Chapter 9
AFTER A FEW BOUTS OF RAIN, winter entered the game.
Golden ginkgo leaves, damp from the rain, paved the asphalt road. When a resident of Riverbay Road woke in the morning and opened their floor-to-ceiling windows, the breath they expelled turned into white mist. Jiangdong always saw an unbroken spell of wet weather when the season changed, with only a few rare sunny days brightening the month. The Liujin River’s water level gradually dropped as it entered the dry season, when the dried-up riverbed became prime real estate for idle schoolchildren to poke and dig around.
Yan Jun’s lease expired in a week, and he had moved his stuff out, more or less. He decided to take Xiao-Qi to No. 7 Riverbay Road.
Recently, he’d been coming to the new house every day after work to observe the others’ living habits. Zhang Yuwen retired to his room daily at eight in the evening like a grandpa. Zheng Weize often ate instant noodles in his room, and he, too, rarely went to the living room after eight. Yan Jun hadn’t seen Chang Jinxing yet; allegedly, he never returned before two in the morning. Chen Hong was the only one who was sometimes at home all day, but other times he was nowhere to be found.
Yan Jun wasn’t sure if he could avoid his roommates. He’d thought the coast was clear when he moved in the crib and accidentally made a grand entrance instead. Forget it, just move in, he told himself. The new house had a great vibe and Zhang Yuwen’s attitude was reassuring, so Yan Jun opted to set off on Tuesday, carrying a backpack with the last of the diapers, bottles, medicines, and milk powder. With Xiao-Qi in a carrier on his chest, he made his way to No. 7 Riverbay Road.
“Today Papa is taking you to our new house,” Yan Jun said to Xiao-Qi in hushed tones. She smiled, facing out at the house in front of them. “We’ll be living here from now on, so be good.”
He took a deep breath, unlocked the door with his fingerprint, and entered. Seeming to understand the gravity of the situation, Xiao-Qi behaved herself, simply casting curious looks around.
Yan Jun breathed a sigh of relief. There was no one in the living room, and the housekeepers had already left for the day. Xiao-Qi reached out to grab the decoration on the shoe cabinet, but Yan Jun stopped her and took her into his room.
“Pa-pa!” Xiao-Qi called out.
The room had already been cleaned. Yan Jun set her on the floor and smiled as he went to boil water to prepare formula for her. He’d gotten a kettle and all the baby supplies ready in the room so that he wouldn’t need to keep going in and out.
He would get up at half past seven every morning and take Xiao-Qi to the childcare center, then bring her back after seven in the evening. That way, he wouldn’t disturb his roommates.
Yan Jun carried Xiao-Qi back. “It’s too cold outside, we can’t go out!”
This room was much bigger than the other rented rooms, and he could use the remaining space to roll out a play mat, put out some toys, and set up a spot for reading picture books. He was pleased with the place.
So it was that Yan Jun moved in quietly. On the first day, no one noticed Xiao-Qi. The second day was the same. On the third day, however, when he was bringing her home, he ran into Zhang Yuwen, who was repairing the printer with ink-covered hands.
Anxiety gripped Yan Jun as their eyes met. Zhang Yuwen looked baffled when he spotted Xiao-Qi, but then he broke into a smile.
“Hi!” He hurried away to wash his hands. Upon his return, he asked Xiao-Qi, “What’s your name?”
Xiao-Qi said, “Pa-pa!” Zhang Yuwen burst out laughing.
“Her name is Yan Yuqi,” Yan Jun explained. “She calls every man she sees Papa.”
“Papa!” Xiao-Qi looked up at Yan Jun again from her spot on his chest.
Zhang Yuwen helped Yan Jun take off his backpack. “Have you been sleeping here lately?”
“Mm,” said Yan Jun. His fears, it seemed, were unfounded, and he was beginning to realize that Zhang Yuwen had a magical ability to instantly relax everyone who interacted with him.
He seized this chance to sound Zhang Yuwen out on his daily routine. “You haven’t gone to bed yet? I thought you’d be asleep by now.”
“Not quite this early,” Zhang Yuwen said, “but soon. I grew up with my grandparents, and my grandfather was a doctor, so I inherited the habit of sleeping and waking up early. Aren’t you going to put her down?”
Yan Jun unstrapped the carrier and put Xiao-Qi down at the side of the sofa. Zhang Yuwen clapped his hands at her and asked, “Want a hug?”
Xiao-Qi came over to let him hug her, but less than twenty seconds later she spread her arms out at Yan Jun and called, “Pa-pa!”
Zhang Yuwen handed her back. Surprised, Yan Jun said, “She never lets anyone other than me and the nanny hug her.”
“Whoa!” Zhang Yuwen didn’t catch the plot hole in his words, merely taking it as a polite remark. “Maybe she really likes me.”
“Wow!” Zheng Weize exclaimed in surprise. He’d heard the conversation and come out of his room to investigate. “So cute! Oh my god!”
Zheng Weize came over for a hug, but Xiao-Qi started crying and tried to dodge him. Yan Jun quickly patted her to pacify her. “She’s a little shy around strangers at this age,” he explained.
Zhang Yuwen realized Yan Jun was telling the truth when he said she never let strangers hug her. “But I managed to hug her,” he boasted to Zheng Weize.
Zheng Weize felt like crying. His self-esteem would never recover if she didn’t let him hug her today. Eventually, a tearful Xiao-Qi permitted a half hug, and Zheng Weize took his chance to lean against Yan Jun. But Chen Hong returned not long thereafter, triggering another round of cajoling and another bout of crying.