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Chapter 75: Going to the Fair

Wang Bing’s mom also knew what her son was like. It was just bragging again. After teaching him a lesson, she had him go home and bring out all the remaining old loofah vines, saying sternly, “Take them all back to your Grandma Cheng!”

Mi Yang, who had just come in with a basket of vegetables, was speechless.

Mi Yang felt that his other grandmother probably didn’t need these loofah vines either.

Mi Yang delivered the vegetables to the Wang family. Wang Bing’s mom put a small watermelon in his basket and said to him, “It’s a yellow-fleshed watermelon. Take it back. You have a lot of children at home. It’s something fresh to eat.”

Mi Yang thanked her and left the Wang family’s house, followed by Wang Bing, who was carrying a small bag of loofah vines.

After Mi Yang turned the corner and saw that Wang Bing was still following him, he smiled. “What are you doing? Are you really going to take them to my grandma? Don’t be silly. You can take them and play with them. Just don’t let your mom see them again.”

Wang Bing blinked his eyes. “Huh?”

Mi Yang couldn’t help but laugh. He said to him, “Only you, me, and Auntie Wang know about this. She cares about her pride even more than you do, so she won’t say anything. I won’t tell anyone either. I promise you.”

Wang Bing’s face immediately cleared up like the clouds parting, his eyes sparkling. “You really won’t tell?”

Mi Yang made a zipping motion over his mouth. “Not a single word.”

Wang Bing was completely relieved, and his posture straightened. He went over and put his arm around Mi Yang’s shoulder like a good brother. “That really scared me. How were you so quick-witted just now? Hey Mi Yang, let me tell you, wherever I am in the future, I’ll definitely protect you. If you mention my name in Shanhai Town, no one will dare to touch you.”

Mi Yang said, “Alright then.”

Wang Bing didn’t mind his calm acceptance and patted his chest, still looking a little shaken. “I thought my life was over just now.”

Mi Yang: “…Your life is a little too short.”

Wang Bing said, “If this gets out, how am I supposed to get by in school in the future? Let me tell you, a man lives for his pride, just like a tree lives for its bark. Pride is very important.” He scratched his face, a little embarrassed. “I was just trying to act cool.”

Mi Yang glanced at him. “Smoking is not very cool.”

Wang Bing was not convinced and snorted. “That’s because you haven’t seen someone who is!”

Mi Yang wanted to retort, but an image flashed in his mind. It was a handsome face, half-lit, half-shadowed in the smoke of the night, his furrowed brow handsome. He opened his mouth, but the words of rebuttal on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back. If it were the young master, it would indeed be a pleasing sight.

Wang Bing was still showing off. Mi Yang couldn’t stand it and said, “You can smoke when you’re older. Girls don’t like it when you smoke now.”

Wang Bing immediately flushed. “Who, who was smoking for a girl to see!”

Mi Yang couldn’t have understood him better. He was also acting mature to attract the class belle. He had chased her for many years, and when the girl had finally nodded in agreement, they had ended up in a long-distance relationship in university. After seven years of hardship, the girl had married him after graduating from graduate school. It was a happy ending. At the wedding, Wang Bing had cried very unmanfully, saying that the two of them would never be separated again.

Mi Yang had been his best man and was also very moved.

But now, looking at the teenage Wang Bing, Mi Yang felt that it was normal for the girl not to have agreed at first. This person was exuding foolishness from head to toe.

Wang Bing was completely unaware of what Mi Yang was sighing about, but that didn’t stop him from including Mi Yang in his little circle. Mi Yang had saved his pride, so he was now Wang Bing’s best buddy.

Wang Bing took Mi Yang to meet a circle of his playmates. Hearing that Mi Yang was going to his grandfather’s house to learn to restore books, they didn’t keep him to play for long. But at noon, Wang Bing and his group of boys brought seven or eight bamboo stalks, some long and some short, some thick and some thin. They probably didn’t know what kind he wanted, and they hadn’t even removed the bamboo leaves. They had brought them over whole. It was a good thing these silly boys were strong. After throwing them over the courtyard wall, they all scattered and ran away.

When Mi Yang heard the noise and came out, he happened to see Wang Bing looking at him from over the courtyard wall, grinning at him, and then he also jumped down and ran away.

Mi Hong also came out to have a look. The courtyard was a mess of bamboo. “Did the children you know send these?”

Mi Yang said, “Yes. I was looking for bamboo last time, and they saw me.”

Mi Hong helped him tidy up, took a knife, and cut a small section of bamboo. “They picked quite well. This one is just right. I’ll make you two small tools today, and you can learn to draw a fence.”

Mi Yang smiled. “Okay.”

Wang Bing’s group of boys seemed to have accepted Mi Yang overnight. After making the first friend, they all immediately became warm with him. The old Mrs. Cheng’s reputation was already good, and with Mi Yang being a good student, this group of people found that as long as they said they were going to play with Mi Yang, the adults at home would also let them go.

Mi Yang’s circle of friends began to grow. The group led by Wang Bing started to take him to get to know Shanhai Town all over again, which overlapped with Mi Yang’s memories, making it even more familiar.

On this day, Wang Bing took Mi Yang to a fair. It was similar to a temple fair but a little different. There was one every month, on a street not far from here. When it was lively, the three or five connecting streets would be full of people. Wang Bing rode his bicycle and took Mi Yang with him. On the way, he was still excited. “This one is bigger than before. There’s even a juggling performance in the small square. Hey, have you ever played the ring toss? I’ll treat you. My mom gave me five yuan!”

When Mi Yang went out, the old Mrs. Cheng had also given him some pocket money. Hearing Wang Bing say that, he said, “Let’s see. I heard from Zhao Haisheng that there are people selling old books, right?”

Wang Bing said, “Yes. Why do you want those? They’re old and tattered.”

Mi Yang said, “I like books.”

Wang Bing chuckled. “You really like them? I thought you were just humoring the adults. Alright, I’ll take you to have a look when we get there. There are a lot of us, so we’ll definitely be able to find it for you in a bit.”

There were many people at the fair, and all the shops along the street were open. Some people had even spread mats and were selling their things on the stone-paved street. It was very lively.

Mi Yang followed Wang Bing and the others, looking as they walked. He felt that he had really gone back to his childhood. Although the things looked like cheap small commodities at a glance, once you left here, it wouldn’t have the same lively atmosphere.

Wang Bing looked around all the way, not paying much attention to these small objects. After looking in several places, his eyes suddenly lit up. “They’re here!”

Mi Yang was close to him and heard him. “Who’s here?”

Wang Bing had already started to fix his hair. He casually ran his fingers through it a couple of times, then leaned against a stone lion on the side and waited, trying his best to put on a nonchalant expression. If it weren’t for his sparkling eyes, it would have been more convincing.

After a short while, a few girls came from the opposite direction. The two in the front were walking arm in arm, both about ten or so. The one on the left had a ponytail and was very pretty with red lips and white teeth. The one on the right was a little more delicate, with two braids, looking gentle and lovely.

Wang Bing was very excited. He bumped Mi Yang with his arm, his eyes still on the girls. He whispered to Mi Yang, “See? The girl with the braids. Isn’t she pretty?”

The expression on Mi Yang’s face was a little stiff. His gaze was on the girl on the left for a long time and didn’t move. The tall girl with the ponytail, if he remembered correctly, was the school belle of their school at that time—the last time he had seen her was at Bai Luochuan’s “engagement” party.