Chapter 8: This Summer, I Plan to Raise…

After Fang Fuyi, the “sister” who left scratch marks on Sheng Sui’s arm, finished lunch, she fell asleep again, a small blanket covering her.

It wasn’t that Fang Fuyi was particularly fond of sleeping, it was just that after getting sick and taking medication, she easily became drowsy.

The window was left slightly open, and the door was closed ahead of time. Sheng Sui received several calls and, taking advantage of Fang Fuyi’s rest, went out for a bit.

The lease for their current low-rent apartment was about to expire, and he didn’t plan on renewing it.

When the semester started, he would be in his senior year. Compared to before, there were fewer classes, and the school had left enough time for students to do internships, find employment, and plan for their future development.

Unlike others who had family support, Sheng Sui needed to find a part-time job to earn money. He couldn’t afford to lose his income while studying.

Renting a place outside would be more convenient for coming and going compared to living on campus, and it would also ensure that during school breaks, he wouldn’t have nowhere to go.

Before Fang Fuyi came, he had planned to find a cheap shared apartment to just get by. But her arrival seemed to silently change something, making him feel that having another person meant more responsibility. He could no longer just drift along like before.

He wanted to maintain what could be called “home.”

Subconsciously, Sheng Sui wanted to create a relatively better environment for Fang Fuyi within his capabilities.

He first went to an interview at Tengxing Technology, then looked at several apartments, and stopped by the bank along the way.

The town’s transportation wasn’t well-developed, and even the buses only came once every long while. By the time he returned from the city, it was already late afternoon. Time passed quietly, and the whole afternoon was gone just like that.

Sheng Sui was holding a chocolate cream cake he had just brought from the city. He planned to drop it off first and check if Fang Fuyi had woken up, but on his way back, he heard a faint meowing.

Following the sound, he saw the yellow-and-white little cat he often fed.

Not only that, but next to the cat were several weak, newborn kittens huddled together.

No wonder sometimes there was food left behind after he fed them, and the cat would always avoid leaving. It turned out she had kittens and was tied down by an invisible bond.

If a cat was like this, how much more so for a person?

Sheng Sui froze.

If Fang Fuyi was doing well, he wouldn’t interfere, wouldn’t try to develop any relationship, and could even keep silent about their past. But if she wasn’t doing well, his selfish side thought it might be better to just maintain the current situation, as that would make him happier.

Raising Fang Fuyi wasn’t as easy as raising a cat, it required attention to her health, to her mental state, and she was prone to getting sick. She needed care, but she was also indispensable. It was as if having Fang Fuyi around added a sense of hope.

He looked forward to every word she said, to every smile on her face.

Life was no longer stagnant, with no ripples.

It was still better for him to take care of her. Life might be a bit tough, but it wouldn’t always be like this.

As dusk approached, the sound of birds chirping could be heard outside the window.

When the footsteps from outside reached her ears, Fang Fuyi had just woken up. She had spent the entire afternoon lying in bed, but her sleep hadn’t been very good. She had sweated, her head was groggy, and she kept having fragmented dreams, waking up startled from them.

It could be called a dream, but not entirely, because the images that flashed before her eyes were connected and not illusory. They were all things that had really happened, and everything felt as fresh in her memory as if it had happened just yesterday.

Before she was ten, Fang Fuyi had lived with her mother in a villa on the hillside of a suburb. After she turned ten, her biological father, Fang Hongshen, divorced his ex-wife, and she moved back to the Fang family with her mother.

Fang Fuyi’s biological father, Fang Hongshen, was a famous real estate tycoon in the area.

In that era of rapid economic growth and a booming real estate market, choosing the right direction was undoubtedly about riding the wind and waves, gaining industry profits, and earning an unimaginable amount of money.

When money wasn’t an issue, everything was treated with leniency.

Fang Hongshen’s marriage to his ex-wife had been a business arrangement, and after many years, they didn’t have a son or daughter. So when he faced his only daughter, Fang Fuyi, his conscience would sometimes catch up with him, making him feel guilty toward her and her mother.

Not having much contact with the child, and considering she might not adapt to the new environment, Fang Hongshen proactively found a playmate for her when she first arrived at the Fang family: “Summer vacation is coming soon. How about I have a friend’s child come and play with you?”

