(1)
The small city has two busiest areas: one is the covered market street, and the other is the street where Carrefour supermarket is located.
Compared to the more bustling and local covered market street, the area around Carrefour supermarket appears more prosperous, and the buildings have a more big-city feel.
The large supermarket has three floors, and the plaza at its entrance is exceptionally spacious.
Many of the small city’s events, and even concerts by minor celebrities, are held here.
Next to the supermarket are several other large buildings, some are hotels, some are malls specializing in high-end goods, and there are also some beautifully decorated restaurants.
Furthermore, the small city’s largest hospital is also located here.
People visiting the small city for tourism generally stay in this area.
When traveling, people usually bring a good amount of money, so their consumption level is naturally much higher than that of locals.
Consequently, items sold here are generally more expensive.
Only the goods sold in this supermarket are considered reasonably priced.
Her sisters went to the hospital to get the report.
Yu Mingfei said that it was cold recently and her rhinitis had flared up again, so she needed to register for another appointment to get some medicine.
This back-and-forth would definitely take a lot of time, so they simply told An Jing to wait at the supermarket.
Anyway, they would be coming back to the supermarket to buy things later, so it wouldn’t hurt to browse inside.
“Ach-choo!”
An Jing watched her sisters’ figures disappear from her sight, feeling an inexplicable unease.
She sneezed several times.
The cold wind of the rainy day seemed to pierce through her skin, and her skirt was slightly lifted by the wind, giving her a very ‘dangerous’ feeling.
Everywhere she looked, there were people coming and going, an endless stream.
Some were clearly tourists, while others seemed to be on business trips—constantly on their phones.
The small city wasn’t a very famous city; its tourism industry was only moderately developed.
If not for the beautiful beach, probably no one would even want to come.
And usually, if people were going to the coast, they would choose another port city in the same province.
The small city certainly had a port, but that was a military port, unable to bring in population and prosperity like a commercial port.
Even so, there were still many people.
Ultimately, it was probably because there were simply too many people living in this land.
An Jing hid behind a stone pillar, mainly because standing there blocked many gazes.
When she was wearing her school uniform or her usual boys’ clothes, she never felt like many people were looking at her.
Could it be that just by wearing a set of girl’s clothes, she instantly became that much prettier?
Or perhaps… because her secret was discovered by her sisters, she suddenly became a bit too sensitive?
She felt as if passersby could expose her secret at any moment…
“Ach-choo!”
Even in her sweater, she still felt a bit cold.
She rubbed her hands vigorously and sneezed a few more times.
She had originally planned to wait outside, but now it seemed she would have to go inside to warm up.
***
(2)
The supermarket had ample heating, and as soon as she entered, it felt like spring again.
The girl in the beige sweater and red and black plaid skirt let out a long breath.
She carefully avoided passersby, keeping her head down and her shoulders hunched, but her steps were large, and in no time, she reached the supermarket’s book section.
Today was a normal workday, and the book section was a bit deserted. In the adjacent video disc section, a disc was playing, and although the scene on screen was intensely dramatic, there were no viewers.
She walked slowly, her gaze sweeping across the bookshelves.
There were both unwrapped and wrapped books.
Science popularization books were plentiful, but there were also some literary classics.
On the shelves a few rows further back, there were even many manga comics.
These items, which could originally only be bought at newsstands, were now gradually appearing in mainstream shopping malls.
This was not only because people’s acceptance of manga had increased, but also because there was something new to use as an excuse for children not studying well.
That was the computer, or rather… games.
Anyway, not studying well was blamed on playing on the computer, nearsightedness was blamed on playing on the computer, and even various other problems like catching a cold, falling down, or having no appetite could all be attributed to playing on the computer.
When parents felt that playing on the computer was a very serious problem, children reading manga and novels seemed not to be a completely unacceptable thing anymore.
This was the first time in her life.
“What’s wrong? You’re acting all nervous,” Yu Mingfei gently nudged her arm.
“It’s all your fault…”
“Isn’t it normal for a girl to wear girl’s clothes?” she chuckled.
“What if… what if there’s someone I know?”
“Who would even recognize you now?”
“What if, in their perception, I’m still a boy, and then I’m wearing girl’s clothes… Oh my god… wouldn’t I be… wouldn’t I be straight…?”
“Relax, no one you know would come to a place like this.”
“I sure hope not…”
An Jing rolled her eyes dramatically.
While they were whispering, Yu Minghui was chatting with two aunties nearby.
She seemed to be having a great time.
“Oh no, Auntie, you must have been beautiful when you were young too.”
“Aiya, this young lady’s words are too sweet. Hey, seriously, do you have a boyfriend? I know a few good young men, they’re just not romantic and don’t know how to please girls, but as people, they’re all very good…”
An Jing and Yu Mingfei exchanged glances and, by unspoken agreement, moved to a sofa in the corner.
Sure enough, no matter where they are, aunties are always very keen on matchmaking.
But to be able to handle it completely like Yu Minghui, that’s truly impressive.
“Ugh… matchmaking, so troublesome.”
“Sister Fei, have you been pressured too?”
“Yeah.”
“Huh… You and Sister Huihui just graduated from university this year.”
“Yes—we—did—”
Yu Mingfei drew out her words, strongly pinching An Jing’s cheek and pulling it left and right.
“Ugh, actually, I was pressured when I was a sophomore, it’s so annoying.”
“Wow, that’s too much.”
“Hmph… You might be pressured too, to find a good man and get married, and your parents will be relieved, tsk tsk.”
