Jiang Cheng was blasted awake by the sound of firecrackers first thing in the morning on New Year’s Eve. Entering the twelfth lunar month, it was common to hear what sounded like cannons going off practically every day. There was no ban on pyrotechnics in this neighborhood, so everyone set off firecrackers from morning until night: one strip at breakfast, one at lunch, and one at dinner. And, of course, more whenever they were bored.
The strip of firecrackers this morning was hung from a bamboo stick, extending out from the window upstairs, and lit right next to the window of Jiang Cheng’s living room. When it went off, the explosion almost bounced Jiang Cheng off of his bed onto the floor. He felt as though the building might collapse any second.
“Uuuugh!” Jiang Cheng rolled over on the bed, surrendering himself to the situation.
Gu Fei sat up, but it took a moment of sitting there in a daze before he got out of bed. “Cheng-ge,” he said.
“Mmmm…” Jiang Cheng mumbled from under the covers.
“I’m heading over to the store now. Er-Miao’s probably there already,” Gu Fei said as he got dressed. “I have to go prepare the food. You can come right over for breakfast after you get up.”
“All right.” Jiang Cheng turned to face him. “I’ll help you wrap dumplings later.”
“Why don’t you keep Er-Miao company?” said Gu Fei. “You haven’t played with her much lately. She was asking about you just yesterday.”
Jiang Cheng rolled back over. “What did she ask?”
“She just said ‘Cheng-ge.’” Gu Fei tugged his pants up.
“…That’s it?” Jiang Cheng blinked.
“That’s it. It’s impressive that she said anything at all.”
“Does she only talk to you?”
“Mm.” Gu Fei nodded. “She doesn’t speak much to me, either—just occasionally. It wasn’t long after she started learning to talk that…you know. I feel like she never really got to learn how. So this is pretty good already.”
“Yeah…” Jiang Cheng sighed.
“Why don’t you snooze for a little longer? It’s just past eight o’clock now.” Gu Fei jumped on the bed and kissed Jiang Cheng’s forehead. “Remember to bring your books when you come, overachiever.”
When the overachiever pedaled to the door of the convenience store with his books, the shop next door had just lit a firecracker. It exploded behind him the moment he got off his bike, and it suddenly felt like he had stepped into a war zone. Next, he saw a bright red figure zoom out from the alley between Gu Fei’s convenience store and the community clinic. With a sharp whistle, the red figure charged into the crackling smoke behind him.
“Er-Miao!” Jiang Cheng shouted.
Gu Miao was dressed especially jovially today, with a little red puffer jacket and green formfitting pants. Even her boots were red, and she dragged a long white scarf behind her.
After she dived headfirst into the cloud of firecrackers, Jiang Cheng could no longer see her clearly, only that a vague red shape was moving around. A few seconds later, Gu Miao emerged from the smoke, her face flushed from the thrill.
“Er-Miao!” Jiang Cheng opened his arms and stood in front of her.
Gu Miao braked hard, the head of her skateboard pivoting to one side as she stopped sideways in front of him. Grinning, she reached out a hand, snapped her fingers, and held up a thumb.
“Happy New Year!” Jiang Cheng responded with a snap and a thumbs-up.
Gu Miao hopped off her skateboard, kicked it up with her foot, and caught it in her hand. Then she dragged him into the store.
The woolen curtain over the doorway wasn’t enough to keep out the smoke from the firecrackers. The smell of gunpowder was everywhere inside, filling the store with the scent of New Year’s. Gu Fei was just coming in from the back courtyard, carrying a large tub in his flour-covered hands.
“Is it time to wrap dumplings?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“Not yet. I just finished kneading the dough.” Gu Fei pinched off a small clump of dough and handed it to Gu Miao, who was waiting expectantly, then pointed at the warming cabinet nearby. “Want some buns? There’s milk and soy milk.”
“Sure.” Jiang Cheng nodded. He opened the food warmer and took out two buns. “Why do you still have these? Surely no one’s gonna buy them today.”
“I got them for you, since there’ll be no time to make anything else.” Gu Fei smiled. “Help yourself to the drinks. There’s hot ones, too.”
“When does your mom get here?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“Soon.” Gu Fei glanced at the clock on the wall. “Li Yan and Liu Fan are coming in the afternoon.”
“In the afternoon?” Jiang Cheng paused. “They’re not staying home for dumplings?”
“They’ve both got big families. It’s a whole mess around the holidays, so the younger ones like to get out and roam around.” Gu Fei glanced out the door, then suddenly froze. A storm came over his expression.
Jiang Cheng quickly followed his gaze outward. The curtain had been lifted, and Gu Fei’s mom was standing outside…with the ponytail guy on the motorcycle they saw the other day. The guy still had his hair in a ponytail, this time styled with a pair of sunglasses.
It was a cloudy day with occasional gusts of snow drifting down, and the streets outside were covered in clouds of firecracker smoke. Wearing sunglasses on a day like this? Jiang Cheng had to wonder if this guy needed a cane to get around.
