Chapter 10
That night, Jiang Chaochao had a dream. He dreamt of Xiang Ye.
All the hypothetical scenarios he had imagined came true. They had dinner together and watched a movie. After the movie, Xiang Ye suddenly, out of nowhere, produced a huge bouquet of flowers and gave it to Jiang Chaochao.
Jiang Chaochao happily accepted it, but the bouquet in his hands transformed drastically, turning into a bunch of large little duck brooches. The brooches were fine, but then, they changed again, turning into a flock of little ducks.
Quack, quack, quack, quack, Jiang Chaochao was woken up by the quacking.
It was too absurd, so absurd that Jiang Chaochao lay in bed for a long time before coming to his senses.
Recently, Jiang Chaochao had been living a very regular life at home. After breakfast, he would practice the piano until lunch. After lunch, he would take a short nap. After waking up, he would practice the piano again if he felt like it, or do something else if he didn’t, like play games, watch movies, watch TV…
Today was the same, but with a small change.
He was watching a movie in the afternoon when he received a message from his mother.
First, she said she had watched the video of his performance, then praised him for being great, and finally said that she would be arriving in A City soon and asked if he was free for dinner tonight.
Jiang Chaochao naturally replied: “Sure.”
Jiang Chaochao: “But I have to meet a friend at 8.”
Mom: “We’ll have time, I’ll take you there after dinner.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Okay, Mom.”
Jiang Chaochao: “See you tonight.”
Mom: “Mm-hmm.”
After confirming with his mother, Jiang Chaochao opened a group chat called “Family.”
There were four people in this group, including Jiang Chaochao. His father, his stepmother whom he had been calling “Auntie” since he was twelve, and his younger half-sister who was currently in high school.
Jiang Chaochao was 24 years old, and his sister was 17.
Yes, many people, upon hearing this information, would subconsciously do the math.
Yes, no need to calculate, his sister was born while his parents were still married.
Jiang Chaochao: “Auntie, I’m eating out tonight.”
Auntie quickly replied: “Okay, I’ll tell Sister Lin.” (Likely a housekeeper)
Auntie also said: “Your performance yesterday was great.”
His sister also chimed in: “Gege, you were awesome!”
Jiang Chaochao: “Thanks.”
It was almost time for dinner with his mother. Jiang Chaochao finished watching a scene and then turned off the tablet.
He tidied himself up, waited at the entrance of the complex for a while, and then his mother picked him up and took him to the restaurant.
Just like every time they met in the past few years, Jiang Chaochao only needed to tell his mother what he wanted to eat, and his mother would take care of everything else.
Also, just like every time they met in the past few years, Jiang Chaochao was mostly silent throughout the meal.
His mother always had endless work, phone calls, WeChat messages, emails. After she was finally done and had a moment to pause, she would ask the same question she had asked countless times before, “How have you been recently?”
Jiang Chaochao would patiently repeat: “Pretty good, same as usual.”
Mom asked: “How’s your studio going?”
Jiang Chaochao: “It’s progressing as planned, no major changes so far.”
“Good,” Mom nodded and raised her glass of wine. “If you need any help, just tell Mom. I’ll definitely help if I can.”
Jiang Chaochao also picked up his drink and clinked glasses with his mother.
After a sip, his mother smiled: “You should learn to drink a little alcohol when you’re older.”
Jiang Chaochao said: “Okay.”
Mom asked: “Does your father know you’re starting a studio?”
Jiang Chaochao: “Probably not.”
“It’s fine, just give him the money,” Mom seemed a bit smug, but she still said, “If you encounter any problems with the studio in the future, just go find your dad. He has more connections in A City than I do.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Okay.”
After dinner, his mother dropped him off at World City and left.
It was always like this between them. After the divorce, his mother gradually became more radiant and successful, confidently pursuing what she wanted to do, and persevering all the way. Now she was a very successful businesswoman.
Jiang Chaochao could see that his mother loved her current life, thriving in the outside world, working and traveling. Occasionally, when she thought of her son, she would send a WeChat message to check on him, or if she happened to be passing by A City, she would come to see him.
This sounded a bit pitiful.
Actually, it wasn’t. Jiang Chaochao was very happy to see his mother. He felt that if his mother could make time to see him despite her busy schedule, it must be because she cared about him. Many times, his mother really didn’t have to make the trip.
…Why did it sound even more pitiful now?
Not important.
What was important was that his mother had timed it quite well. Jiang Chaochao arrived at World City at 7:52 PM.
Entering the mall, Jiang Chaochao started thinking again.
Where would Xiang Ye enter from? Probably the basement parking, he guessed he drove himself.
Would Xiang Ye bring Xiang Shici? Bringing his niece to personally pick out her birthday present seemed quite reasonable.
Jiang Chaochao wandered aimlessly on the first floor, and time passed by until it was 7:59 PM.
There was no familiar figure in sight, and his WeChat was also empty, no messages.
Jiang Chaochao picked up his phone, wanting to ask, but then felt it wasn’t time yet, so he put it away again.
He wouldn’t stand him up, right?
Surely not.
If he wasn’t coming, he would definitely say so in advance, right?
Could he have forgotten?
Like, busy with work or something?
Jiang Chaochao watched as the time jumped from 7:59 to 8:00, and then clicked open WeChat.
But before he could do anything, a call from “XY” popped up on his screen.
Jiang Chaochao was stunned for a moment before answering the call.
“Jiang laoshi,” Xiang Ye’s voice came from the other end.
