Chapter 89: The Schoolyard
Xiang Er wandered aimlessly through the streets of the old county town.
She had no destination, no purpose, just a need to escape the confines of the hotel room, the suffocating feeling of being trapped.
After all these years, the town hadn’t changed much, every corner a memory.
As Xiang Er walked, the anger, the shame, the awkwardness, the pain, gradually subsided, replaced by a flood of childhood memories, transporting her back in time.
She hadn’t walked a block when a figure appeared beside her, keeping a small distance, yet following her every move.
Xiang Er didn’t even have to turn around to know it was Akhe! The familiar warmth, the scent, the shape of the shadow, she knew them too well!
She turned her head slightly:
“Go away, I want to be alone.”
Akhe obediently stopped following.
Xiang Er, slightly relieved, continued her aimless wandering, then stopped, her gaze fixed on a small restaurant.
She had been five years old, her first trip to the city with the other children from the orphanage, to see a movie. Sun Wukong wreaking havoc on the heavens, the children in the theater laughing and shouting, even the girl who always stole her lollipops had been nice that day, twirling her around excitedly.
After the movie, they had walked along this street, and she had seen the golden, steaming pies fresh out of the oven, their aroma enticing, and she had stopped, mesmerized.
But she didn’t have what they called “money,” she couldn’t buy a pie. She had never had one before, so golden and tempting, its filling bulging, it looked so delicious.
Then, her teacher had found her, scolding her as she led her away, telling her not to wander off, what if she got lost, what if she was kidnapped… Xiang Er had craned her neck, looking back, the golden pies receding into the distance.
She had whispered:
“Teacher… I want to eat that…”
The teacher, herding the children, had replied dismissively:
“You’re hungry? We’ll eat when we get back to the orphanage.”
“But… they don’t have those at the orphanage…”
“Hurry up, hurry up! We’ll miss the bus!”
Xiang Er’s small voice had been lost in the noise of the traffic and the crowd, and she had realized, for the first time, how big the world was, and how… insignificant she was.
Later, back at the orphanage, she had dreamt of pies every night, all kinds of pies, imagining their taste. Were they apple-flavored? No, maybe the taste of youtiao? Perhaps a little, but what about the filling? Was it youtiao filled with beans? Or pork? But pork was only in dumplings… was it the taste of youtiao and dumplings combined?…
Then she had started elementary school on a different street, surrounded by all sorts of tempting treats, and she had started saving money, but she had never bought a pie from that shop again.
The honking of a car horn brought Xiang Er back to the present, and she stepped aside, then turned and saw Akhe standing at the corner, a few meters away.
On the old, faded street, against the backdrop of grey tiles and white walls, Akhe, in her red dress, was a vibrant splash of color, the passersby staring, their faces filled with curiosity, but she seemed oblivious to their gazes, her eyes fixed on Xiang Er.
Her gaze was filled with a tender ache.
Xiang Er frowned and looked away, walking on, then suddenly heard Akhe’s voice behind her:
“I’ll take all of these, and do you have any other flavors? I’ll take one of each.”
She turned around in surprise and saw the shop owner, beaming, packing all the pies into a plastic bag, handing it to Akhe.
Akhe nodded politely, paid with her phone, then, a tall, beautiful woman, holding a bag of greasy, incongruous fried pies, walked towards Xiang Er.
Xiang Er took a step back, her voice defensive:
“Don’t think I’ll suddenly like you just because you bought these. I’m not touched, not at all!”
Akhe smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons:
“It’s not to… touch you, I just wanted you to try them, to let the five-year-old you know what they taste like.”
Under the clear blue sky, the beautiful woman smiled, her expression genuine, her dress swaying gently in the breeze, the greasy bag in her delicate, white hand.
Her gaze seemed to be on Xiang Er, and yet, also on… that five-year-old girl.
She took out a pie, its warmth and aroma filling the air as she broke it in half:
“Ah, this one is red bean paste, do you want to try it?”
She offered half of the pie to Xiang Er, holding the other half, and took a large bite, her voice exaggeratedly enthusiastic:
“It’s so good!”
Xiang Er hesitantly took the pie and bit into it.
It was… decent, nothing special, an old-fashioned pie, heavy with oil and sugar, the red bean paste overly sweet, but… it was warm and sweet, undeniably so.
She couldn’t imagine how happy the five-year-old her would have been, to have a taste of this pie.
Xiang Er thought about this, and she looked up, seeing Akhe’s eyes closed, her expression one of pure bliss as she devoured the pie, as if it were the most delicious thing in the world.
Xiang Er swallowed, then turned and walked away, her voice sullen:
“It’s just a pie.”
