Light-Years Away
“……???”
Gu Jianian’s brain genuinely crashed for a while.
She liked Chi Yan. What did that have to do with He Jitong?
Whether He Jitong had someone he liked, or how many years he had liked them, what did that have to do with her?
A few seconds later, she gradually recovered.
She began to remember.
What she had written in her notes was: “Today, we went to the morning market together, ate wontons together, and even ate the same ice cream together. Later, I’m going to invite him to my coming-of-age ceremony.”
Chi Yan couldn’t have mistaken that “him” for He Jitong, could he?
“…”
Gu Jianian truly did not know whether to feel lucky or miserable. Lucky because he had not discovered that she had a crush on him. Miserable because… how on earth had he skipped over himself and decided she liked He Jitong?
And she could not refute this accusation.
Because there were only two possibilities in that sentence. Denying one meant admitting the other.
Gu Jianian bit her lip. Her face shifted between red and pale, and her unpredictable expression made Chi Yan reflect for once.
Had he spoken too harshly?
After all, she was still an underage child.
Although he could not fully understand the feeling of a secret crush, he roughly knew that teenagers were at their most sensitive.
Especially a girl like Gu Jianian, who could even endure stitches without anaesthetic without crying.
Proud and sensitive.
He hesitantly reached out and, for the first time in his life, made a comforting gesture—he patted Gu Jianian’s shoulder.
Then he turned his face away and patiently said, “It’s normal to feel sad. If you want to cry, you don’t have to hold it in. I just won’t look.”
“…”
Gu Jianian did want to cry, but there were no tears to shed.
She had already known that Chi Yan only treated her as a neighbour’s child he was looking after. At this moment, his reaction and attitude made her even more certain of it.
He was only kindly reminding her as an older neighbour-brother and as He Jitong’s cousin, wanting her to cut her losses before she sank too deeply.
As for who she secretly liked, or who she had feelings for, that itself did not make him care in the slightest.
Gu Jianian pursed her lips and forced the corners of her mouth up with great difficulty. “I’m not sad, and I don’t want to cry.”
Then she added with a wooden face, “I just wrote it randomly.”
Hearing this, Chi Yan turned his head and gave an “Mm.”
But his tone sounded as if he was merely preserving her dignity.
He definitely did not believe her.
If she were in his place, she would not believe it either.
Gu Jianian slowly exhaled and forced herself to say, “Even if… even if there is a little bit now, I might stop liking him very soon. I change my mind quickly.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. Anyway, thank you.”
After saying that, she lowered her head completely. Her shoulders collapsed, her head hung low, and her eyes stared at the ground beneath her feet.
Chi Yan’s gaze lingered on her face for a long time. Seeing her drooping shoulders and forced indifference, he suddenly felt like a bit of a bastard.
Had he made things worse while trying to help?
After a long while, he said, “Alright.”
In the silence between them, He Jitong came out of the main room and walked to the car.
Sensing the strange atmosphere between the two of them, he asked in confusion, “What happened?”
Gu Jianian said nothing.
She did not dare look at He Jitong at all.
Just now, in order to cover up her own feelings, she had made him take the blame. At this moment, she could only silently apologise to him in her heart.
Chi Yan was also too lazy to pay attention to him and only gave him a cool glance.
Seeing their unusual attitudes, He Jitong grew even more curious. “No, seriously, what were you two talking about? So serious. You even sent me away. You weren’t talking bad about me, were you?”
His gaze shifted between the two of them, and then he suddenly understood. “Chi Yan, don’t tell me you’re secretly sowing discord just because Jianian-meimei thinks I’m more handsome than you? You’re way too petty.”
Chi Yan frowned, looking at He Jitong as though he were a fool missing a screw in his head. He gave a light “tsk,” his tone full of disgust. “Just shut up and get in the car.”
After saying that, he ignored him, walked around the front of the car, and opened the driver’s door.
