◎Green Fields Revive◎

Chun Zao bit into a crisp apple that her mother had just washed, listening to her drag the mop while irritably talking to the landlord on the phone.

The phone was placed on the table edge with speakerphone on, so their conversation reached her ears completely.

Her mother, Chun Chuzhen, looked thoroughly displeased, wielding the mop like she was plowing fields, almost ready to scrape a hole through the ceramic tiles:

“You didn’t tell me before the summer break that a boy would be moving in. Isn’t this cutting first and reporting later?”

The landlord spoke in soothing tones: “Sister, let me tell you, he’s also in a hurry. There are no houses left nearby, and he tried everything to find me. You also came to rent my house for your child’s school convenience. We’re all parents—can’t we show some mutual understanding?”

“Why can’t you show some mutual understanding? Don’t you know how inconvenient co-ed living is?” This reason clearly couldn’t convince Chun Chuzhen: “Your house isn’t some grand mansion either. There’s only one bathroom in total. Even school dormitories separate boys and girls, so why are you being so reckless here?”

She put on a worried expression: “My daughter has excellent grades. Who knows what kind of riffraff is coming over? At least the previous housemate was a senior in high school who knew to study hard.”

The inquiry hit right on target, and the landlord immediately responded, her tone brightening several degrees: “You can rest assured about this. The student moving in—I heard from his father—won a gold medal in the math olympiad in his first year of high school and almost made it to the training camp. His grades—need I say more?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Chun Chuzhen choked up and fell silent, leaning on her mop.

Chun Zao, who had been casually munching her apple, also slowed her chewing frequency.

She swallowed and looked toward her mother, who happened to be staring at her too, not knowing how to continue.

The landlord was still chattering away: “I know your daughter has good grades, but this kid isn’t bad either. He’s got one foot through the door of a prestigious university already—how could he possibly affect your daughter? I think you’re just overthinking. People wanting to rent my house are lined up five years from now. If you’re dissatisfied, you can move out and find somewhere else.”

Hearing this, Chun Chuzhen stepped forward excitedly and grabbed the phone: “Hey? You—”

The landlord softened her tone but didn’t change her intention: “It’s settled then, sister. I’ll bring him over this afternoon.”

She hung up after saying this.

Chun Chuzhen took a deep breath and looked toward her daughter: “Look at her!”

She roughly tugged at her hair: “She’s infuriating me.”

Chun Zao remained expressionless and turned her apple to a different side: “She came to notify you, not to discuss it with you. Forget it, don’t get angry.”

“I’m just worried you won’t be comfortable living here.”

“I spend most of my time at school anyway. I don’t mind.”

Her daughter’s adaptability looked like a submissive compromise in Chun Chuzhen’s eyes. Unable to vent her anger, she changed targets: “I’d like to see what kind of national award prodigy this is. Knowing there’s a female student next door but still insisting on squeezing in here—I think there’s something wrong with his family’s thinking… No matter how good his grades are, what’s the use…”

She chattered endlessly. Before even meeting the new housemate, she had already condemned him and his entire family to eternal damnation.

Chun Zao didn’t say a word in response. She lowered her eyes and slowly finished eating the apple flesh, then threw away the core and washed her hands clean.

They had been cleaning all morning, so mother and daughter kept lunch simple, making just two bowls of scallion oil noodles.

Chun Chuzhen was skilled at frying scallion oil. The scallion segments, oil temperature, and seasoning sauce were all perfectly calibrated. After a crackling session, the entire house filled with a delicious aroma.

This fragrance lingered until the afternoon.

When the landlord led someone into the house, she sniffed several times and asked: “Oh my, what did you have for lunch? It smells so good?”

Chun Chuzhen sat stationed in the center of the living room like a smiling tiger stone guardian, quietly sizing up the couple of parents behind the landlord.

A man and a woman, both middle-aged. The man wore a gray shirt and glasses with a lean, scholarly appearance; the woman wore a matching yellow dress, her face like warm jade with a gentle demeanor. Her left hand held a crew-cut little boy who only reached her waist, looking about four or five years old with delicate features.

Definitely not this child.

Chun Chuzhen frowned and stood up to approach them.

