Chapter 85: Who’s Ugly?!

(1)

Some of the children at Yezishan Kindergarten had parents working downtown in H City, while others were left-behind children.

At the kindergarten’s entrance stood the only streetlamp in the entire alley, casting a soft glow that seemed to echo the stars scattered across the deep blue night sky.

“Daddy!”

“How was today? Did you have fun?”

“We had cake and so many delicious dishes!”

“Mom, today was that festival at kindergarten!”

“Was there any special activity for the festival?”

“A really handsome big brother played the piano and sang for us!”

“Hahaha, so now you know what handsome means?”

“Mom, I’m a kid, not a fool.”

“You’re little but clever.”

“Liangliang, Liangliang! Don’t want to go home today?”

“Ah, Dad!”

“A lot of big brothers and sisters came today?”

“Yeah! That really ugly big brother even taught us how to fold ‘East, South, West, North’!”

“Hey, who are you calling ugly!”

A faint voice of protest came from behind.

One by one, the children were picked up by their parents, and the kindergarten’s entrance gradually grew quiet.

Finally, only one little boy remained.

Sun Wei squatted on the ground, holding a cigarette between his lips as he chatted idly with him.

“Where are your parents?”

“They went to work in H City.”

The boy’s eyes barely opened, the slit barely visible even when he tried, somewhat resembling Sun Wei’s own.

“Are your grandparents taking care of you then?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“It’s my great-grandfather and great-grandmother. My grandparents are also working in H City.”

“Oh?”

Sun Wei took a drag, slowly exhaling a neat smoke ring to the side.

“Are your grandparents still young?”

“Yeah!”

“How old?”

“Don’t know.”

“Eh… yeah, probably too young for you to remember.”

“Big brother, is smoking good?”

“It’s okay, I guess.”

“Why do you smoke?”

“Uh… cough…”

Sun Wei certainly couldn’t say he started smoking to look cool but then got addicted and couldn’t quit.

“Just got used to it.”

“Can I try?”

“No way, kids must never smoke.”

“You have to set a good example, A-Wei.”

Zhou Chao smiled faintly and glanced sideways at him.

“Smoking in front of kids, huh?”

“Cough, I didn’t smoke well today. I was busy and tired so I had one.”

Sun Wei painedly stubbed out the half-burned cigarette on the bumpy cement ground in the yard.

“I won’t smoke anymore, okay? Damn.”

“My dad smokes, my grandpa smokes, my great-grandpa smokes, but they all told me I must never smoke later.”

“That’s exactly why they don’t want you to smoke.”

Sun Wei coughed dryly and stood up.

“Ah, great-grandpa is here!”

“Oh? Then go quickly.”

At the school gate, a smiling old man in his sixties or seventies spread his arms wide, letting the boy rush into his embrace, then gently patted his head.

“Went selling baskets again today?”

Zhang Qiqi casually asked as if chatting about the weather.

“Hehe… yeah, Qiqi, you’re getting prettier and prettier.”

“We see each other every day, no changes.”

Zhang Qiqi smiled and waved to the boy in the old man’s arms.

“Little rascal, bye-bye, go home and sleep early!”

“Bye-bye, Qiqi sister!”

He waved back energetically.

With all the children gone, the brightly lit kindergarten suddenly felt much emptier.

“All right, all right, you two can go home now!”

Tall Zhang Qiqi pressed down on Anjing and Sun Wei’s heads, rubbing them hard.

Just as they were about to resist, she suddenly sidestepped and went around behind Zhou Chao, then gave a heavy slap on his back.

“I’m not sending you off!”

“Not light-handed, huh?”

Zhou Chao rubbed his back with a faint smile.

“If you’re just leaving like that, what about our reward?”

“Yeah, where’s the reward? We worked for nothing, damn it!”

“Reward?!”

Zhang Qiqi stepped forward a few paces, one hand on her hip, the other foot lightly propped on the doorframe.

Turning back, she smiled at them.

“How about my beautiful smile?”

“Ugh—”

Sun Wei immediately made a disgusted face, exaggeratedly pretending to vomit.

Anjing drooped her eyelids.

“What’s so nice about your smile…”

“Hahaha.”

Zhou Chao also laughed heartily.

“Let’s go home, I’m a bit sleepy.”

Zhu Ying gently pinched Anjing’s cheek.

She reached into her pocket but found all the candy she had brought today was already gone.

“Okay, let’s go!”

“Chao-ge, give me a ride!”

“Aren’t you going to take your bike?”

“Damn, I just remembered my bike is still parked on the shopping street!”

“My motorcycle’s by the riverbank near the school, gotta walk over.”

“All right, then we’ll walk together!”

“Qiqi, bye~”

Zhu Ying waved gently.

“Mm.”

Zhang Qiqi lazily nodded.

Everyone dragged their tired legs as they left the kindergarten.

Zhou Chao fell behind last, staggering a few steps.

