Zhan Xi held an umbrella in one hand and a black box in the other as she walked into Qingque Garden, her shoes splashing through puddles from the day-long rain.
The subway station was between her workplace and the residential complex. Since she was moving out tomorrow, she didn’t want to take the lily back to her brother’s place or leave it at the office over the weekend. She decided to bring it to apartment 802 after work.
Inside the rental apartment, Zhan Xi placed the glass vase on the dining table and sat down, resting her chin in her hand as she gazed at the purple-red lily. She touched the petals, feeling the raised spots, wondering how the spots were created, and how the leaf veins were made.
The photos hadn’t given her such a direct impression. Now, seeing it in person, she truly appreciated Little Fish’s skillful handiwork.
She had seen Little Fish’s message but stubbornly refused to reply.
The gloomy rainy weather affected her mood. She’d been scolded by her mother, and Little Fish had stood her up with only a brief apology and no explanation. This bothered her.
She thought, it wasn’t a big deal if he didn’t come, but he should have told her in advance. How hard was it to send a WeChat message? It would only take seconds! If he had told her beforehand, she would have understood.
She decided to give him the cold shoulder for now. Since he was acting like a child who didn’t know proper etiquette, she, as Teacher Egg, would teach him how to behave!
Leaving 802, Zhan Xi took the subway back to her brother’s place. When she entered, she was met with Zhan Jie’s dejected face.
Seeing Zhan Xi return, Zhan Jie asked, “Did Mom call you?”
“Yes.” Zhan Xi knew without asking that when her mother couldn’t reach her, she must have called Zhan Jie and given him a harsh scolding.
On certain principles, Zhan Jie agreed with their parents. For instance, he believed he should take good care of Zhan Xi. She was the family’s precious baby, sweet and pretty. Their parents had her when they were almost thirty-five, now approaching sixty. As the much older brother, he felt he should support her more.
However, on other matters, Zhan Jie thought their mother was too controlling of Zhan Xi. He believed it was normal for a young woman fresh out of college to want to focus on her career, but their mother didn’t see it that way. She believed a woman’s greatest happiness was marrying a good husband and pushed Zhan Xi to take civil service exams, thinking it would help with marriage prospects.
That afternoon, their mother had berated Zhan Jie over the phone. After arguing briefly, Ji Guilan actually started crying, saying both her children were trying to kill her with worry. She accused him of forgetting his mother after getting married, taking his wife’s side, and conspiring with Qin Fei to make Zhan Xi disobedient, and so on…
Zhan Jie had a massive headache and had to sweet-talk her for ages, promising to come home during New Year’s to apologize before she finally allowed him to hang up.
Since Zhan Xi’s hospital visit last Sunday, Qin Fei had been somewhat cold towards her. Dinner was quite tense. Afterwards, when Zhan Xi offered to wash dishes, Qin Fei stopped her, saying oddly, “You just recovered from being sick. I’ll do it. Wouldn’t dare make you work.”
Feeling awkward, Zhan Xi took the opportunity while Qin Fei was washing dishes to enter the kitchen with the pressed flower brooch. “Sister-in-law, I’ve troubled you these past few months. This brooch is handmade and beautiful! It’s for you, to thank you for taking care of me.”
She opened the box. After Qin Fei glanced at it, her expression softened. Seeing that Zhan Jie wasn’t paying attention in the living room, she said quietly, “Zhan Xi, I actually don’t have any issues with you. We’ve lived together for half a year now, and you should know I’m not difficult to get along with. Since you’re moving out tomorrow, let me be honest with you. You’re Zhan Jie’s sister, and I welcome you to stay for a few days, but to be frank, it’s not very convenient to have you living here long-term.”
Zhan Xi said, “I understand, Sister-in-law. I felt uncomfortable about it too.”
“Your mother is…” Qin Fei sighed, not knowing how to describe Ji Guilan. “It’s lucky I don’t live with her, or your brother and I would have divorced long ago. I know it’s not easy for you either. By the way, what do you really think? Do you want to take the civil service exam?”
