CH 4

It wasn’t until Xu Qin got home that she found a series of missed calls on her phone. She was about to call back when Meng Yanchen’s call came.

“Hello?”

“There was a fire in your area?” Meng Yanchen asked.

“The next street over. I’m fine here.” Xu Qin kicked off her shoes and walked into the room barefoot.

“That’s good.” Meng Yanchen asked again, “Have you been busy recently?”

“A little.” Xu Qin passed by the floor-to-ceiling mirror and caught a glimpse of her body covered with flecks of mud. She furrowed her eyebrows, feeling uncomfortable, “I’ll tell you later, going to take a shower. I’m going home tomorrow to see our parents.”

“Okay.” Meng Yanchen hung up the phone.

Standing under the shower, Xu Qin saw the splashing water and suddenly remembered Song Yan’s rude eyes, his handsome face covered with black soot and sweat, with a wicked expression, exactly the same as before.

At that time, Xu Qin was only a middle school student.

It would have been summer. Xu Qin was on her way home after school, but was stopped by Song Yan and his gang of hooligans.

Xu Qin was accustomed to walking with her head down. It wasn’t until she almost stepped on Song Yan’s shoes that she realized her vision was being blocked by someone, and raised her head.

Song Yan raised his chin: “Your name is Meng Qin right?”

Xu Qin was silent.

Song Yan rushed to her and said, “I have a crush on you.”

His friends giggled, Song Yan frowned, turning around to curse: “Fucking get lost! Can’t you see I was coaxing your sister-in-law? Whoever makes a sound again, I will beat him to death!”

The group stepped back in a circle, Song Yan looked back at Xu Qin and frowned: “Speak.”

Xu Qin stared at him for a while and said: “I don’t know you.”

“My name is Song Yan, I’m your man.”

Xu Qin lowered her head disinterestedly and continued to walk forward silently.

Song Yan put his hands in his pockets, raised his chin and looked at the sky with a smile. His long legs moved, and his tall body blocked Xu Qin’s path.

Xu Qin went to the left, he calmly blocked the left side; she walked to the right, he blocked the way to the right unperturbed.

With this back and forth, Xu Qin raised her head to look at him again, her gaze indifferent.

Song Yan tilted his head slightly, raised his chin to look down at her, both smiling and not: “I’m asking you something. We’re not done talking, why are you running? Huh?”

Xu Qin didn’t answer and tried to take the opportunity to run away.

Song Yan quickly blocked her way, Xu Qin couldn’t avoid it in time and bumped into him.

“Aiya1—” He hummed vaguely and laughed, “Come, fall into me again, fall into my heart.”

Xu Qin backed up, blushing slightly, and finally broke her silence: “Rogue!”

Song Yan, who had kept his hands in his pockets, wiggled his arms at her as proof, and said innocently: “What did I do?”

Xu Qin: “Why are you blocking my way?”

Song Yan raised his chin: “I have taken a fancy to you, who do I block if not you?”

Xu Qin was silent.

“Did you hear what I just said? Huh?” Song Yan lowered his head and looked her in the eyes, “If you don’t talk, I won’t let you go.”

Young Xu Qin stood there with a blank expression, looking at him, not speaking or leaving.

The two stood at a stalemate, neither of them willing to give in, and eventually stood up to each other, ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour, an hour……

Maybe people can only be childish and stubborn to that extent when they are in their youth.

Xu Qin was absentminded for a moment, and turned off the faucet abruptly.

It was just a chance encounter, we won’t see each other again.

But it was an unimportant person, and she didn’t expect to see him again.

When she went home the following day, she ran into a bit of trouble.

Xu Qin forgot to bring her pass. The soldier standing guard at the gate was probably a newcomer. He didn’t recognize her or remember her license plate, so she was stopped and asked to sign in.

Xu Qin rummaged through the bag for a while, raised her head, and said softly: “I just happened to change my wallet, and forgot my ID card.”

The guard asked: “Who are you looking for?”

Xu Qin paused for a second and said: “Meng Huaijin, Chief of Staff.”

The man standing guard was still doubtful, looking her up and down.

Xu Qin sat in the car and didn’t say a word, but wondered why the sun was still so hot when it was already evening, making the inside of the car unexpectedly stuffy and humid.

As the guard was about to say something else, another soldier strode over and gave a salute. The young man standing guard didn’t know the reason, but he followed and saluted as well.

