Just as Xing Wu was about to put the ice pop in his mouth, he looked up to see Qing Ye’s face radiating a gentle smile, bright and dazzling in the light, which momentarily stunned him.
Then he glanced at the ice pop in his hand: “You want it?”
Qing Ye reached out, and Xing Wu simply handed it to her before returning to work.
The ice pop was half melted, and Qing Ye tilted her head back to drink some of the liquid. It was both icy and sweet.
When Yellow Hair came out and saw that the ice pop originally meant for Xing Wu was now in Qing Ye’s hands, he said in surprise: “How come you wouldn’t take it from me but you’ll take it from him?”
Qing Ye replied with a half-smile: “Your hands are dirty.”
Yellow Hair protested, pointing at Xing Wu: “Cousin, you can’t lie so blatantly! Brother Wu’s been working all morning – aren’t his hands much dirtier than mine?”
Xing Wu heard their conversation and lowered his head, a smile tugging at his lips.
Qing Ye ignored Yellow Hair and went inside because of the heat. Yellow Hair put on a deeply wounded expression and said to Xing Wu: “I feel like I’ve been dumped too! Yesterday cousin was blushing when she looked at me, today she won’t even acknowledge me. Brother Wu, isn’t this what they call playing hard to get? She wants me to be more proactive, right?”
“…” Why don’t you go write screenplays?
When Qing Ye returned to the back courtyard in the evening, Xing Wu was applying varnish, and Yellow Hair and the others had left.
Qing Ye walked into the courtyard and exclaimed: “You built a wardrobe?”
She circled the wardrobe in amazement, discovering that Xing Wu had carefully sanded every part. Besides hanging space, it even had several drawers, and it looked quite sturdy.
Xing Wu was applying a layer of clear varnish when Qing Ye came to his side with wide eyes asking: “Who did you make this wardrobe for?”
Xing Wu glanced at her sidelong but didn’t respond. Qing Ye pointed to herself in surprise: “It can’t be for me, right?”
Xing Wu neither confirmed nor denied it, continuing to work with his head down. Qing Ye broke into a smile: “It is for me! I needed a wardrobe – look at how my clothes are just piled in my suitcase every day.”
Xing Wu wasn’t blind. He said flatly: “I just don’t want you turning my room into a pigsty after staying a few more days.”
Qing Ye’s mood suddenly lifted, completely unbothered by his teasing as she circled the wardrobe again: “When can I use it?”
“Let it air out for a few days until the smell dissipates, then we’ll move it upstairs.”
Then he suddenly remembered something and asked Qing Ye: “Do you still want those things in the bag?”
Qing Ye turned her head to see the underwear Xing Wu had retrieved from Wu Er’s drawer last night, and her smile instantly vanished: “No, throw them away.”
She had originally thought another woman had stolen them, but now knowing it was Wu Er, she couldn’t bear to imagine what he had done with her underwear at home. The very thought made her sick.
Just then, Qing Ye’s phone suddenly rang. It was an unfamiliar number, and when she answered, a woman’s voice came through claiming to be Teacher Yang Li from An Middle School, asking if she had arrived in An County yet, and if convenient, to come to the school tomorrow to verify and register her transfer documents.
After hanging up, Qing Ye looked up and asked Xing Wu: “Do you know a teacher called Yang Li at An Middle School?”
“She called you?”
“Asked me to go to the school tomorrow. Where is it? Is it far?”
Xing Wu just looked at her, lost in thought, then said: “It’s not far. I’ll take you tomorrow.”
Qing Ye had only wanted directions, but unexpectedly Xing Wu offered to accompany her. Was the sun rising from the west? He wasn’t finding her troublesome anymore?
Although that incident happened yesterday, it didn’t affect Li Lanfang’s after-dinner mahjong schedule. Qing Ye had figured it out – this distant aunt of hers could go without food for a day, but going without mahjong was like having withdrawal symptoms – impossible.
After pushing his grandmother into her room and cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen, Xing Wu came out to find that Qing Ye hadn’t gone upstairs. Instead, she was sitting on a small stool by the back door with freshly cut avocado in front of her, looking appealingly green. She took a photo of the plate with her phone and posted it to her Moments: “Keep persevering.”
This was her first Moments post since her mother’s death. As soon as she posted it, many old classmates left comments asking where she had transferred to and when she would come back to visit them.
Qing Ye couldn’t reply. Even if she told these people where she was, they probably hadn’t heard of it. She had always excelled academically, previously attending an international school where she had never faltered in academics, arts, or various competitions. She had always been a top student, standing out brilliantly even among children from wealthy and exceptional backgrounds. But now this brilliant pearl was covered in dust, exiled to such a place. Her pride wouldn’t let her tell these old friends about her current circumstances.
Then she received a message from Meng Ruihang asking: “Are you okay?”
Qing Ye opened his reply, typed several words then deleted them, staring blankly for a long time, until Xing Wu came to her side and glanced over. He hadn’t meant to look, but his eyesight was too good – one casual glance and he caught the name Meng Ruihang, suddenly reminding him of that refined-looking boy he’d seen on Qing Ye’s computer before.
Xing Wu leaned against the doorframe and snorted: “So even good students have puppy love?”
Qing Ye was startled, quickly putting away her phone and staring up at Xing Wu. He had expected her to snap at him to mind his own business, but she just glared at him darkly, without denying it.
Xing Wu kicked aside the nearby stool and started walking inside when Qing Ye quickly stood up and asked: “Are you going out?”
“What else?” Xing Wu put his lighter in his pocket without looking back.
Qing Ye bit her lip, standing by the back door watching him. Hearing the silence behind him, Xing Wu turned to glance at her. Qing Ye’s brows were tightly knitted, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn’t, clearly struggling internally.
He turned around completely and asked lazily: “What? Don’t want me to go out?”
Qing Ye glanced around the back courtyard with a worried expression. After last night’s events, she had developed significant psychological trauma. With Li Lanfang going out to play mahjong every night, if Xing Wu wasn’t home either, she probably wouldn’t go downstairs to use the bathroom even if her bladder exploded.
Seeing her silence, Xing Wu walked back to her: “Speak up, or I’m leaving.”
He made as if to turn away, and Qing Ye took a deep breath, her voice barely a mosquito’s whisper: “Could you… not go out?”
Xing Wu’s already-turning body paused slightly, and he looked back with a playful smile: “Don’t tell me you’ve been sitting here on a little stool waiting all this time because you’re afraid of me going out?”
Qing Ye’s large dark eyes just calmly gazed at him, not denying it.
Xing Wu put his hands on his hips, looking at her pitiful expression, and couldn’t help but laugh. He casually took out his phone and called Quan Ya: “Hey, I’m not coming tonight.”
Hearing this, Qing Ye instantly relaxed and went upstairs with her avocado.
On the other end of the line, Quan Ya was surprised: “We’ve already dealt the cards. How can you suddenly say you’re not coming?”
Xing Wu glanced back at where Qing Ye had gone upstairs and said casually with an “mm”: “Family won’t let me go out.”
Quan Ya burst out laughing: “Stop bullshitting! Since when do you listen to your family?”
“…” Well, I’m listening now, aren’t I?