He Jitong got into the car too, still confused. He rolled down the window and stuck his head out, mouthing to Gu Jianian, “Did he swallow gunpowder? Why is he so fierce? Did you two argue?”
Gu Jianian shook her head and forced out a dejected smile as she watched them leave.
*
A few days passed quickly, and time arrived in mid-August, after the Beginning of Autumn.
For most high school graduates, summer break had entered its final quarter.
In the class group chat, students began posting their plane tickets and train tickets, getting ready to head off to universities all over the country.
Their class had a ninety-five percent rate of students passing the first-tier university admission line. Aside from a few whose grades were not ideal and who planned to repeat the year, Gu Jianian was the only one not going to university.
A former class officer enthusiastically shared many posts such as ‘Freshman Packing List’, ‘Military Training Essentials for First-Year Students’, and ‘Dorm Life Guide’. Gu Jianian skimmed through them briefly. Every line was filled with everyone’s longing and anticipation for the unknown university life ahead.
Gu Jianian browsed through them indifferently, put her phone into her pocket, and took a deep breath in front of the mirror.
It was already past noon, and her parents still had not sent any messages.
While she felt relieved, she also felt a faint, hidden disappointment.
Today was her eighteenth birthday.
After lunch, First Uncle helped Grandma move the large round table top, only used during festivals and special occasions, out from the storage room. He also went to Eldest Uncle’s house to borrow another one.
The banquet was arranged for the evening. The invited guests were only Eldest Uncle’s family, First Uncle’s family, neighbour Auntie Zhang and Uncle Liu’s family, as well as a few other relatives still in Yunmo.
Two large round tables were more than enough.
But He Jitong could not come.
Early in the morning, he had sent Gu Jianian his congratulations on WeChat, then sent three more messages apologising, saying there was an urgent matter at the studio in Zhoushan and he really could not spare the time to come to Yunmo.
Gu Jianian was a little disappointed.
Since He Jitong was not coming, Chi Yan most likely would not come either.
Ever since they returned from the market that day, although she had resumed going to the ivy-covered villa to read every day, the relationship between her and Chi Yan had entered an especially subtle state.
His attitude toward her was very thought-provoking.
They still did not interact much, but on the few occasions they did, Chi Yan showed a level of tolerance beyond the ordinary.
It was as if he were patiently making up for his mistake, mercifully caring for an adolescent child who had just fallen out of love.
For example, he would occasionally stand up from behind his desk when she could not reach a book and help her take it from the upper shelves.
He placed a more comfortable small writing desk beside her sofa, making it easier for her to take reading notes.
There was even a packet of tissues placed on top of that writing desk.
As if she might burst into tears at any moment because of romantic failure.
If this had been before, Gu Jianian would definitely have been overjoyed by these considerate details.
But now, she only felt like crying without tears.
Even though she had repeated to him several times that she no longer liked He Jitong.
He only said he understood, but his attitude still did not change. Even the way he looked at her became a little more pitying.
He probably thought she was a pitiful little child who was still pretending to be strong after losing love.
Gu Jianian shook her head, collected her emotions, and went downstairs.
The guests had mostly arrived.
Whenever a family held a banquet, people usually set aside the whole afternoon, arriving early to gather and chat, play cards, and eat sunflower seeds.
These simple entertainments, suitable for young and old and costing very little, strung together an entire year’s worth of happiness.
Gu Jianian walked into the kitchen beside the main room.
Grandma and her two aunts were all busy. Their hands moved nimbly as they prepared one fresh ingredient after another.
In a half-person-tall wooden barrel, a large pot of rice was steaming, far more than enough for ten or so people. Rice steamed over firewood was especially soft and sticky, giving off a rich fragrance.
Seeing First Aunt scraping fish scales by the sink with the back of a knife, Gu Jianian walked over to help, only to be chased out with a smile. “Anyone can come into the kitchen today except the birthday girl.”
