"However, this kind of thing is quite mysterious. I only know a little bit about it and just do it for fun when I have nothing else to do."
Sheng Muxi shook the water off her hands and used a spoon to stir the ginseng and black chicken soup.
She would make soup every weekend, saying it was to nourish Chai Qianning's body.
"Is it fun?" Sheng Muxi asked casually.
Chai Qianning didn't answer her question. Instead, she stared at her face, half-closing her eyes, and her tone suddenly became a little serious: "Teacher Sheng, I did a divination out of thin air, and right now you want to kiss me."
Sheng Muxi's mind skipped a beat. She was still wondering whether this was divination or mind reading when she felt the other person tug at her arm.
Before she could react, she staggered forward a few steps, closing the distance between herself and Chai Qianning, and leaned forward with the momentum, her lips lightly touching the other's lips.
It left in a flash, but the temperature it left on her grew hotter and hotter, spreading all the way to her ears.
Chai Qianning raised her eyebrows slightly, resting one hand on the kitchen counter, her eyes full of flirtatious intent.
"Was the calculation correct?"
Sheng Muxi's mind was in a mess at the moment, unable to give an answer. She was a little annoyed because of the feelings that had arisen in her heart and she couldn't hide them.
However, they simply threw this irrelevant person out of the kitchen.
Close the glass door.
Sheng Muxi let out a long breath, her cheeks flushed from the rising steam of the soup simmering in the kitchen.
——
The water delivery man that Chai Qianning encountered in the neighborhood who had fallen and was injured was the husband of Jiang, the nanny in her family.
Aunt Jiang no longer works at her house, but He Xiaoying will still sometimes stop by for a while if she happens to be passing by, and chat about everyday things.
He Xiaoying is going on a business trip with Chai Renbo soon. She heard that Aunt Jiang's husband has been discharged from the hospital after his injury, so she asked Chai Qianning to buy some fruit to visit him.
After leaving Linli Road and passing Shangyang Square, Chai Qianning stopped at a supermarket along the way to buy a case of milk before driving into Tongwan Alley in the old town.
Aunt Jiang and her family live here.
Chai Qianning stayed at Aunt Jiang's house for lunch. Aunt Jiang's cooking skills have remained unchanged over the years, and it tasted just like the food she often ate when she was a child.
As she stepped over the wooden threshold, the big yellow dog wagged its tail and rubbed against her shoes.
The big yellow dog used to bark at Chai Qianning, but after a few times, it started to treat her like a familiar face. When Chai Qianning reached out to pet its head, it would obediently lie down.
An orange cat was curled up on the low wall, its eyes squinting lazily, looking like a little fluffy ball.
Under the sycamore tree.
Sheng Muxi was talking to an older woman.
The woman's black hair was interspersed with white hair, and the years had honed her temperament to a weathered yet gentle quality, exuding an elegant and refined air of scholarly refinement.
"Teacher Ni, I'm going back now. Please take good care of yourself."
Upon hearing Sheng Muxi's familiar voice, Chai Qianning, who was playing with the dog, looked up towards the direction of the sycamore tree.
Where sunlight and shadow met, Sheng Muxi's gaze fell upon them simultaneously. Chai Qianning lowered her eyes and continued playing with the dog.
Footsteps drew closer, and at the same time, a tall figure landed beside Chai Qianning.
Sheng Muxi's honey-tea colored long hair fell forward, and its color shone beautifully in the sunlight, making her features even more vivid and charming.
“Teacher Sheng.” Chai Qianning stood up with a smile on her lips.
The big yellow dog saw a dragonfly in the distance, and in a flash, it darted away from Chai Qianning's feet to chase after it.
"What are you doing here?" Sheng Muxi glanced at the big yellow dog's cheerful figure, then turned back to her face.
"I'm here to visit an acquaintance. What about you?"
"Me too."
Amidst the green leaves and the chirping of cicadas, two figures appeared and disappeared in the dappled shade of the trees, sometimes close and sometimes far apart.
Sheng Muxi stopped, as if remembering something, and turned to Chai Qianning, saying, "I know an old Chinese medicine shop around here, would you like me to take you there?"
"Ah." Chai Qianning opened her mouth: "I'm not sick."
"It's nothing, let's go see a doctor. If it were a serious illness, we'd have to take him to the hospital. Why bother with traditional Chinese medicine? Just treat it as a way to maintain health."
Chai Qianning was pulled by Sheng Muxi to the entrance of an antique-style shop.
How do you know so many old shops?
Sheng Muxi pushed her inside: "There aren't many. I used to live in the old town, so I only know a few families."
The doctor treating people with traditional Chinese medicine was an old man with a full head of white hair and a face covered with rugged wrinkles. He looked quite kind and approachable, but when he saw Sheng Muxi, his eyes widened into a wide smile.
"Xiao Liu is here. It must be hot outside. Sit down and let the fan cool you down."
"Xiao Liu?" Chai Qianning looked at Sheng Muxi, about to ask if that was his nickname, when the old man asked again, "Xiao Liu, is this your friend?"
"Yes, I brought a friend to see you. Is Dr. Feng busy?"
"No rush, no rush. You've come at the perfect time. Let's chat for a bit." Feng Jianting turned to Chai Qianning: "Miss, are you feeling unwell?"
