It was a low, two-story building where she saw patients downstairs, and the whole family lived upstairs, so she could keep an eye on Qiao Jianbin at any time.
Qiao Lin grew up in that house.
Xu Yan, on the other hand, had always lived with Nai Nai.
In her mind, Qiao Lin and her parents formed a complete family, while she was the extra one.
When Qiao Jianbin saw her, there would be a kind of desolate look in his eyes.
She was what he had traded his job for—not just his job; she had ruined everything for him.
Wang Yazhen’s expression was never pleasant either, always filled with resentment.
Besides supporting the family, she had to endure Nai Nai’s nitpicking.
Nai Nai felt that if it weren’t for her heart disease making a smooth abortion impossible, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
Every time she came, she would argue with Wang Yazhen.
After she left, Wang Yazhen would argue with Qiao Jianbin.
In this family, everyone resented each other.
No one resented Qiao Lin.
She was a legitimate existence and always worked to resolve the grudges between others.
In those years, what she did most was mediate fights and offer comfort.
In front of her parents, she praised Xu Yan for being smart and sensible, and to Xu Yan, she spoke of how much her parents missed her.
She always hoped Xu Yan would move back in.
But in the year Xu Yan started junior high, she had a big argument with Qiao Jianbin and never set foot in the house again.
Xu Yan rode her Phoenix brand bicycle over the slate road in front of the clinic.
Qiao Lin leaned out from the second-floor window, waving at her.
“Pedal faster, you’re going to be late,” Qiao Lin said with a smile.
Xu Yan was in junior high, she in senior high; senior high was closer to home, so she always waited until she saw Xu Yan before setting off.
Sometimes, she would wait at the door and slip her a washed apple.
Xu Yan’s phone rang.
It was Shen Haoming; he was having dinner with a few friends and asked her to come over soon.
Xu Yan hung up.
The hotpot in front of them was boiling, the lamb tumbling in the red broth, oil splattering on the back of Qiao Lin’s hand.
But she was oblivious, focused on arranging the mushrooms on her plate, moving them from one side to the other, placing them one by one neatly together.
She patiently adjusted their positions so they wouldn’t overlap.
Then she set down her chopsticks and gave that empty smile again, saying, “Was that your boyfriend just now?”
Xu Yan hummed in affirmation.
Qiao Lin said, “You haven’t told me about him yet.
You never tell me anything, you’ve been like that since we were kids.
What does he do?”
Xu Yan said, “He’s a white-collar worker in a company.”
Qiao Lin asked again, “Is he good to you?”
Xu Yan said, “He’s alright.
Are you going to eat or not?”
Qiao Lin said, “Having someone who thinks about you—that must feel really nice, right?”
Outside the restaurant was a bustling mall.
A few high school girls were gathered around the ice cream counter.
Xu Yan asked, “Want some?”
Qiao Lin touched her belly, as if consulting it.
She leaned over the freezer, examining each tub of ice cream.
“Is raspberry a kind of fruit?” she asked.
“Do you think I should get raspberry or nuts?”
“Get both then,” Xu Yan said.
“I don’t want a paper cup, I want a cone,” Qiao Lin told the girl behind the counter with a smile.
It was a morning in September, Xu Yan’s first day of high school.
Qiao Lin stood at the school gate holding an umbrella.
Seeing her, she walked up with a smile: “Why didn’t you put on your raincoat hood?
Your hair’s all wet.”
She reached out, brushing Xu Yan’s forehead hair aside, and said, “This is great, we’re in the same school now, we can see each other every day.
Don’t leave after school, I’ll take you for ice cream—taro flavor.”
Passing by a children’s clothing store, Qiao Lin slowed her steps.
Xu Yan followed her gaze to the sparkling window, where a white dress hung.
Shiny taffeta, with many embroidered blue and pink flowers on the chest, inlaid with pearls, and the hem pinched into delicate ruffles.
Qiao Lin pressed her face against the glass and said, “Little girls’ clothes are so pretty.”
Xu Yan asked, “Do you hope it’s a boy or a girl?”
“A boy,” Qiao Lin said.
“If it’s a boy, maybe Lin Tao’s family will change their mind.”
Xu Yan asked, “Has he contacted you since?”
Qiao Lin shook her head.
The car drove out of the underground garage.
The commercial street was brightly lit, windows hung with red Christmas stockings and colorful gift boxes.
The trees along the street were wrapped in many ice-blue string lights.
In the advertising lightbox, a male celebrity smiled, revealing dazzling white teeth.
Qiao Lin pointed at him and asked, “Do you think he looks like Yu Yiming?”
Xu Yan asked, “Did you contact him this time?”
Qiao Lin said, “I don’t have his phone number anymore.”
Xu Yan was silent for a moment, then said, “We’re almost there.
I’ve booked you a hotel, not far from my place.”
Qiao Lin nodded, her hands gripping the seatbelt over her belly.
Yu Yiming walked over and sat down across from her and Qiao Lin.
His shirt was open over his T-shirt, carrying in the scent of rain.
The air was damp and sticky, and outside, the sky was nearly dark.
Yu Yiming wiped the water from his face and smiled at them.
He had an attractive dimple on his chin.
At the hotel entrance, Qiao Lin suddenly refused to get out of the car.
She carefully curled up her body, as if afraid of dirtying anything inside.
Xu Yan asked, “What’s wrong, really?”
Qiao Lin said in a very small voice, “Don’t make me sleep in the hotel alone, okay? I want to sleep with you…”
She lifted her reddened eyes and said, “Please, okay?”
The car turned back onto the main road.
Qiao Lin remained curled up, occasionally turning her head to look at Xu Yan.
She asked softly, “Can we still cancel the hotel room? Will they charge a penalty?”
Xu Yan said, “I just thought staying at a hotel would be comfortable, with breakfast in the morning.”
Qiao Lin said, “I know, I know, I’m sorry.”
The car windows fogged up, and Qiao Lin wiped them a few times with her hand, gazing at the neon lights outside, murmuring the words on the billboards in a tiny voice.
Until the car ascended the elevated bridge, and the surroundings grew dark.
She leaned back in the seat, patted her belly, and said, “Little one, in the future, come to Beijing to find your aunt, okay?”
Xu Yan didn’t speak; she stared ahead, where the windshield had also fogged up, and the short stretch of road illuminated by the low beams was pale and dim.
Qiao Lin stared at Yu Yiming and said, “Your hairstyle looks awful.”
Yu Yiming said, “I know you cut hair well, but I can’t go two months without a trim back home.”
Qiao Lin put her arm around Xu Yan and said, “Come, let me introduce you—this is my sister, my real sister.”
Yu Yiming said to Qiao Lin, “Let’s go, it’s time to head back for evening self-study.”
Qiao Lin said, “You go first, I want to sit with my sister for a bit; I haven’t seen her in so long.”
Yu Yiming said, “We haven’t seen each other in a long time either—you promised to come to Jinan to find me but never did.”
Qiao Lin laughed, “Next summer vacation, then—I’ll go with my sister.”
Yu Yiming left.
Xu Yan said, “Can you not tell people I’m your sister? Do you have to let everyone know about the family’s overbirth?”
Qiao Lin lowered her eyes and said, “Got it.”
Xu Yan asked, “Are you two dating?”
Qiao Lin said, “No.”
Xu Yan said, “Don’t lie to me.”
Qiao Lin said, “Really, he came to Tai’an to study temporarily, and he left after the college entrance exam.”
Xu Yan said, “You could leave too.”
Qiao Lin smiled a little but didn’t speak.