Zhan Xi answered honestly: “I don’t want to.”
She didn’t mention wanting to transfer departments. She knew Ji Guilan too well – such things couldn’t be told to family. If her mother found out, she would definitely scold her to death.
Qin Fei said, “If you really want to take it, joining the system is good. It’s stable. But I think your mother wanting you to take it isn’t considering your career development. You understand what I mean, right?”
How could Zhan Xi not understand? She lowered her head and mumbled, “I know, but I can’t argue with her.”
As Qin Fei continued washing dishes, she said, “Zhan Xi, let me give you some advice. You need to be selective about what you take from your mother’s words. She’s older now, and her thinking isn’t up to date. In today’s world, women need to be capable too, not just rely on men. Your mother’s views even irritate me! If you were a wealthy young lady, that would be different, but are you? We’re all ordinary people. You’re young and pretty now, but you’ll age! Only when you have skills will you have confidence, even when you’re old.”
Zhan Xi looked at Qin Fei’s profile. Her sister-in-law had been very pretty when young, and Zhan Jie had been handsome and thin then. But after nearly ten years, Qin Fei had developed fine lines and light spots from taking care of their family, while Zhan Jie had grown a belly, though thankfully his hairline remained steadfast.
Zhan Xi placed the gift box on the counter and said sincerely, “I understand, Sister-in-law. Thank you.”
After showering, Zhan Xi lay in bed, pondering Qin Fei’s words.
Qin Fei was right. Zhan Xi had never planned to change her fate through marriage, and because of Ji Guilan’s constant brainwashing about civil service exams, she had grown to despise the idea.
Zhan Jie worked in backend maintenance at an internet company, earning about 150,000 yuan annually. Qin Fei was more capable, doing sales work that would reportedly earn her 180,000 yuan by year’s end. The couple lived quite well, yet Ji Guilan still looked down on Qin Fei.
She complained that Qin Fei came from a rural background, but wasn’t Zhan Jie from a small town too?
She complained about Qin Fei’s technical school education, but Zhan Jie only had a vocational degree!
She had hoped Zhan Jie would marry a teacher or nurse, or even a state enterprise employee – lower salary wouldn’t matter as long as it was stable – but Zhan Jie himself just worked for a private company!
Zhan Xi remembered when Zhan Jie was dating Qin Fei, Ji Guilan had tried to set him up with a girl who worked at a rapid transit station, claiming the city transit group counted as a state enterprise.
That girl only earned over 1,000 yuan1 monthly! At that time, Qin Fei was already making 4-5,000 yuan per month. This incident almost caused them to break up, and it took Zhan Jie a long time to win Qin Fei back.
Working in HR for half a year, Zhan Xi knew all employees’ official salaries. For instance, Wen Qin earned 220,000 annually, recruitment manager Yuan Sichen made 130,000, Lin Yan in tech earned 180,000, and Zhan Xi herself made 7,500 yuan monthly before tax.
The planning department’s salaries varied greatly – some earned 300-400,000, others just over 100,000, depending on performance, projects, experience, ability, and luck.
Lost in thought, Zhan Xi’s phone chimed. She picked it up to see a text message.
[138…]: Zhan Xi, it’s Wang He. Why did you block me?
Thinking of Wang He made Zhan Xi angry, and she couldn’t help but reply.
[Zhan Xi]: Sorry, I don’t think we’re compatible. Let’s forget it.
[Wang He]: What happened? We were chatting fine! Didn’t we agree to meet next weekend?
[Zhan Xi]: When chatting with you, I trusted you and shared some personal matters, then you went and told my mom. Did you consider how I would feel?
[Wang He]: Just because of that???? [Wang He]: About you moving? I need to explain, you’re misunderstanding! My mom asked if I’d met you, I said no because you were moving on the weekend. That’s all I said, I haven’t had any contact with your mom!!
Zhan Xi stared at the texts, thinking that if Wang He was telling the truth, she couldn’t entirely blame him.
