Chapter 14

In the evening, Pei Songxi took Yu Mian out for a walk.

Golden ginkgo leaves carpeted the ground, crunching underfoot.

Yu Mian held her hand, walking and stopping, occasionally picking up a little golden fan of a leaf and holding it up to examine it closely, endlessly curious about everything.

Pei Songxi rarely went out, yet keeping the girl company didn’t feel boring at all. The two of them wandered to the small park nearby, where a squirrel leapt along a tree trunk. Yu Mian cried out, “A squirrel!”

“That’s right. It’s here every day.”

The reply came from a little girl with a high ponytail and baby-fat cheeks. “I’ve never seen you before. Did you just move here? What’s your name?”

Yu Mian looked up at Pei Songxi, seeking her permission.

Pei Songxi’s lips curved; she squeezed her hand and nodded lightly, her gaze a silent encouragement to make a new friend.

Yu Mian understood at once, eyes curving happily. “I’m Yu Mian. And you?”

“Little Yan? Where are you?”

A couple came walking along the park path. “We told you not to run so fast.”

Xu Xiaoyan ignored her parents and grabbed Yu Mian’s hand. “You heard her — I’m Xu Xiaoyan. Want to come see the squirrel’s nest with me?”

Yu Mian’s eyes went wide. “Ah, really?”

“Of course! Come on!”

Yu Mian glanced back at Pei Songxi, her gaze brimming with excitement and longing. Pei Songxi nodded to her. “Go play. I’ll wait here.”

Yu Mian nodded and, hand in hand with her new friend, skipped ahead — but every few steps, she had to look back to check that she was still there.

Pei Songxi froze.

In that instant, she felt the softest part of her heart pricked by a needle, a faint astringency spreading… The day Wei Yi came to take Mianmian away, she remembered, the girl hadn’t looked back once. But now… she checked on her with every step.

She was afraid of being left behind again.

Pei Songxi waved in the air, then sat down on the bench behind her, signaling that she would wait right here for her to come back.

The young couple sat down too. The husband was Xu Yang, an executive at a company; Pei Songxi had crossed paths with him once, and the two exchanged a polite, lukewarm greeting.

Mrs. Xu didn’t look very old, and was warm and enthusiastic. “Miss Pei, your little girl is adorable. Is she your… little sister?”

Pei Songxi shook her head with restraint. “…No.”

“Oh, a friend’s child then? You’re so young, and yet so patient playing with a child.”

“…No. She’s family.”

Mrs. Xu blinked and didn’t press. “That’s lovely — Little Yan will have a friend now. Oh, where does your little one go to school? Little Yan just came back from America, and we still haven’t picked a school for her.”

Pei Songxi was slightly taken aback… The direction of this conversation felt off, as if the woman had prematurely entered the state of worrying over her child’s schooling. “Not decided yet. We’ve contacted the No. 1 Primary School nearby, but she hasn’t started.”

“Oh, that’s the one we want too! Even better — they can walk to school together from now on.”

Mrs. Xu was a bright, warm-hearted woman, with soft, round eyes and a pure, kind nature; she paid no mind to Pei Songxi’s coolness at all, chattering on cheerfully.

Pei Songxi gave a low “mm.”

She had never known how to accept kindness from others, nor how to get along with people this simple and warm — so she chose silence.

Soon enough, though, Yu Mian came running back.

Crying as she ran.

Pei Songxi’s brow knitted; she stood and walked over, catching the girl as she flung herself at her, holding her face anxiously in both hands. “Mianmian, what’s wrong?”

She had never seen her cry. Not when she was left uncared-for at the Pei household like a weed, not when Wei Yi took her away, not even when she was being bullied — so what was wrong now!

Mrs. Xu panicked too, hurrying to question Xu Xiaoyan. “What did you two do? You didn’t get in a fight, did you?”

Xu Xiaoyan blinked. “No? We were just talking, and she suddenly started crying.”

Yu Mian wiped her tears, and only after a long while managed, “Auntie Pei… is my hair very thin?”

Pei Songxi: “…Huh?”

Xu Xiaoyan had her revelation. “Oh… so that’s it. Big sister, let me tell you — it’s because I said her hair is thin, and she got sad.”

Pei Songxi crouched down, dabbing her tears with a fingertip. “So your hair is thin — what of it?”

Yu Mian said blankly, “Thin hair is ugly. Do I have to be sent up the mountain to be a Buddhist Nun?”

Pei Songxi burst out laughing despite herself. “Mianmian!”

She stroked her hair and picked her up, helpless and amused — perhaps because Yu Mian was usually so sensible, she kept forgetting the girl was only six.

“All right, let’s go home, okay? Say goodbye to your friend.”

Yu Mian nodded, a little embarrassed. “Little Yan… I have to go now.”

Xu Xiaoyan dug a lollipop out of her pocket and stuffed it into her hand. “Don’t be mad at me! Here, candy! Come play again tomorrow, okay?”

Yu Mian puffed her cheeks, her voice still babyish from crying. “Mm. Not mad. See you tomorrow.”

The whole way home she lay against Pei Songxi’s shoulder without a word. When they got home, Pei Songxi set her down, looked at her puffed-up little face, and couldn’t resist teasing her, giving her cheek a light poke. “What’s wrong? Still scared of becoming a nun?”

Yu Mian’s fine brows drew together and she nodded hard. “Mm!”

“You’re not going to become a nun… Besides, your hair isn’t thin at all.”

Yu Mian still looked at her pleadingly. “Auntie Pei, do you have any way to fix it?”

Pei Songxi tried to comfort her, only to meet a gaze of utter stubbornness, and in the end had no choice but to surrender. “Then… let me think of something.”

Honestly, it was a tall order for her. What remedy could she possibly have? And handing the problem to Wei Yi would be strange too. So she went online to research it, and even called the old estate to ask Auntie Zhang, finally compiling a list of workable methods: eat more black beans and sesame; trim a child’s hair often and it grows faster; comb the hair out before washing…

Her store of strange, useless knowledge… had increased.

Pei Songxi stroked Yu Mian’s hair. “Starting tomorrow, a cup of sesame paste every day, okay?”

Yu Mian nodded and smiled too. “Okay… but actually, thin hair doesn’t mean I’ll be taken away. As long as I can stay here, I’m not that scared anymore.”

Pei Songxi teased her, “Staying by my side — as a nun for life?”

It was only a joke, but Yu Mian thought about it seriously. “That’s fine too!”

Staying by Auntie Pei’s side forever — then being a nun would be just fine!