Chapter 22: Twelve Years Old – Canon 

After dropping Xuezhu off at the music studio, Meng Yuning was about to leave.

It was a sunny afternoon, the air filled with a lazy sense of leisure and relaxation. The sound of car horns and pedestrians chatting casually lingered in the background. Suddenly, Xuezhu didn’t want to see his back disappearing into the sunlight like that.

She grabbed his arm and said, “Brother, didn’t you tell me before that you wanted to hear ^[1]Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel. It’s a popular classical piece often played at various events such as weddings, and it is well known for its repetitive, cascading melody. Canon? I can play it now. It’s not time for class yet—come upstairs with me. I’ll play it for you before you leave, okay?”

Xuezhu couldn’t think of a better or more natural reason to stop him.

And Meng Yuning couldn’t think of a good reason to reject her soft request.

They went up to the second floor. A few little girls who also studied piano with Xuezhu waved at her. “Pei Xuezhu, you’re here!”

Xuezhu quickly greeted them, then rushed to sit down on the piano bench before class started.

The sound of flowing music spilled from the grand piano in front of her, each note landing precisely in Meng Yuning’s ears.

The girl, now approaching the age of blossoming youth, had shed the innocent and lively image from his memories. Like a gardenia in full bloom, she had grown taller, stood straighter. Her hands resting on the piano keys were still soft, but had grown slender. Her features still held that old cuteness, but time had refined them into something even more delicate and beautiful. Her eyes shimmered with light, and each press of the pedal was like stepping onto a cloud.

The Canon he had only ever heard through his headphones was now being played right beside him, in person.

On the bus ride home, Meng Yuning put on his headphones and set that piano piece to repeat.

He didn’t take them off until he reached his front door.

After standing there for two minutes, he pulled out his keys and opened the door. The moment it swung open, a familiar mix of cigarette smoke and perfume filled his nose.

A woman wearing a floral dress and a trendy perm sat on the sofa watching TV, legs crossed. Her purple pointed slippers dangled loosely from her toes. Hearing the sound at the door, she turned her head for a quick glance and called into the other room, “Meng Yunjian, your son’s back.”

Xu Qin had been married once before, but had no children with her ex-husband. After the divorce, they cut ties completely.

She didn’t dwell on it, choosing instead to live freely on her own. After work, she’d either hit the disco or go shopping.

Then a new man arrived at the factory—Meng Yuning’s father. He was rough and loud, hot-tempered and blunt, but his looks were sharp and ruggedly handsome. Xu Qin, the factory beauty, bold and outgoing, made the first move. At first, Meng Yunjian was cold to her, but somehow they ended up dating—and eventually, she became Meng Yuning’s stepmother.

Old Meng came out of the back room. Father and son looked at each other for a moment before Old Meng awkwardly said, “You’re back?”

Meng Yuning replied with a quiet “Yeah,” put down his backpack, and pulled out a notice from it to hand over.

Old Meng glanced at it. “Parent-teacher conference, huh? When is it?”

Meng Yuning: “Next Friday.”

“Friday?” Old Meng frowned.

Xu Qin, still watching TV, suddenly said, “We already made plans with Director Jiang and the others to have a barbecue at Binhai Park that Friday.”

“Oh, then you go,” Old Meng replied. “I’ll go to the conference.”

“If I go alone while everyone else shows up as a couple, how is that fair? Meng Yunjian, do you even have a heart?”

Old Meng clicked his tongue. “Then I’ll go alone, and you go to the conference. That works, doesn’t it?”

“Me, the stepmother, going to a parent-teacher conference? I can’t believe you even said that,” Xu Qin sneered. “And don’t forget, this time it’s Director Jiang treating us. If you don’t go, and there’s a personnel reshuffle at the factory later this year, don’t expect me to help you pull any strings or slip money under the table.”

Old Meng muttered a curse under his breath.

Xu Qin turned her head back to the TV.

Meng Yuning listened to them in silence, then casually lifted his eyelids and said blandly, “If you can’t go, just write the reason at the bottom and sign it.”

Old Meng hesitated for a moment. Seeing that his son wasn’t insisting he attend, he waved the paper in his hand and let out a long breath. “Alright, get me a pen.”

Once it was written, it would count as a formal reply for the homeroom teacher.

Meng Yuning took the paper and looked at the excuse his father had scribbled in messy handwriting.

“Too busy with work.”

He let out a silent laugh and turned back to his room.