However, after two weeks of chatting, they hadn’t really connected, and Zhan Xi found it dull, nothing like the enjoyable conversations with “Big Fish.”
With two blind dates under her belt, she knew things probably wouldn’t work out with Wang He. Now that he was eagerly trying to explain, her upbringing prevented her from being unreasonable. After consideration, she decided to meet Wang He once more – rejecting him after meeting in person would be more convincing.
So, she added Wang He back on WeChat and agreed to have dinner together next Saturday.
While adding him, Zhan Xi saw “Big Fish’s” chat window again. His last message was from half an hour ago, while she was showering – his fourth message that day.
Whether in length, sincerity, or grammatical errors, it set new records!
Big Fish: Teacher Egg, I know you’re angry and don’t want to reply to me. I’ve thought for a long time and still need to apologize! Let me explain my reason – my condition really isn’t good. If you saw my true appearance, you would dislike me. I don’t want you to dislike me, I’m scared. Many people dislike me, I don’t want you to be the same. I really didn’t mean to not deliver the flowers. I was very sad and scared. You gave me a gift, I really liked it and was very happy in my heart, but I made you angry. Can you not be angry? I was wrong. I’m afraid of you seeing me, really my condition is very poor! But I want to chat with you. You said you’d teach me to fix my grammar mistakes, you said we’re friends. I remember! Teacher Egg, please forgive me?
Zhan Xi wasn’t angry anymore.
A young man, rejected during blind dates because of his poor circumstances, now afraid to meet her for the same reason, saying she would be scared and dislike him when she saw him.
Zhan Xi wondered what could be so wrong? Was he unattractive? Too short? Whatever it was, after seeing him struggle to write such a long message, her heart softened, and she felt none of those conditions mattered.
The young man seemed quite upset, but Zhan Xi still wanted to scold him a little.
Egg Pudding: I forgive you. Little Fish, it’s okay that you didn’t come to see me. I was just angry that you didn’t tell me beforehand, without any explanation. It made me feel you were very impolite and disrespectful towards me.
When Luo Jingyu received “Egg Pudding’s” reply, he jumped from his chair. After carefully reading her words, it felt like being doused with cold water, and he felt terrible.
Living alone all these years, he only focused on making handcrafts to earn money, rarely interacting with people. He truly didn’t understand proper social etiquette, thinking Fan Xu passing along the message would be enough.
He had thought about sending her a WeChat message to explain beforehand but was too afraid.
Still, she said she forgave him, and Luo Jingyu felt relieved.
Big Fish: I won’t do it again, Teacher Egg. I really respect you.
Alright, since they’d cleared things up, Zhan Xi didn’t want to dwell on it anymore, and started chatting casually with him.
Egg Pudding: My flower is finished. What are you making next?
Big Fish: Online store needs many accessories, I must make more. Christmas limaited orders, many many! Must finish quickly, working from morning to night, afraid won’t finish in time!
So busy? Zhan Xi hadn’t expected that.
Egg Pudding: Christmas limited accessories?
Big Fish: Yes! Typed wrong, limited accessories.
Egg Pudding: Lemme see~
Big Fish: What is lemme? [confused]
Egg Pudding: [covers face] Internet slang! It means I want to look.2
Big Fish: I have, I’ll show you.
He sent Zhan Xi many pictures of Christmas limited edition pressed flower accessories – hairpins, brooches, earrings, corsages… Each had Christmas elements in red, white, green, and brown colors, delicate and cute.
Big Fish: Which one do you like? I’ll give it to you.
Egg Pudding: No need! You’ve already given me a gift, I haven’t even thanked you yet! The lily is beautiful, and the brooch is especially pretty. I gave it to my sister-in-law, she really likes it. Thank you, Little Fish.
Big Fish: You’re welcome, just small things. If you like any, tell me, really I’ll give it to you.
Egg Pudding: Really no need, you’re just a worker too, it’s not easy.
