024 Mother-in-law, Going Home, Feet
The sun was shining brightly.
The streets were bustling with noise.
Qin Ren’s head was throbbing.
Walking down the street at noon, Qin Ren’s pace was hurried. He was still trying to recall and sort out what had happened last night, even after getting on the bus.
“Flashing, drinking, got drunk, then Sis came to pick me up… then we went to a hotel… eh? Wait!”
He finally remembered a serious problem.
“Who paid the bill last night? How much was it?”
To get drunk at Jianghu Tavern, Qin Ren felt they must have spent a lot of money. The bill definitely had to be split, and considering Li Wei had quit his job, the guys might even have to discuss waiving his share.
The thought of this made Qin Ren’s heart ache.
He was clearly cutting back on food and clothing, having meat only once every three days at home, yet he had drunk away the cost of at least several meat dinners in one night. Qin Ren even felt a little sorry for the Pixiu at home.
Of course, speaking of the Pixiu, Qin Ren also marveled at his own firm willpower yesterday.
Even in such a drunken state, he had insisted on having his sister change course and go to a hotel.
…
“Speaking of which, didn’t we sleep in two separate beds in the standard room last night…”
On the bus, Qin Ren sniffed the collar and cuffs of his clothes strangely. He felt that not only had the smell of alcohol long since dissipated, but it was also stained with the very distinct scent of Gu Qing.
A faint gardenia fragrance as a base, mixed with the cool scent of some shampoo and body wash, clean and pleasant.
“How is it everywhere…”
Qin Ren muttered to himself. As he sniffed, he couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic for his life before high school.
…
Back then, Gu Qing and Qin Ren were just like Luo Yao and Qin Ren now.
His sister studied very hard, so Qin Ren would make her small portions of light late-night snacks every day. When they went to sleep at night, Gu Qing would nestle snugly in his arms, letting Qin Ren hold her gently.
When she talked in her sleep, she would call out for her little brother just like Luo Yao called for Qin Ren; without Qin Ren accompanying her, she would whimper and be unable to sleep just like Luo Yao; and when she occasionally had insomnia, she would also ask her little brother to tell her a story, just like Luo Yao.
But unfortunately, just like all brothers and sisters in the world, after entering high school and gradually growing up, his sister became less cute…
She became increasingly cold and aloof, and sometimes unreasonable.
For example, that time Little Orange forged Qin Ren’s handwriting to write a love letter to Orange. He was clearly a victim too, but after hearing about it, Gu Qing, who was in the class next door, insisted on writing the four words “No Early Love” on Qin Ren’s wrist with a ballpoint pen every single day for a month straight.
She would write it in the morning and check it at night, not allowing her little brother to wipe it off, sternly calling it “Big Sister’s Parental Awareness.”
From then on, his sister was no longer clingy. Although she grew more and more beautiful, she also became colder and more arrogant, especially towards her little brother. She would often go back to her room silently after dinner, and would give Qin Ren the cold shoulder on non-essential matters.
To this day, it was still pretty much the same.
“Sigh, what an icy little beauty…”
Qin Ren shook his head with a helpless smile. He recalled how, an hour ago, when he had just woken up in the hotel room, he didn’t even see a shadow of his sister. He looked at the bedside table, and there was only a note written in elegant handwriting:
[Don’t you dare get drunk again!]
This girl, she actually abandoned her little brother alone in a hotel…
At that moment, Qin Ren was deeply shocked, but he soon discovered two shallow indentations on the side of the bed. He subconsciously leaned over and sniffed; it was undoubtedly his sister’s scent. He touched it again; it was still warm.
Evidently, Gu Qing had just left.
As for the reason she left so suddenly without waiting for her little brother to wake up, Qin Ren also found the answer on his own phone.
On his phone screen, a WeChat notification was starkly displayed:
[Orange: Good morning, Little Almond~]
Looking at the time it was sent, this greeting from his ex-girlfriend must have been seen by his sister.
