As Shao Xue stepped out of the courtyard, a gust of autumn wind suddenly swept through, making her shiver. She quickly pulled at the hem of her clothes and hurried back inside.
Yu Dong Ge was peeling a pear for her. She had a skill for peeling, so precise that even at the Tianqiao market, people would stop to watch. She peeled it in one continuous, thin layer from start to finish, and with a flick of her wrist, she ended it perfectly.
Shao Hua couldn’t help but praise her, "Well done!"
"Are you sick or something?" She didn’t even glance at her husband as she wrapped the pear in plastic wrap and tucked it into Shao Xue’s side pocket. Shao Hua had been eyeing the process for a while, only to find that his own pear was merely rinsed under the faucet and tossed into his bag.
"Hey, why didn’t you peel mine?"
"If you want it peeled, do it yourself."
Shao Xue, who had just finished spitting out her toothpaste, nearly swallowed her mouthwash from laughing so hard. Shao Hua, feeling disgruntled, tucked his bag under his arm and said with great resolve, "I like eating it with the skin anyway."
Then, he hopped on his bike and left before Yu Dong Ge could.
Shao Xue tied up her hair and packed her breakfast—a cup of soy milk and a meat-filled bun—into the side pocket of her school bag.
Seeing this, Yu Dong Ge started nagging again, "You’re putting everything in there? It’ll all fall out when you’re cycling."
"It won’t."
"Are you keeping up with your classes?"
"Of course, I’m doing great."
Shao Xue rushed out, fumbling with the lock on her bike, and pedaled off in a flash.
Yu Dong Ge checked the time, gathered up the dishes from the table, and suddenly smiled to herself.
"She’s a high schooler now."
The school Shao Xue had gotten into wasn’t far from home. It wasn’t a top school, but nothing to be ashamed of either. On the day her results came out, Zhang Qi and Zheng Su Nian, both incredibly busy, accompanied her to school, staying close behind as if worried she might take the news badly.
"Is this necessary?" she grumbled. "Do you two really think I’m that fragile?"
"Shao Xue, here’s the thing," Zhang Qi said with mock seriousness, "it’s not that you’re not smart, it’s just that we’re too brilliant. So what if you don’t get into the best schools? You can still find someone with good math genes to improve your family tree. Not that I’m offering myself—I could introduce you to a few of my classmates."
Shao Xue kicked his bike, sending him wobbling three meters off course, nearly crashing into the curb.
Despite the rough treatment, Shao Xue was touched. Zhang Qi had a major competition in October and was under intense mental strain every day, yet he had taken the time to come home just to support her. It was a testament to his loyalty.
Zheng Su Nian, on the other hand, was busy with his art exam preparation. His foundational skills weren’t as solid as others, so he would rise before dawn to head to the studio, returning home noticeably thinner. Both of them had to rush back to their respective schools that afternoon, so Shao Xue had no choice but to fetch her results early in the morning. As she put it, "The grades weren’t great, but boy, did I get them fast."
The morning sun cast its golden light over the wide, smooth roads. Their bikes glided as if skimming across an endless sea. Pigeons from the park took flight, their wings flapping rhythmically, composing a symphony for the boundless future that lay ahead.
That year, the night markets hadn’t yet been regulated. A new subway line had opened near Shao Xue’s home, and vendors selling goods were scattered for nearly a kilometer. During the National Day holiday, Shao Xue spent a few days studying the terrain, and by the third day, she and Zheng Su Nian had hauled their old books and magazines to claim a spot.
As the days grew colder, the wind picked up, whipping Shao Xue’s hair around like Mei Chaofeng’s infamous mane. Zheng Su Nian set up the books but hesitated as he picked up a garishly colorful romance novel. "Shao Xue, did you really used to read stuff like this?"
Now a high school student, Shao Xue glanced at the gaudy covers and embarrassingly suggestive titles, a wave of shame washing over her. She quickly grabbed a workbook to cover half of the stack and stubbornly said, "All the girls in my class read them. It’s not just me."
The reason for this sale was that Yu Dong Ge had gone on a cleaning spree the previous month. Shao Xue’s room was small, but it was packed with stuff from under the bed to the ceiling—magazines, books, tapes, CDs, and an entire drawer of unused notebooks. Yu Dong Ge was furious, but Shao Xue quickly promised that she could sell all these old items for some money.
Shao Xue had no idea just how much stuff she had accumulated until she started organizing it. She had borrowed a tricycle from the neighbors and made three trips just selling scrap. Shao Xue wasn’t great at riding the tricycle, and the short distance from her house to the alley felt like an obstacle course as she veered toward the walls every ten meters, let alone trying to make it to the subway station.
That day, Zheng Su Nian had returned from the studio earlier than usual. Seeing her struggle with the tricycle, he parked his bike and came over to help.
Shao Xue felt like she had been granted a reprieve and, pushing the tricycle from behind, asked, "Aren’t you going to the studio today?"
Zheng Su Nian pedaled vigorously, like a diligent worker. "I saw you struggling and thought I’d give you a hand."
The surrounding vendors were mostly selling household items and fruit, making the two students with their books stand out. Passersby flipped through the pages, and those who found something they liked were happy to buy.
After a while, Zheng Su Nian, still intrigued, picked up another romance novel and squatted down beside Shao Xue, dramatically reading aloud, "Sadness welled in his obsidian eyes as I stood on tiptoe..."
"Hey!" Shao Xue snatched the book away, "Why are you being so annoying today?"
Just then, she leaned in and whispered, "Look at that lady over there, doesn’t it seem like she has something to say?"
In the distance, a woman collecting recyclables had walked back and forth several times. She had already emptied the nearby trash cans of bottles but hadn’t left.
"What could she want? We’re not selling scrap here."
