“Huh? What a coincidence?”
Li Zhi’s voice was a bit loud. The lazy cat who was nestled nearby taking a nap was woken up. He reached out to smooth its fur, and said again, “I really didn’t expect that.”
Chen Yi was indifferent to such coincidences. He leaned over to scoop the cat into his arms, and placed his fingers with distinct joints on the cat’s back, gently caressing it. The veins on the back of his hand appeared and disappeared as he moved. After quite a while, he finally asked, “How do you and Ruan Mian know each other?”
“Don’t you remember?”
Li Zhi looked at him as if he had seen a ghost.
Chen Yi’s hand stroking the cat paused. He raised his eyes to meet Li Zhi’s face, thought for a few seconds, then followed up his words to ask, “Don’t remember what?”
“We’ve seen Ruan Mian before, that time you came to the internet cafe to eat barbecue, she got lost and wandered to the internet cafe entrance, even mistaking me for someone selling skewers.”
Chen Yi went to Li Zhi’s internet cafe at home to eat barbecue many times during the summer vacation. With so many people coming and going every day, he had no impression of this at all.
Li Zhi couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “With your crappy memory, I really wonder if you got first in grade through your school teachers getting bribed for you.”
After all, she was just an unimportant stranger. Chen Yi didn’t bother expending effort to dig through a long-forgotten memory that he barely had any impression of anymore.
Using a nonchalant tone, he retorted straight to the point, “Then how come you remember it when I don’t see you getting first in grade?”
After eating, Li Zhi went back to watch the store while Chen Yi went with him to buy some things along the way.
Before leaving, Chen Yi’s auntie asked him to buy some salt on his way back.
Coming out from Pingjiang Mansions, taking a turn would reach Pingjiang West Lane. The night breeze was cool and refreshing, while the shops on both sides of the road were brightly lit.
The figures of youth were draped in a layer of glittering lights.
Stepping into the alley, it was as if entering another world, with the sounds of pots and pans and family chatter. The warm-colored lighting added a few strokes of liveliness to this ordinary night.
Li Zhi reopened the door. His dad had taken his grandpa to visit relatives in the countryside and would only be back tomorrow, so the store was pitch black inside, remaining exactly the way it was when they left.
Chen Yi walked in and reached for the light switch on the wall, pressing it down.
With a “pa” sound, the tungsten filament of the light bulb flickered twice in the darkness before connecting to the electric current. The bright light quickly attracted many insects.
Li Zhi went to the counter and reminded, “The salt is on the bottom shelf of the third rack.”
“No rush.”
Chen Yi brought out the recliner from the corner and set it up next to the counter. Lying down on it with his hands clasped over his stomach and eyes closed, he asked, “When is Uncle coming back?”
“If nothing unexpected happens, he’ll be back tomorrow.”
Li Zhi took out the coins from the drawer and stuck them together in groups of ten, then casually asked, “How come Auntie and Uncle aren’t home today?”
“My mom has a performance at the troupe. My dad went to show support.”
Chen Yi’s mother was a dancer. When she was young, she was the pillar of the military performing arts troupe. Over ten years ago, she was transferred to Pingcheng Grand Theater with her husband’s work relocation. Now she was a first-class national performer.
After chatting for a while, Li Zhi felt thirsty. He went to the kitchen at the back to get water, asking Chen Yi if he wanted tea or plain water.
Chen Yi’s head rested on the little pillow on the bamboo recliner. Holding up his phone to his face, the screen’s brightness accentuated his features. He shook his head, “No need, I’m not thirsty.”
“Then keep an eye on the store.”
“Mm.”
At this time, everyone was rushing home for dinner. Bicycles tingled by the supermarket entrance, sometimes accompanied by the rumbling of motorcycles.
Ruan Mian took a nap after getting home in the afternoon. After waking up, she went downstairs to shower. Coming out of the bathroom with wet hair, she ran into Zhao Shutang who had just returned.
