Puff

Xia Jiao was silent for two seconds before bending down and gently holding Wen Chongyue’s face. Her thumb accidentally brushed the mole on his jawline. Xia Jiao seemed to swallow her saliva, though she wasn’t sure if she actually did. She felt a bit flustered and, after a while, lowered her head, trying hard to press her lips against his cheek.

The faint minty scent spread.

Xia Jiao stepped back and said, “Alright, now can we—”

Before she could finish, Wen Chongyue, with his long arm, pulled her waist and easily drew her into his embrace. Xia Jiao almost lost her balance but steadied herself, her hands gripping the collar of Wen Chongyue’s shirt. He allowed her to touch him, holding the back of her head and gently kissing her with soft, tender strokes. Xia Jiao’s muddled mind became unclear. She couldn’t remember if he had been this gentle yesterday. The memory of yesterday was fragmented, and the blurry images had been erased, leaving only the fragmented scene of her sobbing and trying to escape but being pulled back.

It seemed like she saw the process of pounding rice cakes, where no matter how soft and plump the rice cake was, it had to be smashed under the iron pestle.

“Jiao Jiao,” Wen Chongyue said with a tolerant smile, “Did the kiss leave you dazed?”

He had already pulled back, gently stroking Xia Jiao’s smooth, black hair. Xia Jiao finally snapped out of it, sitting at the breakfast table and asking seriously, “Did anything embarrassing happen yesterday?”

Wen Chongyue gestured for her to eat first. “Eat first, we’ll talk later.”

Xia Jiao didn’t suspect anything. She slowly ate her “brunch.” The two cats jumped onto the table, and Xia Jiao finally noticed the mattress drying and cleaning on the balcony. Hmm, yesterday, she had been crying and covering her face while Wen Chongyue held her, saying it was alright. She wondered what that had been about…

The last bite of sweet fruit salad filled her stomach.

Wen Chongyue motioned for Xia Jiao to play with the two kittens using a toy while he cleaned the table, put the plates into the dishwasher, and took out the trash.

Twenty minutes later, he brought out fresh fruit and sat on the sofa, pulling Xia Jiao close. “Now I can tell you.”

Wen Chongyue calmly summarized the dramatic events of the previous night in five words.

Xia Jiao spent nearly two hours adjusting her mood. Even though Wen Chongyue was patting her back with a calm expression, telling her it was fine and that it was like an acknowledgment of him, Xia Jiao couldn’t let go yet. She buried her face in his chest until the heat in her cheeks subsided.

The two kittens chased each other from the balcony to the living room. Xia Jiao wrapped her arms around Wen Chongyue’s, listening to his comforting words.

Wen Chongyue summed up the chaotic events of the previous night: “What matters is your comfort.”

Xia Jiao covered his mouth. “Let’s change the topic.”

She refused to continue the conversation. The oxygen pump in the fish tank hummed diligently, creating a stream of bubbling air. Fish swished their tails, while Xia Mi trapped under Wen Quan let out a defiant noise. Xia Jiao rested her foot on Wen Chongyue’s leg. The dialogue in the movie gradually faded into a blur as she became aware of Wen Chongyue rhythmically massaging her knee and calf muscles, his movements steady and unhurried.

And so, Xia Jiao peacefully drifted off to sleep.

From childhood to adulthood, Xia Jiao rarely had long stretches of time to relax and rest. Her elementary school years weren’t too bad, back then, the school selection for middle school wasn’t as competitive. Xia Jiao smoothly entered a middle school that wasn’t great but also wasn’t terrible. The most stressful time was the high school entrance exam, as Jiangsu’s education system split students into academic high schools and vocational schools. Despite teachers repeatedly praising vocational schools, most students who ended up there couldn’t go on to university. The better ones might continue through spring exams, but most didn’t even finish vocational school before heading into society.

To avoid being split into vocational schools, Xia Jiao worked hard in middle school. Getting into a regular high school didn’t mean she could relax. Jiangsu’s brutal college entrance exam system was notorious, and in order to get into college, she had to continue studying hard. It was common to memorize words while jogging or solve problems during breaks. Xia Jiao’s high school was characterized by simple blue and white uniforms, occasional glimpses of sunshine through the glass windows, summer days with a refreshing can of cola, and hot meatball soup in the winter cafeteria.

Apart from that, it was quite ordinary.

The worst memory was from that middle school, which wasn’t particularly good or bad.

Xia Jiao still kept the last group photo before her tutoring classes ended. Unlike the usual photos, in this one, the students stood in front, and the teacher stood behind them. The tutoring class wasn’t large, and the students were few, standing in two rows. The girls were on one side, and the boys with the teacher on the other. From the moment the photo started, Xia Jiao’s heart raced. She subconsciously prayed to stand closer to the teacher. Her excessive worry interfered with her hearing and thinking ability, until she heard Li Lian’s instructions, and her classmate pulled her to the right.

Xia Jiao stood silently, with Wen Chongyue, her teacher, standing just behind her.

At that time, Xia Jiao was still growing, her head just reaching his chest. She stood quietly, inhaling the faint, pleasant scent on his body. It wasn’t perfume but more like the natural fragrance of clothes washed with soap. Xia Jiao later searched for many soaps and laundry detergents in the supermarket, but none of them had that particular scent.

Xia Jiao never asked what the scent was, just like how she didn’t say a word to him until the photoshoot was over that day. The photos were quickly developed, standard size, and Xia Jiao carefully placed them in her notebook.