Chai Qianning let out an "ah" and scratched her head.
"You look a little pale, young lady. Shall I take your pulse first?"
The cell phone rang.
Sheng Muxi took her phone out of her bag and waved it: "I'm going outside to take this call."
The screen displayed the name "Meng Xuelin". Sheng Muxi hesitated for a few seconds before answering the call.
Not far away, the shadows of the old house and the trees overlapped.
Sheng Muxi stared at a blank spot and said calmly into the phone, "No, I won't go back for summer vacation. I'm fine living alone, don't worry."
I hung up the phone.
She exhaled and walked inside, where the scene she saw was somewhat unbelievable.
"Dr. Feng, do you think my prediction was accurate?"
"Hahaha." The old man laughed heartily, seemingly enjoying his conversation with Chai Qianning. "Interesting, interesting."
Sheng Muxi: "..."
Chapter 22 Heartbeat
We came out of Tongwan Alley.
After having dinner at a long-established restaurant, Chai Qianning and Sheng Muxi went home separately.
With high school summer vacation approaching, temperatures remain high, with some days reaching over 30 degrees Celsius.
Every summer vacation, He Xiaoying would send her two sisters back to their hometown to visit their elders, and this year was no exception.
On the fourth day after Chai Shuqing finished her final exams and officially started her vacation, He Xiaoying came to pick them up and take them back to their hometown in the countryside.
Her maternal grandparents ran a bed and breakfast at the foot of the mountain and also grew watermelons.
Every year during the summer tourist season, her grandparents would carry loads up the mountain to sell their wares.
Because most tourists who come here will try the watermelons grown at the foot of the mountain, which are then placed in the mountain streams to create a pure, natural "chilled watermelon".
The old man is busy with these things every year, not for any other reason than that he can't stay idle when he gets old and always needs to find something to do.
He Xiaoying repeatedly offered to take them to live in the city, but they refused, happily staying in the countryside and living a peaceful and fulfilling life.
The day after returning to her hometown, Chai Qianning was woken up early by He Xiaoying to go to the field to move watermelons.
The watermelons were all grown by themselves, and the two elderly people could manage on their own, but He Xiaoying had a deep sense of filial piety. So, no matter how busy she was, she would always make sure to take some time each year to go back and visit her parents.
It's the same principle as how she usually doesn't care about Chai Qianning and Chai Shuqing's lives, but on important days, she will definitely put aside her work to be with the children.
He Xiaoying maintains a strict balance between work and life.
This way, the elderly won't feel like they're hindering the young people's work and career, and they can have some warm companionship every year, so that the days don't seem endless and without any expectations.
On the horizon, a pale red hue lingered around the clouds, and a round disc hung in the sky, its light as soft as the moon.
Chai Qianning reluctantly got out of bed, yawning as she got up. When she saw that it was only 5:30 in the morning, she immediately went back to sleep.
"Girls, come out for breakfast!" Grandma's voice echoed from the lobby into her room.
After struggling for a while, Chai Qianning finally mustered the courage to get out of bed and go to wash up.
By the time everything was ready and we were about to start working, the sun had already cast a warm glow.
Chai Qianning wore a sun-protective shirt and hat, and sprayed some sunscreen. She and Chai Shuqing shared an entire bottle of sunscreen spray.
Five people, including my maternal grandparents, went to carry the watermelons from the field, one by one, onto the truck.
The watermelon field was surrounded by uneven dirt roads, making it impossible for vehicles to drive in. The watermelons had to be carried in by hand, back and forth. The field wasn't too big or too small, and carrying them was a real ordeal.
It wasn't that the watermelon was heavy, it was just that the heat was unbearable; after walking just a few steps, I was covered in sweat.
It was fine at first in the morning, but by noon it got so hot that it became unbearable. At first, Chai Qianning carried the watermelons two at a time, but eventually she had to carry them one by one, and then even walking empty-handed was tiring.
After finishing the farm work, Chai Qianning returned home and collapsed. Her grandmother then forced her to drink a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Water (a traditional Chinese medicine for relieving ailments).
Chai Shuqing wasn't much better off; her cheeks were sunburned bright red, and her neck and arms were bitten by insects, leaving her skin a mix of white and red.
Grandma felt sorry for her and told them to stay home in the afternoon and not go out.
The elderly women were used to farming, so this was nothing to them. In fact, they felt refreshed after moving the watermelons.
"Oh dear, this girl, how did she end up like this after just one trip to the fields?" Grandma said with concern as she gave Chai Shuqing some floral water. "Just stay home this afternoon, your grandpa and I will go pick corn."
He Xiaoying fanned herself with a palm leaf fan: "Mom, those two are already lazy enough. Letting them do some work will help them get some exercise. If they continue like this, they'll be ruined."
"They've been moving things all morning, so let them rest," the old woman said.
Chai Qianning sat on a bamboo rattan hanging chair, propping her face up with one hand, staring blankly at a beam of light in the courtyard.
“Mom, you’re right. If we go to pick corn again this afternoon, we’ll really be exhausted. Exercise should be gradual. Let’s save the corn for tomorrow.” Chai Shuqing blinked.
He Xiaoying tapped her head with her finger: "You're all talk, but you're better at slacking off than anyone else."
"Tell me, which of you two took after...?"