Jiang Chu had no intention of eavesdropping; he was coming home in a perfectly aboveboard manner.
But the moment he heard Qin Zui’s “Don’t be scared,” the steps he’d already quieted reflexively grew even softer.
He remembered the gauze he’d seen on the back of Liang Xiaojia’s head that day.
Another five or six minutes passed before Qin Zui’s phone call ended.
He closed the window, turned around, and called out to Jiang Chu: “You’re back?”
“I thought you didn’t hear me.” Jiang Chu came out of the kitchen holding a glass of water.
“I’m not deaf.” Qin Zui smiled, lowered his head, and tapped his phone a few more times—probably sending another message to Liang Xiaojia. “I saw your car pull into the complex.”
“Liang Xiaojia’s call?” Jiang Chu went to sit on the couch.
“Yeah.” Qin Zui grabbed a cigarette from the coffee table and bit down on it, then half-lay down beside Jiang Chu, stretching his legs out long. He turned his wrist over and rubbed his brow, his expression a mix of irritation and helplessness.
“Is something going on at home?” Jiang Chu asked.
“His dad hit him,” Qin Zui said.
“Bad?” Jiang Chu still had Qin Zui’s “Xiaojia, don’t be scared” ringing in his ears.
Qin Zui was always patient when he took Liang Xiaojia’s calls, even when talking face to face, but never as patient as he’d been today.
He’d been way too gentle.
“His left eardrum is ruptured, and he got four stitches here.” Qin Zui pointed to his own right brow bone. “He hit the wall when he got slapped.”
Jiang Chu was taken aback.
“It’ll heal,” Qin Zui said. “The doctor said it’s a minor perforation; it’ll close up on its own.”
“It’s not about whether it’ll heal,” Jiang Chu said with a frown. “What did he do to make his dad hit him like that?”
“I asked him what he’d do if he failed his exams,” Qin Zui replied, looking at him.
“Come on.” Jiang Chu laughed and pointed at him.
Qin Zui smiled too, watching Zhou Teng’s cat tail swishing back and forth on the coffee table. Compared to the tone he’d used to comfort Liang Xiaojia earlier, his voice now was very calm—almost numbly matter-of-fact. “His dad hits him for no reason. It’s not every day. Usually, he’s normal; he even jokes around with him. It’s just that when he drinks, he doesn’t know his own strength.”
“What about his mom?” Jiang Chu asked.
“His mom can’t stop him,” Qin Zui said.
“Last time he came, was the back of his head from his dad too?” Jiang Chu pressed.
Qin Zui hummed in affirmation. “He’s actually been used to his dad hitting him for a long time. This time, the sudden blood in his eyes scared him.”
“So what do you want to do?” Jiang Chu thought for a moment. He didn’t know if they’d figured anything out during the phone call.
Go back and check on Liang Xiaojia?
Or did he want to come stay with Qin Zui for another few days?
It was almost New Year’s. Would his family even let him out?
“There’s nothing I can do,” Qin Zui said calmly, leaning forward to stub out his cigarette in the ashtray.
“I can’t help him. He has to rely on himself and get into a university far away.” Qin Zui glanced at his phone. Liang Xiaojia’s reply had calmed down. “He’s just used to coming to me after he gets beaten up. He vents, and then he feels better.”
Jiang Chu furrowed his brow and looked at Qin Zui for a long moment without saying anything.
Every time he heard about this kind of family conflict, he never knew what to say.
People are different. Families are different. Everyone has their own helplessness. But similar people always seem to get tangled together, and every family has its own disappointments.
In a news report, it’d just be a story you skimmed past. But hearing a real example from someone you know made you feel this weird, abstract sense of emptiness.
“What about your dad? Did he hit you a lot too?” Compared to the distant Liang Xiaojia, Jiang Chu’s focus inevitably landed back on Qin Zui.
“He didn’t hit people.” Qin Zui looked at Jiang Chu. The guy just had a way of making his heart soften. He tapped Jiang Chu’s hand, which was resting on his leg. “He threw things.”
Jiang Chu flicked his finger back. “That’s still better.”
“Better how?” A faint smile tugged at the corner of Qin Zui’s mouth. “When I was a kid, I’d listen to him smashing stuff, and I always felt like the next crash was going to land on my head.”
“I was just thinking,” Jiang Chu said, rubbing Qin Zui’s head gently. “Liang Xiaojia can at least come to you after every beating. Who could you turn to?”
Qin Zui looked at him.
“Here, I have to coax you and give in to you every single day. But back home, you’re everyone’s ‘Little Brother Qin Zui.’” Jiang Chu clicked his tongue in mock exasperation. “Not fair, huh?”