Akhe, still eating, followed her, and this time, even though she kept a small distance, Xiang Er didn’t try to shake her off.
She reasoned that if someone was carrying all the food, it wouldn’t be practical to be too far away.
As they walked, many things triggered Xiang Er’s memories, and whenever she reminisced about something, Akhe would immediately buy it for her.
From brightly colored fruit juice, to sugary popsicles, to stickers from the stationery store, to noisy children’s toys, celebrity posters and trading cards, sparkly butterfly hair clips, a pink, hard-cover notebook… she bought almost everything Xiang Er looked at.
By the end, Akhe’s hands were full of shopping bags, her arms outstretched.
As the sun began to set, they passed by Xiang Er’s elementary school, then arrived at the schoolyard of the middle school where she had boarded for three years, and sat down.
The security guard had tried to stop them, but Akhe, with a subtle manipulation of his perception, had easily gained them entry.
Akhe blew bubbles, the iridescent spheres floating away in the evening breeze. Xiang Er munched on her snacks, which didn’t taste as good as she remembered, but she still tried each one.
A few middle school students, their thin bodies swallowed by their oversized uniforms, walked across the schoolyard towards the cafeteria, their laughter echoing, their eyes filled with the boundless hope of youth.
Just like Xiang Er had once been.
The students, passing by, occasionally glanced at the two unusual adults, some of the girls with envious looks in their eyes, perhaps imagining their own future selves, beautiful and successful, their lives filled with endless possibilities.
Xiang Er smiled at a few of the girls, her own mood surprisingly light.
She suddenly realized that life wasn’t so bad after all, looking back, it hadn’t been all pain and suffering, there had been moments of joy, of being cared for.
She had endured a lot of pain, but… she had also survived, thanks to the kindness of others, she had made it this far, she was… okay.
Perhaps… she had finally achieved a normal life… except for the Evil God.
After all, other ordinary people didn’t have a Evil God in their lives!
She turned to look at Akhe, the setting sun casting a golden-red glow on her face as she diligently blew bubbles, her profile gentle and innocent, her eyes, beneath her slightly messy hair, still familiar.
Xiang Er looked at her for a long time, then asked softly:
“Are you… hiding anything else from me?”
Akhe put down the bubble wand, a puzzled look on her face, but her voice was firm:
“Of course not, I’ve been completely honest with you, I have no secrets, and I’ll never lie to you again, I promise!”
Xiang Er looked at her face.
There was indeed no sign of deceit, but Xiang Er didn’t trust her own judgment anymore, she had been so easily fooled before, completely oblivious to the lies.
Akhe’s eyes, reflecting the golden light of the setting sun, her lips curving into a hesitant smile, a mixture of hope and trepidation:
“Why… why are you asking this now? Are you… still thinking about what I did before… I’m sorry, I was so stupid, so foolish, so horrible back then, I understand if you hate me, I deserve it…”
“You were stupid!”
Xiang Er suddenly interrupted her, looked away, and stood up, picking up the bag of uneaten snacks.
She walked away, her back to Akhe, then… stopped.
Akhe, although puzzled, still obediently extended her tentacles, gathered the trash, and put it in a bag, a model citizen.
After throwing the garbage bag into a nearby bin, she turned around…
And saw Xiang Er, her head turned slightly, looking back at her, her voice barely a whisper:
“And what about… the future?”
Akhe froze.
On the lush green lawn, Xiang Er, having spoken, walked away, her figure shrinking in the distance, like a slender middle school girl, her silhouette almost cinematic in the golden light.
The future…
Akhe, as if struck by lightning, stood frozen, her eyes shining brightly, her gaze fixed on Xiang Er’s retreating figure, as if seeing a completely different person.
She had mentioned the future.
She was thinking about the future!
And in her future… there was a place for her!
Akhe’s heart throbbed with emotion, the grass around her, as if caught in a sudden gust of wind, swirling and swaying, a fleeting black shadow looming overhead, the sky momentarily darkening.
As dusk deepened, Akhe appeared before Xiang Er, her arms wrapping around her in a tight embrace, her face buried in Xiang Er’s shoulder, her lips showering her neck with kisses, her movements frantic and unrestrained.
Xiang Er pushed her away, they were at her middle school, people were watching, this was so embarrassing!
“What are you doing! Let go of me! I didn’t… I didn’t mean it like that!”
She had just casually mentioned the future, she hadn’t meant that she wanted to reconcile, why was Akhe acting like this! Such emotional instability, how could there be a future?!
But… cold tears fell on her neck, and Akhe’s voice, trembling and soft, whispered in her ear:
“Thank you… thank you…”
Thank you for… even considering a future with me.
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