In middle school, Xia Jiao had a dispute with a classmate, and in a fit of anger, the classmate threw Xia Jiao’s notebook into the school’s designated trash collection area after school. If it had been an ordinary notebook, it wouldn’t have mattered, but this one had been given to her by Wen Chongyue, and it contained a photo. Xia Jiao used a flashlight to search for it for a long time, and a teacher who passed by saw her.

She tearfully explained that she was looking for something, and the teacher immediately joined her in the search. They finally found it in its entirety.

The dispute with the classmate couldn’t be hidden, and the next day, the teacher publicly reprimanded the classmate, severely scolding them for discarding another student’s belongings and demanding an apology to Xia Jiao.

From then on, Xia Jiao faced nearly two years of isolation.

The reason was that “she would report to the teacher.”

…

As usual, by early September, Taihu Lake would end its seven-month fishing ban and officially begin the fishing season. However, due to environmental and ecological protection considerations, fishing had been prohibited for the past two years, and this ban might last for as long as ten years. The ban on fishing would help fish breed freely.

Xia Jiao had no particular opinion on this. She hadn’t eaten much fish before and only started enjoying it under Wen Chongyue’s influence. To her, if farmed fish tasted just as good, there was no need to overfish in the wild.

As an apology for his rude actions on her birthday, Wen Chongyue still asked a friend to bring a wild black fish and made soup for Xia Jiao to comfort her.

Xia Jiao actually enjoyed drinking soups, especially in winter. Hot mutton soup could warm the stomach and body. A simple radish and pork rib soup could make even those who disliked radish drink a whole bowl. A soup made with chicken and yam was fresh and pleasant…

She didn’t drink fish soup often, partly because she was afraid of the bones and because both she and her parents weren’t very skilled at making it, so it lost its fresh flavor.

Fish soup was best when it was thick and creamy white. The broth should be rich and tender, with a bit of tofu and chopped spring onions, ginger, and a touch of energy-boosting ingredients.

But Xia Jiao had mostly eaten black fish in sour cabbage fish soup, so it was her first time trying black fish in a simple soup.

These days, Xia Jiao finally signed up for her driver’s license exam. The first subject was easy to pass, and after browsing the app and reviewing the questions a few times, she scored over 90 points—nothing to celebrate, but Wen Chongyue still praised her.

Xia Jiao felt a little embarrassed by his praise. “Actually, anyone who studies the questions carefully can pass.”

“It’s different,” Wen Chongyue said as he held the black fish, which had a slimy layer of mucus on its body, making it slippery to handle. “Focusing on learning is also a kind of ability. You have it.”

Xia Jiao didn’t reply. Her eyes sparkled as she watched Wen Chongyue cut the black fish into pieces. She was a little afraid of seeing the fish being killed, so Wen Chongyue had asked her to feed the quail jerky to the two cats instead. There was a saying, “A gentleman stays away from the kitchen,” but it was clear that Wen Chongyue didn’t believe in it. He wasn’t soft-hearted when it came to food ingredients. Xia Jiao suspected that even if he was given a chicken, he would cleanly prepare it without hesitation.

Food lovers pursued the freshest ingredients without pity, even when it came to eating squab, they preferred those not yet a month old.

The black fish had fewer bones, and most of the fish sold in the market were farmed, but the one Wen Chongyue held was clearly wild. He eagerly taught Xia Jiao how to distinguish between wild and farmed fish by looking at its color. Wild black fish had irregular dark patches on its body, with large, irregular patterns, and its belly was yellowish-green.

Xia Jiao also learned that black fish was also called “Wu Li,” which sounded like an ancient, cunning nobleman. Wen Chongyue drew the character “Li” in her palm and explained that it was also known as “Bān Li.” Black fish was fierce and could not be raised with other fish.

When the oil in the pan was hot, Xia Jiao’s attention returned to the present.

“…Not following the crowd is a good thing,” Wen Chongyue said. “At least you won’t be won’t be corrupted by the crowd.”

Xia Jiao blinked. “Huh?”

Wen Chongyue smiled at her surprise and shook his head.

“Were you too nervous about the exam and didn’t sleep well?” he asked. “There are cream puffs on the second shelf of the fridge. Have one to fill your stomach.”

Xia Jiao didn’t eat. She watched Wen Chongyue cook. The oil pan at home wasn’t large enough to fry a whole black fish, and since black fish had firm flesh, it became tough and hard when heated, with the middle parts not getting much oil.

Wen Chongyue first cut the fish into thick pieces, and once the ginger and onions released their fragrance, he added the fish pieces into the pan to fry. The sound of the exhaust fan started, and Xia Jiao could smell the special frying aroma of fish.

She stared at the fish in the pan, not blinking, before asking, “The weather is nice today.”

The black fish had to be fried first before making the soup. Wen Chongyue focused on flipping the fish in the pan. “Hmm.”

“I bought some tofu strips tonight. Do you know we have a famous dish in Yangzhou called ‘Big Boiled Tofu Strips’?” Xia Jiao said. “It’s very famous, almost at the level of a national banquet—”

“Jiao Jiao,” Wen Chongyue chuckled while flipping the sizzling fish in the pan, “If you want to cook, just tell me directly. There’s no need to lay out so much groundwork.”

Xia Jiao responded, “I’m giving you time to mentally prepare.”

Wen Chongyue smiled. “I’m already prepared. By the way, I bought accident insurance a few days ago. You’re the beneficiary.”