(1)
After all, summer had only just arrived. The cicadas’ electronic orchestra hadn’t yet taken over the entire city. Only during moments of absent-mindedness could you occasionally hear a cicada’s chirp.
The long days meant that even when school let out at a little past five, it wasn’t dim. The evening glow hung high, seeming to bring plenty of light and heat, delaying the arrival of night.
That was how summer was—it always made you feel like there was plenty of time to do lots of things, to the point where even your heart grew leisured, and you couldn’t help but focus on other trivial matters.
“Xiao! Jing!”
“Ah, are you done?” An Jing didn’t turn around, just naturally grabbed Zhu Ying’s small hand, which was a bit damp and cool.
“Mm, what are you looking at?”
“A green beetle is crawling on the telephone pole. It looks like a toy made of metal.” “It’s huge… Oh, it flew away.”
“Yeah… Let’s go home?”
“Mm.”
The school gate was crowded with students, and several temporary stalls had long lines. Simple fried sticky rice cakes and pan-fried tofu were the most delicious snacks for students on the way home.
The still-bright sunlight shone on the streets of the small town. The wind kicked up a little dust, and the dappled tree shadows swayed gently.
An Jing and Zhu Ying walked unhurriedly through the light and shadow: past the crowded school gate, past the road where the crosswalk was being repainted, past the white stone arch bridge that spanned a small river, and past a street lined with shops that were mostly closed.
Finally, they arrived in front of the commercial street, decorated with colorful flags and holding summer promotional events.
It was the same city, not far apart, but some places were particularly quiet while others were especially lively.
An Jing and Zhu Ying bought a bottled soda from a small shop at the entrance, asked for two long colorful plastic straws, each using one hand to hold the bottle, and paused in tacit understanding in front of a small tricycle at the shopping street entrance.
Stacks of cages were piled on the tricycle. Rabbits of different colors, big and small, lay quietly inside—some nibbling grass, some dozing with half-closed eyes.
These little animals were most popular with children—they had no resistance to these fluffy creatures and would pester their parents to buy one, with excuses like “I’ll study hard if you buy it” and “It’ll stay in the cage and won’t dirty the room.”
An Jing and Zhu Ying had no intention of buying, but seeing such cute little things, they couldn’t help stopping to look. Zhu Ying even wanted to reach out and touch one. Seeing that the boss didn’t react, she boldly stuck her finger into the cage—it was a rabbit about the size of a cat.
“Ah—” The next second, Zhu Ying withdrew her hand in surprise.
“What’s wrong?”
“It gently rubbed its teeth against my finger. I was afraid it would bite me.”
“It just looks like it’s testing if it’s food…” An Jing wasn’t interested in such a large rabbit; she preferred smaller, more delicate ones. “Look at that black-and-white one. Doesn’t it look like a panda?”
“It’s a pity there are no ‘dark circles’ around its eyes, otherwise it would be even more similar.”
“Xiao Ying, do you like keeping pets?”
“Sort of. It’s fine to just look. I’m not the type who’s good at taking care of animals—when I think about having to deal with their hygiene, I find it too troublesome.”
“Pfft, you’re so impatient.” “What about Xiao Jing?”
“I used to keep quite a few in the village, but it’s different from raising animals in the city. In the village, the animals could run around on their own, and they’d come back at mealtime.”
“If it’s like that, it’s convenient, but I feel like they’re not completely mine. I can’t pet them whenever I want—so I’m really not suited to having a pet.”
“Yeah, you’re suited to being kept as a pet…”
“Oh? Xiao Jing dares to say such things? Watch me turn Xiao Jing into a pet—”
“There isn’t a cage big enough, is there?”
“Hmm—there probably is? I feel like I’ve seen a cage that could fit Xiao Jing. It suddenly seems very interesting, right?”
“It’s more like stuffing you in there…”
“Damn it, Xiao Jing actually talks back now. You’re not someone I can bully anymore. Not happy!”
“This is called… adding a bit of challenge for you.” “Before it was easy mode, now it’s medium difficulty, right?” Zhu Ying took a big gulp of soda, puffed out her cheeks, and yelled, “Little Xiao Jing still can’t escape my grasp!”
“Little Xiao Ying…”
“Who’s ‘little’? Who’s ‘little’?”
“Pfft, hahaha… Don’t, don’t tickle me… People are watching… Mercy, I was wrong, I was wrong! Pfft… It tickles, so ticklish!”
—
(2)
The garbage in the alley had been cleaned up, making it look more spacious and tidy than before. Many more people were willing to take this shortcut home.
An Jing looked at these small changes and couldn’t help gently squeezing Zhu Ying’s hand. The latter squeezed back in response. “What’s up?”
“Feels like life is getting better and better.”
“Of course~ Oh, we’re here. Do you want to stay over at my place tonight?”
