After returning home, Sang Zhi immediately went to her room, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Just as she was about to undress, she remembered the dress that had gotten dirty earlier and quickly ran back out.

Sang Zhi wandered around the living room and the entryway but she didn’t see the bag.

She glanced toward Sang Yan’s room. The door was open, but there was noise coming from the kitchen, where she could hear him tinkering with something.

Didn’t they just finish eating?

Sang Zhi muttered to herself, “He can really eat”, and then returned to her room. She immediately spotted the bag placed beside her desk.

She took the bag to the bathroom and filled a basin with water, dumping her dirty clothes into it.

This was the first time Sang Zhi had washed clothes by herself. She squeezed out some detergent and rubbed at the stained areas with her hands, her movements clumsy and slow but she managed to get everything clean.

By the time Sang Zhi emerged from the bathroom, nearly an hour had passed.

She carried the basin and jogged to the balcony to hang up the clothes. Just as she was about to return to her room, she heard Sang Yan’s voice.

He seemed to be on the phone, sounding slightly impatient, “It’s done.

What do I care? I didn’t see her feeling unwell.” Sang Yan said, “Add jujube and female ginseng? No, Mom, why didn’t you tell me earlier? How was I supposed to know?

Aren’t you coming back tomorrow? You can handle it then. I’m dead tired. You can take care of your own daughter, okay? I’ve done my best for two days— Alright, just let her drink this as it is.”

After a few seconds, it seemed like Sang Yan had hung up the phone. Soon, he came out holding a bowl. When he saw Sang Zhi, there was not a hint of guilt on his face, and he coldly said, “Come drink this.”

Sang Zhi slowly approached him. “Why do you dislike me so much?”

“If I really disliked you,” Sang Yan clicked his tongue and said word by word, “you would probably be dead by now.”

“……”

After saying so, Sang Yan couldn’t be bothered to deal with her anymore and went back to his room.

Sang Zhi walked to the dining table, carefully picked up the bowl, and returned to her room. She sat at her desk and took a sip.

It was still a bit hot.

She placed it on the side. Turning around, she noticed the Doraemon plushie she had placed on the bed.

Sang Zhi walked over, picked up the toy, and placed it in the corner of the bed next to another plushie that Duan Jiaxu had given her. She lay on the bed with her legs dangling as she poked the plushie’s face with her fingertips.

She soon flipped over. Lying on her back, she stared at the white ceiling.

She was lost in thought.

Today seemed a bit embarrassing.

But for some inexplicable reason, she also felt a bit happy.

This sudden first menstrual period, aside from the dull ache in her abdomen and a heavy feeling, didn’t make Sang Zhi feel too uncomfortable. However, the next morning, she was woken up by the pain, her stomach feeling like it was being pricked with needles.

Li Ping and Sang Rong had already returned and made a bowl of millet porridge for Sang Zhi.

“Are you still in pain?” Li Ping asked as she sat beside her after Sang Zhi had washed up. “It’s good that it came. I heard from your aunt^[1]wife of mother’s brother that Xiaobing grew to 170 cm tall after her first period.”

Sang Zhi sipped the porridge slowly. Hearing that, she thought for a moment, “Cousin^[2]a daughter of mother’s brother who is older than oneself?”

“Yes.”

Sang Zhi was skeptical. “Wasn’t she already over 160 cm tall?”

Li Ping nodded. “Yes. So, you might grow to 160 cm soon.”

“160 cm……” Sang Zhi swallowed the porridge and shook her head. “I want to be taller, preferably 170 cm.”

“Then our Zhizhi needs to eat well,” Li Ping said gently, “and you’ll grow taller over time.”

After breakfast, Sang Zhi felt so uncomfortable that she lay in bed all day, not wanting to do anything. But the thought of growing taller, a first sign of growing up, made the pain seem a bit more bearable.

———pr


The next Wednesday was Fu Zhengchu’s birthday.

Sang Zhi had originally decided not to go since she wasn’t very familiar with Fu Zhengchu’s circle and Li Ping had also enrolled her in a summer painting class. But she eventually gave in to Yin Zhenru’s persistent phone calls.

Yin Zhenru lived nearby and came early to find Sang Zhi, planning to go together with her. Since the KTV’s location was in another district, they went to the nearby bus stop to wait for the bus.

In August, the weather was still hot and the ground temperature was scorching with a faint earthy smell. The two girls, dressed in short sleeves and shorts, stood under the bus stop sign with their umbrellas.

After waiting for a while, Sang Zhi became irritable from the heat. “Wasn’t it supposed to be at 1:00 PM? Why did we come out so early?”

“I forgot to buy a gift……” Yin Zhenru stuck out her tongue, embarrassed. “We’re going to Shang’an anyway, so we can just shop around there and buy a gift before meeting Fu Zhengchu and the others.”

“It’s only 10:00 AM now.”

“It takes an hour to get there by bus.” Yin Zhenru checked her watch. “We should arrive by 11:00. We can shop for a gift and have lunch. The timing will be perfect.”

Sang Zhi grumbled. “Can I just skip to lunch?”

“No! How can I shop alone?!” Yin Zhenru added, “Also, didn’t you say you and Fu Zhengchu were in the same class for six years in primary school? Why does it seem like you two aren’t close?”

“We aren’t close at all.”

“……Really?” Yin Zhenru was incredulous. “I thought Fu Zhengchu…… you know……”

Sang Zhi frowned. “What? I don’t know.”

Yin Zhenru leaned close to Sang Zhi’s ear and whispered, “He has a crush on you.”

“……”

Just then, the bus arrived.

Before Sang Zhi could respond, Yin Zhenru dragged her onto the bus.

It was mostly empty, with plenty of seats available. The two of them found seats at the back.