Luo Jingyu looked at the words “just a worker,” feeling confused. Though he wasn’t a big boss, he was at least a freelancer. Whether before or after cooperating with Fang Xu, he never felt like he was working for anyone. No one paid him wages; every penny was earned by himself.
However, since she insisted on not accepting, he didn’t push further. He thought about designing a set of accessories specially for Teacher Egg later, one-of-a-kind in the world, to give her.
Egg Pudding: By the way, I’m moving tomorrow! [mischievous smile]
Big Fish: Many things?
Egg Pudding: Not much, just some clothes and bedding. My brother will drive me.
Big Fish: Living alone, can you cook?
Egg Pudding: Honestly, not really [shy], but I can learn! [cheering]
Big Fish: I can cook [grin]
Egg Pudding: What level?
Big Fish: Very delicious level! [proud]
Egg Pudding: Big Whale Eating.jpg
Egg Pudding: Hmph, I can’t taste it anyway, you can brag all you want. [sulking]
Luo Jingyu wanted to type: I’ll cook for you…
After typing three characters, he stopped. He was too scared to even meet her, honestly telling her he feared she would be scared and dislike him. How could he offer to cook for her now? No wonder she said he was bragging.
He thought for a long time and managed to write:
Big Fish: I can bake cake and express deliver to you.
Egg Pudding: Bake cake?
Big Fish: Yes, very delicious, everyone who’s eaten gives thumbs up.
Egg Pudding: I love eating cake!
Egg Pudding: Cat drooling.jpg
Luo Jingyu curled up in his chair and smiled.
Big Fish: I have your work address, really I’ll express deliver to you, delicious! I’m not lying.
Zhan Xi felt warm inside, her mind seemingly crossed wrong, hiding under the covers to reply to him.
Egg Pudding: Okay! I’ll be waiting then!
—
Saturday morning, Zhan Jie drove with everyone from home, loaded with Zhan Xi’s belongings. They first dropped off Qin Fei and Wei Wei at the Youth Palace for class, then took Zhan Xi to Qingque Garden.
Zhan Jie had asked about the bed size in the rental and helped buy his sister new mattress padding and bedding, along with two sets of brand new four-piece bedding sets.
After moving everything into 802, Zhan Jie walked around the place, checked the kitchen cabinets, and came out asking, “Huanhuan, don’t you need to buy a rice cooker? There’s nothing here. Are you planning to cook for yourself?”
“I’ll buy it myself,” Zhan Xi was opening her suitcase. “I’ll just eat takeout for a couple days first, but I’ll learn to cook.”
Zhan Jie ruffled her head: “Little brat’s grown up, eh? Brave enough to live alone now. Listen, the most important thing for a girl living alone is safety. Don’t let strangers into your home, got it?”
“I know!” Zhan Xi grinned, feeling especially good.
Zhan Jie asked, “Enough money? You’ll need to buy lots of things. If you’re short, I’ll give you some.”
“Enough, enough, I’ve saved my salary,” Zhan Xi urged him, “Don’t you need to go to work? Hurry up and go, I can clean up myself.”
Zhan Jie did need to work overtime, but before leaving, he noticed the glass vase with the sunflower lily on the dining table and asked curiously, “This flower… is it the one you showed me before?”
Zhan Xi remembered showing her brother the photo while getting an IV at the hospital, and answered, “Yes, it was a gift!”
Zhan Jie reached out to touch it, but Zhan Xi jumped up and slapped his hand away: “Don’t touch! What if you break it?”
“…” Zhan Jie rubbed his hand, annoyed, “Your brother’s worth less than a flower now?! Anyone who didn’t know better would think it was from your boyfriend!”
“You’re so annoying! Just go!” Zhan Xi shouted.
After giving a few more reminders, Zhan Jie left for work.
Once he was gone, Zhan Xi enjoyed the apartment for a while, planning to do some cleaning, go out for lunch, and then buy some daily necessities on the way back.
