(1)
Perhaps it was because the summer sunlight was too strong, making the clouds in the sky appear exceptionally white, as fluffy and soft as freshly washed and dried cotton.
Logically, clouds should be formed from condensed dust, but when looking up at the azure sky, one felt that the white clouds were spotless…
In front of An Jing and Zhu Ying, a big yellow dog was chewing crushed ice with relish. Whether this was a new experience for it or not, it seemed to be enjoying itself.
“It seems to like it.”
“Hard to say…” An Jing scratched her slightly sweaty cheek. “I’ve never seen it dislike anything. Last time, I even saw it licking ants off the ground out of boredom.”
“It eats bugs?”
“That’s right, it’s not picky at all. It might even eat cockroaches.”
“Ew—don’t talk about that!”
“Speaking of which, dogs cool down through their tongues, so eating ice should be like having air conditioning for it, right?”
“When you put it that way, Xiao Jing—it really does seem like it!”
“What would it be like if humans could also cool down with their tongues…”
“If everyone had to stick out their tongues and pant in summer, that image… that image is just unimaginable.” Zhu Ying suddenly rolled her eyes mischievously. “But—I suddenly want to see what Xiao Jing looks like sticking out her tongue and panting!”
“…Why are you looking at me with that weird expression? Eek—!!”
“How can I make Xiao Jing stick out her tongue and pant…”
“Stop, stop, stop! I’m not a puppy!”
“Ehehe~”
“Let’s go upstairs! It’s so hot! I need to use the fan!” An Jing hurriedly stomped up the stairs with a clatter, running towards the upper floor.
“Xiao Jing, you’ve run too far! Your home isn’t on that floor—!”
(2)
At a little past two in the afternoon, the house was empty but not lonely. Sunlight streamed through the beautiful stained glass, turning from gold into a riot of colors.
This was the kitchen window, the only stained glass in the house.
—The original pane had always been shaky, about to fall off at any moment. Minghui Yu simply paid out of her own pocket to replace it with a brand new one. She even specifically called An Jing and Yu Mingfei to vote. In the end, An Jing voted for this slightly more expensive stained glass that didn’t match the style of the other rooms at all, making the same choice as Minghui Yu.
And so this stained glass came into the house.
But it only felt new for a few days. After that, An Jing didn’t pay much attention to it.
Seeing the colorful patches of light today suddenly reminded her of the time when the glass was first installed—on sunny days, every time she came out of the bathroom, she couldn’t help but take a few more looks, always under the illusion that she was living in a church.
“Xiao Jing—Xiao Jing——?”
“Ah… ah?” An Jing shook her head vigorously, snapping back to reality, and moved her gaze to Zhu Ying’s chubby-cheeked face. “What’s up?”
“There’s not much food in the fridge. Should we go downstairs to buy more?”
“What do we have? Let me see…” An Jing leaned in. “The cold air feels nice. Phew. Hmm—there’s tofu, and green beans…”
“That’s it. I already checked. There’s nothing in the upper shelf. Just these. Is there anything in the freezer below?”
“I don’t know. Huihui Jie usually does the cooking.” An Jing muttered as she pulled open the freezer door. An even cooler blast of cold air hit her, making her squint involuntarily.
Then came the sound of opening drawers with a rustle.
Before summer arrived, Minghui Yu had been worried that many things would not keep well in the hot weather. Although they could be put in the fridge, ingredients stored too long would lose their flavor. So she deliberately cleared out the ingredients that had been piling up since the New Year—now it was practically empty, with nothing but a small box of popsicles.
“There’s nothing in the freezer.”
“Old-fashioned sweet popsicles. Does Huihui Jie like these simple ones?”
“Those are what Fei Jie loves to eat.” An Jing shook her head. “Hmm… we really don’t have much ingredients… I don’t know if it’s enough for the two of us…”
“Should we go downstairs and buy some more?”
“Go downstairs again? It feels so hot…”
Knock knock.
Just as she turned the fan to blow on herself, there was a soft knock at the door.
“Did Xiao Jing’s sisters come back?”
“Probably not. Huihui Jie and Fei Jie both have keys… maybe it’s the landlord coming to collect rent?” An Jing muttered, quickly hopping to the door barefoot. “Who is it——?”
“Hello—I’m your neighbor——”
An Jing pulled the door open in slight confusion, and saw a young woman standing at the door. She was dressed in neat, loose clothing, looking like she was either about to go out or just came back. “Hello, is your older sister home?”
“Huihui Jie? Uh… she’s not here today.” An Jing took a closer look in the bright sunlight and recognized her as the woman next door who lived alone with a little boy—sometimes when she had errands, she would leave the kid here to watch cartoons until she came back.
“I see. Then put this in the fridge first, and remember to tell her when she gets back.”
