Chapter 24

Pei Songxi ran into Ming Ran in the parking garage.

Ming Ran was a cold beauty who never smiled, yet at this moment she was bent over, locked in a staring contest with a boy of four or five.

Pei Songxi tapped the horn and rolled down her window. “Ming Ran, what are you doing here?”

Ming Ran looked up at her as if spotting a lifeline. “My rotten brother… to go on vacation with my sister-in-law, he dumped the kid on me and drove off with my car. How do you coax your niece? I…”

As she spoke, the child burst into wails. “Waaah, Auntie is mean!”

Pei Songxi smiled faintly, watching her flounder with no experience whatsoever. “Hop in first. Mianmian will help you calm him.”

Yu Mian was gentle and patient with children. Half a child herself, she already knew how to soothe them. She fished the milk candy out of her pocket, played a little game with him, and before long the boy had stopped crying.

Ming Ran rubbed her temples. “Where are you two headed?”

“Yongtai. Lunch first, then some shopping.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Pei Songxi rarely went to the mall; on the rare occasions she came out, it was to take Yu Mian out to eat. There was an upscale Cantonese teahouse here with the egg tarts she loved.

The restaurant wasn’t crowded, the ambiance lovely, with a dedicated play area for children. While they waited for their food, Yu Mian took little Ming Yao over to play in the ball pit.

Ming Ran raised her teacup and clinked it against Pei Songxi’s, chatting idly. “So the matter with the Eldest Young Master Wen is settled?”

Pei Songxi sipped her tea, its fragrance curling upward, utter indifference written across her cool, exquisite face. “Not yet.”

Ming Ran sighed softly. “It’s been so long since Auntie Zhou passed. Stop punishing yourself, and don’t let things with your family get too stiff.”

Pei Songxi nodded. “Mm. I know.”

Ming Ran was cold and reserved by nature too, and for the moment didn’t know what else to say.

They had known each other since childhood and got along reasonably well; after so many years working together, theirs remained the friendship of gentlemen — plain as water. Mutual respect, but not closeness.

When the food arrived, Pei Songxi waved toward the distance, and her cold, indifferent expression melted like ice and snow in the first thaw, turning gentle and serene.

Yu Mian came over leading Ming Yao, her smile bright as sunshine. Seeing her favorite egg tarts, she was overjoyed, picked one up, and offered it to Pei Songxi. “This one’s the tastiest!”

Just like when she was little — whatever she loved most, she always had to let her take the first bite.

Pei Songxi didn’t actually care for sweets, but she took the little golden tart and bit into it. “Mm. Delicious.”

Yu Mian’s eyes curved in satisfaction. “Right? I love them so much! Sister Ming Ran, you have one too.”

Ming Ran nodded. “…Mm. Thank you.”

Sister, was it… It was all Wei Yi’s fault, insisting on being called “sister” — the whole hierarchy was a mess.

Coming out of the restaurant, Ming Ran had to take her nephew downstairs, but the boy still wanted to play with Yu Mian and clung to her, so she coaxed him a while longer.

Ming Ran couldn’t help smiling. “Songxi, it seems I needn’t persuade you anymore. With such a darling little treasure, you’ve gained a bit of warmth after all.”

Pei Songxi smiled faintly, nodded to her, then turned. “Mianmian, let’s go.”

Yu Mian ran over, tugging her sleeve, waving at Ming Ran. “Bye-bye, Sister Ming Ran! See you next time, Yaoyao!”

Pei Songxi watched her happy face. “Do you like playing with little kids that much?”

Yu Mian thought about it. “Not really.”

But Sister Ming Ran was Auntie Pei’s friend, and she hoped Auntie Pei would talk with her friends more. Auntie Pei… her personality was too cold. Apart from work, all her time was spent with her; she rarely went out with friends, and Yu Mian always felt a little guilty about it.

They walked until they stopped in front of the lingerie shop, and Yu Mian froze, tugging her hand, embarrassed. “Auntie Pei, we’re really going in?”

Pei Songxi wasn’t entirely comfortable either.

She rarely came to lingerie shops. As a girl at home, everything had been prepared for her by Auntie Zhang; she had never considered these things, never imagined she’d be bringing a little girl to shop for them.

But she was the adult. Girls in the flower of adolescence were mostly sensitive and easily embarrassed — and she needed to tell her that this was normal, and beautiful.

She stroked Yu Mian’s hair, her voice carrying a reassuring strength. “I’m here. No need to be nervous.”

Yu Mian looked up at her and nodded.

The shop carried all kinds of undergarments — camisoles for girls just beginning to develop, cotton vests, and thinner teen bras…

Yu Mian quietly took hold of Pei Songxi’s hem again, watching her select for her, nodding now and then, more often lowering her head to stare at the tips of her own shoes.

Once a style was chosen, it still needed trying on for size.

But Pei Songxi saw the little girl’s sensitivity and awkwardness, smiled, and settled on two kinds. “We’ll just take both.”

Yu Mian blinked. “Huh?”

Pei Songxi said it was fine. “We’ll try them at home. I’ll go pay. Wait here for me.”

Sensing that meticulous, thoughtful care, Yu Mian’s eyes stung a little.

