Chapter 14: Summer of the Second Year.
It was once again summer. At the start of July, I went to pick up Xiao Di (it was pretty much our holiday trip for this year.)
We hadn’t met for half a year, the big boy had already dyed his hair brown and his hair was naturally curly, combined with sungla.s.ses, he looked very gaudy.
He took me to visit many places, Xu Wei Yu followed behind and spent most of the time playing on his phone.
Xiao Di looked back a few times then said to me, “Sis, is that person here to sight see or to play games? Balabala! (He doesn’t know how to appreciate the magnificent view and such).”
Wei Yu heard him and without raising his head, “This scenery, Master, I, have seen too much of.” He sang this out to the tune of a song.
Xiao Di: “Then why did you come? You might as well not have come altogether!”
Wei Yu cast a look at me, “I came to see your sis ah.”
“……”
Xiao Di rubbed his arms in disgust “You are really able to say everything out ah! So cold! Sigh, I’ve already grown gooseb.u.mps!”
Xu Wei Yu was still very calm: “It’s not me who’s getting gooseb.u.mps. Right, I saw on your ‘must die*’ (Facebook) that you have a girlfriend? Saying this out, aren’t you afraid your sis is against you dating so early?”
*[He said 非死不可 fe si bu ke which translates to ‘must die’ but sounds like Facebook.]
“……”
“It’s a female gender friend! Female gender friend! Did you not see that ‘gender’?”
“Oh, so there is a ‘gender’ ah…”
Me: “……”
This was the first day.
Later it became even worse, there’s not one day where they don’t fight.
The first day at home.
I spent the entire day at home with Xiao Di and listening to him chatter away for the whole day, I couldn’t help but feel a bit touched.
Finally, Xiao Di said, “Sis, my hairstyle is already very refreshing, don’t get me to go get a crew cut okay?”
I say okay.
Xiao Di was dumbstruck, “It was this easy? Then why did I talk so much just now ah why did I? My mouth is dry!”
The touched feeling I had before dispersed into nothing.
In the evening, Xiao Di chatted with me and asked where we were going for dinner?
I said, “Tonight Xu Wei Yu said that he’ll treat us.”
Xiao Di became insipid as soon as he heard, “Why is he treating?!”
Xu Wei Yu arrived at that moment and smiling, said, “Since you’re so enthusiastic, then you treat?”
I saw that they were about to fight again and quickly said, “I’ll treat.”
That night, I drove the three of us out.
On the car, Xiao Di said, “My sis is driving the car, my sis is treating us to dinner, Xu Wei Yu, aren’t you ashamed?”
Xu Wei Yu: “Why would I be ashamed? I belong to your sis.”
“……”
They fought the entire way there.
After Xiao Di came back, he was restless at home and from time to time, he would shout to go watch a movie, play sport, go swimming.
One day, my mom said, “Xiao Di’s personality is really different from his sister’s. When I call his sister out, she is rarely happy, she only likes to stay at home.”
Wei Yu nodded, “Qing Xi is rather gentle and quiet.”
“She is ah, she’s polar opposites to her little brother.” And then, my mom started to give examples, “If the remote control fell on the floor, Xiao Di would pick it up and put it on the coffee table and he’d put it there properly whereas Qing Xi would only look at it but not pick it up. She would say to me, ‘Mom, if you’re going to watch the TV, the remote control is here’, and point at it.”
I……
Wei Yu resisted laughing, “Qing Xi……Is rather careless.”
Actually, I only think that if it keeps falling, it might as well be left on the floor. It’ll also redce the possibility of it breaking. Of course there aren’t very many people who share this point of view……
At night, I watched television on the sofa with Xu Wei Yu and Xiao Di.
Xiao Di: “Sis, you have bad hair loss ah.” He said it while pinching a few strands of hair on the sofa.
I subconciously replied, “On what basis are you saying that it’s me?”
Xu Wei Ru suddenly laughed, “Qing Xi, you actually also have some stupid moments. You can tell from the length of the hair that it can only be yours.”
Eh, okay then. However when did these two gang up together?
As a result, before I even said anything, Xiao Di already burst, “Why are you calling my sis stupid? You’re stupid. Your whole……You’re the most stupid!”
Wei Yu made a “pft” sound and said, “Fine, I’m stupid, you’re black* alright. Come, Little Black, get Master White a bottle of juice.”
*{Wei Yu called Qing Xi 小白 which literally means little white but can also mean stupid or foolish.]
“……”
I had good foresight and dispersed from the fighting into the study room and opened the computer.
