She left the train station and took a bus to explore the city—Tengcheng. At eight years old, she had followed her mother here with trepidation, wearing a pretty dress and holding onto bright hopes for the future in this new city. She thought everything would be different, that she could grow up in a new way, but in the end, it was still a silent, bitter, and wordless ordeal.
Miao Jing got off at a stop, bought some ingredients at the market, and carried them into an old-style residential complex. She went up to the second floor, knocked on the door three times, and someone came to open it—lazily holding a cigarette in his mouth. When he saw her, his dark pupils contracted, his face showing a mix of shock and annoyance, as if he’d seen a ghost.
"Brother." Before he could speak, she hugged the ingredients in her arms, her clear, beautiful eyes boldly meeting his, her voice soft. "It’s almost noon. Let me cook for you, okay?"
Chen Yi was utterly stunned, completely baffled. He didn’t know whether to be angry or amused by her. Blocking the doorframe to keep her out, Miao Jing shrank slightly and slipped under his arm like a fish, heading straight to the kitchen with her things.
"Miao Jing." He turned to follow her. "Are you fucking crazy or what?"
"I have nowhere else to go. I’ll leave when school starts." Her back was turned to him as she efficiently tidied the kitchen, her figure delicate yet stubborn. "I’ll be gone after I graduate from middle school—just a few more months. Until then, I can help with laundry, cooking, and cleaning."
Leaning against the kitchen doorframe, he found her both pitiful and ridiculous. Did he need a burden to handle such trivial chores?
Miao Jing went on washing vegetables and cooking, ignoring him. Chen Yi stared at her, his urge to drive her away suddenly fading. He said coldly, "Don’t expect me to take care of you. Dream on."
"Fine." Miao Jing’s voice was muffled.
And so, she settled in at home.
With Miao Jing around, the house was naturally tidy and clean, but Chen Yi rarely came home. He was usually out, only returning occasionally for a couple of days. Given how strained their relationship was, they hardly spoke when together. Miao Jing often stayed in her room, reading or doing homework. On Chinese New Year’s Eve, Chen Yi did come back early. They shared a New Year’s dinner, after which he went out again to play cards, not returning until the third day of the lunar new year.
Chen Yi had said he wouldn’t take care of her, and he meant it. When school started after the New Year, Miao Jing went to register and paid the tuition and fees. She had 280 yuan left—not even enough for boarding and meals. Miao Jing chose to be a day student, moving all her dorm belongings back home and commuting daily. There was still some rice, flour, and daily necessities at home, which she used sparingly to get by for a while.
After school started, Chen Yi came home even less frequently. He disliked being at home; returning once a month was already a lot. With Miao Jing there, he avoided it even more. Why come back? Seeing that stubborn, aggravating presence only made things worse.
Somehow, Miao Jing managed to hold on for two or three months. Eventually, all the edible food at home ran out, and the refrigerator was completely empty. Miao Jing started scavenging the house, taking everything Wei Mingzhen had left to the recycling station and selling her old books and empty bottles and jars. She began surviving on plain boiled noodles every day.Later on, one day when Chen Yi stepped out of the internet cafe, he casually noticed a figure by the roadside. The person wore loose, baggy clothes with a hat pulled low, carrying a large backpack while walking along the street. As they went, they picked up discarded plastic water bottles, crushed them flat, and tossed them into the backpack. It was an entertainment street bustling with people eating, drinking, and having fun, and there were plenty of elderly folks collecting water bottles too.
He stared at the figure, then strode forward and lifted the hat, revealing Miao Jing’s sweaty, startled face. Her face was smaller than his palm, and when she suddenly saw Chen Yi, she was overwhelmed with embarrassment, her complexion flushing from light pink to deep crimson. She snatched the hat back from him, turned away, and hurried off.
Back then, smartphones weren’t yet widespread, and computers were mostly found in internet cafes or a few households. Miao Jing hadn’t learned any other ways to make money. Quiet and reserved, she was admired by boys at school as an unapproachable ice queen, making it hard for her to reveal her struggles. Sometimes, she would buy pretty hair clips and stationery from wholesale markets and resell them to her female classmates under the guise of helping out. When she had nothing else to do, she collected plastic water bottles to sell at the recycling station. At ten cents per bottle, she could earn a few yuan a day—it was the easiest and least strenuous way to make money.
Chen Yi followed her all the way home. Once inside, he saw the kitchen and fridge were nearly empty, with only a handful of loose noodles and a few greens. A half-burned candle stood on the table. Frowning, he flipped the wall switch.
“Where’s the electricity?”
“It’s cut off,” Miao Jing whispered, her voice barely audible. “The power’s out.”
She couldn’t afford the electricity bill and had only paid for water.
“Living like a caveman?” Chen Yi sneered at her. “What about your mom? She ran off with hundreds of thousands—didn’t she send you any money?”
Miao Jing pressed her lips together and shook her head slowly. For some reason, that phone number no longer worked. She and Wei Mingzhen had completely lost contact.
Chen Yi let out a long, mocking laugh.
She had grown terribly thin, with little flesh left on her bones, and her skin looked dull and lifeless. Watching her frail figure, he crossed his arms and asked, “Making money by collecting water bottles? Are you hungry?”
Miao Jing buried her head in her collar. All he could see was one pale ear peeking through her messy hair, the earlobe round and flushed crimson.
“Life on your own isn’t easy, is it? Waiting for a handout? Don’t count on me. You could starve to death for all I care.”
“I’m not,” she bit her lip.
Chen Yi’s gaze swept over her, half-smiling, before he slowly exhaled and tugged at her sleeve. “Come on, I’ll teach you how to make money.”
—
Chen Yi took Miao Jing to a small supermarket, boldly pushing her inside and steering her toward the snack aisle. He stood tall behind her, his voice booming. “Which one do you like? Take your pick.”
She looked up in surprise.
A wide, mischievous grin spread across his face as he leaned close to her ear. “I’ll block the security camera. Just move quietly, slip something into your clothes, and walk out confidently while someone’s at the checkout. Master this trick, and you’ll never go hungry.”
A pack of cookies appeared from somewhere as the boy’s voice turned sly. “Cream-filled biscuits—you’d have to collect at least a hundred water bottles for these. Don’t you want to try them?”
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