Alright, no wonder she abandoned him.
From their ambiguous relationship in high school to their romance in college, it was no secret that Cheng Siyun was not well-liked by his sister.
Even as Qin Ren sat on the bus and casually pondered, he could accurately picture the scene of his sister angrily slamming the phone down by his pillow and then getting up to leave.
“Is this the legendary fiery relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law…”
With no other relatives, his older sister was like a mother. Qin Ren felt there was nothing wrong with the mother-in-law analogy.
He sighed inwardly at the long road ahead, then opened his phone’s settings. After searching for a while, he turned off the “Show Notification Details” option.
————————
Back at Longhu Residential Community, Qin Ren discovered two small cracks on his phone screen in the elevator. As he was recalling his conversation with Zhang Fei yesterday, the elevator doors opened, and he saw that familiar girl standing blankly at the door, staring at him.
“Luo Yao?”
Qin Ren was startled.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you inside?”
The girl didn’t answer Qin Ren. She stood there, hugging her special little pillow, barefoot. Her beige little slip dress swayed, making her body look exceptionally delicate. Her messy topknot was the one Qin Ren had tied for her before he left yesterday evening.
“Qin Ren…”
Seeing him appear, Luo Yao opened her little mouth, her voice trembling with a sob. Her nose twitched, and her moist eyes instantly filled with a watery mist. She ran over, pattering, and hugged him tightly.
“Qin Ren…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Tell me what happened, slowly.”
Qin Ren knelt down, a little unable to bear her crying voice. He frowned slightly, patting her back with one hand and picking up the little pillow she had dropped on the floor and stuffing it into her arms with the other.
But Luo Yao didn’t want it. Her scallion-white fingers clutched tightly onto Qin Ren’s clothes. She didn’t want the pillow anymore, only Qin Ren.
“Qin Ren, why did you only come back now… You said one o’clock, two o’clock… You clearly told me…”
Luo Yao’s little head was buried in the crook of Qin Ren’s shoulder. Her arms and body were even colder than usual, and her sobbing voice was full of grievance and sadness.
“I’m sorry, I…”
Qin Ren felt a lump in his throat. He felt his shoulder gradually being soaked by something wet and hot, and listened to her sobs in his ear, his heart aching.
After a while, the crying subsided. Luo Yao was finally willing to separate from him. Her red-rimmed eyes still had unshed tears clinging to them. Qin Ren gently wiped them away. His movements were so gentle that it brought on a new wave of tears.
“…Qin Ren… I thought you didn’t want me anymore…”
“Silly girl, what are you thinking?”
Qin Ren was both amused and heartbroken. He held her two small hands in his thick palms.
“Tell me, why didn’t you stay in the bedroom?”
“I did, but…”
Luo Yao’s fluttering eyelashes drooped. She looked aggrievedly at her own toes, which she was curling and uncurling.
“But you didn’t come back at one or two… I waited a little longer, but you still didn’t come back… So I wanted to wait for you at the door. And then when I came out, the wind blew the door shut, and I didn’t have my key…”
Qin Ren not coming home was a huge deal. And when you talk about huge deals, you tend to feel more and more wronged. So as Luo Yao spoke, she started to cry again.
“Qin Ren… Luo Yao will be good. Don’t lie to Luo Yao next time, okay…”
“I won’t, I won’t lie to you anymore… I’m sorry, it was my fault.”
Qin Ren’s heart ached. He never expected the little Pixiu to be so attached to him, and he certainly never expected this kid to have waited for him outside the door all night.
Sigh…
She’s clearly a fast learner, so why is she still so silly in certain aspects…
“Let’s go, let’s go home.”
“Mhm…”
Luo Yao wiped her eyes and held up her arms.
“Carry me.”
Qin Ren picked her up, one hand supporting her soft back, the other under her slender knees. With a turn of the key in his palm, he opened the door and entered the house.