Not too long after, Xu Wei Yu entered looking pleased, he raised his arm and said, “If that little wolf can’t win, he’ll bite. He really has no cla.s.s.”
I asked, where’s Xiao Di?
Wei Yu replied, “Locked outside the house. I told him to send me a text if anything happens.”
“……”
It was extremely hot this summer and I suffered from a heatstroke. The next day, I went to gua sha* with Xiao Di. Afterwards, Xiao Di came out and looked at the red marks all over his body through the mirror, he had a conflicted expression and finally he said, “In the future, how is am I going to wear a singlet out to meet people ah.”
*[Gua sha- Sc.r.a.ping the patient’s neck, chest and or back as a popular treatment for sunstroke.]
“……”
That night, Wei Yu looked at my back and leisurely said, “As expected, no matter how you change, I’ll still be able to accept it.”
I thought inside, this can still be changed back but you’ve already started to mind, what will happen if I really become disfigured in the future?
When I was just about to ask, he gave a long sigh and and said quite sorrowfully, “It looks like I can’t be saved in this lifetime, hehe.”
Due to his “hehe”, I didn’t know whether I was angry or amused anymore.
I heard Xiao Di on the phone with his friend, he chattered with a mixture of Chinese and English and the phrase, “You are so two!” would occasionally appear. At the start, I didn’t understand but later when he said it twice in a row, I reacted and became speechless. After he came home, he learnt the current most popular phrase on the internet, “You are so two!*” and he even translated it into English to use. Later, he pretty much became addicted to it and apart from me, he’ll use it on anyone when he got the chance to. When Xu Wei Yu came over, he also wasn’t an exception. Xiao Di opened the door and said, “Hi, you are so two.”
*[You are so two means you are so stupid.]
Xu Wei Yu gave him a glance and calmly replied, “You too.”
I can only say……Ginger is hotter when it’s old.*
*[Veterans are more able].
At night, Xiao Di opened three computers. When I walked into the study room and saw him, I gaped for a while, I said what are you doing opening three computers? Wasting energy.
Xiao Di said, “I’m playing games on the desktop compter. I’m watching movies on my little a. Mom said that that old laptop was too slow so I’m helping her reinstall.”
Wei Yu came in and saw this scene, “What? This little devil changed careers to a hacker ah?”
Xiao Di: “None of your business!”
Xu Wei Yu laughed, “Who wants to see your business ah, I’m only mocking you.”
“……”
Very long ago, when I was chatting with my friend, we got to the topic of star signs.
Girl: “Xiao Di is a Virgo right? Very hard to engage?”
Me: “He’s an Aries.”
Girl: “Eh.”
Me: “If it’s like this, my boyfriend seems to be a Gemini and I’m a Scorpio……It seems to be not so harmonious.”
Girl: “How is it not harmonious? Is it……not harmonious on the bed?”
Me: “I was bored so I just Baidued* it, it’s too funny. Extract: ‘Your (Scorpio and Gemini) s.e.xual relationship is very affected by outside factors. If everyone is in a good mood then of course it is pleasant. But once you fight, your characters will often start to do deals and haggle, sometimes if it isn’t handled well, there is a possibility that Scorpio will become violent and wallow in anesthesia like alcohol, cigarettes and such.’ Thus……if our s.e.xual life isn’t hamonious, I might indulge in excessive drinking and smoking plus family violence?”
*[Baidu is the Chinese version of Google.]
Girl: “Haha. I feel sympathetic towards Young Master Xu……hahahahaha.”
I sweated, “Smoking and excessive drinking plus family violence……I already have the feeling that I’m a big gangster sister providing for a little pretty boy.”
Girl: “This is good, Big gangster sis VS little pretty boy, later write this type of story!”
I became quiet for a long time.
Then I accidentally saw that the most compatible star sign for Gemini was……Aries.
After I finished reading it, I collapsed laughing, “This is even funnier! ‘Aries (Xiao Di) and Gemini (Young Master Xu) is a very ideal couple. You who is the wind type, and an Aries who is the fire type, are both positive star signs, and your positions are very good; your personalities and actions are also very close and it is easy for you two to share and attract each other. Aries seeks new things and changes, they don’t rigidly adhere to trifles and they don’t have principles that make them defend to the death which is quite similar to Gemini’s tastes. However, Gemini’s thinking abilities are excessively fast, making Aries working hard to chase up behind which may easily make him turn into a volcano.’ ”
Girl: “Pfft……So to speak, they should pair up?”
