Chapter 6

Sister, I'll take care of you in your old age.

She belatedly realized something was wrong; the sound was coming from the kitchen. Josh hurriedly ran over.

The living room and kitchen were separated by a wall, only a few steps apart. Josh jogged over and stopped at the corner.

This neighborhood is old and dilapidated. They live in a small apartment with a small bedroom and living room. The kitchen is even smaller, no more than six square meters.

The cabinets and kitchenware alone already take up the entire space, leaving a very narrow aisle in the middle.

In the cramped kitchen, Chen Zhiyu stood dumbfounded at the kitchen doorway—or rather, if it could still be called a door.

Before my eyes, the entire glass panel of the kitchen door had fallen down and shattered on the floor, leaving only an empty door frame standing there.

The floor outside the kitchen was littered with shards of broken glass, which glittered like tiny diamonds in the sunlight.

It was a bit too bright, so Josh squinted and peered inside.

Inside the kitchen, Chen Zhiyu stood with his head down, motionless like a stationary stake. From Qiao Xi's perspective, it looked as if he were embedded in the door frame.

Josh stepped over the mess, carefully crunching over the broken glass, and quickly went to Chen Zhiyu's side. He took Chen's hand, checked it over and over, and asked with concern, "Are you hurt? Are you injured anywhere?"

The other person didn't speak, but only shook their head slightly.

The kitchen already had only a narrow passageway, and now that the two of them were crammed inside, there wasn't much extra space.

Josh pulled him outside and, after repeatedly checking that he hadn't bumped or fallen, went to check the kitchen door. He looked it over from left to right and finally confirmed that there was absolutely no way to fix it.

The small window in the kitchen was open, and a draft blew directly through the door into the living room, dispelling the tension Josh had been feeling.

She turned to look at the short man again and laughed, "Not bad, Chen Zhiyu. You look small, but you're quite strong. What's wrong? You think you're not good at height and want to develop into a strength type?"

Chen Zhiyu felt ashamed and lowered his head even further.

Seeing that Chen Zhiyu's face and neck were flushed unnaturally, Qiao Xi reached out and ruffled his hair to comfort him, "It's okay. This door has been with our family for a long time, and it should have been replaced a long time ago."

However, she quickly changed the subject, her tone laced with teasing, "Back then, Qiao Dacheng went through all that trouble and nothing happened. It seems you're a cut above the rest."

"I'm sorry." Chen Zhiyu mustered up his courage and finally said his apology.

Josh waved his hand dismissively, "It's nothing, you didn't do it on purpose, as long as you didn't hurt yourself."

"Then I'll clean up the mess." Chen Zhiyu took the initiative to take on the task.

Josh didn't stop him. The boy felt he had done something wrong, and if he didn't do something to make amends, he would probably feel guilty forever. However, she still helped Chen Zhiyu clean up the nooks and crannies.

The two of them collected the glass shards together, sealed them tightly with tape, wrote a note, and put them in the trash can.

After everything was tidied up, Josh looked at the cold, empty door frame and crossed his arms to think, "I have to say, you're really skilled. There's not a single crumb on it."

"Sister, what should we do?"

If left unattended for a long time, cooking fumes will eventually seep into the living room, making cleaning even more troublesome.

"Come with me to the building materials market this afternoon." Actually, she wasn't sure herself, but she didn't want to put Chen Zhiyu in a difficult position.

"Won't it be very expensive?" Chen Zhiyu asked worriedly. Their lives were already difficult, and this breakage would undoubtedly make things even worse.

Josh didn't answer. She didn't know much about it either. She first took out her phone and searched online. If she replaced the entire door frame and glass, the price wouldn't be cheap. If she only replaced the door glass, it would be okay, but she would still need to pay for labor. In total, it would cost at least several hundred yuan.

Josh frowned in annoyance, quickly swiping through his phone. After a moment, his eyes lit up as he looked at Chen Zhiyu. "Hey, who said it can only be made of glass?"

"Huh? What should we use then?" Chen Zhiyu stared wide-eyed for a moment, then asked, "A plastic film?"

He had seen this when he was a child: some families would cover their windows with a layer of plastic film to keep them warm.

Josh grinned, looking disgusted. "Ugh, that's so ugly!" She then held her phone up to his face. "Look at this."

Chen Zhiyu tilted his head back, staring at the phone screen. "Acrylic sheet?"

“Yes!” Josh nodded. “It says above that if you don’t mind, just buy one piece and then buy some non-mold transparent silicone sealant to apply it.”

Without hesitation, Josh quickly made a decision, returned to the living room to check detailed information and tutorials, and then took a measuring tape to measure the dimensions of the door glass.

Taking advantage of this time, Chen Zhiyu quickly cooked a meal. After eating, the two went directly to the building materials market in the afternoon.

With a plan in place, the action was quick. The two headed straight for the acrylic sheet, and Josh readily bought one according to the size. They also stocked up on plenty of silicone sealant, spending less than a hundred dollars in total.

However, the shop owner suggested buying two pieces, one for the front and one for the back, which would look much better.

Josh refused, because that would exceed the budget; when money is involved, aesthetics don't matter so much at this point.

