Chapter 28 Part 3

The sky was blue.

The sun was warm.

Time passing quietly — that was enough.

Winter vacation arrived quickly.

Xu Xiaoyan bit into a candied hawthorn and spoke through the mouthful. “Any plans for winter break?”

Jing Zhiyi: “Reading.”

Liang Zhixing: “Problem sets.”

Yu Mian: “Reading, problem sets, painting.”

Xu Xiaoyan: “…”

She chose death!

Why did she, an academic underachiever, have to be friends with a pack of top students!

“Ai, can’t you people have any fun?”

Jing Zhiyi shook her head. “No time. My tuition is money my mom saved sewing clothes late into the night at home. I have no right to play.”

Liang Zhixing: “No time for me either.”

He had to become excellent, so he could leave the home he despised that much sooner.

Yu Mian took Xu Xiaoyan’s hand. “Come on, Xiaoyan. Once we finish our homework, we’ll set a time to meet, okay?”

Xu Xiaoyan blinked at her, wronged. “What about you? You finish homework so fast — can’t you come play with me?”

Yu Mian smiled, a little helpless. “I can’t either.”

She wanted to keep Auntie Pei company properly.

Ever since she’d overheard that thing… she’d carried an urgency she couldn’t suppress — as if, were she not to treasure the time at Auntie Pei’s side now, there would be no more of it later.

But on ordinary days Pei Songxi went to work and she went to school; the time they had together was so little.

Sometimes she was terrified of waking one day to find Auntie Pei gone… or being told she was grown now and had to learn independence.

The first day of winter vacation.

Yu Mian woke early. Once the weather turned cold they’d stopped running; she followed a workout video for a while, then heard the sound of a car stopping outside — Pei Songxi was home.

Year-end was always busy; she’d been working around the clock at the company for days, and had called last night to say she’d be staying over at the office.

Yu Mian pattered down in her slippers and ran right into Pei Songxi coming in.

Pei Songxi had her overcoat draped over one arm, a cream-white silk scarf at her throat, a milk-tea-colored knit dress beneath. Seeing her, she was surprised. “Mianmian, isn’t it vacation? Why are you up so early?”

Yu Mian flashed her a smile and darted into the kitchen, coming back out with a bowl of congee. “Auntie Pei, have some congee.”

She sometimes cooked from recipes, sometimes made desserts; when Pei Songxi was buried in work, she would set the rice cooker on a timer for red-date millet congee.

Pei Songxi set down her handbag. There was a faint weariness between her brows, but her expression was gentle. She sat, picked up the spoon, and tested the temperature. “No sleeping in at all?”

Yu Mian sat across from her, chin in both hands. “Couldn’t sleep. I’m used to getting up early. I was going to ask you to go running, but when I got to your room I found you weren’t home. You’ve been working so hard lately.”

Pei Songxi tasted the congee. “Not that hard. Mm… this batch has improved.”

Yu Mian’s face lit up. “Really? I found a new recipe, added lots of things…”

Pei Songxi finished the whole bowl. “Don’t spend all your time learning this sort of thing. Go out and have fun with your friends when you can.”

Yu Mian said no, then scooted over to her side. “Want another bowl?”

Pei Songxi nodded, not stingy with praise. “Sure. It’s very good.”

Basking in her approval, Yu Mian’s eyes curved into little crescents. “As long as you like it!”

When Pei Songxi finished the congee, Yu Mian pushed her back toward her room to sleep. “Don’t say it’s nothing… You have to take care of your body, you know? During school I can’t keep an eye on you, can’t make you run with me. So now you have to be good! Obey, okay!”

Pei Songxi laughed and patted the top of her head. “No respect for your elders.”

But she listened to her all the same, taking off her overcoat too. Beneath the white sweater her figure was slender and graceful — except… that… which was full and lovely.

Yu Mian’s ears quietly went red. Over this past year she’d come to understand a little more, and realized the question she’d once asked had been rather silly… Of course they would grow.

But it didn’t matter, right?

Auntie Pei wouldn’t be angry with her.

During the day, Pei Songxi caught up on sleep in her room. Yu Mian went back to make her schedule and work on her winter homework.

Her life had always held only a few simple pieces: studying, painting, eating and sleeping… and Auntie Pei.

Toward dinnertime, Pei Songxi came knocking, looking somewhat chagrined. “Mianmian, did you eat lunch?”

Yu Mian nodded. “I did. There’s food Auntie Dong left in the fridge — just heat it in the microwave.”

As Spring Festival approached, Pei Songxi had given the driver and the housekeeper both time off. Auntie Dong, worried before leaving, had cooked a spread of dishes and wrapped piles of dumplings to leave behind, afraid she’d go hungry.

Yu Mian had checked on Pei Songxi at noon; she’d been sleeping soundly, and the girl had watched her for a moment before quietly slipping away.

Pei Songxi rubbed her temples. “Sorry. I overslept.”

Yu Mian closed her homework. “Don’t apologize. You’re just too tired — which means you need to rest even more!”

Pei Songxi nodded with a smile. “What do you want for dinner?”

Yu Mian had never been a picky eater. “Tomato pasta!”

Apart from boiling tangyuan and dumplings, pasta was the one thing Pei Songxi knew how to make.

They had a simple meal, and Pei Songxi felt this wouldn’t do. “Starting tomorrow, let’s go back to the old house. You’re still growing — eating like this won’t do.”

