Piggy Bun
Wen Liangyu: You're away for competition and no one's home, so I gave the housekeeper a half-month off. She won't be back until next week.
Wen Liangyu: Chen Yiyang, don't just think about yourself. Ask your sister what she wants to eat and bring her dinner.
His phone buzzed. Wen Liangyu pushed a WeChat ID over.
At the barbecue joint. Three cans of iced cola leaned together, tiny beads of condensation forming on the rims.
Chen Yiyang saw the pink rabbit profile picture and thought back to the girl on the windowsill. He'd heard long ago that Wen Liangyu had a new boyfriend, so this was probably her new boyfriend's daughter. In the sunlight, she had a slightly chestnut ponytail, skin so pale it was almost translucent. He couldn't make out her features clearly, but he could tell she was pretty.
Xie Yue had just come back from the charcoal grill, brandishing metal skewers and shouting about wanting to eat sizzling lamb kebabs. He told Zhou Shihui that Qiu Lie from Class 7 had called them to play a night basketball game and asked if Zhou Shihui wanted to go. He was about to ask Chen Yiyang too, but then a wave of playfulness hit him. Xie Yue bent down, leaning in: "What's up, A Yang? We're eating barbecue, so why the long face? Is it because you didn't get to see Aunt Wen—"
Before he could finish, Zhou Shihui slapped him on the back of the head.
A burst of howling.
Over the years, after Chen Yiyang's parents divorced, neither of them stayed home much. Chen Yiyang was awarded to his father, but the two had long since fallen out.
Chen Yiyang had changed his flight to one two hours earlier just to come back and see Wen Liangyu. The two of them had sprinted like animals through Lukou International Airport, barely making the boarding.
Zhou Shihui leaned in and whispered a few words to him. Finally, Xie Yue shut up.
Chen Yiyang still kept his eyes down, his thin lips pressed into a cool, straight line. He locked his phone, then lifted his single-lidded eyes, suddenly meeting Xie Yue's worried gaze.
Chen Yiyang popped open a can of cola with a crisp "psshhht" that carried a chill through the air. He slid it across to the other, offering a flat concern: "What's up with you?"
He was still in his black work jacket from the trip, a gray-black cap pulled low. As if worried, he raised his brow slightly, revealing sharp black eyes. His lips twitched into a calm, teasing inquiry: "Eye twitch?"
"..."
Xie Yue's imagined sadness vanished into thin air. The cola was too cold; his heart felt even colder. He forced out a stubborn reply: "Heh, I'll take that as you caring about me."
Xie Yue slumped back into his chair, squeezing the cola can and mumbling complaints: "A dog's mouth doesn't spit out ivory. No wonder half the school thinks you're a heartbreaker, you venomous jerk."
Hearing the title "Jerk," Chen Yiyang remembered the graffiti-covered congratulatory notice in his pocket.
Wen Liangyu had told him to bring dinner for that girl.
The phone next to him buzzed lightly.
Under the bright white fluorescent light, Chen Yiyang's jaw tightened slightly. His fine eyelashes drooped as he read the new message.
Wen Liangyu: Did you add your sister on WeChat yet?
...
Yun Mi had already organized two pages of math formulas. Outside, the sky was pitch black.
She had been frail and sickly since childhood. When she was five or six, her family discussed sending her to learn fencing. Her parents had planned for her to take the sports route—get a sports recommendation or study abroad. She never took her academic grades seriously, especially math and physics. Every extra point felt like it would kill her.
Remembering the big talk she'd made to Aunt Wen, Yun Mi dropped her head onto the test paper like she was having a cardiac arrest.
Ah—
She screamed inwardly.
How was she supposed to do it?
"Beep beep."
Her phone rang twice.
Yun Mi's thoughts wandered, and she remembered something.
Before leaving, Aunt Wen had told her to eat well and had asked Chen Yiyang to add her on WeChat, saying Brother Yiyang would bring her dinner.
Remembering that handsome, roguish face, the careless glance he'd cast her way—full of spirit, arrogance, and a touch of indifference—her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
Would he... actually add her?
What should she say?
—I'm sorry...?
—I didn't draw that pig head?
—If I had drawn it, it would have been better.
—Mm...? No.
Yun Mi lay there, fumbling for her phone before turning her face.
She peeked open one eye.
On the bright screen was a new friend request.
A profile picture of a big tangyuan.
Yun Mi unconsciously sat up, thinking: Is this Chen Yiyang?
That's kind of a cute contrast.
Her mind raced, and she felt a chill: Had he misunderstood her or not?
Before she could think of the right words, a new message popped up from the other side.
[Hello classmate, I'm Ding Yuan, the math rep for Class 1 of Shanfu.]