(1)
Raindrops pattered on An Jing’s umbrella.
That brightly colored rainbow umbrella.
It added a touch of distinct color to this small Jiangnan town, primarily composed of grey and white hues.
Aside from a few particularly lively streets, most of the roadsides were barren land and farmland.
To take a shortcut, one occasionally had to traverse muddy paths and cross ancient stone bridges that had weathered many years.
An Jing stopped at the center of the stone arch bridge, vigorously rubbing the mud from her shoes onto the ground.
She clutched her somewhat cumbersome long-handled umbrella, gazing absently at the pond by the bridge.
Why a pond?
Calling it a pond didn’t feel enclosed enough, and calling it a river didn’t convey its slow flow.
Locals typically called such a medium-sized body of water with a slight flow a ‘water pond.’
Because of this, many small towns and villages in the countryside of the small city had the character ‘pond’ in their names.
Cold raindrops fell onto the water’s surface, ripples chaining together, creating more waves.
A frog, not yet in hibernation, crouched beside a curled-up, withered lotus leaf, as if waiting for the north wind to bring it death.
A black carp briefly surfaced.
As if sensing An Jing’s gaze, it abruptly flicked its tail and plunged into the water.
On the dimly lit water, a girl’s face was reflected.
Her delicate features appeared somewhat blurred in the ripples, making her feel particularly unfamiliar.
The past few days as a girl had felt unreal to her.
She always felt that it wasn’t truly her, like a dream from which she could wake at any moment, or a female character she created and then lost interest in after a few days.
Besides, the reactions of those around her also made her feel very unreal.
No one truly noticed her identity, even though she looked completely different from her former self.
Thinking about it carefully, this kind of thing was quite terrifying, like someone had unknowingly replaced your friend, and you were completely unaware.
The thought sent shivers down her spine.
The only thing that reassured her slightly was that the “other person” who replaced the original An Jing was herself.
But if she let her thoughts wander a bit more…
Could it be that some of her friends around her had already been replaced, and she just hadn’t noticed due to some cognitive modification, just like others hadn’t noticed her change?
“Ach-choo!”
She shivered, letting out a big sneeze.
“Who around me has the biggest contrast, then… Maybe Wang Xinru isn’t her original self anymore, replaced by a female demon or something?”
Then she suddenly smiled and shook her head.
If there really were a female demon, it would most likely be Zhang Qiqi.
It definitely wouldn’t be Zhu Ying…
The sky, rapidly darkening in the rain, seemed to urge her to leave.
An Jing took one last look at her reflection in the water, thinking about various random things, and left.
And her reflection in the water gradually disappeared amidst the swaying ripples…
***
The small plaza in front of the old-style apartment building was deserted today, not a soul in sight.
However, the hot pot restaurant next door was exceptionally lively, with even the second floor completely full.
The discount poster at the entrance had been removed at some point, replaced by a fiery hot pot base poster that made one feel warm just looking at it.
The prices of the dishes on it also seemed significantly higher than in the summer.
“Two yuan, two yuan, everything two yuan, Yiwu Small Commodities Supermarket, everything two yuan…”
A two-yuan supermarket had opened downstairs from the apartment building at some point.
The voice from the loudspeaker cut through the rain and into An Jing’s ears.
She glanced inside as she walked by.
The store had almost no decoration, just several shelves, and goods that couldn’t fit were simply piled on the floor.
Looking closer, on the glowing red sign at the entrance, besides the large golden characters “Two Yuan Store,” there was a small character interspersed in the middle-starting from.
If you randomly took things inside without asking for the price, you’d most likely get ripped off.
While you could always put something back if you thought it was too expensive, there were always a few people who cared about saving face…
An Jing, having been ripped off before, detested this.
She frowned and pouted, quickening her steps onto the open-air metal staircase.
The stairs were already somewhat rusty and had some dents.
Walking on them in the rain was not only slippery but also easily got her shoes wet.
Suddenly, a thudding sound came from the metal steps.
Just as An Jing looked up, she saw a small boy slide down the stairs with a “whoosh.”
He didn’t seem very panicked, even appearing a little excited.
“Wahhh!”
“Pang Pang!”
From behind, a woman’s startled cry followed.
In that instant, An Jing didn’t hesitate at all.
She directly let go of the heavy umbrella she was holding with both hands, then turned sideways and abruptly hugged the little boy who was about to slide all the way to the bottom.
Down the stairs, a bicycle tire splashed water as it sped by. If she hadn’t hugged him just now, this little brat would have had a close encounter with a wheel.
“Pang Pang, Pang Pang, are you okay? Does it hurt?”
“Mommy, my bottom hurts so much!”
The little boy didn’t cry. Instead, he looked up at An Jing.
“Ah, it’s the big brother from last time.”
“It’s you…”
An Jing recognized him.