The landlord’s attitude was much softer than during the phone call. She first called out: “Sister, where’s your Chun Zao?”

Chun Chuzhen replied coolly: “Taking an afternoon nap.”

“Chun Zao?” The man beside the landlord smiled and made conversation: “Your daughter is called Chun Zao?”

He had a pleasant appearance with deep but gentle features and a polite manner. Chun Chuzhen’s initial hostility decreased somewhat, and she nodded in acknowledgment.

“Is that her full name? Her surname is Chun?” The man was curious.

The landlord responded: “Yes, Chun as in spring. This surname is rare, isn’t it?”

The woman chimed in: “It is the first time I’ve seen it.”

The man looked at Chun Chuzhen, his pupils still bright behind his glasses. He introduced himself: “My surname is Yuan,” then put his arm around the woman beside him: “This is my wife.”

Finally, he looked down and indicated the little one: “My younger son.”

Being in a new place, the child looked fresh and curious, his big black eyes darting around. He tried several times to break free from his mother’s restraint. His mother held him firmly and told him to greet people, but he reluctantly turned his head to the side.

Chun Chuzhen didn’t mind and smiled along, then looked up to ask the key question: “Is it your older son who’s moving in?”

Mr. Yuan nodded and added, “He has something to do and couldn’t come today. His mother and I came to tidy up first.”

A subtle expression flashed across Chun Chuzhen’s face as she felt competitive: “You dote on your child. My daughter helped me clean all morning.”

Mr. Yuan remained gentle: “Daughters are all little cotton-padded jackets—they’re naturally more caring.”

After meeting each other and exchanging brief pleasantries, the landlord led the Yuan family of three to the adjacent room to familiarize themselves with the environment and organize their belongings, while Chun Chuzhen returned to her daughter’s room.

She carefully cracked open the door and saw Chun Zao already sitting up against the headboard, reading a book. Her movements became less restrained, though she kept her voice low: “Did we wake you up?”

Chun Zao said, “I woke up on my own.”

Chun Zao had always been unwavering when it came to afternoon naps.

Who would have thought this family would come so early? Before she could even build up much sleepiness, it was chased away by the commotion outside.

The old, rundown apartment didn’t have good soundproofing. Chun Zao had eavesdropped on most of the conversation and judged based on what she heard: “I think that family next door seems decent.”

“The parents seem nice,” Chun Chuzhen said, sitting at the foot of her bed. “They also have a little one at home. I wonder who’s coming to accompany him to school.”

“Don’t worry about other people’s business.” Chun Zao bookmarked her page, placed the book back by her pillow, and got up to fix her hair.

Chun Chuzhen was still speculating: “Probably someone spoiled rotten. Look how the parents are doing all the tidying without even bringing the person along.”

Chun Zao quickly tied her hair into a neat, medium-height ponytail and glanced at her mother: “Maybe he’s at home doing practice problems.”

Chun Chuzhen didn’t believe it and laughed it off: “Doing practice problems before school even starts?”

Chun Zao gargled and spoke unclearly: “You don’t understand competition students.”

Chun Chuzhen said, “I don’t understand. What’s so special about competition students?”

Chun Zao said, “Those who make the training camp get guaranteed admission to Tsinghua or Peking University. Those who win national awards sign agreements—they can get into first-tier universities.”

Chun Chuzhen finally had some concept and was stunned: “That’s amazing!”

Chun Zao nodded with a calm expression: “These people are protected species at school, not on the same level as your daughter. We look down on them, but they probably look down on us, too.”

Chun Chuzhen was left speechless and finally tried to save face dryly: “So what? Is my daughter inferior?”

Chun Zao smiled without saying anything.

The Yuan family stayed in the adjacent room until after four o’clock before leaving. Before going, they came over to knock on the door and said goodbye to the mother and daughter.

Mr. Yuan took another look at Chun Zao, saw her composed appearance, felt more at ease, and his expression became even more proper: “Boys’ personalities are different from girls’ after all. Please be patient with us living under the same roof.”

“Not at all. Your child is so excellent—we should be asking you to be patient with us.” Chun Chuzhen politely walked out to see them off.

