You must wait for me to come back.
"This chocolate cake is good, not too sweet." It was a four-inch cake. Wen Shaoyu didn't like it, Ji Shuhe couldn't eat much, and in the end, it all went into Ji Shulang's stomach.
Chocolate and cream are both high in calories. On the way back, Ji Shulang felt so full he could barely walk, rubbing his stomach and talking as if trying to speed up digestion.
Wen Shaoyu wanted to chime in, but when he looked up, he swallowed the words "Your sister picked it" that were on the tip of his tongue. It seemed he saw Granny Zheng standing at the door.
Granny Zheng was wearing a modified qipao of dark green velvet. The evening wind was chilly, so she had wrapped a cashmere shawl over the mid-sleeved qipao. She was talking to a passing neighbor, and the light from inside the house backlit her, casting a soft halo around her.
The three of them approached. Lizi, who had been obediently sitting at Granny Zheng's feet, immediately stood up and then dashed straight toward Wen Shaoyu, who was walking in front.
Granny Zheng squinted and followed the dog's gaze, then smiled at the neighbor and said, "Our little rascal is back. Let's talk another time."
Ji Shuhe felt that Granny Zheng was always smiling when she saw her. Gentle and elegant, like her favorite pearl accessories, there was a tenderness that came from having weathered the passage of time.
But Wen Shaoyu seemed to feel otherwise. Facing his grandmother, this alley's most notorious troublemaker was tense. It seemed... more respectful than affectionate, lacking the closeness one would expect from a pair who had depended on each other for years in this red-brick alley.
"Back from celebrating your birthday with friends?" Granny Zheng beckoned to Wen Shaoyu. He immediately stepped forward to support her. "Yes." "Did you eat cake?" "Yes."
The question-and-answer was a bit awkward. Ji Shulang then stepped forward and chimed in, "Yes, we ate. The three of us bought a small cake. I got greedy and finished it all. Forgot to bring some back for you, Auntie."
"As long as you enjoyed it, that's fine. I don't need any." Granny Zheng turned back to look for Ji Shuhe. "Xiao Shu, are you full? Would you like to come to Auntie's house for some pork chop noodles?"
Without waiting for Ji Shuhe's answer, she looked up at Wen Shaoyu, who was supporting her. The boy was at that age of shooting up in height; being together every day, she hadn't noticed, but this child had suddenly grown to a height she had to look up to.
Granny Zheng stared blankly, then sighed softly. Through Wen Shaoyu's eyes, she seemed to see something, and said with emotion, "Our Xiao Yu hasn't had a proper birthday in a long time."
Her emotions were complex. It's true that grief fades with time, but this was a bloodline left by bloodline. Seeing it brought pain, and no amount of time could digest the sorrow of the old having to bury the young.
"Auntie..." Wen Shaoyu hesitated. Granny Zheng patted his hand and led him into the house. Her voice was unhurried, like a vinyl record rotating slowly on a gramophone, carrying a unique texture of having been weathered by time.
"You know, on this day, Auntie always thinks of my Yuèyuè, your mother." She choked up a bit, took a deep breath, wiped the corner of her eye, and continued, "This afternoon I had a dream. I dreamed of your mother. She was just married, not so thin. I wanted to talk to her, but when she spoke, she seemed to blame me. Blame me for not properly celebrating your birthday all these years."
"It doesn't matter. It's okay not to celebrate birthdays." Wen Shaoyu's nose stung too.
"Xiao Yu." Granny Zheng pulled her hand out and turned to gently hug Wen Shaoyu. "You are the treasure your mother left me. You are my only family now..."
She didn't finish the sentence. She released her hands and stepped back from the boy's embrace. "Come on, let's go home and eat noodles."
Eating alone with just the two of them was a bit bleak, so Ji Shuhe and Ji Shulang, after informing their family, ate a meal at Granny Zheng's.
The cold dishes were bought from outside: osmanthus candied lotus root, honeyed dates and lotus seeds, spiced smoked fish, and white-cut chicken. For the main dish, each person had a bowl of red-broth Su-style thin noodles, with a whole piece of braised pork chop neatly covering the noodle mound, shaped like a carp's back.
Ji Shuhe couldn't finish hers and secretly moved some noodles into Ji Shulang's bowl. Wen Shaoyu smiled, stood up, and went to the fridge to get some drinks. The middle shelf of the refrigerator had been cleared out, and a transparent cake box sat there—a brand that Auntie liked from her era, a six-inch butter cake.
Ji Shuhe asked Ji Shulang and learned that "bái tuō" was a transliteration in the Xinhai dialect, pronounced similar to "butter." The cream had a firmer texture and higher calorie content.
After the meal, they repeated the process of singing and dividing the cake, but this time they really couldn't eat any more cake, so they packed it all up and put it back in the fridge.
After the meal, Wen Shaoyu stayed to talk with Auntie. Ji Shuhe and her brother, knowing when to take their leave, said goodbye and also took the clingy little dog Lizi with them.
Closing the door behind them, Ji Shuhe and her brother first went to the grandparents' room across the way, said goodnight to the elders, and then went upstairs.
