entanglements and choices
November 14, 2010, the day they had agreed upon arrived quietly. Rao Xiaofeng, enjoying a rare moment of rest at home, felt a fluttering feeling in his heart—partly because he couldn't face Zhou Yang's panic, and partly because he simply wanted to stay in bed. He simply turned off the alarm clock and huddled under the covers, pretending to sleep.
During this time, Zhou Yang went out and came back with light footsteps. Xiaofeng pricked up her ears and listened under the quilt, her heart beating faster.
It was almost eleven o'clock, and she still hadn't made a move. Zhou Yang must have lost his patience waiting, and his footsteps came up the stairs and stopped in front of her door.
"Knock knock." The light knock on the door seemed to knock on my heart.
Rao Xiaofeng squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. She believed the old saying: You can never wake someone who's pretending to be asleep. At that moment, she felt a surge of nervousness, as if she were about to be judged at any moment.
"Xiaofeng, I know you're awake." Zhou Yang's voice came through the door, "I'm coming in."
Xiaofeng suddenly pulled the quilt up, almost covering his entire head, as if this could build a barrier to isolate everything.
The door gently opened, and Zhou Yang walked in. He had never entered this room before when she was still asleep. The air was filled with the sweet, milky scent of shampoo and lotion, a unique blend of a young girl's room. Sunlight slanted in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a bright spot on the billowing quilt, outlining her curled-up form.
He sat down on the edge of the bed, and the mattress sank slightly. "Xiaofeng," he said slowly, "I did a paternity test. Do you want to see the results?"
With a "swish", Xiaofeng suddenly threw back the quilt, her hair sticking to her face in a mess, her eyes wide open: "What are you doing this for?!"
"I told you we're not siblings, but you didn't believe me." Zhou Yang looked at her with a hint of helpless seriousness in his eyes. "But you always believe scientific data, right?"
As he spoke, he flipped open two thick volumes of test reports and then turned on the ceiling light. Warm yellow light spread across the room, illuminating the densely packed text and charts on the pages.
Xiaofeng casually brushed away the strands of hair on his forehead and his eyes fell on the report - the genetic markers of Zhou Xiao and Zhou Yang's samples were completely consistent with the laws of genetics, and the paternity index supported the parent-child relationship; while the samples of Zhou Xiao and Rao Xiaofeng were clearly marked as "not consistent with the laws of genetics, and do not support the parent-child relationship."
Her hands instantly lost their strength, and the report slipped from her fingers, spilling onto the bed. Xiaofeng stared at the words and subconsciously scratched her hair again, her fingertips trembling slightly.
"Xiaofeng," Zhou Yang's voice sounded beside his ears, with a dusty tentativeness, "How do you feel now?"
She was silent for a long time before she whispered, "I'll tell you after your birthday."
In one sentence, she bought herself a buffer of more than half a month. The sunlight outside the window quietly shifted its position, falling on her slightly drooping eyelashes, but it could not illuminate her chaotic mind at the moment.
On Monday morning, when Rao Xiaofeng walked into school, she seemed bathed in the soft glow of the morning light, her steps carrying an indescribable briskness. During recess, Ming Xiaoqi pulled her toward the bathroom, and as soon as they stood side by side, he narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Oh, your eyes are full of spring, your cheeks are flushed. Are you in love?"
"Don't guess blindly." Xiaofeng patted her, but his ears turned even redder.
"I won't guess anymore, just confess directly." Xiao Qi came closer, a gossipy glint in his eyes.
Xiao Feng looked around and lowered her voice, "Brother Zhou Yang did a paternity test, and we... aren't siblings. He said my father and his father were brothers in life, so they've been my guardians."
"Then what are you waiting for? Take her!" Xiao Qi suddenly leaned into her arms, smiling maliciously, "You already live together, isn't this a natural progression?"
While they were arguing, Xiao Qi suddenly stood up and said in a lighter tone, "By the way, is Jiang Wenqing still looking for you?"
The three words "Jiang Wenqing" were like a fine needle, instantly piercing Xiaofeng's relaxed expression. She froze in place, her back teeth clenched tightly. After a long moment, she managed to squeeze out three words: "No more."
Xiao Qi tilted her head slightly, just in time to see her eyelashes trembling violently - this was Xiao Feng's physiological reaction when she lied. She swallowed the words "He came to the store to see you on Sunday" back.
As Xiaofeng's best friend, she understood Xiaofeng's struggles all too well. Zhou Yang had the stability of a childhood sweetheart; even if it lacked the thrill of romance, it still had the reassurance of knowing each other intimately. But that man, Jiang Wenqing, was like an impenetrable fog, seemingly harmless but actually deadly.