This was the little boy who watched Ultraman at her cousin’s house last time.
The first time, he had called her “big sister.”
“How can you call him big brother? This is big sister. She saved you, and you’re still so rude.”
The boy’s mother scolded, patting his head, and looked apologetically at An Jing.
“Ah… I am indeed a boy.”
An Jing cleared her throat loudly.
“Ahem, is he okay?”
“He should be fine. Sigh, look, I told you not to run with your rain boots, now you’ve fallen, haven’t you?”
The young mother took the child from An Jing’s hands, clamping the umbrella under her neck, and picked him up.
“Your clothes are all wet. Do you still want to go out to eat?”
The little boy, who hadn’t cried just now, started crying, “Boo hoo hoo, I want to go out to eat, Mommy—”
“Then go back and change your clothes, and don’t run around later, understand?”
“Boo hoo hoo… I want to eat…”
“Then change your clothes.”
“ASAS…”
He seemed to not understand human speech at all, crying even harder.
An Jing helplessly supported her head, turned to pick up the umbrella that had been blown downstairs by the wind.
However, her favorite rainbow umbrella had already had its ribs broken by an electric bike…
Looking at the tattered umbrella, An Jing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Young lady… young man, thank you just now. I’m so sorry, you got caught in the rain, and your umbrella is broken.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
“I’ll buy you a new one next time!”
“No, really, it’s fine.”
An Jing smiled helplessly.
“I have to get back quickly.”
“Okay, okay, go back quickly, or you’ll catch a cold.”
An Jing hesitated, still picked up the broken umbrella, then felt the handrail and quickly ran up the stairs.
Winter rain, it’s really cold…
However, inside, she felt quite warm.
***
(3)
“That’s strange, what’s going on? Why won’t the key open it?”
An Jing confirmed she hadn’t taken the wrong key, but it wouldn’t turn left or right.
She looked up at the door number, confirming again that she hadn’t come to the wrong house.
Looking closer, the lock seemed a bit new, like it had just been replaced today…
“Hey—!!”
She suddenly knocked hard on the door and shouted, “Sister, open the door!!”
The door quickly swung open with a “clack.”
Yu Mingfei stood at the doorway, looking displeased.
“Wh-What’s wrong…?”
An Jing shrank her neck.
Although she hadn’t done anything bad today, she felt a sense of guilt.
“None of your business!”
Yu Mingfei glared at her.
“What’s going on? You’re all wet, and your umbrella’s broken?”
“Only my hair’s a bit wet, it’ll be fine once I wipe it.”
“Did you fall?”
“What fall? I was acting bravely and helping others, okay?”
Yu Mingfei rolled her eyes, saying nothing more.
The house was as usual, but the atmosphere felt a bit off.
Yu Mingfei walked towards the sofa by herself, while Yu Minghui, coming out of the bathroom with a towel, seemed to ignore her.
“Xiao Jing, quickly dry your head. Don’t catch a cold. The power was out here today and just came back on. The water heater is still heating up.”
“Ah, okay, I’ll shower after dinner then.”
An Jing took the towel.
She saw her eldest sister walk past her second sister, who then snorted with her arms crossed.
The atmosphere was indeed very off.
Did the two of them… have a fight?
Ever since An Jing moved in during her first year of junior high, the two cousins had always had a good relationship; it seemed they never fought.
So—
“What’s wrong with you two?”
An Jing couldn’t help but ask.
She glanced at the TV again.
It wasn’t playing a soap opera, but the evening news.
Clearly, her mind wasn’t on the TV at all.
“Little brat, don’t ask so many questions!”
“Hmph… What’s the big deal? You guys just had a fight, even an idiot can tell.”
“Then why are you still asking?”
“So why did you fight?”
Yu Mingfei pouted, “When I came back, I turned the key too hard and broke the lock. I called a locksmith to come and change the lock, and it cost fifty yuan, so she’s mad at me!”
Yu Minghui, who had already walked into the kitchen, immediately stepped back out, looking at her angrily, “It’s not about that at all!”
“Then what could it be about?”
“Your attitude has been terrible all day today! Why should I have to greet you with a smile?”
“I’m tired from work, okay?”
“That’s no excuse for a bad attitude, and your attitude wasn’t good when you left this morning either!”
“What do you mean ‘not good’!”
Yu Minghui’s expression suddenly stiffened, then she turned her head away and snorted, “It just wasn’t good!”
“I think your attitude wasn’t good! This morning you only had pickled mustard greens with porridge!”
“When did cooking for you become a given?!”
“Why shouldn’t it be a given?!”
“It’s just not a given!”
“Hmph, petty woman!”
“You’re the petty one!”
An Jing watched, dumbfounded.
It was the first time she had seen her two cousins act so childishly.
However, to be fair, they had only just graduated from university.
Perhaps… they hadn’t matured enough yet…