Unsurprisingly, Ji Shuhe had eaten too much. Walking up the steep stairs, she rubbed her bloated stomach and felt like complaining again. If she had known they'd eat double servings of cake, she might as well have suggested Wen Shaoyu celebrate at home directly. Now it seemed... the three of them had sneaked out after school, shared a cake and blew out candles in the cold wind, and ended up swallowing a bellyful of wind, which made them look crazy.
Ji Shulang, following behind Ji Shuhe, also let out a burp. He accidentally overheard Ji Shuhe's muttering and felt a rare pleasure, like a top student seeing an exam paper with answers automatically appearing.
Reaching the second floor, he poked Ji Shuhe's shoulder and leaned in mysteriously: "Do you know why Wen Shaoyu doesn't want to celebrate his birthday at home?"
Ji Shuhe shook her head. Ji Shulang looked back, making sure there was no sign of that demon Wen Shaoyu downstairs, then lowered his voice and continued: "This has to start from when Granny Zheng was young."
"Actually, Granny Zheng didn't live here before. Their family was well-off before something happened, and this old house was always vacant. Later, her husband fell seriously ill. They sold the house to pay for treatment, but still couldn't save him. After settling the funeral, she brought her only precious daughter—Wen Shaoyu's mother—and moved here."
"A mother and daughter who depend on each other naturally share a deeper bond. But Wen Shaoyu's mother got married right after graduating from college, had Wen Shaoyu the following year, and was just over thirty when she fell ill and was hospitalized. After her death, the son-in-law remarried not long after—to her former best friend. Because of this, Wen Shaoyu made a scene and wanted to sever ties with his father. With his daughter's body still warm, this chaotic mess caused Granny Zheng to fall seriously ill."
"After recovering, she brought Wen Shaoyu to Yong'anli, but their relationship was never particularly close." Ji Shulang rested one hand on the stair railing and let out a long sigh as he said this. "Actually, Wen Shaoyu never celebrated his birthday before. Think about it: on his birthday, who do he and Granny Zheng think of first?"
Of course, it's Wen Shaoyu's mother, Granny Zheng's most beloved daughter. So on this day, they tacitly avoid the topic of Wen Shaoyu's birthday. As if by not mentioning it, the old wound of losing a loved one won't be reopened on that day, and Wen Shaoyu's mother will remain alive and present, never having left.
Ji Shuhe tasted a bitter sadness. Whether it was Granny Zheng, who lost her daughter in middle age, or Wen Shaoyu, who masked everything under his rebellious behavior, both likely couldn't let go of their departed loved ones. The pain of longing stuck like a thorn between the grandmother and grandson, hurting when touched, and even when untouched.
"Granny Zheng..." Ji Shulang frowned and scratched his head. "She definitely loved her daughter more, so she never really cared much for Wen Shaoyu, her grandson."
Ji Shuhe said nothing, thinking that was only natural. After all, a person's heart is limited. If it holds what you care about more, you have to let go of what you care about less. In a trade-off, one must be sacrificed.
After Wen Shaoyu's birthday, December arrived. Xinhai's winter was damp and cold. Deprived of the northern heating, Ji Shuhe often bundled herself up into a round ball. Wen Shaoyu saw her and said she looked like a bear; if she rolled down the stairs from the second floor, she wouldn't even bruise.
Ji Shuhe was so angry she wanted to punch him, but she was wearing too many clothes and couldn't catch up. But she had help: Ji Shulang waited at the corner early to intercept, grabbing Wen Shaoyu's arm and calling for his sister to come get him.
They bickered and frolicked until late December. The festive atmosphere of Christmas and New Year's arrived before the pressure of final exams descended upon these young teenagers.
After one semester, several couples had formed in Ji Shuhe's class, openly or secretly. Some were classmates secretly meeting, others were from next door who had heart-fluttering moments during club activities.
As the first holiday for exchanging gifts approached, many people's minds were not really focused on studying for exams.
Christmas happened to fall on a Friday. The last class for the first-year high school students was a homeroom session, with no formal teaching, essentially self-study. All around, pretending to do homework, they were whispering, planning to go out together after school.
An Qing was also chattering nonstop, while Ji Shuhe twirled a pen in one hand and propped her chin with the other, lost in thought, it was unclear if she was listening.
"Yesterday my sister bought an apple and went to find Wen Shaoyu. Damn it, that apple cost twenty yuan each. It had some pattern for 'peace year after year' on it, but what's the point? I think it's just a trick to take advantage of couples!"
"Of course Wen Shaoyu didn't accept it. He said he was immersed in studying and not interested in romance. He gave my sister a 'nice guy' card, telling her to study hard, saying that once she gets into college, she'll find someone better than him. Using that kind of excuse shows he really has no feelings for my sister."
"College seems so far away. And who knows what the future holds? If she manages to get in, only to find a bunch of 'average' guys around her, and looking back at Wen Shaoyu's face and grades, wouldn't that make her regret this time in high school even more? Don't you think so, Xiao Shu... Xiao Shu?"
An Qing finished her chatter and noticed Ji Shuhe was still staring out the window. She elbowed her: "Ji Shuhe! Are you even listening to me!"
"Yes, I'm listening." Ji Shuhe quickly sat up straight and responded. "So, how's your sister's mood these past two days?"