(1)
It was probably just the blink of an eye before night had completely fallen. The city’s lights shone brightly, obscuring the stars in the sky — even the moon was hidden deep within the layers of clouds.
The journey from T-City to the small town required traveling along a national highway. Aside from the shop-lined streets and village entrances where streetlights could be found, the rest of the world was plunged into total darkness.
Consequently, turning on high beams had become an almost instinctive habit for local drivers.
After all, visibility on the road was poor, and the mountainous terrain led to an excessive number of bends. If one didn’t use high beams, it was easy for things to go wrong — though there was another solution: driving slower.
However, on this mostly deserted highway, it felt like a disservice to oneself not to press the accelerator all the way down — without any reference points, even driving at eighty felt as slow as a tortoise.
Zhu Ying sat in the passenger seat, holding an exquisitely packaged cardboard box. She watched as the two beams of light illuminated the end of the winding road — the world under the headlights seemed to consist of only black and white, a monotony that made her feel a bit drowsy.
“Ying, how do you think you did on the exam today?” Her father, sitting in the driver’s seat, looked straight ahead while gripping the steering wheel seriously with both hands — he was a bit of a smoker, but as long as he was driving, he never touched a cigarette.
“My usual level, I guess? Maybe I performed a bit better than usual in Chinese?” Zhu Ying covered her mouth and yawned. “Dad, is it getting foggy in the car…?”
“I’ll open the window for a bit then,” her father said, rolling down both windows. The dry, cold night wind of the national highway whistled into the car.
“Tomorrow and the day after are the weekend. Time to rest again.”
“Heh, as long as you get that spot for Early Admission, you can rest even more peacefully.”
“I think I’ll definitely pass. I feel like the people in the same testing room as me didn’t seem to be at a very high level.”
“You can tell that much?” Her father grinned slightly. “How can you tell?”
“By their way of speaking and the way they handle things. Most people with good grades are a bit more efficient in their actions, and they don’t sound quite so… stupid.”
“Haha, that’s not necessarily true.”
“Well, that’s just how I feel.”
“Since you think you can pass, then you definitely will.” Her father sat slightly more forward, his eyes widening a bit. “But even if you pass, don’t get lazy. You still need to study when you should, or you won’t be able to keep up in high school — the learning pace in the provincial capital is even faster than in T-City.”
“Don’t pressure me.” Zhu Ying cupped her cheek and pouted. “Dad, can I stay over at a friend’s house tonight?”
“What friend? Male or female?”
“Female, female! It’s Jing, the one who’s been to our house a few times.”
“Oh, that girl. That’s fine, but is it convenient for her family?”
“It’s fine. She only lives with her two older cousins. It’s very convenient.”
“That works, but don’t go out in the middle of the night. Don’t run around; stay inside. Although public safety is getting better and better, you still need to be careful — didn’t it happen last time…?”
“Don’t worry~”
“No wonder you said you wanted to pack some rice cakes. They’re for her, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. They should still be hot when I get there.”
“Where does she live? I’ll drop you off at the building.”
“Just past the Greenhouse Shopping Street. There’s a small plaza on a stretch of the provincial road. Just turn in and stop at the apartment building.”
“Oh — I have a vague memory of it.”
(2)
Outside the window, the streetlights glowed with an orange light. The loud, rowdy sounds of drunkards drifted from the barbecue shops and food stalls. Occasionally, a *clatter* could be heard, though it was unclear whether it was a bottle smashing against the ground or the wind kicking an aluminum can rolling along the roadside.
An Jing sat cross-legged in front of her computer, several chat windows open on her desktop.
She rubbed her fair, tender little feet, wiped a milk stain from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and then began tapping away on the keyboard.
Sometimes, chatting was even more interesting than playing games.
The most interesting part was probably being able to play different roles on the internet.
She had just joined a new anime group, and the people inside had also just joined today. Because they were all strangers, the conversation was exceptionally lively.
[Who changed my name again!!] This was sent by An Jing.
[The original name didn’t suit you. This one sounds better.]
[Hey, hey, I’m a man in his thirties!]
[Do you guys believe him?]
[Nope.]
[I don’t believe it at all.]
[Must be a Little Loli!]
[Exactly, how could someone who talks so cutely be an old man?]
[Who says a middle-aged man has to be old-fashioned? Hmph, you brats. Let me tell you, I’ve eaten more rice than you’ve eaten salt!]
[If you post a selfie, then we’ll believe you.]
[Look.]
[Fake. That’s definitely a picture from the internet.]
[You didn’t even remove the watermark!]
[The Little Loli is so cute!]
[I’m a man! A guy! Do you understand?]
[The more someone insists they’re a guy, the more they aren’t.]
[True.]
[Agreed!]
An Jing appeared to be annoyed, but in reality, she was smiling as she typed — she was actually having quite a bit of fun.
Being the center of attention was an interesting thing. Even though she had become a girl, she occasionally couldn’t help but make herself the focal point when chatting online.
