Lately, Chen Annan kept feeling like someone was watching him, making his skin crawl. But whenever he looked around, he couldn’t detect anything.
Perhaps it was just a guilty conscience from lying. He sneezed lightly, fished out his MP3 player from his pocket, slowly straightened out the cord, and lazily put on his earphones to play some music.
The neighborhood Chen Annan had come to was originally a dilapidated area of tube-shaped apartments. Later, because it affected the city’s appearance, it was developed by the government into a welfare housing district, with residents all being work-unit employees.
It was now peak commuting time. Employees riding bicycles swarmed over from across the street in droves. In just the blink of an eye, Chen Annan’s figure had vanished like a rocket launch.
By the time Lu Qingyuan’s vision cleared again, there wasn’t even a shadow to be found.
He walked into the small alley. In the distance, he could see doors strung along the crumbling corridors. The walls were peeling. Someone even splashed vegetable-washing water down from above, splattering all over the ground.
Lu Qingyuan’s path was blocked by this wretched dirty water. Because he couldn’t find Chen Annan, he wandered around this place several times, occasionally pretending to pass by and peering into people’s windows. This drew the attention of several ayis cooling off in the shade of the trees.
They became inexplicably excited at the sudden appearance of this young, handsome face, whispering to each other: “Oh yo, waiting for a little girl, huh? Which family’s daughter snagged this boyfriend?”
Lu Qingyuan overheard and had no choice but to withdraw, walking to the entrance of the alley to wait for Chen Annan.
At this hour, the moon had just barely climbed the horizon. The dark gray sky was tinged with a clear white light. The granite slab road still held the lingering warmth from the sun’s baking, which even the evening breeze couldn’t disperse.
The sound of sizzling woks mixed with the explosive crackle of oil and water, endlessly filling this narrow little alley, like a tiny boat buoyed upon a sea of fragrant aromas.
Lu Qingyuan waited. He stood, then squatted, and finally sat down by the flowerbed. Chen Annan still didn’t come out.
At eight in the evening, the streetlights cast dim yellow shadows, like a giant lampshade gently enveloping the figure beneath the light.
Lu Qingyuan was just about to think he had followed the wrong place when Chen Annan finally emerged from a door on the third floor. With him was a girl.
Chen Annan was wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt today. His tousled bangs fluttered softly in the wind. The baby fat on his cheeks hadn’t completely faded, and he would occasionally scrunch his nose, showing a hint of childishness.
The childish Chen Annan walked over chatting and laughing with the girl. Their voices drew closer: “Annan, you sing so well. If I had a good voice like yours, I’d go audition for Super Girl. Why take the detour of academics?”
Chen Annan smiled. “Ah, thank you. You sing really well too. There aren’t many people around me who sing better than you.”
The girl lowered her head, her face flushing bright red. She carefully pulled out a pink envelope from her pocket. After hesitating a few times, she still handed it to Chen Annan.
She tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear and said, “I’ll be going then…”
Chen Annan took the envelope and cautiously opened a corner. When he saw what was inside, his eyes widened. Delighted beyond measure, he held it up, examining it over and over, practically wanting to kiss it a few times.
The girl had already run off with her backpack. Lu Qingyuan watched her disappear around the corner, then watched Chen Annan bouncing and hopping this way, the water bottle hanging at his waist swaying back and forth with his movements.
“Chen Annan.”
Someone suddenly spoke from the roadside. Before Chen Annan could react, his wrist was seized by a large hand. The scorching heat of it startled him, his eyes going round.
How was Brother here?! Chen Annan instinctively hid the envelope in his bag. Unable to conceal his shock, he asked, “Why are you here?”
Lu Qingyuan’s voice was faint, sounding devoid of much emotion: “When you lie, did it not occur to you that I might find out?”
Chen Annan’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat. Before he could speak again, he heard Lu Qingyuan continue: “Impressive. Learned how to lie now.”
The tone was not pleasant.
Guilty, Chen Annan pressed his lips together, not daring to talk back. Head lowered, he was dragged onto the bus by Lu Qingyuan like an accessory the whole way home. Both were silent during the ride.
