Chapter 016

Seeing Shi Huaiming walk ahead, Zhenzhen quickly snapped out of it and caught up to him.

Moonlight stretched across the ground, elongating Shi Huaiming’s shadow so that it reached Zhenzhen’s feet. Their shadows connected.

After walking around all afternoon and eating too much at dinner, Zhenzhen felt exhausted. As soon as they got home, she washed up and went straight to bed.

But she didn’t turn off the light right away. Instead, she reached for her cloth tiger and played with it for a bit.

As she stared at the cloth tiger, naturally, her thoughts drifted to the person who bought it for her.

After a while, she reached out to turn off the light, hugging the tiger to her chest and closing her eyes to sleep.

The cloth tiger carried a light, pleasant scent. She couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but breathing it in made her fall asleep faster and feel more at ease.

Just before falling asleep, a thought crossed her mind: she and her third brother had probably grown a little closer.

After she drifted off, Zhenzhen began to dream.

In the dream, she was learning to ride a bicycle on the road. At first, Shi Huaiming was behind her, helping her balance and teaching her how to ride.

Eventually, she learned to ride on her own—and she rode fast, very fast.

Once she reached a certain speed, the bicycle actually started to lift off the ground.

She soared up into the clouds and looked down at the vast, boundless earth. Her heart felt like it might burst out of her chest.

Zhenzhen rode her bicycle through the clouds all night long.

The next morning, she still felt light and airy, as if her feet were resting on a pair of fluffy clouds.

But that didn’t stop her from washing up, doing laundry, making breakfast, and even taking advantage of her clear-headed morning state to review and reinforce everything she’d learned the previous week.

When Shi Huaiming returned from morning training and saw her studying on her own, he didn’t feel the need to remind her to stay focused.

After breakfast, he went off to class as usual, and Zhenzhen remained at home alone.

Since Shi Huaiming hadn’t taught her any new material, she had the rest of the morning free to do other things.

Among those things, her main task was to go buy groceries from the provisions store.

After reviewing all the material from the past week, she picked up a basket and prepared to head out.

But just as she stepped outside, her attention was immediately caught by the bicycle parked in front of the house.

For someone who had just learned to ride, that gleaming bicycle had an irresistible pull.

Zhenzhen stood there holding her basket, eyes fixed on the bike, an itch of excitement rising in her chest.

A moment later, having made up her mind, she turned back inside to drop off the basket, came back out, and wheeled the bike down the path.

Just then, Wu Dafeng stepped out and called to her, “Zhenzhen, where are you off to?”

Zhenzhen turned back and replied, “Sister-in-law, I’m just going out for a stroll.”

Wu Dafeng said, “Be back early!”

She was dying to have someone to talk to.

Zhenzhen gave her a glance and said with a smile, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

With that, she wheeled the bike away.

She hadn’t gone far when Dabai suddenly came bounding out of nowhere.

Zhenzhen tried to send him back, but he kept jumping back and forth alongside the bike, so she decided to let him tag along.

Pushing the bicycle, Zhenzhen left the school grounds, with Dabai trotting cheerfully by her side.

They found a quiet, little-used path near the school.

Standing at the head of the path, she said to Dabai with satisfaction, “This is a great spot. Time for me to practice riding.”

Dabai wagged his tail and barked twice, as if to say, “I’m ready too!”

Zhenzhen laughed and got on the bike, giving the pedals a try.

Wobbling, she managed to ride a short distance, but after just a few turns of the pedals, the bike tilted and nearly fell over.

Dabai ran alongside her, barking loudly whenever it looked like she might fall.

Since she was riding slowly, she had time to react, catching herself with a foot each time the bike started to topple.

Even though she kept falling, Zhenzhen was patient and undeterred.

Again and again, she set the pedals and tried to ride, gradually regaining her sense of balance and control.

Once she found her balance, even though she was still a bit unsteady, she could now ride back and forth along the path.

