Chapter 2: What a shitty hairstyle you have!
The next day, Jiang Hao was woken by the heat again. It wasn't the fan that stopped, it was the sun that had risen. Although the west-facing room didn't receive direct sunlight in the morning, the summer heat penetrated every corner, and the temperature climbed with the daybreak.
Jiang Hao wanted to get up, sweating all over again. He walked to the fan and, imitating Zheng Yi's behavior last night, checked the switch behind it.
In fact, she didn't know how to do it at all, she was just imitating, just like when you buy a watermelon, you have to learn to tap it, pretending that you can do it, but in fact you are just listening to the sound.
There were sounds of footsteps and voices outside the door, and she took her time to change her clothes.
In the living room, my stepmother was slowly drinking milk, while my step-grandmother came out of the kitchen carrying eggs.
"You remember it now? Come and eat." Step-grandmother saw her warm tone.
When Jiang Haoxiang walked over, she passed by her former room. She took a quick look and felt that it was not good for her to do so, as it seemed petty. The room now belonged to her step-grandmother, and she couldn't be too possessive, as that was not right.
I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I saw that my orange-flavored toothpaste was deflated again, and I knew it must have been used again. Jiang Hao seemed to have a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Every time he squeezed the toothpaste, he would stretch the deflated part back a little bit to make it look even.
Looking at the now deflated toothpaste, she suddenly became very angry.
Jiang Hao felt like her room had been taken away, but she wasn't as angry as she was looking at the toothpaste now. She didn't understand what the sensitive period of order was. If Xiang Li was here, she would tell her, but unfortunately she wasn't.
She remembered Zheng Yi's words.
"You won't make a fuss, will you?"
Cry like she did last night? That would only make her father, step-grandmother, and step-stepmother think she was immature.
At six years old, she didn't know about the sensitive period of order, but she was forced to understand what family atmosphere was. In a family with three adults, the responsibility of maintaining the family atmosphere fell on the child.
Jiang Haoxiang walked to the dining table with his head down and sat down in his seat.
"Did you sleep well last night? Are you used to that room?" Dad looked at her.
Jiang Hao wanted to pick up a piece of bread and whispered, "Hot."
Dad was a little embarrassed: "The west-facing room is a little hot, but if you calm down, you'll feel cooler. Open the windows during the day to ventilate."
My step-grandmother took over the conversation: "Yes, children have hot tempers and are afraid of heat. It's normal. We didn't have air conditioning before, but we still got through it, didn't we?"
The stepmother said nothing.
Jiang Haoxiang didn't say anything else.
After breakfast, Dad hurried off to work. Stepmother retired to the master bedroom, and Step-Grandma bustled about in the kitchen and living room. Jiang Haoxiang stood idly in the middle of the living room.
She walked to the balcony, where the direct sunlight made it even hotter than her new room. She looked downstairs. It was summer vacation, and several children were chasing and playing in the shade of the trees. Then she saw the building in front of her: the apartment building where Zheng Yi lived.
I wonder what Zheng Yi is doing, probably playing games or sleeping in with the air conditioner at 16 degrees Celsius. Will he tell Aunt Xiang Li about what happened last night?
The doorbell rang at home.
"Who are you?" Step-grandmother still didn't know Zheng Yi.
"Hello grandma, I'm Zheng Yi, a friend of Jiang Haoxiang." Zheng Yi responded verbally, but his eyes were already looking for Jiang Haoxiang.
Jiang Haoxiang's mind was in a mess. He turned around suddenly and saw Zheng Yi standing at the door. He was wearing a vest and shorts, holding a small plastic bag.
"I came to play with Jiang Hao." He raised the bag in his hand, "I want to give her something."
Step-grandmother stepped aside and said, "You guys play, you guys play."
Jiang Hao wanted to look at him, feeling a little nervous and expectant. She glanced at the closed door of the master bedroom and asked, "Why are you here?"