The friend Fang Hongshen referred to was the company manager, Sheng Yuanming.

The two had been classmates since kindergarten and had been very close when they were young, to the point of wanting to wear the same pair of pants.

But growing up was like a river destined to separate them. As their parents’ work and personal plans led them in different directions, their relationship became more distant due to a lack of frequent contact.

The same people, different fates.

When they met again, Fang Hongshen’s career was at its peak, while Sheng Yuanming had lost money due to failed investments and business decisions.

The restoration of a relationship requires both parties to intentionally work on it.

At that point, Fang Hongshen asked, “Our company is short of a manager. Can I ask you to come help?”

During the summer vacation when Fang Fuyi was ten, her father Fang Hongshen said this to her:

“Uncle Sheng is very talkative and a warm-hearted, good-natured man. We’ve been friends since we were little. His child should be around your age, and if you two can get along, I’d feel much more at ease.”

The day before Uncle Sheng’s child was to come over, her mother, Liang Zhu, gave her the following advice:

“Your younger brother is still small and can’t talk yet, so you need to be extra sweet. Don’t be like you were in your previous home. Your father wants you to play with that child, so just treat them as a friend, talk to them a bit, and make your dad happy, understand?”

Fang Fuyi didn’t have many friends.

Those whose families weren’t as wealthy as the Fang family were looked down upon by Liang Zhu, and she would deliberately block their relationships with Fang Fuyi. Those from well-off families, on the other hand, would hesitate to get close to Fang Fuyi, given her status as a “illegitimate” child.

As she gradually developed her own thoughts and ideas, Fang Fuyi began to draw very clear boundaries when it came to “friends.” She grew to dislike connections that were based on ulterior motives or attempts at pleasing others, and she despised it deeply.

On the first day the other person was supposed to come, Fang Fuyi had planned to make it clear that their connection was only a temporary arrangement between their parents. She hoped they would leave each other alone and both have a perfect vacation.

However, on the day she met the young man, she realized she had miscalculated.

Unlike other boys his age, he was quiet, composed, humble, and polite, the kind of typical model student who was popular with both teachers and classmates, his face carrying the smile of his age.

He was brought over by both his parents. The family laughed and chatted, exchanging gifts with each other and greeting Fang Hongshen, appearing like a very happy and well-off family.

While the group chatted, Fang Fuyi covered her ears, not wanting to engage in their conversation.

But even with her ears covered, the laughter and voices still uncontrollably reached her, just like the boy’s name, which was engraved in her mind.

Sheng Sui.

It symbolized peace and smoothness.

Having never experienced such a family atmosphere, she felt a sense of jealousy when they met for the first time. Although the boy had done nothing wrong, Fang Fuyi deliberately gave him a cold look, as though she were casting her anger upon him.

But how bad could a person’s temper be?

It was as good as Sheng Sui’s.

He was polite, had a good sense of propriety, and looked handsome — these were things that didn’t even need to be mentioned.

On the first day of summer vacation, Fang Fuyi went to climb a rockery to pick a bird’s nest and accidentally tore her clothes.

She was afraid that if she explained what had happened, Liang Zhu would scold her, saying things like, “A girl should have some proper decorum,” or, “What’s with all this climbing around, looking like that?” — things she hated hearing the most.

She hesitated, wondering whether she should just wander outside until no one was around before going home.

At that moment, however, the boy, despite their previous tension, appeared like an angel, silently descending with wings fluttering and an aura about him. Without saying a word, he came over with tools and helped her stitch up the tear in no time, solving the problem in a few swift moves.

“It’s okay, I’ll help you,” he said.

Oh my, how could his handiwork be better than her mom’s?!

Looking at the neatly repaired clothes, her hesitation dissolved, and a feeling of admiration naturally arose in the ten-year-old Fang Fuyi. At that moment, her impression of him began to change.

To be fair, Sheng Sui was a good person with a good temper. He hardly ever got angry, knew a lot of interesting things, and playing with him was much more fun than she had imagined. He was also really good at taking care of people.

It seemed like he had received so much love that he generously shared it, never holding back.

During the summer vacation, Fang Fuyi occasionally went with Sheng Sui to his Uncle Sheng’s house.

