Si’er returned to the Wen family home, personally escorted back by Old Master Wen. In the study, Si Wan received a stern scolding, and with that, the matter seemed settled.

However, Ah Heng became even more reluctant to speak than before. Though she still smiled when seeing others, maintaining her gentle and pleasant demeanor, she hadn’t changed much otherwise.

Mother bought her numerous items – food, clothes, daily necessities, and toys – practically enough to fill sacks to bring home. This shower of affection was likely the result of countless sleepless nights filled with guilt and inner conflict. Still, Mother had finally gotten her way, and if she still had any filial piety left, this should make everyone happy.

What was disheartening was that whenever Ah Heng saw Si’er, she felt intimidated in her heart and couldn’t bring herself to get close. In Si Wan’s eyes, this probably confirmed her guilty conscience.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it started, but Yan Xi suddenly became close to her, treating her like an old buddy – the kind you haven’t seen in years but still feel incredibly close to. She accepted this kindness with a smile, thinking life was even more dramatic than an 8 PM television soap opera.

Perhaps it was the arrival of spring, but every weekend she found herself sleeping in, often spending entire days without leaving her room.

Speaking of rooms, she had taken the initiative to ask Grandfather’s permission to move into the bedroom farthest from the stairs. Opening the window revealed a phoenix tree, which had just sprouted new branches when she moved in, fresh and full of vitality.

Lu Rou Fan (the bird) loved her new room. Every evening, it would fly to her window, perching on the phoenix tree branches, calling out and conversing with her despite their different species. It would chirp “Lu Rou, Lu Rou,” mischievously, very much like its owner. Meanwhile, she would recite her Chinese textbook to it, her Mandarin pronunciation still hopelessly awful.

Whenever she reached the last line of “The Memorial to the Throne,” “Tears fall as I write this memorial, I know not what more to say,” and met Lu Rou Fan’s dark, innocent little eyes, she would burst into hearty laughter.

Zhang Sao was quite worried, sighing: “What’s wrong with this child? She was already odd, hope she doesn’t hit a wall and become truly troubled.”

Si’er said tearfully: “It’s all my fault.”

Ah Heng smiled, pretending not to hear.

When and where exactly did you commit what kind of wrong? She wished she could be as detached as flowing water, maintaining a gentleman’s bearing, but unfortunately, some people in this world willingly threw mud on themselves.

Every weekend, Ah Heng would visit Hat Hutong, bringing along good soup and food. Seeing Little Xia’s grades improve and his little face becoming rosy and healthy, she felt deeply satisfied, her mood improving considerably.

The child loved telling her about delicious foods, complaining about how certain classmates were mean to him for being short, and how he got revenge using frogs. He didn’t treat her like a stranger at all, becoming spoiled to the point of being unrestrained.

“You’re like raising a child yourself, not bad, not bad. You’ll make a good wife and mother in the future,” Xin Dayi teased her.

She blushed, stammering incoherently – such private personal wishes shouldn’t be discussed in front of others… But then again, girls were meant to marry and have children, being a good wife and mother was a good thing. So she composed herself and turned to smile at Dayi: “Hehe, well said!”

Dayi burst out laughing: “Little girl, you’re thinking about marriage already at such a young age? How thick-skinned!”

Ah Heng glared: “Fine then, I hope you never get to marry or have children, without even a chance to be a good husband and father!”

Many years later, her words became an unfortunate prophecy, embarrassing Ah Heng to death.

If only she had known, she would have wished herself to win every lottery ticket she bought, whether sports lottery, welfare lottery, or scratch cards, being awakened from sleep by falling Euros!

During free time, Yan Xi always had countless excuses to bring her to his house to play. He discovered that Ah Heng had quite a gaming talent and took her as his apprentice. Unfortunately, the student surpassed the master – Ah Heng always beat Yan Xi’s character until he had to retreat in defeat, making the young man’s face turn blue.

Fortunately, he was easy to console – a bowl of pork rib noodles would immediately bring a smile to his face.

Recently, Lu Rou Fan’s language circuits crossed some wires. It no longer chirped “Lu Rou, Lu Rou” like it was calling spirits, but started acting profound, tucking its little wings behind its back, sighing deeply “know not what to say, know not what to say.”

Yan Xi burst out laughing, flicking the little creature’s head: “So you know you don’t know what to say, huh!”

Ah Heng helplessly took the teary-eyed Lu Rou Fan into her palms, comforting it for a while.

“Ah Heng, don’t spoil it. The little thing isn’t that delicate,” Yan Xi raised his eyebrows.

Ah Heng smiled: “Not delicate, but not strong either.” Such a small existence needed protection to feel at ease.

