Chapter 5: Six Years Old—Eighty-One Difficulties

They took the bus together to send Meng Yuning to his middle school registration. As the bus moved down the road, Song Yanping told Xuezhu, “In the future, when you go to school by yourself, you’ll take this same Route 8 bus and get off at Tongzhou First Elementary School.” Then, she pointed outside the window. “See? That’s your stop.”

Xuezhu turned her head—her school, First Elementary, had arrived.

The entrance was bustling with activity. When the bus stopped, a lot of people got off.

“Your brother’s Xuhua Middle School is just two stops ahead of your school,” Song Yanping said.

Xuezhu nodded. “Got it.”

The bus continued for two more stops, and soon, Xuhua Middle School came into view.

Xuezhu jumped off the bus and glanced at the school gate. The students arriving for registration were all much taller than her—older boys and girls.

She gazed at the middle school students with admiration.

Following the school’s campus map posted at the gate, they quickly found Meng Yuning’s classroom.

His homeroom teacher was a middle-aged woman with a warm smile. She held a stack of student registration forms, carefully checking each one.

“You’re Meng Yuning, right?”

Meng Yuning nodded. “Mm.”

Then he fell silent, standing still as he waited for the teacher’s next question. She glanced up at him and quickly got a sense of his personality before shifting her gaze to the family accompanying him.

“Your mom, dad, and little sister all came with you to register?” The teacher smiled. “That’s so nice.”

Meng Yuning was about to say no, but before he could, Song Yanping spoke first. “Teacher, we’ll be counting on you to take care of our Ningning.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” the teacher assured them. “I saw his elementary school graduation report. Even though he took the exam in another city, his grades were excellent. He’s a very smart child.”

Hearing the praise, the young boy pursed his lips shyly.

“You have such a beautiful mother,” the teacher added. “And your little sister is adorable too.”

Song Yanping humbly waved it off, but inwardly, she felt satisfied—her effort in dressing up today had paid off.

Xuezhu, not as skilled at hiding her emotions, simply grinned, her little mouth curling up in delight.

September 1st was for registration, and September 2nd was the official start of school. After finishing Meng Yuning’s registration, the family headed back to First Elementary to register Xuezhu.

On the way, Xuezhu kept asking, “Will Yingying be in my class?”

Her parents pretended not to hear her—it was obvious they had been asked this question too many times before.

“Who’s Yingying?” Meng Yuning asked.

Hearing Xuezhu repeatedly mention Yingying, Meng Yuning grew a little curious.

Song Yanping explained, “She’s Xiao Zhu’s good friend from kindergarten to preschool, named Zhu Qingying. The two of them have been inseparable since preschool, so now that she’s in elementary school, she really wants to be in the same class as her.”

When they arrived at the classroom, Xuezhu stood on tiptoe, looking around eagerly.

Suddenly, an excited voice rang out.

“Xiao Zhu!”

Before anyone else could react, Xuezhu’s eyes widened with excitement as she responded just as enthusiastically.

“Yingying!”

The two little girls acted as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. They dashed toward each other without hesitation and hugged tightly.

“Xiao Zhu!”

“Yingying!”

“We’re in the same class!”

“Mm-hmm! We’re in the same class!”

“I thought we wouldn’t be placed together—I was scared to death.”

“Me too! My mom told me to pray to the Bodhisattva more. ^[1]Guanyin Bodhisattva (观音菩萨), also known as Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit, is a highly revered figure in East Asian Buddhism. Guanyin is the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and she is believed to be a … Continue readingGuanyin Bodhisattva is really amazing!”

After their excitement settled, the two girls looked at each other with teary eyes, dramatically expressing how devastated they would have been if they had been placed in separate classes.

The adults watched the scene with amused smiles.

Just then, Zhu Qingying’s mother walked over, shaking her head with a mix of laughter and helplessness. “Before school started, Qingying kept talking about wanting to be in the same class as Xiao Zhu—she talked about it while eating, while sleeping, and even while taking a bath.”

Song Yanping chuckled. “Mine was the same.”

After calming down, Zhu Qingying noticed the boy who had come with Xuezhu.

“He’s Meng Yuning,” Xuezhu introduced. “He’s Grandpa Meng’s grandson. He moved across from my house during the summer.”