“How can I just casually stay over at your place…” An Jing muttered and pouted. “See you tomorrow.”
“After you finish your homework, do you want to play games?”
“I’ve been getting more and more assignments lately… No time to play.”
“I kind of don’t want to do it.”
“You can afford not to do it, since you’ve already been early admitted…” An Jing let go of Zhu Ying’s hand. “But don’t slack off too much. There’s still the class placement exam. If your grades aren’t good, you’ll be placed in a bad class—most bad classes have a lot of delinquent youths, right?”
“That’s high school, not junior high. If you can get into high school, it can’t be that bad, right? Besides, if our class counts, then it’s not a good class either, is it?”
“The last few classes at No. 2 Middle School aren’t divided by grades…” An Jing tightened the straps of her schoolbag and lifted it up. “But in any case, in the classes closer to the front, there will be more people who study. At least there won’t be too many troublesome matters like this and that. You saw Awei got beaten up before because he got into trouble.”
“Alright, alright, why are you lecturing me in a tone like an elder? Even if I’m early admitted, I’ll still do my homework properly. I just won’t be so proactive about reviewing. It’s really a pity that Xiao Jing didn’t take that early admission exam. Otherwise, we could be free now and go out to play every day after school!”
“Hey hey, you’re being too relaxed. After junior high comes high school, after high school comes university. It’s still early to relax.” An Jing said helplessly. “And I don’t want to be early admitted. I want to take the Zhong Kao to get some experience. Then when it’s time for the Gao Kao, I’ll have experience and won’t be so nervous.”
“Get early admitted during Gao Kao?”
“Getting early admitted to university is much harder than getting early admitted to high school. Alright, I’m going home now. Bye!”
“Bye~! Remember to check your messages when you get back!”
“I know.”
“Today I’ll send you a nice photo! Hmph, a beautiful girl out of bath picture!”
“Eww!!”
—
(3)
Summer evenings were long. When An Jing reached the small square in front of the apartment, the sky had hardly changed; it was still bright.
At the square, the wandering singer that she hadn’t seen in a long time was there again. This time, he didn’t seem to be there to make money, because when someone tried to put money into the box in front of him, he even waved his hand to refuse.
“Where did he get rich? Otherwise, why would he sing just for fun…” An Jing muttered to herself and walked around him. But when the melody of another song started playing, she, who was already almost out of the small square, suddenly froze, then quickly turned around. “Huh?!”
Usually, she often heard pop songs playing in shopping malls and at store entrances, and she also saw many street singers singing old songs. But she had never heard an anime song outside before, whether played or sung…
Anime fans were still a small circle in this era. Even on the all-encompassing internet, finding a like-minded person in a non-anime-related group was a pleasant surprise, let alone in real life.
“The theme song of Yosuga no Sora…” An Jing murmured to herself. “Too bad it’s sung by a man.”
Even so, she still stopped and stood at the edge of the small square, silently listening to the man finish that anime Japanese song.
She felt an impulse to go over and ask for his QQ number, and wondered if she went street-singing and sang anime songs, would anyone come to listen…
Countless thoughts raced through her mind at that moment. Her right leg almost stepped forward, but then a hand slapped her shoulder.
“You little rascal, you’re back.”
“Ah… Fei Jie.” An Jing quickly turned around. “You’re off work very early today.”
“I just didn’t work overtime.” Yu Mingfei vigorously rubbed her head. “Were you listening to that guy sing?”
“Because it was an anime song, I couldn’t help stopping to listen.”
“That guy was a blind date my dad introduced to me. Ah… so he’s still singing on the streets everywhere.”
“He might not be singing for money. I saw someone give him money just now, and he refused.”
“Oh? Did he get rich? Win the lottery?”
“Can’t you think something good of him for once…” An Jing gave Yu Mingfei a displeased look. “Maybe he already has a stable job and this is just a hobby after work?”
“That’s true.”
“Fei Jie, since you know him, do you want to say hello?”
“We only had a cup of coffee at the blind date. It would be awkward to say hello now. Come on, what do you want to eat for dinner?”
“Huh? Isn’t Huihui Jie cooking dinner?”
“Huihui went to some editor party… She won’t be home for a few days.”
“Right, she stays home every day. I forgot she actually has a job.”
“Her job is way easier than mine. I’m so jealous.”
“Why don’t you do the same, Fei Jie?”
“Me? I’ll pass. I don’t have that skill, and I’m not cut out for it. By the way, if you’re not in a hurry, after I get my hair cut, we can go eat. How about that?”
“Sure, I’ll go home and drop off my schoolbag—that hair salon is open again?”
“Yeah, I saw it open when I came back.”
“I thought they had closed for good.”
“Probably just went back to their hometown?”
“Isn’t that like half a month?”
“Maybe someone in the family passed away, and they went back to handle matters.”
“…Fei Jie, are you cursing?”
“Am I?”
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