The shop wasn’t large but had been in business for many years. At this hour, there were still plenty of customers, mostly local residents. The Boss recognized Chi Nuan and greeted her with a smile as she came in. “Little girl, on vacation?”
Chi Nuan smiled back at him and turned to ask Gu Ningzi, “Is this okay?”
Gu Ningzi took off her sunglasses. “Looks good.”
They ordered a bowl of Yangchun Noodles and spotted an empty table in the corner, so they sat down.
Chi Nuan pulled out some tissues and wiped down the table in front of Gu Ningzi several times. Then she went to the disinfection cabinet, got chopsticks and a spoon for her, and scalded them with hot water before bringing them over.
Gu Ningzi’s gaze followed her. She asked, “Do you come here often?”
“Sometimes with my Brother,” Chi Nuan said.
The Yangchun Noodles arrived quickly, with green scallion bits floating in the soy sauce broth, the aroma wafting up.
“…” Chi Nuan paused. “I said no scallions… Let me get them to make you a new bowl.”
As she stood, Gu Ningzi grabbed her. “It’s fine… When I was little, I ate vegetarian with my mom. After she passed, I stopped being so strict.”
She picked up her chopsticks to start eating, but Chi Nuan said, “Gu Ningzi, wait.”
Chi Nuan sat back down, took the spoon, and carefully skimmed off every last bit of scallion from the surface.
After Gu Ningzi slowly savored and finished the bowl, they returned to the complex. She took Chi Nuan’s suitcase out of the car and carried it upstairs with her.
No elevator, so they hauled it up to the sixth floor together. Chi Nuan opened the door, wanting to invite Gu Ningzi in to sit but worried about holding her up.
Tang Siru was still waiting for her.
No one was home. Chi Nuan pushed the suitcase into her room and hurried back to the living room. Gu Ningzi was fanning herself with a fan from the coffee table. Chi Nuan turned on the standing air conditioner by the wall, brought over a small fan, and aimed it at Gu Ningzi. “Want some water?”
Gu Ningzi said, “No need to fuss. I’ll head out soon.”
Chi Nuan: “Okay.”
Gu Ningzi: “I’m going back North tomorrow.”
Thinking of all the summer plans she had with Tang Siru, Chi Nuan nodded. “Sure.”
Gu Ningzi sat for a few more minutes, put the fan back, and said goodbye. “Chi Nuan, see you.”
Chi Nuan wanted to walk her downstairs, but Gu Ningzi refused repeatedly. “No, it’s too hot outside. Stay in. Really, don’t see me off.”
Gu Ningzi opened the door to leave, but Chi Nuan chased after her. “…Gu Ningzi, got any candy?”
Gu Ningzi: “…”
Gu Ningzi smiled. “I’ll bring some next time we meet.”
After Gu Ningzi left, Chi Nuan sat in the spot where she’d been, her gaze vacant, unfocused.
Maybe five minutes passed, or perhaps longer, when the door sounded with movement. Chi Qingchuan and Yue Yun returned together.
Yue Yun’s due date was at the end of August, and her belly was already quite large. They’d just come back from a prenatal checkup at the hospital.
As Chi Qingchuan changed his shoes, he called into the living room, “Nuannuan’s home.”
Chi Nuan snapped out of it.
Yue Yun entered the living room first and sat on the sofa. “Your classmate’s pretty well-off.”
She casually turned on the TV and made the comment.
“We ran into Xiao Gu downstairs,” Chi Qingchuan added as he walked over. “Just chatted a bit. You shouldn’t have let your Brother pick you up—instead making her drive you all this way? Such a hassle for her. Xiao Gu’s nice though, kept saying it’s no trouble.”
Chi Nuan turned her face toward the fan, as if watching the blades spin. She murmured softly, not sure if it was for Chi Qingchuan or herself, “Mm, won’t happen again.”
The next day, Gu Ningzi and Tang Siru returned North together. Chi Nuan changed into her Bakery uniform and started her summer part-time job.
Chi Nuan had worked at that Bakery for a whole summer the previous year. The Boss Lady saw she was young and hardworking, so she took good care of her. This year, when the Boss Lady asked if she wanted to do summer work again, Chi Nuan agreed without hesitation.
The Bakery was well-known in Nearby Town, and good business meant hard work. Chi Nuan had to go in early every day to help out in the back, then move to the front counter. If they were short-staffed, she’d deliver orders to customers. All in all, she was busy from morning till closing at night.
At first, after leaving Yuncheng, Gu Ningzi kept up the habit of sending Chi Nuan two or three messages a day. But Chi Nuan was too busy to check them often. When she had a moment to chat, she’d end it with excuses like “busy” or “got something to do.”
Once Gu Ningzi learned she was working a summer job, she stopped messaging during the day. But by evening, when Chi Nuan got off work, she was exhausted and still had homework to review—leaving little time for chatting. Gradually, Gu Ningzi’s messages became fewer.
One day in early August, half a month after their parting. It was a rainy day, business at the Bakery was slow, and the Boss Lady closed early. Chi Nuan took the bus home.
It had just rained, leaving the roads slick and wet. Chi Nuan leaned against the window, and in the sway of the bus, her thoughts turned to Gu Ningzi.
Their last messages were from three days ago. Gu Ningzi had said the resort hotel was nice and cool, but Little Nuan had shredded the curtains on her first day there.
The longing hit her so fiercely. Chi Nuan silently repeated Gu Ningzi’s name, unable to resist, and dialed her number.
The phone rang a few times before connecting.
Chi Nuan held her breath nervously, not even starting her greeting, when Tang Siru’s deliberately lowered voice came through. “Chi Nuan? You’re looking for A-Ning? She’s been feeling under the weather these past few days. She took her medicine and is asleep now… Or could you call back tomorrow?”
Chi Nuan stared at the hazy neon lights on the street, where a few raindrops began to fall again.
She hung up the phone.