The young man pursed his lips: “A cockroach is small enough, isn’t it? Yet it’s still invincible!”

Ah Heng smiled faintly – if it came to verbal sparring, she couldn’t match Yan Xi.

The young man suddenly widened his dark, bright eyes, staring straight at Ah Heng until she felt uncomfortable. Then he spoke with exaggerated emotion: “Oh my, poor child, you’ve gotten so thin lately. Have you not been eating properly, too busy feuding with Si’er, starving yourself, playing the pitiful little wife, and self-harming?”

Ah Heng smiled outwardly while rolling her eyes internally.

“To show my sympathy, this young master has decided…” the young man paused, with a serious expression, “to treat you to drinks!”

What kind of Mars logic was this?

Ah Heng smiled and nodded in agreement.

Taking advantage of Old Master Yan being out socializing and Guard Li dozing off, he pulled her along, sneaking stealthily into the underground storage room.

“It’s so dark!” Ah Heng said softly.

“Shh, keep your voice down, don’t let Aunt Li discover us!” Yan Xi whispered.

“What, are we not allowed to drink?” Ah Heng was confused. Back in Wushui Town, she often had a few drinks with her father, whether green leaf or plum wine, and her tolerance wasn’t bad.

“Child, you’re underage, underage!”

In the darkness, a hand hesitated before gently patting her head, like patting a puppy.

“Oh.” Ah Heng nodded, though she wasn’t sure if Yan Xi could see her in the pitch-black wine cellar.

Evidence proved that he was an experienced thief – after rustling around for a short while, he returned with wine.

Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the wine cellar, and she could gradually make out rough shapes. It was a large space with lots of wine, mostly in ceramic containers, making it feel like they had wandered into some ancient wine shop.

When she came back to her senses, Yan Xi was already sitting cross-legged on the ground.

Ah Heng chuckled softly and sat down opposite him, mimicking the young man’s posture.

“Here.” Yan Xi was quite generous, keeping one bottle for himself and passing another to Ah Heng.

“We’re drinking just like this?” Ah Heng was stunned – shouldn’t they at least have cups?

“What else?” Yan Xi laughed, “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of wine here, no need to save it for my old man.”

Ah Heng felt quite helpless, feeling there was a communication barrier between her and Yan Xi, but seeing the young man’s contented expression, she felt perhaps she wasn’t being open-minded enough – after all, life rarely offered chances for such uninhibited enjoyment. So she found the bottle opening, picked off the wax seal with her fingertips, smiled in demonstration, and took a big sip. The spicy, crisp flavor rushed into her mouth and tongue. People speak of “the desires of the mouth and tongue” – this is how they develop.

The young man watched her, his eyes in the darkness like fine old ink jade nestled in crystal.

“Fen liquor?” Ah Heng asked.

Yan Xi nodded, passing her his bottle: “Try this one too.”

Ah Heng took a sip – the spiciness hit her nose, but in her mouth, it was smooth with a sweet fragrance.

“Yang He?”

Yan Xi’s eyes brightened: “How did you know?”

Ah Heng’s face reddened slightly: “When I was little when Father bought wine, I would steal sips. Bulk wine, very cheap, though not pure.”

The young man’s lips curved upward, muttering something very quietly: “How did I never notice before that you’re such a treasure?”

Treasure? Ah Heng was stunned. After a while, she smiled awkwardly. Perhaps only Yan Xi would say something like that.

Whether this kind of kindred spirit connection with him was good or bad wouldn’t be known until the final judgment.

That day, the sunset twilight filled the entire courtyard, with just the two of them hiding in the pitch-black wine cellar, passing bottles back and forth.

When they came out, the young man’s face was already as red as a peach blossom grove.

“Ah Heng, if adults ask, what should we say?” He asked her with wine-hazed eyes half-closed.

“Drank juice, with Yan Xi, it was delicious.” Ah Heng smiled, her manner composed, her face clean, with a sweet fragrance on her lips and fingertips.

“Good girl.” He patted her head again, smiling childishly.

“Ah Heng, next time when we’re free, let’s drink juice together again.” The young man smiled, showing the little red flesh above his gums, extending his pinky finger, adorably naive, “Pinky swear.”

Ah Heng was both amused and exasperated, her little finger lightly hooking the young man’s before quickly releasing it: “Alright.”

Whenever she made a promise, she would fulfill it – this was a kind of persistence, but also something frightening.

Thus, she became Yan Xi’s regular juice friend, and later, drinking companion.

At their closest, this was how it was; at their most distant, it was no different.

By early June, the weather had become extremely hot, and the central air conditioning at home had started running. The constant temperature of 26 degrees Celsius, neither hot nor cold, was so comfortable it made Ah Heng somewhat depressed.

