(1)
It was the summer of 2006.
The shimmering blue sea and the incessant cicada chirping surrounded the small island.
Waves crashing against the reefs turned into a sparkling pile of iridescent foam under the sun.
A salty sea breeze, full of the taste of summer, blew directly into their faces.
A tall young woman stood beside a suitcase.
Her waist-length hair gently swayed in the breeze.
A slight smile slowly curved on her expressionless face.
Because another girl walked out of the house.
She was much shorter and plump, with a voluptuous figure.
As she walked out, she kept turning back to urge someone inside the house, “You little rascal, can’t you hurry up? You’re even more of a dawdler than a girl!”
“Wait a minute—coming right now!!”
The shout of a boy came from upstairs in the small house, followed by the sound of rummaging.
“This kid is really a dawdler.”
“No hurry.”
“The main thing is that the landlord said he’s going out for drinks this afternoon, so we have to get there before noon.”
“Feifei, don’t be so impatient. We’ll make it.”
“You just spoil him…”
Yu Mingfei rolled her eyes, put her hands on her hips, and shouted unhappily upstairs, “Hurry—up—!!”
“Coming!!”
A hurried sound of footsteps finally came from the wooden stairs.
This year was Yu Mingfei’s second year in university.
After discussing with Yu Minghui, who had already been in university for two years, they decided not to live on campus starting this year for the sake of a freer life.
And An Jing also happened to start junior high.
Commuting daily by boat from the island in their hometown, and then cycling to school, was ultimately a hassle.
So, this little guy, who had just graduated from sixth grade, was entrusted to them.
Yu Minghui didn’t mind, because ever since childhood, An Jing had played very closely with this older cousin of his.
Sometimes, he even preferred not to go out and play with his male cousins, choosing instead to follow her around like a shadow.
For this, Yu Mingfei was often jealous.
Although because of him, they had less time alone, it was also because of him that the three of them shared many memorable happy times.
“Why aren’t you being a shadow today? You usually stick so close.”
Yu Mingfei vigorously rubbed An Jing’s head, teasing him unhappily.
“I was looking for my marbles from when I was little…”
“Did you find them?”
“No, I suddenly remembered, I lost all of them last year.”
“Are you an idiot, kid?”
“I just forgot!”
An Jing, who hadn’t started growing tall yet, was currently shorter than Yu Mingfei.
He took out an old Ultraman mask from his canvas bag.
“But, I found this. I bought it with my New Year’s money back then, the only Jack mask at the stall!”
“Little kid is little kid… But when you go to junior high, you won’t be so childish, right?”
“Can’t you like Ultraman when you grow up?”
“It’s very childish, don’t you understand?”
“It’s not childish! Why would a hero of justice make you feel childish? Sister Fei, you’re too strange!”
“Little kid…”
Yu Mingfei rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Let me ask you, why have you always liked following me and Huihui since you were little?”
“No, I just follow Sister Huihui.”
“Huh?”
“Because Sister Huihui is the prettiest of all the cousins!”
“Damn it!”
Yu Mingfei couldn’t help but curse.
“What about me?”
“Sister Fei is too fat!”
“Where am I fat?! This is called plump! You little brat who doesn’t know how to appreciate!”
Yu Minghui covered her mouth and chuckled, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
“Xiao Jing, Feifei really isn’t fat.”
“Is that so? But there’s a girl in our class who’s similarly fat, and everyone calls her ‘Fatty.'”
“You little brats are too impolite! How can you talk about people like that?”
“I didn’t call her that!”
“Then what did you call her?”
“Red King?”
“…What’s that?”
“A monster with incredible strength.”
“Stinky brat!”
Yu Mingfei smacked him hard on the back of his head.
“Don’t just give people nicknames from now on!”
“My nickname wasn’t random, was it?”
“That’s not the point!”
“Pfft…”
Yu Minghui laughed so hard she was shaking, completely losing her usual ice-cold demeanor.
Actually, she only seemed distant when she wasn’t making any expressions.
In reality, Yu Minghui had always been a gentle older sister.
***
(2)
By the small island’s pier, there was a small dock, and next to it, a small wooden house where a man nearing fifty lived.
When anyone wanted to go to the mainland, they would call him to take them across by boat. \
To save on diesel costs, they usually waited until there were enough people to fill a boat.
For An Jing, this was equivalent to his “school bus”—except the destination wasn’t school, but the shore.
But gradually, his cousins, who were around the same age, all graduated from elementary school, and he was the last one.
And this year, the remaining children who hadn’t boarded at school also decided to live at school.
So, if An Jing didn’t move to the city, he would have to take the boat to the shore alone every day.
“Uncle, to the shore.”
Yu Mingfei called out to the middle-aged man fishing on the pier.
The dark-skinned man turned his head, a smile creasing his face with wrinkles.
“Leaving already.”
“Yes, the next time we’ll be back will be at the end of the year.”
“Haha, good timing, someone needs to go back anyway. I’ll take you to the mainland now.”