Sang Zhi was still thinking about what Yin Zhenru had said, her expression a bit odd. “Who told you that?”

“It’s obvious.” Yin Zhenru continued, “He often asks me to invite you out. His class is on the third floor, ours is on the second, but he often hangs around our class.”

Sang Zhi asked again, “Then why don’t you think he has a crush on you?”

“……”

“Otherwise, why wouldn’t he come directly to me and instead ask you to invite me?” Sang Zhi’s expression was matter-of-fact. “You two didn’t know each other before, right?”

“……You have a point.” Yin Zhenru pouted. “But if it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t talk to me at all.”

Silence.

Sang Zhi stared at her, then suddenly pointed to her right cheek.

Yin Zhenru was puzzled. “What’s wrong? There’s nothing on your face.”

Sang Zhi pointed again.

Yin Zhenru immediately leaned back, full of rejection. “You want me to kiss you?!”

“What are you talking about?” Sang Zhi looked at her in exasperation. “I just wanted to tell you that I used to fight with Fu Zhengchu a lot.”

“What? When?”

Sang Zhi thought for a moment. “In second grade.”

“Second grade? How old were you then?”

“I am one year older than him.” Sang Zhi said. “When we were younger, some boys did hit girls, but not like he did. He wouldn’t hit other girls like that, just me.”

“What?”

“He treated me like a boy and hit me.”

“……”

“Once,” Sang Zhi pointed to her right cheek, enunciating each word clearly as if to emphasize the absurdity of her statement, “he punched me right here.”

She deliberately stressed the words ‘punched me’.

Yin Zhenru exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, was it serious?”

“Hmm? Not sure if it counts as serious.” Sang Zhi thought for a moment and then emphasized, “It’s not that I couldn’t fight back. I was just caught off guard and fell to the ground.”

“……”

“And then I lost a tooth.” After a pause, Sang Zhi continued, “I got angry and pushed him back.”

“……What happened then?”

“He fell too and broke a bone.”

“……”

Hearing that, Yin Zhenru quickly abandoned her original thoughts. When it came time to buy gifts, she didn’t persuade Sang Zhi to choose one for Fu Zhengchu either. It was as if she now considered them enemies and wanted to avoid any unnecessary interaction between them.

Sang Zhi, pleased with the peace, followed behind her, leisurely browsing through some small trinkets.

Yin Zhenru chose gifts rather casually. She saw a nice-looking night lamp and bought it. Since there was still plenty of time, the two of them decided to enter a dessert shop on the same floor.

It was a chain dessert shop, small and decorated in a Chinese style with wooden tables and chairs, darker colors, and warm yellow lighting, giving it a cozy feel.

The air conditioning was on low, shielding them from the heat outside.

There were no other customers in the shop and only one staff.

Hearing the door chime, the staff lifted his eyes, his tone slightly drowsy as he said, “Welcome.”

The voice was very familiar.

Sang Zhi’s breath caught and she instinctively looked up.

The young man wore a brown apron, sitting behind the cash register. His eyes were slightly downcast, and under the lighting, his pupils appeared lighter. His gaze flicked over before stopping on Sang Zhi’s face.

Then, the corners of his eyes lifted ever so slightly.

There was a brief silence.

Sang Zhi took the initiative to call out, “Brother.”

Duan Jiaxu glanced at the girl next to Sang Zhi and nodded, “Here to hang out?”

Sang Zhi replied, “Mm.”

Yin Zhenru’s eyes darted between the two of them, but she remained silent.

Sang Zhi picked up the menu from the counter and hesitantly asked, “Brother, do you work here?”

“En.” Duan Jiaxu seemed unconcerned. “Find a seat and decide what you want to eat, then come order. I’ll bring it over to you later.”

Sang Zhi nodded and followed Yin Zhenru to the innermost table.

As they looked through the menu, Yin Zhenru sneaked glances in Duan Jiaxu’s direction and curiously asked, “Who is that? I remember your brother doesn’t look like that.”

“He’s a friend of my brother.”

“He’s so handsome.” Yin Zhenru clutched her chest. “I remember your brother is also very handsome. Sang Zhi, you’re so lucky.”

Sang Zhi retorted, “Stop talking nonsense.”

Yin Zhenru was puzzled. “Huh?”

Sang Zhi clarified, “My brother isn’t handsome at all.”

“……”

Soon, they chose their desserts. Sang Zhi held the menu and walked up to Duan Jiaxu. “Brother, I want coconut milk with sago and milk custard with mango.”

“Okay.” Duan Jiaxu responded.

Sang Zhi calculated the price, then took out a twenty and a ten-yuan note from her pocket as well as three coins. She searched again but couldn’t find any more money.

She placed the money on the counter and turned around, planning to go back to her seat to get her bag and take out one more yuan to make up the difference.

After taking a few steps, Duan Jiaxu called out to her, “Kid.”

Sang Zhi turned back, “Huh?”

Duan Jiaxu tapped the money on the table with his knuckles, his elbow resting on the edge of the desk. Leaning slightly forward, he laughed softly and asked, “Trying to trick Brother thinking I can’t count?”

Sang Zhi realized what he meant. She pressed her lips together and silently returned to her seat to fetch additional money from her bag. Walking back to the counter, she placed the one yuan in front of him.

Duan Jiaxu glanced down and remarked, “Still short by one more yuan.”

“……”

Sang Zhi felt he was trying to cheat her and began to argue, “One dessert is eighteen yuan, and the other is sixteen yuan. That’s thirty-four yuan in total. How is it still short?”

“You said Brother is handsome, didn’t you?”

“……”

When did she do so? It was Yin Zhenru who said that.

And what did that have to do with this?

“You’ve been sneaking glances so many times. If I let you look for free……” His tone was teasing, “wouldn’t Brother suffer a loss?”