Chrysanthemum Red Cake

Xia Jiao did not feel any regret for not being familiar with Wen Chongyue when she was young.

At that time, she was even worse at communicating with people than she is now. She would go to the store to buy breakfast, and upon reaching school, she’d realize the cashier had given her two yuan less. She would feel too embarrassed to ask for it back, worried the person might deny it, or accuse her of being petty.

She often had many such worries—strange, unique things that tied her hands and feet, making it difficult for her to face things openly.

She was very grateful for the widespread use of mobile payments, which helped her avoid such awkward situations in the future.

During her first two years of university, Xia Jiao was still averse to those expensive malls or shopping centers. She rarely went inside, even though the part-time money she earned was enough for her to spend reasonably.

It wasn’t until her friend, Jiang Wanju, noticed this and was preparing to send out internship applications that she said nothing and directly took Xia Jiao to luxury stores. They ate, shopped, and strolled around, making Xia Jiao realize—there was nothing to it.

Indeed, there was nothing to it. It was all just stuff. Jiang Wanju had already planned to work there, so she was quite familiar with it. Not only that, but she also encouraged Xia Jiao to learn alongside her and successfully referred her into the company.

However, Xia Jiao nearly fell into the trap of revenge spending. When she had just graduated and started working, she was dazzled by her glamorous colleagues and work environment. In those years, the media sold anxiety, and she would often come across various “toxic” motivational quotes. The work environment only made things worse, and Xia Jiao found herself sinking into consumerism.

She’d scroll through sharing platforms and shopping apps every day, desperately trying to fit into the beautiful shell, to be part of the glamorous world.

The company offered an annual employee discount for certain brands. Perhaps because of the suppressed material desires from her childhood and teenage years, she was briefly swayed by the discounts and bought some luxury items.

Of course, after the first discount event, Xia Jiao looked at her bank balance and quickly came to her senses. Realizing she couldn’t continue like this, she made detailed plans, focusing only on necessities and things she truly loved, and managed to squash her impulsive spending habit.

There was no way around it—when she was young, no one taught her these lessons. It was only as an adult that she had to spend more time understanding them.

But Xia Jiao didn’t feel regret about it.

Everything turned out for the best.

The good, the bad, the regrets—they all made up who she was now.

For example, if she had contacted Wen Chongyue during her time at the tutoring center, perhaps they wouldn’t have ended up together.

Wen Chongyue might joke about it, but he was actually very concerned about these moral issues. And Xia Jiao didn’t think a teacher who took advantage of students deserved to be called “romantic.”

She was glad that they had reunited at just the right time. Although they still had many flaws, Teacher Wen was more patient and gently corrected her, teaching her.

As they left Zhouzhuang in the afternoon, a light rain began to fall. It wasn’t heavy, just a fine drizzle. Wen Chongyue slowed down the car. After all, they would get home eventually, so there was no need to rush.

Some people suffer from “road rage,” as there are always people who don’t follow traffic rules—cutting lanes suddenly, not signaling, and so on. Xia Jiao always felt tense in her father’s car because she never knew when he’d get angry over the traffic and start yelling.

Wen Chongyue never said a word. He drove calmly, without haste.

He chatted with Xia Jiao, turning off the music and only keeping the navigation’s automatic voice prompts. However, Xia Jiao was a bit careless and didn’t notice that the navigation had misdirected them. After driving for quite a while, she finally realized they needed to take a detour.

She thought Wen Chongyue would react like her father—scolding her and complaining.

But he didn’t.

The rain grew heavier, nearly obscuring the road. Driving in such conditions seemed dangerous. Fortunately, not far away was a national wetland park, where Wen Chongyue parked the car in an empty lot to wait out the rain.

Xia Jiao kept apologizing, lowering her head to adjust the navigation. The rain poured down the roof and windows, drenching everything. Wen Chongyue sighed and said, “Why do you keep apologizing?”

Xia Jiao was confused. “I messed up the navigation.”

“It’s a small thing,” Wen Chongyue said. “Don’t be so tense. Relax.”

“Am I tense?” she asked.

As she spoke, Xia Jiao lowered her head, noticing she had typed the wrong words again. She deleted them and retyped.

Wen Chongyue gestured for her to put down her phone. He reached out and gently patted the back of Xia Jiao’s head, running his hand down her hair, like comforting a little snail who had accidentally dropped a leaf and was worried about getting scolded when she returned home. “What are you afraid of? Are you afraid I’m angry?”

Xia Jiao shook her head at first, hesitated, and then nodded.

He asked, “Why?”

“Because I messed up the navigation. We’ll have to take a longer route, spend more on gas, and you’ll have to reroute too. It’s like wasting time…” Xia Jiao said. “It’s a bit bad.”