He packed a few clothes to take back to school. The wardrobe reeked of dust. Winter coats hadn’t been properly put away and were heavily stacked over the lighter clothes for spring and autumn. Meng Yuning sighed and started folding the winter clothes, putting them into the storage space above the closet.

There was a down jacket from last year with a dirty hood. He set it aside, planning to wash it in the bathroom later.

As he was cleaning up, Old Meng knocked and came in.

“Have you eaten lunch?”

Without stopping what he was doing, Meng Yuning responded with his back to him, “Yeah.”

“Good. Xu Qin and I are going out shopping. You stay home and study. Don’t be late going back to school tonight.”

“Mm.”

Xu Qin’s voice came from the entrance, “Meng Yunjian, hurry up! What, regretting buying me clothes already?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. Stop rushing me,” he replied irritably.

Suddenly remembering something, Old Meng pulled out his wallet from his coat’s inner pocket and took out a few bills.

“You’ve grown a bit again, haven’t you? If your clothes don’t fit anymore, ask a classmate to go shopping with you and buy a few new ones.” He placed the money on his son’s desk. “I’m off.”

With a loud slam of the front door, the house finally fell silent.

Meng Yuning took the clothes and went to the bathroom to wash them.

The down jacket became incredibly heavy after soaking up water, and while rinsing it, he accidentally got his school uniform wet.

So he simply took off the uniform and washed that too.

The boy bent his legs uncomfortably as he squatted by the basin, scrubbing the collar and sleeves—spots that got dirty the fastest. Earphones were in his ears, and Canon was playing on his MP3.

Earphones had practically become a necessity for him.

He always needed to hear something—so the silence wouldn’t feel so loud.

When he didn’t want to hear the outside world, wearing earphones and listening to music could shut it all out.

The summer school uniform was a mix of blue and white—clean and refreshing in color, but it got dirty easily. Meng Yuning rinsed it twice before finally washing away all the soap. Just as he stood up, the MP3 player in the side pocket of his pants fell out and dropped straight into the basin.

Meng Yuning quickly fished it out and pressed all the buttons—play, pause—one after another. The blue screen flickered weakly twice before finally going dark. No more sound came from the earphones.

He stood there in a daze for several minutes.

The soap on his hands hadn’t even been rinsed off yet. Foam stuck between the joints of his slender fingers. Meng Yuning bit down on the inside of his lip, jaw clenched tight. He turned his head, took a deep breath, and after a while, lifted his arm and wiped his eyes forcefully.

—

After piano class, Xuezhu went home, thinking Meng Yuning had surely already returned to school by now.

But then she spotted his white sneakers outside Uncle Meng’s house.

“Huh?”

She knocked on the door.

“Brother, are you home?”

Meng Yuning was woken up by the knocking.

He groggily opened his eyes and found himself lying curled up on the living room couch, one leg awkwardly dangling over the armrest. Sleeping in that position made his whole body ache.

He didn’t even know when he’d fallen asleep.

Glancing at the clock, he saw there was still an hour before evening self-study began.

He opened the door and came face to face with Xuezhu’s wide, surprised eyes.

It was obvious he had just woken up—his eyes still sleepy, his whole demeanor sluggish and listless.

“You’re really at home? Don’t you have evening self-study?” she asked.

“I accidentally fell asleep,” Meng Yuning rubbed his brow lightly. “I’m heading back now.”

Xuezhu sounded a little disappointed. “Oh… I thought maybe you didn’t have to go back tonight.”

She walked him to the bus stop and noticed that from beginning to end, he hadn’t taken out his MP3 player to listen to music. The little girl had sharp eyes and immediately asked, “Brother, how come you’re not listening to music?”

Meng Yuning paused for a second and replied, “The MP3 broke.”

“What? How?”

“It fell in the water.”

Xuezhu looked genuinely heartbroken. “Oh no! What are you going to do?”

Meng Yuning shook his head. “It’s okay. It’s not that important.”

Xuezhu knew how much he loved listening to music, so she eagerly came up with an idea: “Is there a place near your school that fixes MP3 players? It should be cheaper to repair it than to buy a new one.”

“No need to fix it,” Meng Yuning replied.

The digital stores near the school were all small private shops that charged outrageous prices for both repairs and sales. They specialized in taking advantage of freshmen who didn’t know anything, while students from the second and third years didn’t even bother to look at them.

“How about this, give me the MP3, and I’ll take it to a digital store on the street to get it fixed. Next week, brother Zihan can bring it to you.”

Without waiting for Meng Yuning to say anything, Xuezhu felt quite proud of her idea and excitedly reached out her hand to him. “Give it to me.”

