Chapter 7

Those memories he had already forgotten, the ones he deliberately tried to forget, had been forcefully dug up over these past few days by one person and event after another.

Qi Yang had been trying to suppress them.

He didn’t want to think about them. Every time the valve of memory opened, he would firmly pull it shut.

But now, he had completely lost his grip.

The warm, spring-like lobby of the Nanyang Star Hotel formed a stark contrast with the snow-covered city outside the revolving doors.

Just like the snowy day of his reunion with Mu Yicong, and the sweltering September of their first meeting.

The year Mu Yicong transferred to their town, the Indian summer had been brutal.

Summer wasn’t usually over in September, but a whole week into the school year, the relentless sun was still blazing like it was on summer vacation, hot enough to make you sick.

Qi Yang didn’t even feel like playing with Liu Dameng after school let out. He pedaled his bike all the way home, feeling like the asphalt road was shimmering in the heat.

He barged through the door, dripping with sweat, grabbed the AC remote, and frantically pressed the buttons, standing in front of the vent to cool off.

“What’s the temperature?” Zou Meizhu came out, hands on her hips, glaring at him.

“16,” Qi Yang said. He’d had enough of the breeze. He sniffled and headed for the kitchen. “What’s for lunch, Mom?”

“Cold noodles.” Zou Meizhu fanned her nose in disgust. “Go take a shower. You reek.”

Cold noodles again.

Qi Yang wasn’t interested. He didn’t even bother lifting the pot lid. “We haven’t had any meat in days. Aren’t you sick of it?”

“Mom’s in a special state right now. Other food makes me nauseous.” Zou Meizhu did a quick calculation. It had been a while since she’d cooked a proper meal. “What do you want to eat, son?”

“Roast duck,” Qi Yang said, heading to the balcony to grab his shorts for a shower. “I don’t want stir-fries either.”

“Okay, I’ll call your dad and tell him to bring one home.”

Zou Meizhu hummed a tune as she called Qi Dahai. After hanging up, she plopped onto the sofa, cracked open some sunflower seeds, and watched TV.

By the time Qi Yang finished his shower and came out, Qi Dahai was already home. The couple was cuddling in the kitchen, and on the table was a bag of fragrant roast duck.

Qi Yang’s hair was still dripping. He tore off a drumstick and bit into it.

He leaned against the kitchen doorframe to deliver the news. “The homeroom teacher wants to see a parent. Which one of you is going to school this afternoon?”

Qi Dahai walked out with a bowl of noodles, raising his leg to kick Qi Yang. Qi Yang dodged by shifting his butt out of the way.

But he couldn’t dodge Zou Meizhu’s chopsticks smacking him on the head.

“What did you do this time?”

Zou Meizhu had been afraid of teachers herself when she was in school. Just hearing the words ‘go to school’ made her anxious.

“Let your dad go. I’m pregnant. I can’t handle the shock.”

“Your belly isn’t even showing yet.” Qi Yang glanced at her stomach.

Zou Meizhu was thin. Even four months into her pregnancy, her belly was completely flat.

She looked like a movie star, and she was just as delicate. Qi Dahai had courted her with a mix of persistence and shamelessness, cajoling her into marrying him, and he’d spoiled her like a little empress ever since.

He’d spoiled her so much that even though Qi Yang was already in junior high, she still acted like a clueless little girl.

Qi Yang felt his parents were way too carefree. They couldn’t even handle raising one son properly. What made them think they could handle another?

He slurped up a mouthful of cold noodles, then turned to look at Qi Dahai again. “So, Dad’s going.”

“I’m not going. I can’t afford the embarrassment.” Qi Dahai refused too. He crossed his legs and ate his noodles while facing the TV. “Besides, I have things to do this afternoon.”

This one was even more useless.

Qi Yang couldn’t be bothered to argue.

He knew exactly what his dad’s ‘things to do’ were. Qi Dahai had never been a serious guy. Before he got married, he was a punk. He’d used his handsome face to hook Zou Meizhu. Even after becoming a parent, his playful nature hadn’t diminished. As soon as he got off work, he’d head straight to the gambling den.

It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that Qi Dahai finally got his act together a little, following a childhood friend who’d come back from the south into some business.