It really was bad. The rain was falling heavily, and the trip back had been greatly extended. The weather wasn’t cooperating, and Xia Jiao’s heart felt heavy.

The sound of rain was loud outside, tapping on the windows and the car body. It was rare to have such a heavy downpour in mid-October. Wen Chongyue’s finger accidentally brushed against Xia Jiao’s neck, and he paused for a moment, then silently turned up the car’s air conditioning. He focused on Xia Jiao’s face and smiled, “When did I become so petty in your eyes?”

“No, no,” Xia Jiao froze for a moment, quickly clarifying, “I don’t mean petty, I just think I’ve caused you trouble.”

“Is it really necessary to talk about ‘trouble’ between husband and wife?” Wen Chongyue’s voice dropped. “Jiao Jiao, you’re too understanding.”

Many parents want their children to be obedient and considerate. When something happens, they hope their children think of others first, then themselves. Just like Xia Jiao, raised to be a perfect and obedient child. But Wen Chongyue found her too considerate, and it made him feel heartbroken.

How could she think that a little carelessness would lead to criticism?

Xia Jiao didn’t say anything. Wen Chongyue unbuckled his seatbelt, then bent down to unbuckle her seatbelt. She wasn’t wearing much, just a green long-sleeved dress, the color of late summer bamboo leaves. The dress swayed gently as she breathed.

Wen Chongyue adjusted the car seat, making more space. Xia Jiao understood. She easily moved from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat and sat on Wen Chongyue’s lap, resting her cheek on his shoulder. Perhaps the conversation at the tea house in the afternoon had left her feeling a little down. Now, the little snail needed a warm hug.

Wen Chongyue wrapped one arm around her legs, the other hand supporting her head, gently patting it to comfort her.

Xia Jiao liked this position, feeling a sense of security as though all her unease had been gently held by him.

The sound of rain was intense, pouring down the windows in a steady rush, blurring the view outside. Wen Chongyue turned off the windshield wipers. Soon, the car, shielded by the rain, was separated from the gradually fading world outside. It was the off-season for travel, and with the bad weather and heavy rain, there were no staff in the outdoor parking lot, just their car.

“Considering other people’s thoughts is a good thing, but we could try not to care so much about them,” Wen Chongyue said. “A bubble that’s too sensitive will burst before it even touches anything. Jiao Jiao, how about trying to be a little ‘selfish’?”

Xia Jiao chuckled.

She pouted, “Everyone else teaches me to be tolerant and understanding, but you’re the only one teaching me to be selfish.”

Wen Chongyue also smiled. He lowered his head slightly, his lips brushing against her cheek, while his fingers gently traced the soft edge of her dress. The air conditioning vent blew cool air onto Xia Jiao’s legs, sending a chill that made her skin prickle. Wen Chongyue used the warmth of his palm to counter the cold, his fingertips lightly grazing her skin. Ten seconds later, Xia Jiao leaned in and kissed his throat.

Incredibly, something daring, chaotic, and bordering on the edge of what’s acceptable legally quietly unfolded in this open, rainy space. Xia Jiao had always lived by the rules—studying, taking exams, working—her wildest act so far had been to marry in a flash without telling her parents. Now, things had changed. Wen Chongyue’s clothes smelled a little blunt, but his fragrance was fresh, like a forest washed clean after the rain. The buckle on his belt was cold, as metal often is, and no matter how much she tried to warm it with the heat from her legs, it wouldn’t heat up, leaving a slight metallic impression, like a faint tattoo. Thirty minutes later, the scent of the rhododendron would smooth away any trace of it.

The car moved steadily through the rain, with Wen Chongyue putting the used wet wipes into a plastic bag. A few stains had appeared on his pants, but it didn’t matter—he could wipe them off or cover them. Xia Jiao fiddled with a small tissue box, holding it up and staring at it for a while before turning to him. “Why do you have this in your car?”

Wen Chongyue answered nonchalantly, “For emergencies.”

“Emergencies?”

“Like just now.”

“…”

Xia Jiao was speechless. She put the box back and wrapped herself in Wen Chongyue’s jacket, like a swan sheltering her young. She felt a little tired but wasn’t quite ready to sleep. Inside the paper bag was the Chrysanthemum Red cake she bought at the tea house at lunch. She liked it, so she bought extra. The top piece had a mark from her teeth. She couldn’t eat it now, so she left it for later.

Wen Chongyue had turned on the car radio earlier. Now, with no need to hide, he lowered the volume.

He glanced at the navigation on his phone to confirm the road, weaving through the gradually diminishing rain.