When Pei Songxi finished paying and came out, Yu Mian followed, still clutching her hem tightly, like a child not yet grown — close, trusting, dependent.

Back home, Pei Songxi set down the shopping bags and squeezed her fingertips. “What’s wrong?”

Yu Mian shook her head. “Nothing… just a little embarrassed.”

Pei Songxi handed her the bag. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Mianmian. Go up and try them, see which fits.”

Yu Mian made a sound of agreement, took the bag, and dashed upstairs, her ears red — rather adorable.

Back in her room, Yu Mian tipped the bag upside down… there really were so many; she’d bought practically every similar size. One kind was the cotton vest; the other was the hooked… that kind of teen bra.

She flopped onto the bed hugging her pillow, feeling the awkwardness of the lingerie shop gradually ease, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

They were all good. Whatever Auntie Pei bought her, she liked.

That evening, Yu Mian was reading in her room.

Pei Songxi came by and asked, “Did you find ones that fit?”

Yu Mian nodded, a little sheepish. “Mm… tried them.”

Though she’d grown a little, it seemed she didn’t need the hooked kind yet — the cotton vests… were enough for now.

The window was half open; the early autumn breeze drifted in.

She had bathed and put on her pajamas; her shampoo was peach-scented, sweet.

Pei Songxi sat down at her desk, looking at her thick stack of draft paper and the test papers in her folder. “If the schoolwork pressure is heavy lately, you could consider skipping the weekend painting class for a while.”

“No need,” Yu Mian said, clenching her fists. “I’m not tired, Auntie Pei. I love painting.”

Pei Songxi nodded and reached out to touch her half-dry hair. “Why didn’t you dry your hair?”

Yu Mian stuck out her tongue guiltily. “Aw, holding the dryer up is so tiring. I didn’t want to anymore.”

Pei Songxi patted her cheek. “Little lazybones.”

She called her a little lazybones, yet indulged her small laziness all the same, taking the dryer over to the sofa and patting the spot beside her. “Come here. I’ll dry your hair.”

Yu Mian sprang up, kicked off her shoes, scrambled onto the sofa, and lay down pillowed on her legs, beaming up at her. “Hehe, having my hair dried is nice too.”

Pei Songxi tapped her forehead and switched on the dryer, her fingertips lifting the girl’s black, silky hair as she recalled her childhood antics. “You used to say you were going to become a Buddhist nun. Remember?”

Yu Mian made a sound and covered her face, embarrassed. “What are you saying? The dryer’s too loud, I can’t hear you!”

Pei Songxi laughed and didn’t expose her little self-deceiving trick.

Thinking of it, who knew how much black beans and sesame this child had consumed over six years — the hair between her fingertips was resilient and smooth. It seemed it had worked after all.

She set the dryer to medium and dried slowly.

Now and then she drifted. So six years had passed just like that… In truth, the time she spent with Mianmian was very little. She worked during the day and came to see her at night; sometimes she would just stand outside the door, watching her as a small child prop her arms on the desk doing problems, her serious expression adorably solemn.

When she came back to herself and switched off the dryer, she found Yu Mian asleep on her legs, peaceful and quiet.

Pei Songxi set the dryer down gently and, the way she had lifted her countless times when she was small, picked her up — yet once again truly felt that Mianmian had grown into a young girl, slender and lovely.

She tucked in the corner of Yu Mian’s blanket, then remembered something, went to her own room, and brought back a book to place at her bedside.

The next morning.

Yu Mian was woken by her alarm. Only after sitting up did she remember it was Saturday — no school. She’d forgotten to turn off the alarm the night before.

She stretched in bed; sunlight cleared the glass, dancing lightly.

Hm? Why was there a book here?

The title read: Things Girls Need to Know. Had Auntie Pei left it here?

Yu Mian hopped off the bed to go find Pei Songxi, but before she’d taken two steps she saw the sticky note on the headboard.

It read: Business trip this weekend. If anything comes up, contact Wei Yi.

Yu Mian’s mouth turned down.

Fine. Off on another business trip.

So she climbed back into bed and opened the book Pei Songxi had left her.

The first half covered physiology; the second half covered social realities — trafficking, employment discrimination, commercial surrogacy… The malice this world held toward women was sometimes beyond imagination.

This book… must have been carefully chosen by Auntie Pei. The pages bore the creases of being turned; bookmarks marked certain chapters; important passages were underlined in pencil — silently reminding her how to cherish and protect herself.

There were annotations too, in handwriting elegant and graceful: A girl’s growth is like a flower, slowly blooming in the depths of time — a beautiful thing.

Yu Mian lay down, propped the book over her face, and drifted into thought.

Pei Songxi’s care for her had always been meticulous. Probably because of that small oversight not long ago, she wanted to make up for her lapse on every front this time.

Only hers was a cold, reserved nature; she wouldn’t easily speak such things aloud — so she had chosen this way instead.

This was her particular form of companionship.

Yu Mian had always known they weren’t family. Auntie Pei was very, very busy, so she rarely acted spoiled or actively sought her company. And yet they were so clearly like family — Pei Songxi always attended to and respected her feelings, and was so very, very good to her.

Only, in her heart there was sometimes a small ache, a private longing for more love and attention.

But in this moment, Yu Mian suddenly understood her enduring, water-like gentleness and delicacy.