Chapter 10
By the time the small store closed, it was nearly ten o’clock at night. The wind brushed across the surface of the water, making it ripple under the lights of a thousand homes. The warm breeze was devoured, replaced by a cool wind that blew towards the pedestrians.
To shorten the walk home, the two of them took a shortcut. Pei Yunle had to be careful not to scrape her left arm on the rough stone walls, and also to avoid the stinking gutter of black, filthy water flowing by her right foot. Jimao, with her four fast legs, easily left them behind with a small leap.
The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow, clearly illuminating the frantic swarm of insects flying beneath them. Pei Yunle kept her mouth tightly shut, ducking her head as she passed.
When she looked down, she saw Chen Qingtang’s shadow stretched out thin, her hair blowing wildly in the wind. Pei Yunle took a long stride to the side and stepped on Chen Qingtang’s “head.” Chen Qingtang, walking behind her, stopped in her tracks, as if she had really been stepped on.
The alley was narrow. Chen Qingtang assumed it was unintentional and tried to move to Pei Yunle’s left. As she stepped out, their shadows were no longer intertwined as before, until Pei Yunle stepped on her shadow’s head again.
When Chen Qingtang moved left, she moved left. When she moved right, she stepped to the right.
Three strikes and you’re out, and this was already the fourth time. No matter how much of a coincidence she thought it was, it was impossible. Chen Qingtang wanted to retaliate. Even without turning around, Pei Yunle could clearly see her intention. She dodged three or four times, and Chen Qingtang failed to land a single successful step.
On the last attempt, Chen Qingtang, fed up, kicked Pei Yunle’s backside. The retaliation was genuine anger; she used her full strength, nearly kicking her into the stinking gutter.
Pei Yunle rubbed her sore rear, ducking her head to look at Chen Qingtang. “Hey, are you really angry?”
Chen Qingtang rolled her eyes at her and just walked ahead, her feet moving swiftly.
Pei Yunle called out “hey” three times. She reached out to grab Chen Qingtang’s slender wrist, but only managed to catch her dress. Chen Qingtang was walking quickly, and being pulled so unexpectedly, she stumbled forward.
It’s over. Now she’s really angry. Pei Yunle showered her with apologies from behind and even let her step on her shadow, but Chen Qingtang wouldn’t even spare her a glance.
Silence flowed through the narrow alley, surrounding the two of them. Besides the chirping of cicadas, there was only the noise of a television from the other side of the stone wall, and the occasional cry of a child being disciplined.
At the next corner, Chen Qingtang’s path was blocked by Jimao. The path was already extremely narrow, and with a dog lying across the middle, it was impossible to step over. This dog is as childish as its owner.
As Chen Qingtang was wondering if there was another way out, she turned to the side and saw a dark shadow on the gray stone wall. A shadow of a small dog had appeared out of nowhere. She naturally assumed it was Jimao’s, but Jimao’s position shouldn’t have cast such a shadow.
Moreover, the little dog’s head was buried in the ground, its outline stiff and angular, lacking the soft, rounded texture of fur. It was as if it had been made with fingers…
On the stone wall, Chen Qingtang and the little dog’s shadows met. The little dog’s head suddenly recoiled, and when it reappeared, it had a flower in its mouth. Seeing that Chen Qingtang didn’t move, the dog’s head nuzzled Chen Qingtang’s shadow and even placed the flower in her hand.
Chen Qingtang looked down at her own hand, which was empty. When she looked up again, the flower was held in Pei Yunle’s hand.
Their eyes met. Pei Yunle beamed and handed the small, unknown flower to Chen Qingtang. “The little dog says she’s sorry. She wants to give you a flower to apologize.”
Chen Qingtang crossed her arms. There was a “dog” in front of her, and the cunning Jimao behind her. It seemed she was destined to be cornered by dogs today.
She sighed inwardly and extended her arm towards Pei Yunle, palm up, for her to hand over the flower. The matter would then be considered closed.
Instead, Pei Yunle held the flower in her mouth, leaned forward, her eyes crystal clear like a husky’s. The little dog was eagerly waiting for the little cat to take the flower from her mouth.
The little cat reluctantly accepted. The little dog was ecstatic.
The heavy stone in Pei Yunle’s heart finally lifted. To be honest, she had never been good at placating people. The idea just now had been purely inspired by Jimao. She shook her sore fingers; they felt like they were about to tie themselves in knots.
She was just wondering how Jimao had suddenly become so in tune with her, knowing to block Chen Qingtang’s path. She would have to give her an extra chicken leg when they got back!
Chen Qingtang pinched the flower between her fingertips. She carefully tucked it into a small pocket of her dress, the delicate petals trembling in the gentle night breeze.
“Jimao, what are you doing!” Pei Yunle roared, breaking into a run. She rushed to the Golden Retriever and pinched her muzzle, lifting her head.
“What did you eat? I told you not to eat or sniff random things on the street! You’re not eating dog poop, are you?! Are you eating dog poop?!”
Pei Yunle didn’t dare to look at what was in the weeds, only seeing some brown, unknown substance on the dog’s mouth.
“I knew it! So that’s why you suddenly stopped in the middle of the path! You were eating dog poop! You damn dog! And I was just thinking about what to do about your dog food. Go eat your dog poop!”
Jimao’s muzzle was pinched shut, unable to even whimper. Her round, grape-like eyes darted around, looking very wronged.
Seeing her paw trying to step forward, Pei Yunle slapped her on the rear, her tone firm. “Move your ass, let’s go!”
The two humans and one dog, each in a different mood, leisurely walked to the end of the alley.
