Chapter 29

Qiao Zhenzhen stayed at the Qin house all day, and only went home after she had thoroughly calmed down Qin Sheng. The moment she walked in, she felt the heavy tension in the house; the living room was a mess, clear proof a fierce argument had erupted.
“You finally remember to come back?” Qiao Jian sat on the sofa, scowling at her.
Zhenzhen instantly grew anxious. “Where’s Mom?” Surely Qiao Jian, a jerk though he was, wouldn’t be abusive, would he?
“Your mom, your mom, your mom, always bringing up your mother. When have you ever even had the decency to notice me as your father?” Qiao Jian flared up again.
Zhenzhen’s only thought was for Qin Jing; she wanted to roll her eyes and leave, but when she met his gaze she suddenly faltered. Her mouth twitched and her eyes reddened, as if she might cry at any second.
Qiao Jian had been ready for her to snipe back when he started yelling; instead of a retort, he got a small, wronged look.
Ten days ago his life had consisted of just one daughter, Qiao Zhenzhen. Although work kept him busy and he didn’t always have time for her, he had cherished her. But once he learned he was to have a son, his attitude shifted, his once-pampered daughter no longer measured up. When he saw her eyes rimmed with red, his first reaction was that daughters were troublesome; had it been a son, he believed, the boy wouldn’t have looked at him so pitifully.
Once that thought took hold, his patience shrank. He could no longer restrain himself: “What are you crying about? Am I wrong? Didn’t the Qin family look down on your old man back then? Don’t you know that? And now you’ve got the nerve to go crawling back to them, what a disgrace!”
Zhenzhen bit her lip and said nothing.
Qiao Jian was about to keep berating her when Qin Jing suddenly rushed down the stairs. Zhenzhen quickly glanced at her and, seeing no sign of abuse, breathed a relieved sigh.
“Qiao Jian, don’t be ridiculous! If you’ve got grievances, take them out on me, what business is it to lash out at Zhenzhen?!” Qin Jing reached the staircase and could no longer contain herself. She was like a lioness defending her cub, nothing of the genteel socialite about her anymore.
Qiao Jian’s face darkened and he was about to retort when the phone on the table rang once. Zhenzhen looked down, and before Qiao Jian could react she snatched up the phone and strode out with a stern face. “I’m too tired to argue with you!”
No sooner had she spoken than the door between them slammed shut with a huge bang.
After the crash came a silence like death.
Qin Jing descended the stairs, weak and breathless. Seeing Zhenzhen’s reddened eyes, she felt a stab of pity. “Don’t mind your father. He’s gone off the rails.”
This was the first time she hadn’t defended Qiao Jian in front of Zhenzhen, a rare relief.
Zhenzhen cleared her throat and helped her onto the sofa. “Mom, don’t be angry. He’s not worth it.”
Qin Jing pressed her lips together; her face looked a little pale.
Zhenzhen rummaged through her canvas bag and pulled out a food container. “Grandpa asked me to bring this to you.”
Qin Jing blinked. She opened the box to find it filled with porridge; her eyes immediately glistened. “Don’t try to cheer me up. I didn’t listen to him today, he wouldn’t let you bring me food now. This is something he brought you as a midnight snack, isn’t it?”
“It really is Grandpa who told me to bring it. You can ask him yourself.” Zhenzhen pulled out her phone and started a video call.
The call connected after a few rings. Qin Sheng’s awkward face appeared on the screen. The moment Qin Jing saw him, tears spilled over uncontrollably. “Dad…”
“Stop crying,” Qin Sheng began to scold, but faced with his eldest daughter’s hurt expression he couldn’t keep up the sternness. He softened and said, “I asked Zhenzhen to bring you porridge. Remember to eat it, okay?”
“Mm.” Qin Jing nodded, hurriedly wiping her tears and smiling at him.
Qin Sheng shot her a look and seemed ready to ask more, but he held back and only said, “Tomorrow, come back with Zhenzhen for a late-night bite… If Qiao Jian won’t let you come, tell him some lie, just don’t say you were at my place, that’ll do.”
“Grandpa is so sweet.” Zhenzhen praised him on impulse, then gave him a look only the two of them understood to encourage him to go on.
Qin Sheng immediately brightened. “I thought about it, when I argued with Qiao Jian I had my faults too. But at my age, apologizing to him feels odd… ”
“No need to apologize. We’re family, what’s there to apologize for?” Qin Jing hurried to say.
When Qin Sheng heard the word “family” he let out a cold snort, but Zhenzhen quickly interrupted, “Grandpa, I want blanched shrimp tomorrow night.”
“…Mm.” Qin Sheng caught himself. “Yes, we’re family. If he wants to hate me, let him. I’m too old to hold grudges, I just want you to come back often.”
“I’ll come back often.” Qin Jing promised.
Qin Sheng couldn’t help the faint curve of triumph at his lips. He chatted a little more, satisfied, then ended the call.
Qin Jing stared at the now-blank screen, a sour, aching feeling in her chest. Seeing her about to cry again, Zhenzhen hurriedly handed her the porridge. “Mom, eat.”
“All right…”
Qin Jing nodded and began to eat, finishing the whole box. The warm porridge settled her empty stomach, she hadn’t eaten since noon, and warmed her up. The sting from the fight with Qiao Jian faded a good deal; a small smile finally returned to her face.
