Chapter Seventy-Five: Warmth

Xu Xin hesitated for a moment, a trace of sadness appearing on her face. She turned her head and said, “It’s nothing, just a fight. She doesn’t want me as her daughter anymore, so why should I go back?”

I suspected things weren’t as simple as she made them sound, but since she wouldn’t say more, there was nothing I could do. I tried to console her, “There’s no parent in the world who isn’t pained by their children. They scold you out of concern, even their harsh words are for your good. As a child, you should accept it humbly, not run away in anger. This is a very irresponsible act, and it will make your whole family worry and lose sleep. Is that what you want? Will that make you happy? You’re still young, you don’t understand how precious family harmony is. When you’re my age, you’ll regret it. Take my advice: go home, apologize to your parents. They’ll certainly forgive you, and then you can live happily every day. Isn’t that better? Out here, drifting without work or a place to stay—how long do you think you can manage? There’s an old saying, ‘Home is best a thousand days; away from home, everything is hard.’ Do you really think you can live happily without your parents’ care?”

After my long speech, Xu Xin only sneered coldly and said, “Of course I know it’s good at home. If I were still at home, would I have let you bully me? But there are things you don’t know, and I can’t tell you either. Sigh! If only my sister were here, she would support me and help me make decisions. I came here to have some fun for a few days, and when my sister comes back from America, I’ll go to her.”

I smoked a cigarette and looked at Xu Xin’s determined expression. She really seemed set on not going home. I wondered what kind of conflict had happened between her and her family to make her so resolute. But then I thought to myself, this is someone else’s family business—why should I interfere? Besides, I had no right to meddle. It seemed I couldn’t tell her that her brother had been here, or she’d just try to run off again. Better to wait until morning when her brother arrives; let their family sort it out themselves.

Then Xu Xin changed the subject and asked me, “By the way, was that woman just now really your girlfriend? I saw my sister bringing you home, and I thought something might be developing between you two. But it turns out you already have a girlfriend. My sister will be so… hmm, how about you break up with her and go after my sister? I can help you!”

She had barely finished speaking before she changed her tune, “No, no, that won’t do. You’re such a bad person—if you became my brother-in-law, how could I ever get revenge? You know, no one has ever dared to hit me since I was little. But today, you not only hit me, you hit… that place. It’s a terrible humiliation. Right now, since I’m on my own, I have to put up with it, but one day I’ll settle all accounts with you. Just you wait!” The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, clenching her little fists, as if she wished she could beat me up right there.

I almost burst out laughing. Children are so simple-minded—they can’t hide what’s in their hearts. If it were someone else, even if they hated me to death, they’d never say to my face they planned to get revenge. That would only put me on my guard.

I smiled and said, “Your sister already has a boyfriend. Even if I wanted to pursue her, it’s too late. Besides, look at who she is. How could someone as ordinary as I am ever be worthy of her? She’d never fancy me. Have you been reading too many romance novels? I only came to your house to pick up something, nothing more. Why does everyone in your family assume something’s going on between me and your sister?”

Xu Xin asked, “Was it for that scarf? Haha, you really are strange. Why did you have to come back for that scarf? It’s just…” She stopped abruptly, leaving me puzzled. “Just what?” I asked.

Xu Xin only gave a mysterious smile. “Well, it’s just a plain scarf, not even worth much. Is it really worth coming all this way in the middle of the night to fetch?”

I took a drag from my cigarette and sighed. “I happened to meet your sister by chance and asked her for it. That scarf was a gift from my girlfriend. If I don’t get it back, I can’t explain it to her.” The misunderstanding between me and Xu Shu had already been cleared up, so I didn’t bother explaining further.

Xu Xin leaned back against the sofa. “How boring! I thought there was going to be some kind of story, but in the end, it’s just that.”

I stubbed out my cigarette, feeling my eyelids grow heavy with drowsiness. The little troublemaker must have just woken up—she was full of energy. I reminded myself not to fall asleep, or she’d seize the chance to run off and I’d be in real trouble.

Suddenly, she asked, “Hey! Do you have anything to eat at home? I’m a little hungry.”

I thought for a moment. “If you want snacks, I’m afraid there aren’t any. But if you just want to fill your stomach, I can make some noodles. Want some?”

She nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, anything will do. I just need to eat. You chased me so hard just now, I’m starving.”

Now that she mentioned it, I realized I was a bit hungry too. It was almost three in the morning—no wonder I felt so tired. I got up to head to the kitchen, but hesitated. Just in case, I said to her, “You’d better come with me, so you don’t get any funny ideas.”

She pouted in dissatisfaction. “Hmph! You still don’t trust me!”

I laughed as I walked into the kitchen. “Can you really be trusted?”

“What do you mean? Why can’t I be trusted?”

I just smiled without answering and busied myself boiling water and cooking the noodles.

She leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching me. Suddenly, she asked, “Hey, you and I aren’t related and we don’t really know each other, so why are you bothering with me? And why won’t you just let me leave? Honestly, busybodies like you are rare these days!”

I scolded her, “Busybody? Kids these days have no sense of gratitude. I told you—I’m good friends with your brother. How could I let my friend’s little sister end up wandering the streets? If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself, nor could I ever face your brother again.”

“Is it really that simple?”

“What else could it be?”

She snorted, clearly unconvinced.