"What? Not welcome?" Zheng Yi stuffed the small plastic bag into her hand.
Jiang Haoxiang lowered his head and opened it to take a look: "Battery?"
"This is a spare battery pack for your electric fan. What if there's a power outage? It's good to be prepared, okay?"
Jiang Hao remembered that her fancy electric fan did have a slot for batteries, so it could be used during a power outage. Zheng Yi had explained it to her last night, but she was too sleepy to understand.
"And this, I drew this: the fan manual." Zheng Yi pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. It was the user manual for the high-end fan in Jiang Haoxiang's house. Zheng Yi was quite good at drawing.
"Thank you," she whispered, clutching the batteries and instructions in her hand.
Zheng Yi waved his hand and walked towards Jiang Haoxiang's room, explaining to her once again how to install the battery in case of a power outage. After that, Zheng Yi broke out in a sweat: "It's still so hot? This broken fan is not working."
"Better than last night." Jiang Hao wanted to say.
"A little? I think you're almost steamed. Come on, I'll take you to a cool place."
"Where are you going?" Jiang Hao wanted to ask.
"Just follow me." Zheng Yi said as he was about to pull her.
Jiang Hao hesitated as she ran out of the living room and glanced in the direction of her step-grandmother. She was hanging clothes on the balcony with her back to them. Still feeling she should say something, she walked to the balcony and said to her step-grandmother, "Zheng Yi and I are going to play downstairs for a while."
Without even turning around, my step-grandmother said, "Okay, don't run too far. Come back when the sun is high."
"knew."
The two little guys left the house one after another.
Zheng Yi and Jiang Hao wanted to go around to the back of the building, where there was a ventilation vent in a semi-basement with iron bars on top. Because it was in the shade and close to the ground, it was much cooler here than outside.
"How is it? Is it cooler than your house?"
It was indeed cool, even a little shady.
"How do you know this place?" Jiang Haoxiang asked curiously.
"One of my secret bases. No one knows about it except you. Don't tell anyone!"
Jiang Hao wanted to nod vigorously. This is a secret base! A secret base for her and Zheng Yi!
"Didn't your dad ever say anything about installing an air conditioner in your room?"
"I won't be able to live in this room for long. After my aunt gives birth and my grandmother passes away, I'll move back. Installing an air conditioner is a bit of a waste."
"Wasteful? Then why didn't he tell his wife that pregnant women can just use a fan, it's such a waste to use air conditioning."
Jiang Haoxiang didn't say anything.
"Forget it. I can't count on you anymore. If you can't stand the heat, why don't you come to my house? My mother will definitely welcome you."
Jiang Haoxiang raised his head: "Really?"
"Why would I lie to you? Don't you know my mother? Why would I be nice to you?"
"Yeah!" Jiang Hao wanted to nod.
Although the room is still the same room and the father is still the same father, she has a fan, batteries, instruction manuals, a secret base, brother Zheng Yi, and aunt Xiang Li.
The wind blew through the vents, and the two children sat side by side in the shade.
They stayed in the secret base for almost an hour, until even the shade began to heat up, and then the two children packed up and went home.
Jiang Haoxiang's mood had improved considerably. Returning to that small room wasn't so unpleasant anymore. She put the batteries Zheng Yi had given her into the drawer and carefully spread out the instruction manual.
In the evening, Aunt Xiang Li came to visit our house and gave my stepmother some sour plum soup she made herself, saying that it was perfect for pregnant women to drink to relieve the heat.
Xiang Li was busy with work, and probably because Zheng Yi had told her about Jiang Hao's thoughts after returning home that night, she couldn't help but come over to see. But after all, it was someone else's house, so she had to put on a pretext.
The stepmother was holding a glass of sour plum soup and smiling sincerely.
Xiang Li saw Jiang Hao wanted to come out of the small room, so he squatted down and touched her head: "Why do you want to stay here? It's very hot here, right?"
