On a summer afternoon, the azure sky was cloudless, the sun scorched the earth, and pedestrians strolled back and forth in the shade. In the past two years, the sound of cicadas has been rarely heard in Shenzhen.

After the college entrance examination, Xia Minmin's family moved from Dudu Garden Community to the fifth floor of Youhui Supermarket. This place is close to the home textile factory, making it convenient for Xia Jianguo to work, and the living environment is more spacious and comfortable.

Since starting her second year of high school, Xia Minmin hasn't read any books other than textbooks and workbooks for two whole years. Whenever she has a spare moment, she uses sports to relieve stress.

Sometimes when exam results aren't ideal, playing a game of tennis with Tang Meng, or riding around the streets on a skateboard and letting loose makes me feel like I can keep fighting.

Over the years, the bookshelves in the small study in the bedroom have gradually been filled up. After the college entrance examination, Tang Meng accompanied Xia Minmin as they dragged a small cart through bookstores and bought fifty or sixty books.

While waiting for her college entrance exam results, Xia Minmin lived a very regular life. Apart from exercising for an hour every morning and evening and eating three meals a day, she spent the rest of her time reading, as if she was preparing to make up for the fun she had lost in the past two years.

Ring ring...

The phone rang in the entryway, breaking the silence in the house.

Xia Minmin put down the book in her hand, straightened her legs from sitting cross-legged, and walked out of the room barefoot.

Hello.

"Is that Xiaomin?"

On the other end of the phone was Tang Meng, who had returned to Shanghai after the college entrance examination.

"Mengmeng, the results will be announced the day after tomorrow. When are you coming back?"

"My flight's tomorrow, let's have hot pot together tomorrow night?"

"Okay, I should go back to my apartment complex tomorrow. It's so comfortable living here that I almost don't want to go back."

"Haha, everyone's happy to live in a big house. I still have to pack my luggage. I'll hang up now. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Dudu Garden is a convenient residential complex, but the living space is too small, making it more suitable for single people. With three people living there, it's inevitable that they'll bump into each other when going to the bathroom in the morning.

Xia Minmin timed her dinner preparations perfectly. It was so hot that cooking a meal would make her sweat profusely. Xia Minmin then took her pajamas and went to take a shower.

In the evening, Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo returned home. On the dining table were two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup. There was no one in the living room. Based on past experience, their daughter should be taking a bath at this time.

Li Chunmei scooped the rice from the rice cooker into a bowl, while Xia Jianguo washed his hands beside her.

"Chunmei, I didn't expect my daughter to be so talented at cooking. This dish is really good, it tastes and smells delicious."

"Hehe, who was it that didn't dare to try it before?"

Li Chunmei couldn't help but laugh when she thought about the horrific combinations her daughter made the first time she cooked. It scared Jianguo so much that he didn't dare to touch his chopsticks. There were countless dishes like mint egg soup and rainbow chicken wings.

Xia Minmin came out of the restroom while drying her hair. The factory area was much cooler than the city center, and with all the windows on the fifth floor open, the wind was blowing through and it was very cool. Sometimes, she didn't even need to turn on the air conditioner.

"Xiaomin, dinner's ready."

"oh."

I draped a half-dry towel over the chair and picked up the chopsticks from the table.

"Xiaomin, are you going back to the city tomorrow morning?" Xia Jianguo asked.

"Yes, the results will be released the day after tomorrow. There will be a lot of gatherings after filling out college applications, so staying in the city will be more convenient."

Xia Minmin took a sip of the soup in her bowl and felt very happy. It was delicious, but the color looked strange.

Xia Jianguo watched his daughter drink the soup in her bowl, and his heart finally settled down. It must taste pretty good.

Li Chunmei sighed, wondering where her daughter had collected the recipe. The purple cabbage and beef ball soup had the purple cabbage cut into thin strips, while the beef balls were still whole, and the soup was dyed a deep purple color.

"Do you need us to go back and keep you company?" Li Chunmei asked.

Xia Minmin shook her head, "No need, I can manage, the neighborhood is very safe."

"Okay, remember to lock the front door at night and check the gas."

There haven't been any thefts in the neighborhood over the years, which makes the couple feel at ease knowing their daughter can go back to live alone.

"I know, don't worry!"

It was past seven o'clock after dinner, and the street downstairs was crowded with workers leaving get off work in groups of three or five, a stark contrast to the quietness of the daytime.

Evening is the busiest and most vibrant time here. Both the night market and the shops along the street are packed with people, and the sounds of vendors calling out their wares can continue until two or three in the morning.

Xia Minmin's house has good sound insulation. In the first half of the year, Xia Jianguo also replaced all the windows in the house with soundproof windows, so you can hardly hear any outside noise.

...

The house had been uninhabited for nearly ten days, and a thin layer of dust had appeared on the furniture. There were still students having physical education class on the elementary school playground across from the balcony. Time really flies!

Xia Minmin still remembers how she felt when she first walked into this house, and the elementary school across the street was simply her dream school, so close to home and convenient.

I opened all the windows in the room to ventilate it, wiped the furniture, swept and mopped the floor. I was busy climbing up and down the stairs until noon before I finally cleaned the room.

Xia Minmin was sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa, staring blankly at the balcony. Cleaning by herself was quite tiring.

On the coffee table was a bag of instant noodles, bread, and milk that I had brought back from the discount supermarket.

She didn't plan to eat out at noon. She was covered in sweat and smelled terrible, so she decided to just have some bread and milk, take a shower, and take a nap while waiting for Tang Meng's call.

thump thump thump...

The knocking woke Xia Minmin from her sleep. She guessed it was Tang Meng, since only Tang Meng would knock instead of ringing the doorbell. Just to be safe, Xia Minmin looked through the peephole and opened the door only after confirming who it was.

"Xiaomin, your landline is out of service! I called you and it showed that the bill was overdue. I remember that the number you gave to everyone last time was this landline number. You should pay the bill for the landline, otherwise no one can find you."

Tang Meng started talking before she even entered the house, speaking so fast that Xia Minmin couldn't even reply.

Having been friends for so many years, Tang Meng knew the Xia family second only to her own family. After entering the house, Tang Meng opened the shoe cabinet, found her slippers, changed them, and sat down on the sofa.

"When did you buy this sundress? I've never seen you wear it before. I also want to buy a cell phone," Xia Minmin said.

Tang Meng was wearing a yellow halter dress that was above her knees, and a flip phone was hanging around her neck.

Xia Minmin had never seen her dressed so sexily before. If it weren't for her short hair, she would never have guessed that she was a student who had just taken the college entrance examination.

"My clothes were bought by my aunt, and the phone was a gift from my uncle. They were both graduation presents. This phone is easy to use and compact. If you like it, I'll go with you to buy it another day, but you need to take care of your landline bill first."

Urged by Tang Meng, Xia Minmin, holding a parasol, walked to the service center to pay the bill. She had originally planned to wait until after 5 PM when the sun wasn't so strong, but Tang Meng was in such a hurry that they had to leave at 3 PM.

“Xiaomin, sometimes I suspect you’re a zombie who can’t stand the light. I’ve never seen anyone so afraid of the sun.”

"No, I just don't want to go out when the sun is at its strongest," Xia Minmin explained.

Sunbathing has many benefits, such as improving calcium absorption and eyesight. Xia Minmin usually walks outdoors for about an hour before nine o'clock in the morning.