Qi Yang didn’t know exactly what he did, but the family had suddenly become a lot better off. They bought a new house and a small car. Everyone’s food, clothing, and general lifestyle had improved by leaps and bounds.

Qi Dahai’s leisure-time hobbies had evolved from gambling to gambling, singing karaoke, and buying lottery tickets.

“Whatever. You two figure it out.” Qi Yang didn’t care. “The homeroom teacher said if no one shows up this afternoon, she’ll come to the house tonight.”

“Oh dear.” Zou Meizhu grimaced and whacked Qi Yang with the chopsticks again. “Give me a break, you little brat.”

Complaints aside, no mother, no matter how unreliable, could truly ignore their son’s school matters.

So when Qi Yang woke up from his nap and was getting ready to go to school, he saw Zou Meizhu wearing a black lace-trimmed silk blouse tucked into a tight, bright red skirt. She had a ridiculously large pair of bug-eye sunglasses on her face and was spinning around in front of the mirror, admiring herself.

“How do I look for school, son?” She turned around to show off to him.

Qi Yang was still expressionless from sleep. He glanced at his mom, scratched his back, and went to pee. “Take off the sunglasses.”

“A bit flashy, huh?” Zou Meizhu touched her wavy hair, which fell over her chest, and reached for a hat on the rack. “I’ll wear a sun hat.”

Two in the afternoon was the hottest part of the day. Zou Meizhu couldn’t stand the heat for a second, so Qi Dahai drove them to school.

Qi Yang wasn’t fully awake yet. He crawled into the back seat and tried to doze off.

He was half-asleep, feeling like they’d passed two intersections, when the sounds of students on the street grew louder. Amidst familiar-looking faces from No. 9 Middle School, Qi Yang opened his eyes and saw a taxi pull up right in front of their car through the window. Two people got out of the back seat.

The first to get out was a boy, but he wasn’t wearing a school uniform. His white shirt stood out among the ugly uniforms at the No. 9 Middle School gate.

Qi Yang had only seen the back of his head when a woman followed him out of the taxi, opening a sun umbrella, perfectly shielding the boy’s back.

“Got called in to see the parents too?” Qi Dahai laughed, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

“That woman is wearing red-soled shoes.” Zou Meizhu was staring at her high heels. “She’s got some class.”

“My wife is the most beautiful.” Qi Dahai leaned over to open her door. “Go on. Take a taxi home when you’re done. Don’t walk in the sun.”

“Should I put my hair up too?” Zou Meizhu turned her head and asked Qi Yang.

Qi Yang ignored his mom, pushed open the car door, and got out.

“Don’t cause any more trouble, you little brat! Don’t make your mom angry!” Qi Dahai was still twisting his neck from the driver’s seat, yelling after him. “Lazy, good-for-nothing… I wonder who you take after…”

Zou Meizhu knew the way to the teachers’ office by heart. She didn’t need Qi Yang to show her.

He got out of the car and headed straight into the schoolyard. He hadn’t taken more than two steps when he heard a shout from behind: “Yangzi!”

Qi Yang didn’t stop. It was hot. He kept walking towards the teaching building.

Liu Dameng and Lai Jiahao, from Class 6, skidded to a stop in front of him on their bikes. They jumped off and walked beside him. “Your mom came to school again? She looks like a movie star. Everyone’s staring.”

Qi Yang frowned and stopped. “Who?”

“They’re just looking. Pure appreciation.” Liu Dameng grinned like an idiot. “Who doesn’t know she’s your mom?”

“I, I heard my mom, my mom say it at lunch.” Lai Jiahao’s mom was the homeroom teacher for Class 6. He was a stutterer who didn’t study either, grinning along. “Qi Yang got, got called in to see the parents again.”

“Get lost, go to your own class.” Qi Yang couldn’t be bothered to talk to him. It was too much effort.

It was a bit cooler once he got into the hallway. Just before he reached his classroom door, Liu Dameng and Lai Jiahao caught up after parking their bikes.

“I also, also heard my mom say that your class is getting a, a new transfer student.”

“A transfer student?” Liu Dameng perked up, mimicking his stutter. “Who, who?”