Me: “‘Aries and Gemini will fall immediately into deep love madly and without restraint. They won’t consider the future at all and can’t be bothered wasting time to guess whether the ending of this love will be happy or leave one heartbroken.’ It turns out they’re a pair whereas I’m a big gangster sister……I’ll probably be extinguished in the end.
Girl: “Too happy, I can’t anymore ah! They are S&M! And you try to stop this! Big gangster sister can’t get him so she uses family violence!”
Me: “……”
The girl already became very happy YYing* about it.
*[YY= fantasizing]
Me: “I think that I should help them and I’ll s.n.a.t.c.h territory and build up my career instead.”
The girl burst out laughing.
Later, when Xu Wei Yu saw this part, he asked, “Is your boyfriend a Gemini?”
I was suspicious, “Aren’t you a Gemini?”
Wei Yu took a deep breath and said it out one word at a time, “I, am, a, Virgo!”
“……”
Okay then, it turns out that so and so being a very ideal pair as expected, can only be YYed.
In the middle of the night, Xiao Di knocked on my door then opened it slightly and put his head in and asked me in a soft voice, “Sis, I’m going out, do you want me to bring anything for you?”
I asked vaguely, “What things?”
“Food.”
“……What time is it now?”
“Midnight.”
“……No need.” I turned my head and continued sleeping.
Xu Wei Yu who was beside me also woke up and unhappily asked, “Is this brat being intentional or is he sleepwalking ah?”
After around two minutes, a hand moved on to my waist……I opened my eyes and pulled that hand away, “What are you doing?”
Xu Wei Yu was in the blankets laughing, “Sleepwalking.” Then in a serious tone, “Qing Xi, when a person is sleepwalking, you can’t disrupt them!”
“……”
Xu Wei Yu went down south and my mother went back to her hometown.
At dinner, Xiao Di and I sat in front of the dining table.
Xiao Di: “Sis, Jiang Su and Zhe Jiang probably doesn’t have anyone living worse off than us right?”
Me: “Mm?”
Xiao Di was pretty sad, “In the morning we had plain porridge and pickled vegetables, for lunch it was plain porridge and tofu, at night it’s plain porridge and soy sauce……”
I am also sad ah.
It’s inconvenient without a car plus the weather was bad and I couldn’t be bothered going out. Thus it became the scene in front of us right now.
If we had to leave someone at home, we have to leave someone who knows how to cook or else the people left behind will be very miserable.
The next day, Xiao Di and I both couldn’t stand plain porridge and noodles any longer so we went out to eat and went grocery shopping along the way.
When we were waiting for the bus, I was dying from the heat but the bus didn’t come and we only saw private cars whizz by us.
Xiao Di: “Sis, how about you go out and lift up your leg?”
Me: “……”
Xiao Di: “In England this is very useful.”
Me: “This is China.” If I raised up a leg, it’ll probably only attract a group of spectators.
At night, Xiao Di was playing on the computer. Suddenly, he ran over and said, “Sis, there’s been some turmoil happening in England!”
I said an “Oh”. Seeing him being pretty happy, I said, “What’s with your att.i.tude?”
Xiao Di walked back while rubbing his hands, laughing very reservedly, “I don’t know if our school will prolong our summer break, heh heh, heh heh……”
I called him back and said, “Just then there was a sister who saw this news and came to ask me if you’ve returned to school yet. She cares a lot about you.”
As soon as Xiao Di heard there was a pretty girl asking about him, he immediately said, “Really ah? Who?”
“That sister even dreamed about you last night.”
Xiao Di became bashful, “Is it true ah?”
I said it’s true ah, “However you’re too young so she won’t be attracted to you.”
Xiao Di walked bashfully back to the study, “Yet they still dreamed about me……”
One day, I suddenly remembered and asked Xiao Di about his results this year, he replied: Results and stuff are all floating clouds, what’s important is partic.i.p.ation!
“……”
There was still half a month until Xiao Di’s school started but my father hurried him back so he returned a few days earlier.
A quarter of an hour before Xiao Di went to the airport, he was still in front of the computer playing fighting games. The scene at the time: Wearing headphones with his legs crossed and shouting, “Are you stupid? Fire! No time!” He was speaking in English.
“……”
Xu Wei Yu shook his head and said, “There really is talent in every generation ah.”
Afterwards, airport.
Before Xiao Di checked in, he faced us with a solemn and tragic expression, “I’m going! When I come back half a year later, I’ll still be a true man!”
How much does this child not want to go back to school ah.