Chapter 2
Years ago, in the midst of summer, the chirping of birds and cicadas filled the air, disturbing the peace.
In the dilapidated alley, the cement ground was littered with sun-bleached advertisement stickers and fallen leaves.
A young girl rode an electric scooter, kicking up a gust of wind.
The yellowed shop sign creaked precariously.
Jiang Siyi slammed on the brakes, nearly overshooting the shop. She crunched the candy in her mouth and, without bothering to lock the scooter, lifted the rubber curtain.
“Auntie, a friend recommended this place. I’m here to buy a used phone.”
The candy in her mouth crackled.
Auntie Wang got up from her recliner, the fan in her hand still moving. She pointed to the left side of the glass counter. “With your budget, take a look at this row.”
Jiang Siyi, tired of standing, grabbed a round stool and sat down.
“—For the next three days, Qinan City will experience continuous high temperatures and rainy weather, especially tonight, there will be heavy to torrential rain. Residents are advised…”
The old radio crackled with the weather forecast. Jiang Siyi pointed to a white, older model phone. “This one is fine. Twelve hundred, right?”
She took out a wad of cash, counted out twelve bills and placed them on the table, then put the remaining three or four bills back in her pocket.
Auntie Wang spat on her finger and started counting the money.
“Alright, no problem. Take it.”
After confirming the amount, she tucked the money into the drawer and lay back down, listening to the weather forecast.
From time to time, she would mutter, “This weather forecast is getting more and more inaccurate. The sun outside is almost blinding me, and they’re saying rain…”
Jiang Siyi turned on the phone on the spot, satisfied. After confirming the touchscreen and other functions were working, she replied, “Exactly. I don’t believe it’ll rain tonight. I almost fainted from the heat riding my scooter here this morning.”
Auntie Wang chuckled, finding the girl amusing, and offered her a handful of sunflower seeds.
“You look like a student. Don’t you have to go back to school to get your report card today?”
“I’m just about to go. I had to buy a phone first, didn’t I?” She laughed. “Gotta go, bye Auntie.”
It was just past seven o’clock. There was no need to arrive at school too early to pick up the report card; the rule was that arriving after nine o’clock counted as being late.
There was plenty of time. Jiang Siyi fiddled with her phone as she slowly walked outside.
The sun was blinding.
She looked up, paused, and wondered if she was seeing things.
Because her scooter was gone.
Jiang Siyi took a few steps forward, looking left and right, but couldn’t find even a tire.
“…Who stole my scooter!?”
***
“Little girl, you go to school first. The police officers are checking the surveillance footage. We’ll notify you if we have any news.”
Fearing the police wouldn’t take her seriously, Jiang Siyi, sitting in the chair, squeezed out a few dry tears.
She could only nod, leave her phone number, and walk out of the police station.
Her phone was already logged into WeChat, and messages from her friend Xu Yuan flooded the screen.
[It’s almost nine o’clock, why aren’t you here yet? Did you buy a phone all the way to outer space?]
[We’re doomed. Ms. Bao is here. Just wait for the scolding.]
Let it be.
She was used to being scolded anyway.
Glancing at the time, it was three minutes to nine. There was no way she could make it.
Thinking this, Jiang Siyi actually relaxed.
Busy all morning and her stomach still empty, she strolled along the street and, seeing the white steam rising from a breakfast stall, quickened her pace.
After buying two steamed buns, she squatted by the roadside, checking the navigation, and found that it would take an hour to walk to school and an hour and a half to walk home.
The nearest bus stop was about fifteen minutes away.
“…”
Damn it.
This place was really remote.
Remembering that she had little money left from her part-time job, she gritted her teeth and walked briskly under the scorching sun for almost twenty minutes.
When she saw the bus driver, she had never felt so grateful for anyone before.
Finally, after much hardship, she returned home. She didn’t reach for the air conditioner remote but turned on the fan instead.
Although she was the daughter of the owner of this villa, she was merely a tenant.
Paying electricity bills in the summer, water bills in the winter.
This kind of life had been going on for many years.
Xu Yuan was still bombarding her with messages on her phone.
[It’s over. We’re starting school a month early next semester for our senior year.]
[We only had a few days off! They’re not treating us like human beings!]
Now Jiang Siyi was also a little distraught. She still had her part-time job, which meant she would have to work a month less.
Just as she was about to reply, her class teacher called.
After answering, the teacher’s voice was stern: “Jiang Siyi, now you don’t even bother coming to pick up your report card?”
“Being late usually is one thing, but today it’s nine o’clock! You couldn’t even get up?”
“Ms. Bao, my scooter was stolen today. If you don’t believe me, come with me to the police station.”
“Go my foot!”
The teacher went on and on, scolding her and then earnestly explaining the importance of studying, eventually moving on to the key points for the college entrance exam.
Jiang Siyi absentmindedly hummed in agreement, putting the phone on the bedside table and starting to doze off.
“Jiang Siyi? Are you listening? Are you asleep?”
“Uh-huh.”
“…”
The call finally ended, and Jiang Siyi, finally at peace, pulled the covers over her head and fell asleep.
It wasn’t until seven in the evening that the housekeeper knocked on her door.
“Miss, your father wants you downstairs.”
Tsk.
Jiang Siyi lay in bed for a while before slowly getting up. Reaching the staircase landing, she paused, then went back to her room to pack her things.
Li Nan waited for almost an hour without seeing her come down, frowning. “What’s she doing?”
“Sir, Miss is packing her luggage.”
This time the man laughed, as if some great fortune had fallen upon him.
He lit a cigarette, his expression ugly. “Since she wants to leave so badly, throw her and her luggage out.”
The night was thicker than coffee.
