Those promises and agreements made in youth are the easiest to fulfill and also the most moving to hear. At the time, Jiang Shen had yet to understand this; he was young, and all the things he thought about were sweet and good. When he heard others mention Swan Lake, he truly hoped that he would be able to dance it one day, and he even wanted them to see it. With such a happy dream, even the foot stretches that he had to do every day were no longer that hard.
When Tan Lingling arrived home, she started worrying over how to meet the increased demand for her son's nutrition. After thinking for a long time, she could not help but fix her eyes upon Tony in the yard.
Jiang Luoshan wanted to laugh. "If you kill the chicken, Shen-zi will get angry with you."
She huffed at him. "Am I not allowed to look?"
He thought for a moment, then suggested, "Why don't we ask the Shen family about the milk first?"
Even though the village's main industry was agriculture and aquaculture, and it was not very developed in the matters of trade and commerce, its advantage was that it was located very close to a dairy farm, where Shen Shubao's father, Shen Guoliang, happened to work. The local milk brand was called Shuangxi, and it had been promoted in the village for a period of time before.
Having come to a decision, Tan Lingling went knocking on the Shen family's door. Shen Guoliang was not around, but Li Zhuo was.
"Zhuo-jie," Tan Lingling greeted. "You're home from work so early today?"
Behind Li Zhuo was Shubao. He would be entering his second year of junior high this year, and he was four years older than Jiang Shen.
Children went through their growth spurts earlier nowadays. Among his friends of similar age, Shubao was growing the fastest, and he already looked like a teenager. After greeting Tan Lingling, he returned to his room.
Li Zhuo poured her a cup of tea. "I just went to get a new pair of glasses for Shubao. I really don't know what he's been looking at, but his prescription is already at 200 degrees."
"Don't they say that only intelligent people wear glasses?" Tan Lingling chuckled.
"Oh please." Li Zhuo waved her hand, laughing. "How about your Shen-zi? Is he still dancing?"
"What else could he be doing?" Tan Lingling sighed. She found it a little difficult to speak, but, in the end, she still braced herself to do so. "I came today because I'd like to ask Shen-dage if he could help us get a daily delivery of milk. Since Shen-Shen has been dancing, his teacher said that he'll need to eat chicken, beef, drink milk, and eat more eggs… but you know what our family situation is like. We were wondering if we would be able to get any discounts, offers, or promotions of some sort by ordering through Shuangxi's employees."
She said everything in one go. Perhaps due to her embarrassment over the request, her face was a little red. She wrung her hands uneasily, then summoned the courage to continue, "If there's really nothing that can be done, I'll order something cheaper. I'm just afraid that the deliveries are fully booked already, and we won't be able to get onto the list…"
Li Zhuo finally had to interrupt her, frowning. "Ling-mei, what are you even saying?"
Tan Lingling bit her lip. She didn't respond and couldn't help but sigh again at the end.
Li Zhuo told her to wait a moment. She turned and entered another room, then came back out with a booklet, helping Tan Lingling fill it out. "I'll get Guoliang to bring it to the farm tomorrow, and delivery will start next week. Just hand the money to the delivery man."
Tan Lingling felt a little teary, repeating her thanks over and over several times. She thought that it still was not enough to express her gratitude, though, so before she left, she said, "I'm making wontons tonight, and I'll get Shen-zi to bring some to you later. You must accept them."
Li Zhuo feigned annoyance, waving her away. "Alright, I got it. We're all family here, why are you being so courteous?"
After Tan Lingling left, Li Zhuo put away the booklet for milk orders in an excellent mood. Just when she was about to call Shen Guoliang, Shubao suddenly came out of his room, glancing at the door. "Auntie Ling left?"
"Yes." She did not think too much of his question. "Why did you come out? You finished your homework?"
Shubao adjusted his new glasses, his tone placid. "I did. I came out to grab a yogurt."
Li Zhuo's call had gone through. "Guoliang… ah, the yogurt's in the fridge. Warm it up a little before drinking it."
"Okay." Shubao took the yogurt, then placed it casually on the desk in his room.
Jiang Shen knew nothing about his mother going to Shubao's place to order milk. He took the bus home happily, and when he passed by the bookstore, the old man called out to him.
"How's dance been going recently?" he asked, his pipe in his mouth.
Jiang Shen's ballet shoes were still around his neck, and it was only when he saw the old man that he remembered to put them back in his bag. "I can finally stand en pointe today, but I can't hold it for too long. My teacher said I'm doing alright."
The old man exhaled a breath of smoke. "Then you'll have to press your feet at night. Are you pressing them while sleeping?"
"No, I can't do that when I'm asleep." With a pained face, Jiang Shen stuck his tongue out. "They'll be numb the next day."
The old man chuckled as he mumbled, "A boy practicing ballet… he'll only suffer." He pointed at Jiang Shen, telling him to wait.
Obediently, the boy remained waiting outside. The man lifted the curtain and bent down, rummaging through his things, then finally brought Jiang Shen a DVD. "Here, watch this."
"What is it?"
"Didn't you mention something about an all-male cast Swan Lake before? Here it is."
Jiang Shen's eyes brightened. "Wow, Yeye! How do you have this?!"
The old man was rather pleased with himself. "What do I not have?"
Jiang Shen exclaimed happily. He threw his arms around the man's neck, nuzzling his cheek. "Thank you, Yeye!"
The old man in question pushed him away in disdain. "Why are you clinging onto me? I'm renting it to you! Pay up!"
Jiang Shen returned home, hugging the DVD as though it was a treasure. Tan Lingling was making wontons, and upon seeing her son, she rushed him, saying, "Change quickly and wash your hands, then deliver these wontons to Shubao's family."
"Deliver wontons?" He had yet to register what was going on. "Why are we giving them wontons?"
Tan Lingling clicked her tongue. "Just do as I ask! Why are you asking so many questions?"
Scratching his head, he obediently returned to his room to change his clothes. He took the DVD out, carefully blowing across the surface of the disc lightly. Holding it up, he stared at the circle in the center for some time, then his lips stretched into a grin slowly.
"Hurry up and come out! What are you dawdling in there for?" Tan Lingling shouted from outside.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Jiang Shen finished changing, then went to his mother and watched as she packed the wontons. She peered at him. "You're smiling so brightly, did something good happen?"
He immediately straightened his face. "No."
She did not probe further, but did stroke his nose. "Go on, then. Remember to greet them, and do it sweetly."
Shubao's place was quite a distance from the Jiang family's residence, and Jiang Shen still had the demeanor of a child while walking through the fields with the bag. The weather was hot, so he decided to remove his shoes, and along the way, he trapped quite a few loaches with his feet, only to release them all at the end.
The walk took him nearly fifteen minutes. He glanced at his feet, contemplating for some time, then ultimately went to the ditch to wash his feet clean before putting his shoes back on. Prior to stepping into Shubao's yard, he called out his greetings. "Uncle Guoliang, Auntie Zhuo! It's me, Shen-zi."
