While using Yang Wan’s campus card to buy water at the cafeteria store, I suddenly remembered what Yang Lun once said to me: “Deng Fuling, you’re spending my sister’s money again.”
Those words weren’t wrong.
During those decades in the Great Ming, my health was never very good. By the time I had saved some money in my old age, I gave it all to Yang Wan, but by then we were both elderly and couldn’t eat much or have the energy to travel far. When we were young, Yang Wan ran the Qingbo House, gradually becoming Beijing’s premier book merchant, while I, as a “scoundrel” in Yang Wan’s words, “happily” lived off her for several years.
Now I’ve worked for four or five years. Besides basic daily food and seasonal clothing, I have no other expenses and have saved nearly 600,000 yuan. Before coming to Chengdu, I consolidated this money into a single card. I’m thinking far ahead, even though I can’t even speak the words “courtship” right now.
“Hey, brother, is your leg better?”
I froze, turning to see Yang Lin standing behind me.
“It’s almost healed.”
Yang Lin glanced at Yang Wan sitting to the side. “You came to see my sister?”
“No…”
“Then why are you using her card?”
“Ah?”
I didn’t know whether to hide it or admit it, but fortunately, Yang Wan got up and came over. “I’m treating him to a drink. Brother, do you want anything?”
Yang Lin pointed at the freezer and said, “I’ll have a Coke.”
He then took the card from my hand and gave it to Yang Wan, looking at me while telling her: “Brother has already compensated him for everything. Don’t feel like you owe him anything. He’s a man, why are you paying? Let him scan his code.”
Yang Wan pinched him, “This cafeteria doesn’t use scan codes. Stop causing trouble.”
“Causing trouble?”
Yang Lin was indignant. “I’m already running late for an afternoon meeting, but I specially came to pick you up and fix your computer at home, and you say I’m…”
Yang Wan raised her hands in surrender: “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t know you had a meeting. Work is important, let’s deal with my computer next week.”
Seeing Yang Wan’s unhappiness, Yang Lin lowered his voice, “Didn’t you say you urgently needed the computer?”
Yang Wan took the water handed over by the aunty, “Forget it, it’s not good for you to drive in such a rush later. I’ll take it out for repairs instead.”
I tentatively asked, “What’s the problem?”
Yang Lin answered, “Don’t know exactly, from the video, probably a system issue.”
“I can take a look for her.”
Yang Lin looked at me, “You know how to do that too?”
I smiled, “Certainly not as well as you.”
Yang Wan turned and asked me, “Don’t you have work this afternoon?”
“Mm, I took a sick day today for my hospital follow-up…”
Before I could finish, Yang Lin suddenly grabbed my arm, “Let me tell you, even I have to notify her in advance to visit my sister’s place. Just fix the computer properly, don’t stay too long.”
I nodded, “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare.”
Only then did Yang Lin let go of me, making a phone gesture to Yang Wan, “I’m going to my meeting. Keep your phone on, got it?”
“Got it!”
Yang Wan made a face at Yang Lin’s back, then turned to hand me the water, “Deng Ying, don’t mind him. My brother has such a sister complex, that he’s so contradictory – wanting me to get married soon while being hostile to any man who gets close to me. I often don’t understand him either.”
“I know, he was like that before.”
“Before?”
I hurriedly covered up, “Oh, we talked about some things while at the hospital.”
Yang Wan didn’t pay much attention to my words, leading me to the seats, “Thanks for helping today, this treat wasn’t wasted.”
Yang Wan’s home wasn’t far from C University, on the twelfth floor, a two-bedroom apartment.
On the way, Yang Wan said she’d moved out of her family home when she was a senior, and this apartment was rented. Although it was a two-bedroom, only one bedroom was usable – the other was basically filled with her books and research materials. I asked her, “Do you have a lot of materials?”
Yang Wan tucked her hair behind her ear, “Not much before, but later because the materials were scattered across various universities and libraries, some even abroad. Photography and photocopying weren’t easy. Some couldn’t be borrowed or copied, only hand-copied, which took a lot of time. Even when they’re no longer needed, I can’t bear to throw them away. They just kept piling up more and more. My parents don’t understand, but they know those are my most precious things.”
She opened the door while speaking.
She crouched down to change her slippers.
In the entryway, there was only one pair of pink and white bear-ear slippers. After she changed, she took out a grey pair with cat ears from the shoe cabinet and placed them in front of me, “These aren’t my brother’s, feel free to wear them, they’re super soft. By the way, can you crouch down? Do you want me to get you a small stool?”
“It’s fine, Wan… no…”
Yang Wan crouched beside me hugging her knees, “You’ve already called me that, just keep going.”
“I’m not a bad person, I…”
Yang Wan laughed, “I know.”
She pulled over a small stool and put it behind me, “Hold onto the shoe cabinet when you sit, be careful. I’ll go turn on the computer.”
I sat on the stool to change my shoes.
As Yang Wan said, the rabbit-fur slippers were exceptionally soft, and the cat ears on top would bounce up and down with each step. Yang Wan came out carrying the computer, saw me staring at my feet, and couldn’t help laughing, “Cute, right? The pair on your feet and the pair on mine were bought as a set. I liked these bear ears ones, but they couldn’t be bought separately, so I brought these cat ear ones home too.”
She put the computer on the coffee table, which also had an opened pack of daily nuts.