Chapter 33 Part 1

As soon as those words left his mouth, the car fell into a brief silence.

Though the question was directed at Fang Zhi, she turned to look at Chen Nian. Chen Nian’s lips parted slightly, but Fang Zhi returned to her original position, staring down at her own fingers.

The sun hung high in the sky by now. Lin Tianyi waited for what felt like forever, growing so nervous that sweat beaded on his forehead.

Chen Nian felt a tangle of complicated emotions. She desperately wanted to say something to break the awkward atmosphere, yet nothing she could think of seemed right.

Fang Zhi clearly minded that Chen Nian had so many friends, but Chen Nian had no idea whether Fang Zhi minded her having lots of friends.

From Chen Nian’s perspective, Lin Tianyi— who had tagged along with her and Fang Zhi everywhere, sharing every hardship and adventure— was undoubtedly a real friend in every meaningful way. But kids could be so dense and stubborn, insisting on having everything spelled out crystal clear.

After a long silence, Mother Lin pulled up to a red light and turned to ask them, “How come the chatting suddenly went quiet?”

Lin Tianyi looked at his mom, his mouth pursing in a pitiful pout. “I was asking Fang Zhi a question.”

Mother Lin laughed. “Girls get shy easily, Tianyi. Not every question needs its answer said out loud.”

Lin Tianyi blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

Mother Lin reached back to ruffle his hair. “When you’re out having fun with friends you like, don’t let yourself get unhappy.”

Lin Tianyi suddenly broke into a grin, looking utterly enlightened.

“I won’t ask anymore!” he declared. “Today is a happy day! As long as we’re happy, that’s enough!”

Fools truly had their own brand of wisdom. Chen Nian smiled and pulled a piece of candy from her bag to hand over. Lin Tianyi’s face lit up even brighter.

Mother Lin’s electric scooter puttered along at a steady clip, neither too fast nor too slow, weaving through lively streets until they reached the riverbank lush with water plants.

In another decade or so, sleek high-rises would crowd both sides of the river channel, buzzing with commerce where the night lights would outshine the moon.

For now, though, the area lingered in limbo— primed for development but not quite there. Riverside Park consisted of little more than a few simple paths and some modestly sized trees.

A gentle spring breeze blew under brilliant sunshine— perfect weather for running wild.

The moment they dismounted, Lin Tianyi let out a whoop and bolted off.

He claimed a prime spot backed by a big tree and fronted by flowers, hollering for Chen Nian to bring the picnic blanket.

Chen Nian waved Fang Zhi over and jogged ahead to set up their base camp.

Once the blanket was spread and the food and drinks arranged, she plopped down onto it and had no desire to get back up.

Mother Lin parked the scooter and walked over. “Why aren’t you kids heading out to play?”

Lin Tianyi called back, “Mom, just wait till I finish this one! Your peach pastries are sooo good!!! Fang Zhi, try some. Chen Nian, you too…”

Chen Nian asked, “Didn’t you eat breakfast?”

Lin Tianyi replied, “I did! Mom’s lean pork congee…”

Chen Nian cut him off. “Then eat a little less. It’s time to get some exercise.”

Lin Tianyi glanced at his own chubby hand clutching the pastry, then at Chen Nian’s and Fang Zhi’s.

Chen Nian’s was bony and thin, like a little chicken’s claw. Fang Zhi’s was elegant and pretty; even holding a peach pastry made it look like an advertisement.

Lin Tianyi trailed off. “…”

He set the pastry down and wiped his mouth. “Mom, I’m going to chase butterflies.”

Mother Lin waved him off. “Go on, go on. Be careful, and stay away from the water’s edge.”

Lin Tianyi howled with excitement as he charged toward the wildflowers. Chen Nian turned to Mother Lin. “Auntie, why don’t you sit down and rest?”

Mother Lin settled onto a smooth boulder nearby. “I’ll be fine right here.”

Chen Nian set some food and fruit in front of her. “We’re picnicking together.”

“What a good girl you are, Niannian.” Mother Lin’s eyes crinkled with a warm smile. “Yes, together we go.”

Fang Zhi kept watching Chen Nian, stealing glances from the corner of her eye.

Chen Nian might be a bit rowdy, but she was truly a good kid at heart. Her kindness wasn’t the standard sort— studying hard and minding her elders. No, she was good to everyone around her.

When her mom came home worn out from work, Chen Nian pitched in to help. When her dad was forgetful, she made a point of grabbing his newspaper every day. She griped about Lin Tianyi constantly, yet she took him everywhere and taught him all sorts of things. She was even considerate toward his mom, keeping an eye out for traffic and urging her to sit and relax.

With Fang Zhi, it went without saying. Chen Nian had been so devoted that Fang Zhi sometimes wanted to hide her away like a cherished toy, keeping her all to herself.

But Fang Zhi knew that wasn’t possible. Chen Nian belonged to so many people, and Fang Zhi could only hold onto her share. Even though that share was already enormous— bigger than she could have hoped— Fang Zhi sometimes still felt it wasn’t enough.

She longed to expand it, to claim even more. But soon she realized the problem.

Chen Nian wasn’t that perfectly sweet little girl anymore. She had been straddling Li Gousheng, raining slaps down on him one after another. Fang Zhi hadn’t seen the scene herself, but just hearing those sounds had made her heart tremble.

Chen Nian could say very vicious things and would coldly threaten people. Chen Nian wanted to learn how to fight and even wanted to buy a scary telescopic baton.

Chen Nian followed closely by her side, staying alert like a snarling rabbit… Fang Zhi didn’t like her acting this way.

She felt that Chen Nian shouldn’t be like this.

