(1)
The day before the Zhong Kao, a call from her father—of course, this couldn’t be a spur-of-the-moment decision.
He had probably planned for a long time to encourage his child today, so she could do well tomorrow.
An Jing could almost imagine the various life philosophies spilling out from her father’s end, mixed with encouragement.
But his opening was completely different from what she had expected.
“Uh… have you eaten?”
“Yes.”
“Oh… was it good?”
“Good.”
“Is it raining?”
“It’s raining.”
Yu Mingfei and Yu Minghui both lowered their voices as they talked, while Zhu Ying sat with her hands on the chair seat, listening with interest to An Jing and her father’s slightly awkward small talk.
It felt less like a father and more like a relative she rarely saw.
The long silence weighed on the heart, as if bedtime had arrived early, making her want to just lie back and crawl into the blanket and fall asleep.
“Zhong Kao is tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
“Do well on the exam.”
“I know.”
“I’ll come pick you up a couple days after the exam.”
“What about my files and report card? Not taking them?”
“Have your sister take them and mail them over. Anyway, you’ve already filled in your preferences ahead of time.”
“Alright…”
“Bring all your stuff. We might not come back here.”
“Oh, I know. When exactly?”
“Not sure. Sometime around those days.”
“Okay…”
“Been busy lately.”
“Uh… I know.” An Jing scratched her head, wanting to say something funny, but when she opened her mouth, she wasn’t sure if she should say the joke in her mind. Thinking that the joke wouldn’t make her father laugh, she hesitated and fell silent again.
“Do well. It shouldn’t be hard for you. When the scores come out, just enroll at the school I arranged. That one is guaranteed. If you have the drive, you can take the screening exams for other key high schools, but that’s much harder than the Zhong Kao. You might not get in, and that’s fine too…”
“Mom definitely wouldn’t like hearing you say that.” An Jing finally found a spot to make a joke.
“Ha…”
“Is Mom busy lately too?”
“About the same. She’s been in a terrible mood lately. Can’t talk to her.”
“Uh…”
“Anyway, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. It’s nothing. Your dad only went to a da zhuan back then, later retook exams for a different bachelor’s degree. Don’t worry about stuff like ‘only one chance.'”
“Dad, this is Zhong Kao. College is a whole different story.”
“Same thing. High school is easier to handle. No matter what, I’ll get you in. The regular high schools in the province capital are no worse than the key high schools over there.”
“Like I could just breeze through the exam…”
“You still need to pass the line. Too bad won’t work. Just perform normally.”
“Mm, I know.”
“Other… other than that, nothing else. Just do well.”
“You’ve said that a few times already.”
“Ha… then I’ll hang up.”
“Bye.”
An Jing’s relationship with her father wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly good either.
Behind others, her father was still relatively easy to talk to—it was just that in group settings, he had more demands on her.
Thinking about what her father had just said, An Jing gently shook her head. Then she thought about her special status. Maybe even without her father’s help, she’d have no problem just picking any regular high school in Z Province.
She didn’t know much about politics, but she figured that no matter what, a research institute that big had to be at least provincial-level investment…
And she happened to be an important figure at that institute.
— Although it was the kind of “importance” that came from being researched.
An Jing shook her head, but the phone rang again.
It was from her father again.
She tilted her head to glance at Zhu Ying, who twitched her ear like a little cat. Somewhat puzzled, she answered again: “What is it?”
“How’s life as a girl… are you used to it?”
“It’s been this long. I’m kind of used to it… even if I’m not, I have to be.” An Jing rubbed her slightly bloated lower abdomen and sighed helplessly.
“Good that you can get used to it…”
“Yeah, all this is an accident. Even you, Dad, can’t help much.”
“Yeah… your mom’s even more worried. She keeps saying things like ‘son turned into daughter, when she marries out, she’ll belong to someone else’s family.'”
“Uh… Mom grew up in the city, how can she be so feudal? What era is it… and I’m not going to marry anyone!”
“Haha, I don’t mind. A daughter is fine too.”
“Let me be clear—I’m not going to like men.”
“No problem. You can like whatever you want. I’ve got your back.”
“That good?”
“Haha, don’t overthink it. You’re only in ninth grade. There’s plenty of time ahead. Who knows, maybe something will change again.”
“Tch… I don’t think so.” An Jing pouted.
“I had someone buy you a lot of nice clothes. Not sure if they’ll fit. Try them on when you come over.”
“You didn’t buy too many, did you…”
“Don’t worry. I got approximate measurements from Huihui, and a professional did the shopping. Shouldn’t be any problems.”
“I’m not worried about not fitting… it’s just… they’re girls’ clothes after all.”
“Gotta get used to it gradually. It’s fine. Wear them if you want. I just got carried away and had someone buy a bunch.”
