Chapter 128: An Ordinary Family of Three

(1)

The living room of Zhu Ying’s home remained as solemn and dignified as ever, especially with the deep crimson furniture that gave off a stifling atmosphere.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uh… nothing… it just feels a bit stuffy.”

“Open a window?”

“No, it’s the color.”

“The color?”

“Too dark…”

“Is that so? I think it’s fine. Maybe I’m just used to it.”

Zhu Ying first took off her shoes and slipped into the pink cotton slippers placed by the door.

Then she grabbed another pair of the same fluffy slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them in front of An Jing.

Standing up, she called into the house, “Mom! I’m home!”

“Ah~! Ying Ying’s back? I told you, you should put more sugar in the braised pork!”

“I cooked it longer; it’s the same. Can you stop nagging?”

“If you don’t listen to me, don’t cry later when your daughter won’t eat it.”

“She loves all the dishes I make. You think she’s like you?”

“Hmph, these past few days your daughter has been on your side, and now you think you’re so great?”

An Jing, wearing the slippers, nervously followed behind Zhu Ying, planning to sneak into her room quietly but was interrupted by Zhu Ying’s voice.

“Mom, An Jing came to visit; she’ll have dinner here.”

Zhu Ying’s mother turned her head and glanced toward the living room.

Seeing An Jing, the smile lines on her face tightened as she said, “Oh, it’s that pretty girl again! Welcome, welcome. Put down your backpack and sit on the sofa for a bit; dinner will be ready soon.”

“Ah… okay, okay.”

“Is that little girl here to play again?”

The tall man cooking the braised pork turned around. Although he was smiling, he still looked somewhat serious.

“Yes, it’s An Jing. How can you forget such an easy name?”

“Oh, right. An Jing.”

“Jing Jing, do you want something to drink? Tea or juice?”

“N-no, it’s fine.”

An Jing didn’t really like visiting other people’s homes, mainly because facing other people’s parents’ warmth made her feel awkward and uneasy.

But if their parents weren’t around, she would often relax as if she were at her own home.

And even if she said she didn’t want anything, the hosts would often bring out all sorts of snacks anyway.

For example, right after An Jing sat down on the sofa, hot tea was handed to her, along with a divided tray filled with various nuts for her to pick and eat.

But at times like these, she usually didn’t have much of an appetite, mainly because—well, it was really awkward.

Yet not eating was also not an option, as others might think she disliked the food and would bring out even more snacks.

An Jing could only peel a pistachio and slowly chew it, pretending to enjoy the taste.

Zhu Ying tossed their backpacks into the room, plopped down on the sofa, and casually turned on the TV, tuning it to a local channel airing a drama.

It was a local station where the characters spoke in dialect, portraying very down-to-earth stories.

“Can you understand it?”

An Jing tilted her head, puzzled.

“Of course not.”

“Then why watch?”

“Just to have some sound, so it’s not too quiet.”

Zhu Ying suddenly winked playfully.

“Right, An Jing?”

Having been teased about her name since childhood, An Jing was used to it by now.

She drooped her eyelids and propped up her cheek.

“In that case, might as well watch a movie channel.”

“Let me see…”

Zhu Ying picked up the remote and started flipping through channels.

“Wait, Animal World is okay too.”

“Alright~”

“Spring has arrived, everything is awakening, and the animals are about to mate…” “Ah, change the channel!”

“Wow, the lionesses actually huddle together like that?”

“Ahem!!”

Zhu Ying’s family was just an ordinary family of three.

Their life in this small city could be considered modestly well-off but hardly wealthy.

At least the dinner was simple home-cooked food, not lavish with all kinds of fancy meats.

Braised pork was today’s main dish, surrounded by a circle of vegetable dishes as accompaniment.

“Jing Jing, don’t just eat the greens in front of you. This stir-fried dried tofu with meat is delicious too. Come on, try some. Don’t be shy.”

“O-okay. Thank you.”

An Jing wanted to serve herself, but Zhu Ying’s mother had already put a helping in her bowl.

“Ah, Mom, let her serve herself.”

“She looks a bit reserved. You serve her then.”

“Alright! Little Jing, if you want anything, just say so.”

“I-I can serve myself.”

An Jing quickly put two pieces of braised pork in her bowl.

She was afraid that if she didn’t show some initiative, her bowl would soon be overflowing with uneaten food.

The TV was showing local news—mostly trivial small matters, but occasionally a few national headlines.

For international news, one had to watch the news broadcast.

Zhu Ying’s mother seemed to really enjoy watching the news; her gaze never left the screen.

Her tall father had already finished eating and was now reading today’s newspaper.

This reminded An Jing of her kindergarten years.

Back then, she didn’t always live in her hometown.

