"Who did you hear that from?" Zhou Ran asked.
"It was those young people who always hang out with Zhuang Zhong. The neighbors in the old street have all heard about it. They say Zhuang Zhong took a girl out to sea to have fun, and he even posted it on some circle or something."
Zhou Ran frowned and corrected the old lady.
"Moments."
"Oh, right, right, that's it, Moments," the old lady said. "Zhuang Zhong's dad heard about it too. He said that girl is very pretty. Don't you have that Moments too? Let Grandma see what she looks like."
Zhou Ran recalled the video he saw on Zhuang Zhong's Moments a couple of days ago, the way Xia Mian was smiling happily at the lens.
Is she considered pretty?
Zhou Ran thought about it.
She is quite pretty.
Zhou Ran said, "He's not dating anyone."
"That's not his girlfriend?" the old lady asked.
"Yeah," Zhou Ran replied vaguely.
He didn't know if she was or not.
Since that day, he hadn't seen Xia Mian.
That kid Zhuang Zhong didn't know what he was doing these past two days; he hadn't even been to the Tattoo Shop.
"Xiao Ran, you're at the age where you should be dating too. Why haven't I heard anything from you?"
The old lady sighed. "Look at Zhuang Zhong, he's so much younger than you, and he already knows how to find a girl to go out and have fun. You just stay in that little dump of a shop every day, how boring."
Zhou Ran said, "Lao Lu is so much older and he's not in a rush, so why should I be?"
"At least Xiao Lu has dated before, what about you!" The old lady glared. "Xiao Lu is only two years older than you!"
Zhou Ran paused and gave a vague answer.
"I'm not interested."
When Zhou Ran walked into the Tattoo Shop, Pi Tao'er was grabbing Lao Lu's clothes and climbing up. Her hair was messed up again, like a little maniac.
Lao Lu was digging into a tub of ice cream with a spoon, eating it while teasing her.
Pi Tao'er was so angry she used both hands and feet, and finally opened her mouth and bit Lao Lu hard on the neck.
"F*ck!" Lao Lu shouted, grabbing Pi Tao'er by the collar and pulling her down. "Are you a dog?"
Zhou Ran pointed at him. "Watch your language."
Lao Lu looked back at Zhou Ran, rubbing his neck.
"Forget about the language, I'm so pissed I could beat this little brat."
Pi Tao'er wasn't having it, hands on her hips. "Who told you to eat my ice cream and not give me any!"
"Little sister, you've already got a whole row of cavities. What kind of old lady is only six years old this year?"
Lao Lu gave the messy hair on Pi Tao'er's head a tug. "I'll have your mom pull it all out later."
"Lu Zemin!" Pi Tao'er shouted in anger.
"I'm here," Lao Lu said, stuffing the last bite of ice cream into his mouth. "Call me brother."
Pi Tao'er's face flushed red with anger, her cheeks puffed out as she stomped up the stairs.
Lao Lu tossed the empty ice cream container into the trash can. "You're back?"
"Yeah."
"What did the old lady say?" Lao Lu asked, pointing at the bag in Zhou Ran's hand. "What did you bring back?"
"Braised duck for Shui Cao."
Zhou Ran opened the refrigerator. The fridge, which had been empty except for soda, was now packed. He paused and pulled out a bottle of water.
"Did you go to the supermarket?"
"No, Zhuang Zhong came by."
Lao Lu plopped down on the sofa. When he saw the mineral water in Zhou Ran's hand, he clicked his tongue.
"You're just drinking it yourself, can't you grab one for someone else?"
"You were standing right there, couldn't you grab one yourself?" Zhou Ran asked.
"I'm parched from eating, is that not allowed?"
Zhou Ran tossed the bottle in his hand to Lao Lu and took out another one for himself, twisting it open.
"Where is he?"
"He left," Lao Lu said, taking a gulp of water. "He just came to howl, stayed for a while, and then left."
"Howl about what?" Zhou Ran asked.
"Howling about Xia Mian," Lao Lu laughed. "Zhuang Zhong said that after they came back from the sea that day, no matter how he asked, Xia Mian wouldn't go out with him. And he didn't dare to go find her again with his tail between his legs."
Zhou Ran paused while drinking his water. He pursed his lips and licked the water droplets from the corner of his mouth.
"Oh."
Lao Lu leaned back on the sofa, squinting his eyes with a lazy expression. "I told you Xia Mian wouldn't be interested in that kid Zhuang Zhong."
Zhou Ran glanced at him. "That doesn't seem to be what you said last time."
"Is that so?" Lao Lu asked. "What did I say last time?"
Zhou Ran set down the mineral water bottle and didn't respond to him.
Lao Lu slowly stood up and yawned. "I'm going upstairs to coax Tao'er. I'll eat here tonight."
"Yeah," Zhou Ran thought for a moment. "We're having hot pot, go bring Shui Cao over too."
"Got it."
Lao Lu slowly went upstairs. With the spring lethargy and summer fatigue, the hotter it got, the harder it was for him to keep his eyes open.
Zhou Ran sat downstairs alone, still thinking about what Lao Lu had just said.
He didn't know why everyone was so curious about Zhuang Zhong's business.
Zhou Ran let out a breath and leaned back in his chair.
The wind chime suddenly rang. Zhou Ran tapped on his phone screen, preparing to buy some ingredients for the hot pot.
The person who entered didn't speak, and the wind chime shook twice before stopping.
Zhou Ran thought it was Shui Cao and didn't even look up.
"Tao'er and your brother Lu are upstairs."
The person stood at the doorway for a short while before speaking. "I'm not looking for them."
Zhou Ran paused and looked up toward the doorway.
Xia Mian was standing at the doorway, wearing a light green oil-painting style dress, with a sun hat on her head that blocked half her face.
She looked at Zhou Ran, her voice very soft, a bit raspy and hoarse.
"I'm looking for you."
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