Lin Qile stood in a corner of her aunt’s living room, taking a phone call.
“Why did you bring Qiaoxi along?” her mother asked awkwardly over the phone.
Lin Qile’s left foot curved, rubbing against the back of her right foot—a habit she couldn’t resist when she was about to make excuses or lie.
“Because you packed too many things for Aunt…” she said innocently. “So much cured meat and sausages, I couldn’t carry it all!”
“Didn’t we give you a suitcase? You could’ve put everything in it and rolled it over,” her mother said anxiously. “Your aunt said a young man came in carrying so many things, while you just held a box of bamboo shoots. How could you let that happen?”
Lin Qile was momentarily stunned. She could hear her aunt entertaining Jiang Qiaoxi in the background.
“Jiang Qiaoxi is staying at a hotel near Tsinghua, separate from the school. He said eating out is very expensive for him…” Lin Qile mumbled. “So that’s why…”
Her mother sighed over the phone, probably finding this excuse insufficient but too tired to scold her further.
“After you finish eating at your aunt’s, wash the dishes before you leave. Be careful when you go back tonight, and call me when you reach the hotel,” her mother said. “It’s good that Qiaoxi is with you. Both of you, be safe.”
Jiang Qiaoxi sat in the small living room, noticing that it was only slightly larger than the staff dormitories at the Qunshan construction site. Once the dining table was set up in the living room, there was barely any space left to stand. Lin Qile’s aunt was busy in the kitchen, while her uncle approached with half a bottle of baijiu, asking, “Young man, would you like some?”
Jiang Qiaoxi was startled and quickly shook his head.
Lin Qile’s cousin brought over some cans of Coca-Cola and placed them on the table. “He’s not even of legal age yet, Dad! How can you offer him baijiu?”
Uncle laughed, putting the bottle aside as he sat down. “When were you born, young man?”
Jiang Qiaoxi, always a beat behind, replied, “March 1990.”
Uncle sighed, “Well, you’ll be of age in just half a year!”
Aunt brought out a braised pork knuckle with rock sugar, while the cousin was unwrapping a roast duck from Bianyifang. Jiang Qiaoxi tilted his head, hearing Lin Qile on the phone by the refrigerator. She was twirling the phone cord, asking her mother questions like whether they had added warm boiled water to Mimi’s water bowl.
As Lin Qile approached, her cousin stood up, first placing the roast duck in the center of the table, then bringing down plates of desserts from atop the refrigerator, arranging them in front of Lin Qile. “These are for you: aiwowo, ludagun…” The cousin named each dish as he set it down. “Wandouhuang, qiegao, and these are sugar-fried cake and meat pies your uncle bought for you on his way home…” The cousin smiled, seeing Lin Qile’s delight as she sat down. “Eat up, eat up. Oh, and Xiao Jiang, you eat too.”
Aunt came over with a bowl of tomato and shrimp egg soup. “This girl has always had this habit,” she said to Jiang Qiaoxi, the only outsider present. “She eats snacks for dinner and more snacks before bed. Always munching on something,” she poked Lin Qile’s forehead. “No wonder you’re getting chubby!”
“Aunt, why are you still living here?” Lin Qile asked, eating half a meat pie. “Didn’t you buy a new house?”
She had asked casually, not expecting the sudden change in expressions from her cousin, aunt, and uncle.
Lin Qile glanced at Jiang Qiaoxi, who, as an outsider, also looked up at her.
“We’ve just paid the down payment on the house. How could we move in so quickly?” The aunt said helplessly, putting food on Lin Qile’s plate. “It’ll be at least a year or two before we can move in.”
“I thought you could move in right away,” Lin Qile said. “Is this place going to be demolished?”
Her cousin laughed bitterly, “If only it could be demolished!”
Lin Qile looked at him, “Then why did you suddenly decide to buy a new house?”