Eldest Aunt also called out to her, “Tingting, go outside and call your eldest uncle over to start the fire. If we don’t stop him now, he’ll even lose his underpants.”
Gu Jianian burst out laughing and turned to walk out into the courtyard.
The old-fashioned electric fan dragged a long cord behind it, poking its head out from the main room and working diligently.
Under the grape trellis, several small square tables had been set up, with the adults gathered around them playing mahjong.
A few of the younger ones had also gathered at one table and were playing cards.
When her two younger male cousins saw her, they exaggeratedly went “Wow!” and said one after another, “Tingting-jie, you look really pretty today!”
“This dress is so nice. Why didn’t you dress like this before?”
Gu Jianian looked down. The dress she was wearing today was one Grandma had made over the past few days, using the dark green fabric they had bought at the market.
Although the style was not especially novel or unique, it was simple and elegant, and the effect was very good.
Gu Jianian had a slender figure. In the past, for convenience, her parents always bought her loose, oversized clothes.
But this dress Grandma had made was completely based on her measurements, tailored to fit her. The waistline and bustline were both taken in just right, perfectly showing her figure.
Gu Jianian smiled shyly and walked toward the adults’ table.
Her eldest uncle was sitting right in front of the electric fan by the door, his hair blown up by the wind. Even so, he had already lost so badly that his face was flushed and he was sweating heavily.
There were only a few chips left in front of him. The rest had all been divided among the other three players.
Gu Jianian walked over and passed on Eldest Aunt’s message.
Unexpectedly, Eldest Uncle did not look relieved. Instead, his face was full of unwillingness, as if he still had not won his money back yet.
He reluctantly turned to glance toward the kitchen. Eldest Aunt was warning him through the window with her eyes.
Eldest Uncle gave an awkward smile and shrank his neck. After dawdling for a long while, he still did not dare disobey. He could only hand the mess over to Gu Jianian with a long face. “Tingting, then you play for me. If you lose, it’s on me. If you win, it’s yours.”
Before Gu Jianian could reply, the children playing cards at the other table became unhappy.
The loudest protest came from one of her younger cousins, Chen Suo. “Dad, why can Tingting-jie gamble with money? We want to as well.”
Gu Jianian looked over and discovered that the chips on their table were all soda bottle caps.
At rare family gatherings like this, children were allowed to play cards, but they were not allowed to gamble with money.
So the stakes could only be soda bottle caps—every three leftover soda bottle caps could be exchanged for a new bottle of soda at the village shop.
This was a kind of transaction Gu Jianian had only ever seen in primary school maths problems.
In the month or so since coming to Yunmo, she had also saved quite a few bottle caps herself, though she had not exchanged them yet.
Eldest Uncle reluctantly shuffled toward the kitchen. Hearing this, he turned back and scolded Chen Suo, “Today is your Tingting-jie’s eighteenth birthday. She’s an adult now, so of course she can play with money. How old are you? Little brat. Go play with your bottle caps.”
Then he lowered his voice and said to Gu Jianian, “Tingting, play properly. Don’t lose too badly, or I’ll get scolded.”
Chen Suo angrily made a face at his back.
Gu Jianian had actually never played mahjong before.
But the three people at the table were all waiting, so after hesitating for a moment, she could only brace herself and sit down.
Eldest Uncle had already arranged the tiles. Gu Jianian looked at them carefully and could only barely recognise a few bamboo tiles, circle tiles, and the east, south, west, and north winds. She did not even know the rules for playing or winning.
She nervously watched as First Uncle played a West Wind.
The tile had just landed when Auntie Zhang, sitting to her left, swiftly and powerfully called, “Pong!” Then she coolly pushed down her own two West Wind tiles and discarded a one bamboo.
It was Gu Jianian’s turn.
The three people at the table all looked up at her at once, their eyes silently urging her.
Gu Jianian’s scalp instantly went numb. Embarrassed, she lowered her head and stared at the mahjong tiles Eldest Uncle had arranged together. She felt they were like maths problems in a textbook: separately, she recognised them, but put together, she had no idea what they meant.
