Adored by Him: My Blissful Days as the Girl Next Door-Chapter 103 - 102 How Good-Looking

All day long, Zhao Meimei muddled through, her eyes on the teacher, but her mind kept replaying the scene she overheard in the bathroom with Wang Jiayue, like a little movie.

At dinner, Zhao Meimei was a bit absent-minded, but her parents didn’t notice.

Liu Dazhuang was recently troubled by the factory’s buyout issues, sighing all day long.

Liu Xiue picked some food for Zhao Dazhuang: "Don’t think about it, hasn’t the matter not been decided yet?"

Zhao Dazhuang took a bite of food and mumbled a response: "It’s already settled, just hasn’t been officially announced yet."

Liu Xiue paused in her action of picking food: "Then what are we waiting for?"

Zhao Dazhuang sighed: "Waiting for money! They want the buyout, won’t they have to pay? The benefits we were owed for a year and a half have dragged from the beginning of the year to the end, and now it’s the New Year, if they don’t pay up, how can people work!"

Liu Xiue nodded: "That’s true, it’s not a small amount, is it twenty thousand?"

Zhao Dazhuang: "Is it that much? Who knows, they say the house will also be privately owned, based on seniority, it needs some extra money."

Liu Xiue was shocked: "Really? Is the news reliable? How much extra do we need for our house? Is the little wage they owe enough to cover it?"

Zhao Dazhuang shook his head: "Who knows, the specifics haven’t been issued yet, I’m just worried, if the factory really buys out, what do I do?"

Once the factory buys out, employees will definitely be laid off, having to find other employment, there’s no other way.

Liu Xiue was also troubled by this, the household expenses, Zhao Meimei’s tuition, and the monthly allowance to the grandparents all weighed heavily on them.

Now the factory’s poor performance affected even her grocery store business, with a monthly revenue less than half of what it used to be, if Zhao Dazhuang gets laid off, life at home would really be tight.

Zhao Meimei snapped out of her tangled thoughts, looked blankly at her dad, and asked: "What does a buyout mean?"

Zhao Dazhuang deflected: "Nothing, hurry and eat, then go do your homework."

Liu Xiue comforted him: "Don’t think too much, it’s the whole factory’s issue, not just yours. There will be a way when the time comes, we’ll discuss it then."

Zhao Dazhuang put his chopsticks down, feeling a blockage in his stomach, he scratched his head: "I know, it’s just troubling."

That night, Zhao Dazhuang and Liu Xiue took out all their savings and tally books, sitting at the living room coffee table to figure out how much savings they actually had, calculating how long it could last if they got the buyout money, and to prepare Zhao Dazhuang for finding a new job.

They talked while calculating, thinking Zhao Meimei was studying in her room.

Zhao Meimei huddled by her study desk, eavesdropped for a while, pieced together everything her parents said recently, thought it through, and understood it all.

Once the factory bought out, her dad would get laid off, her mom’s grocery store business was declining, and the family was going to face a financial crisis, her parents were worried sick.

Zhao Meimei held the pen, aimlessly writing her Brother Yangyang’s name over and over on the paper in wild cursive, square characters, round fonts, cartoon letters.

By the end, the strokes became chaotic, from clear characters to a blurry mess, just as she was about to tear the page out of the textbook, her phone chimed with a text message.

Shi Yang: Studying?

Just those three simple words pulled Zhao Meimei away from her agitated mood, she clutched her phone and quickly typed back: Brother, I miss you.

Shi Yang: Tell me, what’s going on.

Zhao Meimei obediently started to talk, sending message after message, first about Wang Jiayue, then about her dad’s layoff issue, rambling on until she’d poured out all the words bottled up inside her.

On the other end, it fell silent.

Zhao Meimei held onto the sent messages, counting them carefully, having sent 25 messages in one breath, each filled to the brim before sending, figuring it would take a while to read.

Zhao Meimei set her phone aside, propped her chin up, and started daydreaming, feeling a bit melancholic. Growing up, she’s been carefree, but as she grows older, she becomes more sensitive, bringing about many more worries.

Zhao Meimei waited a little while longer, just when she was about to send another message to ask, her mom called for her from the living room.

Zhao Meimei went out, drank a cup of milk, then got pulled by her mom to wash her hair and blow it dry. By the time she returned to her room, it was almost ten o’clock.

The phone was still silent, no messages, no calls.

Zhao Meimei felt inexplicably anxious, stuffed all her textbooks into her school bag, then flopped onto her bed, initially planning to think about something, but once she lay down, found her mind blank. Her freshly washed hair was soft and comfortable, and she started feeling sleepy.

The phone rang, not a text but a call.

Zhao Meimei hurriedly sat up and answered: "Hello, brother."

The background noise on the phone was quiet, unlike the earlier bustling sounds.

"What are you doing?"

Zhao Meimei held the phone, laying on the bed: "Lying down."

"So early?"

Zhao Meimei groaned: "Headache, mood swings, brother, why haven’t you replied to my messages?"

A tempest of frustration trying to escape.

"The stars are particularly beautiful tonight, can you see them?"

Stars?

Zhao Meimei suddenly got interested. Her bedroom had no window, to see outside, she’d have to go to the balcony.

Zhao Meimei opened the bedroom door, the living room was empty, from the master bedroom came the sound of her parents’ conversation, the topic was heavy, they were especially engrossed.

Zhao Meimei tiptoed to the balcony, quietly closing the door.

Zhao Meimei looked up at the night sky, indeed, stars scattered across, with a single bright moon hanging alone.

Zhao Meimei exhaled, feeling some of her unease fading, she smiled and said, "It’s pretty."

"How pretty?"

Zhao Meimei tilted her head, seriously looking at the few brightest stars in the sky: "I can’t really say."

"Is it prettier up there or down here?"

Down here?

Zhao Meimei instinctively leaned over the balcony to look down, with just one glance, she saw a dark area below with a beam of pale light, like a flashlight.

Zhao Meimei’s sharp eyes suddenly widened: "Brother?"

The phone, and downstairs, laughter rang out simultaneously.

Clear and nearby, the sound slipped through her eardrum into the ear canal, tracing along the walls all the way to her heart.

Distant and faint, like a sigh, quickly dissipating in the air, leaving not a trace.

Zhao Meimei suppressed her voice, filled with surprise and joy: "Brother! Wait for me!"

A gentle reminder came through the phone: "Take your time coming downstairs!"