That night when Chen Nian asked her to borrow New Year’s money to buy a telescopic baton, Fang Zhi thought about it for a long time. Why had Chen Nian turned out like this?

Then she discovered a terrifying fact: Chen Nian had been this fierce before, toward that photographer and toward her own Eldest Aunt. And every time Chen Nian acted like that, it was because of her, Fang Zhi.

Chen Nian wanted to protect Fang Zhi, so Chen Nian had turned bad.

And yet Fang Zhi was clearly supposed to be the older sister.

Lin Tianyi waved vigorously at them: “Chen Nian, Fang Zhi, come on!!!!!”

Chen Nian looked at Fang Zhi: “Zhizhi, wanna go catch butterflies?”

“I don’t want to.” Fang Zhi instinctively shook her head. “You go ahead.”

Chen Nian said, “Then I won’t either. I’ll stay with you.”

Fang Zhi replied, “I want to sit by myself for a bit.”

Chen Nian looked truly troubled. She couldn’t understand why a little girl would have any thoughts weighing on her that required sitting alone.

Fang Zhi turned to look at her: “Really.”

Chen Nian said, “Okay… fine.”

She stood up and ran over to Lin Tianyi, glancing back the whole way.

Lin Tianyi was cupping his hand and showing it to her: “Chen Nian, Chen Nian, butterfly, butterfly!”

Chen Nian said, “Eww, did you hold it in your hand?”

Lin Tianyi replied, “Yeah, yeah!”

Chen Nian said, “You know butterflies come from caterpillars, right? Those soft, squishy ones covered in prickly hairs.”

Lin Tianyi immediately opened his hand and went bouncing away screaming: “Aaaahhh…”

This kid had actually caught two of them.

They were pink and white, and once released, they floated away like bits of confetti.

Lin Tianyi was still howling as Chen Nian chased after him, shouting, “Caterpillar on your body! Caterpillar on your leg! Caterpillar on your arm! Caterpillar on your neck…”

Lin Tianyi: “Aaaahhhh…”

The two of them chased and roughhoused on the grass. Once Chen Nian got tired of running, she plopped down right there on her butt. She stared at the little flowers on the ground, plucked a few, and started trying to make a bouquet for Fang Zhi.

Lin Tianyi suddenly shouted off in one direction: “Chen Nian, Chen Nian, ice cream! Ice cream!!!”

Chen Nian looked over and sure enough, there was an ice cream truck with a colorful canvas awning, parked a bit farther away.

Chen Nian patted her pocket—empty as always—so she said, “What good does yelling at me do? Go call your mom.”

And Lin Tianyi really did: “Mom! Mom!!! Ice cream! Ice cream!!!”

Lin Huiling had been sitting for a good while and was just thinking of getting up to stretch her legs a bit.

When she heard her son calling, she waved at him: “What do you want? What does Niannian want?”

Lin Tianyi shouted, “Little milk cake, little milk cake!!!”

Chen Nian yelled, “Little milk cake for me too, thanks Auntie!!!”

“Got it—” Lin Huiling looked down and asked Fang Zhi, “What about Zhizhi?”

Fang Zhi shook her head: “I don’t feel like eating right now. Thanks, Auntie.”

Lin Huiling smiled and patted her head: “Alright then. Watch Niannian and Tianyi for Auntie later, okay? Make sure they don’t run toward the river.”

Fang Zhi nodded: “Got it, Auntie. Don’t worry.”

Chen Nian and Lin Tianyi had no intention of heading to the river at all—this grassy area wasn’t fully explored yet. Chen Nian was busy plucking little flowers and grass, while Lin Tianyi spotted something and dashed off to the other side.

Fang Zhi stood up. Since she’d promised Auntie Lin to keep an eye on Lin Tianyi, she at least couldn’t let him out of her sight.

Fang Zhi walked toward Lin Tianyi, but he was running pretty fast.

Fang Zhi quickened her pace. Chen Nian waved at her and asked, “Zhizhi, what are you doing? Come over!”

Fang Zhi shouted back at her, “Wait a sec—”

Before she could catch up to Lin Tianyi, he suddenly spun around and started running back.

His posture was completely different now—not excited like before, but panicked.

“Aaaahhh—” Lin Tianyi started screaming. “Dog, dog—”

Fang Zhi froze for a second, but when she looked again, she really did spot a dog.

It was some distance from Lin Tianyi—a medium-sized dog that looked just like a mop when it ran.

Fang Zhi gripped the strap of her backpack tight and rushed toward Lin Tianyi.

Lin Tianyi saw her and waved frantically: “Don’t come over, don’t come over—there’s a dog!”

But that’s exactly why she went.

Just like Chen Nian—if the slightest problem arose near Fang Zhi, she would rush over in an instant.

Fang Zhi had long legs and could run fast.

Lin Tianyi had short legs,

but in a critical moment like this, he could pump them surprisingly quick.

The two met up quickly, but unfortunately, the dog charged right at them too. The mop-like blur lunged straight at Lin Tianyi.

Fang Zhi’s hand rested on the edge of her backpack, right at the spot she’d carefully studied.

The telescopic baton was inside. It was seeing its first use today, but unexpectedly, it wasn’t for hitting Li Gousheng—it was for hitting a dog.

She had practiced this move countless times in her room: draw the baton, swing it, strike, all in one fluid motion.

Lin Tianyi was already yelling, but when he saw Fang Zhi strike, his shout jumped an octave: “Aaaah—ah!”

The baton landed precisely on the dog’s back. The dog let out a sharp yelp, its claws snagging a corner of Lin Tianyi’s shirt as it rolled across the ground. Then it whipped around and lunged straight at Fang Zhi.