“Take a nap,” Wen Chongyue said. “I’ll wake you when we get home.”

Xia Jiao yawned. “No, if I sleep now, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

Wen Chongyue said, “I’ll remind you tonight.”

“It’s not about being reminded… it’s just… hmm…” Xia Jiao thought for a moment and then told him, “Sometimes I have trouble sleeping, and my mind keeps replaying embarrassing things from before. It’s hard to stop once I start thinking about them.”

Wen Chongyue smiled. “Because those things were interesting?”

“No, no,” Xia Jiao shook her head furiously. “Not interesting at all. It’s just because it’s embarrassing. Whenever I think about all the embarrassing things I did back then, I can’t bring myself to contact my old friends or classmates. I feel like they’ll remember them too.”

Wen Chongyue asked, “Like what?”

Xia Jiao blushed deeply. “In morning exercise, I stepped on the shoes of the person in front of me. In PE class, I bumped right into the teacher…”

Wen Chongyue, intrigued, listened as Xia Jiao listed off four or five embarrassing stories in one breath before asking, “Do you remember anything embarrassing your desk mate has done?”

Xia Jiao froze for a moment.

She tried to recall, but her mind was blank—cleaner than a chalkboard wiped clear.

“See,” Wen Chongyue smiled, “No one remembers their friend’s embarrassing moments forever, Jiao Jiao.”

Xia Jiao thought for a moment, pulling the coat Wen Chongyue had given her tighter around herself, breathing in the comforting scent that came from the other’s body.

“Sleep,” Wen Chongyue said, “We’ll be home soon.”

…

Xia Jiao found it hard to put her feelings for Wen Chongyue into words.

She naturally trusted Wen Chongyue. Because of their different ages and experiences, Wen Chongyue would always look out for her, and Xia Jiao liked this dynamic. She respected her for her knowledge, and that respect pushed Xia Jiao to move towards better, more positive goals.

Xia Jiao tried to start small, chatting with the fruit vendor while buying fruit, maybe just complimenting him with a “Your clothes look nice today” or helping a little boy pick up the pencil that fell out of his bag on the way home.

October passed quickly, and Xia Jiao finally passed her second driving test. To celebrate her success, Wen Chongyue bought Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.

To steam the crabs without the legs falling off or the yellow spilling out, you need to bind the legs first, place them belly-up with the back facing the pot, stuff a few peppercorns into the crab’s belly, and cover it with ginger and green onion. Then, add cold water to the pot and bring it to a boil in one go.

The crabs being steamed were all lake crabs. In addition, Wen Chongyue also bought some swimming crabs. When Xia Jiao arrived home, these swimming crabs were still alive, with their claws tied with rubber bands. Wen Chongyue taught Xia Jiao how to choose swimming crabs. Generally, you should choose those that are full. But many unscrupulous vendors like to inject water into the crabs, so when picking, you need to pick up the swimming crab and check it. The crab should be facing up, and you can pinch the two shells above the belly button with your thumbs. These two shells are very easy to recognize and are particularly white. If the crab is naturally full, it will feel firm when pressed. If it has been injected with water or is empty, it will flatten and release water when pressed.

Not only did Wen Chongyue teach her how to pick, but she also showed her how to crack the crab. First, hold the crab’s shell by its pointed corners, then pry open the crab’s belly and cut off the whole piece with scissors…

Xia Jiao was learning eagerly. When she couldn’t remember it all, she sighed, “I’m lucky to have you at home. Otherwise, I’d have to learn all of this myself.”

“Still, you should learn a little,” Wen Chongyue said as she skillfully handled the crabs, removing the crab lungs, which looked like shutters. “Jiao Jiao, what if I’m not home? You need to be able to take care of yourself if you want to try something new.”

Xia Jiao mumbled, “I could just order takeout.”

Wen Chongyue replied, “Some places don’t prepare food properly.”

Xia Jiao joked, “If it’s not clean, as long as I don’t get sick, it’s fine.”

Wen Chongyue paused for a moment and asked, “Who taught you that?”

Xia Jiao answered, “Gao Chan, a female colleague.”

Wen Chongyue sighed helplessly, “Looks like this job has brought you a lot of benefits.”

Xia Jiao looked longingly at Wen Chongyue as she handled the crabs. The large hairy crabs were already on the steamer, but they hadn’t started cooking yet. Since crabs shouldn’t be eaten with persimmons, pumpkins, and the like, Xia Jiao didn’t get her usual fruit juice made by Wen Chongyue after work today.

Her stomach grumbled, and she asked, “What else do we have for dinner besides crabs?”

Wen Chongyue replied, “We’ll have the fish Jiao Jiao touched at work.”