The old Jetta had seen better days.
The interior was worn and shabby, carrying a sour, mildewed smell of bamboo and water in the summer heat. Combined with the cold breeze from the air conditioner that carried a faint hint of gasoline, it made An Jing feel dizzy the moment she sat down.
“Dad, don’t you think you should get the car washed or something?”
“Hm? It’s not like I haven’t washed it.” Father let out an awkward chuckle. “Old cars are just like this. We’ll buy a new one next year.”
“What are you planning to buy?”
“A Hongqi.”
“Oh—very retro-official vibes, huh.”
Father grinned, released the handbrake, and slowly pulled the car out of the residential area.
The roads in this old factory dormitory neighborhood were narrow, with people coming and going everywhere, and there were always three-wheeled carts or cars parked along the curb. Getting out quickly was basically an impossibility.
Father didn’t leave through the main gate. Instead, he drove past the bicycle shed in the neighborhood and ambled his way toward the river.
An Jing glanced back at the long, single-story building. Parking there wasn’t free—bicycles and electric scooters both had to be paid for, and the prices were different: electric scooters cost a bit more.
Though the upside was that electric scooters could charge for free inside.
Grandfather had once told An Jing that it used to be the old factory’s parking shelter, later expanded and renovated into what it was now, and no longer open for just anyone to park in.
When the fees were first introduced, some retired old workers had gone to argue about it, saying it was collective property or something like that. But in the end, they were turned away by a property ownership certificate.
Kids, though, didn’t think too deeply about such things. When she was little and came to Grandfather’s house for summer vacation, she and her friends would use the place as one of their hide-and-seek spots. The space was big, there were plenty of vehicles, and kids were small—they could always find a hiding spot without making the playing area too large. Nobody would end up searching for ages without finding a single person.
“Did you sleep well last night?” Father seemed unsure what to talk about with her. After a brief silence, he casually picked a topic, trying to seem natural.
Still, a question like that was far more natural than asking “Have you eaten?” or saying “Nice weather today.” At least it wasn’t as awkward.
“I ate…”
“What?” Father was momentarily confused.
An Jing hastily waved her hands, tossing the stray thoughts from her mind. She’d gotten distracted by something else and blurted out a completely unrelated answer.
“Last night… last night I slept well because the food was good.”
“That figures. It’s not like it’s your first time staying at your grandfather’s place.”
“Yeah, but it’s been a while since I last came, so it feels pretty fresh.” An Jing lightly scratched her cheek. “Dad, once the scores come out, I’ll just go straight to the school exams, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I’ve arranged a few schools for you. I even brought the brochures and materials today—you can pick one you’re interested in.”
“Key high schools or regular ones?”
“Both.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Take a look yourself. The regular high schools are basically guaranteed admissions. The key ones will depend entirely on how well you do on the exams.”
The car crept forward, then Father suddenly floored the gas to climb up a ramp, making An Jing, who was already dizzy from the smell, squeeze her eyes shut—if she didn’t, she feared she’d throw up on the spot.
“Mm… whew… Is it far?”
“Not too far.”
“Oh… Downtown?”
“No, a bit further out toward the suburbs.” Father instinctively reached for a cigarette, but after glancing at An Jing, he silently tucked the pack back into his pocket. “There’s a regular high school over there too. If you go to school there, the commute would be really short.”
“How’s that high school?”
“Good school culture, decent college admission rates, and more female students. Maybe it’d suit you better.”
“More girls, huh…” An Jing twisted the corner of her mouth. “That might actually be worse… a bunch of girls. I’m not sure I’d fit in.”
“Heh, well, that’ll be your choice to make.”
“Dad, how’s work going?” An Jing leaned back fully into her seat, eyes barely open, feeling the car accelerate smoothly onto the main road.
“Critical period. Just about this month or so.”
“No… I mean, are you tired or not?”
“Heh, it’s fine. I can still find time to handle personal matters.”
“Oh, I…” An Jing licked her lips and lowered her voice a little, feeling a bit shy. “Thanks for working so hard…”
“Hm? What?” Father didn’t seem to have heard clearly.
“Uh… nothing.” An Jing shook her head. “Is the house big?”
“Big. It’s by the lake, and it’s a high-rise.”
“A high-rise building, huh? So there’s an elevator?”
“Of course there is.”
“Oh, high-rises are nice. Great views.”
“Haha, yeah.” Talking about the house they’d be moving into soon brought a smile to Father’s face. “When the time comes, the whole family will live together, share our lives, and enjoy some peaceful, happy days.”
“So why don’t you just live at Grandfather’s place? There are empty rooms there, you know.”
“It’s too far from work. Not convenient.”
“Is the new house convenient?”