Xuezhu’s schoolbag often had candy in it, and whenever she shared with Zhu Qingying, she would mention that it was a gift from Grandpa Meng. So, Zhu Qingying knew who Grandpa Meng was.

Recalling the candy Xiao Zhu had given her before, Zhu Qingying lowered her voice and asked, “Will this big brother buy candy for you too?”

Xuezhu sighed, then grinned, showing her teeth. She sounded dejected. “I lost my tooth. I can’t eat candy until the new one grows in.”

But Zhu Qingying completely missed the point and happily said, “Then if you can’t eat it, you can give all of it to me!”

Xuezhu: “…?”

—

On the way home after registration, Xuezhu kept pressing her lips together, her expression heavy with silence.

Anyone could tell she was unhappy, but her parents didn’t bother with her, assuming she was sulking over some trivial matter again.

Only Meng Yuning held her hand and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xuezhu looked at him, just about to pour out her grievances, when her parents doused her with cold water.

“Ningning, just ignore her. She’s like this every few days—she’ll forget about it soon enough.”

A harsh word in June feels like winter’s chill. Xuezhu only grew more upset, her sadness deepening.

When they got home, she ran straight to her room without a word. In order to vent her anger, she slammed the door shut with extra force, as if wanting the whole world to know she was mad.

Xuezhu’s parents invited Meng Yuning to stay for lunch and told him to wake up his dad to eat together.

Old Meng was still asleep and only realized the time when his son woke him up. “It’s already noon?”

After freshening up, the father and son sat in the neighbors’ house waiting for lunch. Old Meng glanced around the living room and casually asked, “Where’s Xiao Zhu? Did she go out to play?”

Song Yanping pointed at the tightly closed door. “She’s sulking.”

“What for?”

“No idea,” she replied. “Kids get upset over the smallest things.”

Feeling a little guilty for coming over to freeload, Old Meng nudged his son. “Go cheer up your little sister.”

Song Yanping waved a hand dismissively. “No need to trouble Ningning. Don’t spoil her. When it’s time to eat, she’ll come out on her own.”

Pei Lianyi happened to be bringing out dishes from the kitchen and overheard the conversation. He couldn’t help but comment, “I have to say, you’re a pretty cold mother.”

Song Yanping shot him a look. “And you’re not? Every time she wants a hundred-yuan toy, you buy it for her. How much do you even make in a month? What are you going to do when she starts asking for even pricier things?”

Pei Lianyi sighed. “If I don’t buy it, she throws herself on the ground and rolls around. People passing by stop to watch—I get embarrassed.”

Song Yanping said, “Just let her roll. Walk away. The moment she sees you leaving, she’ll get up.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“She will,” Song Yanping said confidently. “Your daughter is clever.”

The couple had different parenting styles, and once they started arguing, there was no stopping them. Household matters are hard to judge, and Old Meng, being an old-school man, had no idea how to weigh in. Instead, he simply told his son, “Go bring your sister out for lunch.”

Meng Yuning stood up, leaving the adults to their debate.

He knocked on Xuezhu’s door. No response. He tried turning the doorknob and realized the door wasn’t actually locked.

He pushed it open slightly but didn’t step inside. Instead, he called through the gap, “Xiao Zhu.”

“Mm.” The person inside responded sullenly.

“I’m coming in.”

“Mm.”

Meng Yuning pushed the door open and walked in. Xuezhu was lying on her bed, holding up a doll and playing with it. When she saw him come in, she barely reacted and continued playing.

He leaned on the edge of the bed and bent down to ask, “Still mad?”

Xuezhu pouted. “I’m not mad at you.”

“Then who are you mad at?”

“Zhu Qingying.” She didn’t even call her friend by her nickname anymore, which showed how angry she was. “She’s so heartless. I’m going to cut ties with her.”

Not long ago, they were practically inseparable at school, and now she wanted to break off their friendship.

Meng Yuning frowned, not quite understanding.

But he still asked, “How is she heartless?”

Hearing the question, Xuezhu immediately sat up and dramatically reenacted what had happened, even pointing at the gap in her teeth. “So what if she hasn’t lost a tooth? And she even asked me for candy! Hmph, even if I still had my teeth, I would never give her any. Tomorrow at school, I’m cutting ties with her!”