She could not keep pretending at all. Just as she was about to confess that she did not know how to play, she saw a slender hand reach from behind her into her line of sight.
Those distinct-knuckled fingers curved slightly and lazily tapped between the two bamboo tiles in her hand.
“Chow.”
Gu Jianian turned back to look.
Chi Yan was bending over behind her.
He wore a simple black shirt, one hand effortlessly carrying an enormous two-tier cake. His expression was as lazy and tired as ever.
At the instant she looked over, the electric fan happened to turn its head with a clattering sound.
The hot breeze from below lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing faintly visible abs.
Gu Jianian froze and suddenly remembered the treadmill and exercise equipment beside the game room in his basement.
Before her thoughts could go any further, she heard him click his tongue. “…What are you thinking about? You’re even distracted while playing tiles.”
“…Nothing.”
Gu Jianian thought guiltily that from today onward, she was already an adult.
It no longer counted as unsuitable for minors.
She came back to herself and clumsily followed Auntie Zhang’s earlier example, pushing down those two tiles before picking up the one bamboo from the table.
Only then did she finally have time to turn and ask him, “Why are you here? And you brought a cake.”
As she spoke, she looked at the cake in his hand, feeling pleasantly surprised.
Not only had he come, he had even bought her a cake?
“…He Jitong bought it,” Chi Yan said, gently placing the cake on the round table beside them. Then he added, “He told me I had to deliver it.”
“…Oh.”
Gu Jianian lowered her head.
So it was not because he had come to attend her birthday. He was only here on He Jitong’s behalf.
Perhaps there was also some comfort mixed in.
The attention of the other three people at the table, however, temporarily left the intense game and gathered on him.
Seeing the interaction between the two of them, First Uncle asked Gu Jianian in confusion, “Tingting, is this your friend? From the city?”
The children at the neighbouring table also turned their heads one after another, curiously sizing up this stranger who had appeared out of nowhere.
Gu Jianian introduced him to them. “No, he lives in Yunmo.”
First Uncle shook his head. “Impossible. In this village, within ten li, there’s no one I don’t know…”
As he spoke, he suddenly thought of something and slapped his thigh in realisation. “…The haunted house halfway up the mountain?”
Gu Jianian: “…”
Vampires and haunted houses—Chen Xi was absolutely First Uncle’s biological son.
Although the others did not call that villa a “haunted house,” when they heard First Uncle say this, they immediately realised he was referring to the Western-style villa covered in ivy halfway up the mountain.
For a moment, everyone raised their heads at the same time and looked at Chi Yan in surprise, without speaking.
Only First Uncle continued muttering honestly, “…You’re actually this young? I thought it was some lame old man. You never go out.”
As he spoke, he looked Chi Yan up and down. After a long while, he expressed his approval of him: “Mm. Very able-bodied.”
This was probably the first time in Chi Yan’s life that he had received a compliment like “able-bodied.”
But the other party was an elder.
And Grandma Meng’s youngest son.
He was silent for a long while before finally squeezing out good-temperedly, “…Thank you.”
Gu Jianian could not hold back and turned her head away to laugh secretly.
Since Gu Jianian was a complete beginner who knew nothing, the adults silently allowed someone to teach her from the side.
Chi Yan happened to have nothing to do. In such a noisy environment, there was no way to concentrate on anything else.
And with Gu Jianian’s silent pleading, he moved a bamboo chair over and sat beside her to guide her.
He seemed very experienced, often able to judge what tiles the others were waiting on and cleverly avoid them.
At first, Gu Jianian was very restrained because he was beside her. But after following along for two rounds and slowly grasping the rules, she completely entered a new world.
Reserve, elegance, and gentleness were all thrown aside in the face of straightforward wins and losses.
She even argued with First Uncle over one tile until family ties meant nothing, the uncle and niece glaring at each other with no intention of giving way.