Shubao came out and opened the door for him. "Your mom called ten minutes ago. That walk of yours sure took a while."
Jiang Shen smiled in embarrassment. Li Zhuo and Shen Guoliang were both around, and with the food already on the dinner table, they insisted that he stay and join them.
"If I don't go home for dinner, my mom will beat me." Even when outside, he still feared Tan Lingling more.
Li Zhuo had no choice but to let him go, but before doing so, she packed up a box of food and passed it to him. "Bring this back to your mom."
He hesitated for a moment, but still accepted it.
Shubao took it upon himself to walk Jiang Shen to the fields on his way back home. Right as Jiang Shen was about to leave, the other called out to him.
"Shen-zi." The setting sun had nearly disappeared into the horizon. Shubao was wearing his new glasses, the expression on his face a little hard to read in the dusk. "Are you…"
Jiang Shen tilted his head. "What?"
The older boy opened his mouth. He seemed to be deliberating on whether or not he should mention what he knew, but in the end, he gave up. "Forget it," he mumbled.
Jiang Shen was baffled.
"Hold on."
"Oh, ok," he responded. Shubao returned home, running back out after a time.
"This is for you." He handed a yogurt to Jiang Shen.
Jiang Shen blinked. "A yogurt!"
He did not often drink milk at home, and yogurt was even less common a sight. As for eggs, they once raised chickens at home, but after Jiang Luoshan's back started troubling him, they sold them.
"There are pieces of fruit in it," Shubao emphasized. "Have some."
Jiang Shen was very happy. "Shubao-ge, you're so nice."
Shubao smiled back. "Wasn't I nice to you in the past?"
"You used to beat me up quite often in the past," Jiang Shen replied honestly.
Shubao had no words in response.
★
Since school would only start in September, Shubao and Goumao were still enjoying their summer break. That evening, when Jiang Shen returned home, Tan Lingling opened up the container that Li Zhuo had sent with him. Immediately, she felt her nose turn sour as tears welled up in her eyes, which flushed red, leaving her unable to say a word.
In the container was an entire, boiled spring chicken, ready to eat. Li Zhuo had even been considerate enough to deboned it. There was also a note from her, saying that no salt had been added.
An unprecedented occasion occurred that night. Jiang Shen had two chicken drumsticks, a luxury he had never enjoyed before, and he felt as though he was floating on air. After dinner, he returned to his room to press his toes, pondering over how he was going to ask Goumao if he could borrow his computer—Qingling-zi was learning how to draw, so the only ones who had a computer in the village were the siblings.
Jiang Shen pointed his feet, pressing down on his toes one by one. He was very distracted, thinking up one excuse after another, unable to come up with any that he was both satisfied with and would guarantee success. Sighing, he extended his legs to the sides in an effortless split. He bent forward, his upper body right against the floor, and rested his chin on the back of his hands.
Again, he sighed deeply.
Tan Lingling knocked on his door. "It's time to shower. Try to sleep early."
Agreeing obediently, he stood up. Tan Lingling was standing by his door carrying some clothes, and upon seeing him walk out, she shooed him to the bathroom. "Your father's inside. Go in and help him scrub his back."
It had been a while since Jiang Luoshan had showered with his son. Jiang Shen walked in with a towel, giggling at his father.
His father sat on a stool, turning his back towards Jiang Shen. "Did you lose some of your tan?" he asked.
Jiang Shen looked at his own arms, wetting the towel then placing it over Jiang Luoshan's shoulders. "I haven't been out in the sun as much. Let me tell you, Dad, the girls in the dance studio are all really fair!"
"They are girls, after all." The man turned towards his son and laughed. "Why would boys need to be so pale?"
Jiang Shen's thoughts were very innocent. "Because it looks good! There's a boy learning boxing next door, he's also very fair, and he looks good!"
"You made a new friend?" Jiang Luoshan asked casually.
"We've only spoken a few times…" Jiang Shen thought about it. He used more pressure, massaging Jiang Luoshan's waist. "Does that count as being friends?"
Sighing in content from the massage, his dad answered perfunctorily, his eyes half-lidded. "It does, of course it does… yeah, right there. Use a little more pressure."
His dance classes were held every afternoon, but in the mornings, Jiang Shen still dared not sleep in; the first thing he did after waking up early was to clean the chicken coop. Fortunately, there was only Tony in it now, so only a very tiny amount of waste had to be cleared.
As a chicken, Tony's daily routine was very healthy. It would crow at five in the morning, exercising its throat for an hour, then take a walk at six. Half an hour later, it would have breakfast, and at seven, it would already be waiting for Jiang Shen to join it, who would come into the yard to train at eight.
By the time Jiang Shen finished his two hours of basic training, his neighbor, Goumao, would finally be awake. Miao Hua'er had prepared breakfast for him. Having finished half of it, he held onto the other half, thinking that he would eat it later when he felt like it.
Shubao was waiting for him in his yard. Seeing how full Goumao's hands were, he was speechless. "Can't you finish your food before coming outside?"
Goumao was completely unconcerned. "Are you blind? There's so much of it!"
Shubao, of course, was not blind, but he could not be bothered to respond.
The two of them together went to the Jiang residence in search of Jiang Shen, but Tony was by the front gates, so Goumao refused to go in, instead raising his voice and shouting, "Shen-zi!"
Jiang Shen called back in acknowledgment and came out with an omelet in his mouth. He had actually already had breakfast, but was feeling hungry again after training. As such, he asked Tan Lingling to make him an omelet to tide over his cravings.
Shubao waved at him. "That's all you're eating?"
Stepping out of the yard, Jiang Shen stopped the vigilant Tony from coming out with him. The chicken was clearly very unhappy, crowing loudly at Goumao.
"I had porridge in the morning too." In front of Shubao, Jiang Shen was always quite well-behaved.
Shubao did not respond, only poking Goumao. "Give your eggs and milk to Shen-zi."
Question marks appeared all over Goumao's face. "But they're for me?"
Shubao took them from Goumao's hands directly instead, shoving them at Jiang Shen. "Weren't you just complaining that there was too much? This is perfect, then. Shen-zi can help you finish some."
Goumao was speechless.
Having received the eggs and milk, Jiang Shen did not know whether he should eat them or not. Goumao waved his hand, giving up. "Go ahead."
"How about I give the eggs back?" Jiang Shen asked.
Goumao gnashed his teeth ferociously. "Just eat them when I tell you to!"
"Go ahead and eat," Shubao said, "you're growing right now."
Goumao glared at him. "I'm growing, too."
Shubao burst out laughing. "You should grow a brain first," he said, with no courtesy.