Aunt explained, “Your brother’s ex-fiancée insisted on having their place before getting married. I’ve never seen such a stubborn girl. Do you know how much Beijing’s housing prices have risen? A few years ago, it was just over 6,000 yuan per square meter, now it’s over 10,000. It’s increasing by one or two thousand every year! Do you know how much that is per square meter? I suggested living with the in-laws first and buying a house later when prices drop, but she wouldn’t agree.”
Hearing her aunt’s unhappiness, Lin Qile asked her cousin, “What does my sister-in-law look like?”
Aunt interjected, “Sister-in-law? That’s all over now. She thought we didn’t have enough money. We had to borrow left and right just for the down payment.”
Lin Qile saw her cousin shake his head at her.
She pressed her lips together, not asking any more questions.
Uncle then said, “I just saw in the newspaper today—Yingtao, don’t just eat by yourself, let your classmate eat too. Give Xiao Jiang a piece of pork knuckle, a big one! I saw in the paper today that experts are predicting Beijing’s housing prices might drop by 40% after the Olympics!”
Lin Qile had just managed to put a large piece of pork knuckle in Jiang Qiaoxi’s bowl when she heard her aunt’s chopsticks clatter to the floor.
Her cousin sighed, bending down to pick up the chopsticks and going to the kitchen to get a new pair.
Uncle, realizing he shouldn’t have said that, waved his hand, “Let’s not talk about this. Let’s eat. It’s rare for Yingtao to visit.”
After dinner, Lin Qile helped wash the dishes. Her aunt praised her, saying she used to only know how to peel garlic cloves when she was little, but now she could do everything. Outside, Jiang Qiaoxi, being tall, stood on a stool to help Lin Qile’s cousin straighten the wall clock and picture frames.
“You’re still young,” Aunt said, stacking the clean bowls in the corner. She wiped her hands with a towel, then dried Lin Qile’s small hands as they left the kitchen together. “You don’t understand the hardships of society yet.”
“You’re still students now, but when you enter society and start working, your company won’t provide housing like they used to,” Aunt continued. She saw Lin Qile’s classmate, Jiang Qiaoxi, already sitting on the sofa drinking water. She brought over a plate of candy and sunflower seeds for him, not wanting to neglect their guest. “Then you’ll have to consider big issues like when to buy a house, whether to buy before or after marriage, whether your family or your partner’s family should buy it.”
Lin Qile sat on a small stool nearby, listening. She thought her aunt was overthinking things.
“I’ll buy my own house,” Lin Qile said. “I don’t need anyone else to buy it for me.”
“Where will you get the money to buy on your own?” Aunt laughed.
Lin Qile replied, “Beijing’s housing price is 10,000 yuan per square meter. If I earn 3,000 yuan a month, I can buy more than three square meters in a year.”
Aunt chuckled, “Then how many years will it take you to buy a whole house? Oh, and do you think housing prices won’t increase?”
Lin Qile had spoken without thinking it through.
“Then I won’t buy. I’ll rent instead!” she quickly decided it wasn’t worth it.
“It’s not the same, my little darling,” Aunt said, caught between laughter and exasperation. “When you live alone in the future, having your own house is so important. You haven’t experienced that yet.”
“I won’t live alone. I’ll live with my parents. We have a house,” Lin Qile looked at her aunt.
“So you’re not getting married? What about your husband? Your children?” Aunt asked. “Will they all live in your parents’ house?”
Uncle came out of the kitchen with a bowl of washed grapes for Lin Qile and her quiet male classmate.
“For now, cherish your pure and simple student life,” Aunt said. “After graduation, you’ll have to think about many complex things. Things you’ll have to consider even if you don’t want to. Finding a husband with a car and a house, calculating how much money is in your husband’s account, his monthly salary. Even if you don’t want to calculate these things, the man’s family will calculate yours,” Aunt sighed. “Like your brother buying this house, he was pursuing the girl. We bought the house because we had no choice. The girl’s family was picky. We bought a house and now the family is in debt. This house is quite good in many aspects, it’s just that buying at this price… my heart aches every day…”
“So, Yingtao,” Uncle lit a cigarette and said, “Find a husband whose family already has a house, you know? It’ll save you 30-40 years of salary. And you’re talking about earning 3,000 a month? Don’t you want to earn more?”
