Chapter 6
When Pei Yunle woke up, she was the only one in the bed. She didn’t know when the rain had stopped, or when the other person had left.
She smacked her lips. She had probably been pestering Chen Qingtang all night—no, to be precise, she had been the one pestering her all night. Strangely, she hadn’t felt as cold as she usually did. Perhaps her attention hadn’t been entirely focused on the weather.
She tried to pull out the quilt from under her. As she rolled over, her face buried into the adjacent pillow. The fresh scent of shampoo boldly rushed into her nostrils, as if Chen Qingtang hadn’t left at all.
Pei Yunle casually threw on a cropped jacket and headed downstairs.
Grandma Liu was still sitting in the middle of the courtyard, watching people come and go through the main gate. Her small, stooped figure looked very lonely.
Even Pei Yunle, who never liked to greet people, called out “Grandma.” She sat down opposite the old woman. The porcelain plate on the table was already empty; not even half a kernel of corn was left.
“Dearie, you’re up.” Grandma Liu grinned, her gums toothless.
Pei Yunle forced a smile. “Sorry, I went to bed late last night, so I couldn’t get up today.”
“It’s no matter. It’s good to get more sleep. I wish I could sleep in a little longer, but I can’t.” Grandma Liu handed her a cup of hot water. “Before Qingtang left, she told me you weren’t feeling well last night and that you should rest at home today, no need to go to the store.”
Pei Yunle gave a sheepish acknowledgment. Last night, she had taken out her mood on Chen Qingtang, then shamelessly used her illness to make the other girl stay with her. She hadn’t even apologized or explained properly. Pei Yunle’s non-existent conscience was suddenly pricked, and it hurt so much she couldn’t sit still.
But her personality was stubborn. Making her say the words “I’m sorry” face-to-face was no different from running a naked lap around Pingshun.
She thought about sending Chen Qingtang an apology message. Writing a several-hundred-word essay was Pei Yunle’s specialty. It required no real thought on her part, just a bit of finger-tapping, and she could move the other person.
A cheap and insincere sentiment.
She only had Chen Qingtang’s WeChat. She watched the gray circle spin next to the green chat box for a long time, until finally, a red exclamation mark appeared.
Pei Yunle glanced at the notification bar at the top of her phone. Not only was there no Wi-Fi, but it was also only 4G! And two bars of signal were missing. There were a few Wi-Fi networks available, but they all belonged to other families and were password-protected. Her own mobile data had been used up in the past two days—no surprise, since she’d been messaging her friends non-stop to complain about this place.
“Grandma, is there Wi-Fi at home?”
Grandma Liu, who had been half-dozing, lifted her eyelids at the question, revealing multiple layers of wrinkles.
“What kind of brick?”
“Wi-Fi! You know, the thing that looks like a fan!”
Grandma Liu didn’t understand what “why-brick” was. Her weathered face hadn’t shown such a confused expression in a long time.
Pei Yunle sighed deeply and tried another way. “Is there broadband at home?”
“I don’t know.”
Pei Yunle was at a loss for words and had to ask something else. “Why is it still 4G here? Isn’t China covered in 5G now?”
The now-silent grandma seemed to be lost in thought. She pointed to the vegetables in a styrofoam box, as if she had finally understood. “Oh, you want to eat string beans (sìjìdòu)? How about I make you some melon and bean soup today?”
Pei Yunle: …
“I was born not liking 4G beans (sì-G-dòu).”
“What’s all this four-chicken, one-chicken talk? Grandma doesn’t understand.” Grandma Liu pulled a red senior’s phone from her pocket. As soon as it turned on, a booming voice announced: America has Apple, China has Pineapple, Pineapple Phone!
Pei Yunle’s eyes widened, and she leaned back in her chair.
Twenty-four hours was far too long a day. Pei Yunle felt as if she had thorns on her backside; she just couldn’t sit still.
The TV on the first floor was unwatchable. The moment you turned it on, it pestered you to subscribe to a VIP service for 35 yuan a month, and that was just for one app. Other shows required VIP subscriptions for different apps.
“Grandma, is there anything else to do in this house?”
“Oh, there’s a DVD player on the second floor. You can watch discs.”
What kind of ancient artifact is that? Pei Yunle scratched her face. The first time she had even heard the term “DVD player,” she hadn’t even started elementary school.
“You can go rent discs on the street. I know the owner, she won’t charge you.”
Pei Yunle’s eyes lit up.
…
The owner of the video store was a young woman in a camisole and hot pants, chatting with someone while sipping on milk tea.
The store’s decor probably hadn’t changed in over a decade, exuding a stale, dilapidated air, but at least it was clean and comfortable.
Besides the discs on the shelves, the floor was also filled with blue plastic baskets overflowing with discs of various colors.
Pei Yunle squatted down in front of a plastic basket and casually picked one up. The picture on the cover was quite beautiful, but when she flipped it over, she saw titles like A Wicked Ghost and other horror films. It was a box set containing multiple movies.
“What the heck…” She shrank back. This was a true case of “product does not match the picture.”
Seeing her pick things up and put them down, the owner figured she was another customer who didn’t know what to watch.
The owner walked over, leaning an elbow on a shelf and blowing a pink bubble with her gum. “Hey dearie, what genre are you looking for? Movies or TV shows?”
Pei Yunle wasn’t a fan of TV shows. Each episode was 40 minutes long, and she didn’t have the patience to sit through a 40-episode series.
“Movies, I guess.”
“What kind? Romance, action, horror, Hong Kong films, comedy…” The owner rattled off a list of genres like a crosstalk comedian reciting a menu.
Pei Yunle didn’t remember any of it, except for the first two genres she mentioned.