There was another round of laughter and mutual compliments outside the door.

The superficial social patterns of the adult world always gave Chun Zao a headache.

She lightly tapped her temples twice and leaned back in her chair to stretch.

As evening approached, after asking her daughter what she wanted for dinner, Chun Chuzhen went out to buy groceries.

Although autumn had begun, summer’s vigor remained. The scorching sun baked heaven and earth. Taking advantage of her mother’s absence, Chun Zao lowered the air conditioning by eight degrees—only then did she feel like she had retrieved half her life.

The 28°C that her mother considered optimal for comfort and least likely to cause colds seemed no different from outdoors to her.

Chun Zao had spent her entire first year of high school in this room.

After the high school entrance exam, during the vacation, when it was confirmed she had been accepted to Yizhong, Chun Zao’s parents discussed their daughter’s high school education arrangements. Because their home community was too far from Yizhong, making daily commutes inconvenient.

They deliberated long between boarding and day school, finally deciding on the latter.

As the city’s best key high school, housing around the school was naturally in high demand, with rents frighteningly expensive. After calculating together, her parents ultimately chose the shared rental option.

Chun Zao wasn’t the only daughter in the family. She had an older sister who was ten years her senior, already working, unmarried, and childless, financially independent in her place, basically requiring no parental worry. This allowed Chun Zao’s mother to accompany and care for her younger daughter with peace of mind.

The shared rental wasn’t large—just over a hundred square meters, three bedrooms, one living room, one bathroom, average layout, with occasional electrical and water problems.

But even so, it was still a treasured feng shui location that parents fought tooth and nail over—a place of academic fortune and blessings.

During the first month of living there, Chun Chuzhen complained endlessly, finding fault with this and criticizing that. But as time passed, she became numb and accustomed to it.

When people are powerless to resist or change their environment, the best approach is acceptance and adaptation.

And… finding some fun in the cracks.

…

After fifteen minutes of extreme cold indulgence, Chun Zao timed it perfectly to restore the original temperature, letting the room change from icebox back to steamer.

During dinner, Chun Chuzhen’s gaze kept drifting to the tightly locked door in the hallway: “Why hasn’t that kid come yet?”

Chun Zao didn’t even look up, focusing on the rice in her bowl: “Maybe he’ll come tomorrow for registration.”

Chun Chuzhen didn’t share a room with her daughter but always waited until she had bathed before returning to her bedroom to rest.

Only at this time did Chun Zao dare to take out her phone and lie in bed listening to rock music for a while.

Closing her eyes, as if floating on an endless black sea surface, she used the music as a surfboard to leap straight into the clouds.

Around eleven o’clock, Chun Zao sat up, removed her earphones, got out of bed, and routinely emptied her bladder before sleep.

As soon as she opened the door, Chun Zao froze.

There was a boy at the entrance, changing shoes in a half-kneeling position.

He wore a white T-shirt, his neck clean, hair jet black, shoulder blades clearly arching with his movements like two wings about to spread but not quite.

Perhaps hearing the door, he half-turned around and stopped, but didn’t turn completely toward her.

Chun Zao startled and immediately pulled the door shut.

Only a sliver of light remained in the room, like a silvery bright fishing line, ethereally wrapping around her pajamas.

She decided to wait until he left before going out.

She stood quietly, regulating her breathing. After confirming no more sounds from the living room, she placed her hand back on the door handle, carefully pushing outward, revealing half an eye.

Chun Zao’s movement suddenly stopped.

That boy was still standing in the same spot, facing this direction.

Their eyes met, and he tilted his head slightly, bending his mouth corners in a friendly manner.

An unexpected smile, yet without any sense of offense, only the feeling of green fields reviving, everything clear and bright.

Chun Zao was slightly dazed, then decisively shut herself back into the darkness.

Author’s Note: After writing so much adult romance, here’s some young love Since the author is getting on in years and has been away from campus for so long, I don’t have much confidence writing this type of content, so this story won’t be monetized during serialization—consider it practice. Updates will be posted as soon as they’re written; daily updates can’t be guaranteed, but barring any accidents, I won’t randomly drop the story.