With Chi Yan as her strategist, plus beginner’s luck, Gu Jianian won seven or eight rounds in a row. After that, she still won more than she lost, and the chips on the table gradually piled into a little mountain.
She won until her face glowed red, and finally understood why there were so many gamblers in the world.
Toward the end, Uncle Liu was the first to be unable to take it and left the table, declaring that next time, he would have a proper showdown with Gu Jianian again.
Auntie Zhang neither won nor lost. Looking relieved, she stood up and went to the kitchen to help.
On the contrary, First Uncle had lost the most.
As he unwillingly took out banknotes and placed them on the table, he stared resentfully at Chi Yan, clearly blaming him entirely for his gambling defeat.
The mahjong table thus dispersed, leaving only Gu Jianian sitting there with bright eyes, stacking the banknotes in front of her from largest to smallest denomination and counting them again and again. Excluding the money First Uncle had lost, there were still several hundred left.
To Gu Jianian, this was practically a huge sum of money.
She happily gathered the money neatly together. Before putting it into her wallet, she hesitated for a moment, then looked at Chi Yan. “…Split half with you?”
Her tone was extremely reluctant.
Chi Yan glanced at the smoothed-out banknotes and could not even be bothered to respond.
Gu Jianian was delighted by this outcome and happily put the money away, saying in surprise, “I didn’t expect you to know how to play mahjong, and so well too.”
Not only mahjong—last time, she had heard He Jitong say that Chi Yan was also very good at games.
Chi Yan casually took a chilled bottle of soda from the bucket of well water beside the table and hooked the bottle cap against the edge of the table, knocking it lightly.
The bottle cap fell to the ground with a crisp “pop,” and the cold bubbles inside the bottle immediately surged up.
He lifted his head and drank several mouthfuls straight from the bottle opening, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.
Only then did he glance at her. “Did you really think I was a vampire? That I don’t know how to do anything?”
Gu Jianian thought of the photos of him from high school she had seen on the forum.
Right.
He was originally supposed to be like this: living amid the lively, ordinary world like someone surrounded by stars, able to do anything well.
Playing basketball freely, joking around with friends, becoming the centre of attention wherever he went, receiving endless admiration.
And today, for the first time, Gu Jianian saw the shadow of that white-shirted youth in Chi Yan.
Gu Jianian came back to herself, touched her bulging wallet, and muttered to herself, “If I played mahjong every day, would I get rich very quickly?”
“You might not get rich. You might lose until you’re penniless. Don’t cry like him when the time comes.”
As Chi Yan spoke, he tilted his head toward the neighbouring table.
Gu Jianian looked over and realised it was Uncle Liu’s youngest son.
He had accidentally lost all his soda bottle caps and was sitting on the chair, sniffling and crying.
Gu Jianian looked at his face covered in snot and tears with amusement. He had probably lost his entire fortune, and really did look pitiful.
She went inside, took out the bag of bottle caps she had saved, and gave it to him. Crouching down, she comforted him, “Don’t cry. Big sister will give you mine.”
The little boy’s eyes immediately lit up. He wanted to take them all for himself, but was a little embarrassed, so he only said in a muffled voice, “Then I’ll go exchange them for sodas for you.”
“Mm.” Gu Jianian narrowed her eyes and patted his head, as though petting Gulu’s fur. “Go on. Twenty of them are your delivery fee.”
Hearing this, the little boy cheered and finally accepted all the bottle caps before rushing outside. He did not forget to turn back and shout, “Sister Tingting is the best!”
Gu Jianian smiled and returned to the mahjong table, tidying up the tiles.
Chi Yan was still sitting beside the empty table, drinking soda.
The afternoon sunlight poured recklessly over him, over his face.
His expression was lazy, but he was not frowning.
The courtyard was noisy and lively.
The adults at the other table had not finished yet and were arguing heatedly over whether that tile should be “chowed” or “ponged.”
