(1)
Night had fallen.
In the school corridor, only the footsteps of An Jing and Zhou Chao could be heard.
“Damn it…”
“I knew I shouldn’t have come back to get homework today…”
Zhou Chao covered his eyes.
“Damn, got caught as free labor…”
“I’m stuck in bad luck with you too.”
An Jing sighed.
“It’s been so long since school ended, why hasn’t the homeroom teacher gone home yet?”
“Anyway, the classroom is cleaned. Let’s make a run for it, or we’ll get caught doing more work.”
As Zhou Chao spoke, he couldn’t help but quicken his pace.
“You go straight home. It’s late; don’t take a detour. I’ll just walk back.”
“Hey—it won’t waste a few minutes, the motorcycle’s fast.”
Zhou Chao draped his arm over her shoulder.
“Don’t be so polite if we’re brothers, alright?”
“Heh… then I won’t be polite. Let’s go, let’s go. Your motorcycle won’t get stolen, will it?”
“Holy cow, can’t you say something good?”
“Hahaha.”
***
(2)
By the river embankment, the old red motorcycle’s bright yellow headlight illuminated the dark road.
“Let’s take another road. The greenhouse market street is definitely packed with people at this time.”
“Whatever works.”
An Jing grabbed Zhou Chao’s shoulder, laboriously climbed onto the back seat of the motorcycle, and looked up at the sparse stars in the sky, unable to help but feel a little emotional.
“Even when I was little, I could see a sky full of stars even in this small city.”
“You can see the same when you go back to your old home, can’t you?”
“That feeling… it’s different.”
An Jing gripped the support bar behind the motorcycle, leaning back slightly, and softly hummed a somewhat melancholic tune.
“What song?”
Zhou Chao asked, a little curious.
“Huh? Uh… I don’t know, just humming.”
“Sounds pretty good.”
“Today’s moon is so small.”
“A crescent moon.”
Zhou Chao also looked into the distance. In the hazy night, the familiar road became strange, but this also gave it an infinite charm—making it feel more beautiful than during the day.
An Jing was about to say something when she felt the motorcycle slow down, then stop by the roadside.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you remember this small park?”
“Ah… that place where you got drunk.”
“Haha… several lights are broken, and no one’s fixed them.”
“It feels like no one even maintains it anymore.”
“Hmm? Look.”
“What? Eh… Is that… Zhu Ying?”
“I guess so.”
“She hasn’t gone back yet.”
“After all, her birthday party suddenly couldn’t happen; she must be very upset.”
Zhou Chao turned his head and gestured to An Jing with his chin.
“Kid, get off.” “Huh?”
“Go comfort her.”
“Eh—I thought you’d tell me not to go.”
“Less nonsense, get off the bike now.”
“Oh…”
An Jing scrambled off the motorcycle, using both hands and feet.
Just as she was about to say something to Zhou Chao, the motorcycle roared and sped away.
“I… Holy cow… that guy just abandoned me?!”
Looking at the receding taillights, it didn’t look like he intended to come back.
An Jing stared blankly until the sound of the motorcycle completely vanished before she snapped back to reality.
More important than figuring out what trick Zhou Chao was pulling now was to check on Zhu Ying.
After all, this wasn’t a bustling downtown area, and the small city’s evening security wasn’t great. A girl out alone was somewhat dangerous.
She stepped on the withered ginkgo leaves on the ground, making a crisp ‘crunch-crunch’ sound.
Zhu Ying’s delicate, well-defined face was tinged with hazy shadows under the dim streetlights.
She sat on a swing, gently swaying her body, making a ‘creak-creak’ sound.
It was an old swing, its chains had begun to rust, and the support frame was covered in vines, but winter had robbed it of its vitality, leaving only a few lingering leaves stubbornly holding on in the wind, refusing to fall.
Her unfocused eyes began to regain their focus.
Even though her eye sockets were still red, she managed to force a small smile.
“You haven’t gone back yet.”
“That’s what I should be asking you.”
An Jing mumbled as she sat on the adjacent swing, gently swaying.
“Didn’t you say you were going home?”
“Still don’t want to go back.”
“Why did your dad suddenly kick everyone out?”
“My parents argued today, and he… was in a bad mood.”
“Oh…”
An Jing drew out the sound, hesitating whether to continue asking about other people’s family matters.
“My dad wants to be transferred to H City for a promotion to section chief, but… my mom doesn’t want him to leave the small city.”
“Ah… your dad is also a civil servant, then.”
“Yes.”
Zhu Ying carefully hid her sadness, asking with a somewhat natural smile, “Your dad… too?”
“Yeah, he’s a section chief in H City, I remember it’s in… the Traffic Bureau, I think.”
An Jing gave an embarrassed smile.
“I rarely talk about this with others. My dad also told me not to show off about things like this.”
“Actually, I don’t blame my dad. He was just too angry for a moment, because my mom always… prefers to stay in the small city and live a stable life.”
“Ah, that’s normal, but… kicking all your friends out, that’s a bit much.”
“It’s okay.”
Zhu Ying tried hard to smile.
“I’m not mad at him, I just want to be alone for a bit.”