“Come on in,” Gu Fei’s mom said. “This is my son, Gu Fei. You haven’t met, right? That there is my girl, Gu Miao. And that’s my son’s friend from school, Jiang Cheng.”
“Happy New Year, Auntie.” Jiang Cheng greeted her, then nodded to the ponytail guy—he couldn’t bring himself to say “Uncle.” The guy wasn’t very old, but “Dage” sounded insolent given the fact that he was dating Gu Fei’s mom, so he opted for silence.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Gu Fei asked, clapping the flour off his hands.
Jiang Cheng locked his eyes on Gu Fei, ready to jump in and intervene should Gu Fei make a move. It was the holidays, after all. Both Gu Fei’s mom and the ponytail guy had dressed up—they looked like they’d put in a lot of effort to prepare for the occasion. Perhaps it was for meeting her son, or perhaps it was for their date; either way, it would be inappropriate to beat him up during the holidays.
“We’re just going to sit down and eat together, that’s all.” Gu Fei’s mom grabbed Gu Fei’s arm and dragged him toward the back courtyard, speaking quietly. “Don’t give him attitude.”
“He’s the one who hit you last time, isn’t he?” Gu Fei asked loudly, making it clear that he wasn’t cutting anyone any slack.
His mother kept her voice quiet. “It wasn’t him…”
Jiang Cheng didn’t hear anything they said after they went out to the courtyard, but the atmosphere inside had suddenly become a little awkward.
The ponytail guy stood about two steps in from the doorway, while Jiang Cheng and Gu Miao stood in front of the cash register. Since Gu Miao had no understanding of what was going on, she still held her skateboard in one hand and kneaded the clump of dough with the other, her impossibly cool gaze fixed upon the ponytail guy. And thanks to his recent mental overexertion, Jiang Cheng barely had the presence of mind not to stare too—he couldn’t think of a single suitable thing to say.
“I didn’t hit her,” the ponytail guy explained. “That was her ex-boyfriend. I already got back at him for her.”
“Oh,” Jiang Cheng replied. He still had absolutely nothing to say.
Ponytail Guy fell silent after that. He stood as straight as a board, his chin slightly tilted up.
Jiang Cheng leaned against the counter and mentally serenaded him with the line “me and my final persistence.”8
Me and my final persistence, clench my fists tight in resistance,
Whether the next stop is really paradise, don’t despair in the face of disappointment…
Halfway through belting out the lyrics in his head, he realized the song could also be dedicated to Gu Fei…
When Gu Fei and his mom finally came back in, Gu Fei stayed quiet, but she beckoned with her hand. “Come on, time to get to work.”
Ponytail Guy nodded and followed her out to the courtyard.
“Get to work on what?” Jiang Cheng asked, confused.
“Cooking. My mom brought home a cook to make food,” Gu Fei said, then suddenly cracked up laughing. “I can’t even be mad at that.”
“That guy’s a cook?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“Mm.” Gu Fei sighed after he stopped laughing. “If he wants to cook, then let him. Whatever.”
“That’s good!” Jiang Cheng squeezed his hand. “It’s gotta be better than what you’d make checking your phone for recipes the entire time, right?”
“Yeah,” Gu Fei said, nodding. “I really can’t be bothered anymore. So I’ll just let it be.”
“It’s New Year’s. The more, the merrier.” Jiang Cheng considered it for a moment. “Wanna go outside and set off fireworks?”
“Yes.” Gu Fei clapped his hands. “Er-Miao!” Gu Miao turned to him, and Gu Fei bent down. “Let’s go set off fireworks?”
Gu Miao nodded fervently.
Gu Fei had bought a bunch of firecrackers and fireworks a few days ago—almost two cases of them—and stored them all under the counter. They filled a plastic bag with all the pyrotechnics and took Gu Miao out onto the street.
Lots of families were gathering for their holiday meals already, and the explosive bangs in the street were so dense that it was hard to hear each other talk. They’d been hoping to find a relatively smoke-free corner, but after walking down the length of the street, they realized there was no such place. Jiang Cheng set the bag on the ground and said, “Let’s just do it here!”
Gu Fei took the fireworks out and laid them on the ground. Gu Miao, bursting with excitement, began to ride circles around them on her skateboard. The moment the vibrant flares burst out, she whistled loudly.
“IS IT PRETTY?!” Gu Fei yelled in Jiang Cheng’s ear.
“YES!” Jiang Cheng looked at him. “Why are you shouting? We’re setting off fireworks, not firecrackers!”
It was actually quieter here than anywhere else, so Gu Fei’s voice rang especially loud. But he kept shouting anyway. “I DON’T KNOW! I JUST WANTED TO SHOUT!”
“Go ahead and shout then!” Jiang Cheng threw his head back. “AAAH!!!”
Gu Fei joined him. “AAAH!!!”