The children had started playing dodgeball again, making loud thumping sounds.
Smoke curled up from the kitchen roof. Birds chirped as they dodged away, then lazily pecked at the juicy grapes.
Gu Jianian fixed her gaze on Chi Yan.
From never stepping outside, never leaving cigarettes or alcohol, to accompanying her to the hospital, being dragged by He Jitong to the market, and now coming to her birthday party on He Jitong’s behalf.
From frowning at the sight of sunlight at first, to now sitting relaxed among the crowd, drinking soda.
He was like a dispirited, world-weary lion, forced out of his cold cave, slowly learning how to adapt to life outside again.
The corners of Gu Jianian’s lips curved up. As she stacked the mahjong tiles one by one into the box, she slowly said, “Chi Yan, I feel like you’re more used to crowded places than before.”
Hearing this, Chi Yan was silent for a while and set the half-finished soda bottle on the table. Gu Jianian saw his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed a mouthful of soda.
After a long time, he turned his head to look at her, mottled shadows from the grape leaves falling across his fair neck.
“…Am I?”
“Yes.”
Gu Jianian said with certainty, “Really. Although I don’t know why you disliked going out so much before, you’re really much better now.”
She hesitated, then added, “…In the future, it will definitely get better little by little.”
He would slowly return to how he had been before.
Chi Yan tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He found it a little unbelievable that he had actually been comforted by a child.
But he had to admit, her thoughts were very perceptive, and she knew her limits very well.
When comforting someone, she managed not to pry and not to offend.
Even many adults could not do that.
Chi Yan could not help looking at her a few more times.
The young girl who had just become an adult today wore a striking dark green long dress. Her figure was slender, her skin snow-white.
There was a smile on her lips as she slowly tidied up the messy mahjong table.
Just like when she usually read, sitting there for an entire morning, quiet and refined, without any of the impulsiveness or impatience that should belong to her age.
Chi Yan suddenly wanted to know how this child had spent those ten years studying in Beilin.
How had she gone from a wilful child who cried and shouted for him to bring snacks, then refused to speak to him if he did not, into this forbearing, sensible person she was now?
But…
He could not help asking her, “Why do you always call me Chi Yan?”
Gu Jianian looked over blankly.
If she did not call him Chi Yan, then what should she call him?
Chi Yan gave an example. “Every time you call He Jitong, you call him Ji Tong-ge.”
“I’m also six years older than you.”
Chi Yan deliberately emphasised the word “also,” feeling inexplicably a little unhappy.
Although in her eyes, he was probably a little uglier than He Jitong…
Maybe not just a little, but to the extent of being someone whose WeChat was added “by the way,” who was not invited to go to the market, and who was “by the way” invited to her birthday party.
But surely it was not to the point where she would not even call him *gege*, right?
Heartless, tasteless, face-judging child.
And after he had tolerated her so much.
Gu Jianian, however, was stunned by his question.
It seemed she had called him that subconsciously.
Even her WeChat notes were like this: He Jitong was “Ji Tong-ge,” while he was “Chi Yan.”
Only belatedly did she realise the root reason behind this different treatment. Her face slowly reddened, and she stammered, not knowing how to answer.
How was she supposed to explain this?
Was she supposed to say it was because he was more special to her?
Seeing her frowning in distress, Chi Yan gave a soft scoff, too lazy to make things difficult for her by forcing her to find an excuse.
“Forget it. If you don’t want to call me that, then don’t. Stop frowning.” He took a bottle of iced soda from the bucket of well water beside them and handed it to her. “Want some? It’s quite sweet.”
“…Yes.”
With red ears, Gu Jianian reached out and took the soda. Clumsily copying his method, she knocked the bottle cap open against the edge of the table.
Unexpectedly, she used too much force, and the cold soda sprayed straight out of the bottle, splashing all over her face.
The fizzy droplets bubbled and hissed on her face before quickly disappearing.
