Bai Kou untied the bag and bit into it with sparkling eyes.
Little Yang Egg Pancake from next to junior high! Just this taste!
“Pfft.” Amid her happy chewing, she heard an especially obvious laugh from across the table.
Bai Kou looked up. Yang Wanxi had not yet restrained her laughter. “Is it that delicious? You looked like drool was about to drip out just now.”
“Mmph, this isn’t about… whether it’s good or not…” Bai Kou struggled to speak. Halfway through, she quickly swallowed the food in her mouth first, raised her index finger, and clearly repeated, “This isn’t a question of whether it’s good or not. This is my childhood memory. I ate it for three years in junior high, and last week I even mentioned it to Tao Miao.”
She even remembered the first time she and Lu Tongtong went to buy from this place. When they saw the sign, they giggled and said, “Little Yang Egg Pancake must be opened by Yang Kuikui! I’m going to take a photo for her!” That photo was still stored in Bai Kou’s 5300 to this day.
Yang Wanxi lazily propped up her cheek, listening with a half-smiling expression. Then she leaned forward and very naturally used her thumb to wipe away a small strand of potato shreds hanging from the corner of Bai Kou’s mouth.
She wiped it proactively. After wiping, she seemed to feel it was dirty, pursed her lips, grabbed a tissue to wipe her hand, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.
“Childhood memory, huh? You’re only in high school first year now.”
As Yang Wanxi spoke, she picked up the plastic bag and sighed at the scallion-and-egg pancake in front of her. “Sigh, kids pretending to be adults, even copying early romance.”
Bai Kou: “…” Can’t get past it, huh!
They finished breakfast earlier than planned, so they set out earlier than planned. With plenty of time, they decided to take the bus and slowly head to Shijing Lake.
The two passed a row of electric bikes.
Bai Kou’s face lit up with surprise as she pointed to one of them. With her other hand, she grabbed Yang Wanxi and shook her back and forth quickly. “Yang Wanxi, Yang Wanxi! Quick, look at that one. Doesn’t it look like the one you lost before?”
Yang Wanxi lifted her gaze from her phone and looked over suspiciously. Don’t say it, Bai Kou’s memory was really good. Same brand, same model, exactly the one she had lost.
But this bike was very clean, with no stickers.
“Good eyes.” Yang Wanxi praised. “If only I had sent you out to look when it was stolen. Maybe you could have found it for me.”
Bai Kou: “Yeah, why didn’t you ask me?”
Why?
It was either late 2009 or early 2010. Yang Wanxi just remembered it was a bit cold that day. As usual, she and A Xin and a group came out of school together and checked outside the repair shed across the road.
Her beloved bike was gone!
Even big-hearted Yang Wanxi froze in place and circled around that row of bikes outside the school three times.
It was really gone.
That night, she should have taken a taxi home. She seemed to have gone to Bai Kou’s house too…
Oh, wait. Thinking about it carefully.
Yang Wanxi fell silent.
She turned her head and looked at Bai Kou with a very speechless expression.
Bai Kou hooked up the corner of her mouth. “Hm?”
“I remember now.” Yang Wanxi smiled. “You were video chatting with your Pei Yue at the time.”
Bai Kou blinked, gradually withdrawing her smile, and turned to look at the road. “Oh, the cars lately are driving so fast!”
Not just Yang Wanxi—even Bai Kou had not been to Shijing Lake for almost a year.
She looked up at the huge Ferris wheel in shock. “Wasn’t this a stage before!”
After the shock, she turned and tugged Yang Wanxi. “Right! It was a stage! You owe five yuan! Remember?”
“I remember.” Yang Wanxi also gazed up at the brand-new Ferris wheel and drawled, “Won five yuan in the lottery, and you and Lu Tongtong snatched four-fifty of it.”
Bai Kou laughed “haha.” Then, she suddenly stepped back two steps, took out her phone, and snapped a photo of the Ferris wheel.
Yang Wanxi turned back and sized it up for a while before asking, “What, is this another childhood memory you have to photograph to commemorate?”
“Sort of, but not for commemoration.” After snapping the photo, Bai Kou looked down for two seconds and typed. “I just think it’s amazing and want to show it to others.”
“…”
Others.
Yang Wanxi chewed on those two words jealously in her heart.
Bai Kou, you really can’t hide it at all. She thought, if you were sending it to Sister Yu Qiao, you’d say “sister.” If it was to Lu Tongtong, you’d openly say “Tongtong.” But with me, you have to cover it up like this—
“Others.”
Yang Wanxi didn’t even know if it was because she had discovered Bai Kou’s “early romance” that she was nitpicking Bai Kou’s words so much.
After snapping the Ferris wheel photo and chatting a few sentences with others, Bai Kou put away her phone and called to Yang Wanxi, happily saying, “Let’s hurry ahead and see! Maybe a lot of places have changed!”
“Mm-hmm.” Yang Wanxi barely withdrew her displeased expression, took a slow step, and followed lingeringly behind Bai Kou.
But Bai Kou had not walked two steps when she noticed the trash can by the sidewalk again. She waved her arm back at Yang Wanxi. “Wow! Even the trash cans are so cute now! Wait for me to snap a photo!”
“…”
Yang Wanxi was unhappy. Yang Wanxi frowned. Yang Wanxi turned her face away and silently sighed.
By afternoon, the two were hungry from wandering and casually entered a snack stall, sitting under the umbrella.