The soldier raised the railing: “Miss Meng, I’m sorry for the inconvenience, he’s new here and wasted your time.”

Xu Qin smiled lightly: “It’s alright.”

She stepped on the accelerator slightly, drove into the courtyard, and the two soldiers saluted as she passed.

This family courtyard was built in the 1980s, with red walls and white tiles, lined with green trees, and had a rather old-fashioned style. Although it was adjacent to the West District city center, it was surrounded by lakes on three sides and faced the museum and library, a rare quiet spot amidst the noise.

Xu Qin parked the car but wasn’t in a rush to enter the house, her chest felt tight and stuffy.

She smoked a cigarette behind the bushes, stood in the shade of the tree, the air was cool, and her mood gradually relaxed. She saw a little yellow amongst the green leaves. It was still summer, but on the ginkgo tree on the other side of the wall, there was a patch of leaves that had turned slightly yellow, like a child who had been naughty.

Back then, Song Yan had hopped over this wall to find her. That rascal had memorized the frequency of patrols going back and forth.

But that’s out of the question now, there are security cameras installed all over the wall.

Xu Qin put out the cigarette, sprayed some perfume on her hands, and walked out of the bushes.

When she reached the front door, Meng Yanchen’s car drove up.

Xu Qin stood there, waiting for Meng Yanchen in his military uniform to get out of the car.

Since he was little, Meng Yanchen had been the best looking boy in the area. His appearance in his youth could even be described as beautiful. On the contrary, in recent years, after putting on the military uniform, his delicacy had faded and he had a more heroic spirit. The older he got, the more he looked like Meng Huaijin when he was younger: unhurried, upright and disciplined, every one of his gestures had an air of nobility.

Meng Yanchen kept his eyes locked on Xu Qin: “You seem to have lost weight?”

Xu Qin: “It’s not that dramatic. How long has it been since the last time you came back?”

Meng Yanchen took off his military cap: “Two weeks.”

Xu Qin was going up the steps, and turned her head to stare at him: “And you’re one to talk?”

Meng Yanchen looked at her slightly indignant expression, paused for a moment, then smiled and followed her into the house.

Xu Qin entered and changed her shoes, calling out: “Dad, Mom.”

Meng Yanchen followed in her footsteps: “Dad, Mom.”

Fu Wenying came out of the study: “Why did you two come back together?”

Xu Qin: “We ran into each other at the front door. Where’s my dad?”

“He went to play chess with Xiao Yixiao’s father. It’s almost mealtime, he should be back soon.”

Xu Qin: “I just sweat in the car, I’ll go upstairs to change my clothes.”

Fu Wenying frowned slightly, looked around for a while, and asked with a smile: “Who smoked?”

Xu Qin didn’t respond.

“Me.” Meng Yanchen said, “I just smoked a cigarette in the car. I aired myself out for a while, but you still smelled it.”

Fu Wenying continued to smile: “Did you forget the house rules?”

Meng Yanchen raised his hand: “Don’t bring the smell of cigarettes home, I promise there will be no next time.”

Xu Qin went upstairs and closed the door, glancing around her room, it seemed that nothing had changed. She went to the table and opened the drawer, her sawdust and small carvings had been cleaned out again.

Fu Wenying has always disliked her carving, saying that she spent all day sitting in her room woodcarving, not speaking to anyone. A good girl, spoiling her brain.

She also didn’t like her being a surgeon, saying that there were too many germs, that it was thankless, and that the profession of a doctor was not what a child of their family should be doing.

Xu Qin closed the drawer, picked out a dress from the closet, and started to undress.

Meng Yanchen knocked on the door twice, and pushed it open at the same time: “Qin Qin2——”

Xu Qin’s shirt was half off, her pale pink shoulders and blue bra were exposed. Her dark eyes calmly looked at Meng Yanchen. Meng Yanchen held his phone by his ear, was stunned for a while, then pulled the door halfway closed, then paused again.

Xu Qin asked: “What’s the matter?”

Meng Yanchen: “Yixiao called. He got a room in Wan Liu and asked if we wanted to go in the evening.”

Xu Qin nodded: “Yes.”

Meng Yanchen closed the door, stood behind with his head down for a while, then turned and left.

Xiao Yixiao was their neighbor, a buddy born in the same year, same month and same day as Meng Yanchen. However, one is like fire and the other is like ice. From childhood to adulthood, neither will give in to each other. If you go east, then I’ll stubbornly go west.

