Two years ago, Xiang Qin had already explained menstruation to her daughter Wen Xi and personally taught her how to use sanitary pads.
She had always feared that the day Wen Xi experienced her first period unprepared, she might panic and not know what to do.
Yet children are naturally curious. Once, Wen Xi, while the adults weren’t paying attention, secretly took one of her mother’s sanitary pads and tucked it into her underwear.
But soon after, she found it too thick and stuffy, uncomfortable all over, and angrily pulled it out and tossed it aside, secretly praying in her heart: “Heaven, please, don’t let me get my period yet!”
On the night after eating three ice creams, around ten o’clock, Wen Xi couldn’t sleep.
First, while her mother was out, she went to the shoe rack by the door and slipped on Xiang Qin’s high heels.
Then she sneaked over to her mother’s vanity, applied snow cream to her face, and took out a bright red lipstick, coating her lips like sausages. She brushed her eyelashes thick like a little demon and drew her eyebrows with charcoal pencil like Crayon Shin-chan.
After finishing, she stood satisfied in front of the wardrobe mirror, wobbling in the ill-fitting high heels, and shuffled to Zhou Jingchen’s bedroom to show him.
The moment she pushed the door open, Zhou Jingchen, sitting on the bed reading, shrank back, startled. The book in his hand nearly flew out as he stammered:“Y-you… what are you doing?”
Wen Xi posed coyly, touched her hair, deliberately waddled in the high heels, chest out, head up, pacing back and forth in front of him.
“I want to grow up fast. I want to wear high heels, just like Mom, carrying a little bag, going wherever I like.”
She stepped in front of him, face close, smiling:“Do I look pretty? Zhou Jingchen, am I especially beautiful?”
Zhou Jingchen widened his eyes, his breath caught, and he pursed his lips without speaking.
Seeing him remain silent, Wen Xi huffed in displeasure, then waddled into the living room to show off her heels. After a few steps, she almost twisted her ankle, and grudgingly took off the shoes.
She was extremely satisfied with her makeup and entertained herself alone, jumping onto Zhou Jingchen’s bed, making the bed creak under her.
Zhou Jingchen was deeply focused on a first-year high school textbook he had borrowed from their neighbor Chen Xu. Wen Xi shook the bed so much he couldn’t concentrate.
He put down the book politely and whispered:“Sister, can you jump on your own bed instead?”
“No!” She was rebellious; the more he forbade it, the more she wanted to.
“I’ll jump on my bed, I’ll jump on my bed!” She rolled around, throwing a tantrum like a little brat.
“It’s vacation. Why are you reading?” She had taken his pillow and lightly kicked his hand.
Zhou Jingchen’s bed sheets were always clean and neat, with a faint, pleasant soap scent that Wen Xi loved. She sniffed them secretly several times.
“Just previewing a little, so school won’t be too hard,” Zhou Jingchen answered honestly.
Wen Xi mocked him with a “tsk tsk”:“Top student is different. Even on vacation, you don’t forget to study.”
After a while, tired from playing, she lay on the bed, dozing off to the gentle soap scent.
Zhou Jingchen noticed her drooping eyelids and urged:“Go wash your face before sleeping, like a little ghost.”
Wen Xi ignored him, lightly kicking his waist in protest.
Soon, her heavy eyelids closed completely.
Hearing her steady, shallow breathing, Zhou Jingchen shook his head helplessly, draped a small blanket over her waist, and returned to reading at the other side of the bed.
The bedroom window was open, letting in the cool evening breeze.
Not long after Wen Xi closed her eyes, misfortune struck—
A sudden, sharp pain hit her lower abdomen, as if something inside was being pulled downward.
She woke from the pain, forehead covered in sweat, instinctively curling her legs to brace herself.
Zhou Jingchen sensed something was wrong. When he turned to look, he saw fresh red blood on the back of her skirt and on the sheets.
The book in his hands dropped with a thud.“Wen Xi!”
…
An hour later, Wen Xi slowly emerged from the bathroom. Her makeup was completely washed off, and she had changed into a clean outfit.
