Chapter 66
Zeng Yuan raised her hand and knocked on the door.
A response came from behind.
What brings you here?
Mu Zhengxi stopped two steps away from his house. He wasn't surprised by Zeng Yuan's appearance; he wasn't delighted, but rather puzzled.
People who have spent a long time in the dark will raise their hands to shield their eyes when they see sunlight. Skin that has never seen the sun becomes sensitive and fragile, and even sunlight may become a burden.
A mother visits her biological son, only to be met with a question that implies she shouldn't be there. Isn't that a kind of failure?
Failure means things are out of control, which is shameful. This is the first admonition that Zeng Yuan has been taught by her aunt over the years, etched into her bones like a needle stuck in her spine and fused into her flesh and blood.
Even kind words turn into condescending commands like, "I'm here to take you home for dinner."
Mu Zhengxi remembered this matter. Mu Shaoqing had asked him to come home for dinner this Friday because there were guests to entertain, and as the youngest son, he could play a role in adding to the festive atmosphere.
Mu Zhengxi turned and went down the stairs, showing his understanding through his actions, and was unwilling to say a single word more.
It felt like a long, long time... Mu Zhengxi hadn't called her "Mom" in a long time. Zeng Yuan slowly squatted down and once again lifted the cat rug, which had one ear worn off. The metal key was really gone.
"Mom, I'll tell you a secret: I hid a key under the rug. If you forget your key, you can look for it under the rug. But don't tell Wen or Grandma, because it's my secret."
Zeng Yuan glanced at her empty palm and finally realized that she no longer possessed the key to eighteen-year-old Mu Zhengxi.
The empty stairwell was left with only dust swirling in the light.
Mu Zhengxi, dressed in formal attire and having learned to tie a bow tie, displayed impeccable table manners. He can now swallow even foods he dislikes with a blank expression.
After seeing off the guests and changing back into his everyday clothes, Mu Zhengxi greeted everyone as he went downstairs, "I'm going home to my family compound." Unlike before, he didn't slam the door shut as loudly as if he wanted everyone to know he was running away from home.
"Wait a moment!"
Mu Zhengxi looked at Zeng Yuan, who had called out to him, and asked with his eyes if there was anything else.
"Have...the driver take you there."
"No need." He glanced at his watch. "There's still a bus at this time."
In the cold snap of early spring, the wind blew straight down your neck, making you shiver.
Mu Zhengxi leaned against the bus stop billboard, dressed all in black and wearing a baseball cap, looking as still as a sculpture from a distance.
When I got off the bus at the residential compound, I ate two bowls of noodles with soybean paste and a meat pie at the alley entrance, drank half a bottle of Coke and burped several times before slowly walking home with my hands in my pockets.
Turn on the lights, and the warm light pours down, making the goldfish come alive as they sway in the shimmering light, turning the home into an aquarium.
Mu Zhengxi's goldfish live in oak frames, filling every corner of his home, and are fed a food called "memories," living a life of immortality.
A man over 1.8 meters tall curled up on a vintage fabric sofa, his back bent like a bow, and fell into a deep sleep, clutching a red scarf, as the sound of a TV drama played on the screen.
As the sun rises and the faint chirping of cicadas echoes from the banyan tree outside the window, the evergreen summer has arrived.
The overly lush greenery, like a thick, luxurious velvet blanket, indiscriminately covers all the festering wounds caused by the rain, so verdant that people forget the gloom of spring.
After feeding the fish in the tank, Jiang Jiawei picked up her schoolbag and went downstairs. She ran into Liu Xinze, who was buying breakfast. Liu Xinze raised his hand to greet her, breaking the ice, and the two naturally headed to school together.
Liu Xinze said, "You did well on the exam this time."
Jiang Jiawei smiled.
After their chance encounter at the shaved ice shop last summer, the two have had almost no further contact.
Liu Xinze felt that Jiang Jiawei was still holding a grudge because he hadn't greeted her earlier, and he hadn't paid much attention to her afterwards. He and Zhang Chao had been classmates from junior high to high school, and there were countless "glorious deeds" about each other. Leaving aside the fighting, skipping classes, and provoking teachers, Liu Xinze believed that the root cause of Xu Yue's farce was Zhang Chao, who had pulled her off the path of a normal student and led her into early romance.
Can a tree that's rotting from the roots really be passed off as a pillar of society just because it gets a few spring rains and barely sprouts a few new leaves? Liu Xinze didn't believe Zhang Chao's trick of hiding his true colors and pretending to be a good student.
However, upon reflection, it was normal for Jiang Jiawei, as a class leader, to have some contact with the other party. My initial thought of categorizing Jiang Jiawei and the other party together was too hasty.
"Jiajia!"
Chen Jingyu waved to Jiang Jiawei at the school gate.
"I'll go first."
Before Liu Xinze could react, Jiang Jiawei had already run far away.
Chen Jingyu took Jiang Jiawei's arm, her expression protective and wary, "Why are you two together?"
Chen Jingyu had found it strange that Liu Xinze ignored her when she greeted him several times before, but after Jiang Jiawei told her about what happened at the shaved ice shop, her opinion of Liu Xinze changed.
"He came to my house to buy breakfast, and we just happened to eat together."
"Didn't he always eat breakfast at home? When did he start buying breakfast from your house again?"
Jiang Jiawei shrugged, indicating that she didn't know either.
"Never mind that, I brought you some corn buns."
"I love you, my darling~~"
Jiang Jiayi rarely saw Zhang Chao, who had been elusive for almost a year, at the community activity center basketball court. The two teamed up and had a great time playing together.