Jiang Chaochao: “Mm-hmm.”
Xiang Ye said: “Look up.”
Jiang Chaochao looked up. Xiang Ye was standing by the glass railing, holding his phone and smiling at him.
Jiang Chaochao: “Oh, I’ll come up.”
Xiang Ye: “Okay.”
Xiang Ye was standing right at the entrance of the little duck store. Jiang Chaochao took the escalator up, and Xiang Ye remained in that spot.
Although Jiang Chaochao was looking ahead, his peripheral vision was filled with Xiang Ye.
He couldn’t tell if Xiang Ye was looking at him or not.
What if he was?
What if he wasn’t?
Stepping off the escalator, Jiang Chaochao felt his heart beating a little fast.
He turned his head. Xiang Ye was walking towards him.
“Hello,” Jiang Chaochao said.
Xiang Ye: “So formal.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Then don’t be.”
Xiang Ye laughed.
Xiang Ye: “When did you arrive?”
Jiang Chaochao: “Just now, you?”
Xiang Ye: “I walked around inside, then came out and saw you downstairs.”
Jiang Chaochao’s mind went blank: “You, when did you see me?”
Xiang Ye: “A while ago, maybe.”
Jiang Chaochao: “…”
So all his pacing back and forth had been seen?
Xiang Ye asked again: “Why didn’t you ask me when you arrived?”
Jiang Chaochao: “…”
As expected, he had been seen clearly. Jiang Chaochao felt embarrassed, but his voice became defensive: “You didn’t ask me either.”
Xiang Ye laughed and nodded: “Fine, my fault.”
Jiang Chaochao immediately became docile: “It wasn’t.”
As they spoke, they entered the store.
Good, as far as he could see, no Xiang Shici.
This store didn’t just sell little ducks. Since Xiang Shici also liked little ducks, they went straight to the duck section.
Jiang Chaochao wanted to ask which ones Xiang Shici liked, but Xiang Ye asked first, “Any recommendations?”
Jiang Chaochao thought for a moment: “Figurines and plushies are very popular. Most people like them, you can’t go wrong.”
Xiang Ye asked: “What about you? What do you like?”
“Me?” Jiang Chaochao was special. He picked up an ugly thing: “This one.”
After saying that, Jiang Chaochao smiled embarrassedly.
It was really quite ugly, so he quickly put it back.
This unpopular ugly duck he just picked up seemed to be a new product. It was Jiang Chaochao’s first time seeing it today.
Why did he say it was unpopular? Not only was it ugly, it was also useless. And this thing could still release new products, probably because there were many people like Jiang Chaochao who still liked it and bought it.
Jiang Chaochao had all of these ugly things. As long as they kept making them, he would keep buying them.
Moderately ugly ones, he wouldn’t even look at.
Extremely ugly ones, buy!
This group of ugly Poupous displayed together was a bizarre mix of absurdity and humor, giving people a speechless feeling that was hard to describe.
Jiang Chaochao loved this abstract feeling.
Next, Jiang Chaochao gave his serious recommendations. Under his guidance, Xiang Ye bought a very cute Poupou plushy, a small bag, a small keychain, and a set of twelve zodiac Poupou brooches.
Xiang Ye said that Xiang Shici had indeed noticed Jiang Chaochao’s brooch yesterday.
Xiang Ye also said that Xiang Shici was quite interested in astrology, so Jiang Chaochao felt he probably wouldn’t go wrong.
Finally, when checking out, Jiang Chaochao discovered that the ugly Poupou he had pointed out earlier was actually in Xiang Ye’s shopping cart.
It wasn’t a bad idea, what if Xiang Shici liked it too.
Coming out of the store, looking at the large and small bags in Xiang Ye’s hands, Jiang Chaochao felt a sense of satisfaction as if he had done the shopping himself.
Just as he was basking in this feeling, Xiang Ye suddenly handed a small bag to Jiang Chaochao.
Jiang Chaochao: “Huh?”
Xiang Ye said: “This is for you.”
Jiang Chaochao hesitated for a moment before accepting it: “As thanks for accompanying me shopping?”
Xiang Ye chuckled: “You could say that.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Thank you.”
It was the bag containing the ugly duck.
Jiang Chaochao’s heart felt warm and fuzzy. He thought for a moment, then asked Xiang Ye, “You don’t think it’s strange that I like this?”
Xiang Ye seemed to think for half a second: “It is a bit strange.”
Jiang Chaochao froze.
Xiang Ye laughed: “Just kidding.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Huh?”
Xiang Ye: “A unique kind of absurdity.”
Jiang Chaochao’s eyes curved into a smile: “You understand it.”
Xiang Ye sighed dramatically: “Can I choose not to understand?”
Jiang Chaochao laughed: “No, you just understand it very well.”
Xiang Ye nodded: “Fine, I understand.”
They left the little duck store.
They didn’t seem to have decided where to go, but they just kept walking.
Well, Xiang Ye probably had a destination in mind, Jiang Chaochao was just blindly following along.
It was fine, of course, just keep walking like this.
It wasn’t until they reached the elevators that Jiang Chaochao suddenly understood.
Oh, so they were going to the basement parking.
That’s fine, reasonable, indeed it was time to go home.
“Why haven’t you asked for it yet?” Xiang Ye asked after they walked a few more steps.
Jiang Chaochao suddenly realized: “My brooch.”
Xiang Ye didn’t move, but just said, “What if I said I forgot to bring it?”
Jiang Chaochao fell silent.
He forgot to bring it?
Then…
That would be great!
