It wasn’t just the adults in the compound who were discussing it. The children were also spreading the matter among themselves. Influenced by the adults, some children who still couldn’t tell right from wrong began to imitate them, and the words they spoke were sharp and mean.
Yunkai and Yunshu argued with the other children several times, but it was useless and only a waste of effort.
This made the two little ones even more frustrated.
“Is your brother being bullied?” Grandma Qian handed Yunshu two red dates and glanced oddly at Yunkai, who was squatting in the courtyard watching ants.
The two children had promised Jiang Hua not to come to the Qian family courtyard again. However, after something happened to Xu Chenghuai and the courtyard was filled with unpleasant rumors, the Qian family courtyard instead became the place where they played.
Jiang Hua didn’t know about this. Both children could tell that she resisted the Qian family courtyard, so they agreed not to tell her.
Calling it an agreement was generous. In reality, the little girl had pestered her brother endlessly until he agreed to keep it a secret.
Yunshu rested her folded hands on the table, her soft, fair cheeks pressed against her arms. Following Grandma Qian’s gaze, the small child actually sighed.
“Brother is angry.”
Grandma Qian frowned when she heard this. “Why is he always angry? Isn’t he afraid he’ll get so angry one day that he explodes? Don’t you learn from him? Being angry all the time isn’t good for the body.”
Yunshu straightened up. Her clear eyes blinked, and she smiled shyly with pursed lips. “Actually, I’m a little angry too.”
Grandma Qian was startled and immediately softened her tone. “What happened?”
“My mom is going to open a clothing shop, but the people outside are all speaking badly about her.”
The little girl was clearly talking about something troubling, but her babyish yet serious expression was so adorable that it was impossible to truly feel sorry for her.
Grandma Qian held back with difficulty, barely suppressing the urge to pull her into her arms and rub her, and forced herself to keep a straight face. “Mouths are on other people’s faces. If they want to talk, let them talk. You don’t need to care.”
“I’m worried my mom will be unhappy,” Yunshu said in a muffled voice. “I like the mom she is now.”
In the past, her mom rarely liked to smile and was only nice to her dad. Now, her mom was also nice to her and her brother.
Grandma Qian didn’t quite understand why she said this. She simply thought the child liked a happy mother and disliked an unhappy one.
“Your mom is an adult. She knows how to regulate her own emotions. You’re just a child. The most important thing for you now is to grow up properly. You don’t need to worry about adults’ matters.”
Yunshu’s round, watery eyes blinked. She tilted her head as if thinking. “Then how can I grow up quickly?”
Grandma Qian said, “As long as you learn everything I teach you, you’ll have grown up.”
The little girl’s eyes immediately lit up. They were already bright, but now they seemed to shine. In her soft, babyish voice, she urged, “Grandma, let’s start learning!”
As she spoke, she ran off to move a chair, clumsy yet serious in her movements, and didn’t forget to wave at Yunkai. “Brother, come quickly. Grandma said we’re going to start learning.”
Yunkai: …
He really didn’t want to learn.
“You learn by yourself,” he glanced at Grandma Qian, pursed his lips, and continued, “I’ll learn from the teacher once I start school.”
Grandma Qian was immediately displeased. Her brows lifted slightly. “Are you saying I don’t teach as well as a teacher?”
Yunkai really wanted to nod and say yes, but he didn’t dare. He was afraid that if he did, he’d be chased out. He had to stay here and watch his sister. His sister was so cute and lovable.
He had seen it. The way Grandma Qian looked at his sister was the same way Ma Fenghuo usually looked at toys.
Yunkai tried to negotiate. “Can I not practice writing and learn something else instead?”
Writing with a brush required keeping his wrist suspended. After just a short while, it would ache terribly. It also required patience and extremely careful control of strength. He really couldn’t write at all.
“Really not writing?” Grandma Qian was somewhat unwilling to give up. Yunkai actually learned quite quickly. Although his characters looked like chicken scratches, the proper strokes and rhythm were there.
Yunkai’s little face scrunched up. He wanted to say yes, but Yunshu was looking at him eagerly from the side, her watery eyes filled with expectation.
