chapter 7
Awakened from a dream, drenched in sweat.
Opening the door, I saw Zhou Ciye standing there as well, facing Xu Nian, his face flushed red, looking like a deer caught in headlights.
As innocent as can be.
“Xu… Xu Nian, good morning.”
“Have you had breakfast?”
“I bought some, would you like to try it?”
He lifted his hand as if presenting a treasure.
Some? More like a lot.
Xu Nian held the door, not letting him in.
Her voice was gentle but distant.
“No, thank you.”
“May I ask why you came to my house?”
Zhou Ciye stiffened, his gaze wandering, finally landing on me.
“I… I’m looking for Xu Sisi.”
Zhou Ciye looked a bit dejected, walking along with a gloomy face, not saying a word.
Even when I took breakfast from his hand, he didn’t react.
After eating a bowl of wontons and drinking a cup of soy milk, he casually handed me a meat bun.
“Chen’s beef bun – thin skin, lots of filling, juicy and slightly spicy. You always said you wanted to eat it. Since they’re still open, hurry up and eat.”
I stopped in my tracks.
Chen’s beef bun – thin skin, lots of filling, juicy and slightly spicy. It was my favorite breakfast throughout high school, especially with a cup of freshly ground soy milk. Pure satisfaction.
I really had said many times how much I missed breakfast from that place.
But Zhou Ciye had never responded to that topic.
So it turns out he did hear me, and he did care, he just didn’t want to acknowledge me.
Thinking this, I kicked Zhou Ciye in the back of his leg.
Zhou Ciye sucked in a breath.
“Are you crazy?”
“Going nuts again!”
“You don’t want to talk to me? Well, I don’t want to talk to you either.”
“Goodbye.”
“Never see you again.”
He shouted furiously at my back.
Two hours later, at Yijia Sweet Shop, we locked eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“Welcome.”
He looked confused; I wore a fake smile.
The name of this Dessert Shop was literally “Yijia Sweet Shop,” and it was run by Zhou Ciye’s cousin.
At this moment, he was questioning his cousin.
“You hired her?”
“Do you know the law? She’s underage.”
His cousin grinned.
“If you don’t say, I don’t say, who would know she’s underage?”
Zhou Ciye glared, then turned to question me.
“Why did you come here looking for a job?”
“Did you think my silly cousin would be easy to fool?”
“Why are you looking for a job?”
“Short on money?”
I curled my lips, enunciating each word: “None of your damn business.”
All afternoon, I greeted and saw off customers, while Zhou Ciye sat sulking in the corner like an angry pufferfish.
After a long while, when I looked over again, he had already fallen asleep, head tilted back, mouth open.
His cousin nudged me with her elbow.
“Does my little brother like you?”
“Are you two a thing?”
Expressionless, I cleared the tables.
“He likes my sister.”
“Huh?”
“My identical twin sister.”
“Hiss-substitute romance? Is he that much of a jerk?”
“Heh.”
“Wait here, I’m going to beat him up.”
Good news one: Zhou Ciye was chased out of the Dessert Shop by his cousin, running for his life, covering his head.
Good news two: I passed the probation and got the part-time job-ten yuan an hour, double on holidays, paid monthly.
When I left the Dessert Shop, Zhou Ciye was still squatting in the corner.
He stood up as soon as he saw me.
“If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”
“Can’t you talk properly?”
“If not, I’m leaving.”
“What did you say to my cousin? Why did she beat me up?”
I rolled my eyes, not wanting to bother with him at all.
But Zhou Ciye grabbed me.
“Xu Sisi, have you always lived on the balcony?”
“Why?”
“Your family has three bedrooms, so why do you live on the balcony?”
“Later, when you bought such a big house and ordered a three-meter bed, was it because of this?”
“But why do you always sleep in the study when I’m not home?”
“And…”
And?
Is this never going to end?
Impatiently, I shook him off.
“We have nothing to do with each other anymore.”
“We don’t now, and we never will.”
“Mind your own business.”
“Stop prying into my life.”
What does it have to do with him?
Yes, you always want what you lack.
I bought such a big house and ordered a three-meter bed because I never had one before.
But such a big house, such a big bed, only made me afraid.
So empty, it made my heart uneasy.
Only when I curled up in the study, crowded with things, lying on the narrow sofa bed, did I feel safe.
How ironic, how sad.
I thought growing up would make up for what I missed in my youth.
But it turns out, that’s the poverty of my whole life.