Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 37
by Little PandaPuberty
“Girls’ puberty starts earlier than boys’, at around ten to twelve years old. It’s characterized by emotional volatility, capriciousness, and rebelliousness, manifesting as a desire to break away from the family, a greater need to interact with peers, making friends with similar interests, paying attention to one’s own image, and attempting to interact with the opposite sex, during which the psyche becomes more complex.”
On her way home from work, these words from a psychology book flashed through Yan Xi’s mind.
Anzhi had undoubtedly reached this age.
She had grown a few more centimeters recently, and yesterday, a small pimple had appeared on her forehead, which had made her quite unhappy.
Yan Xi smiled silently.
The setting sun dyed the clouds on the horizon red. The azure sky was filled with the evening glow; it was an incredibly beautiful empty shot.1
Anzhi had reached puberty. She was no longer the little rabbit who would cry at the drop of a hat. When had Yan Xi accepted this fact? It was when she realized Anzhi had started developing and that she should buy her the small camisoles appropriate for her age.
A twelve-year-old girl, her slender, delicate figure was like a newly sprouted green shoot, the slight swell of her chest hidden beneath her loose school uniform, her pink cheeks like the flower buds at the tip of that shoot.
Yes, Yan Xi realized that Anzhi had truly entered the sensitive and complex stage of puberty. Her senior colleagues at work had all educated her on how terrifying pubescent children could be and how cautiously they needed to be handled. She had gone through this stage herself, and Yan Xi felt she had to brace herself to deal with it.
She was originally going to pick Anzhi up today, but Anzhi had sent a text saying she was already on her way home.
The light turned green. Yan Xi opened the convertible top and tilted her face up slightly. The wind lifted her hair, and the corners of Yan Xi’s lips curled up. At this speed, perhaps she would run into her on the road.
The light turned red. Yan Xi stepped on the gas, picking up speed.
Sure enough, on the road just before their home, she saw a girl on an orange bicycle. Her back was slightly bent, her hair in a bun hairstyle,2 and her snow-white, short-sleeved school uniform billowed in the wind.
Yan Xi smiled, about to speed up and honk the horn to tease her. But out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed another bicycle beside her. It was a boy in the same style of school uniform, following her from not too far and not too close.
Yan Xi narrowed her eyes slightly. What’s this situation? A stalker? A pervert? Yan Xi slammed on the accelerator, the car shooting forward. Just as she was about to honk, she saw the boy push down on his pedal, catch up, and seem to try to talk to Anzhi.
He was clearly someone Anzhi knew.
Yan Xi skillfully maneuvered the car closer, observing them without revealing herself.
Anzhi turned her head and said something, then turned back with a look of not wanting to bother with him. The boy scratched his head, slowed down a little, but continued to follow behind her.
Yan Xi rested one hand on the steering wheel, lost in thought, and let out a soft laugh.
She sighed. So it’s already starting.
Someone’s pursuing her this soon…
Should she approve, or should she oppose?
Yan Xi tapped her head. She drove forward again and honked the horn, nudging the car slightly closer to the boy. The boy had no choice but to move aside. He turned his head and glared at Yan Xi, only to be met by a face with a half-smile,3 and he froze.
Yan Xi glanced at him.
Hearing the noise, Anzhi also turned around curiously and saw Yan Xi, who had already pulled up beside her. Her dimples appeared as she smiled. “You’re back so early today?”
Yan Xi smiled and nodded at her. “Wanna race to see who gets home first?”
“Huh? That’s so unfair…” Anzhi said, but she was already pedaling hard, riding fast, and even taking the lead around the corner.
Yan Xi glanced again at the boy, who was still staring blankly at them from behind, then stepped on the gas and turned the corner as well.
They reached the entrance of the residential complex. Anzhi turned her head and smiled at her. “I’m going in first.” Yan Xi watched her swipe her card and enter the gate, completely unconcerned with the boy who had stopped his bike next to them.
It seems their relationship isn’t that great… Yan Xi thought to herself. She got out of the car and walked over to the boy.
“What’s your name? Why are you following Anzhi?”
The boy stammered, “Jie, jiejie, ah no, Auntie, my name is Chen Wei. I’m in the same class as Tao Anzhi… I… I wasn’t following her. I wanted to see her home.”
