(1)
March 15th, 2010.
The sun rising in the early morning was already dazzlingly bright, bathing everyone in comforting warmth.
Perhaps it was because of the long, cold winter they had endured, but spring now felt all the more precious and joyful.
Different kinds of red flowers were blooming everywhere in the small city, and the distant hills were dotted with vibrant splashes of red amidst endless greenery.
Waiting for Zhu Ying in the morning to go to class together had somehow become a habit.
It was just like always licking the yogurt lid when opening it, soaking the toothbrush in water before adding toothpaste, or always eating the dish you didn’t like first at meals.
Standing at this familiar intersection, waiting, had become a thoughtless instinct.
“Xiao Jing~!”
Zhu Ying’s cheerful, playful voice sounded from behind.
Jing quietly took a deep breath, then suddenly spun around and hugged the girl behind her tightly—this girl who had come so close and was about to mischievously blow air on her earlobe.
Zhu Ying was caught off guard, her little face immediately flushing bright red.
She tried to act tough, stammering, “Hmph, hmph! Xiao Jing can be pretty, pretty bold sometimes!”
“Don’t underestimate me!”
Jing touched her own slightly warm cheeks, quickly let go, and before more passersby could turn their attention to them, slipped to Zhu Ying’s side as usual.
“Hmm~”
Zhu Ying put her hands behind her back, curiously peering at her, looking her over from left to right.
“Strange, Xiao Jing seems a bit different today?”
“Ahem, really?”
“Yes! Like you haven’t seen me in a long time and suddenly missed me a lot, that kind of feeling.”
“You—you’re not reading my mind, are you?”
“Tch, as if. I test myself every morning to see if I’m dreaming. All I pick up are Xiao Ru’s dreams or her thoughts! Seriously.”
“Ahem…I had a long dream last night. Must be part of that Ten-Year Dream memory—felt like I was in there for nearly a month.”
Jing let out a huge yawn.
“I’m exhausted. Still, you actually got scared too…”
“Forget about that! What happens in dreams doesn’t count!”
“Tch, you stole my pants in the dream and insisted I wear a skirt… That was you, right?”
“Th—that kind of thing, I don’t know! That definitely isn’t part of the Ten-Year Dream memory, you must’ve imagined it!”
“Eek—”
Zhu Ying stared at Jing with her flushed face, then suddenly stuck her hands into Jing’s armpits.
“How dare little Jing get so full of herself!”
“Pfft, hahaha—okay, I surrender! I surrender!!”
***
(2)
The classroom was still empty in the early morning; not a soul inside.
The two of them always arrived early—perhaps they tacitly wanted to enjoy these peaceful, lazy moments together.
Zhu Ying pulled out her weekend homework from her schoolbag, then took out a box wrapped in oil paper and placed it on the dividing line between their desks.
“Here.”
“What?”
“Something tasty.”
“Old-Fashioned Pastries?”
“Bingo! I brought these back yesterday after helping out at Qi Qi’s place. They were snacks for the kindergarteners’ outing.”
“You’re eating the kids’ snacks?”
“What, it was for everyone! Her dad made them—he’s amazing. I thought they tasted great, so I packed up the leftovers and kept them in the fridge last night. They’ll be fine today, so try them! See how they taste~”
“But I already had breakfast, I’m not that hungry…”
“Nope, you have to try it—especially the Egg Cake!”
“Hey, hey, I’m already stuffed… Can’t I just eat some later if I get hungry? I’ll just eat less at lunch.”
Jing gave in and picked up the pastries, unwrapping the oil paper for a peek—different shaped pieces of pastry were neatly stacked together, filling the air with a rich, milky sweetness.
That mellow aroma belonged only to Old-Fashioned Pastries.
“So? Smells good, right?”
“I’ll try a piece then…”
“That’s more like it.”
“It’s a bit dry…”
“Maybe because it was in the fridge? It’s definitely not as fresh as yesterday.”
Zhu Ying propped her chin on her hand, reaching out her pale finger to gently brush away the cake crumbs at Jing’s lips.
“How do you get your mouth covered in crumbs from one little cake?”
“This cake just crumbles so easily.”
“Use your hand, quick, or you’ll drop it all over your uniform.”
“It’s fine, I’ll just pat it off later.”
“If there’s an oily stain, it’s hard to wash.”
“Just trust the Washing Machine and the newest detergent.”
“Your clothes all get washed in the Washing Machine?”
“Yeah, unless it’s something like underwear, Huihui-jie just throws everything in the Washing Machine.”
“Eh~ My mom washes everything by hand.”
“That’s so much work! Only the older generation still does that.”
Jing stuffed the rest of the cake into her mouth, and her words turned muffled, “Aahh mmph mmph ah.”