“You feeling cheated?” Qin Zui kept looking at him.
“Yeah.” Jiang Chu raised an eyebrow.
The words had barely left his mouth when Qin Zui suddenly reached up, wrapped his arm around the back of Jiang Chu’s head, and pulled him into a hug. He lowered his head and gave a loud, smacking kiss right behind Jiang Chu’s ear. A real, audible “mwah” kind of kiss.
“Then let’s switch. You call me ‘Brother Qin Zui’ every day, and I’ll coax you.” He whispered against Jiang Chu’s ear.
Jiang Chu was still completely out of it, caught off guard. The numbing tingle that shot from behind his ear straight into his brain nearly sent him flying off the couch.
He shuddered, his head jerking back and smashing right into Qin Zui’s chin.
“Ow.” Qin Zui lifted his neck, let him go, and rubbed his jaw.
“What the hell was that!” Jiang Chu kicked him, rubbed his own ear a couple of times, then grabbed Qin Zui’s hand. “Did you get hurt?”
“Doesn’t your head hurt?” Qin Zui rubbed his chin, looking at him with a smile in his eyes.
“Worry about yourself!” Jiang Chu was speechless. The skin behind his ear was still tingling, and he rubbed it for a long time before it finally stopped.
On the morning of the 29th of the lunar year, Jiang Chu’s mom called to ask when he was coming over for the New Year.
Jiang Chu was just about to go out with Qin Zui to buy some New Year supplies—there wasn’t even a single “fortune” sticker on their door.
He glanced at Qin Zui, who was making breakfast in the kitchen, then took his phone into the study.
“How about I come by tomorrow around noon? I’ll have a meal with you and Uncle Fang and then head back,” he discussed with his mom.
“A meal? Then just head back?” His mom was probably cleaning. She was busy all year round, but before the New Year, she insisted on doing a deep clean. She spoke in fragments, pausing midway to call out to Fang Zhou to bring her a new bucket of water.
“I need to go see your grandma at your aunt’s place on New Year’s Day. I was also thinking, this year, why don’t you skip your dad’s place? Come over today, spend the night, and tomorrow is New Year’s Eve anyway.” His mom was calculating rapidly. “Tomorrow noon… and at night? If you’re not home at night, your Uncle Fang and I won’t have to wait until New Year’s Day. We can head over right after lunch tomorrow.”
“I can’t just leave Qin Zui to spend New Year’s Eve alone, can I?” Jiang Chu idly flipped through a book on the desk. “He’s still here with me.”
“He’s not going to spend it with his mom?” His mom sounded surprised.
“If he goes, they’ll both just get angry and feel awkward,” Jiang Chu said.
“Hmm, right. With you is where he’s most comfortable, isn’t it.” His mom gave a cold, short laugh.
Jiang Chu laughed too. “Hey…”
He had actually considered whether he could bring Qin Zui to his mom’s place for dinner.
Normally, it wouldn’t matter, but tomorrow was New Year’s. Even if it was just lunch, when he thought about how everyone else would be with their families, and Qin Zui would be home alone eating noodles, his heart ached.
But he felt embarrassed to bring it up. He chatted with his mom for a bit, and she didn’t seem to have any intention of inviting him.
“Alright, let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll come over early tomorrow. Not today.” Jiang Chu didn’t say more on the phone. “Is there anything you want me to bring?”
“Just bring yourself. Since when have you ever been short on things you buy for me?” his mom said quickly. “Alright, hang up.”
She said not to bring anything, but Jiang Chu still had to buy things anyway.
Not just for his mom and Fang Zhou, but also for Jiang Liantian and Qin Shuman—cigarettes, alcohol, tea, gifts—and for the four sets of grandparents as well.
He got these things from Hua Zi at wholesale price. After getting the New Year gifts for the parents sorted, the two of them then went to buy food and drinks for themselves.
The supermarket was packed. Red lanterns hung everywhere, and “Wishing You Wealth” blasted on a loop as the official soundtrack. The moment Jiang Chu heard that background music, he felt the festive mood kicking in. He grabbed a cart and pushed it to Qin Zui.
“This is the first time I’ve actually come out to buy stuff for the New Year,” Qin Zui said, pushing the cart forward at a leisurely pace.
Buying things for the New Year was all about getting into the spirit. Jiang Chu didn’t usually eat chips or drink soda, but he still tossed things into the cart as they passed the various New Year promotional displays.
“Huh?” He grabbed a carton of milk. “How did you and your dad spend the New Year?”