Jiang Hao wanted to look at Aunt Xiang Li's eyes and almost shed tears again. But she held back and just shook her head.
Xiang Li didn't ask any more questions and said to his stepmother and step-grandmother, "School starts tomorrow. Let her come to my place after school and do her homework with Xiaoyi. It's also a good opportunity for the two of them to supervise each other and be more motivated to study."
The stepmother smiled and agreed: "How can I trouble you so much?"
"It's not a trouble, it's not a trouble. Xiaoyi feels bored doing homework alone." Xiang Li said, pinching Jiang Haoxiang's face again.
In the evening, Zheng Yi sent a message with just three words: "Is it still hot?"
Jiang Hao wanted to reply: "Better."
After a while, Zheng Yi replied: "Asleep."
Jiang Hao wanted to put down his phone, hug Mimi and close his eyes.
On the first day of school, Jiang Hao wanted to wear her ill-fitting uniform—her step-grandmother had said it was better to buy a larger size when she ordered it, as children grow so quickly. She carried her schoolbag; her father had promised her the night before to take her to school to get her acquainted with her new classroom.
After waiting for ten minutes, Dad came out while putting on his coat. "Dad has an urgent meeting at the company this morning, so I can't take you there. How about you go to school with Brother Zheng Yi? I just called and told Aunt Li I can take you."
Jiang Haoxiang nodded obediently: "Oh."
Dad rubbed her hair to comfort her, then left in a hurry.
Jiang Hao wanted to go downstairs with his schoolbag, but found that Zheng Yi was already waiting at the door.
Xiang Li was in the car. He rolled down the window and smiled at her: "Get in the car, kids."
Xiang Li and Zheng Yi first took Jiang Haoxiang to find a classroom, collect her textbooks, and tidy up her desk. Zheng Yi also wrote her name and class on each textbook and wiped down her desk and chairs.
Before Xiang Li left, he stuffed an apple into each of Jiang Haoxiang and Zheng Yi's pockets, then bent down and said to Jiang Haoxiang, "Follow your brother, don't run around. Zheng Yi, take good care of your sister, do you hear me? Remember to go find her for dinner after class!"
Zheng Yi rolled his eyes and stuffed the apple into the side pocket of his schoolbag: "I know, stop nagging!"
Jiang Hao wanted to listen to his complaints, but he didn't find them annoying. The classmates around him were all strangers, only Zheng Yi was familiar.
"I'm going back to the classroom. Don't run around after the second class. Wait for me at the classroom door. I'll take you to the toilet and the place to get water." Zheng Yi instructed.
Jiang Hao wanted to nod again.
"Wait for me for lunch too, I'll take you to the cafeteria. Forget it, you definitely won't be able to find a seat, I'll get the food and come find you." Zheng Yi arranged.
Jiang Haoxiang nodded.
Zheng Yi looked at her like that, sighed, and took out a lollipop from his schoolbag and stuffed it into her hand: "Take it, don't let anyone snatch it away. I'm leaving now, the class bell is about to ring."
After saying that, he turned and ran towards the stairs, climbing up in a few steps.
Jiang Haoxiang wanted to hold the orange-flavored lollipop, walk into the classroom and sit down.
Some of the children around were crying, some were looking around curiously, and some were already gathered together talking. Jiang Hao wanted to sit quietly, looking out the window at a tree so tall that she couldn't recognize it, its leaves motionless.
Jiang Haoxiang didn't think the first-grade curriculum was difficult, but the surroundings were unfamiliar. She didn't dare to talk to other children, and when they approached her, she would only whisper a few words.
During the break, she remembered Zheng Yi's words and stood at the classroom door waiting. Sure enough, Zheng Yi rushed down the stairs a short while later.
"You didn't run around, did you?" he asked breathlessly.
Jiang Hao wanted to shake his head.
"Come on, I'll take you to the bathroom." Zheng Yi led her through the corridor, showed her where the women's bathroom was, and then took her to the water dispenser to get some water.
