My nose was nearly broken by a basketball, and I bled a lot. My mom called the school to excuse me so I could recover at home.
No one genuinely loves school, and resting at home was incredibly comfortable. Besides, since I was injured, my mom wasn’t as strict as usual. On the weekend, Yuan Ziyi came to visit me and brought a lot of snacks. My mom turned a blind eye, allowing me to indulge a little.
Even though I’m no longer a little kid who’s excited by snacks, I was still quite happy to tear open a pack of shrimp chips and chat with Yuan Ziyi on the sofa.
Nibbling on strawberries from the fruit platter, Yuan Ziyi leaned in conspiratorially and said, "Did you know Tang Shi got a demerit?"
"Huh?" On the day I got hit by the basketball, Tang Shi carried me to the nurse’s office and then brought me home. After that, he hadn’t come to see me, only Aunt Tang came by with some supplements to apologize.
My mom was, of course, very angry, but Aunt Tang was so gentle that my mom couldn’t bring herself to vent her anger on her. She just complained a bit about Tang Shi being too mischievous: "Yueguang is so well-behaved, never causing us any trouble. You should really keep an eye on Tang Shi."
Aunt Tang looked guilty and promised she would discipline Tang Shi properly.
But both my mom and I knew Aunt Tang was too soft-hearted, like a woman made of water, and couldn’t possibly control Tang Shi.
I hadn’t expected Tang Shi to get punished, so hearing his name now and learning he was disciplined by the school was surprising.
I took a sip of fresh orange juice from the table and asked Yuan Ziyi why.
The fresh orange juice had a slight bitterness. I took a sip and put it down, reminiscing about the orange soda I used to sneak as a child.
The orange soda was on the bottom shelf of the convenience store’s drink cooler, costing fifty cents a bottle, and it was my favorite drink back then.
Childhood happiness was so simple, just fifty cents.
My mom said it was full of artificial flavors and colors and forbade me from drinking it, but I still followed Tang Shi around like a little shadow, pestering him to buy it for me.
After all, Tang Shi had plenty of pocket money, and spending a bit on me was nothing.
Unfortunately, that kind of orange soda seems to have been discontinued. I’ve searched many convenience stores but never found that cheap packaging again.
Yuan Ziyi didn’t know what I was thinking. She took a sip of her orange juice, not finding it bitter at all, and downed half of it in one go. Clearing her throat, she told me, "Tang Shi got into a fight. Apparently, the basketball that hit you was thrown on purpose. On the first day you were absent, Tang Shi went to find that person and fought them. The school’s punishment just came down these past couple of days."
"Wow," Yuan Ziyi exclaimed, finishing off her orange juice and leaning her tall frame against me, "fighting for the neighbor’s little brother is so cool. If you were a girl, this would be a classic childhood sweetheart romance script."
Yuan Ziyi was heavy, and I tried to dodge her, but she still ended up leaning on my shoulder. I could only let her occupy my shoulder and asked, "Do you want some yogurt? There’s some in the fridge."
Girls seem to have an innate weakness for yogurt and strawberries. Despite her tall and sturdy build, Yuan Ziyi was still a girly girl. She cheered and left my shoulder to get yogurt from the fridge.
Relieved, I straightened my clothes that she’d messed up and took a shrimp chip from the snack bag on my lap, letting it slowly dissolve in my mouth.
The housekeeper returned from the supermarket, carrying the scent of sunshine from outside. She asked me, "Yueguang, is your classmate staying for lunch?"
I glanced at Yuan Ziyi, who was picking out yogurt from the fridge, and decided for her, "Yes, she likes spicy food."
"Alright," the housekeeper said with a smile, "I’ll make some spicy chicken for lunch."
Yuan Ziyi heard us talking and raised her yogurt bottle to add to the menu, "And Mapo Tofu! Thanks in advance, beautiful lady!"
The housekeeper laughed, "Such a sweet talker. I’m old and not beautiful anymore, but you young girls are."
My parents called to say they had a lunch meeting and wouldn’t be home.