Ahead was a night market street. Most of the shops on either side were barbecue restaurants. Pei Yunle hadn’t had anything good to eat since coming to Pingshun. Grandma Liu’s cooking was naturally to her own taste—either bean and melon soup or garlic-stir-fried greens. It was too plain; she suspected she was about to become a nun.
The smell of cumin from the barbecue was like a seductive ghost, beckoning to her soul. Pei Yunle kept turning her head, the human and dog duo stopping and starting.
“Hey, as compensation for just now, how about I treat you to some barbecue?”
Chen Qingtang was taken aback, but immediately understood the meaning behind her words. Although she wasn’t hungry, seeing the two of them swallowing in sync, she had no choice but to nod.
There were small tables set up outside the restaurant, but they were mostly occupied by pot-bellied men. The two of them had no desire to squeeze in there and opted to sit inside. Although it was a bit stuffy, it was at least quiet.
Pei Yunle clutched the 50 yuan in her pocket—the compensation for Jimao’s dog food. She waved the crumpled bill and patted Jimao’s head. “Since you ate something else, your dog food money is going to pay for my meal. And there are no meat skewers for you today!”
Jimao let out a whimper and had to lie on the floor, panting.
The barbecue restaurant was a husband-and-wife business. The couple was busy grilling skewers outside, leaving only a girl sitting at the counter to watch the store.
Pei Yunle figured since she was already indulging, she might as well go all out. She walked to the counter to see what drinks they had and saw that the girl had her hair in a high ponytail and was wearing a blue and white school uniform. She was writing something with her head down. Pei Yunle squinted and saw that it was a biology worksheet.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, the girl’s eyes shifted from the blank worksheet to the newcomer. “What do you want?”
Pei Yunle pointed to a can of Coke on the floor. Biology was related to medicine. Finding herself in a familiar field, and seeing the blank worksheet, she couldn’t help but ask, “Are there any questions you don’t know how to do?”
The girl retorted without looking up, “Are there any you do know how to do?”
The comment was unpleasant. Pei Yunle felt a breath get stuck in her throat.
She took a closer look at the worksheet. It was a topical exercise, specifically on calculating genetic probabilities. Pei Yunle still remembered those evil pea plants. She was about to say a few more words to the girl when the vegetable skewers she had ordered were ready.
The female owner came in with a stainless steel tray. Seeing a stranger holding her daughter’s worksheet, she wiped her hands on her apron.
“Are you helping her with her homework?”
Pei Yunle put down the worksheet. “Um, not really. I was just curious and took a look.”
“What’s the point of studying? She can’t learn it anyway. We can’t afford a private school, and she can’t get into a good public one. She’d be better off learning to grill barbecue with us.”
“I can afford it! You’re the ones who won’t pay for it!”
Hearing this, her voice seemed too loud in the empty restaurant. The girl blushed and lowered her head to continue writing.
Pei Yunle pulled open the tab on her can with one hand. A large number of bubbles rushed to the top with a hiss. “Ma’am, with the time you spend putting people down, you could have grilled a few more skewers and afforded her tuition long ago.”
“What did I say wrong? If she really gets into a good school, she won’t come back. And if her education level is too high, she won’t get married. How can that be!”
“But a low education level will make you say things like that.” Pei Yunle handed a skewer of potatoes to Chen Qingtang, who lightly kicked her under the table. Pei Yunle knew she had said too much and forced a smile.
The owner knew she had met her match. Plus, the owner outside yelled at her to get back to grilling. Her half-open mouth finally only managed to say, “We all live like this. If you don’t get married, people will break your back with their gossip…”
Pei Yunle was at a loss for words. She looked up and saw the owner busy at the grill, never stopping for a moment. Her husband would occasionally turn his head and scold her, probably for being too slow or talking too much.
Pei Yunle suddenly felt something squeeze her heart. Her mouth was dry. She lifted her Coke and took another sip. After a long moment, she asked Chen Qingtang in a low voice, “Was my attitude just now too aggressive?”
Chen Qingtang didn’t know how to reply. This kind of thing was common in the small town.
“Here, is other people’s opinion more important than your own life?”
[Don’t blame them.]
Chen Qingtang thought for a moment, then typed another sentence on her phone: [Three people make a tiger.]
The Coke was suddenly no longer a thirst-quenching liquid. It became a sea, rushing into her lungs, into her alveoli, making her feel like she was drowning.
Pei Yunle suddenly thought of the fourteen years she had spent in school, the educational resources she had taken for granted, which were so precious to others.
Chen Qingtang wiped her mouth with a napkin, walked to the counter, and tapped on the tabletop. The girl looked up.
“What do you want?”
[Can I have your contact information?]
The girl knew Chen Qingtang. The town was small, and everyone knew everyone. Out of trust, she tore off a small corner of her worksheet and wrote down her QQ number on it.
“What are you doing?” Pei Yunle looked at the small piece of paper Chen Qingtang was holding.
[She wants to go to college, right? I’ll sponsor her a little. The money I’ve saved is useless anyway.]
Pei Yunle’s eyes widened. She lowered her voice. “If she really wants to study, she can apply for a student loan. There’s no interest during her undergraduate years. At most, it’ll be a little tough after graduation, but that’s a later problem.”
Chen Qingtang smiled and shook her head. If only she had the qualifications and ability to study like a normal person. But she could only learn so much in a special education school, and even after graduation, she was criticized for wasting money.
Pei Yunle didn’t know what she was smiling about, only that she thought this person was very foolish.
As they left the restaurant, Pei Yunle turned back. Watching the owner’s skilled movements, she said, “I wish you a prosperous business, sister.”
The owner was busy sprinkling chili powder, and probably didn’t hear her.