The entertainment that village children had could be considered lacking, but it was still very abundant. Yet, despite the abundance, there were really not that much variety. Their few choices included things like searching for eggs in spring, fishing in summer, beating ears of rice in autumn, and playing in the snow in winter. No matter what little they had, the children could make a game out of it, and there were more than enough avenues for the children to have their wild fun.
Goumao's family owned the village's largest fishing grounds. His father, Chen Laoshi, had to go there early every morning, and by the time Goumao brought Shubao and Jiang Shen over, the fishing nets had nearly all been collected.
Qingling-zi sat by the pond, her feet bare, and she stood up when she saw Jiang Shen. "Shen-zi!"
Before Jiang Shen had time to respond, Goumao had already rushed over. "Qingling-zi, you better put your shoes on, or else!"
She pouted unhappily. "It's so hot! Who wants to wear shoes?"
He continued being unreasonable. "You still have to wear them!"
Qingling-zi was about to die of annoyance from this unfortunate brother of hers, deeply loathing how he wanted to stick his nose into everything. Her little face darkened, and she sat right back down while he bent down, took her shoes, and forced them back onto her feet. Despite her struggling, she was unable to free herself from him.
"Stop moving." Goumao held onto her ankle. "Don't you know that girls can't let their feet get cold?"
In a bad temper, she answered, "Are you my father? You're so naggy."
He put her shoes back on for her, then pulled her up. "Stay further away from the water."
Shubao took on the role of a mediator. "Alright, enough. It's rare for her to join us, just let her play."
Goumao was not very happy. "She's not your sister, of course you wouldn't care about her wellbeing."
"When have I not cared?" Shubao scolded laughingly. He looked at the little girl next to them. "Qingling-zi, want me to take you swimming?"
She blushed. Right as she was about to reply, she was shoved behind her brother's back.
Goumao pointed at Shubao in warning. "No flirting! Shen Shubao! Don't even think about taking advantage of my sister!"
In the end, Jiang Shen was left alone with Qingling-zi. They sat by the bank, the little girl staring resentfully at Goumao and Shubao, who were playing in the pond with their chests bare. The two boys had caught some sort of fish, shouting and yelling as they chased after each other.
"Why aren't you joining them?" Qingling-zi asked Jiang Shen hesitantly, pulling her eyes away from the boys in the pond.
Jiang Shen did want to play, but walking around the pond in bare feet could easily lead to an injury. He remembered what Miss Lin had said before, that he needed to "take care of his feet like they were his life." After having received this edict, he practically wanted to copy it right onto his own forehead.
Like an old lady, Qingling-zi sighed, complaining as she wrinkled her nose. "Goumao is so annoying."
"He's alright…" Jiang Shen thought for a moment, then put in a good word for Goumao. "He gave me his eggs and milk just now."
Qingling-zi laughed brightly. "You're speaking on his behalf just because he gave you some food?" she teased. "Jiang Shen, why are you so easy to coax?"
Of course Jiang Shen didn't think he was easy to coax, but he was also unable to refute her reasoning. In the end, he could only console himself with the thought that food was a necessity to all people.
Near noon, it became evident that Shubao and Goumao had yet to have enough of playing in the pond. Unable to wait any longer, Jiang Shen stood up and said to Qingling-zi, "I'm going back. Please tell your brother for me."
Qingling-zi nodded, looking as though she understood everything. "You're going to the Children's Center to dance?"
Silent, Jiang Shen was in a fluster. "H-how did you know?" he stammered.
"My mom told me about it," she said, as though it were obvious, then glanced at Jiang Shen with a smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
He was quite embarrassed. "That's not…" Halfway through, he looked around, as though feeling guilty, then emphasized in a low voice, "You must not tell."
Qingling-zi was about to die laughing. "I won't, really! My brother's a blockheaded fool, how would he ever understand?"
Jiang Shen ran through the fields. The rice plants were all growing beautifully, nearly reaching the height of an adult's waist. Leaping across the ditch by the paddy fields, he spread his arm out, and the tips of the plants brushed gently against his palm.
Holding his shoes, Tan Lingling rode her bicycle down to the asphalt road to deliver them to him. From a distance, she shouted, "Run slower! Be careful you don't trip!"
The summer sun was like wrinkled satin, spilling down and laying across the fragrant crops and fields.
A warm breeze blowing across the paddy fields combed through Jiang Shen's fringe gently. Mouth spread into a grin, he extended both arms, and with a simple, basic step known as the chassé, he made his way over to Tan Lingling. At the end, he even did a little spin, then bowed.
Wordless, she threw his shoes at him. "Look at what a show-off you are."
Jiang Shen laughed loudly, hanging his shoes around his neck. Just as he was about to run to the bus stop, Tan Lingling called him to a halt and handed him a lunchbox. "Take this."
He accepted it. Upon shaking the box, he heard something rolling about inside. "What is it?"
"Just two eggs. Save them for when you need them."
While Jiang Shen had hurried on his way to the dance studio, some of the girls had yet to arrive. Miss Lin was helping Song Xin stretch her legs, and she waved when she saw him. "You're here!"
"I'm here." Jiang Shen sat down right where he was standing and changed his shoes. He looked over at Song Xin; she was doing the splits with a rather unhappy expression, her chin in her hand as she looked at him listlessly.
"What's wrong?" He moved to sit next to her.
"I'm annoyed. I had an argument with my parents."
"What did you argue about?"
"I'll be in my second year of junior high when school starts again, and I have to pay proper attention to school. I said that I wanted to dance, so they were unhappy." She snorted. "As if I'm happy." Then, she looked at Jiang Shen. "What grade will you be in?"
"I'll be transferring into the third grade."
Song Xin sighed, a little envious. "Then you can still practice for three more years. How nice."
"We can't dance anymore in junior high?" He did not understand. "But you're still dancing, and you're so good at it."
Song Xin laughed. She was only around twelve or thirteen, but her laugh made her sound like an adult.
"You don't understand," she said. After thinking about it though, she seemed to realize that she was unable to explain it clearly, so she could only feign maturity. "You'll understand later on."
There were many basic steps in ballet. While learning, Jiang Shen would record them in his notebook; he would spell any terms he did not know phonetically, then go back home to memorize them gradually. Miss Lin knew about this habit of his, so she would slow down when speaking, and most of the girls who were familiar with these steps would even help him review. Usually, halfway through the lesson, Jiang Shen would have exerted three or four times more energy than the others.
He perspired a lot. Putting aside how tired he was, boys his age got hungry often. So during the break, he sneaked outside, intending to finish off the eggs he brought.
As he sat in the corridor and peeled an egg, the door to the boxing gym across the hall opened.
Bai Jinyi walked out with a head full of messy hair, his body exuding heat.
Halfway through peeling, Jiang Shen looked up at Bai Jinyi with a slightly open mouth.
At a loss for words, Bai Jinyi started fixing his hair, greatly concerned with his appearance. He walked over and sat down next to Jiang Shen. "What are you eating?" he asked.