Because she had indulged in three ice creams in the afternoon, her stomach ached, and combined with period cramps, she looked pale as paper, walking hunched over, slowly crawling back to her bed.
Next to her, Zhou Jingchen’s bed sheets had already been stripped off; she heard the scrubbing on the balcony.
For the rarest time, Wen Xi’s cheeks flushed. She covered her head with the blanket, muttering:“Annoying… this annoying period!”
She was grateful it happened at home, with only Zhou Jingchen knowing. If it had happened at school, it would have been a humiliating disaster.
Zhou Jingchen scrubbed and changed the water multiple times until the bloodstains on the sheets were completely gone. He smoothed the sheets and hung them on the balcony clothesline.
After the sheets, he saw Wen Xi’s nightdress and underwear in the basin. Without hesitation, he washed them thoroughly and hung them on the balcony to dry.
When Wen Xi and Zhou Jingchen were eight, Xiang Qin insisted they develop personal hygiene habits, washing their underwear by hand every night.
When the parents were away, Wen Xi would make Zhou Jingchen wash her underwear because she was too lazy.
The first time she made him do it, she proudly said:“Have you ever seen a young lady wash her own clothes?”
“I haven’t,” he replied.
Seeing his reluctance, she coaxed him:“Little brother is the servant of his sister. You have to help, otherwise what are you for?”
The boy frowned and blushed:“Sister, I don’t want to wash your underwear…”
Wen Xi, quick-witted, argued:“Mom says kids should be diligent and help others!”
Zhou Jingchen muttered:“Sister, can I let you have this chance to help others?”
Wen Xi stomped:“My hands are too soft to do such rough work! Mom and Dad bought you so many clothes and treats just to serve me!”
Eventually, Zhou Jingchen, seeing it as a small task, agreed.
This routine lasted for many years. Whenever Wen Zhiting and Xiang Qin were away, these chores fell on him.
Wen Xi was pampered, never touching water for chores; Zhou Jingchen was diligent, meticulous, and did as much as possible himself, never causing trouble.
When the adults were gone, Zhou Jingchen also helped clean the room, wash clothes, sweep, and mop the floor. Though his leg wasn’t very convenient, he worked carefully.
When the adults returned, Wen Xi would take credit:“Mom, Dad, look how clean I made the house!”
Wen Zhiting and Xiang Qin exchanged knowing glances, comparing their lazy daughter to the quiet, diligent Zhou Jingchen.
Occasionally, they privately asked Zhou Jingchen:“Does your sister bully you?”
He always shook his head firmly.
On the balcony, Wen Xi’s pink underwear and floral nightdress swayed gently in the wind, giving off a faint soap scent.
Zhou Jingchen recalled how Aunt Xiang would have cramps a few days each month. When this happened, Uncle Wen would make her a warm cup of brown sugar water. Sometimes he’d cook a brown sugar poached egg with goji berries, red dates, and longans.
Zhou Jingchen immediately went to the kitchen and tried to imitate Uncle Wen.
It was his first time making brown sugar poached eggs; he was clumsy, and the egg dispersed in the pot, leaving a layer of egg flowers and foam on the surface.
Carrying the warm bowl into the bedroom, he saw Wen Xi curled up, her brow furrowed in pain.
“Wen Xi, drink this. After this, it won’t hurt.”
Wen Xi struggled to sit up and took the bowl, whispering:“What is this?”
“Brown sugar water,” Zhou Jingchen said.“I’ve seen Aunt Xiang drink it when she has cramps, and it helps.”
Wen Xi gulped it down, then pouted:“Too much sugar… a bit too sweet.”
She handed the empty bowl back to Zhou Jingchen and flopped back onto the bed.
Later that night, Wen Xi got up to use the bathroom. She glanced at the clothes drying on the balcony but said nothing.
To Wen Xi, this was only natural—if Zhou Jingchen didn’t wash her underwear, who would?
He ate at her house, drank at her house, so helping with a bit of work was no problem.