“… Fine.”
“Alright then, uh… alright?”
“Okay…”
“Hanging up now.”
The phone on the other end went click.
An Jing breathed a slight sigh of relief. “Phew, done.”
“What’d he say? Is he coming to pick you up?” Yu Mingfei rested her chin on her hand.
“He said he’s coming to pick me up…”
Yu Minghui raised her eyelids slightly in confusion. “Twelfth Uncle said earlier that he might need me to send you over.”
“Maybe he thinks he’ll have time then…”
“It’s fine. If he doesn’t have time, Huihui can take you. I’d like to go to the province capital and have some fun too.”
“Sister Fei, do you have vacation time…”
“We’ll leave on Friday and come back on Sunday!”
“That’s so rushed.”
“Close enough. We can play all day Saturday. We can visit Silver Lake, Silver Peak Pagoda, Lingyin Temple…”
“And go to Silver Mountain Square, and walk down Silver Street.”
“I wonder if there’ll be a high tide. We could go to Silver Pond River too…”
“Why are there so many ‘Silver’ attractions in the province capital? Might as well rename it Silver City…” An Jing couldn’t help muttering.
“Alright, Xiao Jing, get some rest early today.” Yu Minghui started clearing the dishes from the table. “Go to bed early so you’ll have energy for the exam tomorrow.”
“Okay—can I take a bath today?”
“Just to be safe, just wipe yourself down. You haven’t sweated anyway, and it’s raining today.”
“Fine, I’ll wipe down and then lie down. Oh, and I need to check my stationery so I don’t forget anything tomorrow morning.”
“You handle it yourself. Just go to bed early.”
“Okay~”
It was eight o’clock in the evening. The TV in the living room was playing loudly, mixed with the crisp sound of someone eating puffed snacks.
An Jing was already lying in bed. The lights in the room were off. She stared at the flowing shadows on the ceiling, feeling an inexplicable excitement about going to bed earlier than everyone else—which paradoxically made her unable to sleep.
Suddenly, the doorknob turned. The closed door cracked open slightly, and the warm orange light from the living room slanted in, illuminating a corner of the room and the girl wrapped in a bath towel.
She tiptoed into the room, gently closed the door, and slowly sat down by An Jing’s bed.
“What are you doing…”
“Oh, I thought Xiao Jing was asleep.”
“Nope, not sleepy at all.”
“Oh~ Do you mind if I change clothes here?”
“Huh—?”
“I’ve got nothing on under the towel, you know?”
“Hey hey!!” An Jing watched Zhu Ying, who was about to pull off the towel, and hurriedly turned her face away. But then she heard the latter’s teasing chuckle. Pfft, “Just kidding. Why are you acting shy? You’ve already got the image in your head.”
“Cheater, you peeked at my thoughts again!”
“I brought a big cup of water in today. I can peek as much as I want without worrying about getting thirsty~”
“I curse you to wet the bed tonight.”
“You think everyone’s like you?”
“Hey hey hey!”
Zhu Ying, wearing a black tank top with purple lines, tossed the towel onto An Jing’s face, lifted a corner of the thin blanket, and slowly slipped in.
The simple wire bed let out a creak. In the still not-quiet night, it had a strangely pleasant sound.
“Nervous?”
“About tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“A little bit.”
“Really, there’s nothing to be nervous about. Xiao Jing is so important to the research institute. Just use a little privilege, right?”
“No.”
“Why not? It’s free to use.”
“There’s no such thing as free stuff… I don’t really understand social stuff, but I was reading a novel called ‘Shen Mu,’ and there are some lines I really agree with—nothing is obtained for free. You always pay a price, either now or in the future… so it’s better to rely on yourself.”
“Mm…”
“For example, if I use privilege to get something done, then later I might have to contribute more… experimental value?”
“True. Didn’t expect Xiao Jing to think about all that.”
“Even though adults don’t like us reading those ‘trash books,’ I think they’re still useful. At the very least, they explain principles in a simple way, so we don’t have to wait until we grow up to understand.”
“Is it good? I’m writing a story too. Let me learn from it.”
“Uh, it probably won’t help your story. It’s mostly stuff guys like.”
“It doesn’t matter! Master one, and you master all!”
“After the exam, let’s go to Xinhua Bookstore and buy the published version. I read it online before, and it was full of typos…”
“Yeah~”
“Oh, when are your parents coming back?”
“Don’t know. They said they had to go to B City for some important business. Seems very hush-hush. No idea what it is.”
“Didn’t they say when?”
“No. Anyway, they’ll come back when they’re done.”
“Looks like you can stay at my place for a few more days…”
“How about you come over to my place for a few nights? Just the two of us. Even more exciting~”
“Eww!!”