Jiang Shen continued peeling, smiling at him. "An egg."
"Oh," Bai Jinyi replied, watching him peel.
Slowly, Jiang Shen finished peeling his egg. For some reason, out of nowhere, he thought about how Jiang Luoshan had said that they could be counted as friends, and after a moment of hesitation, he asked politely, "Do you want one?"
Bai Jinyi raised a brow. He paused for a while, then said succinctly, "Yes."
Silent and pained, Jiang Shen handed the egg to him.
Bai Jinyi finished it in two bites. After he was done, he wiped his mouth and said a little judgmentally, "Why is it so small?"
With a scowl, Jiang Shen no longer wanted to speak to him, quietly hiding his other egg behind his back.
★
Jiang Shen really regretted giving away his egg, as by the time he was done with class at the end of the day, he was dizzy from hunger, and only water could be heard sloshing around loudly in his belly. Miss Lin could not help but laugh. "You're that hungry?"
He still had to stay behind and clean up. Hearing that, he felt quite pitiful. "Yes."
While chuckling, she took out some biscuits from her bag. "Here, have some, and ask Song Xin to help you mop the floor."
Song Xin put on a very magnanimous expression. "I'll do it," she said generously.
Jiang Shen went to the corridor obediently to eat his biscuits. To avoid bumping into another robber like Bai Jinyi, he decided to sit by the backdoor of the boxing gym. Yet right as he was licking his fingers halfway through the biscuits, Lai Song somehow managed to discover him.
"Little Swan!" He waved at him. "What are you eating?"
Taken aback, Jiang Shen wondered if none of them were being fed enough. Why was this always the first thing they asked?
Lai Song was very friendly, and he walked out to sit down next to Jiang Shen. "Are those biscuits? They won't fill you up."
"They're all I have…" Jiang Shen grumbled.
"Why didn't you bring some eggs?"
"I did." He sighed. "I gave one to Bai Jinyi."
Eyes widening, Lai Song asked curiously, "Why did you give it to him?"
Jiang Shen frowned. "He asked for it."
"He's probably bullying you." Lai Song laughed. "A guy who brings sliced beef every day tricking you out of your egg? He can't do that. I'll have to scold him later."
Hearing that, Jiang Shen didn't feel that Bai Jinyi deserved to get scolded over an egg. "Forget it. He already ate it anyway."
Lai Song looked at him, delighted. "You're quite generous." He thought for a moment, then continued, "You're done, right? Want to watch Richie Rich Bai box?"
"I still have to clean the studio."
"Isn't there Song Xin?" Lai Song was completely unconcerned. He suddenly stood up, shouting at Song Xin in the studio. "Xin-Xin-mei! I'm taking Jiang Shen to our gym to play, so we'll leave the mopping to you!"
Song Xin seemed to be a little scared of Lai Song, but could not stand being called "Xin-Xin-mei." With her hands on her hips, she shouted back, "How many times have I told you?! You're not allowed to call me Xin-Xin-mei!"
Lai Song disregarded her words. "I've been calling you that for years. Why are you getting upset now?"
He then dragged Jiang Shen to the boxing gym. "Let's go, Little Swan! We'll go look at our Richie Rich Bai and get him to pay you back for the egg with KFC later."
The boxing class was nearing its end too, but Bai Jinyi was still up in the ring. Strangely, no one was training with him. The coach had tied a rope from one corner of the ring to the other and was making him practice his footwork.
Jiang Shen did not really understand what he was looking at, only seeing Bai Jinyi crouch down swiftly before standing back up again. With his shoulder against the rope, he moved over to the right side of it, and the next time he crouched down and stood up again, he was on the left side. Just like that, he slowly made his way forward, and when he reached the corner of the ring, he returned in the same manner.
"This is the slip rope drill," Lai Song explained. "Look at the movements of his legs—how he's evading and attacking." Lai Song demonstrated the same actions a couple of times. "Got it?"
A bit muddleheaded, Jiang Shen nodded. He watched for a little while more, then could not help but ask, "Isn't there anyone training with him?"
Lai Song exclaimed with an exaggerated expression. "No one will train with him. When Richie Rich Bai enters the ring, it belongs to him alone, and no one wishes to stir up any trouble." He pointed at the ring. "Just look. Does he seem like he's fighting anyone?"
Jiang Shen was genuinely unable to imagine how Bai Jinyi would look when boxing with someone else… or rather, he could not imagine how he would look getting beaten up.
In Jiang Shen's eyes, Bai Jinyi was someone who was born above the rest. Putting aside the thought of a fist landing on that pretty face, Bai Jinyi didn't even seem to know how to bow his head; his chin was always raised up high, and his back was always straight. There was an ever-present look of haughtiness on his face, arrogance filling his eyes.
Jiang Shen perhaps didn't even realize that among his feelings of confusion and muddleheadedness, there was also a trace of envy.
And just like everyone else that was looking at Bai Jinyi, even his tiny bit of envy became insignificant.
Lai Song looked down at Jiang Shen's feet, then suddenly asked, "Isn't it time for you to get a new pair of ballet shoes?"
Reflexively, Jiang Shen looked down as well, discovering that a seam near his toes on one of his shoes had already split. With a red face, he tucked that shoe behind his other leg in embarrassment.
Lai Song had no intention of laughing at him. "Where are the shoes you normally wear? I'll help you get them."
Done with his drills, Bai Jinyi left the ring. Drinking his water, he wiped his sweat away as his coach spoke to him. Many of the students surrounding the ring were all looking rather unreconciled and were all trying to listen in no matter how far they stood. Not minding the rest of them, Bai Jinyi was expressionless, and he only raised a thick brow out of habit when he turned and saw Jiang Shen.
"Little Swan," he called out to Jiang Shen, "come here."
Reluctantly, Jiang Shen walked over.
"What's that in your hand?" Bai Jinyi asked.
"Biscuits."
"You've finished them?"
Jiang Shen nodded.
The other shot him a frown. "What are you unhappy about?"
Jiang Shen blinked, then mumbled, "I'm not unhappy…"
Bai Jinyi snorted. "Stand here and don't move."
So Jiang Shen really did not dare to move. He watched helplessly as Bai Jinyi turned back to pack his belongings. A little bit later, Lai Song returned with Jiang Shen's regular shoes, even bringing him his bag.
"You're done?" With no sense of awkwardness, Lai Song waved at Bai Jinyi. "Little Swan, change into your shoes and let's go get something to eat."
Jiang Shen was clearly not short, but when standing between these two fellows who believed that they could speak the hard truth with their fists alone, he somehow ended up looking a lot more delicate and frail.
Lai Song was not courteous to Bai Jinyi at all. "Did you know that Little Swan almost starved to death today? Why did you eat his egg? What about your beef?"
