Chapter 011

Because her period was really troublesome, Meng Li didn’t go out for the next few days.

Bored and restless at home, she invited Tang Yuan’er over to teach her how to write simple numbers and letters.

Whenever the sun was nice, Meng Li would also sunbathe in the yard.

She would drag the yellow wicker chair out of the house, lay back, and soak up the sun for half a day.

Sometimes, Shao Jun from the east room and Luo Yongmei from the west room would also sunbathe in the yard, reading books together, occasionally leaning in close to chat and laugh. When they got excited, Luo Yongmei would laugh so hard that her shoulders shook, and she would raise her hand to push Shao Jun playfully.

But every time they saw Meng Li drag the chair out, they would put away their books and leave, never sitting with her.

Meng Li didn’t mind, enjoying the warmth of the sun in the courtyard all to herself.

After lunch today, Meng Li dragged the chair out again and continued to sunbathe for her afternoon nap.

There was nothing more comfortable than lying down in the warmth of the winter sun after a good meal.

When Luo Yongmei and Shao Jun saw her come out, they immediately got up and left together.

Once inside the house, Luo Yongmei peeked out through the gap in the curtain, saw how relaxed Meng Li looked lying there, and said to Shao Jun, “What’s going on with him lately? He hasn’t gone out to cause trouble or show off? He doesn’t even bother to wear his military uniform anymore.”

Shao Jun had no interest in Meng Li. He simply replied, “Who cares? He’s not one of us.”

It was true that they weren’t on the same path. Both Shao Jun and Luo Yongmei were confident that in about six months, they would be going to serve in the military. They came from good families, and nothing unexpected would happen to them.

As for Meng Li, she was going to be sent down to the countryside to join the work teams.

Luo Yongmei wasn’t particularly interested in Meng Li either, but she enjoyed talking. “I just find it kind of funny. Look at him now, acting so impressive. If you go out and ask around, no one doesn’t know the name of Third Master Meng. But in half a year, he’ll be quietly sent down to the countryside.”

Shao Jun responded, “With a father like that, that’s all he’s got.”

Luo Yongmei lowered the curtain she had been fiddling with. “If Uncle Cheng hadn’t helped him, he would have stayed in the countryside for his whole life.”

Shao Jun wasn’t interested in talking about Meng Li anymore. “How would Uncle Cheng help him? Let’s not worry about him.”

Luo Yongmei chuckled. “Who’s worrying about him? Just talking about it.”

Meng Li was lying in the yard, eyes closed, soaking in the sun, unaware of what was being said about her inside the house.

She had dozed off in the warm sunlight when suddenly, someone grabbed her leg and shook her awake.

It was Tang Yuan’er, who was looking at her with wide eyes. When she saw that Meng Li had woken up, she said, “Meng Li, if you don’t have anything else to do, come with Grandma to the street. Grandma needs to buy something and wants you to go with her.”

Meng Li shook off her drowsiness, processed Tang Yuan’er’s words, and then responded, “Oh, okay.”

Tang Yuan’er stood up and took a step back. “Go wash your face.”

Meng Li pressed her hand to her forehead, stood up, and went inside to get some hot water to wash her face.

After washing, she felt fully awake and followed Grandma Cheng out of the courtyard.

The three of them, young and old, left the Zhima Hutong and headed towards the street.

In Beijing at that time, aside from a few small, unremarkable commercial streets, most of the main roads had only a handful of grocery stores and department shops. With the New Year approaching, the shelves were at their fullest.

Normally, the shelves mostly contained daily necessities that were distributed according to ration tickets.

At this time, everything required a ticket to purchase—grain needed grain tickets, oil required postal stamps, and even a bit of pork demanded a meat ticket.

As Meng Li walked down the street with Grandma Cheng, she saw pedestrians and cyclists, and occasionally, four-wheel-drive military jeeps or old Soviet and Polish cars passed by.

These cars were ones she had only seen on television.

They visited several grocery stores, and as they walked, Meng Li couldn’t help but silently marvel at how scarce the resources were in this era.

Even with the upcoming New Year, the items on the shelves seemed incredibly monotonous to her.

As they exited one of the grocery stores, Meng Li was about to sigh when suddenly, Grandma Cheng shoved something into her hand.

She looked down and saw it was candy, and the sigh she had been about to release was swallowed back.

Tang Yuan’er also received a piece of candy and, happily standing next to Meng Li, said, “Mine is red, yours is green.”

A warmth spread through her heart, and Meng Li smiled as she tucked the candy into her pocket.

Just as she finished putting the candy away, a middle-aged man in military uniform walked past her.

In that brief moment, she suddenly remembered something.

Three days ago, Zhuo Xi had told her that Ji Chen would be waiting for her at Chaoyang Park today, to practice one-on-one with her.

She had completely forgotten!

Meng Li abruptly stopped in her tracks, thinking to herself, This is bad.

Tang Yuan’er noticed that she wasn’t moving and stopped as well, turning back to look at her. “What’s wrong with you now?”