Meng Yuning couldn’t bring himself to refuse her kind offer, so he handed her the broken MP3 and also gave her a hundred yuan as repair money.

“If the money isn’t enough, don’t fix it.”

“It’s enough, it’s enough,” Xuezhu said without a second thought.

The bus arrived, and she waved at him. “Brother, hurry up and get on the bus. It’ll be bad if you’re late. Bye-bye!”

Meng Yuning was urged onto the bus.

At six in the evening, the sunset was incredibly rich, casting a red glow on Xuezhu, who was watching him leave by the bus stop.

Xuezhu, with her brother’s MP3 in hand, felt as if she had received a mission to save the world.

—

On Monday afternoon after school, Xuezhu asked Zhu Qingying to go with her to the digital store to repair the MP3.

“Ah? Xiao Zhu, when did you buy an MP3?”

“It’s not mine, it’s Brother Ningning’s. It broke when it fell in water, so I’m taking it to get repaired for him.”

“Oh, it’s your brother’s.”

The two little girls went together to the nearest digital mall to the school.

The mall had everything for sale, anything that could run on electricity was available there.

As soon as they entered, they immediately became the target of every shopkeeper’s attention.

“Little girls, are you buying something? Come and check out my shop!”

“Are you looking for a phone or a learning machine? Since you’re students, I can give you an 80% discount.”

Xuezhu and Zhu Qingying linked arms, pretending they hadn’t heard anything, and walked straight to the door of a repair shop.

The shopkeeper was a man in his fifties, and sitting at the cash register was a girl around Xuezhu’s age, doing her homework.

Xuezhu and Zhu Qingying thought this shopkeeper probably wouldn’t cheat elementary school students like them.

“It’s no use, the inside is completely short-circuited. To fix it, you’d have to replace the internal parts, which would cost about the same as buying a new one. You’d be better off just getting a new one.”

The shopkeeper took apart the casing, studied it for a while, and then said to them.

“Huh?” Xuezhu scratched her head awkwardly. “So, if I fix it, it’s still expensive?”

“Yes,” the shopkeeper replied. “And this MP3 has small memory, now everyone uses 2GB ones. Little girl, why don’t you just buy a new one?”

“How much is a 2GB one?”

“For this brand, it’s less than 200 yuan. It’s not too expensive. If you like listening to music, you can buy one with a bigger memory, you could store hundreds of songs and listen to them at will.”

The shopkeeper rummaged through the glass display case and found an MP3 of the same brand.

“See, the appearance is the same as your broken one, but the memory is much larger.”

Zhu Qingying leaned in and whispered to Xuezhu, “Xiao Zhu, do you have enough money for this?”

Xuezhu mouthed silently that she didn’t, and then whispered, “How much money do you have? Lend me some.”

Zhu Qingying dug through her pockets and only pulled out a crumpled five yuan note.

“I bought snacks at the convenience store today, and this is all I have left.”

Without enough money, Xuezhu had no choice but to regretfully say goodbye to the shopkeeper.

As she left, her head hung low and her spirits were low. Zhu Qingying looked at her with sympathy, patted her on the shoulder, and comforted her, “It’s okay, your brother definitely won’t blame you.”

Xuezhu replied with a soft “Mm,” but her expression remained unhappy.

She knew Brother Ningning definitely wouldn’t blame her.

She just blamed herself.

She had boasted that she would help Brother Ningning get it fixed, but in the end, she didn’t have the ability, and had arrogantly taken on a task she couldn’t complete.

After returning home, Xuezhu found her little wallet. She still had a small stash of money, even though her mother always kept her New Year’s money for safekeeping each year, she would still feel sorry for Xuezhu and leave her with 200 yuan for daily expenses.

Unfortunately, the 100-yuan bills had already been broken up. With only one-yuan, five-yuan, and ten-yuan bills, she counted them and still didn’t have enough to make 100 yuan.

Adding the 100 yuan from Brother Ningning, she would have enough for a new one.

But that would exceed her budget.

The 100 yuan was deducted from Brother Ningning’s living expenses, how could she just spend it freely?

At this moment, Xuezhu deeply regretted always spending money on random little things, leaving her with no money for important times.

If she told her dad, he would definitely be willing to give money to buy Brother Ningning a new one.

But Brother Ningning definitely wouldn’t accept it.

Xuezhu thought about it all night. The next day at school, when Zhu Qingying asked her if she had figured something out, Xuezhu leaned on her desk and, tired and discouraged, shook her head. “No, I don’t have enough money to buy a new one.”

