Xu Yan returned to the living room; her cake box was open, spread out on the table, and none of the cupcakes inside had been touched.
The flowers on two of them had smeared against the box, turning into a glob of red mush; only the one with the dancing figurine remained intact.
The little figure was on tiptoe, as if climbing out from a pile of ruins.
The man in the baseball cap appeared at the door, grinning at Yu Lan and saying,
“I’m just letting you know—I’m heading out.”
Yu Lan nodded.
“Want the driver to take you?”
The man said,
“I called a car; the driver seems lost.”
Yu Lan said,
“Sit and wait a bit.”
The baseball cap hesitated, then came over and sat on the sofa.
Xu Yan placed her untouched glass of sweet wine in front of him and smiled at him.
“Hurry and get your mink coat!”
The short-haired woman placed her hand on Yu Lan’s shoulder.
“And that limited-edition lizard skin,”
the woman with arched thin eyebrows said.
Yu Lan fetched the gray-blue mink coat and a few bags.
The women stepped forward; some tried on the coat, others fiddled with the bags.
Only Xu Yan and the baseball cap remained seated on the sofa.
The baseball cap leaned forward, staring blankly at the items on the coffee table.
Suddenly, he reached out, picked up the cupcake with the dancing figurine, and shoved the whole thing into his mouth.
Qiao Lin walked to the center of the stage, the spotlight hitting her face perfectly squarely.
She was born knowing where the light was.
She minced her steps, swinging her slender legs, twirling her skirt rapidly.
Each time her feet left the ground, Xu Yan felt a tightness in her heart.
She didn’t know if she was worrying or hoping for something to happen.
Only when Qiao Lin safely bowed in curtain call did she breathe a sigh of relief, then suddenly felt sad.
She thought, many years later, the audience wouldn’t remember who hosted the gala, but they would certainly remember the way Qiao Lin danced.
After ten o’clock, the guests began to leave one by one.
Xu Yan was helping the nanny collect the wine glasses when Shen Haoming blocked her at the kitchen door.
He wrapped an arm around Xu Yan’s waist, winking as he said,
“How about you just stay here tonight?”
Xu Yan wriggled free, her face serious, and said,
“Tell me—from what age did you start having girls stay over at home?”
Shen Haoming raised his eyebrows.
“Seventeen?”
“And your parents allowed it?”
Xu Yan asked.
Shen Haoming smiled and said,
“They came to my room several times—I figure they were checking if I’d prepared condoms.”
“Did you prepare them?”
Xu Yan asked.
Shen Haoming stopped smiling, his expression turning grave.
“I want to confess something to you… Actually, I have a… We all make some mistakes when we’re young, right…”
He lowered his head, covering his face with both hands.
Xu Yan tried to pull his hands away; he dodged desperately until he burst out laughing, waving his hands as he laughed.
“I just couldn’t hold it in…”
Xu Yan pushed him.
“You think you acted pretty convincingly, huh?”
Shen Haoming asked with a laugh.
“If I really brought home a child from outside, would you help me raise it?”
Xu Yan said,
“That depends on how good-looking it is.”
Shen Haoming said,
“Good-looking—better looking than me.”
Xu Yan said,
“Sure, why not? Saves me from having to give birth myself.”
Shen Haoming cupped her with both hands.
“No way—you’ve got to have at least two.”
Xu Yan looked at him and smiled.
She said,
“I should go back—my cousin’s home alone.”
Shen Haoming said,
“Okay, I’ll accompany you two tomorrow—be your driver.”
Xu Yan said,
“No need; she’s got a weird temper—you’d feel very uncomfortable around her.”
Xu Yan put on her coat, gathered her hair, and turned to ask,
“By the way, what did that guy want with Uncle Gao earlier?”
Shen Haoming said,
“A few years ago, he got some land in the suburbs to build a house; he signed a contract with the township government back then, but it doesn’t hold up, and now the land is being taken back…”
Xu Yan asked,
“Is this hard to handle?”
Shen Haoming said,
“Yeah, but Uncle Gao’s going to figure something out.”
Xu Yan said,
“So he will help him?”
Shen Haoming said,
“What else? Where would he live?”
On the way back, Xu Yan weighed in her mind whether the baseball cap’s house demolition issue was harder to deal with, or her parents’ issue.
Since he was willing to help even that person with a bad reputation, did that mean he could help her too?
No, not her—her cousin Qiao Lin.
Look for another opportunity, she thought; she should meet Uncle Gao more often, make him see her as part of the Shen family.
Xu Yan returned to the apartment and found Qiao Lin sitting on the sofa in the downstairs lobby.
She looked up, giving Xu Yan an apologetic smile.
“I forgot the password, and your phone was off.”
Xu Yan asked how long she’d been sitting there.
She said not long.
“I’ve been wandering around the courtyard, checking out all the little shops that were open. This place is really nice—the people are so friendly; they even let me use their bathroom.”
Xu Yan looked at her.
“Qiao Lin, can you stop making yourself seem so pitiful?”
Qiao Lin jumped down from the tricycle, smiling as she said to her,
“I brought you the writing desk—after all, I won’t need to study anymore.”
Xu Yan examined the desk; the stickers on the legs were already faded and peeling.
She still remembered when those stickers were first applied, with that vibrant face of Zhao Yazhi on them.
She had indeed coveted this desk for a long time.
Grandma had set up a wooden board on the windowsill, and she’d always done her homework there.
Xu Yan asked,
“Results out?”
Qiao Lin stuck out her tongue.
“Didn’t even get into that rundown coal institute.”
They carried the desk down, and Qiao Lin patted the dust off her hands, saying,
“I’ve already found a job—starting tomorrow at the Hualian Mall. From now on, you can get Maybelline at employee discount.”
Her fingers were painted with a lotus root pink nail polish; she wore low-rise jeans, her long hair swinging back and forth across her chest.
Her beauty was still blossoming, but she seemed not to take it seriously at all.
That effortless flair of hers was particularly captivating to boys.
