You Must Be Good 27p1

Chapter 27  p1

As night fell, the steam from the stove billowed into mist.

A plate of freshly boiled dumplings, steaming hot, was brought to the table. Nuonuo’s eyes immediately lit up, her little face flushed with excitement, and she almost started to dance. She eagerly picked up a dumpling and put it in her mouth, one after another. Before long, her round little belly was as full as a ripe watermelon.

Qiao Xiaoxiao smiled and stroked her hair. “Don’t overeat. If you want to eat, I’ll make them for you again tomorrow.”

Nuonuo was delighted and almost cheered.

—Sister, are you still here tomorrow?

Qiao Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment. Looking at Nuonuo’s expectant eyes, she nodded gently.

She didn’t know what her departure had brought to this family, but she could clearly feel the separation anxiety it had brought to Nuonuo. From the moment she had entered the house until now, Nuonuo had asked her more than once, “Sister, are you home tomorrow?” It was the same when she was cooking the dumplings just now. She was like a little tail following behind her, her hands constantly signing.

As usual, Qiao Banshan only symbolically ate a few dumplings before putting down his chopsticks. With the family’s tight finances over the years, he had long developed the habit of eating a few bites and then putting down his chopsticks, always thinking of leaving the good food for the two girls.

Qiao Xiaoxiao looked at him. “Uncle, eat. I’ve earned money.”

Enough to feed and clothe my uncle and sister.

Qiao Banshan took a drag from his old pipe and shook his head. “The money you earned yourself, keep it well. Is the milk powder can full?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s heart felt a little sour. She smiled. “Almost.”

She wanted to tell her uncle that the small milk powder can could no longer hold all her money, but she knew that in her uncle’s heart, she was still just a child who hadn’t grown up. If she told him too much, he would inevitably worry.

“How is school? Are you used to living in the city?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao nodded. “Everything is fine.”

Qiao Banshan looked at her, a stone still weighing on his heart. This child had been like this since she was little—quiet, reserved, swallowing all her difficulties, only reporting the good and not the bad. The more sensible she was, the more uneasy he felt.

Today was a little different. Qiao Xiaoxiao suddenly looked up, a fine light shimmering in her eyes, and even her tone was a few shades lighter than usual. “My sister is very good to me.”

She’s really good, so good that she can’t describe it in words.

Qiao Banshan saw her genuine happiness and smiled along with her. “Then study hard. She’s not a relative, yet she’s helping us so much. You must repay her well.”

He had only seen that woman twice. Once, when Song Qiu had brought him and Xiaoxiao to meet her. She was polite and thorough but exuded a sense of distance, as if separated by a layer of clear ice. The last time, she had come to their door herself, her whole being sharp and imposing, her gaze alone enough to make one breathless.

Qiao Banshan stroked his pipe and thought, it doesn’t matter how she treats me, even if she gives me the cold shoulder. As long as she can be genuinely good to Xiaoxiao, this worried heart of mine can finally rest easy.

Little Nuonuo, who was full, listened to the adults talk and climbed onto her sister’s lap with her hands and feet. She found a comfortable spot in Qiao Xiaoxiao’s arms like a little cat and habitually swung her short legs.

—I want to be good to my sister too.

“Yes, our Nuonuo is the best.” Qiao Xiaoxiao leaned down and kissed her smooth forehead gently. The child in her arms had clearly grown taller, but she was still light to hold. Seeing her wolf-like eating speed just now, she must have endured a lot of hunger during this time.

“Your sister…” Qiao Banshan sighed and tapped his pipe on the edge of the table. “She’s different from you. This girl is carefree.” At this, his voice became hoarse. Last Tuesday, when he came back from work, he saw that Nuonuo had been hit by Huang Sulan. The little girl didn’t cry. Instead, she pulled his hand and pressed it to her ear, signing.

—Daddy, Mommy hit me and turned me into Big Ear Tutu.

Qiao Xiaoxiao tightened her arms, feeling her sister nuzzling against her affectionately in her embrace. “Uncle,” her voice was very soft. “Nuonuo is fine just the way she is.”

Why does she have to live in fear like me?

Just as the stars in the night sky each have their own way of shining, if she could really choose, she would rather be the carefree one like her sister.

As the night deepened, Qiao Xiaoxiao put on her sneakers as usual, preparing for her night run. Nuonuo stuck to her like a little tail, refusing to let go no matter how much she coaxed her. Seeing that her sister was really going out without her, Nuonuo’s eyes turned red, and tears welled up.

Qiao Xiaoxiao had no choice but to take her soft little hand. “Let’s go, little follower.”

The streetlights stretched their shadows long. Qiao Xiaoxiao was a little absent-minded. She felt that both her sister and Qiao Banshan were not in a good state. This couldn’t go on, or the whole family would be dragged down by Huang Sulan alone. But what could she do? Her ability was still small, and it was unrealistic to bring them to the city. As she thought, she asked casually, “What does Nuonuo want to be when she grows up?”

She guessed that with her sister’s personality, she would probably say she wanted to be a teacher or a scientist.

Nuonuo’s eyes lit up, and she started to sign with her hands and feet.

—A star!

Qiao Xiaoxiao stumbled and almost fell. She pinched her sister’s cheek, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “You little fool, you want to be a star? What can you act as?”

Nuonuo, who had been underestimated, puffed out her cheeks and shook off her sister’s hand. She rushed to the withered lawn by the roadside and fell backwards with a thud.

—I can play a dead person!

She even knows to find a soft place to lie down.

