22 Chapter Twenty-One

Fengtan, 2025.

Summer in Fengtan is always somewhat muggy. The heat feels like being wrapped in a layer of damp, silky thermal underwear, impossible to wring out or dissipate. Stepping on the steaming ground feels like walking into a moldy, humid steamer. Therefore, in July and August, the gua sha (scraping therapy) clinics in this city are packed with customers.

Li Shuli's gua sha (scraping therapy) shop has always had slow business, but this year the heat is unusually oppressive, and other gua sha shops are packed. Her shop is no exception; customers keep coming in one after another, keeping Li Shuli so busy she doesn't even notice her own daughter carrying luggage entering. Assuming it's a customer looking for gua sha, she says in a low voice without turning her head, "We're all booked now. Can you wait?"

The person behind him remained silent and did not leave.

Business was indeed booming. Li Shuli, the owner of the gua sha parlor, was even personally participating in the massages. A large, plump pork chop lay on the massage bed as she painstakingly searched for the acupoints. Not hearing a response from the customer behind her, she turned around and casually asked, "Can we wait? If not, we can go across the street—"

Li Yingqiao stood there, her suitcase beside her feet, holding it with her hand, a smug smile spreading across her face. She laughed and said, "Shuli, you're so busy."

Li Shuli stared straight at her, her gaze seemingly drawn to her by a magnet. She didn't respond, but instead slapped the man hard on the back and called out to the person hiding behind the counter to come out and take over her work, "Yi Dong, Meng Yi Dong! Come out! Come out!"

The man yelled in pain after being slapped, and said resentfully, "Boss lady! Don't go! Xiao Meng doesn't have your strength!"

Li Shuli has changed quite a bit in the past few years. The woman who used to feel awkward sitting at the same table with Zhu Xiaoliang can now patiently say to a naked pork chop, "Let Xiao Meng massage your back first. My daughter is back from Beijing. She took a high-speed train for seven or eight hours. She probably hasn't eaten yet. I'll make her a bowl of noodles first. Wait a bit, I'll come back later and give you cupping therapy."

The man lay sprawled on the narrow massage bed, his flesh overflowing. He looked up at Li Yingqiao and said, "Oh, our top-tier university student is back. Alright, alright, you go ahead, let Xiao Meng do it."

Meng Yidong was an apprentice Li Shuli had taken in a couple of years ago, and she was about the same age as Li Yingqiao. During the years Li Yingqiao was away, she often heard Li Shuli mention Yidong on the phone, but she had never met her, and the two had never spoken directly. Li Yingqiao had asked Li Shuli for a photo, but Li Shuli said Meng Yidong was shy and refused, so she didn't press the issue.

At this moment, Yun and her friend met. Li Yingqiao had been waiting for a long time. She saw a girl behind the counter lazily straighten up. She was wearing a loose T-shirt and shorts, and was the same height as Li Yingqiao. She had a neat buzz cut, and a thin snake tattoo snaked from her collarbone to behind her ear. The moment she looked up, she met Li Yingqiao's eyes, which clearly wanted to greet her.

Meng Yidong's tone of voice was quite different from the sharp and ruthless impression she gave off at first glance; she seemed a bit dazed and wooden: "Ying... Sister Qiao."

Li Yingqiao extended her hand first, smiled and said, "Yi Dong, we finally meet."

Meng Yidong had seen many photos of Li Yingqiao. Every few days, she would send photos to Li Shuli to update her on her recent situation—some were of her gazing sadly at the sky at a 45-degree angle, others were of her causing a scene at a club with friends, some were of her being spat on by an alpaca while traveling, others were of her being attacked by bird droppings, and even sometimes, when the water pipe burst and her house was flooded, she would take a picture with her head covered in soap suds while taking a shower and send it to Li Shuli to show that she was suffering the hardships of life. Without exception, she always looked quite disheveled.

This was the first time Meng Yidong had seen Li Yingqiao so poised and proper. He hesitated for a moment, then withdrew his outstretched hand, rubbed it against his T-shirt, and finally grasped hers. Li Yingqiao was amused by his reaction and said generously, "You go ahead with your work, we'll talk later."

Li Yingqiao has been tied down by work these past few years, and the time she can spend back home is extremely limited. She might come back one day, only to receive a phone call and have to buy a ticket back to Beijing. One year, she couldn't even make it back for the Spring Festival. Li Shuli doesn't know how long she'll stay this time either; she might have to leave again after receiving a phone call. In short, every trip is always rushed.

Li Shuli handed the stall to Meng Yidong and went into the bathroom. While hurriedly rubbing her hands with soap, she said to her daughter, "Qiaoqiao, wait a minute, Mom will wash her hands and make you a bowl of noodles right away. Are you very hungry? Why didn't you tell me you were coming back this time? Otherwise, I would have closed the shop today."

“No need, I ate a boxed meal on the high-speed train,” Li Yingqiao said, leaning against the sink in the bathroom, her eyes wandering aimlessly as she spoke. “I’ll be staying here for a while this time; I plan to take a vacation.”

"Huh? That unscrupulous boss actually let you take a vacation?"

"No, I resigned," she said with a smile and a wink.

“That’s fine too,” Li Shuli said, her hands slowing down as she lathered the soap. “You really ate? Is the boxed meal on the high-speed train safe to eat?”

"Why can't we eat it? It's sixty yuan a serving."

Li Shuli once ate this while traveling, and she still feels the pinch when she thinks about it. "I would rather bite myself; the meat would be fresher."