Bai Jinyi pursed his lips. "I finished it by noon already." He glanced up at Jiang Shen. "You're hungry?"
Right when Jiang Shen was about to say no, the half pack of biscuits in his stomach unfortunately disagreed, its grumbling embarrassing him deeply.
Bai Jinyi narrowed his eyes, his tone rather impolite. "Why didn't you say so? Why did you give your egg to me then?"
"You looked like you wanted it…" Jiang Shen answered falteringly.
The other was unhappy. "I'm not that greedy."
"Are you guys done? I'm starving," Lai Song interrupted.
Bai Jinyi shot him a look, then turned towards Jiang Shen. "What do you want to eat?"
Before Jiang Shen could even open his mouth, Lai Song leaned into his ear. With a volume that anyone could hear, he said sternly, "K! F! C!"
Jiang Shen was speechless.
One KFC meal was nothing to Bai Jinyi. He ordered fifteen pieces of original fried chicken, two boxes of chicken nuggets, four sets of chicken wings, as well as an additional burger for Lai Song.
Lai Song was clearly used to this. Without another word, he sat down and dug in.
To Jiang Shen, however, the amount of food was shocking. He stared at the mountain-like pile of chicken with absolutely no idea where to start.
Bai Jinyi and Lai Song swiftly ripped off the oily, fried skin from the chicken. While licking his fingers, Lai Song asked Jiang Shen, "Why are you not eating?"
"A…are we going to be able to finish all this?" Jiang Shen could not help but re-confirm.
"Just eat as much as you can," Bai Jinyi responded. "Lai Song will finish the rest."
With extreme pride, Lai Song stuck both his thumbs up, pointing them at himself. "Lai Song Garbage Disposal, at your service!"
Bai Jinyi ignored him, continuing to peel off the chicken skin with his head bowed.
Jiang Shen watched for a little while, somewhat unable to accept what he was seeing. "This is so wasteful…"
Impatiently, Bai Jinyi shoved some de-skinned fried chicken into Jiang Shen's mouth. "Eat," he commanded.
Jiang Shen had no choice but to start chewing.
Lai Song and Bai Jinyi were like two bulldozers, their speed at demolishing the pile of chicken astonishing, especially Lai Song, who finished five pieces of fried chicken almost in the blink of an eye. Then, he removed the buns of the burger, carefully scraping away the mayonnaise on top of the patty.
"Little Swan." Lai Song flung the sauce covered cabbage leaves to the side. He seemed to have thought of something and asked Jiang Shen, "What do you do for fun in your village?"
Jiang Shen thought about it. "In the summer, we go fishing or chase after ducks. In the fields, we dig for earthworms and catch beetles or cicadas."
"That's it?"
"You want to go?" Bai Jinyi interrupted.
Eating the chicken from the burger, Lai Song responded, "I'm only curious. Look, Little Swan doesn't even have a cellphone."
Bai Jinyi looked at Jiang Shen, who was a little embarrassed. "I don't need one."
"Is the village as fun as having a phone?" Lai Song asked.
"I think it's pretty fun," Jiang Shen answered honestly.
This time, Bai Jinyi looked toward Jiang Shen. "How so?"
"Umm…" Jiang Shen slowly shredded his chicken, thinking about how to explain. "When spring arrived, we went to look for eggs. Gou—Chen Maoxiu, my neighbor, stole eggs from a nest, then got chased by a big, wild chicken that kept pecking him. Then we took it home after."
"To eat?" Lai Song questioned, murdering the atmosphere.
"No." Jiang Shen shook his head. "We're raising it at home. Its name is Tony."
"Toh-nee," Bai Jinyi corrected. "Your pronunciation is wrong. Try again."
Jiang Shen imitated the shape of Bai Jinyi's lips obediently and repeated Tony's name.
Lai Song ended up focusing on something a little off topic. "You guys raise chickens as pets? Not cats or dogs?"
"We raise them all." Jiang Shen's mouth curved into a smile. "The dogs belong to everyone. The cats, too. They're allowed to run around anywhere. Some people even raise really big swans at home, to watch the doors. Those swans are really fierce."
"You're not fierce at all, though," Bai Jinyi said suddenly.
"Ah?" For a while, Jiang Shen didn't understand what he was talking about.
The other tilted his head at him, smiling unexpectedly. "That's why you're a little swan."
★
Jiang Shen had already told them his name many times before, but both Bai Jinyi and Lai Song seemed to prefer calling him "Little Swan." Unable to force them to change their form of address, Jiang Shen gave up and allowed them to call him that nickname without too much further protest. After all, in the village, people were also often addressed by their nicknames—didn't he always call Chen Maoxiu "Goumao"?
After the meal of KFC, Jiang Shen had to take the bus home as usual. Bai Jinyi and Lai Song accompanied him to the station. These city children never seemed to have taken any long distance buses; along the way, Lai Song had countless questions, and his interest was so great that he nearly followed Jiang Shen up onto the bus.
Jiang Shen found a seat by the window. Standing under the window outside the bus, Bai Jinyi raised his chin, looking up at him.
"Your ballet shoes!" Bai Jinyi mouthed at him. "It's time to get new ones!"
Jiang Shen could not understand what he was trying to say. "What?!"
Standing on his tiptoes, Bai Jinyi pointed at his own shoes.
Jiang Shen finally got it.
The bus was about to leave. Jiang Shen had no time to respond and could only wave at Bai Jinyi. With his forehead pressed against the glass, he stared at the station as the bus drove away. Bai Jinyi did not move from where he was standing; his back was very straight, his eyes slightly narrowed, and he looked rather imposing.
Seeing that her son was not eating much for dinner, Tan Lingling felt puzzled. "What's wrong? You're not hungry?"
Jiang Shen could only come clean. "I ate after class."
"What did you eat?"
"A friend took me to KFC."
Tan Lingling's eyes widened in surprise. She looked at Jiang Luoshan, who naturally got the hint. "Who's the friend?" he asked.
"Bai Jinyi, from the boxing gym next door." Jiang Shen finally decided to peel an egg and eat it. "I've told you about him before."
In bits and pieces, Jiang Luoshan finally recalled the conversation he had with his son a few nights ago, when Jiang Shen was scrubbing his back. "The two of you are actually that close?"
Jiang Shen's mouth was full of yolk. "He took one of my eggs, so he paid me back with KFC."
Tan Lingling laughed. "How can your egg compare to KFC? You've taken great advantage of him."
Jiang Shen frowned. Although he was young, he knew that it was not good to take advantage of others, and now he felt like he had done something bad. "Then what should I do?"
She tidied up the table, then she ran a finger down her son's nose to tweak it. "You'll have to pay back the debt yourself. Come up with something."