Whether she believed me or not, I didn’t care. I put some leftover vegetables and two eggs into the noodles, then added a bit of curry. The noodles turned out fragrant and delicious. I filled a bowl for her, and the two of us slurped them up in the kitchen.

She beamed with delight, praising me. “Wow! I didn’t expect someone as clumsy as you could actually cook such tasty noodles.”

I laughed. “Is that a compliment or an insult?”

After eating, I washed the dishes and said to Xu Xin, “Alright, now that you’re full and there’s still some time before dawn, you should get some sleep. If you think my bedding smells, you can go sleep in my sister’s room. But don’t wake her up.”

Xu Xin stretched lazily. “I’ll just sleep in your room, smelly or not. I hate sharing a bed with anyone.” With that, she went into my room, and as she closed the door, she deliberately teased me, “Don’t fall asleep out here, or I might sneak off while you’re not looking!”

I was both annoyed and helpless. I sat on the sofa, chain-smoking to keep myself awake. But drowsiness was a powerful temptation, urging my eyes to close. I leaned back restlessly, and after forcing myself to stay awake for an hour or so, finally succumbed to sleep.

I don’t know how long I slept before someone shook me awake, calling, “Brother, wake up! That girl is gone!” I jolted up and sat bolt upright. “Who? Who’s gone?”

My little sister squatted in front of me. “The girl you brought back last night. I woke up and found she was gone, clothes and shoes and all. Did she leave?”

I jumped up and rushed to my room. The door swung open easily—sure enough, the bed was empty. The little troublemaker was nowhere to be seen.

I groaned inwardly, blaming myself for not being able to fight off sleep at such a crucial moment. Now that she’d run off again, how could I possibly explain this to Brother Xu?

Flustered and regretful, I dashed out the door, down the stairs, and into the courtyard. Dawn had broken, and the early risers from the neighborhood were exercising in groups. I asked around, but no one had seen a girl leave from my building. She must have slipped out even earlier. There was little chance of catching up to her now.

I was beside myself with regret, but no matter how unlikely, I had to go look for her. Otherwise, when Brother Xu arrived, how could I even face him? I was about to run out in search of her when I heard my little sister calling from upstairs, “Brother! Wait!”

I turned around. At the window, my sister burst out laughing and then pulled someone into view. The mischievous, adorable face belonged to none other than the little troublemaker herself, Xu Xin.

Surprised and overjoyed, I hurried back upstairs. The moment I walked in, my sister was laughing so hard she doubled over. “Brother, you were so worried! The little girl was just in the bathroom. You nearly ran out into the street for nothing! If I hadn’t called you back, who knows how long you’d have been searching?”

I could only force an embarrassed smile as the heavy stone in my heart finally dropped. I ignored my sister’s teasing. Xu Xin, standing quietly behind her, looked both pleased, a little shy, mischievous, and somewhat moved.

Just then, the door to my parents’ room opened. My father came out, yawning. “Xiaoying, what are you giggling about so early?” Then he saw Xu Xin. “Oh, the young lady is up too?”

I quickly introduced them. “This is my dad.”

Xu Xin was very polite, bowing and saying, “Hello, Uncle Tang. My name is Xu Xin. Sorry for the trouble I caused you last night.”

My father smiled. “It’s no trouble at all. Make yourself at home. Xiao Qian told us about your situation. You seem like a sensible girl—not at all like he described…”

I quickly interrupted, “Ah! She’s a very sensible girl. Oh, Mom, you’re up too?” As my mother came out, I introduced her as well. Xu Xin bowed and greeted her, and my mother beamed, praising her as a good child.

When Xu Xin wasn’t being mischievous, she had a natural charm and ability to win people’s hearts. In just a few words, she had my parents nearly treating her as their own daughter. All I could do was shake my head.

Soon my mother said she’d go buy breakfast. While she was gone, Xu Xin leaned over and whispered fiercely in my ear, “What did you tell your parents about me? Don’t you dare ruin my image!”

I chuckled. “Do you even have an image to ruin?”

Xu Xin snorted. “Don’t get cocky. Sooner or later, I’ll settle the score with you!”

After everyone had washed up, my mother returned with breakfast. My family invited Xu Xin to join us at the table. Xu Xin sighed, “It’s so warm here at Uncle Tang’s house. Everyone eating breakfast together, happy as can be. At my house, my dad’s always at work during breakfast, my mom’s still asleep, my brother never eats with us, and my sister’s hardly ever home. There’s no sense of family. Sigh, what a difference.”

My father said, “It’s not necessarily true. Every family is different. You can’t say a family isn’t warm just because they don’t eat breakfast together. I think your family cares about you a lot. For example, your brother…”

The moment I heard my father about to give something away, I quickly handed him a steamed bun. “Dad, have a bun!” I shot him a look, hoping he’d get the hint.

Xu Xin, sipping her porridge, asked, “My brother? What about my brother?”

But my father was an honest man who never lied. He ignored my signals and said, “Don’t you know? Your brother was terribly worried when he found out you’d run away. He mobilized his whole unit to search for you all over, didn’t even have time for a sip of water. Isn’t that wonderful? How can you say he doesn’t care about you?”

Xu Xin’s face darkened. She turned to me and said, “What’s going on? Didn’t you swear you wouldn’t call my family?”