Yu Mian shook her head. “No… there are too many people over there, it’s noisy. I want to do my homework at home in peace!”

Besides, she only wanted to be at home with Auntie Pei — just the two of them.

Pei Songxi thought for a moment, looking troubled. “Perhaps… I could learn to cook.”

Yu Mian burst out laughing. “You burned the pot black last time. Better off with me learning.”

Pei Songxi flushed with faint embarrassment. That was when they’d first moved in — Auntie Dong had a family emergency, so she’d tried her hand at cooking… and had nearly burned the kitchen down.

It counted as one of the rare Waterloo moments of her life; if word got out, Ming Ran and the others would laugh themselves to death.

To prove the pasta was delicious, Yu Mian finished it quickly and held up her empty plate for inspection. “See? I’m not picky! No need to worry.”

Pei Songxi gazed at her tenderly. She truly hadn’t changed at all, from small to now.

Sensible and adorable.

After dinner they sat on the sofa watching TV.

In primary school Yu Mian had only watched English cartoons and picked up pure, fluent pronunciation. But now that she was in middle school, cartoons felt a bit too childish. She surfed channels for a long while and finally landed on a youth idol drama.

Pei Songxi was flipping through a magazine, glancing up at the screen now and then. When she made out that it was an idol drama, she couldn’t help smiling.

Yu Mian hugged her panda pillow, finding the drama’s title vaguely familiar — Xiaoyan had recommended it, saying the male lead was so, so handsome, extremely girlish and romantic.

Xu Xiaoyan was carefree but a hopeless sucker for good looks, dabbling in anime and idol dramas alike, recommending shows to her daily.

Yu Mian wasn’t really interested in any of it. The people on TV were strangers, after all — no matter how handsome a star was, it had nothing to do with her.

But she was curious… so, so handsome — exactly how handsome was that?

So she widened her eyes and watched the screen earnestly.

The story was set on a university campus. The girl was pure and lovely; the boy seemed to like her very much — waiting for her downstairs, taking her hand, and finally, under the streetlight, the two of them embraced for a long, long time.

Yu Mian tilted her head, watching them hug, thinking she’d text Xiaoyan later — this male lead isn’t handsome at all!

She blinked and reached for the remote to change the channel — just as the male lead on screen swept the female lead up into his arms, and the two of them stood beneath the streetlight and began to kiss.

Yu Mian watched without blinking, inwardly stunned… In primary school she’d only watched English cartoons; she’d never really seen this kind of scene before.

She sat frozen, and tilting her head, lost her balance and nearly toppled into Pei Songxi.

Pei Songxi steadied her, looked up instinctively — and the moment she made out the screen, she froze, then immediately grabbed the remote and switched the channel to the news. “It’s late, Mianmian. Go to bed.”

Yu Mian made a sound. “It’s only eight, Auntie Pei.”

Only then did Pei Songxi glance belatedly at the clock. She stood, the tips of her ears warm. “Mm… I misread. I’m going to pour some water.”

Ai… why did this feel so awkward.

Yu Mian crossed her legs and switched the remote back. The kiss on screen had just ended; the two were still entwined, seemingly reluctant to part, the boy pressing a kiss to the girl’s forehead, the girl’s face flushed scarlet.

She watched the whole thing calmly and found it didn’t move her at all.

Then why did Xiaoyan say it was so good?

Pei Songxi came back carrying a glass of water and, seeing her still staring fixedly at the screen, couldn’t help calling out. “Mianmian?”

Yu Mian looked up. “What is it, Auntie Pei?”

Pei Songxi hesitated. “…Nothing.”

The scene on TV was already over; commercials had started.

Yu Mian made a small sound, still turning over the puzzle in her head, and finally just asked. “Auntie Pei, they say… people who like each other kiss. Is that true?”

Pei Songxi was stumped by the question. Looking into those clear, clean eyes, she sighed inwardly.

Mianmian was so focused in everything she did, yet seemed born missing something when it came to human affairs. She had wondered before whether Mianmian might like some boy her age — children these days matured early… But it seemed now that Mianmian had lived inside an ivory tower too long, indifferent to the people and things of the outside world. Add a year’s head start in school, and in matters of the heart she seemed exceptionally naive.

And now, out of nowhere… she was asking questions like this.

This child…

Yu Mian watched her with burning eyes, looking determined to have her answer.

Pei Songxi pressed her lips together and nodded, resigned. “Mm. Yes.”

“Oh! Then what about us?” Yu Mian asked, smiling. “Can we also…”

She liked Auntie Pei, but she so rarely kissed her.

“Mianmian!”

Pei Songxi cut her off. “Have you finished your homework?”

Yu Mian froze. “Huh?”

Auntie Pei never used to ask about her homework — she took a completely hands-off approach to her studies. There was even a stretch when homework piled so high she worked until eleven, and Auntie Pei had told her to stop, saying she’d go see the teacher tomorrow — their homework was too much, and staying up late was bad for a child’s health.

Why was she suddenly policing her homework now, sending her off to do it?

Pei Songxi coughed lightly, afraid she’d ask more. “Go on, back to your homework.”

From now on… the two of them could not watch TV together again.

A child that age, naive and curious about feelings — it was normal to ask such things, surely.

But she didn’t know how to answer her.

…Some things were better left unasked.

Yu Mian thought she was acting strange, but obeyed all the same. “Mm, okay. I’ll go do my homework.”