There was only half a month left before school started for Goumao and Shubao. During this last stretch of freedom, however, the most important thing that Goumao had to do was to complete his holiday homework. Fortunately, there was the ever-reliable Shubao, who had been doing his holiday homework. However, unfortunately for Goumao, Shubao had a very cunning spirit. If Goumao wanted to copy his homework, he needed to trade something for it.
"Don't even think about using things like milk to bribe me this time." Shen Shubao sat cross-legged in his yard. Surrounding him were boys from the village that were around their age; it looked as though he was holding court. "We have so much milk at home, we can't even finish it!"
Qingling-zi and Jiang Shen were the only two children who didn't need to worry about holiday homework. Seeing how spineless her brother was, Qingling-zi was very exasperated.
"Look at how he practically wants to lick Shubao's shoes," she grumbled quietly to Jiang Shen. "Useless."
He looked carefully at the scene. "No, that won't happen. Shubao is very concerned about cleanliness, he wouldn't like his shoes to be dirtied by spit."
Qingling-zi was speechless. Unable to take it, she grabbed a bunch of foxtail grass and threw it at him. "Why are you so silly?"
Jiang Shen was utterly befuddled by this question.
Shubao looked over in their direction. "No fighting! Qingling-zi, don't hit him so hard."
"I didn't do anything," she protested, then grumbled, "Shubao-ge is doting on you a little too much, isn't he?"
"Just a few days ago, he kicked my butt because I stepped on the strawberries he was growing," Jiang Shen answered.
She burst out laughing. "But he still dotes on you! I saw that he's been giving you milk the past few days. Did your family start ordering milk?"
He nodded. "We did. They started delivering the milk to us last week."
"You get two glasses of milk a day, lucky you."
Jiang Shen hesitated. "Say… if I were to give a glass of milk to my friend, would they be happy?"
"It'll depend on who your friend is." Qingling-zi sat down on the ground, stretching her legs out. With an unconcerned tone, she said, "If they have milk to drink every day, why would they want yours?" She paused, then continued curiously, "Who do you want to give it to?"
"No one in particular…" he mumbled.
Twirling her braid, Qingling-zi spoke gleefully, with extreme narcissism, "I don't want any milk, al-riiight?"
The emotional stress caused by a single KFC meal was even more deadly than Jiang Shen had thought. He had never been so anxious about anything before in his entire life, and almost all the grass in the village fields had been flattened by his pacing. All day long, he kept wondering what he could give to repay the kindness of Bai Jinyi treating him to KFC.
But in the village, there was someone else feeling just as anxious as him, and that was Goumao.
In Chen Maoxiu's words, it was getting harder and harder to wait upon Shen Shubao.
Shen Shubao's family had some fields, but since both his parents worked elsewhere, all they grew in those fields were fruit. Luckily, the fields were not big, and they were enough to provide for their family. A while ago, on impulse, Shubao had planted a small field of strawberries. Goumao volunteered to help him water, fertilize, and weed the field, and every day, after he was done, Shubao would let him copy a few pages of his math homework.
"He's just like a greedy landlord!" Guomao complained while weeding the strawberry field. "I've exhausted myself the entire day working on his field, yet he refuses to let me copy any more! I still have to trade in something else to copy his English homework! Why is he so mean?!"
Jiang Shen did not need to work. He had been instructed by Shubao to supervise, making sure that Goumao was not lazing around.
"He's not too bad." Jiang Shen's expression was rather serious. "Over there. There are still some more weeds."
Goumao was speechless. Tossing the hoe to the ground, he exclaimed, "Why do you listen to him?!"
"Because he'll beat me up," Jiang Shen answered prudently.
Goumao waved his fist in the air. "I can beat you up too!"
Jiang Shen pursed his lips. "Then I can tell on you to Shubao-ge and ask him not to let you copy his homework."
Wordless, Goumao had no choice but to grit his teeth and pick the hoe back up.
Strawberry seedlings planted in late August would bear fruit about three to five months later. The children in the village all loved to eat them, the girls especially. Although the strawberries were planted in Shubao's field, due to the principles of sharing, Goumao and Jiang Shen would both get their portion. As such, despite how lackadaisical the boys usually were, they all believed that everyone had a responsibility towards putting in the effort for something tasty.
Carefully, Goumao studied the seedlings for a long time. After clearing away the weeds that had been creeping in too closely, he even examined the young, growing leaves for the presence of bugs or parasites.
The buds of the strawberries were not very pretty. Three leaves grew on a new stem, and a bud would slowly appear along with the fourth leaf. As such, when Goumao counted a third leaf, he became very excited and called out loudly for Jiang Shen to come look.
"Look at this." Goumao pointed at the crown of the plant. "The third leaf is here! A little while later, when the fourth leaf comes, the bud will grow, too."
Stretching his neck out, Jiang Shen looked at the tiny, green leaves of the plant. They looked just like sprouts, so delicate and frail.
"How cute," Goumao exclaimed. At times like these, he truly looked like a child of the fields, born and bred there. "This year, the harvest is definitely going to be great!" Scratching his nose, he continued, "The rice plants have all grown very tall."
Jiang Shen's family made a living growing rice in the paddy fields, and the word "harvest" had everything to do with their family's financial situation. Hearing what Goumao said, even if Jiang Shen did not understand the details, he was still delighted.
"It'll be great if the harvest is good." Jiang Shen crouched down by the tiny strawberry seedlings, resting his chin on his knees. "Then, we'll have money for me to go to school and other classes."
Goumao did not say anything in response. He knew Jiang Shen would be attending school with them this year. Perhaps to others, starting school was no big deal. To the Jiang family, though, Jiang Shen's school supplies alone would be a big expense for them.
"Why don't you harvest the rice first, then go to school?" Goumao asked. "With your father's back, can he even harvest the rice by himself?"
Jiang Shen was a little down. "I don't know." He really wanted to help his father out, but his parents no longer allowed him to do the heavier field chores. Miss Lin wanted him to protect his joints, back, and hips, and tasks like harvesting rice could easily cause injury.
Goumao did not know about him dancing, so he clearly did not understand what Jiang Shen was worried about.
"Don't think about it anymore." Goumao stood up, holding his hand out to Jiang Shen. "When there's a will, there's a way. Just think about November, when we'll have strawberries to eat."
Having been reminded of the strawberries, Jiang Shen's mood immediately bounced back. He thought about it, then suddenly asked, "Are people in the city able to buy strawberries as good as ours?"
Goumao was a little uncertain. "I don't know… we've always been eating what we grow ourselves. Who would buy city strawberries?"
"I want to give them to someone, but he might have eaten better ones before."
Goumao clicked his tongue. "Come on, let's go ask Shubao."
"Strawberries?" Shubao was helping Qingling-zi mix her paints. The little girl had put up her easel by the fields, holding up her pencil, sketching something.
Shubao was mixing two colors together, and he answered distractedly. "All sorts of fruits can be bought from the supermarkets in the city, but as for how good they are, I've never tried them before. We can only go and look around ourselves."
