Lin Qile sensed that Jiang Qiaoxi’s mood was off. For several days, Jiang Qiaoxi didn’t smile at anyone. He maintained a gloomy expression from morning to night at school. Even when he came to Lin Qile’s small room to do homework in the evening, he barely spoke to her, immersing himself in his Olympic Math problems.
He had become impatient even with writing and solving problems. When he made mistakes, instead of erasing them, he would uncharacteristically crumple up his scratch paper and toss it aside.
Lin Qile could only watch him quietly from her seat, hugging her little Sprite doll to avoid being hit by his paper balls.
Cai Fangyuan remarked that he hadn’t noticed anything strange about Jiang Qiaoxi before.
“I ran into him at the provincial city’s cram school during winter break,” Cai Fangyuan said, sitting on the school’s radiator and addressing Lin Qile and others. “He seemed like a different person there.”
Confused, Lin Qile asked, “A different person?”
“Well…” Cai Fangyuan grimaced. “When I first saw him, I didn’t dare greet him! Can you believe it? It was as if he didn’t recognize me!”
Lin Qile couldn’t understand why Cai Fangyuan would think this. They had been classmates for half a year; how could he not recognize him?
“Today is March 4th!” Lin Qile opened her “Saint Seiya” manga, and several boys around her exclaimed “Wow!” as crisp red banknotes fell out. “Tomorrow is Jiang Qiaoxi’s birthday!” Lin Qile looked at them excitedly. “What should we buy for him?”
Du Shang, who usually felt proud to have ten yuan in his pocket, asked, “Is this your New Year’s money? Cherry, are you planning to spend it all?”
“No, no, no,” Lin Qile shook her head. She took out a hundred-yuan note from the book and put it back in her pocket. Counting the rest, it totaled eight hundred yuan. “I want to spend this much!”
Cai Fangyuan’s small eyes widened. He gave Lin Qile a meaningful look, then glanced at Du Shang and Yu Qiao. Even for Cai Fangyuan, eight hundred was an unusually large sum.
It was extraordinary. Even though Cai Fangyuan knew Lin Qile was always an overly enthusiastic and naive fool.
Lin Qile said, “Why don’t each of you give me some money too? We can say it’s a gift from all of us. How about that?”
“Sure,” Yu Qiao responded, casually reaching into his pocket and tossing two coins to Lin Qile. “What are you planning to buy?”
Jiang Qiaoxi left the classroom. He couldn’t find one of his workbooks and suspected he might have left it at Lin Qile’s house yesterday. With classmates all around, he couldn’t just rummage through Lin Qile’s desk and bag.
Standing in the corridor, he overheard someone laughing nearby: “Look, look, that Lin Yingtao from Class 1 is acting up again—”
“Yu Qiao always teases her. Why doesn’t he bother Qin Yeyun instead?”
Jiang Qiaoxi recalled that last night, Lin Qile had repeatedly asked him to play house with her. Busy with his problems and in a bad mood, he finally snapped, “Can you please be quiet for a moment?”
After hearing that, Lin Qile had fallen silent. Even on the way to school today, she hadn’t bothered him.
Jiang Qiaoxi stood at the edge of the corridor. Outside on the playground, he saw Lin Qile and Yu Qiao chasing each other fiercely. Yu Qiao, being much taller, held Lin Qile’s precious “Saint Seiya” manga just out of her reach, no matter how hard she tried to grab it.
Jiang Qiaoxi turned and went back to the classroom to continue studying.
After school, only Cai Fangyuan walked with Jiang Qiaoxi. Jiang Qiaoxi stood at the school gate with his backpack, looking back and forth before realizing that Lin Qile and the others had truly disappeared long ago.
Cai Fangyuan said beside him, “She went to the Qunbai Department Store with Yu Qiao and the others to buy that—” He paused, probably remembering someone’s instructions. “They went to play at the Qunbai Department Store!”