Chi Yan turned his face away in amusement.
He also took a pack of tissues from the neighbouring table and tossed it to her.
Gu Jianian froze in place.
Why was she always so embarrassing in front of him?
After a long while, she licked her soda-wet lips.
It really was very sweet.
She could not help tilting her head back and drinking a large gulp of soda.
*
When mealtime arrived, dishes were brought to the table one after another.
Everyone paused what they were doing and gathered noisily around the round tables.
As today’s main character, Gu Jianian was arranged to sit in the seat of honour, with a paper crown on her head.
She had only ever seen this kind of crown on little children celebrating birthdays at KFC. She thought she probably looked rather funny now, but she did not feel uncomfortable at all.
Grandma wiped her hands on her apron and, with a face full of smiles, placed the larger cake Chi Yan had brought in the centre. Then she carefully counted as she inserted eighteen candles.
“One, two… sixteen, seventeen, eighteen.”
First Aunt helped her light the candles and said with a smile, “Tingting, make a wish.”
Gu Jianian looked around. Everyone was looking at her with eyes full of blessings, as though they were witnessing some sacred moment.
As though her growing up, becoming an adult, really was the best thing that had happened today, worth them setting aside an entire day to gather and celebrate for her.
Her gaze slowly met Chi Yan’s.
He smiled lazily and raised his soda bottle toward her.
Gu Jianian’s eyes suddenly reddened, and her heart felt as though it had been soaked in an entire can of lemon soda, half sour and half sweet.
She was an adult now.
She had successfully grown up.
Once, she had thought she would not make it to this day.
Gu Jianian closed her eyes and made a wish.
“I hope I can grow up well. Just growing up is enough.”
Since she did not know what the future would be like, she would leave it to time to decide. She only needed to be responsible for growing up.
After making her wish, she opened her eyes, puffed out her cheeks, and blew out all the candles in one breath.
The children cheered and clapped, impatiently urging the adults to cut the cake.
The rich cream was sliced open, revealing the sweet, delicate cake layers inside, decorated with many fruits.
Her aunt gave Gu Jianian, the birthday girl, the biggest piece. Before she could take even one bite, her two younger cousins dipped their fingers into the cream and drew a streak on each side of her face.
Gu Jianian froze, then immediately picked up the cake to counterattack.
For a moment, the scene was full of joy and laughter.
After smearing a streak of cream across Chen Xi’s face, Gu Jianian turned back while dodging him.
Suddenly, she saw the fiery-red sunset beyond the mountain, the evening breeze gentle, the fields and mountains meeting, and flocks of geese taking flight.
It was as if all things in the world were celebrating for her.
Celebrating this joyful, lively coming-of-age ceremony that belonged to her.
Until the sudden sound of a car engine gradually approached the little courtyard.
Like a discordant note suddenly mixed into a symphony.
Everyone stopped eating and looked toward the source of the sound.
A yellow-and-green city taxi abruptly stopped at the entrance of the courtyard. A moment later, the back door slowly opened.
A middle-aged couple got out of the back seat. The refined-looking man wearing glasses walked to the driver’s window and took out his wallet to pay.
Gu Jianian heard the driver mutter, “I’m barely making anything on this trip. I won’t be able to pick anyone up on the way back either. How about giving a bit extra?”
The man patiently took out another banknote.
Gu Jianian’s eyes slowly lit up.
If it had been a few days ago, or even yesterday, their appearance would have made her anxious and afraid.
But today, she did not overthink it at all.
She even thought with surprise that her parents had remembered it was her birthday today.
Had Grandma known they were coming all along but not told her, wanting to give her a surprise?
She stood up and quickly went to meet them. Walking to the middle-aged couple, she said in a restrained but happy low voice, “Dad, Mum? Why are you here? Did you come all the way from Beilin? You really didn’t have to go to so much trouble. It’s just a birth—”
She did not get to finish.
Before her father could even take the change the driver handed back, he turned around.