"Are they as big as ours?" Jiang Shen asked urgently.
Shubao laughed. "Since ours are grown naturally, they'll definitely be smaller."
Sighing, Jiang Shen mumbled, "Then what's so good about ours…"
Goumao refused to concede. "They're sweeter!"
"Are they?" Jiang Shen was doubtful. "You've never even tried those big ones before."
Goumao and Shubao did not speak anymore, exchanging a look.
"What's going on with you?" Shubao could not help but ask Jiang Shen. "Just now, I even heard Qingling-zi say that you want to give your milk to someone…?"
"A friend from the city." Jiang Shen kicked at the tiny pebbles by his feet. He sneaked a peek at Goumao; Chen Maoxiu looked baffled.
"Why are you looking at me?" Goumao lifted Jiang Shen's head up. "Tell us."
Jiang Shen sighed again, still feeling rather embarrassed. "I gave him an egg, which ended with him taking me to KFC."
Shubao raised his voice. "You managed to trick your way to a KFC meal with only an egg?!"
"I didn't trick anyone, he insisted on taking me…" Jiang Shen rushed to explain, but thinking about it, it didn't seem like Bai Jinyi had "insisted," either. As a result, he felt even more sheepish…
"Then how much did you eat?" Guomao could only ask.
Jiang Shen counted on his fingers. "They ordered fifteen pieces of fried chicken, two boxes of chicken nuggets, eight chicken wings, and a burger…"
After stating all that, he immediately clarified, "I didn't eat the burger."
"…Are you guys pigs?" Shubao paused. "No… that friend of yours… he's really rich, isn't he?"
"I didn't eat that much, they were the ones eating a lot…" Jiang Shen said feebly.
Goumao was clearly still calculating how much everything had to have cost and was feeling rather stunned.
"Idiot, stop calculating." Shubao smacked Goumao's hand. "Let's go with Jiang Shen to the city and see what we can buy to pay that guy back."
"Hah! Pay him back?!" Guomao exclaimed. "Our Shen-zi probably hasn't even seen a one-hundred yuan bill before!"
Jiang Shen was at a loss for words.
★
The bus from the village to the city only came once every forty minutes, and it was a two-hour journey when the traffic was good. Normally, Jiang Shen and Tan Lingling always went to the city bright and early in the morning, though they didn't go to many places. They would only go shopping during festivals or holidays.
Shubao and Goumao had a few more years of life experience than he did, so they'd obviously walked down more paths. Jiang Shen didn't recognize a single place they dragged him to.
"Stop being timid." Goumao smacked him on the back. "It's not like we didn't bring money."
Jiang Shen was aggrieved. "I didn't bring a lot."
"What are you afraid of? Shubao's here."
Shubao turned back to look at them. "What are you guys saying about me?"
"Didn't we agree to go to the mall? Why did we come to Sam's Club?!" Goumao immediately shot back.
"Could we even afford anything at the mall?" Shubao asked, very practical. "Sam's Club isn't cheap either, you know."
There was only one Sam's Club in the city, and membership was required for entry. Among them, only Shubao had a membership card, which, of course, belonged to Li Zhuo. The three children were like headless flies, not knowing what to buy. Children their age were the most practical, and in that regard, nothing could compare to food.
The imported goods section in the supermarket took up quite a bit of space. Both Goumao and Jiang Shen crouched down in front of a shelf, staring at the rows of chocolate, unable to drag their eyes away.
Shubao walked around and came back, only to discover that they were still crouching there. He was at a loss for words. "Get a box, then," he ended up saying.
They simultaneously swung their heads towards him, eyes like lasers homing in on his face.
Sighing, he squatted down with them. "Which one do you guys want?"
Jiang Shen and Goumao pointed at the same time, and, in comparison, the difference their picks seemed rather brutal.
It had to be said that Jiang Shen was one of the rarely mature children around. He was pointing at the cheapest option—a small box of Dove chocolate—while Goumao had no reservations at all, looking as though he was already about to throw a box of Ferrero Rochers into the cart.
Speechless, Shen Shubao gnashed his teeth. "Buy those yourself, Goumao!"
Goumao was horrified. "You're biased!"
"It's not like you don't have money!" the other shot back.
Once the conversation turned to money, Goumao's voice decreased in volume. After shifting about awkwardly for a moment, he finally said slowly, "I was going to lend Shen-zi the money…"
Jiang Shen watched them with his mouth half-opened, not understanding why they were bringing him up—when he made the connection though, he was very moved. Eyes brimming with emotions, he looked at Goumao and called out, "Goumao-ge…"
The other boy's expression was very complicated as well. After struggling for a while, he could not stop himself. "Since you've switched to calling me "ge," could you at least drop that nickname as well?"
After contemplating for a long time, Jiang Shen finally decided to buy Bai Jinyi a box of chocolates. With his current savings, he could only give him a box of Dove, but it was the thought that mattered. Jiang Shen could just give him a few more presents in the future.
The three boys also made a trip to the fruit section just to look at the strawberries. Huddling closely, they carefully surveyed the strawberry display; as expected, the strawberries there were bigger than the ones they grew themselves. "Should we buy some for you to try?" Goumao egged Jiang Shen on.
The latter pursed his lips. "They're so expensive…"
Goumao encouraged, "I'll buy them for you."
Selecting a box, he got Shubao to hold onto it before turning back and selecting others. Even though Jiang Shen had a hankering for strawberries, he did not have the extra money to buy them. His conscience also did not allow him to unabashedly eat the ones Goumao was going to buy, so he decided to go to some other shelves and see if there was anything else he could afford.
After choosing the fruits they wanted, Shubao and Goumao were alarmed when they realized Jiang Shen was not behind them. Fortunately, this little friend of theirs had not wandered off too far—Shubao found him at the shoe section.
Crouching in front of the shelves, Jiang Shen had two pairs of ballet shoes in his hands, and he seemed to be comparing them. It was rare to see the little boy looking so solemn, his dilemma leaving deep creases in his brows. On reflex, Goumao called out, "Shen—"
Shubao tugged at him. "How much money do you still have left?" he suddenly asked.
Goumao was baffled. "Why?"
The other raised his chin. "We're buying him a pair of ballet shoes."
Question marks appeared all over Goumao's face, and he was completely lost. "Why are we getting him ballet shoes? Is he going to farm in them?"
"Do you still want to copy my homework?" Shubao threatened, his expression icy.
Goumao was speechless.
"Also, don't let him find out that we bought them for him on purpose."
"Are you crazy?!" Goumao was about to yank all his hair out. "What are we going to say?! That we stole them?!"
Shubao thought it over. "Just say that you bought it by accident."
Goumao finally understood the situation. "So I'm going to end up looking like I'm crazy?!"