Luo Yao was already very sleepy. After waiting all night, she was finally back in Qin Ren’s arms. The moment they entered the bedroom, she was already blinking and yawning.
Logically, after staying outside all night, it would be better to take a shower before sleeping.
But special circumstances called for exceptions. Qin Ren looked at the quiet and well-behaved girl in his arms, who looked like a cat. How could she possibly get dirty?
Qin Ren placed her on the bed, pulled the thin blanket over her, and helped her smooth out her black hair.
“Qin Ren.”
Luo Yao pulled the blanket up to her little nose, revealing her large, blinking eyes.
“You smell of another woman.”
“What nonsense.”
Qin Ren smiled and pinched her little cheek.
“My department is full of women. Which day do I not smell of women?”
“Today is different. There’s a lot.”
“That’s my sister. I was drunk last night and stayed with her all night.”
“Oh…”
Speaking of which, Luo Yao hadn’t even had the chance to ask him what he was doing last night. So it was drinking.
It was fine for the Pixiu not to shower this time, but the hungover Qin Ren absolutely had to. He had just stepped out of the bedroom when an urgent voice came from behind.
“Where are you going again…”
“To take a shower. I’ll be back to accompany you soon.”
Qin Ren took off the dirty clothes from last night and magically found that he still smelled of his sister. He didn’t know why the scent lingered so strongly. After a quick rinse, he returned to the bedroom to find that Luo Yao was already drowsy and about to fall into a deep sleep.
However, a Pixiu who sleeps without him by her side is very restless. In the blink of an eye, the blanket was kicked to the side. Qin Ren covered her again, but with a kick of her slender legs, she kicked it off again.
“Tsk, difficulties are like a spring. The weaker you are, the stronger it gets…”
Qin Ren first held her by the ankles, then gently covered her again. She finally settled down, more or less. But her two tender little feet were still sticking out from under the blanket. The soft heels had a gentle halo, dyed with the watery color of the tip of a lotus petal.
Qin Ren was slightly mesmerized. He held one of the girl’s little feet and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was smooth and jade-like, exquisite as a fine artifact. Her fair toes were like little milk candies stuck together, faintly exuding a light, sweet, and cool fragrance…
“Qin Ren.”
“!”
Qin Ren’s head shot up. He let go in embarrassment.
“Sorry… did I wake you?”
“Mhm.”
Luo Yao nodded, then her little face turned red.
“You touched my foot…”
“…”
Qin Ren coughed dryly. He felt like she was treating him like a pervert. It was very awkward. He silently got into bed, pulled over half the blanket, and prepared to catch up on sleep with her.
“You’re not hugging me.”
“Hugging, hugging…”
Qin Ren pulled her closer, but Luo Yao didn’t seem very sleepy for the moment. After a while, she reached out her finger and poked his mouth.
“Qin Ren.”
“Mhm.”
“Did you hug your sister to sleep like this last night?”
“Of course not. A standard room has two beds.”
So that was it. Luo Yao’s sleepiness returned a little.
“Then do you also secretly touch your sister’s foot?”
“If you don’t go to sleep, I’m going to pinch your face…”
————————
And so, the two of them finally fell asleep.
At the same time, at the entrance of Longhu Residential Community, a high school girl in a school uniform was staring fixedly in a certain direction within the community. Her bright black eyes seemed to be able to penetrate through tree branches and brick walls. Then, in a certain instant, her pupils contracted into a narrow vertical slit, like a snake’s…
Translator’s Notes
-
Little Almond (小杏仁): “Almond” in Chinese is “xìngrén” (杏仁), which contains the character for Qin Ren’s given name, “Rén” (仁).
-
Difficulties are like a spring… (困难像弹簧，你弱它就强): A well-known Chinese saying, often attributed to Mao Zedong. It means that difficulties will overwhelm you if you are weak, but if you are strong, you can overcome them. Qin Ren uses it humorously to describe his struggle with the blanket.
