Chapter 40.2: You can have whatever you want.

She cleared her throat: “Brother… Morning?”

Fu Mingxiu leaned his head to the side, and suddenly asked, “When did you come back?”

Lin Yujing replied, “Last night.”

Fu Mingxiu nodded and walked to the stairs, then suddenly turned around and looked at her. “When I came back the day before yesterday, auntie was cleaning your room.”

Lin Yujing didn’t speak. She didn’t know what he meant by saying so. There was nothing in her room except for a few clothes and simple daily necessities that belonged to her. The rest, a mess of little things, were prepared for her by Guan Xiangmei, and Lin Yujing hadn’t even touched them.

Oh, and now her possessions include one bear. She still needed to give it a name.

When she didn’t respond Fu Mingxiu continued, “Guess what I saw cleaned up?”

“What?” Lin Yujing blurted out, still thinking about naming the bear.

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Ww Ykdtmkw pyke, “G asvvld saydtl.”

Nkd Zwfkdt: “…”

“Rq usw esd’v oydv kv, usw nyd fwpv dsv vyjl kv. Zsw esd’v dlle vs cl ps ryppkhl-yttalppkhl okvb xl.” Ww Ykdtmkw oyp hlau wdelapvydekdt, qyka, yde nsdpkelayvl.

Mbl vos oyzjle esodpvykap, yde Nkd Zwfkdt qlzv y zkvvzl elprlayvl. Mbl qakldezu zkvvzl vsanb vbyv pbl yde Ww Ykdtmkw bye sdzu alnldvzu zkv xktbv qykz vs cwad, vbl zkvvzl pryaj lmvkdtwkpble clnywpl psxlvbkdt ps pxyzz yp y asvvld saydtl. Fbl iwklvzu yrszstkgle. “R alyzzu eked’v es kv sd rwarspl, R’x psaau. R oyp tskdt vs vyjl kv vs pnbssz vs lyv, cwv R qsatsv. Slyzzu.”

Ww Ykdtmkw’p qynl oyp eyaj, yrryaldvzu pvkzz pkxxlakdt.

“R yzps oydvle vs pbso sqq vs xu nzyppxyvlp,” Nkd Zwfkdt pyke pkdnlalzu. “Yu casvbla tsv y ckt, pollv Dkdfkydt saydtl lprlnkyzzu qsa xl, vs zlv xl lyv xsal qawkv yde pwrrzlxldv xu hkvyxkd U.”

“…”

Ww Ykdtmkw rywple yde zssjle yv bla okvb y nsxrzknyvle lmralppksd.

The girl had just taken a shower. Her hair was loose and not completely blow-dried. She looked harmless and gentle.

Although Fu Mingxiu had reminded himself countless times over the past two months not to be deceived by her gentle appearance…

…Well, she hadn’t… really done anything bad.

He stopped for a second, then continued down the stairs. “Did you have a sports meet last week?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s over.” Lin Yujing hadn’t expected to see Guan Xiangmei and Meng Weiguo already in the dining room. Guan Xiangmei turned and saw the two of them walking over and talking with noticeable surprise on her face, then quickly adjusted her expression to a smile. “You two are up, come.”

She turned her head and looked at Meng Weiguo. “Look at how well they get along.”

Meng Weiguo smiled and said, “Mingxiu has a good temperament and is easy to get along with.”

“…”

Lin Yujing lowered her head and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. When she looked up she saw Fu Mingxiu, who was seated opposite her, rolling his eyes without bothering to conceal it.

She raised her eyebrows.

Fu Mingxiu looked at her and raised his eyebrows back.

Meng Weiguo turned his head and looked at Fu Mingxiu, his posture as an elder very self-assured. His facial features were handsome and proper, and he was wearing gold wire-rimmed glasses. He gave the impression that he was refined and mature, looking the very picture of someone important. “Xiao Yu [1]’s temperament isn’t particularly good and she has no friends to speak of. When she’s headstrong, you can just scold her.”

Lin Yujing tapped her cold fork on the white porcelain plate. She could no longer hold back the disdain in her eyes, which finally rolled surreptitiously.

Guan Xiangmei seemed to prefer western-style breakfasts. They were refined but greasy, which made Lin Yujing lose her appetite.

She began to envy Shen Juan, longing for his home in the small neighborhood alley, and the soy milk, rice balls, and fried doughnuts sold nearby. The freshly-fried breadsticks steamed, and the drawer of soup-filled steamed dumplings gave off a fragrant aroma. As soon as she bit into one the soup from the dumpling would overflow into her mouth.

That person shouldn’t have been up yet, let alone eaten breakfast. He was a student who attended school and always slept through the first two lessons, after all.

Buddha.

Lin Yujing went back to school early in the morning on Monday. She didn’t bring any clothes back this week, and she hadn’t worn a school uniform, so she had to go back to the dormitory to change into one. She hesitated for a while before leaving, still hugging her big bear.

When she went downstairs she was stopped by Fu Mingxiu, who brought out a bag and handed it to her. 

She had no idea what was inside, so when she took it she was unprepared for its weight and her arm suddenly sank. It was a heavy bag. She opened it and looked inside to find around six or seven oranges.

Lin Yujing raised her head. “I’ve discovered that you really hold a grudge.”

Fu Mingxiu seemed to be in a really cheerful mood, and he let out the first sincere [2], joyful laughter since she’d known him. “There’s still half a box in the kitchen, remember to eat some when you come back next weekend. To supplement vitamin C.”

Lin Yujing: “…”

The oranges that Fu Mingxiu gave her were heavy. They weighed so much that they must’ve been really juicy and sweet but they were a bit tricky to carry. Lin Yujing put them in her school bag to carry on her back, and it was a lot easier.

With a school bag full of oranges, she walked toward the subway station. She hadn’t asked Lao Li [3] to give her a ride because she wanted to eat breakfast at Shen Juan’s house. When she arrived at the entrance to the alley, Lin Yujing turned toward Shen Juan’s studio. She turned the corner and went to the store nearby where she bought some rice balls, adding on some salted egg yolks as well.

She looked inside while she waited, although she knew it was early enough that Shen Juan shouldn’t have left yet.

The rice balls from the alley shop were very neatly made. The proprietress wore a brown apron; she looked to be in her forties and very enthusiastic. “Little girl, do you like salted egg yolk?”

Lin Yujing smiled. “Mm.”

“You came here to buy breakfast before. I still remember you, such a nice-looking girl!” The proprietress looked up and smiled, handing her the bag of wrapped rice balls. “Your boyfriend bought this bear for you?”

Lin Yujing was stunned and quickly waved her hands. “Eh? No no, this is my—”

My deskmate won it for me.

Balloons were thrown into the air, and all twenty were hit.

A low-profile sharpshooter was also at the small game booth in the amusement park. He wore an unperturbed expression that said “this is normal” and couldn’t help but be impossibly arrogant.

These days Lin Yujing felt Shen Juan’s apparent apathy was a bit contagious. It was such a middle-school feeling that she actually felt a bit proud.

—

[1] “Xiao Yu” – Referring to Lin Yujing. “Xiao” means “little,” and putting it in front of someone’s name is either diminutive or familiar. Professionally one may use it to refer to their subordinates, and parents may use it to refer to their children. The “Yu” here is the first part of Lin Yujing’s given name.

[2] “真心实意” – “genuinely and sincerely”

[3] The family’s driver.

Edited By: ceres