(1)
The sun climbed steadily higher, its golden rays filling the entire room with a dazzling brightness.
An Jing and Yu Minghui watched a movie while playing Five-in-a-row. If one of them paused to focus on the plot, the other didn’t mind, simply twirling a piece in her hand, at ease.
A gentle breeze lazily drifted through the room, when suddenly, the door was knocked on with a “dong dong” sound.
“Who is it—-?” Yu Mingfei, as usual, called out first with her booming voice.
Maybe the room was well soundproofed, because the person outside didn’t seem to hear, and kept knocking.
An Jing got up and walked to the door. As she pulled it open, she saw a girl in a puffy dress standing outside. Her hair had clearly been brushed, but a few strands still stuck up.
“Whew… Xiao Jing.” It was Zhu Ying at the door, covering her mouth as she yawned, then flopped into An Jing’s arms, squinting lazily. “So tired…”
“Weren’t you planning to sleep in today?”
“I wanted to come snuggle in your bed early… Didn’t expect you’d be up already…”
“I got up at four this morning.”
“So early. Don’t you need sleep?”
“There’s a big cleaning today, and then a whole day of movies at home.” An Jing’s nose felt ticklish from Zhu Ying’s fluffy hair. “Have you had breakfast yet?”
“Not yet….”
“There should still be some seafood porridge. Want some?”
“Sure….”
“If you really can’t, just nap for a bit first?”
“No way,” Zhu Ying pressed her head to An Jing’s chest and shook vigorously. “Give me a kiss and I’ll wake right up.”
“Kissed already.”
“Didn’t feel it.”
“Kissed your hair.”
“No, it has to be the face.”
“Hey, hey, you two lovebirds, can you not get all mushy in the doorway?” Yu Mingfei’s helpless voice drifted from inside. “If you’re going to do anything intimate, at least go to your room!”
“Ahem ahem!!”
“Oh, it’s Xiao Ying! Have you eaten?”
“Hi Huihui-jie, hi Fei-jie… Not yet.” Zhu Ying perked up a bit, slipped off her shoes at the door, put on the cotton slippers An Jing handed her, and wandered into the room, sitting right down at the dining table—as if it was her own home.
An Jing glanced down at Zhu Ying’s bare feet, not even wearing socks. Her toenails were a pinkish gemstone shine. Before she could look away, Zhu Ying noticed: “What are you looking at, Xiao Jing?”
“Ahem… Nothing.…”
“Hmph.” Zhu Ying wrinkled her adorable nose, sat sideways on the chair, and propped her legs up on An Jing’s knees, deliberately flexing her small, cute toes.
“Ew, smelly feet.”
“How could they be! Don’t believe me? Smell for yourself!”
“I don’t want to!”
“Xiao Ying.” Yu Minghui placed a bowl of seafood porridge in front of her. “Last bowl left. If you’re still hungry, have some Steamed Buns.”
“Mm. Steamed Buns….”
“What are you looking at me for?” An Jing looked awkward.
“Mm—” Zhu Ying leaned her face in close. “It did seem that big back then… maybe even bigger.” “Hey, what are you talking about?” “Nothing~ Guess for yourself, Xiao Jing?”
“…Ahem ahem!!”
(2)
Another feature of gatherings at this house was that once breakfast started, there would be food all day.
Right now, the table held a Fruit Platter and some seeds and pistachios—snacks that didn’t fill you up too quickly.
‘Léon: The Professional’ had finished playing. Yu Mingfei popped in a new disc, and the TV began showing ‘Spring in the Northern Country’.
Zhu Ying poked a piece of orange with a toothpick and held it to An Jing’s mouth: “Xiao Jing, ah—”
“Ah.” An Jing opened her mouth and took half the orange. Zhu Ying popped the other half into her own mouth, cupping her cheeks and squinting contentedly.
Yu Minghui and Yu Mingfei were engrossed in the TV, chatting about the plot, sometimes wandering into real-life topics.
“By the way, Xiao Jing, have you done your Homework?”
“Homework? Ahh! I forgot!”
“Good thing I brought mine. Let’s do it together.”
“Mm. Let’s do it together then.” An Jing sighed a little—she’d hoped to relax all day, but forgot about Homework.
She could copy at school, but it was better to write it herself. After all, there’d be no one to copy from in the college entrance exams.
Even for topics she already understood, practicing more would help her solve questions faster in the exam, leaving more time to check her answers.
And, most importantly, doing Homework together with someone she liked was enjoyable. Though she didn’t say it out loud, An Jing really enjoyed Zhu Ying coming over to compare answers or ask her how to solve a problem.
Plus, when doing Homework, they always sat very close. Even the air seemed filled with the other’s fragrance…
“Ah, I’m tired, let’s take a break~” Zhu Ying stretched and tapped An Jing’s forehead lightly with her finger, “Xiao Jing, are you done?”