He nodded, then looked at An Jing, who was carrying a heavy school bag.
“Oh, little An Jing, going to junior high after summer break?”
“That’s right!”
“Then you’re a grown-up.”
“Even in junior high, he’s not an adult yet!”
“He’s still an adult. Back in our day, when you reached junior high age, you had to go out and work, hahaha.”
He put away his fishing rod, helped the three place their luggage on the diesel fishing boat that could carry seventeen or eighteen people, and untied the ropes tied to the shore.
“An Jing, hurry up.”
“Coming!”
An Jing stepped back a few paces, then after a running start, jumped forcefully, making the fishing boat sway from side to side.
Yu Mingfei unhappily slapped his head, “Can’t you just get on properly? Really, you stinky kid!”
“No one else?”
“No.”
“Then let’s go!”
The middle-aged man with a face full of wrinkles stepped onto the fishing boat, quickly walked to the front, and twisted the engine switch.
Like a car, the entire fishing boat began to vibrate slightly.
An Jing lay prone on the stern railing, watching the familiar island gradually shrink, gradually receding into the distance, until it completely disappeared.
The azure sea and the azure sky merged, like blue paint, erasing the traces of his hometown…
***
(3)
Yu Mingfei was signing the contract with the landlord, while Yu Minghui carefully inspected each room.
The house was empty, with hardly any furniture.
The small room next to it, which didn’t even have a balcony, didn’t even have a bed.
But because of this, the rent was very cheap, only one hundred yuan per month.
Yu Mingfei directly signed a three-year contract.
For these three years, the rent would not increase, allowing them to enjoy their lives with peace of mind.
“Is this room mine!”
An Jing excitedly ran into the empty small room.
If it weren’t for a window, it would be as small as a storage room.
“Hmm, but it’s a bit small.”
Yu Minghui measured the width of the room with her gaze.
“Only a small bed can fit.”
“Smaller is better! I like small ones!”
An Jing dashed to the window, pulled it open, and a restless chorus of cicadas spilled in from outside.
“Wow, I can see a whole row of shops from here!”
“Not much of a view.”
“This isn’t a view?”
“Hmm? Hmm… As long as you think it is, then it’s a view.”
“Sister Huihui, I like this room! Does it belong to me starting today?”
The boy, who had just graduated from elementary school, asked excitedly, as if experiencing the freedom of being an adult for the first time.
“I finally have my own room!”
“Of course it’s yours. Is there anything you want to do to furnish it?”
“Can Sister Huihui buy it for me?”
“Of course.”
Yu Minghui smiled gently, lightly touching his head, which had just been given a buzz cut and was still a bit prickly to the touch.
“Then, I want to put the bed here! And then put the table here—can I put two tables?! My dad and I agreed, he’s going to get me a computer! This will be the computer desk, and that will be for homework!”
“Then the room will be completely full, you know?”
“That’s fine, it’s better when it’s full, not a waste at all!”
An Jing looked back at the wallpapered wall.
“Oh, right, why are there newspapers on the wall?”
“Probably because the paint is peeling a bit, and it’s quite dirty.”
“Can I put up something else? I want to put up posters of other things!”
“You can.”
“Great!”
***
(4)
A plump, gentle-looking man stood downstairs by the apartment building, wiping sweat from his forehead with a tissue.
Behind him was an old black Jetta, and An Jing stood in front of him.
“Your computer’s set up, but your studies can’t drop, got that?”
He smiled, patting An Jing’s shoulder.
“Your dad here, I used to go play every day after school and still got into university, so I believe you’ll be fine too!”
“Dad, I’ll definitely get into a better university than you!”
“Hahaha—Alright, ambitious! A better university than me, let me think… How about Fudan? Or Tsinghua or Peking University?”
“Tsinghua!”
“Why not Peking University?”
“Peking University’s name doesn’t sound good!”
“Hahahaha—”
He laughed heartily, then patted An Jing’s shoulder vigorously again.
“Very arrogant, but, you’re young, you have to be arrogant. Who isn’t young and reckless?”
“I’ll definitely surpass Dad!”
“I’ll wait for you to surpass me.”
An Jing’s father smiled, looking up and nodding at Yu Minghui and Yu Mingfei, who were standing on the steps.
“Feifei, Huihui, I’m entrusting Xiao Jing to your care. You might have to work a bit harder. If he’s naughty or causes trouble, don’t mind me, just hit him directly.”
“Don’t worry, Uncle Twelve, I definitely won’t go easy on him!”
“Xiao Jing has grown up, and more often, we need to educate him gently.”
Yu Minghui smiled and shook her head.
“Uncle, don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him.”
“Okay, An Jing, don’t cause trouble for your cousins either—Alright! I’m heading back to H City.”
“Dad, when will you be back?”
“Chinese New Year!”
An Jing responded, took out his red and white phone from his pocket, aimed it at the black car slowly driving onto the road, and snapped a photo.
The memory of his last summer vacation before junior high seemed to be frozen in that moment…