The No. 1 bus was already quite old. The road was narrow, and it didn’t go fast. Yet leaning his head against the window, Chen Annan could still feel the glass vibrating with a clattering tremor, shaking his heart until it felt numb and hollow.
He was a bit sleepy, but he didn’t dare lean against his brother anymore.
In the end, it was Lu Qingyuan who guided his head to his own shoulder and said, “Sleep for a bit. I’ll wake you when we get there.”
Lu Wenyuan was working late again today. Ever since he got promoted and joined a few research projects, his work had been busier day by day.
In recent years, to provide the children with better material conditions, Lu Wenyuan had gradually shifted his focus to his career. The two kids had grown up; their needs had transitioned from meticulous emotional care to material satisfaction.
Lu Wenyuan was always very generous with spending on them. He felt that whatever others had, his kids should naturally have too. Although the two children had never asked him for anything, he still took great pleasure in buying things for them.
Hearing the sound of the lock, the housekeeper quickly reheated the soup again.
Once inside, Lu Qingyuan first crouched down to help Chen Annan change his shoes, then changed his own.
He was as cold and meticulous as usual. But within that coldness, Chen Annan sensed a dangerous aura. Because Lu Qingyuan was absolutely not the easygoing type. His outbursts usually came after a period of restraint, building up to a breaking point.
That was a terrifying thing.
Sure enough, after Chen Annan had obediently finished dinner, Lu Qingyuan called him into his room. Curving his knuckle to rap on the desk, he commanded, brooking no argument: “Take it out.”
He didn’t ask why Chen Annan had lied, nor what he had lied about. He was simply issuing an order.
Chen Annan clasped his hands behind his back, head hanging low, like a child who had done something wrong.
Lu Qingyuan’s voice was very cold, his glasses refracting a fine line under the cold light: “I said, take it out. Do you understand?”
Chen Annan used to like the way Lu Wenyuan looked when wearing glasses and speaking, because it was so gentle, with an approachable, bookish air.
But Lu Qingyuan was completely different. Lu Qingyuan’s features had been deep-set since childhood. As he grew older and his face matured, they became even more defined. Under the light yellow glow of the desk lamp, a somber coldness settled on his face. The narrow-rimmed glasses perched on his nose further amplified this chill.
What Chen Annan feared most was people being harsh with him. He’d been timid since he was young and couldn’t stand it. Back then, he would cry, but now he just hemmed and hawed, not daring to speak. He dug into his pocket and obediently handed over his phone.
“Not that,” Lu Qingyuan said sternly.
“…” Chen Annan pursed his lips, dug into his pocket again, and reluctantly handed over his MP3 player too, along with the earphones.
“…” Lu Qingyuan simply looked at him, the eyes behind those lenses narrowing dangerously.
Unnerved by the stare, Chen Annan fumbled in his pocket again, finally taking out a single White Rabbit Creamy Candy. He carefully placed it in his brother’s hand.
Seeing his brother’s gaze still fixed on him, he said quietly, “There’s nothing else.”
“Is there really nothing else?” Lu Qingyuan’s brows were deeply furrowed. His knuckle rapped the desk neither lightly nor heavily. “If I find it, you will be punished.”
Chen Annan nodded and turned his pockets inside out to show his brother.
“Fine. So only these, right?” Lu Qingyuan stood up. “Then neither of us will sleep tonight.”
Chen Annan’s lips pouted. He felt wronged. “But why? I gave you my phone and my MP3! My pockets are empty!”
Why? To protect a date, you even learned to lie. And that letter wasn’t handed over either. Clearly, he had a guilty conscience.
Lu Qingyuan didn’t engage his protest. Since Chen Annan was determined not to admit his fault, punishment was inevitable. He decided that tonight, he would confine Chen Annan to this room and punish him severely.
“Finish the real junior high math exam papers. You don’t sleep until you’re done.”
“…” The downward curve at the corner of Chen Annan’s lips dropped further. The look he fixed on Lu Qingyuan practically exuded misery and grievance.
Lu Qingyuan was completely immune to this. His tone was cold to the extreme: “Do it. I’m supervising you tonight.”