“Not yet, there’s been a lot of Homework on weekends lately.”
“Do you want to hug me?” “Huh?”
“Do you want to or not!”
“…Don’t want to.”
“Tsk, you have to hug me!”
“…Huihui-jie and Fei-jie are both here.”
“So what?”
“Th-then, I’ll hug you.” An Jing scratched her nose shyly, turned a bit to the side, and opened her arms.
Zhu Ying eagerly leaned into the hug, squinting her eyes, like a little cat basking in the sun.
“How does it feel hugging me?”
“Small, soft, very… very… very comfortable.”
“Hehe, hugging you feels just like that too!”
“Tsk… I used to be tall…”
“The past is past, now is now. All right, that’s enough hugging. I need to go to the bathroom.” “You’re the one who wanted a hug! Go if you want…” An Jing released her, helplessly watching Zhu Ying walk to the bathroom. She couldn’t help lifting her fingers to her nose and sniffing hard. “Ugh… milky scent… so rich.”
Just then, Zhu Ying suddenly turned around, grinning mischievously as if she’d caught An Jing red-handed. “Xiao Jing, you’re such a pervert, sniffing your own hand~”
“I-I’m not! I just… Anyway, I’m not!” An Jing quickly lowered her hand.
“A guilty conscience, Xiao Jing~”
“You two are really sweet,” Second Sister propped her cheeks on her hands and smiled at Big Sister.
“Our relationship is great too.”
“Exactly~” Second Sister nodded hard, “Let’s bathe together tonight, Huihui!” “Of course we can.”
“Yay~!”
(4)
The kitchen in this house wasn’t big, but it was fully stocked with all sorts of cookware—even a Roast Fish Oven exactly like the ones at the barbecue restaurants.
Of course, they didn’t just put the fish straight onto the Roast Fish Oven. First, both sides were pan-fried in a skillet, then transferred to the oven. That way, it cooked faster.
The big Roast Fish Oven split the dining table in half. Plus, with the TV taking up so much space, there wasn’t much room left.
Fortunately, a lot of things could be roasted in the oven along with the fish—Potato, onion, Sticky Rice Cake, and so on—so lunch wouldn’t be too monotonous.
With charcoal burning underneath the oven and broth added from time to time, there was no worry about the roast fish cooling off too soon. They could eat leisurely and slowly.
“This fish is really big.”
“And it’s Wild Perch, too! None of that fatty stuff!” “Perch has fat?” An Jing was surprised.
“Yes it does.” Zhu Ying only served herself half a bowl of rice, picked up a small piece of fish with her chopsticks, and nibbled it slowly. “My family once bought that kind of perch with fat. The first time I ate the fatty part, it was super—gross.”
“Yeah, the kind restaurants use are usually farmed, raised too densely, so they get fat. Or they use growth hormones and such.”
“This one isn’t exactly wild, either—it was just stocked and raised in the reservoir.” Yu Minghui picked up a piece of Potato and put it in her bowl, smiling at Yu Mingfei. “Feifei, there’s Peppercorn on your Potato.”
“Peppercorn? Oh… This stuff tastes awful on its own, but you can’t leave it out.” “Like those little Chili Peppers, they’re terrible to eat by themselves.” An Jing swallowed, gasping for air, “Huihui-jie, it’s so spicy! The kind with just Scallion is tastier—” “Says who? It has to be spicy to be good.” Yu Mingfei immediately retorted.
“Too spicy!”
“That’s because your tongue can’t handle it!”
“Tsk, Fei-jie, you’re sweating buckets from the spice too!”
“Feifei-jie and Xiao Jing are really alike sometimes.” Zhu Ying teased with a smile. “Like real siblings.”
“First cousins are pretty closely related by blood,” Yu Minghui said as she chewed her Potato and swallowed, then continued, “Xiao Ying, eat up, don’t be shy.”
“I’m not shy, I just eat slow.” Zhu Ying licked the broth from her chopsticks. “Huihui-jie, is it hard to make roast fish?”
“Not really, but you need patience. As for the fish, you can ask the vendor to gut it for you.” “Xiao Jing, hurry up and learn so you can cook it for me~” “Why don’t you learn yourself?” An Jing rolled her eyes.
“Tsk, because I want you to cook it for me.” “Well, then I want you to cook for me too.”
“I’ll make all kinds of desserts!” Zhu Ying propped her chin up. “Let’s do this: I’ll make desserts, Xiao Jing cooks. How’s that?”
“Uh… Actually, that sounds pretty good… dessert after every meal.”
“Right! I’ve tried cooking so many times, but I’m just not cut out for it. Making desserts is much more relaxing and suits me better.”
“Roast fish is pretty relaxing, too, actually. It’s simple. Just talking about the fish—not even the other ingredients—first, you have to marinate it…”