“What?”
***
(3)
“Huh?”
“Swallow before you talk.”
Zhu Ying handed over her glass, “Here, have some water?”
“Oh!”
Jing took the glass without a trace of shyness, tipping it and gulping down several big mouthfuls with her lips a little distance from the rim.
“It’s fine if you drink straight from my glass, you know.”
“Ahh, so refreshing. What did you just say?”
“Nothing, forget it!”
Zhu Ying rolled her eyes.
“So, yesterday, how was helping out?”
“I’m telling you, A Qiang’s garage was packed! We spent the whole day cleaning!”
“Pfft, they used you as free labor! Weren’t you exhausted? Want me to give you a shoulder massage~”
“No need.”
Jing cleared her throat.
“But there was actually a lot of interesting stuff. Later, we started using some of the old things. Anything that wasn’t broken could amuse us for ages.”
“Like what?”
“All kinds of old books. They looked new but had that vintage feel, like from the eighties and nineties. There was an old black-and-white TV that still picked up radio signals, and even a…ahem, a VCR. We managed to get it to turn on, but didn’t have cables. Otherwise, we could’ve hooked it up to the TV and watched something.”
“Sounds just like a secret base!”
“Right?!”
“When will you take me there?”
“Ah? Uh…we’re still sorting things out. Even though we got the stuff out, it still needs organizing. So, I have to go help after school these days and might not be able to walk home with you.”
“Eh—not on your way?”
“Just a little out of the way.”
“Well, once it’s done, you have to show me. Living in a garage in real life actually sounds fun.”
“Except there’s no bathroom.”
“Huh, then what do you do?”
“We go to the public restroom across the street. It’s not that far.”
“Sounds pretty far to me!”
***
(4)
When the bell rang for school to end, Jing nodded at Zhu Ying, then called over Zhou Chao and Fang Qiang. ‘
Just like before she’d become a girl, she charged out of the classroom with her buddies, racing toward the school gate.
“Eh~ Xiao Jing didn’t wait for you today, Xiao Ying?”
“She had to help out.”
“Help out? Are you sure she’s not going to play video games? Boys are boys—after being considerate for a while, they just can’t help themselves.”
“Hmm~? Xiao Jing isn’t like that.”
Zhu Ying smiled, and Wang Xinru, sitting one seat and one aisle away, nodded gently.
“Really? Men…”
Zhang Qiqi laughed as she gazed out the window.
“You never know.”
“It’s people that are uncertain, not gender.”
Zhu Ying, unusually earnest, said, “Qiqi, Xiao Jing will be a great life partner, whether she’s a boy or a girl.”
“You two are so sweet. I’m jealous.”
“Hmph, you can keep being jealous!”
Zhu Ying slung her packed schoolbag over her shoulder and looked sideways at Wang Xinru, “Xiao Ru, want to come to my place to do homework?”
“Uh…”
“I want to try making cookies today. I was going to ask Xiao Jing to help and be my taster, but she’s busy, so—”
“Can I help?”
“Of course!”
“But I’m not great at baking cookies. I’m better at making buns or steamed bread…”
“That’s fine, let’s learn together. It’ll be my first time, too. The oven at home has barely been used since my mom bought it, so I’m not letting it gather dust any longer.”
“Then…of course, but I can’t go home too late…”
“No problem! If it gets late, I’ll get you a cab.”
“It’s okay. As long as it’s before eight, I can walk home.”
***
(5)
“Hey, you didn’t go home with Zhu Ying today.”
Fang Qiang wobbled on his grimy gear bike—he’d grown again, and the bike looked smaller and smaller under him.
“Careful, she doesn’t get jealous!”
“Come on, what are you thinking? I told her in advance, okay!”
“Tragic.”
“Haha, A Qiang, you say that, but I can see ‘jealous’ written all over your face.”
Zhou Chao laughed.
“You’re just jealous and bitter!”
“Whatever. My tragic life isn’t worth hoping for anyway.”
“Maybe you’re not ‘tragic,’ maybe you’re just a ‘washing implement’.”
“Like one of those clown props, right?”
“Yeah, yeah! A Qiang, can you perform it again? That one!”
Zhou Chao laughed so hard he teased, “The one where you say ‘I’m going to see my girlfriend today, give her a surprise, hahaha—’”
“Screw you!”
Fang Qiang held his handlebars with one hand and punched Zhou Chao on the back.
“You, just wait till we get there!”
Zhou Chao laughed even harder, tears squeezing from the corners of his eyes.
“Oh man, seriously, that’s too funny.”
“Who says it’s not?”
Fang Qiang sighed in resignation.
Jing shrugged.
She always felt like Zhou Chao was really laughing at his own former self…