“…I’ll write, okay?” he said irritably, thinking that at worst, he could write for a bit and then rest for a bit.
A gentle breeze swept through, lifting the dry leaves in the courtyard. It wound past branches full of greenery and lingered on the crimson spring flowers. Looking in through a half-open window of the era-marked building, one could see the scene inside.
Two children, delicate and fair like carved jade, stood upright in front of a table, each holding a brush, their expressions serious and focused. Beside them, an elderly person with graying hair half reclined in a rocking chair with eyes closed, occasionally opening them to offer a few words of guidance.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was nearly noon.
Yunshu obediently said goodbye to Grandma Qian. “Grandma, my brother and I need to go home to eat first.”
Grandma Qian lay in the rocking chair, rocking back and forth, and waved at them, her voice tinged with drowsiness. “Go if you want. No need to tell me.”
“Then I’ll clean up here first.”
By “here,” Yunshu meant the desk used for practicing writing. Besides brushes, ink, and paper, there was also an exquisite, ornate sachet embroidered with lifelike koi fish.
Next to it were several translucent yellow beads, which Grandma Qian had given Yunshu to play with that morning.
Yunkai quickly put the beads back into the sachet and was about to hand it to Grandma Qian.
Grandma Qian waved her hand indifferently. “No need to give it to me. You can take it and play with it.”
Yunkai responded with an “oh,” stuffed it into his sister’s arms, then looked at Grandma Qian. “Then we’re going to eat. We’ll come find you to play again when we have time.”
The two children hopped and skipped all the way back home.
The Xu family’s lunch wasn’t ready yet.
Jiang Hua was picking vegetables under the eaves, while Xu Chenghuai didn’t go to the research institute and was washing small fish by the water vat outside the kitchen.
The small fish were only about the length of an index finger. Jiang Hua had bought them that morning from a nearby rural farmer who had come to set up a stall. They were very cheap, since this thing hardly had any meat and took time, oil, and seasoning to cook.
But Jiang Hua just loved this bite. Once the small fish were cleaned and drained, they would be poured into hot oil and fried until crispy and fragrant. One bite, and it felt as if the soul itself was elevated.
In the past, Jiang Hua couldn’t bear to eat them. Thinking about it now, it was really foolish. The money she saved, she never got to enjoy a single bit of it. It was either spent on Xu Chenghuai, or on the two children, or on her natal family.
But in the end?
Thinking of her own ending, she felt that she was an idiot, a colossal idiot!
So she had decided now to enjoy the present and stop restraining herself.
Lunch was made by Xu Chenghuai: fragrant fried small fish, crisp cold cucumber salad, and a pot of steaming white rice.
Jiang Hua looked at it and remembered that there were two tomatoes in the vegetable basket. Her heart stirred, and she raised her eyes to look at Xu Chenghuai. “I kind of want to eat tomato and scrambled eggs.”
Xu Chenghuai paused in the act of taking off his apron and couldn’t help looking at her, a flash of surprise passing through his eyes. He hadn’t expected Jiang Hua to make a request.
Jiang Hua met his gaze, raising her eyebrows inquisitively. Her expression was relaxed, as if she were talking about something completely ordinary.
Only she herself knew how fast her heart was beating at that moment. Her hands, hidden under the table, were gripping tightly from nervousness, her knuckles faintly pale.
Xu Chenghuai only glanced once before withdrawing his gaze. By now, he had basically accepted Jiang Hua’s changes, as long as she didn’t act too outrageously.
“There’s only one egg left,” he reminded her.
Jiang Hua froze, then remembered that they had been eating eggs for breakfast recently, and the bowl of eggs they had saved up was almost gone.
She hadn’t made breakfast today, so she hadn’t counted it and thought there were still a few left.
“Then let’s not eat it for now,” Jiang Hua said regretfully.
Yunkai had already served the rice. He couldn’t wait any longer. His eyes were glued to the crispy fried small fish, unable to move away, just waiting for Jiang Hua to give the order to start eating.
Fortunately, Jiang Hua didn’t dawdle for long. The small fish themselves had soft bones, and Xu Chenghuai had fried them thoroughly, so she wasn’t worried about the children getting bones stuck.