My mom told the housekeeper to pass the phone to me, reminding me, "Make sure to take a nap at noon, okay? Lack of sleep will stunt your growth."
What a lie. I glanced at Yuan Ziyi, who was snacking on the sofa, thinking that my deskmate never naps and is still taller than me.
But I still agreed with my mom, and she added, "Good boy, I’ll bring you a gift when I come home tonight."
That made me happy, and I said goodbye with genuine affection, "Okay, bye, Mom."
There was still some time before lunch. The housekeeper went to the kitchen to prepare the meal, and Yuan Ziyi found a romance movie for us to watch. The woman on screen smoked, her red lips enveloped in a thin veil of smoke, giving her a mysterious allure.
Yuan Ziyi admired, "That’s so cool."
I thought it was kind of cool too. At my age, anything rebellious seemed cool. But being a good kid, I could only say, "Well, smoking is bad for your health."
Yuan Ziyi teased me for being a goody-two-shoes. I ignored her and got up to grab a yogurt for myself.
The doorbell rang, so I had to turn back to answer it. From the small screen of the electronic lock, I saw Tang Shi standing outside.
Why was he here? I unlocked the door, watching him swagger in with a small bruise on his face, casually changing shoes by the cabinet.
Yuan Ziyi, who had been lounging on the sofa, sat up straight, suddenly looking very composed.
She greeted Tang Shi, "Hi, senior, I’m Yueguang’s deskmate, Yuan Ziyi."
"Hmm," Tang Shi walked toward the sofa, ruffling my hair as he passed, making himself at home. He sat down, crossed his legs, and said, "Tang Shi, Cheng Yueguang’s neighbor."
"Hahaha," Yuan Ziyi laughed like a duck being strangled, speaking to Tang Shi in a tone I’d never heard before, "I know you, Yueguang’s big brother."
Ugh—!!!
Her tone made my skin crawl, and I wanted to throw my head back and scream. Tang Shi glanced at me and ordered, "Get me a bottle of cold water."
Reluctantly, I went to the fridge to get him water. The housekeeper poked her head out of the kitchen and asked Tang Shi, "Shi Shi, are you staying for lunch?"
"Yes," Tang Shi replied, "Auntie, could you make some mung bean soup? It’s too hot outside."
The housekeeper needed to cook and called me over to help, "Alright, Yueguang, come help me get the mung beans."
I tossed the water bottle toward Tang Shi’s head. He caught it with a "pop."
It didn’t hit him. I huffed and went to the kitchen to fetch the mung beans for the housekeeper.
With the mung beans in hand, I shook the container, suddenly inspired. I asked the housekeeper if she could make me a bowl of mung bean ice.
It’s embarrassing to admit, but in the middle of summer, our fridge didn’t even have ice cream because my mom wouldn’t let me eat it. I wasn’t particularly craving it, but summer always made people long for ice cream and soda.
The housekeeper refused, saying my mom would scold her if she found out.
Oh well, I placed the mung beans on the counter and dejectedly returned to the sofa.
Tang Shi hadn’t touched his cold water. He’d finished my orange juice instead. As soon as I sat down, he pinched my nose, saying he wanted to check how my nose was healing.
He pinned me to the sofa, teasing me while I covered my nose and tried to dodge. Yuan Ziyi just sat there, laughing foolishly instead of helping.
I couldn’t handle spicy food; it made me sweat a lot, so I picked dishes without chili.
Yuan Ziyi loved spicy food, but with Tang Shi sitting next to her, she ate more daintily, taking small bites of rice and rarely reaching for the dishes.
Tang Shi wasn’t picky; he ate whatever was available. He had a big appetite and ate quickly. After two bowls of rice, the housekeeper said there was no more rice and asked if he wanted noodles instead.
"No need," Tang Shi glanced at me, seeing me poking at my rice without eating, and took my bowl, "I’ll eat his."
"Oh," Yuan Ziyi finally remembered to protect me, the frail scholar, and asked Tang Shi, "Then what will Yueguang eat?"