“What’s this… Huh? Cucumbers?” An Jing blinked, looking at the large bag of cucumbers the woman handed over. The ends still had pretty yellow flowers, looking as fresh as if just picked. “So many…”
“They’re all homegrown on the balcony. I accidentally ended up with a lot of cucumbers. They don’t grow very big, and it’s getting hotter, so if I don’t pick them, they’ll all get too old.”
“Okay… thank you.”
“Oh, and tell your sister that these cucumbers can be eaten raw. Just wash them. They’re tastier than the regular big ones.”
“O-okay.”
“If you’re going to use them, it’s best to use them while they’re fresh. They’ll go soft in a few days.”
“Ah, ah?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing!!” An Jing shook her head frantically, while Zhu Ying quietly crept over from inside the room, blinking curiously.
“Applying fresh ones on the face has the best effect. That’s all. Remember to tell your sister.”
“Ohh… okay…” An Jing nodded awkwardly, watched the woman turn and go downstairs, then slowly closed the door.
“Hehe—Xiao Jing was thinking something dirty just now, wasn’t she?”
“What dirty thing? Ahem… what are you talking about…”
“Still playing dumb? I heard all your thoughts just now—something like ‘Huihui Jie actually uses cucumbers for…’ and so on.”
“How have you been able to read my mind so often lately!”
Zhu Ying smirked slyly, gently pinching An Jing’s cheek. “Too bad, Xiao Jing~ Recently, for some reason, whenever I want, I can hear it. No limit on times or time. The only side effect is that listening for a long time makes me thirsty.”
“Be careful you don’t wet your pants!”
“Tch, do you think I’m you?”
“Damn, your side effect is so mild. Unfair!”
“After all, I can only hear Xiao Jing’s.”
“What about Wangwang’s?”
“I can’t hear it. I tried with others too, no matter what, I can’t. But only Xiao Jing’s—whenever I want, I can hear it.” Zhu Ying covered her mouth and snickered. “So~ Xiao Jing has no secrets from me now, right?”
“It’s bad to listen randomly! People always have all sorts of weird thoughts!”
“But it’s fun, isn’t it! I even saw the image you imagined just now. But you used your own body to imagine it. Could it be—”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t hear it. I can’t hear anything!” An Jing scurried into the kitchen in panic. “Now let me quickly make dinner!”
“It’s still early!”
“At least let me cook the rice first!”
(3)
The rice cooker made a click sound, and a rich fragrance of rice wafted out from the kitchen.
Zhu Ying, sitting on the living room sofa, was laughing uncontrollably at the TV show “Pleasant Goat,” giggling for a long time.
The newspaper on the coffee table happened to be open to the page about this cartoon.
The big headline read: “Marry a Man Like Grey Wolf” – it was particularly eye-catching.
“I will definitely come back~~~~”
With that iconic shout, an episode ended.
Commercials eagerly jumped in, playing endlessly like brainwashing:
“KFC’s Meal Time—Bacon Mushroom Chicken Rice, generous portions, only 18 yuan!”
“Rejoice Remarkable New Upgrade, smoothness naturally stands out…”
“Step by Step Point Reader, point wherever you don’t know!”
“Haoxiangni, so sweet~ Eat jujube slices every day, miss you every day—”
“Xiao Jing, the rice is ready?”
“Hmm! Are you hungry?” As An Jing stood up, the newspaper on the table was blown several pages over by the early summer breeze with a rustle. So she simply closed the newspaper and placed the empty fruit tray on top to weigh it down.
“Not really hungry. Actually, I don’t have much appetite.”
“Is it not hungry or no appetite… Actually, it’s almost four o’clock.”
“Should be no appetite? Hmm… what does Xiao Jing plan to make?”
“Something refreshing to go with rice, of course.” An Jing counted on her fingers. “Cold cucumber salad, cold tofu…”
“Can the cucumber be sweet?”
“Add sugar? That works. Sweet stuff is easier to eat, I guess. After all, it’s summer.”
“Right~”
“Oh, we also have barley tea at home. There’s a large bottle in the fridge.”
“Want to drink?”
“No. I plan to use it for tea-soaked rice.”
“Cold barley tea? For tea-soaked rice?”
“Yeah, since the rice is hot, I’ll pour the barley tea over it. If you want it savory, sprinkle some soy sauce. If not, leave it out.”
“Will it taste good?”
“Of course. Didn’t I purposely put the green beans in the rice to cook together? Now it’s green bean barley tea rice. I made it once last summer!”
“Sounds so unusual. Let’s try it~!”
“Wait, I need to find a food bag…”
“What do you need a food bag for?”
“To put the cut cucumbers in the bag and smash them, of course. That way they won’t splatter everywhere.” An Jing answered as if it were obvious.
“Huh, that’s a good idea. I’ll tell my mom next time. Every time she smashes cucumbers, the kitchen gets splattered everywhere…”