Children’s tempers flare up quickly and fade just as fast. After venting, Xuezhu calmed down and soon wasn’t angry anymore.

After thinking it over, she decided not to cut ties with Zhu Qingying just yet—after all, she only knew Zhu Qingying in the class. If she broke up with her friend, there would be no one to play with.

Meng Yuning quietly listened to her vent, then took her hand and led her out of the room for lunch.

By then, Xuezhu’s parents had stopped arguing and called them over to eat.

During the meal, Pei Lianyi casually brought up Meng Yuning’s food arrangements for school.

Since his father’s work shifts alternated between day and night, he could have lunch at the school cafeteria, but dinner was a problem.

Old Meng didn’t see the issue. “Just give him money, and he’ll buy a boxed meal outside.”

“That’s not okay,” Song Yanping frowned. “The oil they use for stir-frying outside is all gutter oil. Eating too much of that is bad for his health.”

Pei Lianyi suggested, “How about this—Ningning can have dinner at our place from now on.”

Old Meng shook his head. “No way. He’s not a little kid who needs to be fed. He’s already in middle school, he can handle his own meals.”

They went back and forth for a while. Eventually, Old Meng insisted on paying a monthly food allowance to Xuezhu’s family, while Pei Lianyi refused, saying it wasn’t necessary. Old Meng stubbornly argued that he couldn’t let Meng Yuning eat at their place for free, while Pei Lianyi countered that there was no need to be so formal between neighbors.

“Even blood brothers settle accounts clearly,” Old Meng clicked his tongue impatiently. “I have to pay for the food.”

Pei Lianyi and Song Yanping exchanged a look, realizing this was Old Meng’s bottom line, so they had no Xuezhu’s attention was completely on the TV, automatically filtering out the adults’ conversation. No matter how much they talked, the end result was the same—Brother Ningning would be having dinner at her house from now on.

“Eat your food,” Song Yanping tapped her daughter’s bowl with her chopsticks. “If you keep staring at the TV instead of eating, I’ll turn it off. Believe it or not?”

Xuezhu quickly lowered her head and stuffed a few bites of food into her mouth.

Pei Lianyi glanced at the TV, feeling puzzled. “You’ve been watching ^[2]Journey to the West (西游记) is one of the most famous classical Chinese novels, attributed to Wu Cheng’en during the Ming Dynasty. It’s a story that combines adventure, mythology, … Continue readingJourney to the West the whole summer and still haven’t finished it?”

Xuezhu replied, “There are eighty-one tribulations. How could I finish it so fast?”

Pei Lianyi said, “It’s only about twenty episodes. Even with the sequel, it’s just over forty.”

“No way!” Xuezhu retorted. “There are eighty-one tribulations, so there must be at least eighty-one episodes! Besides, in the first episode, Sun Wukong just jumped out of the rock—he hasn’t even started the journey yet.”

Pei Lianyi was instantly at a loss for words, not knowing how to argue.

Song Yanping and Old Meng didn’t bother getting involved in such a pointless debate. Why argue with a child? If she said there were eighty-one episodes, then so be it.

Xuezhu turned to Meng Yuning, looking for validation. “Brother Ningning, how many episodes do you think Journey to the West has?”

Meng Yuning frowned, lost in thought, and then said something completely unrelated: “I think this ^[3]Tang Monk refers to Tang Sanzang (唐三藏), also known as Xuanzang (玄奘), the main monk character in the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West (西游记).Tang Monk looks different from the one in the earlier episodes.”

“Huh?”

Xuezhu looked at Tang Monk on the screen, who was reciting the Tightening Spell. In this episode, Sun Wukong was so pitiful. The White Bone Demon was obviously the villain, but Tang Monk just wouldn’t believe him and even wanted to expel him from the sect.

She hated this episode the most—it was heartbreaking. Every time the TV station aired this episode, she would skip it. But since there weren’t any other good dramas on right now, she had no choice but to endure the heartache and keep watching.

Watching Sun Wukong get driven away by his master felt like she herself was being abandoned.

She absolutely despised Tang Monk in this episode.

She didn’t even want to spare him a glance.

“What’s different about him?” she scoffed, pouting.

“He’s still wearing a red kasaya and riding a white dragon horse, isn’t he?”