Sometimes on school days, she stayed with her parents, and sometimes only on weekends, but whenever they lived together, her father was still a low-level Home Economics Official.

The home was like this, not wealthy but money was always enough.

Every day they gathered for dinner, casually chatting about trivial life matters.

Sometimes even just listening to her parents bickering was a happy thing.

But this situation didn’t last long.

Her father became busier and was promoted to Department Chief in the provincial capital.

Her mother followed him, leaving her alone back in her hometown…

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt that time was moving too slowly—she couldn’t wait to graduate middle school and live with her parents in the provincial capital.

Although her parents were sometimes nagging and troublesome and less tolerant than her cousins in many matters, they were still her parents…

However, she also wondered if she was so eager now, would she miss living with her cousins once she really moved back with her parents?

Most people often feel such contradictions…

“Jing Jing, eat everything if you can. You’re so small; you need to get enough nutrition.”

“Ah? Ah.”

An Jing snapped back to reality and hurriedly shook her head.

“I can’t eat that much…”

“It’s okay, eat as much as you can. Mom, don’t rush her.”

“It’s normal for a little girl to be shy. It’s fine. Just treat this as your home.”

“That’s right~”

“Ahem…”

“After dinner, get to studying. It’s your third year of middle school; you have to work hard and not fall behind…”

“Mom, don’t worry. She’s always in the top three of our class.”

“Good, then you study with Jing Jing more. Stop playing games all the time. It’s your third year. It’s not that I have to control you, but still, it’s your third year…”

Zhu Ying’s mother kept repeating the same words over and over. Although her tone was gentle, it was still a bit headache-inducing.

An Jing’s longing for her own parents faded somewhat in the face of this reality—when it came to strictness, her parents were far more stringent than Zhu Ying’s…

Perhaps to entertain her guest, Zhu Ying’s mother specially went downstairs to buy two small cream cakes to be eaten while they did their homework in the room.

Though there were no classes today, it didn’t mean no homework since the tests were already handed out in the morning…

“Little Jing, have you finished that English test paper?”

“Hmm? Just finished.”

“Let me check the answers.”

“Okay.”

An Jing handed over her English test paper and picked up a small spoonful of the cream cake that had looked unappetizing just moments ago but now seemed a bit tempting.

She popped it into her mouth, pursed her lips.

“So sweet—”

“Cream cakes have to be sweet to be tasty.”

Zhu Ying was comparing answers.

If they were the same, she skipped; if different, she looked carefully to judge who was correct.

“Little Jing, why did you choose C here?”

“Tense…”

“Oh? Right.”

“This is basic stuff; you have to get it right.”

“People have their differences.”

“After dreaming all these years, didn’t you learn any English?”

“Not at all! Even if I did, I’d probably have forgotten.”

“Speaking of which, it’d be great if we could study during our dreams.”

“Impossible, you forget almost everything when you wake up.”

“Hmm… Uh, Cherry, do you want some? I don’t like it.”

“Hey, me?”

“Ahem…”

An Jing cleared her throat, carefully pinched the cherry stem, and slowly brought the cherry, still with some cream, to Zhu Ying’s lips.

Zhu Ying slightly parted her mouth, took it in, and then rolled it around her soft pink tongue like a lollipop.

“Little Jing, don’t you like cherries?”

“I don’t like the outside skin that looks waxed.”

“Actually, it doesn’t taste like that.”

“But I just don’t like it; it looks like a toy and isn’t appetizing.”

“Then Little Jing, you can give me your cherries from now on~! I love cherries the most!”

Zhu Ying continued marking answers, nodding her head.

“Mm! Also strawberries!” “Ah… I still like fresh strawberries.”

“What’s your favorite fruit, Little Jing?”

“Favorite?”

An Jing scooped another spoonful of cake and let the cream melt slowly in her mouth.

“I can’t really say… maybe watermelon or apples?”

“If you had to pick one?”

“Hm… apple?”

“Why?”

“Because it feels convenient—just wash and eat. It has a lot of juice, unlike bananas, which are convenient but dry.”

“Little Jing doesn’t like peeling apples.”

“If you peel them, it loses that chewy texture… and then it’s inconvenient, plus it makes your hands sticky while eating.”

“Just wash your hands afterward. So lazy~”

“Tch…”

“Little Jing, feed me the other cherry too~”

“You don’t eat cake but eat cherries?”

“I’ll eat the cake later. I’m not hungry yet… huh, you even finished your essay already? So fast.”

“English essays are much easier than Chinese ones…”

“Let me take a look~”

Zhu Ying tossed the cherry pit onto a napkin and then popped the other cherry, which was coated with more cream and barely tasted like cherry anymore, into her mouth.