“Why don’t you buy a second-hand one?” Zhu Qingying said. “I saw a lot of shops in the digital mall selling second-hand ones yesterday.”

Xuezhu shook her head again. “My dad says that the shopkeepers in the digital mall are all heartless, they love to scam students like us. What if we spend money and end up with a broken one?”

She didn’t understand these electronics, and it was probably better not to get herself into trouble.

The two little girls were deep in thought, trying to come up with another solution when suddenly a hand reached down from above and lightly tapped Xuezhu’s head.

“Hey!”

Xuezhu looked up to see the annoying face of Chi Yue.

Just when she had started to think better of him after the class album incident, he was back to his old ways!

“What’s your problem?” she snapped.

Chi Yue huffed, and seeing that her desk mate was out buying snacks, he nonchalantly sat down in her seat, then began lecturing her: “I added you on QQ last week. Why haven’t you accepted yet?”

Xuezhu pouted.

Last Saturday, she had delivered food to her brother, and on Sunday, she was worried about the MP3 for him. She hadn’t had time to log into QQ.

But there was no need to explain that to Chi Yue, so Xuezhu replied firmly, “What does it have to do with you? Do you need to hit me?”

“Who hit you?” Chi Yue asked, puzzled. “I barely touched you, and you call that hitting?”

“Oh, so if it’s light, it doesn’t count as hitting?” she retorted.

The two were about to start arguing again when Zhu Qingying sighed and interrupted, “Xiao Zhu, you still haven’t figured out the MP3 problem! Stop arguing.”

Chi Yue casually asked, “What MP3?”

Xuezhu turned her head and ignored him. It was Zhu Qingying who explained, “Xiao Zhu promised to help her brother fix his MP3, but the shopkeeper said it wouldn’t be worth fixing. He suggested buying a new one, but Xuezhu doesn’t have enough money. I suggested buying a second-hand one, but she’s worried the digital mall shopkeepers will scam her.”

Chi Yue lowered his eyes to look at Xuezhu. The little girl awkwardly looked away, then shot a soft glare at Zhu Qingying, as if blaming her for chatting with her rival.

The boy pouted and lazily asked, “What brand is the MP3?”

Xuezhu pulled the broken MP3 out of her bag to show him.

“Hmm? It’s the same as mine,” Chi Yue said as he took it and examined it closely. “Is this a 2GB one too?”

“You don’t need to brag about having an MP3 with bigger memory,” Xuezhu said irritably as she snatched the MP3 back from his hands, quickly shoving it back into her bag, worried that he might tell the teacher she was bringing electronic devices to school.

Chi Yue puffed out his cheeks and grumbled, “Cheapskate.”

He then tilted his head in disdain and left.

Xuezhu didn’t pay much attention to the small incident. After school that afternoon, Zhu Qingying said she would accompany her to the digital mall to negotiate with the shopkeeper. However, Xuezhu had to stay behind for cleaning duty, so they could only plan for tomorrow.

The classroom was now empty except for her and another girl who was also doing cleaning duty.

The bright orange sunlight poured into the classroom, and Xuezhu and the other girl carried the trash bin downstairs to throw out the garbage.

Xuezhu was responsible for locking the classroom door, and after the other girl finished emptying the trash, she slung her bag over her shoulder and prepared to head home.

“Pei Xuezhu, I’m leaving now. Remember to lock the classroom door when you leave. Bye-bye.”

“Mm, bye.”

Xuezhu climbed the stairs alone, holding the trash can.

It took her quite a while to reach the top, and she stood there, hands on her hips, panting heavily.

“Hey, why are you so slow?”

That annoying voice was so grating to hear.

Xuezhu looked over, and sure enough, it was Chi Yue.

It had been a long time since school ended, and for some reason, he still hadn’t left. His school uniform was a mess, his shirt collar was wrinkled, one pant leg of his school trousers was rolled up, revealing his thin ankle, and his white Huili sneakers were dirty. He was leaning against the door with his arm propped up on a soccer ball, hands in his pockets, looking at her with dissatisfaction.

She was puzzled. “Why haven’t you gone home yet?”

“I have something to tell you,” Chi Yue glanced at the trash can standing beside her in disdain, “You should go wash your hands first.”

“Tch.”

The hardworking people are the most honorable, and here he was, a boy, acting like he was disgusted by dirt.

After washing her hands, Xuezhu ignored Chi Yue and returned to the classroom to pack her bag and get ready to go home.

