Chen Yi finally realized the two weren't getting along. When he found Miao Jing and brought her home, she was sitting on the bookstore floor reading, her straight, plain hair falling over her face like noodles in clear soup. Her eyes fixed on him intently, but as he approached, she stubbornly turned her head away.
"Why are you out so late?" Chen Yi lifted a strand of hair hanging by her cheek—thick and silky, much more pleasing to look at than before. He knew girls needed good food and nice things to grow up pretty.
Miao Jing ignored him.
"What book is that? Buy it and read it at home." He tried to snatch the book from her hands, but Miao Jing bent over to protect it, clutching it tightly as she quickly walked away. The bookshelves on either side were tall and densely packed, like a maze. Miao Jing didn't want to deal with him, weaving left and right in an attempt to shake him off. Yet he stubbornly followed, the two of them winding through the shelves until Chen Yi abruptly turned and waited at a corner, lying in ambush. Miao Jing's forehead slammed hard into his chest. Chen Yi gasped in pain, inhaling sharply, then reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulders. He chuckled and rubbed his own chest, looking down to see her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, glistening and captivating. Those beautiful eyes struck something deep within him, and he froze for a moment.
Still wearing a cheeky grin, he forced his arm around her shoulders and steered her out. "I know she was rude to you. If you don't like her, we'll forget about her. I'm not fond of that type either—all delicate and whiny, so annoying. We'll find another one, someone prettier and gentler."
"Do you think you're selecting concubines?" Miao Jing's tone was icy, her teeth clenched. "Arrogant and conceited."
He replied casually, unconcerned. "There are plenty of women out there. Your brother has what it takes, what's wrong with a little selection?"
Miao Jing felt her blood run cold, wanting to spit in his face. She shook off his arm in fury, quickening her pace, only to be yanked back by Chen Yi. He lazily draped his body over her shoulders. "Stop causing a scene. Let's go home."
"I'm not going back."
If she could leave, if she had somewhere to go, she would have run away long ago. Who would want to stay alone in that house?
"Everyone's gone. Where else would you go if not home?" He caught the faint fragrance from the top of her head—whether floral or citrusy, he couldn't tell, but it was subtle and pleasant. He leaned in to smell it again, and the vague restlessness in his heart seemed to soothe. The words slipped out: "Want to go shopping?"
"Buy what?"
"I don't know. Don't you girls love all that fragrant, pretty stuff? Let's get some shampoo, body wash, earrings, necklaces, things like that."
"I don't have pierced ears," she retorted coldly. "I don't wear jewelry."
He looked down and saw it was true—her small, delicate ears, hidden away in her hair, pale with a hint of pink, the lobes round and soft like warm jade without bones.
For some reason, perhaps because he loved watching long, fringed earrings sway gracefully over slender shoulders, he suggested, "Why not get your ears pierced?"
Miao Jing paused, her lips slowly relaxing. What seventeen-year-old girl didn't harbor a desire to be beautiful? In the end, she followed Chen Yi to a roadside accessory shop, got two piercings, and picked out a pair of pearl studs as small as rice grains. She stole a few glances in the mirror—they really did look lovely.
The pretty girl who hadn't even had time to establish a relationship quietly exited the stage. Before Miao Jing's piercings had fully healed, Chen Yi was already rushing headlong into dating someone new.The new perfume scent and fresh excitement made the interactions between men and women resemble a tango dance—a back-and-forth of testing boundaries, flirtatious glances, and escalating verbal teasing, thrilling and novel. To Miao Jing, watching him was probably like observing a colorful butterfly fluttering into a garden, where the vibrant spring scenery could not be contained.
Life outside continued as usual, but before Chen Yi could fully decipher the various tactics of women, Miao Jing suddenly entered her rebellious phase.
Her obedient, gentle, and understanding demeanor vanished completely, replaced by aloofness, distance, awkwardness, backtalk, and sharp-tongued remarks.
First, she refused to accept the money he handed her. Miao Jing scrimped and saved, cutting off all expenses beyond basic meals. Even if Chen Yi left money on her desk in her room, she would return it untouched. Then, she cut her hair back into a Tiantian-style bob and sold her thick, long locks to cover her living expenses. Chen Yi couldn’t comprehend her transformation at all. Miao Jing also started arguing with him. No matter how quietly he returned home after work at three or four in the morning, she would invariably glare coldly and accuse him of disturbing her sleep. If he waited until she left before going back, the next day she would sulk and ignore him, refusing to cook or do laundry. When Chen Yi teased her about it, she would turn away, holding back tears, and declare that one day she would repay every cent she owed him and every expense he had covered for her, so they would be even—as if drawing a clear, unbridgeable line between them, even though he had never said a word about it.
As things progressed, Miao Jing became unwilling to speak to him at all. The two of them would stew in silence at home for no reason. As spring turned to summer and the weather grew warmer, everyone switched to short sleeves and light clothing. Miao Jing’s summer school uniform was now tailored to cinch at the waist, making her look frail and slender. She left one button undone at the collar, revealing her pale neck and collarbone. She even dug out an old skirt from her middle school days, made a few stitches, and could still wear it. But now that she had grown taller, was such a short skirt even appropriate? Chen Yi’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot as he stared at her bare thighs.
Then, Miao Jing’s homeroom teacher called Chen Yi, reporting that her grades had fluctuated drastically recently, she was sleeping in class, and she was skipping evening self-study without reason, urging him to pay more attention and care. Furious, Chen Yi went to the school to find Miao Jing and attended her midterm parent-teacher meeting. Miao Jing’s attitude was icy and awkward. When he asked her what was wrong, she just turned away without a word. Later, he caught her staying out overnight, chatting and playing games with boys at an internet cafe.
Their daily routines were already different, and they rarely saw each other even once a day. Yet, she still caused him constant worry and frustration. During that period, Chen Yi was so enraged he felt his lungs were about to explode, leaving him no energy to flirt or chase after others.
“Are you even planning to study anymore? What’s wrong with you, sitting in an internet cafe dressed like that? Asking for a beating?”
The veins on Chen Yi’s temples bulged with anger, but he gritted his teeth and managed to hold back a stream of crude curses in front of her.
“It’s so hot outside. Everyone dresses like this. Why can’t I?” Miao Jing replied calmly, her tone composed. “I’m not wearing this to school, just around the house casually. What’s the problem?”
“Fine, wear whatever you want. With so many men in the internet cafe, hmph, just wait until someone slips you a drug and drags you into some alley. You’ll be crying sooner or later.”
“Sounds like you have experience?” Miao Jing arched her delicate eyebrows. “Such scum deserve to be executed—rotting and festering, torn apart by five horses. Their deaths wouldn’t be enough to atone for their sins.”
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