“How would I know? Dumbass.” Lai Jiahao never stuttered when he was cussing people out.

They were scuffling at the door. Qi Yang pushed past them into the classroom, thinking of the white shirt he’d seen at the school gate.

First period in the afternoon was biology. Qi Yang propped his chin up in the last row and slept through the whole class.

Second period was PE. They’d just finished the warm-up run when Zou Meizhu stormed onto the playground like a fury. She yanked off her high heel and threw it at Qi Yang, screaming, “Qi Yang, you little brat, get out here!”

The whole playground burst into laughter.

The homeroom teacher, who had come running after her, turned pale. The PE teacher even forgot to blow his whistle. They both scrambled to hold Zou Meizhu back. Liu Dameng pushed Qi Yang forward and shouted, “She’s over here, Auntie!”

Qi Yang kicked him. He bent down, picked up Zou Meizhu’s shoe, and walked over. He was summarily dragged to the office for a scolding.

The reason for being called to see the parents this time, besides Qi Yang turning in six blank test papers for the start-of-semester diagnostic test, leading a group of students to skip class and go to an internet cafe, and having a potential puppy love situation with the class flower… the main point emphasized by the homeroom teacher was that he was affecting the studies of the homeroom teacher’s son from the class next door.

That would be Lai Jiahao, the one who never stuttered when he cursed.

Zou Meizhu hadn’t expected so many things to be on the list this time. Her face was dark as she cursed Qi Yang. “I don’t care what you do yourself, but bothering a good student and influencing a little girl? Wait till your dad gets home, he’ll break your legs!”

Qi Yang grunted in response, not even bothering to defend himself.

He knew Zou Meizhu was a paper tiger. She’d fly off the handle at the slightest thing, but her temper cooled down just as fast.

Still, in front of outsiders, he was considerate of his mom’s feelings.

The homeroom teacher had said everything she needed to. She had no idea what to do with this mother-son duo.

She had something to do later and kept checking her watch. Finally, she sentenced Qi Yang to write a 600-character self-criticism and sent Zou Meizhu on her way.

Qi Yang walked his mom to the school gate. He even had to hail a taxi for her. Only when the delicate and precious Zou Meizhu was safely inside the car did he speak. “Go home and rest.”

“You remember what I told you?” Zou Meizhu glared at him.

“Got it.” Qi Yang agreed, dragging out his words. He held the door open and asked for money. “Thirsty, Mom.”

“Debt collector.” Zou Meizhu huffed, opened her small purse, and pulled out fifty bucks, slapping it into his hand.

PE class wasn’t over yet. Qi Yang bought a bottle of cold orange juice at the convenience store and chugged half of it.

When he got back to the playground, everyone was already doing free activities. Liu Dameng was playing basketball. When he saw Qi Yang coming back, he threw him the ball and squatted at the edge of the court, drinking the juice Qi Yang had left.

Neither of them heard the bell ring until the song “Big City Small Love” started playing from the broadcast station. Qi Yang spun the ball and walked off the court.

“Qi Yang, get over here!”

A few people, mimicking Zou Meizhu, started messing with him. Each one got a kick.

They were still roughhousing when they reached the classroom door. Qi Yang was pushed by Liu Dameng and bumped the door open. He raised his hand and threw the basketball towards the corner.

“Bang!”

In the eerily quiet classroom, the sound of the ball hitting a face was especially loud.

“Qi Yang!” The homeroom teacher’s face was truly twisted with anger now. She hurried over to look at the person who’d been hit.

But Qi Yang was frozen in the doorway, staring blankly at the white shirt on the podium.

For the next four years, he never figured out why he had frozen that first time he’d locked eyes with Mu Yicong.

Maybe it was because Mu Yicong’s reaction to getting hit in the face was too calm. He didn’t yell or scream. Even with the nosebleed, he just frowned and wiped it away. He was even better at acting cool than Qi Yang was.

Maybe it was because Mu Yicong, in his white shirt against the setting sun, looked too dazzling.

Or maybe it was just because of Mu Yicong’s eyes.

Those pitch-black pupils held an innate sense of superiority, a calm but domineering look, a look of indifference and contempt directed at him.