The young man on the steps, with an erect figure, had light coming from behind him, faintly outlining broad shoulders and a narrow waist beneath his clothes.
The youth frowned as he scanned the two rows of people before him, then kicked one person’s leg.
Shi Niannian heard him curse “idiot.”
After cursing, he walked forward, and the others followed, joking and laughing.
She had moved to this city since starting high school, a place where land was precious, with an intricate transportation network and tall skyscrapers.
She lived with her uncle’s family.
Her uncle was an impressive person who had started a business early and had become a renowned businessman.
Shi Niannian turned several corners to reach the villa district, which was by the water. Across was the central commercial area, bustling with traffic, commercial buildings, and huge billboards that never dimmed.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with this girl,” said one of the security guards at the entrance of the villa district. “She always seems a bit dazed, despite being so pretty.”
“I heard from that household, not her mother, but they say her grades are exceptional, ranked first in the key high school.”
“Really?” The security guard cast a doubtful glance at her. “Doesn’t look like it.”
“Probably a bookworm, buried in studies until becoming silly,” another said indifferently.
…
The girl seemed to hear nothing, continuing forward with her schoolbag.
The hem of her blue school uniform had some dirt on it, already dried and stuck to it, which she hadn’t noticed.
“Niannian, you’re back.” Her aunt smiled, beckoning her over. “I just made dumplings. Are you hungry? Come and eat some.”
“Aunt.” Shi Niannian put down her bag. “I’ve already… eaten dinner.”
“It’s almost nine o’clock, of course, I know you’ve had dinner. This is a night snack.” Her aunt served her a bowl and placed a spoon on the table.
Shi Niannian ate one: “Aren’t you on a diet?”
“Xu Ningqing, that debt collector, is back. He just called saying he’s hungry and wants a midnight snack!” Despite her words, her aunt’s face still beamed with happiness.
Xu Ningqing was Shi Niannian’s cousin who had just finished the college entrance examination during the summer holiday and had only just returned from traveling, with university about to start.
“Brother is back?” Shi Niannian stopped what she was doing and looked up to ask.
“Yes, he just said he was at the convenience store up ahead, but he still hasn’t returned,” her aunt complained.
Shi Niannian ate the last dumpling and jumped off her chair: “Aunt, I’ll go find, find brother.”
When she had passed by earlier, she had seen a crowd of people at the convenience store from a distance, with occasional cries of pain.
Next to the convenience store was a basketball court, now with its lights on, illuminating the court surface green.
There were two groups of people fighting fiercely. The lighting on the court wasn’t good, and Shi Niannian couldn’t find Xu Ningqing even after watching for a while.
The hot summer wind could melt a person. Her shoulder-length hair was blown into disarray, and a layer of sweat formed at her temples. After watching from outside the wire fence for a while, she still stepped inside.
The first person she saw was a young man under the basketball hoop.
He sat there lazily, revealing a slender, lean ankle. A basketball lay beside his foot, along with a few cigarette butts. His dark eyes casually observed the intense group fight nearby, the open collar revealing distinct collarbones.
He showed no intention of joining.
Shi Niannian recognized him as the person she had seen at the detention center entrance earlier.
Jiang Wang squinted slightly, his weariness and impatience directly written in the corners of his narrowed eyes, looking ill-tempered.
In his second year of high school, he had stabbed a man in the abdomen with a knife, followed by various entanglements that delayed his imprisonment until half a year later, and today he was released.
His hearing had declined sharply due to an accident. He tilted his head slightly, adjusting the hearing aid hidden in his ear, producing a series of static sounds.
It made his head hurt.
At the end of the jarring noise came the girl’s somewhat stiff voice: “H…hello.”
Halting and stuttering.
First, he saw a slender, fair ankle in slippers.
Jiang Wang looked up and saw a pair of clear, limpid eyes, calm to the point of having no ripples, which didn’t quite match her stuttering speech from moments ago.
Yet they instantly calmed his heart.
What a damn wonder.
He raised an eyebrow: “Hmm?”
“Can, can… would you, help, help me…”
Her face gradually reddened as she spoke, appearing very difficult. Finally, she took a breath and continued, “Call… call Xu Ningqing for me?”
The three words “Xu Ningqing” came out quite smoothly.
The girl before him had a slightly oval face shape and wore loose school uniform pants. When the wind blew, it outlined her thin figure, empty and floating. Her skin was white to the point of transparency, and because of that string of words she had just struggled through, her face was a bit flushed, showing a very pretty pink.
Her voice was soft and light, sweet.
Pity she was a stutterer.
Jiang Wang laughed, his voice a bit hoarse.
Carelessly casual, seeming both mocking and disdainful, permeated with weariness and a nasal tone.
He tilted his head and pinched near his ear, asking: “What?”
Shi Niannian’s eyes widened slightly. It was difficult for her to speak, and her stuttering voice couldn’t be loud. The fight on the other side was getting intense, and she didn’t want to be caught up in it, so she mustered her courage to ask him.
Only now did she realize that this young man with the mischievous smile was deliberately teasing her.
She turned to leave, taking a few steps toward the crowd.
A voice sounded from behind: “Hey.”
She stopped, not turning back.
Jiang Wang leaned back on his hands, his eyelids drooping as he squinted at her: “Little Stutterer.”