Chi Yue nimbly jumped onto a desk and sat down, looking down at her as he said, “I haven’t used this MP3 much. How about I sell it to you?”

Xuezhu froze for a moment while packing her bag.

She looked up at him, staring at him like he was a ghost. “What’s your scheme?”

“Schemes, my foot,” Chi Yue snapped, “I’m doing a good deed, and you call it a scheme?”

“…” Xuezhu still didn’t believe him and muttered, “Are you really that good?”

“I have plenty of good qualities. Just tell me, do you want it or not?”

Xuezhu swallowed and asked with a hint of distrust in her voice, “Your MP3 isn’t broken, is it?”

“If you don’t believe me, you can check.”

He tossed the MP3 to her.

Xuezhu inspected it for several minutes and confirmed that the MP3 was in good condition.

As the saying goes, “wealth and honor cannot corrupt you,” but when under someone’s roof, you have no choice but to lower your head.

And besides, she really needed this MP3.

In the end, Xuezhu reluctantly softened her attitude and asked, “Then… how much is it?”

Chi Yue countered, “How much do you have?”

“85 yuan.”

Xuezhu had just counted the money in her wallet a few days ago.

“Then it’s 85 yuan,” Chi Yue said.

“Ah?”

Is this person really that good? Xuezhu still didn’t trust her rival.

“Are you really short on money lately? You’re selling me the MP3 like this, won’t your parents scold you?”

Chi Yue smirked, his tone both proud and a bit disdainful. “My parents just bought me a new PSP recently. They won’t even notice a small MP3.”

Xuezhu felt a pang of sourness in her heart. Her mom wouldn’t even buy her a ^[2]“步步高学习机” (Bù Bù Gāo Xué Xí Jī) is a brand of educational electronic devices made by the company Bubu Gao. These devices are commonly referred to as learning machines or learning … Continue readingBubu Gao learning machine, and Chi Yue’s parents had even bought him a game console.

The gap between people really is huge.

Chi Yue saw her dazed expression and assumed she was unwilling. He looked at her like she was a fool. “You won’t even make such a good deal? Are you stupid?”

“You’re the one making such a bad deal,” Xuezhu shot back, sharp-tongued. “Are you stupid?”

Chi Yue: “You!”

“Hey, you two, what are you still doing here so late in the classroom?”

The duty uncle suddenly appeared at the door, waving his hand to urge them to leave. “It’s almost time to lock the school gate. Hurry up and go home.”

Xuezhu and Chi Yue both realized they had been arguing for so long.

The two of them walked out of the school gate together. The familiar saxophone song played again. The students still lingering in the school had already developed a reflex: as soon as this song played over the loudspeakers, it meant they would be scolded by their parents for coming home late.

As they walked from the classroom to the school gate, Xuezhu listened to a few more songs on her headphones, and finally believed that Chi Yue was genuinely willing to sell her this MP3.

“Alright then, I’ll bring the money to you tomorrow.”

“Mm,” Chi Yue said. “But I have one more condition.”

As expected, she knew there had to be a catch.

Xuezhu squinted and looked at him warily. “What condition?”

“Well, when you go back, remember to approve my friend request on QQ.”

After saying this, the boy watched her reaction, his hands gripping the side straps of his backpack.

Xuezhu scrunched up her nose, looking at him with an expression of “really, is this all you’ve got?” Her big, doe-like eyes filled with the message: “You really are hopeless.”

^[3]“A dog biting Lu Dongbin, not knowing a good person’s heart” (狗咬吕洞宾，不识好人心) is a Chinese idiom, and it carries the meaning that someone is unable to recognize … Continue readingA dog biting Lu Dongbin, not knowing a good person’s heart.

Chi Yue, flustered, said, “…Pei Xuezhu, if you keep looking at me like that, you can forget about getting the MP3!”

Xuezhu immediately blinked innocently and pretended like nothing had happened.

Seeing her reaction, Chi Yue thought to himself that he had to teach her a lesson. He exaggeratedly bared his teeth and reached out to pinch her face.

His fingers touched her soft flesh, and his fingers were so hot that he didn’t dare linger.

Xuezhu was startled and immediately stepped back two steps, covering her face and shouting at him, “Are you crazy?”

Having succeeded in his little revenge, Chi Yue showed a sly fox-like smile, running off to the side while chanting a nursery rhyme: “Crazy, something’s wrong, your mom took you to see the doctor, the doctor said, no problem, turns out you’re a psycho!”

“……”