Manager Jiang didn’t return to the construction site after work. Jiang Qiaoxi had to eat dinner alone at Uncle Lin’s house.
Even the Lin couple, the electrician and his wife, clearly noticed that Jiang Qiaoxi had been in a bad mood lately.
Lin Qile and Yu Qiao had taken the bus to the Qunbai Department Store right after school. These ten-year-old children were bolder and more resourceful than most. There wasn’t a place in the mountains or the city they didn’t dare to explore, causing endless worry for the adults.
Jiang Qiaoxi finished his meal and picked up his backpack, ready to leave. “Uncle, Auntie, I’m heading home now.”
Electrician Lin said, “Qiaoxi, aren’t you staying to do your homework?”
Jiang Qiaoxi shook his head and pushed open the screen door.
It was past 8 PM when Lin Qile returned to the Qunshan construction site. Foreman Yu had driven to the Qunbai Department Store to pick them up. On the way back, Yu Qiao was scolded severely by his father, while Du Shang listened nervously beside him.
Lin Qile, holding a small paper bag, gazed out the window at the night-shrouded city, lost in thought.
No one knew what was on her mind.
Jiang Qiaoxi was solving problems under his desk lamp when he heard a knock at the door.
At first, it was a polite “knock, knock, knock.”
Then, slightly hesitantly but loudly: “Jiang Qiaoxi, are you home?”
Jiang Qiaoxi was still working on a problem. He thought I’d finish this problem first. But even as he thought this, he had already unconsciously put down his pen and stood up.
When he opened the door, Lin Qile was standing outside.
On the Qunshan construction site at night, every point of light represented a family gathering.
“Jiang Qiaoxi, happy birthday,” Lin Qile looked up at Jiang Qiaoxi’s face, smiling sweetly. “We all chipped in to buy you a birthday present!”
Whatever negative emotions Jiang Qiaoxi might have had seemed to dissipate. He looked down at Lin Qile’s face and unconsciously stepped back, letting her into his home.
Unlike Lin Qile’s crowded and cozy home, Jiang Qiaoxi’s place was more like a man’s sparse bachelor apartment, with just a small bed added for the child.
Lin Qile took out the paper bag she was holding.
It was a pure black paper bag that looked very high-end. If Jiang Qiaoxi wasn’t mistaken, it bore a familiar logo he had seen just a few days ago.
Lin Qile’s eyes were wide, looking both happy and excited. To her, this seemed like an extraordinary event.
“Here,” Lin Qile walked over and handed the small paper bag to Jiang Qiaoxi. “Open it and see!”
Following Lin Qile’s words, Jiang Qiaoxi glanced down at the contents of the bag.
His face suddenly became very rigid. Jiang Qiaoxi pushed open the bedroom door and sat down in front of Lin Qile. He opened the paper bag and unwrapped the box inside.
A pure black watch lay within.
Jiang Qiaoxi bowed his head, calmly examining the black strap, black dial, and black hands.
Jiang Qiaoxi looked up: “Who bought this?”
The nervousness and anticipation on Lin Qile’s face froze the moment she saw Jiang Qiaoxi’s expression.
“I…” Lin Qile said, “We all bought it together.”
Jiang Qiaoxi just looked at Lin Qile, seemingly uninterested in the box in his hand. Even though it was a very expensive watch from the clock and watch counter at the Qunbai Department Store, the only American-made one, and exactly the pure black color Lin Qile had been looking for. The counter manager had told her that only two had been imported to the entire Qunshan City, and they were the highest grade. It would be perfect for gifting to a child from the provincial capital, certainly not inferior: “We just sold one a few days ago, and this is the last one!”
Lin Qile had never been looked at like this by Jiang Qiaoxi before, and she didn’t know how to react.
“Don’t you like it?” Lin Qile asked. “I… I thought you would like it…”
Jiang Qiaoxi asked, “Why would I like it?”
Lin Qile said, “Don’t you like black?”
Jiang Qiaoxi let out a derisive laugh.
