Chapter 12

On the eve of summer vacation, I unexpectedly received a call from Qiao Liangze.

He said he’d been to the Convenience Store a few times but hadn’t seen me. After asking the staff, he found out I had already resigned.

“Did something happen?”

“No, I just felt I wasn’t learning anything there and wanted to try a different job.”

“Have you found something suitable yet?”

I felt a bit embarrassed. “Not yet.”

Last week, I interviewed for an assistant position at a fiction website. I thought I’d be responsible for updating pages or analyzing visitor data, but the screen was filled with stories that were either risqué or violent, which scared me off in a hurry.

Qiao Liangze chuckled lightly. “What a coincidence, I have a friend whose company is still in its early stages and is short-staffed. You could give it a try.”

I didn’t want to owe him any more favors and was thinking of how to refuse, but he continued, “Don’t feel pressured. That’s how favors work-just when you need something, I happen to have the resources. Helping each other out benefits us both.”

Since he put it that way, I had no reason to refuse, so I accepted the offer: “Alright, thank you, Mr. Qiao.”

Qiao Liangze’s friend’s surname was Huang, in his early thirties. We all called him Little Huang Zong.

He ran a self-media company, renting a 100-square-meter open office in a commercial building. Even with all the employees combined, there were only a dozen or so people.

My work was varied: writing articles, organizing copy, editing videos, and sometimes participating in planning.

Before I knew it, I’d learned to use many office software tools.

The colleagues here were young, and the atmosphere was great.

Sometimes we’d go out for dinner together, sharing industry gossip that was as dramatic as a Qiong Yao drama, leaving me wide-eyed. Or we’d complain about some idiot at the neighboring law firm who never washed his hands after using the restroom but insisted on shaking hands with everyone…

Sometimes, when I worked late, Chen Ye would pick me up on his little electric scooter.

I’d hug his waist from behind, my cheek pressed against his tank top, the evening breeze brushing past my ears, drowning out the pounding of my heart.

Life like this was truly wonderful.

This month, I earned 2,300 yuan and planned to buy a gift for Chen Ye.

I walked into the mall and went up to the second floor, bought a few men’s tank tops and shorts at Uniqlo. Then I went up to the fifth floor and saw the Samsung counter was having a sale. The clerk said the i9000 was last year’s model, but not outdated, and now only 1,800 yuan.

I gritted my teeth and bought one.

The old Xiaolingtong phone should have been replaced long ago.

With 200 yuan left, I headed straight to the basement supermarket to buy toilet paper, toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, and other daily necessities.

While waiting in line to pay, I suddenly remembered the towels at home needed replacing. Just as I was pushing the cart back through the crowd, I heard a cry: “Ouch, you ran over my foot!”

I hurriedly apologized, and when I looked up and saw the person’s face, I was stunned.

It was Sun Hui.

My stepfather was standing next to her, holding my little brother.

The atmosphere was awkward, like running into a distant relative on the street-you can’t just walk away, but staying feels strange too.

The crowd was bustling and packed. My stepfather put my brother down and let him push Sun Hui’s shopping cart, then naturally walked over and took mine, saying, “Ranran, you and your mom wait outside. Your brother and I will handle the checkout.”

I knew my stepfather was creating an opportunity for Sun Hui and me to talk, but there really wasn’t much left to say between us.

Sun Hui looked at me, her expression almost pleading.

Forget it, I sighed. “Okay.”

I sat on a bench outside, watching people come and go.

Sun Hui asked, “I see you bought a lot of things. Are you living outside now?”

“Yes.”

“Sharing an apartment?”

“Right.”

“With a… a guy?”

“Mm.”

Sun Hui quietly drew a sharp breath.

Looking at her hesitant expression, I suddenly lost the interest in this toothpaste-squeezing conversation and said, “It’s Chen Ye. He came to Shenzhen earlier this year, just to be with me.”

Sun Hui’s eyes widened. “Chen Ye? The same Chen Ye your dad brought home all those years ago? You two are still in touch? Did you reject Mr. Qiao because of him?”

Faced with Sun Hui’s barrage of questions, I calmly explained, “I’ve spent over ten years with him. It’s impossible to cut ties easily-now or in the future. Besides, even without Chen Ye, I wouldn’t accept Mr. Qiao.”

Sun Hui frowned deeply and asked in a roundabout way, “Have you two confirmed your relationship?”

“No.” After a pause, I added, “But I really like him.”

Phew…

I finally admitted it. It’s nerve-wracking.

If you ask when it started, I honestly don’t know. By the time I realized it, I was already hopelessly in deep.

But if you ask why…

I think it’s probably the breakfast ready when I wake up, the figure waiting for me at the door after work, the light left on for me in the living room… All these things I’ve longed for have actually been with me for many years.

Sun Hui pondered for a moment and said, “Ranran, could it be that you’ve just been too lonely lately? Suddenly having someone by your side, so you… you…”

She hesitated, searching for the right words.

I smiled. “Maybe. Just like you and Uncle Zhang.”

Sun Hui nodded. “Then, when you have time, bring him home for a meal.”

Now it was my turn to be dumbfounded. “Huh?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t interfere in your relationship. I just want to meet him.” Sun Hui smiled, her eyes shining. “Actually, when you just told me you liked Chen Ye, I was really happy. I never thought my daughter would share her feelings with me. I’m happier than winning the lottery.”

After a pause, she added, “If only you could act a little spoiled with me, that would be even better.”

I pressed my lips together and said nothing.

That’s a bit difficult.

Before we parted, as if remembering something, Sun Hui suddenly asked, “By the way, do you know someone named Zhang Yue?”
I wondered aloud, “I know her, but I blocked her ages ago.”