Aunt packed up several roast ducks and took out several more boxes from the refrigerator—ludagun, wandouhuang, and sugar-fried cakes for Lin Qile to take back. “Take these back and eat them when you want!” Aunt found several bags to pack everything. “Let that tall, handsome classmate of yours help you carry them back!”
Lin Qile suddenly laughed.
In the living room, Uncle and Jiang Qiaoxi had somehow struck up a conversation.
“Your family is also in the electric power construction?” Uncle asked. “Your father is?”
Jiang Qiaoxi said, “Jiang Zheng.”
Uncle was startled, “Your dad is Jiang Zheng?”
Jiang Qiaoxi nodded.
“Lingzi!” Uncle suddenly stood up and called for Aunt. “Yingtao’s classmate is Jiang Zheng’s son!”
“Who?” Aunt asked from the kitchen.
Uncle walked to the kitchen door, “The one who was the project manager in Datong, Shanxi, who joined the factory five years before me. Jiang Zheng!”
Jiang Qiaoxi didn’t know what his father had done before; he had never cared much about such things, and it didn’t concern him. Lin Qile was talking to her cousin in the bedroom. Jiang Qiaoxi glanced at her back, feeling that even among distant relatives, Lin Qile was loved by the whole family. She had indeed grown up in a honeypot.
It seemed like a sin for anyone to treat her badly.
Jiang Qiaoxi saw Uncle return.
“So you’re Jiang Zheng’s son,” Uncle said with emotion. “I worked in electric power construction for a while before I met Yingtao’s aunt. Oh my, what a coincidence! When Yingtao said she was bringing a male classmate today, I thought it might be Yu Zhenfeng’s son. But you’re Jiang Zheng’s son. My, my, such a fine young man. Your father was outstanding when he was young, quite handsome! He often attracted the attention of young female colleagues at the factory.”
Lin Qile stood at the doorway, holding boxes of desserts, saying goodbye to her aunt’s family. Jiang Qiaoxi was behind her, helping carry the rest.
“Study hard in your senior year, get into a good university, find a good job,” Aunt stroked Lin Qile’s cheeks, advising her. “Even if you buy a house in the future, you can help share the burden with your parents. But I’m sure they’ve saved money for you, waiting to buy a house for our Yingtao!”
On a summer night, there were still many tourists out. Perhaps because the Olympics were approaching, police officers could be seen on the streets from time to time.
“I should have asked Aunt to pack these separately…” Lin Qile said. She sat on a bench decorated with Olympic rings by the roadside, dividing the contents of the bag into four portions. “Here’s yours.”
Jiang Qiaoxi sat at the other end of the bench. He didn’t like these snacks much, but he took them anyway. The other two portions were for Yu Qiao and Cai Fangyuan, and her parents.
Jiang Qiaoxi didn’t have many relatives, and even his closest cousin’s family didn’t have such a strong sense of domesticity as he had experienced today. Many of the conversations he heard seemed bizarre to him, yet they were matters of great concern to Yingtao’s family.
“Yingtao,” Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Qile looked up at him.
Jiang Qiaoxi stood up and took the remaining bags from her hands. Just then, an empty taxi approached. Jiang Qiaoxi walked to the roadside, and the car stopped. He opened the door and looked back at Lin Qile.
“Aren’t we taking the bus?” Lin Qile was a bit uncomfortable, knowing taxis were expensive.
“The stuff is too heavy,” Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Qile sat in the back seat. She hadn’t yet entered the adult world and was still enjoying the simplicity and purity that the ivory tower provided her, along with a somewhat taken-for-granted optimism about the future. She had listened to her aunt’s family’s advice, but would soon forget these words. She looked out the window at Beijing’s night scenery, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Jiang Qiaoxi sat beside her, naturally not concerned with mundane matters like buying houses either.