In the end, Jiang Shen could not bear to buy either pair of shoes. After calculating the amount of money he had left after the chocolates, he was quite preoccupied with his worries, not at all noticing what his two older friends had bought while paying the bill.
On the bus home, Goumao unwrapped the box of Ferrero Rochers. While handing one to Jiang Shen, he suddenly exclaimed, with extreme exaggeration, "Ohhh, nooo! I bought the wrong thing!"
Playing along, Shubao leaned over to look. "What is it?"
From his bag, Goumao pulled out a pair of ballet shoes. "How did I end up buying these?!" he exclaimed, his tone slightly off.
At a loss for words, Shubao obviously could not accept Goumao's overdone acting. He reached over and pinched Goumao painfully on the waist, causing him to nearly yelp in pain. Turning around, Goumao shot him a glare, then toned his expression down unwillingly.
But right now, the most flustered one out of the three was actually Jiang Shen. He really did not know how the ballet shoes he wanted had ended up in Goumao's bag. Uncertain, he looked down at the shoes in his hand, flipping them around. When he looked back up at his friends again, confusion and delight were evident on his face.
Goumao's face heated up from Jiang Shen's attention. Coughing, he deliberately pointed out, "The supermarket doesn't do refunds. These shoes are useless to me, so I think I'll have to throw them away."
Jiang Shen held them tightly, not letting go. "I-I… how about giving them to me? I have a use for them," he said, rather eagerly.
"What use would that be?" Goumao asked deliberately.
Jiang Shen could not give him a reason, getting so anxious, he broke out in a sweat. Suddenly, he seemed to recall something and pulled out what money he had left from his pocket, shoving it insistently into Goumao's hands. "Consider it purchased! I'll give you all this for now and pay you back in the future."
"What are you doing?" Goumao frowned, pushing the money back a little unhappily. "I'll just give them to you. Why would I take your money? Are you looking down on me?"
Clumsy with words, Jiang Shen racked his brains, thinking of what to say. "No, I…"
"Enough." Shubao laughed, putting an end to this farce. "The shoes are useless to us. If you want them, just take them. As for why you want them…"
He paused, reaching up to ruffle Jiang Shen's hair somewhat forcefully. "We'll just give them to you and not ask."
When Chen Maoxiu got home, Chen Qingling happened to be painting the sketch she had drawn in the afternoon. Seeing her brother come in, she could not be bothered to greet him, instead acting like she did not see him and continuing to dab at her canvas.
Goumao took the box of strawberries out. He washed them, removed their tops, placed them in a bowl, then set the bowl next to Qingling-zi's hand. "Do you want any?" he asked, putting on a fierce voice on purpose.
One second later, she finally deigned to put a strawberry in her mouth. "You went out to buy them?"
He ate one himself. "We went to Sam's Club."
She could not help but roll her eyes, grumbling, "Why didn't you bring me along…"
Goumao jerked his chin at her canvas. "Don't you have homework to do?"
Pursing her lips, she did not continue to protest and carefully painted the rice paddy fields green. He stood to the side, watching, before he suddenly said, "I bought Shen-zi a pair of ballet shoes."
"Eh?" She was shocked. "You know too?"
Goumao narrowed his eyes, then a rare moment of intelligence shone through him. "What do you know?"
"That he's learning ballet!" Qingling-zi did not suspect a thing, a look of yearning on the little girl's face. "I've gone to the Children's Center and seen him there a couple of times. He's very hardworking! Whenever he stretches his legs, it looks really painful to me, but he never makes a sound! He also looks great when he's dancing."
Like a little adult, she sighed, tossing her brush aside. "If I didn't have art lessons, I'd want to learn ballet too."
"Hah, as if. Just look at how pampered and spoiled you are. You think you'll be able to take the pain?"
His words were quite direct, leaving her speechless.
Carrying the bowl of strawberries, Goumao was about to leave the house, but turned back after two steps to tell her, "Don't tell Shen-zi that I know about his dancing lessons. The little fool's too easily embarrassed."
Outside the yard, Shen Shubao had a basket of eggs, about to deliver them to the Jiang family. He happened to bump into Chen Maoxiu, who had just left his house, and the two froze upon seeing each other.
"Where are you going?" Shubao was the first to ask.
Pressing his lips together, Goumao answered, "I'm bringing Shen-zi some strawberries." He then eyed the basket. "How many eggs are in there?"
Shubao looked down, smiling. "Around sixty? Enough to last Shen-zi a month."
Goumao nodded. "It's my turn next time."
Shubao raised a brow. With tacit understanding, neither boy exposed what they knew.
Halfway to Jiang Shen's place, Goumao could not help but ask, "When did you find out?"
Shubao calculated it. "A few months earlier than you."
Goumao was a little jealous. "That little punk told you himself?"
"How could he have?" Shubao burst out laughing. "It's not as if you don't know Shen-zi's personality. He's too unwilling to be treated differently, or to trouble other people. Whenever he suffers grievances or hardships, he never says a word. He'd never tell anyone about something like this."
Goumao did not respond to that. Kicking at a chunk of dirt as he walked, he mumbled gloomily, "I'll save my breakfast milk for him from now on."
"There's no need for yours. I've already given him mine, and it's enough for him to drink two glasses a day," Shubao said, a little scornful, "if he drinks more than that, he won't be able to digest it."
"Why are you the only good guy here? You've been one for so long already, making me look as though I'm bullying him in comparison," the other said, unhappy.
Shubao laughed wickedly. "That's why I let you buy the shoes."
Tan Lingling knew that her son had gone to Sam's Club, so she was not surprised to see the box of Dove chocolates on the table. This was the first time in Jiang Shen's life that he had gone to the city with his friends, and his face was flushed with excitement. Upon changing into his new ballet shoes, he practiced a few basic steps in his room.
Tan Lingling could not help but tease him. "Look at how pleased you are with yourself."
A little embarrassed, he took off the shoes, examining them like they were a great treasure. He could not bear to throw away his old pair either, planning on using them to practice at home.
"Goumao bought them," he confessed to his mother. "He refused to accept my money…"
After a beat, Tan Lingling suggested, "How about giving him something else in return?"
"What could I give him…?" Jiang Shen pondered deeply for a long time. Finally, he cheered up immensely. "I know! I can help him copy homework!"
She was not sure if she should laugh or scold him. "…That's not a good thing to do."
Jiang Shen didn't care if it was good or not, only thinking that it was an excellent idea. When Goumao and Shubao arrived with their stuff, he announced in a very earnest, conscientious manner, "Shubao-ge, please give me your homework. I'll help Goumao copy it!"
Having never allowed anyone to exploit him, Shen Shubao never would've thought that the first time he ever got taken advantage of, as well as the first time Chen Maoxiu manage to get the advantage of him, would both be brought about by Jiang Shen.
Still, it did not matter who got the advantage of whom.
Everything was fiery and warm, and it all burnt into the very bottom of their hearts.