Chapter 11
Nine years ago, when Chen Zhiyi was ten years old, he went on summer vacation with his parents to visit a small town in Jiangnan. He couldn't remember which town it was. In fact, his mother had a project she wanted to start there, and they came to investigate and broaden their horizons.
Chen Zhiyi disliked these social occasions, finding them extremely hypocritical, so he secretly slipped away while his parents were talking to others.
He saw the town's children climbing up and down the trees, having a great time, so he joined them.
At home, his parents had high expectations of him and restricted everything he did. They always reminded him to be careful with his words and actions and not to do anything that would bring shame to the family. So he never did anything dirty or unrefined, like climbing a tree.
But ten-year-olds are very playful. Seeing other children having fun, he wanted to try it too. As a result, he slipped and fell to the ground as soon as he climbed up.
He landed on his arm first, from a low height, and was unharmed except for a hole worn into the cuff of his shirt.
When the other children saw Chen Zhiyi fall flat on his face, they all burst into laughter, pointing at him and saying a few words in their dialect. Chen Zhiyi couldn't understand them, but he knew they were mocking him.
He got up, his eyes red, and looked at them. He wanted to talk back but couldn't open his mouth. Due to his upbringing and being in an unfamiliar place, he didn't know how to curse. For a long time afterward, he couldn't forget their loudly mocking faces.
Suddenly, a pebble came flying from behind and hit the tree trunk precisely. Chen Zhiyi turned around and saw a girl with two braids and wearing a white cotton dress walking towards him. Although he was only ten years old at the time, he could tell from her height and demeanor that she was older than him and was an older sister.
The older sister, with her left hand on her hip and her right hand pointing at the children, frowned and scolded, "You saw someone fall down and instead of helping them up and showing concern, you laughed at them. Be careful, or I'll tell your parents."
Upon hearing this, the children jumped down from the tree, made faces at their sister, and then slunk away.
The older sister stomped her foot and said, "Tsk, you little brats." She turned around, tilted her head, and pouted as she looked at Chen Zhiyi standing to the side. Chen Zhiyi also looked at the older sister in front of him timidly. Ten-year-old children don't have much of a concept of beauty and ugliness. He just felt that the older sister in front of him was different from the girls he knew. She wasn't spoiled. Instead, she looked like a female knight in the comics he read. She was kind of cool.
The older sister came over and removed Chen Zhiyi's hand from his sleeve, only then noticing that not only did he have a hole in his sleeve, but the area around his ankle where the hole was was also chafed and bleeding.
Are you alone? Where are your parents?
Chen Zhiyi shook his head and didn't say anything.
His sister helped him move to sit on the stone stool next to her and told him, "Sit here and wait for me obediently."
Chen Zhiyi nodded without hesitation; he had never trusted anyone so much before.
A moment later, his older sister came over with a bamboo basket, sat down next to Chen Zhiyi, opened a bag of wet wipes, took out a wipe and handed it to him, "Wipe your face, it's all muddy."
Chen Zhiyi took it and did as instructed.
Then his sister pulled his injured hand over, moistened the broken skin with a cotton ball and cleaned it, then put on a band-aid. She also reminded him, "Even though it's just a broken skin, you still need to be careful. Don't get it wet when you take a shower, understand?"
Chen Zhiyi remained silent, only nodding.
After treating the wound, the older sister looked at the hole in the cuff. She took out a needle and thread from the basket and then poked it directly into Chen Zhiyi's cuff.
When Chen Zhiyi saw the sharp needle, he was so frightened that he quickly withdrew his hand and even moved back a little, his face full of terror.
His sister didn't give him a chance to back down. She grabbed his injured hand and held up the torn cuff of his sleeve to show him, "I'm going to mend the hole for you, not prick you with a needle."
She pouted again, somewhat annoyed, "I have no grudge against you, why would I poke you with a needle? My good intentions are wasted."
Chen Zhiyi lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and realized that he had misunderstood. He also felt angry and upset when he wanted to help someone but was misunderstood as wanting to hurt them.
He wanted to explain and apologize, but he still couldn't bring himself to say it.
As a child, Chen Zhiyi was really awkward and competitive. He was controlled by his parents a lot, so he didn't like others provoking him, and he didn't want to provoke others either. He was used to being alone, so he didn't easily trust others and didn't know how to handle interpersonal relationships.
The older sister picked up her needle and thread again, and quickly mended the hole at the cuff, creating a flower-like patch.
Chen Zhiyi had never seen this kind of flower before, but the embroidered pattern was beautiful, with snow-white petals and a stamen standing in the middle, blooming very brightly, and it seemed that you could smell its fragrance.
He thought it was right and did it, sticking his nose over to smell it.
Seeing his movements, his sister burst out laughing, "These are embroidered, not real flowers."
Chen Zhiyi blushed and said weakly, "It's very beautiful, just like the real thing."
After speaking, the older sister blinked her big eyes, somewhat surprised, "So you can talk! I thought you were mute since you hadn't said anything. Since you can talk, why didn't you yell back when they laughed at you?"
