Life was a great deal more comfortable once he was home.
He could sleep until he woke up on his own every day, and he no longer had to give a thought to the company or the fruit shop.
For the first two days Xu Ye barely left the house — ate, slept, slept, ate. Then on Monday his aunt Zhang Lan turned up with Wang Yuxin, whose own holiday had just started, and that was the end of Xu Ye’s peace and quiet.
Wang Yuxin had grown a good deal taller over the past six months, and the baby fat had gone from her face. She was a little prettier than before, but to Xu Ye’s eye she wasn’t as cute as she’d been six months ago.
Her personality, though, hadn’t changed in the slightest. The moment she saw him it was Xu Ye-gege this and Xu Ye-gege that, and her voice was still that piercingly clear sort, so that his ears actually ached from it.
His aunt had brought her over to leave her with them for two or three days, because Wang Jian — Xu Ye’s uncle by marriage — was going to a top-tier hospital in Beijing on an exchange placement, and she herself was on night shifts at her own hospital all that week.
Because of what his aunt and uncle did for a living, Wang Yuxin had come to stay for a few days every so often, year after year. That was why she and Xu Ye, for all that they were only cousins, were closer than a great many actual brothers and sisters.
Today was Monday.
Being the end of the year, things were busy at work, so Old Xu and Old Zhang had eaten breakfast early and gone off together.
“Xu Ye-gege. Xu Ye-gege.”
The two of them had barely got out the door before Wang Yuxin, bored on her own, was knocking on his door. Xu Ye came to open it looking like someone who had survived something, and held out two hundred yuan. “Yuxin. Take this — eat whatever you want, do whatever you want. Just let your gege sleep a bit longer, all right? I’m begging you.”
Wang Yuxin, an only child, had never really been short of money. She didn’t so much as glance at the two hundred in his hand. “Until what time?”
Xu Ye lifted his wrist and checked his watch. “Half past eight.”
She nodded. “Then I’ll do my homework first. I’ll come get you at half past eight.”
Xu Ye shut the door in a hurry and dropped back into bed to carry on sleeping in.
At half past eight, more punctual than an alarm clock, Wang Yuxin knocked on his bedroom door again.
“What did I do to deserve this.”
Xu Ye pulled on some clothes, dragged himself over and opened the door with no energy at all, then went to the bathroom to wash up.
By the time he sat down to breakfast, Wang Yuxin was digging for gossip again…
“Xu Ye-gege.”
“Mm?”
“How are things with Qingqing-jiejie lately?”
“Fine.”
“Does Dà yí know you and Qingqing-jiejie are seeing each other?”
“She’s known for ages.”
“Is there loads of free time at university?”
“Mm.”
“Then—”
“Stop right there.” Xu Ye cut her off. “Shut your mouth. Don’t talk. Give me a bit of quiet, and this afternoon I’ll take you and your sister-in-law out shopping.”
Wang Yuxin nodded, thrilled, and was about to say something when Xu Ye pointed a finger at her — at which she hurriedly covered her own mouth again.
Xu Ye finished his breakfast, sat on the sofa watching the market for a while, and at around ten sent Chen Qingqing a message.
Xu Ye: want to go out this afternoon?
Chen Qingqing: sure
Chen Qingqing: what time are you coming over?
Xu Ye: one, maybe two. I’ve got a tagalong with me
Chen Qingqing: Wang Yuxin?
Xu Ye: yeah. she’s driving me up the wall
Xu Ye: in a past life she was definitely the loudspeaker on a school PA system
Chen Qingqing: /snicker/
Chen Qingqing: what are you doing right now then?
Xu Ye: staring into space
Chen Qingqing: staring into space?
Chen Qingqing: is something on your mind?
Xu Ye: yes
Chen Qingqing: what’s on your mind?
Xu Ye: the thing on my mind is asking me what’s on my mind
…
Jiang Meilin sat on the sofa, ostensibly watching television, in fact keeping a steady eye on her daughter.
