Smile Code (Lost Laughter) 失笑 - Zhu Le 祖乐

19

Looking for someone with 100% compatibility-are we talking about organ transplant donors?

Gu Yi was still in a deep sleep when her phone buzzed a few times, and she received a WeChat message from her mom: "Sweetie, mom loves you!"

She never turned on Do Not Disturb. Her mom would drunkenly call late at night to complain, and Gu Yi had to make sure she answered promptly. Recently, things had been too peaceful, which felt strange, and sure enough, there was a drunk message. At 3 a.m., her mom was still loud: "Sweetie! You've got your wings now and haven't called me in a month! Did your company send you to do pyramid schemes?"

Her mom's voice was loud. How many dishes had she drunk to get like this? Gu Yi fumbled in the dark for her earphones: "Is the house renovation done?"

"Almost. The wall builder didn't work properly, so I yelled at him, told him to finish quickly. I had a drink with him, and now he calls me 'sister'-wants to be sworn brothers."

Unable to find her earphones, Gu Yi retreated to the bathroom: "What about Uncle Yun?"

Uncle Yun's real name was He Yunjun, her mom's boyfriend from her late forties, and they were deeply in love. When they were together, they were all sweet and affectionate, but when they disagreed, they would fight. However, compared to her father, Uncle Yun didn't throw things around, and occasionally, when her mom was being unreasonable, he would try to reason with her. To sum it up in one sentence: they were both bombs with high ignition points. Her mom's taste in men had always been terrible, and Gu Yi was curious if she had inherited the same bad judgment.

"He's unreliable. Nearly sixty, and still going to dance halls for the elderly. His bones are going to shatter from all that dancing." On the other end, it seemed like he sneezed: "The laundromat's not making much money, and I was thinking of quitting next year, maybe going on a trip."

Gu Yi could tell something was wrong: "You two fought again, didn't you?"

"He? He's not even worth it. I could chop him up and use him for dumpling filling."

"Let me see the video."

"Video? It's the middle of the night, what video are you talking about? I'm sleepy, go to bed too."

With that, her mom hung up. Gu Yi sat on the bathroom floor in the dark. According to usual habits, when her mom had free time, she'd always video call to show off something-brightly colored clothes she bought, some DIY crafts she made, or sometimes scold her for not eating properly or not buying milk with enough calcium. But suddenly hanging up like that meant they probably fought.

She called back: "Mom, did you fight with Uncle Yun?"

"No. I just suddenly realized I'm fifty, haven't left you anything, and felt a little sad."

"You've already left me priceless treasures, like your hardworking spirit and self-respect. Thanks to you, I'm poor, unlucky, and still single."

"Men are all useless. A woman who can do everything isn't worth cherishing. Little bunny, you're the best in my heart. No one is good enough for you. Just come home, we can live together."

Gu Yi spent a long time coaxing her mom, who was like a big kid, back to sleep. After that, she found herself unable to sleep. She wrapped herself in a blanket on the sofa, thinking that her mom must have drunk too much and called to make sure her daughter was safe, probably frightened of nightmares. When she heard Gu Yi full of energy, she was probably reassured. Her mom's nightmare content hadn't changed since Gu Yi was seven, when her dad, who didn't get custody, kept trying to take her to a bigger house, even though it was because he couldn't control his infidelity that her mom asked for a divorce...