“…” Chen Annan suddenly regretted lying. There was no punishment more vicious than this.
Lu Qingyuan tossed his book of test papers onto the desk and pulled up a chair beside him.
Chen Annan didn’t dare talk back. His brother was still angry, and mouthing off could get him assigned two test papers instead.
He could only whimper and sprawl over the desk to start reading the problems. He read each question three times, entirely halfheartedly. Lu Qingyuan ignored him and took out a blank piece of paper, beginning to copy down English problems himself.
The scratch of pen tips rustled across paper.
At this hour, the main road of Xuanwu Lake was full of elderly men out for a stroll. They walked their birds in the early morning, and at night, they strolled holding their teapots. A Yixing Purple Clay Teapot, lovingly maintained to a glossy sheen. A radio tucked in the back pocket played Phoenix Legend’s “Above the Moon”.
Moonlight flowed over them, slowly lengthening their silhouettes. The cry of cicadas clamored into the deep pitch-black night. From the second-floor window, one could see many tiny flying insects continuously bumping against the streetlights.
Chen Annan worked on the problems to the point of near-death. It wasn’t until past eleven that he barely managed to finish two pages.
The door downstairs opened again. Not long after, someone pushed the bedroom door open and poked half their head in. Cheerfully, they asked, “I sneezed twice just now coming in. Come on, let me see who’s thinking of me?”
Chen Annan knew from the voice that it was his uncle back. But right now, working on these problems was making him wish he were dead. Head drooping, he had no desire to talk. Lu Qingyuan was also busy with his own work and had absolutely no energy to deal with his dad.
The atmosphere explained itself without needing to guess. Used to such scenes, Lu Wenyuan let out an unsurprised “Yo!” “What now? The two enemies having a fight again?”
As he spoke, he also pulled up a chair and sat down backward on it. “Come on, let me see what’s going on. Who’s right, who’s wrong, let me critique. Quickly, quickly, whoever feels wronged, present your case!”
Bringing up the sore spot. Chen Annan truly did feel wronged. He didn’t want to do math papers. But the reason for his grievance was that he had lied. There was nowhere to reason this out. Seeing there were still two pages unfinished, he wanted to cry.
“We’re not fighting,” Lu Qingyuan said flatly.
“Really?” Lu Wenyuan suddenly leaned close to Chen Annan, bringing his face near. “How come I see this one is about to die of grievance?”
Chen Annan’s pen tip paused. He quickly buried his face in his folded arms, not allowing anyone to pry into his emotions. His voice came out muffled: “Am not!”
Lu Wenyuan was so amused he couldn’t stand it. He felt his family’s Cub was still so childlike at heart, as if he’d never grow up. Truly fun.
He placed the late-night snack on the desk and said, rather understandingly: “Alright, alright, stop studying. Eat something first.” Then, deliberately adopting an old-school parental tone, he added, “Little Lu, don’t monitor the child so closely. What time is it already, still writing?”
Without his brother’s permission, Chen Annan didn’t dare eat. He just kept his face buried, mumbling in a muffled voice: “I’m not very hungry anyway.” After speaking, he peeked out with half his face, sneaking a look, then another.
Lu Qingyuan was still writing problems with his head down. Without a word, he simply pushed the bowl of late-night snack in front of Chen Annan.
“Is it for me?” Chen Annan asked, pretending not to understand.
“If you don’t want it, keep writing,” Lu Qingyuan said.
Taking advantage of the situation, Chen Annan didn’t even wait for his brother to finish the sentence. He immediately grabbed the bowl and ran out, afraid that if he delayed a second, his brother might say something unpleasant.
The late-night snack was Ma Xiangxing’s Phoenix Tail Shrimp—river shrimp shelled and stir-fried until tender and fresh. Chen Annan loved it. Lu Wenyuan helped him pick out the peas, telling him to slow down. He then went back in to ask Lu Qingyuan if he wanted some. Lu Qingyuan, pen never pausing, said no.
After Chen Annan was thoroughly full and satisfied, the clock hands had slid past midnight. It suddenly hit him—he hadn’t written the English workbook due tomorrow!