Yang Wanxi was already in a sulky mood. “Tap tap.” Her knuckles unceremoniously knocked on the table right under Bai Kou’s eyes. She asked coldly, “What do you want to eat.”
“Oh! I’ll go buy it!” Bai Kou snapped back from her messages, smiled, and stood up.
“No need.” Yang Wanxi refused coldly. “I said I’m treating today. What do you want to eat.”
From her eyebrows to her mouth corners, Yang Wanxi fully displayed an “I’m getting impatient” look. Bai Kou subconsciously opened her mouth and asked, “The sun is strong today. Are you tired from walking?”
Yang Wanxi had originally glanced at the parasol beside them without looking at Bai Kou. Hearing this, she suddenly laughed out loud, turned back, and looked Bai Kou up and down twice.
She almost gritted her teeth as she said, “Yeah, right, I have heatstroke.” Then she turned her face away again. “Hurry up and say what you want to eat.”
The moment Bai Kou heard “heatstroke,” she immediately threw her phone on the table, pulled Yang Wanxi to sit down. “Can you get heatstroke in autumn? Sit down quick! What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it.”
Even eating cold noodles was not peaceful.
Yang Wanxi held her chopsticks. Hearing Bai Kou’s phone buzz buzz buzz nonstop, she pursed her lips and only silently stirred her cold noodles back and forth.
In the past, she would have directly slammed her chopsticks and emphasized, “Bai Doudou, can you focus when you’re out playing with me?” But now, heh, Yang Wanxi didn’t even know if she had the qualification anymore.
Regretting once per minute that “I shouldn’t have come back for Mid-Autumn Festival” was the only thing she could do at that moment.
But, fine.
When Bai Kou noticed and asked her, “Do you not like this flavor? Want to try my bowl?”
Yang Wanxi looked into Bai Kou’s eyes and thought that actually, Bai Kou hadn’t been on her phone most of the time today. Each time she took it out, she didn’t look for long either.
Bai Kou still paid attention to her mood.
The problem wasn’t Bai Kou.
“It’s fine.” She lowered her gaze and said, “Didn’t sleep well last night, a bit tired.” After that, she tied up the plastic bag holding the round paper box in front of her. “We’ve pretty much finished sightseeing today anyway. Let’s head back early.”
Wanting to escape this awful mood quickly, Yang Wanxi insisted on taking a taxi back.
After getting in the car, she turned her head silently to look out the window without a word.
This isn’t me. She thought. Why am I treating Bai Kou like this?
After getting off, despite reflecting all the way, Yang Wanxi still immediately waved goodbye to Bai Kou.
Bai Kou pulled her wrist. She turned back and heard Bai Kou ask worriedly, “Are you okay alone? Your face looks really bad. Otherwise, come to my house. I can help if you need anything?”
“Nothing I need.” Yang Wanxi insisted. “Right now, I just need to go home and sleep well.”
“Then—” Bai Kou still didn’t let go. “Message me when you wake up. We can eat dinner together. Oh no, night snack is fine too!”
Yang Wanxi smiled and gently shook off Bai Kou’s hold.
“We’ll talk later.”
Talk of misery loves company.
“The water heater still won’t light.” Yang Wanxi held her phone to her ear, looking very troubled.
“Oh, probably because I haven’t used it in too long.” Yang Yingyun said on the phone. “No problem. I’ll call someone to come check tomorrow. Go to Bai Doudou’s house to shower tonight.”
“…” Hearing “Bai Doudou” made Yang Wanxi’s heart twitch. “Oh, okay.”
“Huh?” Bai Kou opened the door. “You woke up so early?”
It was not even seven-thirty in the evening yet.
Yang Wanxi squeezed out a smile. “Yeah, my home’s water heater broke. Came over to shower.”
Bang.
Yang Wanxi closed the bathroom door.
Just as she was about to step in, she suddenly heard Bai Kou outside say, “Hey, Pei Yue?”
She frowned. Yang Wanxi’s silhouette paused in front of the glass mirror.
“Yeah, we today—#￥%@—” Bai Kou walked away, and her voice grew lighter.
Yang Wanxi lowered her head, took a deep breath, then turned to look at herself in the mirror for a while.
She turned around, “click,” and gently pulled the bathroom door open a crack.
Bai Kou’s voice came again. “Oh, so you’re still wearing short sleeves?”
“…”
Yang Wanxi’s left hand kept holding the door handle. Her heart grew very heavy, very heavy.
Patter patter.
Rain started falling outside the window.
Yang Wanxi hastily blow-dried her hair. The moment she exited the bathroom, she headed straight for the front door.
Seeing this, Bai Kou hurriedly stood up. “Hey—leaving already? Won’t you eat something—”
Creak.
Yang Wanxi pushed open the door and stood there quietly with her back to Bai Kou, silent for a long time.
Bai Kou walked up to Yang Wanxi and carefully poked her back shoulder with a fingertip. “By the way, did I make you unhappy today?”
Yang Wanxi tilted her face up, staring at the extinguished bulb in the hallway. Her tongue pressed against her cheek. Without turning her head, she made herself smile as she replied, “No, why would I be unhappy? Bai Kou, I’ve thought it through. You—heh, it’s nothing. You’re going to grow up anyway.”
After saying that, she let go of the door, walked out a few steps, paused in the darkness, thought for a moment. Her chest heaved, but she still couldn’t hold back and turned around.
“Do you think you’ll still need me after you grow up?”
Bai Kou immediately stepped forward, very certain. “Of course I will! Even though we argued yesterday, I thought we finally talked it out… So you think not?”