“It’s good that you’re okay. Don’t take it too hard. You’ll have many birthdays in your life. If every birthday is equally exciting, then it’s not exciting enough, right?”
“Pfft… Is that your idea of comforting someone?”
“Well then—ah, whoa!”
An Jing was about to say something cool when the swing chain suddenly broke.
She landed on the ground with a “thud,” her butt hurting as if it were splitting open.
“Woah ho ho ho—hiss, hahaha—ouch, ouch, ouch!”
Zhu Ying glanced at the swing she had been sitting on, then silently stood up.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Has this swing really deteriorated so much over the years? I remember in junior high, Zhou Chao and I used to swing it super high here!”
An Jing clutched her behind and struggled to her feet.
Seeing the barely suppressed smile on Zhu Ying’s face, she cheerfully called out, “Just laugh if you want to! A good laugh will make you feel happier!”
“Pfft… Um… I’m sorry…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine… I didn’t expect it to break.”
An Jing looked at the completely broken chain and shook her head helplessly.
“Sigh, I’m really unlucky today. First, I was kept back at school by the homeroom teacher for a big cleanup, and now I’ve broken a swing…”
“The more bad luck you have, perhaps the better your luck will turn out.”
“Let’s hope so! I’ve really been unlucky lately…”
An Jing cleared her throat, scratched her head, and looked at Zhu Ying’s still somewhat damp eyelashes and small face, suddenly unsure what to say.
Zhu Ying said nothing, just looked at her with eyes curved in a smile, like a little fox secretly giggling.
“Ah, right, that thing, I almost forgot to tell you, uh—Happy Birthday!”
An Jing actually wanted to say something else…
“Mm, thank you.”
“Too bad there’s no birthday cake.”
“It’s okay.”
“Uh… you… right… actually, there’s something I need to tell you face-to-face…”
“Mm?”
“Actually, ac-actually… that time you, you… the girl you met in the supermarket wasn’t, wasn’t my younger sister…”
Zhu Ying quietly looked at An Jing, like someone who knew the answer waiting for her to say it.
“That person was actually me. Later, I, I actually lied to you, and then… that thing… when we chatted on QQ, too…”
“Pfft, I knew it all along.”
“Huh—?!”
“I could tell it was you at a glance.”
“Wow! Th-this… I thought you didn’t notice at all!”
Zhu Ying cheerfully curved her lips.
“That would make you really awkward, wouldn’t it?”
Here’s the translation of the text you provided:
“Holy cow, now I’m even more embarrassed…”
An Jing’s heart struggled a bit.
She stammered, “Uh, and that day, that day I wore… wore a skirt… it was because, because my… my sister insisted I wear it!”
She still couldn’t bring herself to tell her that she had turned into a girl.
Zhu Ying nodded gently, “Mm… Is there anything else you want to tell me?”
“Ah? Anything else? N-no, not really! That, that, you absolutely have to keep it a secret, just, just about wearing the skirt, I was forced to!”
“As long as it’s something you wish to keep secret, I will definitely keep it for you.”
“Phew… That’s good.”
An Jing immediately relaxed.
“Really… there’s nothing else to say?”
“N-no!”
“Oh…”
Zhu Ying seemed a little disappointed.
She turned her back and looked at the dark road with no streetlights.
Then, a bright yellow beam of light instantly dispelled the darkness, bringing with it a faint diesel roar.
An Jing, who had been nervous about being alone with Zhu Ying, immediately relaxed.
—Zhou Chao was back.
***
(3)
Zhou Chao, carrying a bag in each hand, laughed heartily with a light tone, “Yo! Why are you two just standing here zoning out! No place to sit?”
“You finally came, damn it! Why’d you suddenly run off just now?”
An Jing immediately went up to him, using the familiar banter of good friends to ease the awkwardness.
“You damn, you give me one word, and I run errands for you. Now you’re asking ‘what for’? Didn’t you tell me to buy it?”
Zhou Chao put the two bags down on the park bench, then waved them over.
“Come, see what I bought—”
“Ah? Wh-what…”
An Jing was about to press further but was interrupted by a cough from Zhou Chao.
“Oh…”
Zhu Ying leaned closer, looked inside the bags, and was a little surprised.
“Cake…”
“Holy cow, so much food?”
“The cake shop was almost closing, couldn’t custom-order a birthday cake. I bought this directly from the supermarket. It’s the biggest ready-made cake they had—four inches!”
“Holy cow, your speed is actually pretty fast then…”
“Nonsense, I was panting like crazy, alright? Bought everything at the supermarket: cooked food, snacks, and cake. Bought candles too, but not birthday candles, just those big colored ones. Damn it, we’ll make do!”
“Alright…”
“Aren’t I awesome?”
“Awesome.”
An Jing turned to look at the girl with the baby face beside her.
“Zhu Ying, how about we celebrate your birthday here? Even if it’s a bit simple…”
She shook her head vigorously, a hint of a sob in her voice, “Thank you, guys…”
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She knew 😠Also I really dig how weirdly relatable all their problems are despite having a supernatural concept.
Thanks for the chapter!
“Here’s the translation of the text you provided”, huh…