“Why did you suddenly want to bring me to your aunt’s house today?”
“Weren’t you free? And you kept calling me.”
Jiang Qiaoxi heard this and met Lin Qile’s eyes looking at him.
“Lin Yingtao.”
“Hmm?”
“You seem to have some oil from the sugar cake on your lips.”
“Impossible,” Lin Qile quickly wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “I washed my face after eating.”
Jiang Qiaoxi reached out and wiped her lips with his hand. He suddenly lowered his head, perhaps because they were far away from their hometown, finally free from constraints, or because it was very late.
Lin Qile turned her face away, smiling, her soft hair brushing against Jiang Qiaoxi’s wrist.
Jiang Qiaoxi lowered his hand, pressed his lips together, and looked out his side of the window.
The taxi driver continued driving from the front.
“I don’t think this meat pie tastes very good,” Jiang Qiaoxi said, his eyes bright as he looked at the front window, speaking frankly.
Lin Qile said, “But Uncle bought it specially… It was quite tasty last time, but it’s a bit salty this time…”
Jiang Qiaoxi’s hand was between them, at first covering Lin Qile’s hand from above, then slowly grasping her rabbit-ear-like hand.
Giving her a happy life in the future shouldn’t be too difficult for Jiang Qiaoxi, right?
Jiang Qiaoxi escorted Lin Qile to the hotel entrance. He put his hands in his pockets and watched her go in before stepping back.
Qin Yeyun sat barefoot by the window, while Yu Qiao and Cai Fangyuan were playing cards on the bed behind her. Qin Yeyun waved at them excitedly, “Hey! Hey! Lin Yingtao is back!”
Du Shang arranged the new cards he had drawn into his hand, “Where did Yingtao go?”
Qin Yeyun turned back excitedly, “Jiang Qiaoxi sent her back!!”
Yu Qiao leaned against the headboard, idly looking at his cards. Du Shang was a bit displeased, “What’s with this guy? Doesn’t he know it’s not safe at night?”
“What’s it to you?” Cai Fangyuan said to Du Shang, urging him, “Hurry up and draw your card!”
Suddenly, the door burst open from the outside. Everyone turned to look, only to see Lin Yingtao holding up two large plastic bags with both hands, like a gymnast sticking a perfect landing. She provided her musical accompaniment, announcing, “Ta-da!”
On the morning of the 11th, a group of students boarded a bus to visit the Bird’s Nest Stadium, which was still under construction. A white, rust-stained wall surrounded the stadium. As Lin Qile got off the bus, she noticed several locals and foreign tourists trying to find higher ground to peek over the wall and catch a glimpse of the emerging Bird’s Nest structure inside.
Lin Qile tried several spots but couldn’t see over the wall even on tiptoes. Yu Qiao, however, easily stood on an old tire and squinted inside for a moment.
Lin Qile turned around, calling out, “Cai Fangyuan!”
“What is it?” Cai Fangyuan had just gotten off the bus when he heard her chattering.
Lin Qile walked over to him, pointing at the base of the wall, and suggested, “Go crouch down by the wall, and I’ll climb on your back to take a look!”
“Go on, get out of here!” Surprisingly, Cai Fangyuan didn’t get angry. Instead, her words seemed to remind him of something, and he started laughing.
At the entrance of Beihang University, Lin Qile heard someone calling her name from behind. She turned away from Yu Qiao and saw a light blue figure waving at her from across the street.
It was Geng Xiaoqing, wearing a spaghetti-strap maxi dress and a sun hat.
Lin Qile exclaimed from afar, “Wow, you look beautiful!”
Geng Xiaoqing left her group from No. 2 High School and ran across the crosswalk towards the experimental school’s side. She appeared to have lost weight since their last meeting. Despite the heat, she wasn’t sweating much and had applied light makeup, making her skin look fair. She stood next to Lin Qile, excitedly chatting with her for a few moments.
Then, Geng Xiaoqing lifted her gaze and stole a glance at Yu Qiao.