ushernet Chapter 97: Children cannot be led astray
Chapter 97: Children cannot be led astray
Chapter 97: Children cannot be led astray
For Winter Melon, this neighborhood was familiar territory.@@@@
Incredibly familiar—before Xu Qing took it in, the big trash bins by the walls had been its dining hall...
“Does it think we’re going to throw it back?” Xu Qing asked thoughtfully when he saw Winter Melon hiding behind Jiang He’s legs.
“Throw it back where?”
“Over there. That’s where I found it.”
Jiang He followed his gaze, then walked in the opposite direction. “Then let’s not go there.”
The winter sunlight wasn’t hot, just warm and soothing on their bodies. They had both eaten their fill, and Winter Melon had just been fed too. Holding hands, they strolled leisurely, as if they had nothing better to do.
After a while, Jiang He couldn’t help but ask, “Do you just like picking things up?”
“No, I only pick up things I like.”
Xu Qing replied, glancing up at the small flags fluttering around the residential complex. “It’s almost New Year. You guys have something similar where you’re from, right?”
Before Jiang He could answer, he continued, “Well, it’s probably not like this. Here, we can eat and drink as we please... In the old days, we’d set off fireworks and firecrackers. Now that’s banned, so we just play with them secretly.”
“New Year?”
“It’s a day for family reunions. No matter how far away you are, you’re supposed to go home—that’s why we have the Spring Festival travel rush. Remember that scene I showed you, with all those people packed onto trains?”
Jiang He said nothing. She looked up through the bare branches of the trees in the complex, sighed, and stared at the sky.
“My home is your home. I’ll take you there to put up spring couplets... We’ll put some up here too.”
“Mm.”
“It’s the first year for us... We should commemorate it. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to buy new clothes to wear on New Year’s Day.”
Bang!
As they chatted, a firecracker exploded in the distance. Xu Qing glanced over at a group of kids and smiled. “That’s a firecracker. Just light it, and it goes off.”
“Is it fun?”
“It should be... Winter Melon’s scared of it. Next time, I’ll get you some sparklers.”
Now that the winter holiday had started, the complex was livelier. Not only were the local kids free from school, but young people who had moved away would also bring their children back or leave them with their grandparents while they went off to enjoy themselves.
Jiang He watched the children playing in the open space, sometimes feeling an unreal sense of calm.
Everything was so peaceful, so pleasant.
“Xiaoyan!”
Xu Qing spotted Xiaoyan standing nearby with her hands in her pockets, watching the boys set off firecrackers. He raised his hand in greeting.
Jiang He tilted her head thoughtfully, unsure where this strange idea came from.
She just felt that Xu Qing always seemed to connect everything he did.
Like when he first held her hand...
Jiang He looked down at Xu Qing’s “pig trotter” hand, which was playing with her fingers again.
“She spends every winter and summer holiday at Aunt Cheng’s place. Sometimes, she brings her homework and plays with Winter Melon... Holiday homework is like a student’s job, assignments to do at home.”
Xu Qing traced her palm lines with his finger, as if reading her fortune, then suddenly said, “I think I’m becoming a hand fetishist.”
“What?” Jiang He asked, hearing a new term.
“It means I really like hands.”
Jiang He paused, then turned her head away. “You always did.”
“Maybe.”
Xu Qing didn’t explain that it was because his ‘permissions’ were limited to hands...
If he had more permissions, she’d know what a true scoundrel was.
“Jiang...”
Xiaoyan ran over with the cat, starting to say a name but getting stuck. Xu Qing helped her out: “Jiang He-jie.”
“Jiang He-jie!” Xiaoyan said sweetly. Then she looked at their joined hands and asked, “Are you Xu-ge’s girlfriend?”
Before Jiang He could answer, Xu Qing grinned and asked, “Do you know what a girlfriend is?”
“Of course I do!”
“What is it?”
“It’s... it’s...” Xiaoyan’s big eyes widened as she struggled to explain.
Her face flushed red, and she finally shouted, “It’s a girl who’s a friend!”
“So cute.” Xu Qing smiled at Jiang He and didn’t elaborate.
Kids shouldn’t know too much.
It wouldn’t be good if they got the wrong ideas.
“If you like Winter Melon, come play with it.” He patted Xiaoyan’s head gently. “You can play with Jiang He-jie too.”
“Okay!”
Xiaoyan nodded enthusiastically.