“Cook a couple extra dishes, set off a string of firecrackers.” As he spoke, Qin Zui followed behind Jiang Chu, pulling out the unnecessary items and putting them back on the shelves.
“What about your grandparents?” Jiang Chu asked.
“Never met them.” Qin Zui picked up a jug of oil, looked at it, then put it in the cart.
Jiang Chu turned to look at him. He didn’t even need to ask about his maternal grandparents. Qin Shuman couldn’t even meet her own parents, let alone her side of the family.
“Then you’d better enjoy this now.” Jiang Chu threw two large gift boxes of nuts into the cart. “Take whatever you want. I’m paying.”
Qin Zui smiled and took a bag out again.
“Spring Festival and Valentine’s Day are right on top of each other this year. Chocolate is everywhere.” Jiang Chu passed a whole row of chocolate towers and was just about to ask Qin Zui which one to get when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey, Brother Chu, it is you!” Chen Linguo stood behind him, beaming.
“What a coincidence.” Jiang Chu smiled.
“I’m the one who should be saying that. This mall is way closer to my place. What are you doing here? On your own?” Chen Linguo looked around and spotted Qin Zui approaching. She called out, “Little brother!”
“I was shopping nearby, so I just popped in,” Jiang Chu said. “What about you?”
“I came to buy snacks with my sister. There’ll be a bunch of kids at home tomorrow.” Chen Linguo looked around but didn’t see her sister. Then she suddenly gasped. “Oh, right!”
“Tomorrow’s your birthday, isn’t it, Brother Chu? I was planning to wish you a happy birthday and a happy new year together during the Spring Festival gala tomorrow night.” Chen Linguo picked up a bucket of chocolate from her own cart and plopped it into the one Qin Zui was pushing. “Perfect. Consider this your birthday gift.”
Qin Zui had been listening to them talk with a detached air. The words “birthday” hit his ears, and his gaze sharpened. He swept a quick glance at Jiang Chu, then fixed his eyes on the bucket of chocolate in the cart.
“You do realize that if you put it in there, I’m the one paying for it, right?” Jiang Chu laughed and picked up Chen Linguo’s chocolate to hand it back.
“Oh, right.” Chen Linguo just caught on. She looked a bit embarrassed, covering her mouth as she giggled. “I keep thinking that if it’s in my cart, it’s mine… How about I pay for it and then give it to you?”
“Thanks, I’m deeply moved. But you should just take it home for the kids. I don’t eat this stuff anyway.” Jiang Chu didn’t linger in the conversation.
Right then, Chen Linguo’s sister came back with a bunch of passion fruit. They exchanged quick greetings, and Jiang Chu quickly steered Qin Zui over to the vegetable section on the other side.
“It’s so easy to run into people you know when there are a lot of people,” Jiang Chu remarked.
“Chen Linguo and her sister look a lot alike,” he added.
“I was actually going to grab some chocolate, but her popping up like that made me too embarrassed to pick any up,” he said.
Jiang Chu made three comments in a row, but he didn’t hear a single response from Qin Zui.
He turned his head. Qin Zui was carefully bagging a vibrant green head of broccoli.
“We’ll loop back and get some later.” Jiang Chu picked up a head of broccoli and threw it into the bag too.
Qin Zui took his out.
“I’ve been buying stuff this whole way, and you’ve been taking it all out again.” Jiang Chu flicked his hand away and forcibly stuffed his chosen broccoli back into the bag.
“It’s your birthday tomorrow?” Qin Zui had no choice but to open the bag and let him put it in.
“Yeah.” Jiang Chu grunted in acknowledgment.
He didn’t have to guess how Chen Linguo knew. If Bao Li could tell her his home address, knowing his birthday wasn’t exactly a stretch.
“I thought you didn’t celebrate it?” Qin Zui asked again.
“I don’t. She just happened to know, and it got mentioned since it’s coming up.” Jiang Chu said.
Qin Zui nodded, then when he turned to go weigh the broccoli, he added, “I thought you wouldn’t tell anyone even if they asked.”
That was a strange thing to say.
Jiang Chu watched Qin Zui’s retreating back for a moment. He felt like the guy was a bit unhappy, but he couldn’t pinpoint why.
Did he not like Chen Linguo?
Was he upset that Chen Linguo wanted to give him chocolate?
That would be a pretty… subtle thing to be upset about.
A good while passed. Qin Zui had already moved from the broccoli stall to the yogurt cooler, when it suddenly hit Jiang Chu—Qin Zui had asked about his birthday before, and he’d brushed it off with a few vague words.