Zhenzhen exhaled in relief and that night, acting a little spoiled, squeezed into her mother’s bed. Exhausted from a full day at Grandpa’s, she laid her head on her mother’s arm and quickly fell asleep.
Qin Jing lay quietly, staring at the ceiling for a long while before looking down at her sleeping daughter. Seeing her frown in her sleep, unsettled even in dreams, stirred an ineffable feeling in her heart.
Over the next few days, Zhenzhen went to the Qin house for dinner every night, and sometimes stayed over. Qiao Jian never returned after that quarrel, so he had no idea where they went. Qin Jing had expected to be heartbroken, but instead felt a long-unfamiliar calm.
A week passed with no waves. When Qin Jing once again texted to offer to pick Zhenzhen up from school, Zhenzhen finally froze and refused: I won’t be going today.
Qin Jing was a little surprised: Why?
Qiao Zhenzhen curled her lip: "...There’s only a week until finals. I need Chi Shen to help me cram before the exam."
Although she’d been working hard during the days lately, she still didn’t feel confident, Chi Shen’s questions felt too basic. To avoid panicking during the test, she decided to resume nightly tutoring and do a final sprint before the exam.
Since their precious daughter was studying this hard for the first time, Qin Jing, of course, supported it: Then I’ll go myself, Grandpa’s making sticky rice today.
Qiao Zhenzhen, who loved sticky rice, went "...".
Chi Shen turned and saw the worry on her face, hesitated for a moment, then poked her arm.
Qiao Zhenzhen twisted her head: "What?"
"You look unhappy," Chi Shen said, watching her.
Qiao Zhenzhen was used to his clipped way of speaking; she sighed: "Grandpa’s making sticky rice today, but I have tutoring."
Chi Shen understood and pulled a piece of candy out of his pocket for her.
This was a new coaxing trick he’d learned recently, it always worked, so he’d gotten into the habit of keeping a few candies in his pocket.
Sure enough, Qiao Zhenzhen couldn’t help smiling when she saw it; she took it and popped it into her mouth. "You’re really getting good at this."
Chi Shen didn’t get the nuance, but he took it as praise.
The smile in Qiao Zhenzhen’s eyes deepened. After spending so much time together, her fondness had accumulated to five hundred points, one hundred and twenty of those had bought him an extra year of life, while the remaining three hundred and eighty were kept in reserve.
With his lifespan extended, Chi Shen himself seemed to grow more human. When classmates came to ask questions, he no longer brushed them off the way he used to. Qiao Zhenzhen could almost see a near future where he would, like any teenager or twenty-something, enjoy a perfectly ordinary life and social circle.
When the bell rang to end evening study, Qiao Zhenzhen and Chi Shen began to walk out. After letting her mother know ahead of time, she didn’t see their car at the school gate, just as she expected.
She decisively followed Chi Shen toward the apartment complex beside the school. Zhao Lianqiao, stepping out of the school at the same time, happened to spot them heading the other way and a flicker of curiosity crossed her face.
"Why are they walking together? Isn’t Qiao Zhenzhen going home?" asked the deskmate who had just made up with Zhao Lianqiao.
Another girl thought for a moment: "Maybe they’re going for a late-night snack, there’s a food street that way."
"Of course, she’s the school board director’s daughter. She can date openly like that, I’m so jealous," the deskmate clicked her tongue. "And Qiao Zhenzhen’s lucky too, the creep chasing after her is a total hottie. What can you even say?"
"He’s not a creep, just a little odd," the girl who’d asked Chi Shen for help earlier couldn’t help defending him.
The deskmate sneered and was about to leave, then noticed Zhao Lianqiao starting to follow and quickly grabbed her: "Where are you going?"
"I’m just going to take a look," Zhao Lianqiao frowned.
"There’s nothing to see, they’re gone already. Let’s go eat skewers," the deskmate said, tugging her in the other direction, and the girl beside them hurried along as well.
Zhao Lianqiao was a little annoyed, but Qiao Zhenzhen and Chi Shen’s figures had already disappeared; she had no choice but to leave reluctantly.
On the other side, unaware she had been noticed, Qiao Zhenzhen and Chi Shen went home together.
She’d been staying with her mother lately and hadn’t come here for tutoring in a long time. As soon as she stepped inside she saw the table piled with snacks, every one of them something she liked.
Qiao Zhenzhen changed into slippers and ran to the table, picking up each item to examine it. Finally she turned to Chi Shen: "Did you buy all these for me?"
"Mm."
"When did you buy them?" she asked, even more curious.
Chi Shen set the two of their backpacks on the table, sat down beside her, scanned the snacks, and picked up a bag of chips: "This one was bought seven days ago."
He set it down, then picked up a box of soda crackers: "This one was six days ago."
"This was five days ago..."
"This was four days ago..."
At first Qiao Zhenzhen was amused, but the smile faded: "...You went out and bought one snack every day?"
Chi Shen pursed his lips and looked at her seriously.
Qiao Zhenzhen felt a little sad: "Are you stupid? Even if you wanted to buy me treats, these things keep for ages. Couldn’t you have bought them all at once? Going out every day to buy one, doesn’t that bother you?"
"When you’re not here, I pass the time," Chi Shen answered.
Qiao Zhenzhen paused and caught the implied meaning,
You’re thinking of me when I’m not around.