She got right to it, taking off her coat, rolling up her sleeves, and starting to wipe furniture, sweep and mop the floor, scrub the toilet… Thankfully the apartment was small with minimal furniture. By noon, the whole place was spotless.
Tired and hungry, Zhan Xi rested for a bit before making a shopping list, preparing to go out for lunch.
She took out the garbage bag and left, not wearing a mask or makeup, just her plain face and that incredibly thick gray down jacket that made her look like a ball, with her hair in a ponytail from cleaning.
When the elevator stopped at the eighth floor, the doors slowly opened, revealing a black figure. Zhan Xi’s eyes widened expectantly, but seeing it was just an elderly man, she secretly pouted, laughing at herself for being so boy-crazy.
There were already three people in the elevator: besides the elderly man, there was a woman with a handsome boy around ten years old.
At first, no one spoke. After the boy glanced at Zhan Xi a few times, he asked, “Big sister, which apartment do you live in on the eighth floor?”
“Huh?” Zhan Xi didn’t understand.
The boy, with reddened cheeks, said, “I’m Gu Xinchi, ‘xinchi’ as in ‘heart yearning.’ I live in 1501. What’s your name? Where do you…”
The elderly man burst out laughing, and the boy’s mother quickly covered her son’s mouth, smiling awkwardly at Zhan Xi: “Please excuse him, he talks too much.”
Being hit on by such a young child made Zhan Xi blush. She chose to answer just one question: “My surname is Zhan, the character without the four dots for water.”
Gu Xinchi broke free from his mother’s hand and looked up at her: “Sister Zhan, you’re so pretty! Come have dinner at our place sometime!”
Zhan Xi: “…”
As they walked out of the building entrance, someone approached from the opposite direction.
Zhan Xi’s eyes lit up – hey! It really was him this time!
The young man she’d seen twice before moved to the side of the narrow entrance path to let them pass.
Zhan Xi thought, this person was really something! How could he dress exactly the same way every time? Black clothes, black pants, black shoes, hood up, black mask! Hands in his pockets, like a moving shadow.
Gu Xinchi, carrying his little backpack, called out: “Brother Little Fish! You’re back!”
The words “Little Fish” caught Zhan Xi’s attention. She turned to look. Perhaps noticing her gaze, the man in black briefly met her eyes, their gazes crossing for a moment.
Zhan Xi noticed that his eyes, visible between his hood and mask, were really beautiful – double-lidded, with clear black pupils, a gentler gaze than she’d imagined, and very long eyelashes.
His surname was probably “Yu”? Or could be “Yu,” “Yu,” “Yu”… ah! The sound “yu” had so many different characters as surnames!
Out of politeness, Zhan Xi smiled at him. The man in black showed no reaction and quickly looked away.
They passed each other, one going up, one going out, neither pausing their steps.
This day was December 7th, the Great Snow solar term.
After the rain in Qiantang, the sky cleared, though patches of water remained on the ground. The air wasn’t so dry, and you could smell the fresh scent of earth after rain.
Gu Xinchi turned back to wave at Zhan Xi: “Bye Sister Zhan! I’m going to Think Learning class! My math grades are really good! I…”
His mother, probably feeling embarrassed, pulled him away.
Zhan Xi was thoroughly amused, swinging her garbage bag and walking lightly through this unfamiliar complex. Looking back, the man in black was long gone. She suddenly felt very happy and couldn’t help but sing: “Good luck come wish you good luck, good luck brings happiness and love…”
- Roughly divide it by 7 to get an estimate of the currency in USD. So a 1000 yuan would be about $140. ↩︎
- I don’t think it really affects the translation anyway but thought I’d share; the original mandarin text said ‘kang kang‘ as a cutesy way of saying ‘kan kan‘ (which means to see). There isn’t an equivalent slang in English so I chose to translate ‘lemme’ as the slang instead!
Similar to the ‘lamaited‘ used above; I think it’ll be hard to translate all the ‘spelling/grammar’ errors accurately so please just take them all with a grain of salt from now on 🙂 ↩︎
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