Ruan Mian was very clear Zhao Shutang disliked her. But so far, she didn’t feel this person had done anything outrageous to her. At most she treated Ruan Mian like a stranger under the same roof. So as long as Zhao Shutang didn’t cross her bottom line, Ruan Mian basically wouldn’t take the initiative to interact with her.
The two walked past each other tacitly in the living room.
Ruan Mian had eaten dinner early and was a little hungry now. Towel drying her hair, she went to the kitchen. Other than the watermelon and leftovers, there was nothing else in the fridge.
She went upstairs to change out of her pajamas and took some money to go out.
The Zhao house was at the end of the alley. Only when walking out could the liveliness be seen. Halfway there, Ruan Mian ran into Duan Ying who was taking Zhao Shuyang around visiting. She stopped and called out, “Grandma.”
The chatter around quieted down a little. Duan Ying brushed the melon seed shells off her lap and looked up, “Going out so late?”
“Mm, going to the supermarket up ahead to buy some things.”
Ruan Mian said.
As soon as he heard they were going to the supermarket, Zhao Shuyang, who was previously squatting on the ground playing marbles, immediately got up and ran to Ruan Mian, yelling, “I want to go too!”
Duan Ying scolded him, “Go where!”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shuyang immediately pouted and started whimpering. Ruan Mian patted his head with a smile, “It’s fine, the supermarket is just up ahead. I’ll take him with me.”
“You’re spoiling him.”
Although she said that, Duan Ying still relented in the end, “Don’t just buy him anything he wants.”
“Got it.”
The seated aunties watched the siblings walk away and started gossiping about Ruan Mian instead of the previous topic about someone’s daughter-in-law being unfilial and kicking the old father-in-law out.
The auntie in a sleeveless top asked, “Is this the daughter the eldest brought back with his new wife? She seems quite sensible, knowing how to address others.”
Duan Ying lowered her eyes and brushed off the dust on her pants, “What’s sensible about her? She hasn’t called me Grandma even once.”
The few women exchanged looks and echoed in agreement before steering the topic away.
Li’s supermarket was just around the bend. Ruan Mian led Zhao Shuyang by the hand over. There were two steps at the entrance that Zhao Shuyang climbed up hands and feet.
The lights were on inside the store. As Ruan Mian got closer, she saw someone lying behind the counter. The 1-meter wide glass counter blocked the upper body but not the lower half.
Two straight, long legs were splayed out arrogantly with a slender and beautiful section of ankle revealed between the pants cuff and shoe top. The protruding ankle bones were sharp and distinct.
Thinking it was Li Zhi, she called out, “Li Zhi.”
“Li Zhi’s not here.”
Hearing her voice, the person lying down sat up and his entire face was unexpectedly exposed under the light, also unexpectedly exposed before Ruan Mian’s eyes.
He stood up from the recliner. Due to his height, his eyes drooped slightly downwards, seeming completely unsurprised to see Ruan Mian here. “Get what you need yourself.”
Ruan Mian was totally stunned, her mind froze along with it. It was a good long while before she remembered she had to reply, but by then Chen Yi had already lied back down.
She had missed the opportunity and it would be somewhat abrupt and awkward to suddenly speak again, so she could only let Zhao Shuyang lead her over to the shelves.
The shock of suddenly seeing Chen Yi here was too great that Ruan Mian had completely forgotten Duan Ying’s instructions. She let Zhao Shuyang take a bunch of things, resulting in not having enough money when checking out.
At that time, Li’s supermarket was different from regular small shops. It had a dedicated cash register machine where items were scanned in one by one.
Ruan Mian held the small amount of cash in her hands. Her nervous face was completely red and her palms were sweating. “Sorry, can I return some items? I didn’t bring enough money today.”
“Sure.”
Chen Yi tapped a few keys on the keyboard to clear all the entered items in the system. “Take a look at what you want to return.”
“Oh.”
Ruan Mian removed close to one third of the things on the table. “Done.”
Chen Yi glanced at what was left, took away a few more, then started scanning again. Throughout the whole process, Ruan Mian didn’t lift her head once, her gaze fixed on his hands the entire time.