After confirming that all the purchases were complete, Josh and Chen Zhiyu carried the acrylic sheet together and boarded the bus for their return trip.

The two carried the board onto the bus one after the other. After they sat down, Chen Zhiyu was still regretting it, saying, "If this hadn't happened, I wouldn't have spent this extra money. It's all my fault."

His eyebrows were furrowed, and his lips were pursed; he practically huddled his features together.

Josh clicked his tongue. "What's wrong with you, kid?" He lightly patted Chen Zhiyu on the back of the head and scolded him, "Remember, sometimes you don't need to regret what you've already done."

Chen Zhiyu looked up at her, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

"I'll say it again, you didn't do it on purpose. Besides, that door has been faulty for a while, it was only a matter of time before it broke. If it weren't for you, it might have been me."

The bus was moving slowly, leisurely. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed such a slow-paced life. Josh entrusted her time to someone else and closed her eyes to rest. "Sometimes, we should worry less about losses and think more about gains."

"If you keep focusing on that one thing, you'll never get over it."

"Alright, instead of thinking about the past, let's think about how to help me later." Josh yawned, feeling swaying and sleepy on the bus like he was in a cradle.

"Sis, didn't you already watch the tutorial?"

Choked by his words, Josh only managed a half-yawn and was momentarily at a loss for words.

How could she explain that she had the idea in her head but not in her hands? So she simply changed the subject, saying, "I'm training your hands-on skills."

"Oh, I'll try to help." The naive Chen Zhiyu happily agreed.

Where he couldn't see, Josh smiled and thought, "Raising kids is actually quite interesting, and they're really easy to deal with."

If it's just a simple matter of attaching the acrylic sheet to the door, the process is relatively straightforward. There's no need to be too particular, and the two of them managed to do it quite smoothly.

To save money, they chose the cheapest and thinnest board and even got a discount from the shop owner.

Finally, Josh stared at the door he had built with his own hands and said, "Isn't it pretty enough?"

"It doesn't look as good as the matte one," Chen Zhiyu honestly commented.

"But the matte one is expensive, I need to find a way to modify it."

The two stood in front of the slightly reflective kitchen door, one big and one small, one tall and one short, side by side, tilting their heads in one direction before turning back.

"I've got it!" Josh had a flash of inspiration, turned around and went back to her bedroom. When she came out again, she was holding a box of pens. She took one out, pulled off the cap with one hand, and started writing and drawing on the door.

Soon after, a bright orange sun rose slowly.

Josh handed Chen Zhiyu an erasable pen, "This is an erasable pen. I bought the multicolored one. This will be our graffiti wall from now on. We can draw whatever we want."

Erasable pens are better at removing marks than markers. Even if the marks have been left on the surface for too long, they can still be easily wiped off with a little alcohol. "We can change the door design anytime we want."

"It can also be used as a message board in the future."

"That makes sense."

The two of them immediately started doodling again, drawing whatever they wanted: sunflowers, the sun, red flowers and green leaves—drawing whatever came to mind. It was a rare moment of relaxation after so many days.

After finishing his work, Josh got back to business and started looking for a job.

Many places filled up their workforce in the days following the college entrance exams, so if you start looking now, there are very few places you can go.

In addition, with the recent economic downturn across all industries, it's not easy to find short-term jobs. Shop owners prefer to hire long-term employees. Josh contacted a few before, but the feedback was not ideal.

But that evening, Josh received a phone call, and afterwards she went to the balcony for a long time.

A few days ago, Chen Zhiyu moved all his belongings here, and he is currently living in Josh's house.

He leaned against the door, staring at Josh's back for a long time. As soon as she came out from the balcony, he ran over and handed her the money he had in his hand.

Josh raised an eyebrow when he saw the hundred-yuan bill in front of him.

"This is the money for the broken glass." Chen Zhiyu's expression was stubborn, as if he would pester her relentlessly if she didn't accept it.

Presumably, Chen Zhibin was too busy with work before his death to take care of him, and gave him a lot of pocket money.

Josh thought for a moment and then didn't refuse. He picked up the banknote with two fingers and waved it in the air. "Okay, then use this to supplement the household expenses. Use this money to buy groceries."

"I still have some money, do you need it...?" Chen Zhiyu was overjoyed to see her accept the money.

Josh interrupted him with a smile, "Keep it for yourself, you'll need it for school later."

Chen Zhiyu said "oh", then thought for a moment and said, "Sis, then I'll give you all the money I earn from now on."

Josh smiled but didn't say anything.

"Really, I can take care of you in your old age."

These grand words filled Josh with mixed feelings. It was quite interesting that someone was already thinking about taking care of her in her old age.

It sounds like there's still hope for the future.

"Okay, then do your best." Josh only encouraged him, then turned to go back to her bedroom. After a while, she turned back and suddenly asked him, "By the way, are you free tomorrow afternoon?"

Chen Zhiyu shook his head.

"Okay, then come out with me tomorrow afternoon."

Chen Zhiyu asked curiously, "Where are you going?"

Josh waved at him, mischievously keeping him in suspense, "It's a secret! Goodnight, go to sleep early if you want to grow taller quickly."