t have to acknowledge her as her mom, but as in-laws, we should be courteous.”

“In-laws?” Xue Ran sensed something off. “What in-laws?”

Lin Ran: “Aren’t you planning to be with Lele?”

“How… how’d you know?”

Lin Ran: “Was it hard to tell?”

“…”

Lin Ran: “You gave it away the first day, you know.”

“…”

Xue Haichao: “Leave the parent stuff to us. Dad’s going out to talk with Ms. Liu now. Little Ran, take Lele to her room.”

Xue Ran looked at her father for a long moment, nodded, and took Wu Lele to her room.

Wu Lele obeyed but was confused: “Ran?”

Xue Ran: “Your mother’s coming in soon. Old Xue will handle it.”

“Uncle, he…”

“He already sees you as his daughter.”

“Will it…”

“It won’t.”

“I haven’t finished…”

“I know what you’re going to say.”

“Can I eavesdrop? Like, sit at the staircase where no one can see?”

“…Fine, I’ll stay with you.”

The second and third floors were dark, with only the first floor’s light seeping through the dining room, faintly illuminating the edge of the wooden staircase.

Wu Lele leaned against Xue Ran, holding her arm.

The garden’s iron gate opened and closed, and parental small talk stretched from the garden to the living room.

Wu Lele heard Liu Yang’s voice and thought of the unorganized gifts.

Xue Ran’s hand rested on Wu Lele’s, patting lightly, like a kind of comfort.

Liu Yang seemed to be sizing up the Xue household, her tone much softer compared to the hysteria of days before.

Liu Yang: “These are…”

Lin Ran: “Oh, look at me, haven’t had time to unpack. They’re all gifts for the kids.”

“Kids?”

“Yeah, including Lele’s.”

Xue Haichao: “Come, Ms. Liu, have some tea.”

The clink of porcelain underscored a long silence.

Liu Yang suddenly spoke: “You’re so good to Lele. I should thank you. But she has her own family. It’s better for her to reunite with her father soon.”

“And the mother?”

Lin Ran spoke quickly but stopped, cut off by Xue Haichao.

Xue Haichao: “In a few days, Lele will be an adult…”

He paused, but Liu Yang didn’t respond.

Xue Haichao continued: “Have you ever thought that before being part of a family, Lele is first an individual?”

Liu Yang: “…”

Xue Haichao: “Big Ran and I have imagined countless times what kind of lives our kids will lead when they grow up. We hope they’re free, independent, happy, healthy, with the right to choose and the courage to say ‘no.’ If one day we can’t support them, they should be able to support themselves. If they want to stay, they stay with us. If they’re tired of Beijing, they can go to other cities. To explore, to venture, to find a place they want to root themselves in.”

Liu Yang: “Lele’s not your child.”

Lin Ran: “And you? What kind of life have you imagined for yourself?”

“I…”

“I’m not exactly a great mother. When they were young, I let Little Ran and Lin figure things out themselves. Because I believe if parents live their lives clearly, the kids will know what to do.”

Liu Yang: “…”

Lin Ran: “Your life? Have you figured it out?”

“…”

Lin Ran: “Ms. Liu, we invited you here not to blame you. As a woman, I understand your past misfortunes and situation. Let that misfortune end now. Don’t pass it on to the next generation.”

“You make it sound easy…” Liu Yang’s tone wavered, tinged with anger and resentment. “Can the bond of bl00d be cut just like that? Who hasn’t gone through this? Lele’s already very lucky.”

“You really think so?” Xue Haichao countered.

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t want to show this to anyone, but you need to face a fact—behind your back, Lele brushed past death countless times.”

Xue Ran heard the sound of a tablet being opened and tightened her hold on Wu Lele’s shoulders.

Silence, a long silence.

Lin Ran: “These are all the injury assessments and medical records since the Women’s Federation got involved… Seeing this, do you still think Lele’s lucky?”

Liu Yang: “…No… What I saw before wasn’t like this…”

Lin Ran: “When was the last time you really looked at Lele?”

Xue Haichao sighed: “The past can’t be chased, but the future is long. Bearing our own consequences is hard enough. Why make life harder for the kids?”

Liu Yang: “…”

“By the way,” Lin Ran paused, “where do you live now?”

“…Not far, Malaysia.”

“Hm… Malaysia… Pretty nice… You’ve started a new life, and Lele should too…”

Xue Haichao: “We’ll take care of Lele.”

Lin Ran: “Even if, worst case, they split up one day, Lele will always be part of our family. That will never change.”

Liu Yang: “What about Lele’s dad…”

Lin Ran: “You’re still hung up on him?”

Liu Yang: “He just has mental issues…”

Xue Haichao: “Then leave it to doctors. Lele’s not a doctor. She can’t save him, or you.”

Liu Yang visibly shook, saying nothing more.

They talked a bit longer downstairs. Near midnight, Liu Yang finally got up and left.

Wu Lele’s body shifted but didn’t go downstairs.

“Am I bad for not going down?”

“Lele, don’t force yourself. Not every story gets a happy ending, and not every conflict needs resolution. There’s time ahead. You’ve already done well.”