“It’s way more convenient, no question.” Father replied cheerfully. “Oh, by the way, the clothes I bought for you—I’ll leave them at your grandfather’s place for now. Wear whichever ones you like, and leave the ones you don’t.”
“Ah… Dad, how many did you buy?”
“Not many. Just four cardboard boxes—one for each season.”
“Since when is that not many?!”
“How is that a lot? A winter down jacket alone takes up half a box.”
An Jing pouted, wanting to ask about Father’s fashion sense, but after hesitating for a long while, she kept the words to herself.
Silence filled the car once more.
When Father spoke again, he only got halfway through the sentence: “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself because of your identity. As a—oh, we’re here.”
An Jing nodded, waiting for him to finish.
But even after getting out of the car, he never picked up the thread again.
Maybe he didn’t know how to comfort An Jing either.
Luckily, An Jing didn’t really need comforting. She immediately shifted her attention to the high-rise residential building in front of her.
It looked like it had been built not too long ago. Construction materials were still scattered around the neighborhood, renovation noises echoed from every direction, and the freshly planted greenery looked half-dead under the scorching summer heat.
“The area’s nice, right?”
“Lots of greenery. And the mountain seems pretty close.”
“Great air, great environment, and it’s not too far from downtown. Very convenient.” Father introduced with a hint of pride, pressing his palm against An Jing’s back. “Come on, let’s head up.”
The elevator looked dirty, with protective plywood panels still on the walls—clearly because people doing renovations were constantly hauling materials up and down.
The building only had eight floors, so the stairs wouldn’t take long either. The elevator was even faster.
Before she knew it, a ding sounded, and An Jing followed Father out into the hallway.
Dust covered everything in the corridor. It was clear the place wouldn’t be clean until most people finished their renovations.
Father stopped in front of a dusty security door, flipped open a cover beside the lock, and quickly entered a few numbers. The door clicked and swung open automatically.
“Whoa! An electronic lock?!”
“Haha, an electronic passcode lock. I figured it wasn’t too pricey, so I got one. Now I don’t even need to carry keys when I leave.”
“So high-tech, Dad.”
“That counts as high-tech?” Father’s face couldn’t hide his grin. “Come on, let’s go in. There’s plenty more high-tech stuff inside.”
“What high-tech stuff?”
“You’ll see—remember to take off your shoes.”
The rooms had already been cleaned, with furniture neatly arranged in place.
It looked like it was ready for people to move in.
But the moment she stepped inside, An Jing caught a strong smell of paint, making her raise her little hand and fan the air.
Father swapped into slippers, strode in quickly, and opened all the remaining closed windows in the living room, letting a breeze carrying a hint of coolness blow through the house.
Though the eighth floor wasn’t that high, the wind up here was clearly cooler than on the first floor.
“Phew…”
“Haha, now you know why we can’t move in during summer vacation?”
“The paint smell is so strong, Dad. Did you buy cheap furniture?”
“How could that be?” Father immediately gave the back of her head a light smack. “It was a custom furniture order. The smell had already aired out a long time ago, and it was ready to move in. But then that factory—who knows what got into their heads—decided to repaint everything before shipping it out. Said it’d look newer that way.”
“…Ah, so that’s why there’s a fresh paint smell?”
“Exactly.”
“Are those people idiots?”
“Haha, maybe they were just trying to show they care about their customers. But repainting the whole thing is really unprofessional—or maybe the original paint had some issue, and they needed to patch it up with new paint.”
“Uh… I’d say it’s probably the second one.”
“Forget it, I won’t bother arguing with them. It just means we move in two months later than planned. No big deal.” Father reached out and pointed at the different doors. “That’s the shared bathroom. That one over there is your room—you’ve got your own bathroom in there too. That’s the master bedroom, and that room over there is reserved for your grandfather.”
“What about those three doors?”
“Those three are study rooms. One for you, one for your grandfather, and your mother and I share one.”
“Sounds like everyone gets their own completely private workspace!” An Jing excitedly ran in—opening her own door first, of course. “Whoa, Dad! Am I living in the loft?”
“Haha, I remembered you liked lofts, and the ceiling height was right, so I had them build one for you.”
“That’s so luxurious! What’s downstairs?”
“That’s your private living room. You can bring your own friends there to hang out. If you need to do homework or read, you can go to your own study.”
“No way!!” An Jing let out one exclamation after another. “There’s even a huge TV! And this little coffee table and the floor cushions are all mine too?!”
“There’s more surprises.”
“Whoa—Dad, the toilet seat lifted itself up the second I opened the door! That’s so cool!!”
“That’s a smart toilet.”
“I have a bathtub in my room?!”
“Haha, like it?”
“I love it! Did you design this, Dad?”
“I gave the suggestions.”
“Holy crap!!” An Jing finally let out a curse. “Dad, you’re the freaking best!!”