A few fourth-grade boys saw Zheng Yi and whistled, "Zheng Yi, when did you start taking care of kids?"
Zheng Yi's face turned serious: "This is my sister!"
The boys ran away laughing.
Jiang Hao wanted to follow him, watch him play with his classmates, and take note of what he saw, thinking that he too should make good friends quickly.
During the afternoon class, Jiang Hao felt a little sleepy, his head nodding. He pinched himself several times to wake up. When the bell rang, the children rushed out, chattering, looking for their parents.
Jiang Haoxiang didn't move. She sat in her seat and slowly packed her schoolbag.
Dad hadn't said who would pick her up this morning. But she figured, Brother Zheng Yi would definitely come looking for her. They could go home together. She wasn't in a hurry at all. She sharpened her pencils one by one and put them in her pencil case. She sorted the new books and stuffed them into her schoolbag. Then she sat there, watching the classroom gradually empty out.
Time passed slowly. But Jiang Hao felt at peace. He knew Zheng Yi would definitely come. Perhaps the teacher had stayed late, or perhaps he had something else urgent to do, but he would definitely come.
A familiar figure appeared at the classroom door. It wasn't Zheng Yi, but Aunt Xiang Li.
Xiang Li smiled and waved at her: "Are you anxious? Come on, auntie is here to pick you up from school, let's go find Brother Zheng Yi together."
Jiang Hao wanted to pick up her schoolbag and run over immediately. Xiang Li took her hand, and his palms were dry, unlike his own, which were sweaty.
"Where is Brother Zheng Yi?" Jiang Hao wanted to ask.
"Let's go find him." Aunt Xiang Li pulled her out.
Just a few steps out of the classroom, I saw Zheng Yi rushing towards me like a gust of wind, with his school uniform jacket tied casually around his waist.
"Brother Zheng Yi!" Jiang Hao wanted to quickly let go of Xiang Li's hand and ran towards him, "Why are you here just now?"
Zheng Yi was visibly relieved when he saw her. "The teacher is extending the class." Then he noticed his mother standing behind Jiang Haoxiang and was surprised. "Mom? Why are you here?"
Xiang Li held up a workbook that Jiang Haoxiang had left on the table. She tapped her son's arm with it and said with a smile, "Come pick up Haoxiang from school."
Jiang Haoxiang looked at Zheng Yi and Xiang Li in front of her, and suddenly remembered that there was something good in her schoolbag. She quickly took off her schoolbag, unzipped it, and took out two large jellies from it. These were given to her by her deskmate today, and she had never been willing to eat them.
She handed one jelly to Zheng Yi and the other to Xiang Li, saying in a clear voice, "Brother, eat! Auntie, eat!"
Xiang Li was stunned for a moment, then met Jiang Haoxiang's clear eyes. A hole in her heart sank, then was filled with tenderness, softening it all at once. She and Jiang Haoxiang's mother, Lin Ran, were close friends, accompanying each other through difficult times. Now, looking at Jiang Haoxiang, in addition to love, she suddenly felt a sense of responsibility. Xiang Li took the jelly: "Thank you, Haoxiang, you're so good."
Zheng Yi looked at the jelly in his hand, tore open the wrapping paper, and handed the torn jelly to Jiang Haoxiang's mouth: "Eat it, your saliva is almost flowing out."
Jiang Haoxiang took a sip from his hand and said, "It's delicious! Brother, you eat it too!"
Zheng Yi pulled his hand back with a look of disgust: "Who wants to eat your saliva! It's so dirty!"
Xiang Li didn't open his jelly, but put it in his pocket. He touched Jiang Haoxiang's head and said, "Auntie, save this for when you get home. Let's go home."
She held Jiang Haoxiang's hand with one hand and tried to rub Zheng Yi's head with the other hand, but Zheng Yi dodged it quickly.
"Don't mess up my hair."
"You have a shitty haircut!"
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