She didn’t like environments that were too comfortable, especially artificially created ones. So on weekends when she had free time, she spent more time at Little Xia’s place. The adults were all busy, and after school, often only Si Wan and Si’er were left at home.

Speaking of Si’er, she had been frail as a child and pampered by the family. She started school a year late and was only entering high school this summer. Now, to prepare for the middle school entrance exam, Si Wan was going all out to improve Si’er’s scores, determined not to rest until she got into Xilin.

Another Monday came, and Ah Heng’s biological clock was stable – she usually woke up on her own at the right time. But this time, she was awakened by external forces – a harsh, unpleasant bell sound. Drawing back the curtains, under the phoenix tree stood a young man in red, leaning against a decrepit bicycle, smiling brightly, looking up at the window, vigorously ringing the bell.

“Ah Heng, look!” He was somewhat excited.

“What?” Ah Heng rubbed her eyes.

“Yo girl, see, quick, see, my foreign bike, with a crossbar!” Yan Xi gesticulated wildly.

This bike?

Ah Heng smiled: “Where did it come from?”

The young man spoke animatedly: “Found it in the storage room yesterday. The old man used to ride it, it’s a twenty-year-old antique now, rarely seen these days. I don’t let just anyone look at it!”

Ah Heng sighed: “Have you eaten?”

“Does a bowl of soy milk, a bowl of spicy soup, and three buns count?” Yan Xi’s face lit up with joy.

She leaned on the window, poking her head out to smile. Yan Xi usually ate little for breakfast, at most a bowl of soy milk, but today he seemed genuinely happy.

“I’ll take a lap around the courtyard first, hurry up, I’ll take you to school later!” The young man turned, waved, and somewhat comically straddled the crossbar, looking like an old man, swaying as he went. This foreign bike wasn’t far from being scrapped.

While she was concentrating on eating her breakfast steamed bun, someone frantically knocked on the door.

Zhang Sao opened the door – it was Yan Xi, with several black smudges on his face and hands.

“What happened?” Si Wan was startled.

“Hadn’t even made half a lap when the chain fell off, can’t put it back on!” Yan Xi plopped down, his eyes wide, taking up half his face.

“What chain?” Si Wan was confused.

Ah Heng smiled: “Your face is dirty.”

Yan Xi muttered as he ran to the washroom, while Ah Heng put down her bun and went out carrying a repair box. Sure enough, she found the nearly paralyzed bicycle.

She frowned, looking helplessly at the bike chain that was older than herself, with pliers and screwdrivers scattered everywhere. Well, might as well use whichever one looked right!

Crash, bang, clatter.

Ah Heng looked at the chain that had shakily returned to its position, feeling quite talented – maybe she should ask Grandfather He one day if he needed help…

“How did you put it back on?” Yan Xi was amazed.

Ah Heng pondered – was this a principle of physics or mathematics, or both? She looked up, but Yan Xi was already smiling.

Ah Heng knew her face couldn’t look any better than Yan Xi’s had earlier, using seriousness to cover her blush: “I think, you should, thank me.”

Yan Xi was equally serious: “I think, you should consider the feelings of someone who likes comedy.”

Ah Heng glared, one, two, three, couldn’t hold it in, and laughed.

Yan Xi also laughed, his index finger lightly wiping away a black mark from between the girl’s eyebrows: “Today I can ride this foreign bike, thanks to CCTV, thanks to MTV, thanks to Rolling Stone, thanks to Sony, thanks to Ah Heng, happy now?”

Ah Heng nodded modestly, secretly pleased, hehe.

That day, Ah Heng sat on the bicycle, bouncing like a wedding sedan chair on TV, dizzy and swaying back and forth.

The broken bike wobbled along at a pace of one step per second, and halfway through they met Xin Dayi. That fellow hadn’t seen much of the world – he was startled, his mouth forming an ‘O’ like a milk candy, fascinated and following them the whole way, studying the bike with great interest.

Yan Xi was angry, turned his head, and rode straight into Xin Dayi. Though the bike was broken, it still had some destructive power.

Yan Xi looked contemptuously at the fallen Xin Dayi, proudly leaving tire marks on the young man’s legs before gracefully departing with the wind.

Ah Heng blushed, covered her face, determined to pretend: Others couldn’t see anyone on the back of the broken bike, couldn’t see, couldn’t see.

Ultimately, though Yan Xi had bad habits of easily regretting things, xbecoming obsessed, and easily showing off, despite feeling awkward and uncomfortable the whole way, she still accompanied this young man for the entire journey.

Only, how long would it take him to realize that this companionship was precious beyond measure?

Sometimes, even if you empty your heart and give your all, it becomes impossible to trace back to those moments.