During halftime, the two sat on the ground on the sidelines.
Jiang Jiayi: "I thought you had become a monk. I haven't seen you for so long, and I couldn't even get through to you on the phone."
Zhang Chao chuckled as he drank his water, "If I were to become a monk, I would definitely let you know first."
"Are you telling me I should inherit your family's supermarket?"
"Of course, what kind of relationship do I have with your sister?" Zhang Chao explained, "My buddy's in seclusion, so of course his phone is off."
Jiang Jia braced herself with one hand behind her back, stretched out her legs and swung them, a hint of envy in her voice, "You guys will have your fun in a month."
"You're almost there too, little brother." Zhang Chao put his arm around Jiang Jia's shoulder and patted his slightly developed pectoral muscles. "Not bad lately, your skills have improved a lot."
Jiang Jia raised an eyebrow, a hint of smugness in her expression. "Of course."
A perfect pull-up three-pointer swished through the net, drawing the attention of both players to the basket, who clapped and exclaimed in admiration.
"Awesome, bro!"
"pretty."
Zhang Chao couldn't help but sigh, "If only Zhengxi were here, he hasn't been back to Hanyang for more than half a year."
Upon hearing the name Zhengxi, Jiang Jiayi's bright smile froze instantly.
Zhang Chao didn't notice and continued talking to himself, his tone even tinged with envy: "What do you think he's doing right now? International students don't have to suffer through the college entrance exam, so they probably don't have to get up earlier than the chickens and go to bed later than the dogs like us."
With a cold snort, Jiang Jia said, "Don't mention him." His face was full of displeasure.
Zhang Chao then realized something was wrong. He paused for a few seconds, then, seeing the child throwing a tantrum, he hooked his arm around Jiang Jiayi's neck and pulled her closer. "What happened? Did you two have a fight?" He then asked incredulously, "No way, it can't be, you are him—" He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Jiang Jia glanced at the person sideways, pulled away the hand that was on her body, stood up and directly interrupted the topic, "Are we still fighting or not?"
Zhang Chao readily agreed, "Fight, fight, how can we not fight?"
Jiang Jiayi returned home after playing ball; her voice arrived before she did.
She didn't stop once she started going up the stairs.
Jiang Jiawei was doing her homework in her room when she turned around and looked at her younger brother with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. "What are you doing? Why are you so excited?"
Jiang Jiayi handed her the milk tea he had bought, saying, "You won the game, didn't you?" The young man, who was almost as tall as a door frame, was still as childish as a little kid.
What should we eat tonight?
Jiang Jiawei took a sip of milk tea. "Dad told us to eat out; he didn't cook for us."
Jiang Weichao went to attend his friend's child's one-month celebration.
"Okay, I'm going to take a shower."
The person skipped and hopped back to their room.
Jiang Jiawei shook her head and chuckled.
The two went to a place near the Seventh Primary School and ate wolfberry noodle soup, which they hadn't had in a long time. They also couldn't forget the traditional spicy snack.
"sister."
Jiang Jiayi turned her head while browsing and saw Jiang Jiawei standing in front of the cabinet, lost in thought. Sensing the gaze, she snapped out of her reverie and casually picked up a bag from the shelf. "What's wrong?"
"Sis, you said this is too sweet and you don't like it."
Jiang Jiayi gestured with her chin to the spicy strips in her hand, her probing gaze leaving no room for concealment.
"Is it very sweet? It's alright, I guess."
Jiang Jiawei brushed past his shoulder to get her drink. "What do you want to drink? Sprite?"
"sister."
"Don't ask, don't tell."
"good."
Jiang Jia obediently shut her mouth.
"How's Xu Yue from your school doing? I ran into Zhang Chao on the basketball court today."
"Jingyu said she has been discharged from the hospital and is going back to her hometown to recuperate."
"And her mother, is she... alright?"
Jiang Jiawei shook her head, sighed deeply, and handed the Fanta in her hand to Jiang Jiayi, who took it and opened it for her.
He originally had the opportunity to be promoted to the county's No. 1 Middle School, but because his daughter failed the high school entrance exam, he chose to stay at No. 3 Middle School. He was one of the leading teachers in his subject and was on the list of outstanding teachers in the county every year. How could such a proud and strong-willed person recover after his most cherished work was destroyed?
Jiang Jiawei lay down on the ping-pong table behind her, while Jiang Jiayi, sitting on the other side, dangled her legs and swung them around the edge of the table.
The night sky is like a grape-flavored jelly, clear and bright, with tempting cherry kernels sandwiched inside, making the spoon chase after it.
Jiang Jiayi couldn't resist.
How is Hanyang?
With her hands clasped behind her head, Jiang Jiawei watched the plane streak across the sky and smiled. "Very good."
Jiang Jiayi scoffed, holding the opposite opinion.
"I don't see anything good about it." Cold-hearted and ungrateful.
Jiang Jiawei said leisurely, "Don't discriminate based on geography, Jiang Jiayi."
The person who lay down next to him secretly rolled their eyes in their mind.
His maternal grandmother passed away.
Jiang Jiawei added, "Zhengxi's maternal grandmother has passed away."
When Jiang Jia heard Mu Zhengxi mention that he grew up with his maternal grandmother and had a very close relationship with her, Mu Zhengxi rarely talked about his family, as if he was too lazy to say more.
The news came as a surprise, and it took him a while to process it. "How did you know? Have you been in contact recently?"
“I saw him when I went to Hanyang.”
Jiang Jiawei looked at her younger brother.
So... don't think he's a bad person.
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