Chapter 18

Wen Xiangyi pointed in a direction.

Through a small alley, just behind the commercial street, was a cluster of residential buildings. From the look of it, these were old employee dormitories built by a company years ago. Song Cheng remembered that this area had been slated for demolition not long ago.

She had been to many of Wen Xiangyi’s homes, but this was her first time here.

Song Cheng looked around, and before she realized it, she had followed Wen Xiangyi to a door. It was an old-fashioned iron gate, with a wooden door behind it. Wen Xiangyi opened both doors in succession, turned on the light, and the dim, yellowish light revealed a home that seemed out of place compared to Wen Xiangyi’s usual image.

The furniture was mainly light brown wood, with brown curtains, a wall behind the sofa adorned with calligraphy, and a white lace cover on the TV. The place was neat and cozy but also showed signs of age.

Wen Xiangyi said, “What are you standing there for? Come in.”

Song Cheng took a few steps inside, set her things down in the foyer, and noticed how quiet the entire house was. She couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s your mom…your family? Are they asleep?”

Wen Xiangyi replied, “They don’t live here.”

Song Cheng responded with a nonchalant “Oh,” not surprised.

She couldn’t imagine Wen Xiangyi’s family cramped into a small, soon-to-be-demolished old apartment.

So, what’s the story with this house? Why isn’t Wen Xiangyi going home? Does she usually live here?

Song Cheng was eager to find out. She had planned to drop off her things and leave, but now she found herself unable to move. Seeing Wen Xiangyi pour tea for her, she took the initiative to sit on the sofa, unsure of how to start the conversation. She pretended to continue observing the house.

Wen Xiangyi, while handing her the tea, said, “This is my grandmother’s house. I sometimes stay here by myself.”

Song Cheng was taken aback.

As far as she knew, Wen Xiangyi’s grandmother had passed away from pancreatic cancer a long time ago. Every year during Qingming Festival, no matter how busy Wen Xiangyi was, she would visit the grave, and a few times she had even taken Song Cheng along.

She hadn’t expected that the old lady was already gone.

Song Cheng lifted her teacup to hide her emotions.

Wen Xiangyi was staying at her grandmother’s house, but what about Luo Yan? Wen Xiangyi was still underage. Could Luo Yan be so indifferent?

Song Cheng didn’t know what Luo Yan was thinking, but she felt a bit of sympathy.

She decided to forgive Wen Xiangyi’s earlier behavior for three seconds.

Wen Xiangyi quietly observed Song Cheng’s expressions, which were subtle yet ever-changing, like a patch of unnoticed yet rich and delicate plants in a crevice. It was quite interesting.

Wen Xiangyi’s lips remained upturned as she asked, “Why didn’t you go home?”

“……”

Wen Xiangyi had indeed seen through her, and Song Cheng responded lightly, “Some unpleasantness.”

“So you ran away from home?”

“Sort of.” Reflecting on it, Wen Xiangyi had told her the truth, so Song Cheng reluctantly admitted her own less-than-ideal situation, “I was kicked out.”

Wen Xiangyi considered her academic performance and seemed to understand, “Oh……”

?

Song Cheng was annoyed, “Your expression offends me.”

Wen Xiangyi politely responded, “Sorry, it wasn’t intentional.”

Song Cheng felt her own temper was quite good; hearing Wen Xiangyi apologize made her feel better, and she graciously said, “Just a joke, it’s not a big deal.”

Wen Xiangyi smiled at her.

“Since we’ve met, I can’t just ignore it. My place has no one else, so you can stay here tonight.”

Song Cheng’s fair face showed hesitation.

Wen Xiangyi said casually, “Or do you have somewhere else to go?”

Hearing this, Song Cheng finally agreed, “Thank you, Wen Xiangyi.”

As she nodded, her loose hair fell into her neck, making her face look softer than usual, which pleased Wen Xiangyi.

“We’re classmates after all. I’ll go prepare the guest room.”

She went to set up the guest room. The aunt had cleaned it, and it was quite tidy, but it needed some additional small items, disposable supplies, and the summer quilt had to be replaced with a thicker autumn quilt.

When Qin Li found out, she called and said in surprise, “You’re too kind to Song Cheng!”

Wen Xiangyi replied, “Am I?”

Qin Li said, “Of course, I’m even a bit jealous.”

Wen Xiangyi didn’t respond: “Don’t you think she’s a bit pitiful?”

Qin Li thought for a moment and replied, “Well, yes, a bit, but… oh, forget it. If I were in your shoes, I’d help out too. Who knows, you just happened to run into her.”

After Qin Li expressed her sentiments, Wen Xiangyi hung up the phone.

She wasn’t lying; she didn’t think she had done anything particularly commendable for Song Cheng. Bringing her home didn’t mean a complete embrace of closeness. It was like seeing a stray, interesting little animal outside, feeling a bit soft-hearted, and bringing it home to observe its behavior in a cage. Providing Song Cheng with a warmer temporary refuge than the convenience store also brought some amusement to Wen Xiangyi.

It was more about mutual benefit.

But this little animal turned out to be more lively and active than Wen Xiangyi had imagined.

After placing a bottle of water by the bedside and ensuring everything was in order, Wen Xiangyi opened the guest room door. Just as she was about to step out, she smelled a waft of warm aroma. She followed the scent to the kitchen, which had not been used since her grandmother left. The kitchen had come to life again; Song Cheng was standing by the stove, looking as skilled as someone who wasn’t a student.

Song Cheng, holding two bowls of instant noodles, turned and asked Wen Xiangyi, “Where would you like to eat?”

Wen Xiangyi was momentarily stunned. “What?”

Song Cheng patiently clarified, “At the dining table or the coffee table?”

Wen Xiangyi paused, “I’m not sure if the TV works. Let’s go with the dining table.”

Want to watch TV, huh?

Song Cheng translated that and placed the bowls on the coffee table in front of the sofa, picking up the remote to adjust the settings.

Soon, she found CCTV and tuned into the classic movie channel, which was showing an old film. Song Cheng asked Wen Xiangyi, “Is it okay to watch this?”

Seeing Wen Xiangyi nod, she put down the remote.

Song Cheng prepared two bowls of noodles. The noodles were from the kitchen cabinets, and the luncheon meat and other ingredients were found in Wen Xiangyi’s shopping bags.

She suspected Wen Xiangyi had a habit of stockpiling. She always bought a pile of things for the house, with a fridge full of various items, yet she rarely cooked. Song Cheng had started cooking for Wen Xiangyi because she couldn’t stand seeing her waste ingredients by letting them expire and then buying new ones.

She took a bite of the noodles, finding them decent and consistent with her usual cooking.

Wen Xiangyi’s gaze followed her movements, finally resting on Song Cheng’s calm face.

Song Cheng stirred the noodles and asked, “How does it taste?”

Wen Xiangyi took a small bite and was slightly surprised. After swallowing, she said, “It’s very good.”

She hadn’t had high expectations for the cooking skills of a high school classmate, but unexpectedly, Song Cheng’s cooking was to her taste.

Song Cheng was pleased to hear that and modestly replied, “It’s just a bowl of noodles.”

Wen Xiangyi, copying her and stirring the noodles, took a larger helping this time and said, “But you cook really well.”

Wen Xiangyi praised her cooking.

Amid the melodious music of the movie, Song Cheng took another bite of noodles. The hot steam made her nose tingle, but her heart felt relaxed and even a bit smug. She knew she wasn’t entirely useless after all!