With a few minutes left before class, the two of them stopped at the edge of the playground as they walked toward the teaching building to watch a group of boys, some familiar and some unfamiliar, playing basketball. Suddenly, a boy in a school uniform ran over, his face red, and shoved a pink envelope into Xiaofeng's hand. "Please give it to Yao Annie in your class. Thank you!" Before he could finish his words, he was already running away like the wind.
Rao Xiaofeng and Ming Xiaoqi looked at each other, both a little confused, but they carefully put the envelope away and returned to their respective classes.
Before the class bell rang, Rao Xiaofeng found Yao Anni with the envelope, handed it to her, and said, "I just met a boy on the playground and he asked me to give it to you."
"Who is it?" Yao Anni asked with raised eyebrows.
"No, I really don't know him." Xiaofeng answered honestly.
"You accept things from someone you don't know?" Yao Anni took the envelope with a hint of contempt in her tone.
"He said it was for you."
Yao Anni opened the envelope, glanced at the letter inside, and suddenly sneered: "Oh, it's a love letter. What, do you think it's written for you?"
"I didn't..." Xiaofeng wanted to explain, but was interrupted by the other party.
Yao Anni held the letter in her hand, a hint of joy flashing in her eyes, as if she had gotten a huge bargain.
Most of the students at this school come from well-off families; those like Rao Xiaofeng, who lack both a distinguished and powerful background, are a minority. Previously, thanks to Zhou Xiao's influence, she had a secure place at school. But lately, Yao Annie's group of pampered daughters have been seeing someone drive by to pick up Rao Xiaofeng from school, and they've become increasingly uneasy. They often use this as an excuse to taunt her with sarcastic remarks, as if to assert their own superiority.
These did not affect Xiaofeng's good mood for love. After school, she threw herself into Zhou Yang's arms.
After returning home, the two of them were busy preparing dinner at the dining table. Xiaofeng was in charge of the barbecued pork in the oven, while Zhou Yang was preparing broccoli, poached eggs, and Xiaofeng's favorite pickles.
Xiaofeng hummed softly along with the music on the stereo, her gaze piercing the lingering steam from the oven's glass door to Zhou Yang's slightly arched back. His sweatshirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his sleek forearms. As he sliced broccoli, the tip of his knife tapped a brisk rhythm on the cutting board. As he slid the poached egg into the pan, a splash of oil erupted, and Xiaofeng saw him instinctively move to protect her.
Zhou Yang's bangs were slightly damp from the kitchen heat, a few strands clinging unruly to his forehead. He suddenly lowered his head to lower the heat, and Xiaofeng reached out to touch the hair on his forehead. As Zhou Yang arranged the pickled cucumber curls into her favorite sunflower shape, Xiaofeng's thoughts began to cloud again.
"Beep...beep...beep..." Xiaofeng was interrupted by the sound of the oven timer running out. She put on a glove on her right hand and opened the oven door, but reached out with her left hand to pull out the baking tray and hold it in her hand. In an instant, Zhou Yang reached out and snatched the baking tray, throwing it on the dining table. He grabbed Xiaofeng's left hand and asked anxiously, "Are you burned?"
Xiao Feng woke up as if from a dream and grabbed Zhou Yang's hand. "What about you?"
Zhou Yang released his hand, tested the temperature of the baking tray, and said with a frown, "The baking tray is not hot."
Xiao Feng leaned over to look at the oven and said embarrassedly, "Brother Zhou Yang, 240 degrees is the highest temperature of the oven. Maybe I pressed it too much and the temperature returned to the lowest temperature of 50 degrees."
"Luckily you pressed the wrong button, otherwise you would have been burned just now."
"Aren't you afraid of being burned? Just reach out and take the baking tray."
"I just hope you don't get burned. I didn't think too much about it."
"Brother Zhou Yang..." Xiaofeng looked up at Zhou Yang. There was an unconcealable, almost pious tenderness in Zhou Yang's eyes - this tenderness permeated her entire girlhood.
Zhou Yang ruffled Xiao Feng's hair and said soothingly, "Little fool, I think you still need a pair of scald-proof gloves."
Xiao Feng stuck out her tongue and said, "I think I need a useful brain."
Zhou Yang laughed and hugged Xiao Feng into his arms...
Xiaofeng's eyelashes were suddenly stung by the steam, which finally gave her a reason to let the accumulated tears flow naturally.
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