The first time the two ever reconciled was actually upon the arrival of Xu Qin.

Xu Qin didn’t like to talk, but only liked to carve wood with a knife, like a little robot. Xiao Yixiao liked this little sister a lot, and looked at her curiously. Sometimes he touched her hand or poked her face, but she didn’t cry or make noise, she just looked at him with her round black pupils. Xiao Yixiao liked this a lot and ran over to the Meng residence every day. Meng Yanchen chased him away: “This is my little sister, not yours.”

Xiao Yixiao was so angry that he went back and threw a tantrum at his mother: “I want a little sister too. She has to be exactly the same as Xiao Qin.” His mother gave him a beating.

Xiao Yixiao had heard Fu Wenying say that Xu Qin was going to get sick from staying at home all the time, so he climbed the window every day to play with Xu Qin, and told Xu Qin how fun it was outside in order to lure her out.

One day, Xu Qin carved a little man and wordlessly stuffed it into Xiao Yixiao’s hands. Xiao Yixiao saw that the carving was a miniature version of himself. He was so happy that he excitedly took it to Meng Yanchen to show off. Meng Yanchen chuckled and showed him a drawer of more than a dozen wood carvings of little Meng Yanchen.

Xiao Yixiao was so angry that he almost bit Meng Yanchen to death.

Xu Qin had been overprotected by these two since she was a child and had few friends. Outside the courtyard, her communication with the outside world was like a dragonfly skimming the water.

Only Song Yan was an exception.

After dinner, Meng Yanchen said that he was going to hang out with Xiao Yixiao. Fu Wenying didn’t ask further, it was seldom that she approved, but did ask why Meng Yanchen didn’t learn from Xiao Yixiao and find a girlfriend.

Meng Yanchen pretended he didn’t hear.

Xiao Yixiao was a typical local child, and liked to gather his friends to hang out nightly. From east to west of the city, from south to north, there were no people that he didn’t recognize or places he hadn’t been. He had a lot of friends, and a lot of girlfriends. Xu Qin once said that he was fickle, but Xiao Yixiao spread his hands: “How can you call me fickle, I’ve loved you for so many years, heaven and earth as my witness.” Xu Qin couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to his jokes.

He had been mischievous since childhood and was beaten by his father until the age of twenty-eight. He had no interest in traditional careers, and liked to socialize to do business. The most naughty one had actually become the richest.

Xiao Yixiao was a frequent customer of Wan Liu, and spent practically every night here receiving guests to talk business, appreciate wine and beauties, and spend money extravagantly. Meng Yanchen only had to mention Xiao Yixiao’s name for the tall and handsome waiter to bend at the waist to lead the way.

Passing by the dazzling elevator, Xu Qin inadvertently saw the red fire hydrant. There was a “fire safety inspection” column on the side, which recorded the inspection date, inspector unit, name, and evaluation status.

“April 16th, Nancheng District Fire Brigade, Wang Xuankai, authorized.”

……

“September 17, Nancheng District Fire Brigade, Zhang Haoke, authorized.”

The elevator ding-donged, the door opened, Xiao Yixiao was inside.

Meng Yanchen: “Where are you going?”

Xiao Yixiao: “We are honored by Doctor Xu’s presence, have to personally go downstairs to pick her up.”

Xu Qin turned her head and said lightly: “With these skills, save it to coax your girlfriend.”

Xiao Yixiao caught her expression, looked back at the form, and asked: “What are you looking at?”

Xu Qin: “It’s nothing.”

The elevator went up slowly,

Xu Qin suddenly said, “I saw Song Yan last week.”

Meng Yanchen and Xiao Yixiao each had a different expression on their faces.

Xiao Yixiao was the first to ask: “What is he up to? My guess is he won’t be a local boss like me.”

Xu Qin’s eyes dimmed and said, “Firefighter.”

There was silence in the elevator, and Xu Qin could hear the pity in the silence.

Meng Yanchen, who has always maintained self-restraint, snorted: “I knew that kid wouldn’t have much success.”

Xu Qin smiled lightly: “Yes.”

Translator’s notes:

1 āi yā 哎呀 – interjection of wonder, shock or admiration

2 Qìn Qìn 沁沁 – Xu Qin’s name doubled up. It’s a form of nickname. Something that happens normally during childhood and breeds familiarity.