yournovel Chapter 161 Farewell My Concubine
Chapter 161 Farewell My Concubine
Chapter 161 Farewell My Concubine
Clouds drift and the moon waxes and wanes, stars shift and constellations turn, and time slips away unnoticed.
The continuous drizzle lasted until the evening of the next day before gradually stopping.
After the rain, the sun shone brightly in the sky.
Above the towering skyscrapers, magnificent sunset clouds spread out wildly, like raging flames on the horizon, dyeing the entire sky a dazzling red.
Yu Huan stood quietly by the window of the editor-in-chief's office, gazing intently at the rare and beautiful scenery.
"Hehe, that's interesting." After watching the department's short video, Lao Lin smiled and gently unplugged the USB drive from the computer and placed it on the table.
He took off his black-rimmed glasses, rubbed his tired eyes, and didn't rush to express his opinion.
"Xiao Yu," Old Lin looked up at Yu Huan's back and asked, "I see three video files on the USB drive. Is there any significance to this?"
Upon hearing Lao Lin's question, Yu Huan immediately turned around and walked to the desk.
"Dad, you've probably seen the filenames already. We divided the department's short film into two parts for filming. The part titled 'Young People in the New Media Department' is pretty standard..."
He pulled out a chair, sat down, and then continued:
"The other part, 'A Day in the New Media Department,' was an idea proposed by my subordinates. It's a comedy with a focus on humor and laughs. Because we were worried that it was too unserious and not suitable for the Jiangnan Morning Post's official website, we split it into three videos. We plan to release this comedy short film on social media platforms around New Year's Day."
Old Lin rested his right hand on the edge of the table, his fingertips gently tapping the surface.
Yu Huan noticed obvious red marks on both sides of his nose, which were traces left from wearing glasses for a long time.
After a moment of contemplation, Lao Lin said, "How about this: 'Young People in the New Media Department' will be posted on the official website, and 'A Day in the Life of New Media' will be posted on social media platforms. I will arrange for all departments to watch the entire short film."
“Dad,” Yu Huan immediately cupped his hands in greeting, “Great minds think alike!”
Old Lin smiled calmly, put his glasses back on, and suddenly asked him, "By the way, did you drive here?"
“No,” Yu Huan shook her head, “I was riding an electric scooter.”
Upon hearing this, Lao Lin opened his desk drawer, took out his car keys, placed them on the table, and pushed them towards Yu Huan: "I still have some things to take care of. You can drive my car to pick up your mother, and then come back to pick me up. After that, we'll go to the restaurant together."
"Okay!" Yu Huan nodded without hesitation, then after a moment's thought, asked, "Where do I pick it up?"
Old Lin, who had just typed a few words on the keyboard, looked up and said, "The cigarette factory. It's still early, the roads shouldn't be too congested, you should hurry up and go."
"Oh." Yu Huan nodded.
I glanced at the wall clock; it was 5:11, more than an hour before my dinner appointment with my uncle.
Seeing that Lao Lin was already engrossed in his work, Yu Huan stopped nagging and turned to leave the director's office.
He walked briskly down the stairs, through the bustling corridors of the Lianhe Zaobao building.
After wandering around the open-air staff parking lot, I quickly found Lao Lin's Crown sedan parked in the corner.
Yu Huan was already quite familiar with the car after a few tries, and had at least driven it back and forth on the highway once.
Start the engine, lightly press the accelerator, pass the toll booth without hindrance, directly merge people and vehicles to navigate the drainage ditch and turn onto the main road.
With the purchase on his mind, he stopped his Crown on the side of the road, quickly got out of the car, and jogged to the Bubugao Supermarket to buy a bottle of Wuliangye (a type of Chinese liquor) and tossed it onto the back seat.
The journey of a few kilometers, plus the time spent buying the liquor, took no more than ten minutes before the Crown sedan was parked on the side of the entrance road to the cigarette factory.
Steady as an old dog.
Yu Huan took out his phone and dialed his mother-in-law's number.
After the ringtone rang cheerfully a few times, my mother-in-law's friendly, smiling voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello, Xiao Yu."
“Mom, I’ve driven here to pick you up,” Yu Huan said directly. “I’m right at the entrance of the cigarette factory.”
The mother-in-law immediately replied, "Okay, I'll be right out."
Yu Huan didn't turn off the engine, put it in neutral, and waited a few minutes before seeing his mother-in-law, wearing a light gray wool coat and carrying a black leather bag, walking lightly out of the entrance road.
The mother-in-law opened the passenger door, bent down to get in, and asked, "Xiao Yu, is your dad busy?"
Hear the words.
Yu Huan wondered what was going on with the elderly couple, who suddenly started calling each other "your dad" and "your mom" in front of him, whereas before they always called each other "father-in-law" and "mother-in-law".
However, this undoubtedly brings them closer.
Upon hearing his mother-in-law fasten her seatbelt with a "click," Yu Huan snapped out of his daze and said, "Yes, after all, the handover of work has begun."
Release the handbrake and gently press the accelerator.
The Crown had only driven a few dozen meters when the mother-in-law suddenly called out, "Xiao Yu, slow down a bit."
"Okay." Although Yu Huan didn't understand why, she did as instructed.
The mother-in-law raised her hand, pointed to a group of buildings on the right side of the car window, and said with a smile, "Look over there."