"It's bad to swear."
"What's wrong with you? People are bullying you, are you just going to let them bully you? Aren't you going to fight back?"
"I..." Chen Zhiyi was speechless. In his childhood understanding and education, cursing and hitting people were bad behaviors that were not allowed.
"Little brother, this world is cruel. Just because you don't bully others doesn't mean others won't bully you. If they know you're easy to bully, they'll bully you every day. Chairman Mao also said, 'I will not attack unless attacked; if attacked, I will pursue the matter no matter how far away.' So we must protect ourselves. If someone bullies you, you should retaliate in kind. We must protect ourselves first before we can protect others, understand?"
Seeing his sister's serious expression, Chen Zhiyi nodded, "Okay!"
My older sister looked around and asked, "Are you here to play? With Mom and Dad?"
Yes and no.
My sister frowned. "What kind of answer is that?"
Chen Zhiyi explained, "I came with my parents, but not for fun."
Seeing the disappointment on Chen Zhiyi's face, his sister understood a little. "Were they working, and you sneaked out by yourself?"
Chen Zhiyi did not answer; his silence was the answer.
"Are you very dissatisfied with them, but unable to get angry at them, so you have to suppress your feelings?"
Chen Zhiyi looked at his sister with a strange gaze again, feeling as if she could read his mind and hear his inner thoughts.
No one has ever understood him like this before. He felt strange and sad that his parents understood him less than a stranger he had just met.
"Sister, is it wrong to be dissatisfied with your parents?"
Upon hearing this, the older sister perked up, "Who said that? We also need to see if they are qualified parents. If they aren't, why should we be expected to approve of them or like them?"
Chen Zhiyi sensed his sister's anger. "So you don't like your parents either?"
"Yes, I hate my dad, but I love my mom." The older sister was very frank.
"Why? What happened to your father?" Chen Zhiyi asked curiously.
"Why so many whys? I just don't like him. In my heart, he's as good as dead."
Chen Zhiyi was stunned, not expecting his sister to say that. He just disliked his parents' way of educating him, but he still hoped that he could be with his parents forever and be a happy family of three.
The older sister patted Chen Zhiyi on the shoulder, pretending to be a little adult, "My situation is different from yours. Your dislike for your parents is temporary. You just resent them for taking you out to play but not spending enough time with you. These are minor things. Remember to communicate with your parents more and tell them your thoughts. They will understand."
Chen Zhiyi lowered his head again, his face full of disappointment. "They won't understand. I can only do what they want."
The older sister turned Chen Zhiyi's shoulder and made him look at her. "Nonsense. We should only listen to what Mom and Dad say when they are right and ignore what they say when they are wrong. Why should we only listen to them? We should make our own decisions. We are the masters of our own lives."
Chen Zhiyi vividly remembered the determination and confidence in his sister's eyes when she spoke; it gave him the courage to defy his parents' decisions later in life.
Just then, Chen Zhiyi's phone rang in his pocket. He didn't even need to look to know who was calling. He simply pressed the green button and said three sentences.
"Yes, I ran away all by myself."
"I was under a very tall and large willow tree in front of the hotel."
There's a Friends Supermarket nearby.
Sister: "Did Mom and Dad come looking for you?"
Chen Zhiyi nodded, "Mm!"
His sister picked up his phone and examined it closely. "This phone has a really strange design. I've never seen one like it before."
Chen Zhiyi took it back, stuffed it back into his pocket, and said with some helplessness, "My parents customized it; I only use it for calls to them."
The older sister made an "O" shape with her mouth and nodded vigorously. "Oh! That means your parents still care about you."
Really? Chen Zhiyi was very skeptical. He felt that this was tailor-made for him, to monitor his every word and action.
Seeing a couple hurrying over from a distance, the older sister stood up and pointed in the direction they had come from. "Your parents are here. I'm leaving now. Have a good chat with them and let them spend more time with you. Of course, remember what I just said: we are the masters of our own lives." She finished by raising her head, patting her chest, exuding an air of unwavering confidence.
Inspired by his words, Chen Zhiyi nodded solemnly, "Okay!"
As the sun set, Chen Zhiyi watched his sister depart towards the direction of the colorful clouds. It turned out that those riding on auspicious clouds were not necessarily invincible heroes, but could also be beautiful heroines.
Chen Zhiyi held the two embroideries in his hands and smiled for a long time. He thought he would never see them again in this life, but the gears of fate turned and they met again.
It turns out that Lin Ting is the older sister he met once years ago but still remembers. She is the first real female knight in his heart. Her appearance has changed a lot, so he didn't recognize her. She has lost her childishness, become more three-dimensional, and has a more aloof air.
Moreover, he doesn't talk as much as before, but when he does speak, it's always a killer move. That aspect is still the same, he's just become sharper and lost that coolness.
It's a bit of a regret, but being able to meet again makes it all worthwhile.
No, she's already quit. What should we do?
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