The Xu family dining table was usually quiet, with only the clinking of bowls and chopsticks, silent and oppressive.
But recently, this long-standing habit had changed. Occasionally, the sounds of conversation between Jiang Hua and the children would ring out, filled with everyday warmth and the atmosphere of home.
Jiang Hua remembered that she hadn’t seen the two children all morning. “Where did you go to play this morning?”
Yunkai and Yunshu’s eating motions paused.
Yunshu even subconsciously covered her pocket. One look and it was clear she had a guilty conscience, yet her eyes blinked rapidly, her face full of sincerity. “Brother and I didn’t go to Grandma Qian’s place.”
Yunkai hadn’t reacted yet and nodded seriously. “Right, we just played in the alley outside.”
Babyish voices telling lies with a straight face, cute enough to melt hearts.
Even Xu Chenghuai, who was always indifferent, had a hint of a smile ripple in his eyes. Jiang Hua tried hard to keep a straight face, barely maintaining a serious expression.
“Didn’t I tell you not to go to Grandma Qian’s house to play?”
As soon as Yunshu heard that, she knew the plan was exposed. Her small brows knitted together. “Mom, actually Grandma Qian is really nice. She gives me red dates, gives me pretty little beads as toys, and even teaches Brother and me how to write.”
Jiang Hua didn’t pay attention to the beads she mentioned and continued to emphasize, “I didn’t say you can never go. I just said not to go for now.”
Yunkai asked, “Why?”
Xu Chenghuai’s gaze also turned over.
Jiang Hua paused, then picked up another bite of food. “Why are there so many whys? I’ve said it. You just listen, that’s all.”
Yunshu pouted, clearly unconvinced by Jiang Hua’s words.
Seeing this, Yunkai snorted to express his dissatisfaction.
Jiang Hua: …
Her gaze swept over the two children. Her expression didn’t change, acting as if she hadn’t seen anything. After all, this matter couldn’t be explained. She was worried about the children’s safety.
However, at that moment, the usually indifferent and taciturn man unexpectedly spoke up.
“Is Grandma Qian’s place fun?”
Yunshu’s tense little face immediately relaxed. She nodded obediently. “It’s fun.”
Yunkai hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. He thought that it would be fun if he didn’t have to write characters, but seeing his sister happy, he thought about it and didn’t say anything.
Xu Chenghuai swallowed the food in his mouth and asked again, “Then what do you usually play there?”
Yunshu revealed a shy smile and said proudly, “Grandma lives alone and is very lonely. I go to keep her company and talk to her, play with little beads, write characters with Brother, and go to the courtyard to fertilize the flowers.”
Listening to this, it did sound like there were more activities than at home. But like Jiang Hua, he didn’t pay much attention to the beads Yunshu mentioned.
Jiang Hua turned her eyes to look at Xu Chenghuai.
Had he guessed it?
The thought had just surfaced when it was immediately confirmed in the next second. “Comrade Jiang Hua is worried about your safety. We haven’t had contact with Grandma Qian before, and we don’t know whether she’s a bad person.”
Jiang Hua’s heart skipped two beats instantly, the surprise in her eyes impossible to hide.
Xu Chenghuai didn’t look at her.
Jiang Hua steadied herself and nodded to the two children. “Yes.”
Both children showed hesitation. Yunkai looked toward his sister. Yunshu met her brother’s gaze, bit her lip, and nodded reluctantly. “Then Brother and I won’t go to Grandma Qian’s place anymore.”
Seeing this, Jiang Hua secretly let out a breath of relief. But as soon as she turned her head, she saw Xu Chenghuai withdrawing his gaze from her.
She: …
Although he had suspected something, Jiang Hua wasn’t afraid. At worst, she could use the excuse of having dreamed it.
In fact, that was exactly what Xu Chenghuai thought.
Time continued to move forward. There was still no result in Director Chen’s case, but in these past two days, Xu Chenghuai and Wen Bo had been moving together.
This didn’t have much to do with Jiang Hua. The only thing she could do was offer Director Chen’s wife a few words of verbal comfort.
The opening day of “Alley End” arrived as scheduled.