The final total was 103 yuan. Chen Yi still had to give Ruan Mian 2 yuan in change. He took out two coins from the box and placed them on the table.
Ruan Mian reached out to take them, but whether due to excessive nerves or some other reason, the two coins seemed to have grown claws and clung tightly to the table, unable to be picked up no matter what.
The more anxious she got, the harder it was to pick up.
Seeing this, Chen Yi took out another two coins from the box. This time he didn’t place them on the table, instead handing them directly to her. “Don’t pry, here.”
Left with no choice, Ruan Mian lifted her head and met his gaze, forcing herself not to look away. Reaching out her hand, she said, “Thanks.”
But Chen Yi didn’t directly give them to her. Pinching the coins between his fingers, he rubbed them twice. His voice was especially calm, “Ruan.”
“Mm?”
Ruan Mian didn’t expect him to suddenly call her name. Even a single syllable response revealed some nervousness.
“You seem very nervous, are you scared of me?”
As his voice fell, Chen Yi released his fingers and the two coins dropped into Ruan Mian’s outstretched palm, colliding with a crisp clink.
“…No.”
Ruan Mian closed her hand, the coin edges pressing into her fingertips, as if she could still feel the warmth Chen Yi had left just seconds ago.
“No?”
Chen Yi stared into Ruan Mian’s eyes.
She forced herself to stay calm, when in reality even her breathing had nearly stopped. “Mm, no.”
Chen Yi didn’t reply. Reaching out his hand, he picked up the two extra coins left on the table, the casual action seemingly mocking Ruan Mian’s lack of composure.
“Go back early.”
After saying this, he returned the coins to the drawer and turned to lie back down on the recliner. Half of his form was blocked from sight, but this time his legs were propped up on the ground.
It took Ruan Mian a dozen seconds or so to return to her senses. She picked up her things and led Zhao Shuyang out of the store. At the entrance, she peeked back inside again. The boy was still in the same position.
Zhao Shuyang was impatient to go back and walked ahead pulling Ruan Mian’s arm.
She was led stumbling forward as if half her soul had departed. She couldn’t describe what she was feeling, only that her chest felt stuffy and she seemed to have some difficulty breathing.
That night had a cool breeze with tranquil moonlight. For the first time, Ruan Mian tasted the bitterness of her heartbeat losing control from a casual word or action of another.
Not long after Ruan Mian left the store, Li Zhi came in from the backyard courtyard. He had gone to get water and used the bathroom.
“Did anyone come by to buy things?”
He asked.
Chen Yi hmmed and put away his phone. “Total was 103 yuan. Money’s in the drawer. It’s late, I’m heading back first.”
“Got it.”
Li Zhi put down his cup and went to the shelves to get him some salt. “Don’t forget this.”
Chen Yi raised his hand to take it, then reached into his pocket for his wallet with his other hand but couldn’t find it. Only then did he recall changing his clothes when he went home earlier and had forgotten to take out his wallet.
He grabbed a bag and put in the salt, “Forgot my wallet, I’ll give you the money tomorrow.”
It was barely a few yuan. Li Zhi felt he was making a big deal out of nothing. “Forget it, my dinner tonight is enough to buy you a box of salt.”
“Let’s settle separately.”
Chen Yi walked out and conveniently grabbed a lollipop stick at the entrance, “We’ll settle together tomorrow.”
Li Zhi laughed and scolded, “So upright.”
After leaving the store, Chen Yi stood at the entrance and inexplicably looked down the alley to the side. It was a straight alley, mostly shops, with quite a lot of people walking. Nothing could be seen at a glance.
He drew his gaze back and headed forward carrying the salt, randomly recalling Li Zhi’s words from the afternoon. He looked back at the supermarket entrance again where it was lit up brightly with moving shadows.
The light was blurry. Chen Yi didn’t think too deeply about it.
In the end, the memories of that night for him were just an insignificant dream. Now, waking up, not even a single word was retained from it.
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