Meng Li gave Tang Yuan’er a brief, frustrated glance but then suddenly felt it was no big deal.

She hadn’t planned to go anyway, and since the time had already passed, she decided to let it go.

If anyone asked about it later, she’d simply say something had come up and delayed her.

After all, that was true—she had been out shopping with Grandma Cheng for the New Year’s goods.

With that thought, Meng Li felt at ease and continued walking forward.

Tang Yuan’er unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth, running to catch up with her.

…

Zhuo Xi and the others didn’t have much to do, so even without Meng Li leading the way, they still wandered around together, going from place to place.

From Dongdan to Xidan, from Shichahai to Wangfujing, and from Zhengyangmen to Xizhimen.

After noon, the group found a park to relax and sunbathe.

Zhuo Xi appeared to be deep in thought, and after a moment, he stood up and said to Zhou Nan and the others, “We should go to Chaoyang Park and check it out.”

Wei Dong half-rose from his seat and said, “I’m afraid it’s already over. Wasn’t the meeting at 9 AM?”

Zhuo Xi still felt uneasy and replied, “We should go check anyway.”

Seeing that he was determined, Zhou Nan and the others followed him.

They hopped on their bikes and sped to Chaoyang Park, which didn’t take long at all.

The four of them searched around the park, but they couldn’t find Meng Li. However, they did spot Ji Chen sitting on a bench by the lake.

That guy looked particularly eye-catching—he was wearing a military overcoat and black leather boots.

Who would wear such a conspicuous outfit for a one-on-one practice?

Anyone who didn’t know better might think he was there for a romantic rendezvous!

Since they couldn’t find Meng Li, Zhuo Xi and the others decided not to act rashly. They hid in the shadows and observed Ji Chen for a while, ultimately coming to the conclusion that Ji Chen had been waiting alone for a long time, but Meng Li hadn’t shown up!

About half an hour later, it seemed like Ji Chen had run out of patience. He stood for a moment in front of the bench before turning and walking away.

Once Ji Chen’s figure disappeared, Zhuo Xi and the others went over to the bench, carefully “investigating” the area. They couldn’t find any signs of a fight, which further confirmed the accuracy of their observation.

Wei Dong bent his leg and sat on the bench, tilting his head back to look at Zhuo Xi and the others. Squinting in the sunlight, he had a look of disbelief on his face. “Third Master didn’t show up? That’s impossible, right?”

Jin Bei sat down next to him, his brows furrowed slightly. “What’s going on with him? Is there something we don’t know about? He never would have done something so embarrassing before. If this gets out, we’ll all lose face.”

Zhuo Xi stood in thought for a moment before giving a subtle gesture with his finger to Wei Dong and Jin Bei.

When Wei Dong and the others leaned in slightly, Zhuo Xi spoke up, “Think about it carefully. We’ve been together for so many years, and Third Master has never bathed or urinated with us, and he never goes shirtless in the summer. His relationship with his mother is so bad, yet that morning, as soon as the sky lit up, he hurried home, saying he had an appointment with her. Then, there were strange marks on his blanket. What does all of this mean?”

Wei Dong and Jin Bei both thought for a moment, then turned to look at Zhuo Xi, both looking confused.

“Does that mean his relationship with his mother has improved?”

“Does his mom not let him bathe or urinate with us?”

“Does she not let him go shirtless either?”

Zhuo Xi: “…”

Damn, that’s some logic!

Standing next to Zhuo Xi, Zhou Nan pinched his chin, thought for a moment, and then pulled Zhuo Xi aside.

He lowered his voice and asked, “What do you think the marks on the blanket were?”

The two of them had shared a knowing look that day, but now Zhou Nan felt like it was probably a false understanding.

Zhuo Xi didn’t hide anything and directly replied, “Blood.”

Zhou Nan slapped his hand down suddenly. “I thought it was some descendants or something!” (T/N: Ummm… you guys get it right? He thought it’s thaaat “thing”.)

Zhuo Xi immediately understood and couldn’t help but laugh a little.

To be honest, that theory made sense, but the problem was, if Meng Li had left her descendants on the blanket, why would she have hurriedly gone home that morning?

Zhuo Xi’s suspicion was pointed in another direction.

Zhou Nan, being quicker-witted than Wei Dong and Jin Bei, understood what Zhuo Xi meant. He then asked, “Should we verify it?”

Zhuo Xi thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, but it’s best if Third Master doesn’t find out.”

Zhou Nan glanced at Wei Dong and Jin Bei, then asked, “What about those two?”

Zhuo Xi turned to look at Wei Dong and Jin Bei, who both wore equally clueless expressions.

He quickly shifted his gaze back. “Let’s not say anything for now.”

Zhou Nan agreed, “I’m with you.”

Wei Dong and Jin Bei leaned shoulder to shoulder on the bench, still looking clueless, glancing at Zhuo Xi and Zhou Nan with a carefree expression. “What are you two whispering about?”

Zhuo Xi and Zhou Nan exchanged a knowing smile. “We were just talking about how Third Master managed to improve his relationship with his mother.”

“……”