From ten o’clock onward Chen Qingqing had stayed put on the sofa, phone held in both hands, messaging someone without a break and letting out a little private laugh every so often.
One look at her in that state was enough for Jiang Meilin to know exactly who she was talking to.
Last night, while Chen Qingqing was in the shower, Jiang Meilin had been tidying her room and seen the phone lying on the bed. She’d picked it up and looked at it for a moment. The screen lit to show a photo of Chen Qingqing and Xu Ye taken at Happy Valley — not the one with Xu Ye’s arms around her from behind, but the one where she stood next to him with her head tilted.
After studying the lock screen carefully for a good while, Jiang Meilin very cautiously entered the passcode and went into the phone’s photo album.
And when she saw that there were more photos of Xu Ye in it than of Chen Qingqing herself, she understood that Xu Ye was coming to weigh more and more heavily in her daughter’s heart.
Jiang Meilin was a woman herself. She knew what liking someone looked like.
After lunch Chen Qingqing went upstairs, and about half an hour later came back down again in a different outfit, and she’d even put her hair up into a high ponytail.
Jiang Meilin glanced over and asked, knowing perfectly well: “Going out this afternoon?”
“Mm.”
“We’re going shopping,” Chen Qingqing said.
“When Xu Ye gets here, have him take the business van out,” Jiang Meilin went on. “I have to go back to the company this afternoon. I’ll be home around Thursday or Friday, once we’ve had the year-end party. Do you want Mom to have Ruxue come over and keep you company?”
Chen Qingqing shook her head at once. “No need.”
That was exactly what Jiang Meilin had expected. She nodded. “Then call Mom if anything comes up. If it’s urgent, calling your dad is fine too. Let Xu Ye drive that car — having one to hand will make going out a lot easier for the two of you.”
“Okay.”
Xu Ye arrived at around half past one. He went in and said hello to Jiang Meilin, and was promptly towed out into the yard by Chen Qingqing.
Chen Qingqing handed him the car key, got into the passenger seat, and called Wang Yuxin into the car as well.
“Is your mom going out this afternoon?” Xu Ye asked. “I noticed she’d changed into work clothes.”
“Mm. She’s going back to the company.”
Xu Ye buckled his seatbelt with practiced ease, put his foot down and drove out of Red Leaf Estate. And Wang Yuxin, who had barely said a word all morning, started up again…
“Qingqing-jiejie, where are we going?”
“Ask your gege.”
“Do you get a really long winter break? When do you go back to school?”
“Ask your gege.”
“Are your two schools far apart? How long does it take to get there?”
“Ask—”
“Ask my gege!” Wang Yuxin finished for her, giggling. “All right, I’ve got it. Qingqing-jiejie, you ask my gege about everything now.”
Chen Qingqing found this a little embarrassing, and added, “Well, your gege knows all of it.”
“Xu Ye-gege is horrible. He doesn’t let me talk at home, and he threatened me!”
“Threatened you?”
“Yes!” Wang Yuxin reported indignantly. “He said if I kept yapping on he’d leave me at home by myself and not take me out anywhere.”
Chen Qingqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Xu Ye rolled his eyes and couldn’t be bothered to answer.
“Qingqing-jiejie, how tall are you?”
“One seventy-one.”
“I’m already one sixty-four, you know. Maybe I’ll get to one seventy too.”
“Then you’d better eat more.”
“Qingqing-jiejie, I heard you only sit one exam a semester at university. Is that true?”
“Mm. Just the finals.”
“That’s amazing. We have tests every week.”
“How did you do this time?”
“All right, I suppose. On a bad day it’s top twenty, an average day is top ten, and on a good day I can make top five.”
“In your class?”
“In the whole school, obviously.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Qingqing-jiejie, do you like cats or dogs?”
“Uh… cats, I suppose.”
Xu Ye had stopped the car at an intersection. Hearing her answer, and entirely without shame, he pitched his voice thin and high. “Meow~”
Chen Qingqing burst out laughing on the spot and pushed him away. “Get away from me~”
(End of Chapter 182)