Yu Huan immediately applied the brakes lightly and looked in the direction his mother-in-law pointed. There he saw a rather old-fashioned entrance to a residential area, with a retractable gate half open and the words "Cigarette Factory Dormitory" prominently displayed on the gatehouse.
“I have an apartment here,” my mother-in-law said with a smile. “You probably know that You Rong is going back to Changsha to record a show tomorrow, right? When she’s free, you two can move all your things over. There’s a garage of about 20 square meters on the first floor, which you can use to park and store odds and ends.”
Yu Huan didn't pretend to be ignorant.
My foot is on the brake.
With one hand on the steering wheel and the other scratching his head, he said hesitantly, "Rongrong mentioned it to me before, but I personally don't like moving frequently, I always feel it's a bit of a hassle."
The mother-in-law's smile remained unchanged: "The wedding room is already decorated, but it still needs to be ventilated to remove formaldehyde. We can't move in right away."
Yu Huan nodded: "I understand."
"At least you call me Mom," the mother-in-law said. "Whether it's Yourong or you, I hope you can both live a better life."
After a moment's thought, Yu Huan smiled and released the brake while stepping on the accelerator.
The Crown drove slowly.
“Mom, I’ve thought about it and I agree. It would be too unfair for Rongrong to live with me in that old, run-down one-bedroom apartment.” Yu Huan said with a sigh, “It really is too much of a hardship for her.”
It's truly moving.
He was so engrossed in dreaming about the future that he never realized that Lin Yourong's quality of life had actually declined considerably during the time she spent with him.
“Since the quality of life can be better, why not move here? This house is just sitting empty anyway.” The mother-in-law said with a hint of teasing, “Let me put it this way, unless you consider yourself an outsider and don’t really treat your father-in-law and me as your parents.”
A warm feeling welled up in Yu Huan's heart. The atmosphere was right, and she had to make a statement. She quickly said, "Mom, you're right. Also, I will work hard to make Rongrong's life better and won't let her suffer with me forever."
Hearing these words, the mother-in-law smiled with satisfaction.
On the way back, Yu Huan clearly felt that the traffic flow had increased.
Traffic flowed on the road, vehicles moving and stopping intermittently, and the buildings on both sides gradually lit up in the twilight as night slowly descended.
At this moment, the honking ban was still in effect, and drivers were honking their horns to their hearts' content, showcasing the city's hustle and bustle.
After driving for about twenty minutes, Yu Huan was able to see the Zaobao Building, which was just coming to life, through the car window.
The mother-in-law immediately called Lao Lin, urging him to come downstairs.
Looking exhausted, Lao Lin climbed into the back seat, greeted Yu Huan and his mother-in-law, and as soon as his bottom touched the seat cushion, he closed his eyes to rest.
After several turns, the car approached a restaurant specializing in soft-shelled turtles.
The area is near the southern suburbs, so there are relatively few vehicles, making the eight-lane road seem exceptionally wide. Therefore, Yu Huan parked the Crown directly on the side of the road.
After the mother-in-law unbuckled her seatbelt and loudly woke Lao Lin, the three of them immediately got out of the car and headed towards the bright and clean turtle restaurant.
Holding a box of Wuliangye liquor, Yu Huan stepped across the threshold, and a waitress immediately came to greet him.
With a smile, he asked gently, "I booked a private room. My phone number ends in 3315. Can you still keep that six-pound wild soft-shelled turtle for me?"
The young woman looked up at Yu Huan's face, snapped out of her reverie, smiled slightly, and said, "Brother, please wait a moment, I'll go ask the supervisor right away."
Old Lin stood to the side, stretching and loosening his muscles, his gaze inadvertently drawn to the two large glass tanks by the door.
The tank was filled with turtles of all sizes, and because of the cold weather, they all seemed to be very still.
He yawned and turned to Yu Huan, saying, "This meal must have cost several thousand yuan, right?"
Judging from Old Lin's tone, which sounded like that of a parent, and even carried a hint of reproach, Yu Huan smiled and said, "Dad, I haven't treated you and Mom to a meal yet. Besides, Uncle is here too, and he even got a 20,000 yuan bonus. We should at least have a nice meal, right?"
"Your son is so filial, aren't you happy?" The mother-in-law chimed in from the side, her slightly upturned eyes beaming with smiles.
Yu Huan suddenly shrugged and said, "It's a bit of a shame that Rongrong isn't here."
While they were talking, a waitress and a young man with a buzz cut carrying a red bucket walked over.
The young man put down the red bucket, looked at Yu Huan and said, "Dude, you booked this private room, right? The turtle is still here; I even put it in the kitchen for you."
“It’s me.” Yu Huan stepped forward and examined it carefully.
Thanks to the old man's fishing skills, the family often had soft-shelled turtles to eat. Yu Huan had a keen eye and could tell at a glance that this soft-shelled turtle was indeed wild.
The carapace is smooth and flat with a grayish-black color, featuring five dark black patterns. The skin is thin and even, and the claws are sharp and severely worn.
Without even touching it, he nodded in satisfaction: "Okay."
The waitress handed him the menu: "Sir, let me see what you'd like to order."
"Farewell My Concubine." Yu Huan simply waved his hand.
She doesn't even need to look at the menu; she's very skilled at it.
(End of this chapter)