The more she rode, the smoother she got. The more confident she became, the happier she felt. That growing sense of accomplishment was even more satisfying than tasting something delicious.

Zhenzhen didn’t want to get off the bike—she wanted to ride all around Xicheng if she could.

Dabai ran alongside her, darting to and fro. When she started riding steadily, he went wild with excitement, chasing his tail, grinning, tongue flapping, clearly even more thrilled than Zhenzhen herself.

With the wind rushing past and joy swelling in her chest, Zhenzhen was suddenly struck by a strange feeling.

It was as if there had always been a tightly sealed eggshell in her mind—opaque and impenetrable. But now, a crack had formed, letting in a sliver of warm sunlight.

So this is what life could feel like.

Maybe… life could take many different forms.

–

Although Zhenzhen was riding high on joy, she didn’t forget the time. Every so often, she looked up to check the sun’s position.

When it was about time, she rode to the provisions store to buy a few things.

Upon entering, she greeted Awen.

They weren’t particularly close, but Zhenzhen always said hello whenever she visited.

She knew Awen was a good friend of Li Shuang’s, so she had a good impression of her too.

When she finished shopping and was about to leave, she didn’t see Li Shuang, which made her curious. She asked Awen, “Is Sister-in-law Li Shuang not here today?”

Awen replied, “She took the day off—went to the hospital.”

The hospital?

Zhenzhen felt a pang of concern. Hopefully, it wasn’t anything serious.

But she didn’t ask further. After bidding Awen goodbye, she left.

Riding her bike home, she found Wu Dafeng sitting at her doorstep in the sun, sewing a shoe sole.

Seeing Zhenzhen return, she immediately got up and asked, “Aiyo, Zhenzhen, where have you been?”

Zhenzhen smiled and said, “Sister-in-law, I went to practice riding the bicycle.”

Wu Dafeng replied, “You really have the energy for everything—always eager to learn.”

Zhenzhen said, “It’s a lot of fun. Once you learn, it’s really satisfying. Why don’t you try too, Sister-in-law?”

Wu Dafeng quickly shook her head. “Not for me. I’d break my neck trying. I’m too old—can’t learn anymore.”

Zhenzhen said, “I’ve come to realize, as long as you want to learn, nothing’s impossible. It’s never too early or too late.”

Wu Dafeng shook her head again. “When people get older, they’re set in their ways. If you can’t learn it, you can’t.”

She wasn’t interested in learning to ride a bike and didn’t want to keep talking about it with Zhenzhen.

Instead, she changed the topic to what she was curious about and asked, “So what did you go out and buy?”

Zhenzhen glanced at her purchases. “Not much—just some lettuce, leafy greens, tomatoes, things like that.”

Wu Dafeng glanced at the bike. “Where would you find those kinds of veggies back in the countryside? Once our garden starts producing, just come pick whatever you need. No need to waste money.”

Zhenzhen smiled at her and replied, “Sure.”

Wu Dafeng’s tone suddenly shifted, steering the conversation toward what she really wanted to say. “I’m not giving anything to her family. Anyway, those city people are all so high and mighty. They look down on us folks from the countryside—eat one bite and they want to spit it out.”

Zhenzhen knew she was talking about Li Shuang, and it was clear she was still upset over last night.

Zhenzhen tried to ease her mind. “Sister Li Shuang really isn’t feeling well. I went to the grocery store earlier and she wasn’t there. Her friend told me she went to the hospital.”

Wu Dafeng blurted out, “What, she’s got some kind of serious illness now?”

Zhenzhen lightly patted her arm. “Sister-in-law, don’t say things like that.”

Wu Dafeng snorted. “That’s not even the worst I could say. So what if she’s from the city? What’s so great about that? Does she have an extra arm or leg? She doesn’t even cook at home—what kind of woman is that? He Shuo must be blind to marry someone like her and treat her like some kind of queen. All she’s good for is dressing up. Back in our village, no one would even want someone like her.”