There was no aunt at Sheng Sui’s house, most of the time, Uncle Sheng and Sheng Sui would cook together, while Sheng Sui’s mother would water the flowers in the yard and occasionally braid Fang Fuyi’s hair.

It was said that Uncle Sheng’s family used to have a lot of money and lived in a big house. Although they had lost everything due to a failed investment decision, it didn’t affect their positive outlook on life: “There’s nothing to regret. As long as the family is healthy and safe, this life is pretty good as it is.”

At their dinner table, they would talk about the small things that happened during the day, and when they encountered difficulties, they would give each other advice. After meals, they would gather and chat, or take a walk together in the evening breeze.

The family sat together, enjoying each other’s company, sharing everything, with nothing left unsaid.

Since the arrival of her younger brother, Fang Fuyi had noticed that Liang Zhu had become increasingly indifferent toward her. Although Liang Zhu had never been particularly attentive, usually taking a hands-off approach, and Fang Hongshen had always been busy with work, even when Fang Fuyi returned to the Fang family, she rarely saw him.

Fang Fuyi learned most of what she knew about family and the way family relationships should be from Sheng Sui’s parents.

During the summer she spent with Sheng Sui, she finally realized that not all family interactions were like the ones in her own household.

Time flew by, like a shooting star.

The long summer felt like it was filled with bubbly lemonade.

Fang Fuyi didn’t mind the friend who had suddenly entered her life.

In the afternoon, they would drink a bowl of iced sour plum soup, in the evening, they would hold a watermelon and listen to the cicadas, at night, they would enjoy the fireworks while feeling the evening breeze…

In the most prosperous villa in the city center, the two of them spent one summer after another together.

It was a beautiful memory, the happiest summer imprinted in Fang Fuyi’s mind, and every year, she would eagerly count the days and look forward to the summer vacation and Sheng Sui’s arrival.

Bad things would gradually fade from memory, but the good ones would become more profound with the passage of time. Perhaps because she had so little, she cherished the past even more. When it was lost, it was always particularly heartbreaking.

She wanted to reach out and touch it, but as if a breeze passed by, the dream abruptly ended at that moment.

Her tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and what she saw was a strange ceiling.

The dream and reality hadn’t fully separated yet.

The stifling air filled her lungs, and a dense feeling of bitterness spread in her heart, followed by a sense of loneliness and melancholy thoughts.

After a long while, Fang Fuyi slowly realized that everything was just an illusion, the reality was vastly different from the dream, and it had long since ceased to exist.

Fang Fuyi searched the rented room, but she couldn’t find any trace of Sheng Sui.

To be honest, she was really scared of being alone. Waking up at this time already gave her a sense of loss, especially when she was the only one left in this place. The feeling grew stronger.

The sound of footsteps came, and the familiar steps that followed felt like a lifeline.

The key turned, and the door opened.

Facing Sheng Sui’s somewhat surprised expression, Fang Fuyi threw herself into his arms, her voice muffled, holding him tightly: “Where did you go? Why are you only coming back now?”

She had been panicking, but seeing Sheng Sui, feeling his warmth, her heart, which had been hanging in the air, suddenly calmed down inexplicably.

Sheng Sui, who had been suddenly embraced, was a bit stiff at first but gradually realized that Fang Fuyi’s reaction was probably due to fear, a sign of insecurity.

He relaxed a little and raised the small cake in his hand to show her, his voice surprisingly gentle: “What are you afraid of? I haven’t gone anywhere.”

“I just went out for a bit, and I brought something back for you.”

Her anxious heart finally settled, and the thought in her mind became even firmer. Sheng Sui understood, lightly patting her back, and asked, “In a few days, we’ll be moving to a different place. Is that okay?”

The line between dusk and night flickered, the golden hour slowly fading away, and the dark shadows followed closely, filling the sky with the blue-toned after-sunset moment.

In the arms of the young man, Fang Fuyi smiled brightly, her tone certain: “Of course!”

“But where exactly is this other place? Do I still need to sleep on the floor in the same room as you?” She became more talkative again, her clear voice filling the entire room in the gently breezy evening.

This summer, Sheng Sui wanted to adopt a kitten, but he unexpectedly ended up bringing Fang Fuyi along.

Times had changed, but the season remained as hot as ever. Now, in the run-down apartment building, the two of them were starting their ninth summer together.