Suddenly, he stopped, glanced at the three figures ahead, then turned back and smiled at Zhang Qiqi.

“Nice reward, I accept it.”

***

(2)

The four traveling companions parted ways at the greenhouse shopping street, the lively atmosphere gradually dissolving into a fulfilling quiet.

As usual, Anjing walked Zhu Ying down the alley.

She looked up at the few street lamps now noticeably brighter and sighed, “Finally fixed…”

“Yeah, it was broken yesterday.”

“Probably repaired during the day.”

“Now we don’t have to worry about stray dogs suddenly rushing out.”

“Well, they’ll still come out sometimes. The alley’s pretty deep… but now more people come and go, so not much to worry about.”

The two walked slowly, but Zhu Ying’s home was nearby.

No matter how slow, they would reach it eventually.

“Here we are… see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow~”

Zhu Ying gently pinched Anjing’s cheek and smiled, stepping back two paces.

“Hey, hey, you always pinch me but I’ve never pinched you!”

“Want to try?” She lifted her face softly.

“Ahem!! N-next time then…”

“Tomorrow!”

“T-tomorrow!”

“Don’t be late to school, okay?”

“Okay…”

Anjing hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke the thing she’d been meaning to say.

“Anyway, I pass by the greenhouse shopping street every day. How about we meet at the street corner every day?”

“Sure.”

“Mm!”

The boy’s heart suddenly soared, already looking forward to tomorrow.

***

(3)

Since she had already messaged Yu Minghui, there was no scolding when she returned.

The two older sisters sat on the couch watching TV as usual.

Second sister Yu Mingfei was feeding a strawberry to the eldest, who gently bit it in half.

Then Yu Mingfei popped the remaining half straight into her own mouth.

“Mmm mmm, so good…”

“Feifei, if you like it, eat more.”

“No, just one each… oh, the little brat’s back.”

“Xiao Jing.”

Yu Minghui tilted her head slightly toward her.

“Helping out at kindergarten today, you must be tired?”

“Yeah, really tired—wish I could take a bath.”

“Bath?”

Yu Mingfei rolled her eyes.

“There’s a new bathhouse nearby. Maybe they have a soaking tub?”

“Eh? When did it open?”

“It’s the one that closed last year, just under a new name.”

Yu Minghui smiled quietly.

“Soaking tub… but… do I go to the men’s bath or the women’s bath?”

“Obviously the women’s bath!”

“N-no way!”

“Tch, why be so shy? You must be secretly excited!”

“N-no! I just think it’d be awkward bathing with women…”

“It’s fine, since you don’t have the tools anymore.”

“Ew!!”

“Xiao Jing, come bath with us? Huihui and I haven’t bathed yet either.”

“But, but, it’s not right! I’m a guy, and if I go, I’ll see all the women naked.”

Anjing swallowed hard. “Isn’t that kind of immoral?”

“What’s immoral about it? You’re living as a girl now!”

“Xiao Jing, don’t worry so much, we’re just going to soak.”

“Mmm…”

“If worse comes to worst, just close your eyes.”

“But how do I wash then…?”

“I’ll wash you. Besides, you don’t need to move much while soaking.”

“I don’t want Fei-jie to wash me,” Anjing rolled his eyes dramatically. “

Especially washing my hair—that’s so painful.”

When he was little, Yu Mingfei often bathed with Anjing, scrubbing his scalp so hard it felt like she’d rub it right off.

“Tch, if you want me to wash you, I wouldn’t even want to.”

“Then get your change of clothes and bath stuff, let’s go downstairs.”

Yu Minghui cut off their bickering.

“Oh right, Huihui and I bought you some clothes. You can wear the new ones.”

“No underwear, right?”

“Of course there is.”

“I absolutely refuse to wear it!!!”

“It’s a cute little tank top tied with a bow around the neck~ hehe—”

“Someone will see it! No way, no way!”

“Tch, boring little brat.”

“You’re the brat!”

Anjing pouted loudly.

“I’m not wearing that! Just normal, well-fitting clothes are fine. At home, loose clothes are okay too!”

“They’re mostly shirts and pants, styles you can wear anytime.”

Yu Minghui shook her head helplessly.

“Phew… Huihui-jie is the best.”

“But Huihui-jie also bought you a really pretty dress~”

“Eh?”

“Yeah!”

Yu Minghui suddenly became excited.

“So cute, perfect for Xiao Jing. When spring comes, you can wear it for a walk.”

“Huihui-jie—!!!”

“Don’t even think about it, you can’t escape~ Just wear the dress~”

“Feifei-jie hardly ever wears one herself!”

“Ahem, shaving leg hair is such a hassle…”

“I think I don’t have leg hair yet.”

“I didn’t have any in middle school either. It starts when you grow up, though some people never get any.”

Yu Mingfei clicked her tongue.

“Really envy those people…”