Actually, she hated it when someone chattered on with recommendations while she was trying to choose something. It always made her feel embarrassed to reveal her own preferences, as if they were some shameful secret.
“Um…” Pei Yunle couldn’t decide. She wanted to watch a different kind of romance film; she was tired of the bland, domestic unrequited love stories.
“Romance, with some other elements.”
The pink bubble in the owner’s mouth popped. “For example?”
“Anything’s fine, I’m not picky, as long as it’s good. Preferably something that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy afterwards.” Pei Yunle still felt a lingering chill from yesterday. This town was so gloomy, she wanted to watch something that would warm her up.
The owner sized up Pei Yunle, confirming that she wasn’t a local. Seeing her dressed in a jumble of clanking accessories, she wondered if she was another one of those “edgy” girls from the school in the next town.
That crowd of “ghost fire” boys and girls always came to her store to buy… other kinds of films. And of course, they weren’t watching anything wholesome.
The owner’s lips curled, the gum in her mouth smacking loudly.
“Oh~ a good romance film, and it has to be warm and fuzzy. Do you want a domestic one or a foreign one?”
“Foreign, I guess. The domestic ones always feel like industrial saccharin.” Pei Yunle followed the owner into a dim back room.
The owner couldn’t help but exclaim, looking at the girl behind her with new eyes. “Industrial saccharin? There’s a distinction? Looks like you’ve watched a lot.”
Pei Yunle didn’t know why the owner was giving her a thumbs-up with a surprised smile on her face. Weird, so weird. Is everyone in this town crazy?
The owner picked up a disc between her fingers, sorting through them. “Do you want to watch girls or guys?”
“Huh?”
The owner rolled her eyes but tried to keep her voice down. “I said, do you want two girls, two guys, or a girl and a guy?”
Pei Yunle’s lips parted slightly. This store looked old and run-down, but it had a surprisingly complete selection. Still, there probably weren’t many foreign films with two female leads. She walked up to stand beside the owner and saw a whole basket of discs. She casually picked one up; the cover did indeed show two girls leaning on each other.
What’s there to choose? She remembered the disc with the beautiful cover that turned out to be A Wicked Ghost. Who knew what kind of monstrosity she’d end up with?
“Do you have any recommendations of ones you’ve seen? I don’t know which one to pick.” She couldn’t possibly pick a horror-romance for herself.
“This one. The treasure of the store. I guarantee that after watching it, you’ll not only feel warm and fuzzy, but also hot and spicy.”
The owner handed her a disc in a plain white case. It looked completely unremarkable.
Pop— A pink bubble of chewing gum burst in the air, releasing a sticky, sweet scent.
The owner’s red lips moved in the dim light. “Take it home and watch it. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”
“Oh, right, I’m from Grandma Liu’s house. She said you know her and I can rent for free.” Pei Yunle didn’t forget to state her credentials.
“From the Liu family? I don’t remember her granddaughter looking like you. Hey, she’s a pretty, well-behaved girl, completely different from you.”
“Oh, you’re talking about Chen Qingtang.”
“Ah, right, right, Chen Qingtang.”
Pei Yunle couldn’t be bothered to explain the whole story and chose a simpler version. “I’m her friend. I’m staying at her place for a while.”
The owner’s gaze shifted to the disc in her hand, and her slightly furrowed brow suddenly smoothed out. “Oh~ you’re her friend.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Well, I never would have thought that Chen Qingtang… Aiyo, no wonder she turned down all those matchmakers who came knocking on behalf of those men.”
Pei Yunle didn’t want to pry into other people’s private lives. What did it matter to her whether Chen Qingtang got married or not?
“So that’s how it is.” Pei Yunle didn’t understand what the owner had understood. Her way of talking was always so cryptic.
“Well, you two should keep a low profile. This town is very conservative. Take that Fang Xiaoduo, for example… ah, but you wouldn’t know her. Never mind, never mind, I’ll keep your secret for you.”
Pei Yunle ignored the owner’s words, focusing only on writing her name and phone number in the rental log.
“This one.” She waved the disc in her hand. “How long is the rental period?”
The owner spit out her gum and took another sip of milk tea. “That one? Movies are usually for three days. But, since we’ve hit it off, you can return it within seven days.”
Pei Yunle tucked the disc into her jacket pocket. Watching the owner chew gum and drink milk tea, she said, “Boss, you should eat less sugar. It’ll be a hassle if you get diabetes.”
“It’s not that serious, is it? I only have one cup a day.”
“It’s very serious. Although genetics are the main cause, a high-sugar diet every day is a significant risk factor.”
Hearing Pei Yunle speak so knowledgeably, the owner put down her milk tea and leaned in. “Are you a doctor?”
Pei Yunle froze. Not really. Although she had graduated, she was at best just a medical student.
Seeing her silence, the owner took it as a confirmation. “Chen Qingtang has pretty good taste, huh? To find herself a doctor.”
Pei Yunle’s face scrunched up. In this day and age, did you have to pick your friends based on whether they were lawyers or doctors?
“I’m leaving. I’ll probably bring it back tonight.”
“You don’t have to be in such a hurry.”
Pei Yunle’s mouth twitched. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and left.
The square disc was a bit uncomfortable in her pocket. As she felt its sharp corners, a brilliant idea suddenly struck her!
Tonight, she would ask Chen Qingtang to watch the movie with her. When it was over, she would apologize. Maybe Chen Qingtang would be in a good mood from the movie and wouldn’t hold the past two days of messiness against her.
Pei Yunle felt like an absolute genius. She kicked a pebble on the road and hummed an off-key tune.
What an amazing misunderstanding. I can’t wait to see the flowers that bloom from it!