Lin Qile said, “And you want to go to America—”
“Who told you I like black?” Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Qile gradually bit her lip.
She didn’t know what was wrong with Jiang Qiaoxi now.
She only knew that she didn’t like the way Jiang Qiaoxi was talking to her.
Jiang Qiaoxi casually placed the watch box and paper bag by the bed and went into his small room alone.
Cai Fangyuan had said at school today: “He seemed like a different person in the provincial city.”
“…When I saw him, I hardly dared to greet him!”
Lin Qile suddenly remembered these words. She walked into Jiang Qiaoxi’s room.
Jiang Qiaoxi seemed completely indifferent to the gift Lin Qile had bought, even though it had cost her almost a year’s worth of New Year’s money. For a child her age, this sometimes represented an entire year’s savings. Lin Qile, Yu Qiao, and Du Shang had visited so many counters, carefully selecting and pooling their money to buy this most desired watch.
Lin Qile wasn’t ready to give up. She approached Jiang Qiaoxi.
Jiang Qiaoxi sat under the desk lamp, continuing to work on his Olympic Math problems. Suddenly, he said, “I saw Chen Minghao in the provincial city.”
Lin Qile was taken aback, still thinking about how to tell Jiang Qiaoxi how wonderful the watch was.
Jiang Qiaoxi looked up, gazing at Lin Qile’s naive face, always smiling carefree and innocently due to her overwhelming happiness: “He doesn’t remember who you are.”
Lin Qile stood still, looking at Jiang Qiaoxi, completely silent.
Jiang Qiaoxi lowered his head to look at his Olympic Math book and said, “I reminded him. He said, ‘Is that the little girl who wore a red plastic bead thinking it was amber?'”
The room fell eerily quiet.
Lin Qile left. Jiang Qiaoxi looked up. He hadn’t heard Lin Qile cry, nor had he seen her angry, grieving, or even showing hatred towards anyone.
Jiang Qiaoxi wanted to lower his head and continue with his problems, but he couldn’t bring himself to write for a while.
What had he just said to her?
Lin Diangong pushed open the screen door and was surprised to see Jiang Qiaoxi outside. “Didn’t Yingtao… go to give you a birthday gift?”
Jiang Qiaoxi replied, “She left a while ago.”
Lin Diangong smiled, “If she didn’t go home, she’s probably visiting someone else.”
Jiang Qiaoxi said goodbye to Uncle Lin. For a moment, he thought that if Uncle Lin knew how he had just spoken to Lin Qile, he might never be so kind to him again.
Before reaching Yu Qiao’s house, Jiang Qiaoxi heard Du Shang’s voice.
“Yingtao, look at me! Look at me!” Du Shang called out, followed by the crisp sound of bamboo clappers.
Du Shang’s imitation was spot-on. Even though Jiang Qiaoxi hadn’t watched this year’s Spring Festival Gala, he had heard Guo Donglin’s segment on radios throughout the streets.
He didn’t enter Yu Qiao’s house, instead watching through the screen door. In the night, he saw Lin Qile sitting on the sofa, laughing and wiping away tears simultaneously.
Lin Qile could laugh happily even while crying. She wore a black hairpin, which she hadn’t removed yet. Yu Qiao’s mother, sitting nearby, was also thoroughly amused by Du Shang. She peeled roasted chestnuts and placed them in Lin Qile’s palm, treating her like her own daughter.
After 10 PM, Jiang Qiaoxi was studying at his desk when he heard a knock at the living room door.
Jiang Zheng opened the door, surprised: “Yingtao’s here!”
Jiang Qiaoxi instinctively stood up and left his desk.
However, Lin Qile wasn’t there for Jiang Qiaoxi. She held a basket of steaming jujube buns, looking up at Jiang Zheng, “Uncle Jiang, Mom asked me to bring these to you.”
Through the bedroom door crack, Jiang Qiaoxi noticed that Lin Qile’s black hairpin had disappeared.