But after playing for a while, she would feel empty again, as if she were doing something foolish.
Humans were just that complex and contradictory.
A knock seemed to echo faintly from outside the room. At first, An Jing thought it was the neighbors, but as she listened closely, she realized it was her own door.
She pushed open her bedroom door and glanced into the living room. Her eldest cousin hadn’t returned yet, and her second cousin was currently taking a shower in the bathroom. Amidst the rising and falling tones of the television commercials, the “thump thump” of the knocking maintained the same steady frequency.
‘Did Sister Huihui forget her keys?’ An Jing thought, somewhat confused. She slipped on her slippers and walked quickly to the door with a *patter-patter* before pulling it open with a *clack*.
Before she could see anything clearly, she felt a gust of wind as a soft body crashed into her arms. Shaggy hair brushed against the tip of her nose, making her sneeze.
“Achoo!!”
“Jing~!”
“Eh… huh?? It’s so late. What are you doing here?”
“What, am I not welcome?”
“No, it’s just… aren’t your parents worried?”
“My dad dropped me off. I told him I was staying over at a friend’s house.”
“Ah…?”
“So, we’re sleeping together tonight!”
“My bed is very small…”
“It’s more fun if we squeeze.” Zhu Ying’s head rubbed vigorously against An Jing’s chest before she finally looked up, raising the cardboard box in her hand. “Ta-da! Look, I brought you something good.”
“What is it?”
“I bought them at a large mall in T-City. Bean Rice Cakes.”
“Bean Rice Cakes?”
“You’ve never had them?”
“No.”
“The clerk said they were a local specialty.”
“…Local to where?”
“Maybe T-City?”
“But I already ate dinner.”
“It’s fine, it’s just a little snack. Eat it while it’s hot. Look, it’s still warm — I kept it warm the whole way.”
“Then let’s eat in front of the computer while watching a movie or something.”
“The activity for tonight is watching a movie? What were you doing before I came?”
“Nothing much, just chatting…”
Zhu Ying nodded with her cheek puffed out. She took off her shoes by the door and was looking for slippers when An Jing took a pair out of the shoe cabinet for her. “I only have flip-flops left. You’ll have to make do.”
“It’s fine. The weather’s already warmed up, so there’s no need for cotton slippers anyway.” Zhu Ying slid her white-sock-clad feet into the flip-flops — they were one-size-fits-all, which was much too large for her size thirty-five feet. As she walked, they made a *patter-patter* sound, just like An Jing’s.
Actually, An Jing had a pair of slippers that fit perfectly, but she still preferred to wear larger ones — she felt that larger slippers were more comfortable.
Yu Mingfei had just stepped out of the bathroom, steam rising from her body. She shook her wet, short hair and was about to grab the hair dryer in the living room when she saw Zhu Ying, who had just finished changing her shoes.
“Oh? Who’s this?”
“Hello, Sister Feifei! I’m staying over at Jing’s tonight.”
“That’s fine, but did your parents agree?”
“My dad dropped me off himself!”
“Then it’s okay.” Yu Mingfei nodded. “Have you eaten dinner?”
“I have! And I brought snacks too. Look, Bean Rice Cakes. Sister Feifei, do you want to try some?”
“Bean Rice Cakes?”
“Like this —” Zhu Ying *snapped* open the lid. Inside were square pieces of rice cakes filled with red beans, mung beans, and black beans.
“Is it bean paste filling?”
“No, it’s salty.”
“Salty? Let me try.” Yu Mingfei wasn’t polite; she reached out with a still-damp hand to grab one and bit half of it off in one go. “Mmm… mmm… Is it glutinous rice? It kind of is, but also kind of isn’t…”
“It’s a mix of both, so it’s not especially sticky, and it’s softer than regular rice cakes.”
“I see… the beans are powdery and delicious.”
“Right? Jing, you try some too?”
“Wait, let me get two cans of milk. We can eat while we watch the movie.”
Zhu Ying pouted and put the lid back on. “Hmph… Jing isn’t enthusiastic at all. I went through all that trouble to bring them back for you.”
“Huh? No… I just thought that naturally, good food should be enjoyed slowly while sitting down. Wouldn’t it be a waste to just eat it casually?”
“Eh, is that how it is? But… at least have a taste.”
“Of course!” An Jing said with a serious face. She looked at Zhu Ying’s empty right hand, hesitated for two seconds, and then grabbed it. “The better something is, the more seriously it should be treated! Come eat in my room!”
“Whoa — slow down, I’m going to fall!”
*Bang!*
The sound of the bedroom door being slammed shut followed.
Yu Mingfei put the remaining half of the rice cake into her mouth, chewing with puffed cheeks as she watched the closed door. ‘That’s the first time I’ve seen that little brat take the initiative. No… does that count as initiative? Or being forceful? Forcefully dragging a girl into the room… Tsk, I must be losing it. Why did I think that was romantic?’
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