Tang Shi took a couple of bites of rice and some chicken cartilage, quickly finishing them, and looked at me, "He’s picky. He always leaves rice."
Yuan Ziyi frowned, scolding me, "No wonder you’re not growing taller."
So not growing tall was because I didn’t eat rice? I was shocked and immediately decided to eat two big bowls of rice tonight!
With Tang Shi and Yuan Ziyi around, there was no way I could nap. I took them to my room and pulled out the comic books I had hidden under my bed for Yuan Ziyi to read.
There were a few shoujo manga, which Yuan Ziyi loved. She lay on the carpet, swinging her legs as she read.
My room didn’t have as large a window as Tang Shi’s, but the midday sun was still quite glaring. I drew the sheer curtains, my socked feet padding on the floor, and asked Yuan Ziyi if she wanted any fruit.
Yuan Ziyi waved her hand, "No more, I’ve been eating since I walked in."
"Alright." I sat next to her, leaning my back against the bed, and opened a comic book on my lap.
The room was cool with the air conditioning, and the scent my mom had bought filled the air. Yuan Ziyi took a deep breath and said it smelled like money.
I laughed at her description and told her I had an unopened bottle I could give her.
"No, no," Yuan Ziyi refused, "It’s too expensive."
"But you’ve given me so many things," I pointed to the third shelf of my desk, which wasn’t filled with books but neatly arranged with little trinkets, "all gifts from you."
Tang Shi had been lying on my bed playing with his phone. Hearing this, he jumped down to look at the ceramic toys. Next to them lay a small foil packet. After Tang Shi took it last time, I told Yuan Ziyi, and she gave me another one.
Tang Shi picked up the foil packet, his long fingers gently shaking it, a faintly amused expression on his face, "Did she give you this too?"
"Yeah," I replied confidently, "what about it?"
"Ah—" Yuan Ziyi let out a pained gasp, her ears turning bright red, "Why did you put that on display too!"
…Am I not supposed to display it? I was confused, looking at Yuan Ziyi, then tilting my head to look at Tang Shi.
Tang Shi didn’t say anything, just confiscated my foil packet again and returned to the bed to continue with his phone.
For some reason, Yuan Ziyi became very uneasy, her face flushed red. She seemed like she wanted to say something but ultimately said she wanted to go home.
I could tell she was embarrassed, but I didn’t know why. Was it because of the gift she gave me? I wondered, if only I had a phone, I could look up what it was.
I found the scent my mom bought and walked Yuan Ziyi downstairs, giving her the scent and the comic book she hadn’t finished, "Take it home to read."
Yuan Ziyi’s face was still red. She nodded, didn’t say anything extra, and ran off as soon as she changed her shoes.
I grabbed a yogurt from the fridge and went upstairs. Tang Shi had put away his phone and was sitting cross-legged on my bed, examining my foil packet.
I placed the yogurt on the bedside table, kicked off my slippers, climbed onto the bed, and scooted next to him to see what he was holding, "What is this?"
Tang Shi flicked the corner of the foil packet, giving me a teasing look, "A balloon."
Judging by his expression, it was definitely not a balloon. I rolled my eyes at him, took off my socks, and balled them up, tossing them onto the carpet beside the bed. Since I was at home, I was wearing shorts, and when I curled up, the flesh on my calves was slightly squished.
I gave Tang Shi a shove, "You can’t fool me. Tell me what it really is."
"It really is a balloon. Why would I lie to you?" Tang Shi grinned mischievously and opened the foil packet in his hand, "If you don’t believe me, see for yourself."
Curious, I used my fingertips to pull out the contents of the foil packet. It was so greasy. I pulled it all out and found it was a translucent yellowish rubber object.
I swear I’d never seen a balloon like this before, so I was dumbfounded. What on earth was this?
"Hahahahaha!" Tang Shi burst into laughter, his laughter crisp and refreshing, yet inexplicably amused. He said, "Cheng Yueguang, do you know you look like an idiot right now?"
He laughed while reaching out to pinch my cheek, "It’s a condom! Didn’t you know?"