“Blocking is good. I heard that kid owes a huge sum and no one knows where she’s hiding. The debt collection company has blown up her parents’ phones. Your uncle is pretty close with Zhang Yue’s dad, but he didn’t dare ask you, so he came to me for information. But how would I know anything?”

At this point, Sun Hui asked again, “Why are things so tense between you and your uncle?”

“On the day of my dad’s funeral, my aunt suddenly pulled out an IOU, claiming my dad had borrowed three thousand yuan from her. ‘A father’s debt is paid by his child. Don’t think you can dodge it just because he’s dead.'” I sneered, “My uncle was standing right there and didn’t say a word.”

Sun Hui’s face turned ashen.

Even after I’d walked far away, I could still hear her yelling into the phone, “Sun Guocheng, you spineless bastard!”

…

When Chen Ye heard that Sun Hui had invited him over for dinner, he was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped.

“Why?”

“Why so many questions? I just want to meet you.”

He didn’t reply for a long time. I turned to look and saw him lying on the sofa, completely absorbed in fiddling with his new phone, his eyes nearly crossed.

What’s he looking at?

Curious, I leaned in, but before I could ask, I heard a click-Chen Ye snapped an ugly photo of me with my nostrils pointed at the camera.

While he was laughing uncontrollably, I stuffed a wedge of tangerine into his wide-open mouth.

Chen Ye’s expression instantly twisted into a mask of pain.

“A sour tangerine without sharing has no soul.”

Saying that, I took out my own phone and snapped an ugly photo of him.

See, those lively features are full of soul.

On the first weekend of junior year, I took Chen Ye to Sun Hui’s house for dinner.

We left carrying tea and skincare products. When we arrived, Chen Ye was obviously nervous, especially when my Stepfather opened the door-he even forgot how to use his mouth.

I urged him to go in.

Tsk, he forgot how to use his hands and feet too.

My little brother poked his head out of the bedroom, blinking curiously and warily at this strange older brother.

His gaze darted between me and Chen Ye, silent and reserved.

Chen Ye whispered, “He really looks like you.”

I raised an eyebrow and smiled, not bothering to ask in what way.

The food was ready, but Sun Hui wasn’t there.

Stepfather explained, “Your mom said one more order of Roast Goose would make it perfect. I was going to go downstairs and buy it, but she was afraid the owner would shortchange me and I wouldn’t notice, so she insisted on going herself.”

He glanced at the clock on the wall and muttered, “She should be back by now.”

Time ticked by. No one answered Sun Hui’s phone. Stepfather grew restless. “Ranran, you and Xiao Chen stay here, I’ll go look for her.”

I said anxiously, “I’ll go too.”

Stepfather waved his hand, “Your brother’s still at home.”

He closed the door and left.

Stepfather never came back either.

Ten minutes before Chen Ye and I entered the house, Sun Hui was hurrying home with a greasy Roast Goose. Suddenly, a Motorcycle sped past her from behind.

Her skirt billowed up and got caught on the rear swing arm of the Motorcycle. With a violent tug, Sun Hui was pulled to the ground, her body dragged along the road for hundreds of meters.

She died halfway.

The driver was a recent college graduate, out drinking with friends. He’d only had two drinks and didn’t think much of it, but when he started speeding, his brain was uncontrollably excited.

As he dragged Sun Hui at high speed, many passersby stared in shock, pointing and shouting frantically.

But he was wearing a Helmet and couldn’t hear what they were saying. He thought they were admiring his racing skills.

It wasn’t until the Traffic Police angrily stopped him that he realized, to his horror, there was a bloody, mangled corpse hanging from the back of his beloved Motorcycle.

……

Bloody September, under the scorching sun, I endured a long, agonizing, hellish summer.

Embalming, condolences, cremation, burial, then taking the hospital’s death certificate to the Police Station to cancel the household registration.

It was all over.

No, not yet. I was still trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake up.

During that time, I often couldn’t tell day from night. All I saw was endless gray.

Why is it that only after someone dies do the living remember their goodness?

Ye Hai was like that. Sun Hui too.

Thinking of this, I felt dazed, then my scalp tingled, my eyes stung, and I curled up on the sofa like a shrimp. My whole body trembled, sweat broke out on my forehead, as if an invisible hand had reached into my chest, gripped my heart tightly, and at the moment it was about to burst from the pressure… that hand let go.

Over and over, again and again.

Until I cried so much my tear ducts went numb, my mind blanked out, my body was exhausted, and my stomach-empty for days-finally felt a hint of hunger… Only then did I finally wake from the nightmare.

But it would take time to digest the fear.

In the second month after Sun Hui’s death, Stepfather suddenly called and asked me to come over.

He looked much more haggard, his hair all white, as if he’d aged ten years.

“Ranran, I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had a chance to tell you something.” Stepfather handed me a Bankbook. “This is the dowry your mom saved for you. There’s eighty thousand in it. She was afraid you’d spend it recklessly, so she never told you.”

I forced down the lump in my throat and shook my head. “My brother’s still young. Leave it for him.”

Stepfather sighed and stubbornly pressed the Bankbook into my hand. “This is your mom’s heartfelt wish. Don’t refuse her again, okay? From now on, you’ll have to walk your own path. Keeping some money on hand won’t hurt.”

I looked down at it, dazed.

How could such a thin little book feel so heavy?

So heavy that as I held it… my hand couldn’t stop trembling…

When I left, I quietly put the Bankbook back on the coffee table while Stepfather wasn’t looking.

I don’t deserve to accept this kindness.

If Sun Hui’s phone hadn’t been destroyed, she would have seen the text I sent before leaving-

“Mom, I want to eat Roast Goose.”