Chapter 18: So Beautiful It’s a Little Unreal

Song Yiyi: “…”

Gu Chengze’s topic change was way too abrupt. He saw Cen Yue almost every day — why didn’t he just go ask him? Could she really say she “helped with her mouth”? That would sound way too terrifying.

“It’s not really helping,” she said simply. “He was being chased like a grandson, so I just pretended to be his girlfriend, and those people let him go.”

She wasn’t lying — that was indeed the truth, just with a few selective omissions.

Gu Chengze lowered his eyes, hiding whatever emotion lay within. “Really? Funny, Old Cen told me you scared those people off with your loud voice.”

Song Yiyi: “…”
Well… that was one way to put it.

Gu Chengze didn’t press the issue. He pulled out a thick wad of big bills and placed them in her hand. “Your Brother Cen asked me to give you this.”

Song Yiyi’s eyes lit up at the sight. Two hundred yuan was a fortune in those days. She happily counted it twice before reluctantly looking up. “All for me?”

Gu Chengze nodded. “Mm. Old Cen said to treat it as a welcome gift for his younger sister. And about Cen Bowen… he told me to apologize to you on his behalf.”

Song Yiyi blinked. The image of that little alley surfaced in her mind, and she frowned slightly. Would Cen Yue really be so kindhearted? But, well, who in their right mind would turn down money?

She cheerfully pocketed the cash and put it away in her room.

The four of them went out together. Since it was rare to come into the city, Song Yiyi hooked her arm through Cai Mengjun’s and they toured the entire department store. Thinking back to her first visit there — with that unlucky bastard Cen Bowen — she felt her mood sour. To ward off the bad luck, she bought Cai Mengjun some snow cream sticks, stick balm, malted milk powder, and White Rabbit candies.

Cai Mengjun liked sewing her own clothes, so Song Yiyi also pulled some stylish and pretty fabric off the bolt. Naturally, all of this was paid for — and ration coupons provided — by Gu Chengze, who had never been stingy with his mother and sister.

At home, having overheard the earlier sibling conversation, Cai Mengjun took the initiative to buy two sets of bed sheets with Song Yiyi. The pink sheets were covered with bright peony blossoms, and the fabric quality was surprisingly good. Gaudy, yes, but still far better than Gu Chengze’s army-green sheets.

While they were buying the sheets, Gu Chengze was still at the previous counter purchasing fabric. When he came back, he was holding a pre-written purchase slip.

“Big Brother, you bought fabric too?” Song Yiyi asked.

Gu Chengze gave a faint “Mm.” “For something useful.”

By the time they left the department store, it was already noon. The sun outside was blindingly bright.

Suddenly, Song Yiyi dashed off. When she came back, she had a popsicle in her mouth and three more in her hand.

Gu Chengze quickly took the extras from her, and only then did she grab the stick with her hand, letting out a satisfied “ss-ha ss-ha” from the chill.

Song Minghui disliked how noisy and showy Song Yiyi became in the city and had tried several times to reprimand her, but each time Cai Mengjun quickly stopped him.

The four walked toward the bus stop. Song Minghui and Cai Mengjun walked ahead, very close together, whispering as if in a private conversation.

Song Yiyi could see it clearly — her stern-faced father was smiling at his stepmother with a tenderness she’d never seen.

She took a lazy lick of her popsicle. “The old man’s probably badmouthing me again.”

Walking beside her, Gu Chengze chuckled softly. “If you can’t hear it, just pretend it didn’t happen.”

Song Yiyi looked at him in surprise. She hadn’t expected her disciplined, proper big brother to say something like that.

Suddenly, she didn’t feel like going home. She shouted toward the front, “Mom, come with me somewhere!”

Song Minghui could only watch as his wife was dragged farther and farther away by his daughter.

“Nonsense — where are you going now?” His irritated voice carried from behind.

Without looking back, Song Yiyi waved her hand. “Dad, you go home with Big Brother first. Mom and I will be back later.”

Gu Chengze didn’t try to stop her. Standing still, his gaze followed that lively figure ahead, his eyes shadowed and unreadable.

After a moment, he looked away and walked over to Song Minghui. “Dad, let’s head back.”

Song Minghui hesitated, but Gu Chengze added, “Don’t worry, Yiyi knows her limits.”

Back at the compound, Gu Chengze took Song Minghui to eat at the family cafeteria. After lunch, Song Minghui went to take a nap.

Gu Chengze pulled out the fabric he’d bought at the department store, sewed rings onto it one by one, and replaced the curtains in Song Yiyi’s room. Then he washed the two new sets of sheets he’d bought for her.

Song Yiyi and Cai Mengjun didn’t return until the sun was setting.

By then, Gu Chengze and Song Minghui were each reading a book. Hearing the sound of the door, they both looked up — and froze.

Cai Mengjun, a little self-conscious, lifted a hand to touch her hair. “Old Song, is it that bad?”

Song Minghui’s mouth dropped open, his eyes unmoving.

Song Yiyi, with one arm around Cai Mengjun’s shoulders, winked at the two stunned men. “Well? Don’t we look gorgeous? Like movie stars from a poster, right?”

That was what they called them in this era, wasn’t it? She didn’t dwell on it.

Song Minghui’s book slipped from his hand as he got up from his chair.

Grinning, Song Yiyi turned to Cai Mengjun and teased, “Mom, see? I told you it looked good, that Dad would be stunned, but you didn’t believe me. Look, look — his eyes have gone all glassy.”

They’d spent the entire afternoon at the hair salon. At first, Cai Mengjun hadn’t wanted to go, but under Song Yiyi’s sweet-talking and playful coaxing, she reluctantly gave in.

Song Yiyi had found a private hair salon. There weren’t many styles available these days, so she simply told the owner, “Give my mom tight curls, and I want big curls!”

Cai Mengjun’s features were gentle, and even nearing fifty she didn’t look old. With long hair styled into tight curls, she looked like a Hong Kong–Taiwan movie star.

Song Minghui circled around Cai Mengjun several times, his gaze fixed on her. “Beautiful, really beautiful.”

Cai Mengjun smiled shyly and sweetly, her face flushing from the compliment.

Song Yiyi, knowing when to make herself scarce, bounced over to the eaves, leaving space for the couple. She turned to look at Gu Chengze, her smile bright and radiant. “Big Brother, is there anything to eat at home? I’m starving—I only had one sugar cake all afternoon.”

Gu Chengze just stared blankly at Song Yiyi.

In this era, most women wore their hair in braided pigtails; it was rare to see it loose. Someone like Song Yiyi, with her long, permed hair cascading freely and her bright, striking face, wandering around like that—was practically unheard of.

The setting sun bathed her in a golden halo, making her beauty seem almost unreal.

Song Yiyi ran her fingers through her glossy, waterfall-like black hair, then waved a hand in front of Gu Chengze’s face. “Big Brother? Gu Chengze? Are you in a daze?”

It was only after she called him several times that Gu Chengze finally snapped out of it. “Hmm? What did you just say?”

Song Yiyi looked at him with amusement. “Big Brother, I asked—am I pretty?”

Her tone was slow, deliberately soft and syrupy.

Before she came here, Song Yiyi often joked with people like this—men or women, it didn’t matter. She was used to it, and her friends could all take the banter.

But she had forgotten—this was the 1980s.

And the man standing in front of her was Gu Chengze, a thirty-year-old soldier who had never even been in a relationship, raised in an environment completely different from hers.