Li Yingqiao smiled, tilted her head slightly, and asked Li Shuli calmly, "So, what's the latest gossip about me in Fengtan?"

Since Li Yingqiao left Fengtan to study in Beijing after taking the college entrance examination, Fengtan has been filled with rumors about her. The year she graduated, she had just started her internship and signed a contract with a medical device company, but the company was registered under the name Shengzhimei Biotechnology Co., Ltd. I don't know which clever person saw the word "technology" and spread the rumor that she had joined a big Internet company.

Then, starting from some unknown year, rumors began to circulate that she had switched careers to sell cashmere sweaters. One year, things got even more outrageous. During the Spring Festival that year, a key medical project at the company was suddenly replaced, and Li Yingqiao, as the only core person who knew about the project from beginning to end, was forced to stay at the company and eat boxed lunches. She didn't even come back for the Spring Festival that year.

Not long after, Shengzhimei was exposed online for having a major scandal and facing liquidation. Li Yingqiao was busy looking for a job in Beijing at the time and did not return to Fengtan. However, the scandal involving Shengzhimei caused a great uproar. Some people said that she had run away with the company's money, while others said that she went to jail with her boss. In short, all kinds of rumors were rampant. Li Yingqiao herself was just watching the fun. It can be seen that Fengtan has not produced a new controversial figure in all these years.

Li Shuli turned off the water, glancing at her as she wiped her hands. "If you just reduce your contact with your uncle, the rumors will stop. Don't you know what's going on? Isn't it all him bragging outside? He and that guy have been sworn enemies for years. You beat his son in the college entrance exam, of course he has to show off. He goes crazy to everyone he meets, saying that his niece is a senior marketing director and has risen through the ranks in the last two years. Even passing dogs would love to piss in their reflection to see if they can make out a human shape so he can keep bragging."

Li Yingqiao remained silent.

Li Shuli turned and went out, still intending to make her a bowl of noodles to cleanse her stomach: "By the way, Xiao Gaodian came by a couple of days ago—"

Outside the door, Meng Yidong was applying essential oil to a large pork chop, who angrily shouted, "Didn't you eat?! Meng! Put some effort into it!"

Li Yingqiao kindly handed her a stool and mouthed, "Swing him."

"..."

Before Meng Yidong could react, Li Yingqiao was grabbed by the neck and dragged away by Li Shuli, who said, "Stop causing trouble for me."

“He owes me anyway, I’ll go for it, I’m strong,” Li Yingqiao said eagerly.

Li Shuli ignored her, took out a handful of noodles from the cupboard, turned around and looked at her, saying, "Do you know where the Tanzhong acupoint is?"

"I know where the laugh point is." Li Yingqiao chuckled, then playfully poked his back with both hands. "Got it, hahaha..."

"..."

Li Shuli rolled her eyes, ignoring the nonsense, and opened the pot, ladling water into it, saying, "Gao Dian came by a couple of days ago. He's back to open a shop too. He started a business in Shenzhen a couple of years ago, and I heard he lost a lot of money to his parents. Hey, you kids, haven't you kept in touch these past few years? From what Gao Dian said, it seems like he hasn't seen you for several years either."

Li Yingqiao was picking up a peanut from the table and popping it into her mouth when she spoke truthfully: "Actually, we kept in touch for the first two years of university. One year we even planned to go on a trip together, but I forgot who stood us up. It must have been Miao, he was too busy. After graduation, everyone was busy with work, so who had time to keep in touch every day? Miaojia and I couldn't even make plans together, let alone find time for all four of us. What kind of shop did Gao Dian open?"

Li Yingqiao recalled that she and Yu Jinyang hadn't even added each other on WeChat. Back in high school, QQ was still the dominant platform, and they were in one of her special QQ groups. Even after starting university, they all continued to communicate via QQ. By the time WeChat became ubiquitous and the most common social media platform, they rarely contacted each other anymore. Yu Jinyang, in particular, had been sent abroad by his father for two years of university in Shanghai, but those two years coincided with the pandemic, preventing him from returning.

Li Shuli kneaded the noodles while waiting for the water to boil, then gestured with her chin, telling her to pick up the flyer on the table and look at it herself. "I don't understand it, but it's some kind of massage center, I guess. This kid's really something, trying to steal my business as soon as he gets back."

Li Yingqiao took the flyer and leaned it against the wall. After taking a closer look, she laughed out loud: "This won't steal your business. That's just something for kids."

Similar to those stress relief centers, they offer things like boxing gloves, punching bags, various foam sticks, sledgehammers, and resin-based liquids. They can also customize various stress relief props, provided there's no risk of physical harm. Otherwise, if it's not properly regulated, it risks going out of business at any time.

This kind of business might be okay in a big city, but opening one in a small county town... I wonder if Gao Dian has too much money to burn. He might as well open a mahjong parlor. But when her gaze swept to the last line, Li Yingqiao chuckled.

What's gotten into the little pastry maker?

—This venue accepts role-playing: scumbag ex, scumbag boss, scumbag father, scumbag colleague, scumbag husband... We guarantee you a VIP experience, 500 per hour, and you will never talk back.

P.S.: If we're going to take action, the shop owner and all the shareholders are 1.88 meters tall, and each of them knows a unique skill – accurately dialing 110 within one second.

[Author's Note]

See you Friday and Saturday!!!

I see that many young readers want to see the high school section. I'll see. If I can still write more after the entire story is finished, I'll add the daily life section in the extra chapters.