Qiao Xiaoxiao quickly picked up the little drama queen, who was covered in grass clippings, and gently patted her grass-covered bottom. “Why do you suddenly want to be a star?” She suddenly realized that everyone was growing up, and even this little one in her arms was starting to have her own thoughts.

Nuonuo counted on her fingers, her face serious.

—Brother Xiaoniu next door said that stars can earn a mountain of money. I want to earn lots and lots of money to buy a new pipe for Daddy and a beautiful dress for my sister, so you won’t have to frown every day.

The childish words held an innocent calculation that made Qiao Xiaoxiao’s nose tingle. She squatted down and gently touched her sister’s forehead. “Okay, then I’ll wait for my big star sister to support me.”

—Yes!!!

The gentle night wind blew, playfully teasing the unruly tuft of hair on Nuonuo’s head. Under the moonlight, Qiao Xiaoxiao’s eyes were slightly red. Her sister’s young but firm words were like a warm current flowing into her heart, filling her with strength. She ran around the village again and again, with endless energy. In the end, she simply lifted Nuonuo onto her shoulders. The two sisters, accompanied by the moonlight, laughed and played as they ran home.

During these days, the Qiao family’s small courtyard was unusually peaceful. Qiao Xiaoxiao and her uncle had tidied up the inside and outside, and even the clothes that had been piling up for days had been washed and dried. What was most gratifying was that Nuonuo had even taken the initiative to wash her own underwear. Although her movements were clumsy, it was a remarkable progress.

The Lunar New Year was getting closer and closer.

Recently, Qiao Banshan’s odd jobs had all stopped, and he had some free time. He thought about tidying up the woodshed with Xiaoxiao to make it more comfortable for her to live in.

The two of them were both quick-handed. They bought putty, and Xiaoxiao rolled up her sleeves and painted the walls herself, while Qiao Banshan smoothed out the uneven ground bit by bit. To save money, the two of them did as much as they could themselves. Even the bed was something Xiaoxiao had found after looking through several woodworking tutorials online. Qiao Banshan didn’t say a word and went to the back mountain to drag back a few sturdy logs. The two of them, one gesturing and the other planing, were busy for two full days and actually made a decent-looking wooden bed.

The woodshed gradually changed. The originally mottled walls became white and smooth, the ground was no longer uncomfortable to walk on, and the newly made wooden bed gave off a faint scent of pine. Xiaoxiao stood at the door, looking at the brand-new little room, her heart warm. She even took a panoramic photo and sent it to her sister.

Her uncle held a cigarette in his mouth and squinted as he admired his handiwork, a rare hint of pride on his face. “How is it? Not worse than the ones you buy in the city, right?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao smiled. Everything was going smoothly, except that there was still no news of Huang Sulan.

On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, Qiao Xiaoxiao looked at Qiao Banshan, who was smoking in silence, and asked softly, “Uncle, she’s been gone for so long. Is she really okay?”

“Don’t worry about her,” Qiao Banshan puffed out a smoke ring, his brows furrowed. Without that woman at home, life was much more peaceful.

Qiao Xiaoxiao stared at her uncle’s wrinkled face and suddenly mustered up the courage. “Uncle, have you ever thought about… divorce?”

The word “divorce” was like a clap of thunder, almost making the pipe in Qiao Banshan’s hand fall. In this conservative village, divorce was a huge scandal. Last year, the Wang family at the east end of the village had a divorce, and it was still the talk of the town.

“She is, after all, Nuonuo’s mother…” Qiao Banshan’s voice was dry, as if he were trying to convince others, and also himself.

Qiao Xiaoxiao sat next to her uncle on the steps, looking at the gradually darkening sky in the distance, and said softly, “Although I’m young, I’ve seen everything in the days I’ve been in this family.”

“Uncle, I don’t understand the great principles of love and marriage.”

“But I know that she used to speak harshly to you, and now she doesn’t even care about her own daughter.”

“This kind of life… are you really going to live it for the rest of your life?”

A fifteen-year-old girl, who hasn’t had dreams of love? Qiao Xiaoxiao was busy making money to support her family and studying all day, seemingly having no connection with romance. But during breaks, listening to her classmates whisper and watching the shy interactions of young couples, she also had a longing for a beautiful relationship in her heart.

In her opinion, love should be warm, a force that can make each other better. If she couldn’t find such a person, she would definitely not settle.

Qiao Xiaoxiao thought her sister must be the same.

On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, the entire village was immersed in the busy atmosphere of the New Year. The usually deserted country roads were now filled with young people returning home, their laughter and cheerful voices bringing the whole village to life. Qiao Xiaoxiao held Nuonuo’s hand and went to the big market with her uncle.

On the way, she received a video call from Sister Yang. When the video connected, Yang Feitang was looking down and playing the piano with deep emotion, her slender fingers flying up and down. If you didn’t listen to the sound, you would definitely think she was playing some elegant piano piece. But reality shattered Sister Yang’s filter. She was singing as she played, “I wish you a happy and prosperous new year, I wish you a happy and prosperous new year, ah ah ah ah~”

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s face was flushed with laughter. “Sister Yang, Happy New Year!”

Yang Feitang tossed her long, artistic hair. Just as she was about to say something, Qiao Xiaoxiao urged her, “Hurry up, Sister Yang, the data is very expensive. Where’s my sister?”

Yang Feitang’s expression instantly froze, the corners of her mouth twitching. “Your sister… these past few days, she’s either been in the art studio painting you or preparing your food and clothes for the next semester. You two talk on the phone for almost twenty hours a day, and you’re asking me?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao laughed, waved her little hand, and hung up the phone with satisfaction.

Then bye-bye to you.

Yang Feitang: …