"No," Shao Xue shook her head, "I don’t think she’s after recyclables."
Zheng Su Nian stopped reading Shao Xue’s book and observed the woman for a while. He then pulled out a bottle of water from his bag and drank it in one go.
"Auntie," he said, walking a few steps toward her and holding out the empty bottle, "do you want this?"
The woman seemed to have found her moment and quickly approached, taking the bottle from Zheng Su Nian. He didn’t move, and neither did she, her eyes lingering on Shao Xue’s bookstand for a long time before she cautiously asked, "Student, how much for your study guides?"
As the wind blew, strands of her loosely tied hair fluttered in the breeze, black strands streaked with white, giving her a weathered look. Shao Xue was taken aback, unsure of what to do, and hesitated before replying, "Auntie, we’re not selling things as recyclables…"
“I know,” the woman hurriedly explained, “I’m buying them for my child. He’s going to middle school soon, and the other day, he said he wanted some workbooks, but I thought they were too expensive, so I didn’t buy them.”
Shao Xue immediately understood. The people who had passed by earlier had mostly taken novels or magazines, and no one had touched her box of workbooks. Shao Xue was one of those people who often made ambitious plans, buying plenty of study guides but only managing to get through the first chapter of most of them by the end of the term. She taped up the cardboard box and pushed it in front of the woman.
“That’s a lot,” the woman said hurriedly, “we won’t need that many. I just want the Chinese, math, and English ones…”
“It’s fine,” Shao Xue smiled, “just take it for one yuan.”
The woman hesitated for a moment, then quickly waved her hands, “I can’t do that. Even if you sold them as scrap, these books would be worth more than one yuan.”
“Then let’s call it the scrap price,” Shao Xue gestured to Zheng Su Nian, and together they lifted the box of books onto the woman’s tricycle. “Pay what you think is fair.”
It took a while to weigh the books, and by the time they finished, night had completely fallen. Shao Xue watched the woman wobble away on her tricycle, then let out a long sigh.
“You’re getting all melancholic,” Zheng Su Nian said with a smile. “Let’s pack up and head home.”
She shook her head, snapping back to reality as she began loading the unsold books onto the tricycle. “Being a parent must be really hard.”
There was a downhill slope on the way home, so it wasn’t much effort for Zheng Su Nian to ride. Shao Xue hopped onto the tricycle, looking as cheerful as a farmer riding a cart full of freshly harvested wheat.
At this time of day, the temperature had dropped, and the alleyways were quiet. Zheng Su Nian was wearing a light-colored shirt, and as Shao Xue leaned toward him, she noticed the faint, subtle scent he carried, like an old plant that only had leaves but never bloomed.
The poplar trees in the alley were shedding their leaves for the season. Above Shao Xue’s head, wild geese were flying south, while houses zipped past them on either side. A poplar leaf drifted into her lap, and she playfully used it to tickle Zheng Su Nian’s ear.
“Su Nian-ge,” she leaned in closer to him, “look at this leaf. Why don’t you write something on it for me?”
Zheng Su Nian glanced back at her, “Why me?”
“Aren’t you practicing calligraphy lately?” she replied. “Write on it with a brush, and I’ll press it between the pages of my dictionary. When it dries, I can use it as a bookmark.”
“You always have these ideas,” they were almost home, so he slowed the bike down, “Let’s go to my place first. I have something I want to give you.”
Zheng Jin had gone out on an errand, so the house was dark and cold when they entered. It was amazing how different a home felt when one person was missing. Shao Xue followed Zheng Su Nian into the room, noticing a box that looked like it once held a television, sitting by his bed.
She suddenly had a sense of what it was.
“My mom said she wanted you to have this,” he smiled faintly, his face showing an effort to seem at peace with everything. “I kept putting off sorting through it, but I finally did a few days ago.”
Shao Xue slowly walked over to the box. Inside was a jumble of various items, all reflecting Jin Ning’s distinct taste. Even a pair of earrings was exquisite and elegant, radiating the high-class style of their owner.
Most of the items were books.
There were novels and photography collections. As Shao Xue opened the box, it was as if a vibrant, lively person was stepping out toward her. Sometimes they didn’t intentionally remember Jin Ning, but she had lived such an extraordinary life that even after she was gone, everything she left behind carried her unmistakable presence.
Shao Xue crouched down and gently closed the box.
Zheng Su Nian leaned over, gently ruffling her hair. He spoke softly, “It took me a long time to be able to talk about her like this. You’ll come to terms with it too, okay?”
Shao Xue bit her lip hard, and after a long pause, she finally lifted her head.
She knew there were some things she shouldn’t, or couldn’t, say. Jin Ning was Zheng Su Nian’s mother, and no matter how much Shao Xue missed her, that pain would only multiply tenfold, a hundredfold, for him. She had held back for so long, and in the end, all she could say was, “I miss her so much.”
“So do I.”
He took the poplar leaf from Shao Xue’s hand and stood up.
“What do you want me to write?”
She thought for a long time and then shook her head.
“I don’t know. What do you want to write?”
Zheng Su Nian sat at the desk, poured water into the dried inkstone, and began grinding the ink. He had never seriously studied calligraphy before, but since it was part of the art exam, he had spent over a month learning from a teacher introduced by Luo Huaijin. As he practiced his characters, the old man would casually write a few words to pass the time. Once, Zheng Su Nian saw something that caught his eye.
It was a phrase he hadn’t heard before, but it intrigued him.
“ ‘A sigh. A fleeting horse in the gap. A spark in the stone. A body in the dream.’ ”
The poplar leaf was large enough to hold the words without looking cramped. Shao Xue stood beside him and, after reading the phrase, let out a gentle sigh.
Life is so short, isn’t it?
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