The bus drove into a small town in the suburbs. Weeds grew rampant along the roadside, most of them already withered and yellow, hanging their heads dejectedly against the ground.
After many twists and turns, they finally reached their destination. Ye Qingli breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed her eyes shut. She still hadn't recovered from the vomiting episode, and now her head was throbbing painfully.
Everyone lined up to get off the bus. Xiao Yu stood in front of her. His white sweatshirt was so conspicuous that Ye Qingli's sense of guilt resurfaced.
She gently tugged at his hem and said in a muffled voice, "Xiao Yu, are you cold?"
Xiao Yu turned his head. From his angle, looking down, he could only see the tip of her small nose. The young girl looked up at that moment, her lips pressed into a straight line, the corners of her mouth pale.
He had been a little angry at first, but now he didn't feel much. He was also surprised this had happened—he knew how severe his germophobia was.
Xiao Yu looked at her silently for two seconds, his deep pupils gradually softening. The next moment, they glistened as he smiled at her. "What if I am cold? Are you going to lend me your clothes?"
Only then did Ye Qingli realize how silly her question was. Asking if he was cold without any solution was completely thoughtless.
He was clearly teasing, but Ye Qingli took it seriously. She nodded earnestly. "Okay."
She started to take off her coat, but Xiao Yu reached out and swatted her hand away, frowning. "You're obedient when it comes to doing stupid things. Don't catch a cold and blame me."
"..."
Getting off the bus, her feet on solid ground, Ye Qingli took a deep breath of cold air. She felt much clearer-headed, no longer so dazed.
The village chief was waiting at the entrance early. When he saw them, he revealed a row of teeth and laughed heartily, reaching out to shake hands with Huang Xu, who was leading the group. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come here. Sorry for the trouble."
Huang Xu smiled. "You're being too polite. The elderly are advanced in years. We volunteers are here to help clean up and chat. There's no trouble at all."
"Ah," the village chief sighed. "You know, most of the elderly here have no children. Even if they do, they work away from home and rarely come back. They only meet once or twice a year. You kids still have school to attend. Squeezing in time to come here is really troubling you."
"It's okay, village chief. Anyway, I don't like studying at school. I'll come often in the future!" a male voice interrupted from behind, patting his chest.
The village chief smiled again. "Hahaha, good."
This village was very small. Ye Qingli counted; excluding empty houses, there were only eight households. Probably because there were no children, it was quite quiet.
To clean more thoroughly, they divided into groups of five. Twenty people could form four groups. There were eight rooms in total—four to clean in the morning and four in the afternoon. That division worked out perfectly.
Cleaning a room didn't require deliberate grouping. Usually, people grouped with those they got along with, mostly roommates. Ye Qingli wasn't very familiar with anyone, so she didn't participate in the grouping. She stepped back and let things happen.
Naturally, Xiao Yu would be with her, but Huang Xu insisted on joining too. In the end, Ye Qingli, Xiao Yu, Huang Xu, and two other girls formed a group.
Thank goodness for them.
If it had been just the three of them, Xiao Yu's face would probably have darkened to who knows what.
Even now, it wasn't great.
The house they were assigned to had only one elderly woman. Seeing the front door wide open, the old lady hunched over and came out to greet them. When she got closer and saw their faces clearly, she clapped her hands with a smile. "Oh my, the kids nowadays are so good-looking!"
The old lady wore a braid. Her kind face wrinkled into folds as she smiled. Even with her white hair, one could see how beautiful she must have been in her youth.
Huang Xu quickly stepped forward to support her, frowning. "It's so cold outside, Grandma. Why did you come out to meet us?"
The old lady patted his hand, still smiling. "Don't treat me like I'm so precious. If I can't stand this little cold, then I'm done for!"
"You still need to be careful at your age."
One after another, they entered the house. Ye Qingli looked up and realized that the house was unusually small—not even average.
The floor was concrete, the walls covered in old newspapers. In the corner was a small single bed. The TV cabinet was wooden, with the plastic coating almost completely peeled off. The TV on top was very old, the paint worn off in some places, revealing streaks of white.
On the other side, the corner was piled with clutter—all kinds of items. On top, the discarded cardboard was laid flat, presumably left there for so long that it was covered in a thick layer of dust.
That was it. Ye Qingli's gaze returned to the old woman. She pursed her lips, and her eyes suddenly felt astringent.
The room fell silent. No one spoke. The old lady looked at them. The two girls standing in the back whispered to each other, one of them frowning deeply, as if disgusted by the place.
The old lady immediately understood that her home was too dirty. After a long moment, she said embarrassedly, "Ah, my husband passed away many years ago. My son works away from home all year and has no time to come back. My back has been acting up, and I can't straighten up. I really wanted to show you a clean side, but my strength is not enough..."
"Sorry for troubling you kids." The more she spoke, the lower her head sank, until her face was hidden. Ye Qingli helped her sit down, placing her hand on the old lady's withered hand and soothing it, explaining, "No, Grandma, it's no trouble. We were just discussing where to start."
She looked up at the ceiling and pointed to a corner. "How about we start with the cobwebs over there?"
The old lady's expression softened a bit. She smiled wryly and nodded. "Whatever you kids say."
Ye Qingli smiled too. "Okay, I'll go get the broom."
She stood up but hadn't taken a step before Huang Xu stopped her. He gently rubbed her hair, smiled tenderly, and said, "Let me go. The ceiling is too high for you to reach. You girls can just wipe down the room."
Ye Qingli was startled by his sudden action. She unconsciously stepped back, tilting her head to avoid his hand, paused, and said, "Ah... okay. You go ahead."
Huang Xu nodded, withdrew his hand, and walked out. As expected, before he was far, he heard the old lady's nosy voice.
"Hey, young lady, is that your boyfriend?"
"Huh?" The question was strange. Ye Qingli was stunned for a moment, then quickly denied it. "No."
Knowing that the girl was shy, the old lady laughed and teased, "How could it not be? I'm old, not stupid. You can fool others, but not me. With my husband, it was only after we got together that he dared to touch my hair. That's not something ordinary friends do."
"..."
Huang Xu stood outside the door, hearing this, and curled his lips.
The old lady stroked Ye Qingli's hand, tucked the stray hair behind her ear, and her smile grew more and more kindly.
She advised her, "Besides, this is a good time for you. You're old enough to date, there's nothing wrong with it. You can admit it openly outside. You need to be responsible to the other person..."
Listening to the old lady's earnest words, Xiao Yu found it increasingly unbearable. With a frown, he turned and walked away, his figure disappearing at the door, leaving the people inside looking at each other.