His hand trembling.
He slapped her hard across the left side of her face.
The slap was delivered with tremendous force. Gu Jianian was knocked sideways by it, staggering several steps before she managed to steady herself.
Before the pain arrived, her left ear began buzzing first, as if hundreds of fireflies had burrowed into her ear canal and were crashing around inside.
Her uninjured ear seemed to drift into another world, faintly hearing waves of shocked cries rise from the banquet behind her.
The surrounding air seemed to be sucked away by a giant pump, and all the blood in her body felt as if it were about to be drained out.
Only belatedly did she cover her face, standing frozen in place.
A moment later, Gu Jianian heard Grandma’s furious roar behind her.
“What are you doing? What are you doing?”
Grandma staggered forward, struck her cane hard against the ground, and pulled Gu Jianian protectively behind her. Furious beyond measure, she rasped, “You two bastards, what has Tingting done to offend you now? Do you know what day today is—”
But her mother cut Grandma off.
The woman who had always been proper and dignified no longer cared that everyone was present. She screamed hysterically, “Mum, you’re still protecting her… you’re still protecting her! Do you know what she’s done?”
As she spoke, she drew several heavy breaths, wanting to speak again, but the next words seemed impossible to force out.
Her father took over.
His right hand hung at his side, still trembling.
His icy gaze passed over Grandma and fixed on Gu Jianian’s eyes.
His tone was terrifyingly calm as he asked, word by word, “Gu Jianian, I’ll ask you again. After getting those results in the gaokao, why won’t you repeat the year?”
Gu Jianian felt her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
She clutched her face tightly, her lips shaking, unable to speak.
Her father slowly repeated, “Tell me. What exactly is the reason you won’t repeat the year?”
His voice was not explosively angry, nor even very loud.
But Gu Jianian felt her teeth chattering.
Her heart thudded violently, and her temples began to throb from excessive terror.
“I just… didn’t want to repeat it myself.”
A one-in-ten-thousand hope still remained in her heart. She tugged at the corners of her mouth and pretended to sound relaxed. “I said it the day the results came out. I just felt… going to university wasn’t that meaningful either. I don’t like studying. Even if I repeated for another year, maybe I still…”
Her voice grew lower and shakier until she could not finish.
Because the temperature in her father’s eyes had already dropped to freezing point.
The veins at his temples bulged, his face flushed red from extreme restraint.
The next second, Gu Jianian felt her collar being yanked violently, pain instantly shooting through her neck.
Just like that, she was grabbed by the collar and dragged stumbling out from behind Grandma.
Her eyes widened as she looked at him in terror.
“You still dare to lie?”
Her father’s hand clutching her collar was still shaking, his eyes bloodshot, as if a world-destroying hurricane had risen inside them.
“You actually still have the face to lie! Yesterday, we went to the school to handle the paperwork for you to repeat the year. Do you know what your homeroom teacher said?”
His voice was hoarse with fury. “He said Beilin No. 1 High School refused to accept you back to repeat. He said that not expelling you before the gaokao and allowing you to finish taking the exam was already the school showing mercy.”
“It’s not that you don’t want to repeat. It’s that you can’t repeat!”
“Gu Jianian,” he said, each word deliberate, “my obedient daughter, my good daughter. You actually dared, one month before the gaokao, to lie to your teachers every night and say you were going to tutoring, then skip evening self-study and mix with a bunch of disreputable people, smoking on the school rooftop?”
“How did you dare skip class and smoke inside the school, right under the eyes of all your teachers?”
“How. Did. You. Dare?”
He spoke through gritted teeth, then suddenly let go of her collar.
As if throwing away something offensive to the eye.
Gu Jianian staggered and barely steadied herself, fear crashing over her like a tsunami.
The ground beneath her feet seemed to be collapsing inch by inch.
She was finished.
They knew.
In the end, they had still found out.
**Nomad: my heart dropped at that slap…**
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