Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Saturday was Qi An’s birthday. I invited all of his friends, as well as the older girl from our neighborhood whom he always wanted to greet but never dared to.

He had been acting listless, but the moment he saw her, he sat up straight.

I couldn’t help but smile. He shot me a look that asked: “How did you get her to come?”

“I just happened to run into her while she was on break, so I invited her over.”

She was only two years older than Qi An, yet he acted like a little kid in front of her.

He stood up awkwardly to take the gift from her hands.

I didn’t know what the girl said, but Qi An’s mood instantly plummeted.

The girl left quickly; after all, she was in her second year of high school, and her family put a lot of academic pressure on her.

More than once, I had seen the lights in her room still on at three in the morning.

I would run into her mother while grocery shopping. Her mother couldn’t go two sentences without mentioning grades, and her hands were always full of health supplements.

Seeing how dejected he looked, I leaned in and asked, “What’s wrong?”

He was still young; hearing my voice, he nearly burst into tears. Holding up a crystal ball, he said, “Mom, she’s in a relationship.”

That was the exact moment Zhou Yanqing arrived.

Just as Qi An finished his sentence, Zhou Yanqing pushed open the door, his eyes meeting mine as I stood by the sofa.

I used my sleeve to wipe the tears from the corner of Qi An’s eye and whispered a reminder: “Your friend is here.”

He turned around, a bit flustered, and as his gaze met Zhou Yanqing’s, he suddenly remembered why he had been so conflicted these past few days.

His face was a mix of confusion and distress before he finally stood up.

Zhou Yanqing handed him a gift. He opened it immediately and gave instant feedback: “I really like it.”

Zhou Yanqing was a man of few words, but Qi An’s other friends were quite talkative.

They dragged Qi An off to sing and dance.

I saw Zhou Yanqing sitting alone on the sofa looking out of place, so I asked him, “Do you want to help me make the cake?”

He looked interested, stood up, and followed me into the kitchen.

“Help me slice some strawberries.”

He did as he was told, showing off excellent knife skills.

“Do you usually cook?”

“Yes, I make my own meals.”

“That’s impressive. Qi An hasn’t even stepped foot in the kitchen yet.”

He put the knife down and reiterated, “Auntie, there’s no need to test me. I don’t like Qi An anymore.”

I didn’t look at him. Instead, I asked something else: “Is that you in the photo?”