Before Zhenzhen could respond, she caught sight of Li Shuang standing nearby, her face dark with anger. Zhenzhen froze.

Wu Dafeng noticed Zhenzhen’s expression and turned around to look.

Seeing Li Shuang, Wu Dafeng’s face stiffened for a second, but she quickly recovered.

Wu Dafeng wasn’t the type to feel guilty—she’d love nothing more than to argue face to face. If Li Shuang overheard her, all the better.

Zhenzhen snapped out of it and quickly tried to smooth things over. “Sister-in-law, I heard you went to the hospital. Are you alright?”

Li Shuang didn’t answer. Her face dark, she turned and walked off.

Wu Dafeng, clearly displeased, let out a mocking laugh. “Who are you throwing that attitude at?”

Li Shuang had planned to let it go, but hearing that, she suddenly stopped.

She turned back around and faced Wu Dafeng, speaking with more force, “I am throwing it at you! Wu Dafeng, have I ever done anything to offend you? Every time we meet, don’t I greet you with a smile and call you ‘sister-in-law’? You just don’t know when to stop! Don’t push it!”

Zhenzhen was stunned.

It was the first time she had ever seen Li Shuang lose her temper in public like this.

But Wu Dafeng loved a good argument.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh wow, listen to yourself! Who’s really going too far here? Sure, you smile and call me ‘sister-in-law,’ but who knows what you’re really thinking? Who knows how much you look down on me? I invited you into my home and cooked for you out of kindness, and you took one bite and vomited. Who were you trying to insult?”

“You’re absolutely ridiculous!” Li Shuang snapped. “You look down on yourself and then blame others for looking down on you. Someone greets you politely to show respect, and you twist it into an insult? That’s your own issue!”

She took a deep breath. “You really think I have the time to come to your place just to insult you? You think I’m that bored? Who do you think you are? You really think the world revolves around you? You need to get your head checked!”

Now the fight had really begun.

Zhenzhen tried desperately to intervene, but she was too small and her voice couldn’t compete with theirs—it was useless.

Wu Dafeng yelled even louder, “Who are you calling sick in the head? You’re the one who’s sick!”

Li Shuang couldn’t hold back anymore and shouted right back, “Yeah, I’m talking about you! You’re sick in the head, Wu Dafeng! Or maybe you don’t even have a brain—maybe it’s just dog brains in there, not even as smart as Dabai!”

Hearing his name, Dabai barked twice from the side.

Wu Dafeng’s eyes bulged. She rolled up her sleeves and pointed at Li Shuang. “You’re the one who’s worse than a dog! Your whole family is worse than dogs! You really think you’re some kind of precious gem? A woman like you is only lucky to have ended up with Commander He. Otherwise, you’d be getting your ass beat by men every damn day! You worthless thing, yelling like a dog here—what are you even barking about?!”

Li Shuang was about to respond when nausea surged in her stomach again.

She clapped a hand over her mouth and rushed home, threw open the door, and ran straight to the bathroom to vomit.

Even then, Wu Dafeng wasn’t done. She stood outside yelling, “What, no more barking? Keep barking! You like to vomit so much, I’ll make sure you vomit your guts out today!”

Zhenzhen tugged at Wu Dafeng’s arm. “Sister-in-law, she’s clearly not feeling well!”

Wu Dafeng snorted. “Serves her right!”

Zhenzhen gave her a light slap and walked over to Li Shuang’s door.

She knocked and called out, “Sister-in-law, are you okay?”

After a moment, the door opened a crack. Li Shuang’s voice was weak as she said, “I’m fine. Just make sure she stays the hell away from me. I don’t need to be around that kind of person.”

Then she closed the door again.

Zhenzhen stood there for a moment, then turned back to Wu Dafeng.

She didn’t say much, just softly suggested, “Sister-in-law, let’s go home and make lunch.”