An Jing got goosebumps and gasped, “No way, I’m definitely going to change back…”
“Tch, why change back? Isn’t it good to be a cute little sister?”
“I don’t want to!”
“Shh~ Lower your voice. Do you want someone to discover your secret?”
***
(2)
And on this shelf, An Jing also saw the manga magazine that had recently started publishing weekly – Zhiyin Manke.
Before, she could only read foreign manga, but now, she could see many domestic manga on it.
There were many imaginative ideas from Chinese people, and because they shared the same culture, it felt more relatable.
She had wanted to buy it when it first came out.
But she was short on cash – although she had money, she had to save it just in case.
Even though she ate at home every day and Yu Mingfei gave her ten yuan pocket money every week, she could never save up.
The money just mysteriously disappeared.
Even when she bought those small snacks, they were only fifty cents or one yuan, very cheap things.
This year was almost over, New Year was approaching, and new lucky money might be coming soon…
An Jing was somewhat swayed – she really wanted to buy a copy.
But whether she bought it or not, looking was always an option, right?
Even if it was shrink-wrapped, she could still pick it up and look at the front and back covers.
In this regard, the supermarket was much freer than a newsstand – at the latter, a few extra touches might earn you a good scolding from the owner.
Finally, she extended her small hand, and then… then she realized she couldn’t reach it at all!
“Damn it…”
She looked up, unable to resist cursing under her breath.
“Does this shelf really need to be that high?! I don’t believe it…”
An Jing took a deep breath, channeled her inner Slam Dunk spirit, leaped forcefully, grabbed the edge of a magazine, and pulled it down hard.
“Ha!”
She excitedly looked up, “You made it so high, but I still got it, you old man…”
“An Jing?”
“Eek?!”
***
(3)
It was Tuesday noon.
Theoretically, students should still be in class at school, perhaps just finished eating and taking a nap in the classroom.
—After all, it was raining, and there was nowhere else to go.
But Zhu Ying wasn’t at school.
Because her father took her to the dentist today.
As soon as she left the hospital, her father rushed off to work.
As for herself, she could either go home or just stroll around nearby.
The cold winter rain was a rather rare sight for her, so she simply leisurely walked around with her umbrella until she felt a bit cold.
Then she decided to go into the supermarket to warm up and buy something to eat and drink – Carrefour supermarket had a dedicated deli section, where pizzas and such were sold for only slightly more than scallion pancakes.
Zhu Ying opened her flip phone.
The small ornaments hanging from it jingled crisply.
Opening QQ, she harvested vegetables in her text-based mobile farm, then opened her contact list to check.
There was an unanswered message from the contact named “Little Jingjing”:
“Your friend asked me to ask you if your fever is serious today, and if I should come see you.”
She refreshed the list, and after finding no reply, she closed QQ again, picked up her phone, and took a picture of the shelves that were already decorated for Christmas.
As she just looked up, she saw a short girl stretching out her arms, jumping hard, trying to reach something on the shelf.
However, it seemed like she couldn’t reach it no matter what…
This immediately made Zhu Ying’s face flush slightly, as if she was looking at herself.
So, she quickened her steps towards the girl, hoping she could help someone else – although she herself wasn’t much taller…
***
(4)
An Jing’s face turned bright red.
At this moment, her language system seemed to have crashed.
She opened her mouth and gasped for air for a long time, but not a single word came out.
“An Jing…”
Zhu Ying hesitated, seemingly wanting to ask some questions.
In this moment of ‘life and death,’ An Jing’s adrenaline began to stimulate her body, making her malfunctioning language system and stalled brain start working again.
“A-Ah… uh? It… it’s… I… I’m An Jing’s… little sister… not An Jing…”
“Oh? An Jing has a younger sister? You’re even cuter than him, indeed.”
Zhu Ying blinked, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.
“Are you twins?”
“Ah, ah… Yes, yes, yes, I… I… I’m not well, so so I live with my parents, we’re separate!”
In these brief few seconds, An Jing finally found a ‘reasonable’ explanation.
“Hmm…”
Zhu Ying stared at An Jing’s two tear moles, pursed her small lips, and then giggled again.
“Then… what’s your name?”
“Uh, I’m… An An…”
An Jing’s mind was blank.
She quickly tried to grasp a character that could be a name.
“An Yin!”
“The same ‘Ying’ as mine?”
“Eh, no, no… oh no, what’s your ‘Ying’? Anyway, mine is the ‘yin’ from silver!”
“Then we’re different. Mine is the ‘ying’ from crystal clear~”
“Oh, oh… Yes, we’re different…”
An Jing’s heart was pounding fiercely now.
She felt that her flawed appearance would most likely be discovered.
Would she go back and tell others that An Jing was a boy who liked to wear girl’s clothes?
And the kind who specifically took leave to wear girl’s clothes and go shopping at the supermarket!
Looking on the bright side, at least that cognitive modification hadn’t completely failed yet; Zhu Ying still thought this was An Jing’s original appearance…
“Hmm, nice to meet you, An Yin. Your brother An Jing and I are deskmates.”
“Ah? Ah—! Y-you, hello…”
An Jing’s voice suddenly became softer, because she realized she now had to play the role of a girl, and act a bit more like one, so as not to be misunderstood…
And, she didn’t expect Zhu Ying to actually believe it?
Could it be that this was also a form of cognitive modification?
Were her obviously flawed explanations modified into a state that felt very reasonable to Zhu Ying?
An Jing’s suspended heart relaxed by half.
She let out a small sigh of relief, feeling that the huge crisis should have been half-resolved…
I feel like she’s playing with her 😅