Jiang Zheng laughed in the living room, “I just mentioned to your father that I wanted something for breakfast on the road with the driver tomorrow. Why did you bring so many?”
Lin Qile smiled sweetly, “My mom made too many! We’re giving you extra.”
Jiang Qiaoxi found it strange: why had Lin Qile recovered so quickly as if she had never heard any hurtful or disappointing words?
“Jiang Qiaoxi,” Manager Jiang called from the living room, “your classmate is here, and you’re not even coming to see her off.”
They lived next door, so there was no real need to see her off. Still, Jiang Qiaoxi opened his bedroom door. When Lin Qile saw him, apart from slightly red eyes, she appeared normal. Jiang Qiaoxi walked over and opened the front door to escort Lin Qile home.
Although it was Saturday, for the electric construction workers at the Qunshan site, weekends often meant little.
After 10 PM, most homes had turned off their lights, as everyone had to work early the next day.
Jiang Qiaoxi stepped outside, waiting for Lin Qile to come out before closing the door.
“Yingtao,” Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Qile, wearing a coral fleece jacket with a Mickey Mouse print, came down the steps.
“Jiang Qiaoxi,” Lin Qile said softly as she approached him, neither submissive nor arrogant. She reached into her collar, pulling out the amber, “Do you think… this is made of plastic?”
She might as well have scolded him. This question made Jiang Qiaoxi even more ashamed.
Seeing Jiang Qiaoxi’s silence, Lin Qile looked down at her “cherry amber” again and said quietly, “Actually, I think it’s quite pretty.”
“Yingtao,” Jiang Qiaoxi forced himself to say, never having called her “Yingtao” before as it was too intimate, “thank you for your gift.”
Lin Qile looked at him.
“I was just talking nonsense earlier,” Jiang Qiaoxi said.
On New Year’s Day, Manager Jiang’s home at the provincial headquarters was bustling with visitors from the provincial power system. Among them was a man who brought his son, Chen Minghao.
When Chen Minghao heard Jiang Qiaoxi mention “Lin Qile,” he couldn’t immediately recall. Jiang Zheng clarified, “The daughter of Lin Haifeng from the Qunshan site, Lin Yingtao!”
Chen Minghao remembered and reminded his father, “It’s that little girl who wears a red plastic bead, thinking it’s amber.”
Now Jiang Qiaoxi said, “I don’t know if your amber is real or fake.”
Lin Qile lowered her head, looking at her cherry amber.
“My aunt gave it to me,” Lin Qile raised her head, smiling at Jiang Qiaoxi, her round cheeks dimpling, “Do you think it’s pretty?”
Jiang Qiaoxi nodded.
“Did you see Brother Chen Minghao?” Lin Qile asked.
Jiang Qiaoxi was taken aback.
“You both live in the headquarters compound, right?” Lin Qile said.
Jiang Qiaoxi replied, “I saw him.”
“Does he remember me?”
“He misses you,” Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Qile asked, “Then why doesn’t he call me?”
Jiang Qiaoxi answered, “Probably too busy with studies.”
As the night deepened, Lin Qile sat on the steps in front of her house, with Jiang Qiaoxi sitting beside her.
The two children whispered even more quietly.
“Jiang Qiaoxi, don’t you like black?”
“…”
“Then why are all your things black?”
“Because my brother likes black.”
Perhaps Lin Qile would ask, who is your brother?
After all, almost everyone around Jiang Qiaoxi would mention that unseen brother time and again.
Instead, Lin Qile asked, “So what color do you like?”
Jiang Qiaoxi said, “I don’t have a favorite color.”
“Then think of one now,” Lin Qile said.
“Red, I guess,” he said without thinking, “I like red.”
Our Generation – Chapter Note:
- “When the bamboo clappers are struck”: This is a classic segment from the crosstalk performance “Old Songs, New Tunes” performed by Guo Donglin and Feng Gong during the 2000 CCTV Spring Festival Gala.