Wu Dafeng glanced up at the sun. It was indeed time to cook.

She was still riding high from the argument and clearly hadn’t had her fill, but with no one left to fight, she had no choice but to swallow her frustration. She packed up her needle and thread and went home to cook.

Watching Wu Dafeng walk off, Zhenzhen didn’t linger outside either.

She took the groceries off her bike and headed back inside to start cooking.

–

Meanwhile—

Li Shuang, feeling sick, sat slumped on the sofa after vomiting.

She closed her eyes, took deep breaths, and pressed her hand against her stomach. Her body was uncomfortable, and the anger in her chest made it worse.

She had never been this humiliated in her life.

To have a neighbor like Wu Dafeng—and He Shuo and Old Zhou were still such good friends—what rotten luck.

At mealtime, He Shuo came home with food. Li Shuang got up and sat down at the table.

He noticed how pale she looked and handed her a pair of chopsticks. “Did you go to the hospital? Did they find out what’s wrong?”

Li Shuang replied with a low hum, clearly in low spirits. “I’m pregnant.”

It should’ve been a joyful announcement—they’d been trying for a baby ever since He Shuo got back.

Because of the argument with Wu Dafeng just now, and because she wasn’t feeling well, Li Shuang didn’t feel happy at all.

He Shuo, on the other hand, lit up with joy. Smiling, he said, “Looks like I’m going to have a daughter.”

Li Shuang remained expressionless. “How do you know it’s a girl? What if it’s a boy again?”

He Shuo could tell something was off.

He studied her face for a moment and cautiously asked, “What’s wrong? Did someone upset you?”

Li Shuang snapped, “That question should be directed at Wu Dafeng!”

Wu Dafeng?

He Shuo asked, “She did something to you?”

Li Shuang said coldly, “She’s out there hoping I’ve come down with some terrible illness—hoping I’d drop dead! She said I’m not fit to be a woman, that someone like me wouldn’t even be wanted in their village, that I ought to be strung up and beaten ten times a day by a man!”

“What kind of outrageous nonsense is that?” He Shuo frowned deeply.

Already with no appetite, Li Shuang slammed her chopsticks onto the table. “Just my luck.”

Still fuming, she continued, “Tell me, does she have a brain at all? You and Old Zhou are close, so I go with you to their place for dinner—how stupid would I have to be to deliberately throw up at the table? What would I even get out of that? Offend her and Old Zhou on purpose and bring all this on myself? I didn’t even want to go in the first place, but I was worried she’d nitpick and it might affect your relationship with Old Zhou. I wasn’t feeling great beforehand, but once I smelled the food on the table, I couldn’t hold it anymore. I hadn’t planned on eating—just sitting and chatting would’ve been fine. But she insisted I eat. A person like her, no matter what you do, she’ll find fault with it. Don’t go? You’re looking down on her. Go but don’t eat? Still looking down on her. Eat and then get sick? Still you’re looking down on her.”

He Shuo held his breath.

After a pause, he said, “I’ll go talk to Old Zhou in a bit.”

Li Shuang quickly said, “Don’t. If you talk to him, she’ll go nuts and come pick another fight with me. I smiled and called her ‘sister-in-law’ to her face, and she still says I secretly look down on her—she’s nuts! From now on, I’ll just pretend she’s air.”

He Shuo gently placed some food into her bowl. “Don’t stay upset. You’re pregnant now—this should be a happy time. She did work hard last night to make that big meal. I can understand why she’d be upset it didn’t go well.”

Li Shuang retorted, “You can understand her, but she doesn’t understand you.”

He Shuo said, “I’ll talk to Old Zhou and tell him you’re pregnant. She’ll understand once she knows.”

Li Shuang shook her head. “I don’t need her understanding. Whatever terms you’re on with Old Zhou, that’s your business. As for her—I’m done. From now on, we’ll stay out of each other’s way!”