Before leaving, Jiang Siyi had a huge argument with Li Nan, calling him a shameless gold digger and cursing him to die suddenly and be reborn as a fly in his next life.
The man, never able to win an argument against her, his face flushed with anger, could only tell the housekeeper to quickly close the door.
The girl’s slender figure was drenched by the rain.
She pulled her suitcase, the wheels squeaking against the ground.
Where she could go, Jiang Siyi naturally didn’t know. The heavy rain lashed against her face, eventually numbing her. She could only pin her hopes on her friend Xu Yuan.
Taking out her phone from her pocket, she wiped the water droplets off the screen, trying to figure out how to start the conversation.
The nearby streetlight flickered, like a ghost, dimming and brightening.
Jiang Siyi, who feared nothing, was only afraid of ghosts and monsters.
She clutched her phone, thinking she should leave this spooky place first. She quickened her pace, the squeaking sound behind her growing louder.
After an unknown number of squeaks, the suitcase finally seemed to give way,
Crashing into two halves.
Jiang Siyi looked up at the sky, wondering why there hadn’t been any thunder.
After a long silence, she finally squatted down to carefully gather her belongings.
After all, these were all her possessions.
Suddenly, amidst the sound of rain, someone called her name.
Jiang Siyi’s hair stood on end.
The girl’s hands froze, neither moving nor staying still.
After a while, she mustered her courage and peeked behind her.
Under the flickering streetlight, a woman stood, holding an umbrella.
Jiang Siyi gasped.
From her perspective, the woman’s long hair was lost in the darkness, her face flickering in the light, her features indistinguishable.
The hand holding the umbrella was steady, unmoving despite the heavy rain.
The more she looked, the more the woman resembled a ghost.
Jiang Siyi almost went weak in the knees, her knees hitting the ground.
Fortunately, she regained her composure. Just as she was about to yell “Who are you?”, she heard the other person softly call her name again.
“Jiang Siyi.”
Thud.
This time, she really knelt down.
The other person seemed to notice something was wrong and took a few steps forward.
Only then could Jiang Siyi make out the woman’s facial features.
Somewhat familiar.
She straightened up, squinting, her vision obscured by the rain, only aware that the other person was getting closer and closer.
Finally, a crack appeared in her memory.
She remembered.
This was the daughter of Auntie Shen from next door.
Wasn’t she abroad? Why was she back?
When they were only a few steps apart, Shen Shiwu suddenly stopped. Her eyes were slender, the corners upturned. Later, Jiang Siyi would look it up and learn they were called “peach blossom eyes.”
“Coming with me?”
Jiang Siyi couldn’t gauge how heavy the rain was that night.
She only remembered swallowing the bitterness, her nose stinging.
“If you want to, come on your own.”
The woman’s voice was like a gentle mountain stream, beckoning her to a warm place.
Perhaps because she was soaked and uncomfortable, her legs started moving. Her footsteps were swallowed by the ground, light as if afraid it was all a dream.
The rain finally lessened.
Actually, it hadn’t, but now she had an umbrella over her head.
The rainwater on her face was wiped away.
Jiang Siyi heard the person in front of her say, “Let’s go, I’ll take you home.”
***
Just like that, she was taken home by a woman she barely knew.
Jiang Siyi watched the housekeeper make several trips to bring all her belongings inside. She lowered her head slightly, feeling embarrassed.
This was one of the few times in her life she felt apologetic.
“Go take a shower first.” Shen Shiwu led her upstairs and thoughtfully brought her some clothes. “You can wear mine for now. I’ll take you to buy new ones tomorrow.”
Although Jiang Siyi was rebellious, she wasn’t ungrateful.
She nodded and took the clothes, thanking her.
The woman seemed to chuckle and then said, “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
After a hot shower, she felt much more comfortable. Her hair half-dried, Jiang Siyi put down the hairdryer and went downstairs in her slippers.
Shen Shiwu was looking at her computer. Seeing her come down, she said something in English to the person on the other end and closed the laptop, placing it aside.
“Come sit.”
Since she had said so, Jiang Siyi plopped down beside her.
“Anything you want to ask?” Shen Shiwu took a sip of tea to moisten her throat.
Jiang Siyi watched, wanting to say, Be careful, you might not be able to sleep tonight if you drink any more tea. But the words changed as they reached her lips. “Why did you bring me to your house?”
The other woman raised an eyebrow. “You still recognize me?”
As a true admirer of beauty, Jiang Siyi remembered everyone who was good-looking.
And someone of Shen Shiwu’s caliber, she could remember until she died.
“I remember. You’re Auntie Shen’s daughter.” The girl thought for a moment, adding, “I think I scared you when I was little.”
Back then, when her mother was still alive, Jiang Siyi was even more mischievous than she was now. She had always been a free spirit, restless and playful.
Seeing that a beautiful older sister, six years her senior, lived next door, she became even more energetic.
She often wore masks bought from elementary school charity sales, pretending to be a ghost, just to get the other person’s attention.
Later, after being scolded by her mother, she calmed down a bit.
Then later.
Her mother passed away.
And the beautiful older sister next door went abroad, never to return.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the woman’s soft laughter. The woman’s smile was beautiful, her eyes crinkling at the corners, brighter than the moon.
“So, are you more well-behaved now, or more mischievous than before?”
After this question, Jiang Siyi didn’t say anything.
Thinking of the constant disciplinary actions she received at school, she chose to remain silent.
“Seems like the latter.”
Hearing this, the girl thought silently.
So, are you going to kick me out now?
However, Shen Shiwu’s next words were completely unexpected.
“It doesn’t matter.” The woman ruffled her hair, her palm becoming slightly damp from the still-wet strands.
“From now on, someone will have your back.”
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