Chen Wei had recognized Yan Xi just now. He had seen her once from a distance at a parent-teacher conference and heard she was Tao Anzhi’s aunt. He never expected her to be so young and beautiful up close. She was wearing high heels, making her almost as tall as him. Although her expression was pleasant, she had an imposing presence.4
“Chen Wei?”
Her voice was like jade pearls falling onto a plate.5 It was incredibly pleasant to hear.
Chen Wei was extremely nervous; he hadn’t expected to run into a parent the very first time he tried to escort his crush home. He wanted to rip out his own heart and lungs to prove he wasn’t a bad person. “Yes… Jie, Auntie, my dad’s surname is Chen, and my mom’s is Wei, so my name is Chen Wei.”
Yan Xi smiled lightly and nodded. “Thank you for seeing Anzhi home. It’s getting late, you should go home now.”
With that, she returned to her car, started it, and drove away.
Chen Wei watched the car drive into the garage and let out a heavy breath.
After dinner that evening, Anzhi was in her room doing homework when Yan Xi came over. She stared at Anzhi’s focused, earnest little face for several seconds before knocking on the door.
Anzhi looked up.
“Want to go for a walk?” she asked with a smile.
At night, there were quite a few people strolling downstairs in the complex. There were families with children, people walking their pets, and some kids running around and playing. Anzhi held her little red mouse key pouch (a small, silicone mouse that held all her keys), which she had looped around her wrist, and walked beside Yan Xi.
The trees along the path were strung with starry lights, glowing serenely. The two of them ambled slowly beneath the trees.
“That boy from today, Chen Wei? What’s your relationship with him?”
Chen Wei? Anzhi knew Yan Xi would definitely ask about this.
She said flatly, “Nothing. He’s just my classmate.”
Yan Xi said, “But he said he was seeing you home…”
Anzhi pouted childishly. “I didn’t ask him to. He insisted on following me.” Ever since the last gym class, Chen Wei would often come over with a textbook during breaks, with a great show of being serious.6 But when Anzhi was explaining the problems to him, she noticed he wasn’t listening at all and would just stare at her in a daze.
And today, he had followed behind her, saying he wanted to see her home. It was a bit annoying.
Yan Xi chuckled softly.
Anzhi turned her head to look at her. Yan Xi had removed her makeup as soon as she got home and changed into a loose, long dress, and she was wearing a pair of artsy, round-framed glasses. She reached up to tuck away a strand of hair that the wind had messed up.
Anzhi turned her head away, her eyes downcast. “Now Grandmother Liu doesn’t come to pick me up, and you don’t come to pick me up either…”
Yan Xi stopped in her tracks.
Anzhi pressed her lips together and said nothing, walking a few steps ahead on her own. Just ignore her.
Grandmother Liu still came over to make them dinner. Anzhi’s middle school was over half an hour’s walk from the complex, and the bus took a roundabout route that still lasted twenty minutes. The most convenient way was to ride a bike to school or be driven by a parent.
Yan Xi’s work schedule didn’t allow her to make it in time, so she had instructed Anzhi to text her before leaving for home and after arriving. Anzhi didn’t really think it was a big deal. After all, many of her classmates also biked to and from school. The route was very safe, and quite a few students from her school lived in this area.
But at this very moment, she just felt a little wronged.
“Taotao…” Yan Xi caught up from behind, her voice full of apology. “I’m sorry…”
The moment Anzhi said it, she felt she was being a little unreasonable,7 but as soon as Yan Xi apologized, the words tumbled out of her mouth again. “I know… you’re busy with work…”
Yan Xi was at a loss for words, watching Anzhi’s puffed-up cheeks as she ran a few steps ahead.
“Hey…”
Anzhi didn’t know what expression Yan Xi was making behind her. Her own face was scrunched up in frustration. She felt so awkward, so unreasonable. Although Yan Xi was busy, she had never missed a single one of her parent-teacher conferences from elementary to middle school, nor any school activities or competitions she participated in. Yan Xi alone was responsible for all her living expenses up to this point. Even Grandmother Liu had said that the salary Yan Xi paid her was comparable to that of most white-collar workers in Beicheng.
And Anzhi had only recently learned that for Yan Xi’s job at the TV station, although she was on the official staff roster8 and had been assigned an apartment, her salary for the first three years wasn’t even enough to pay Grandmother Liu. Not to mention all the other expenses.
If it weren’t for her savings and Eldest Sister-in-law Yan, who was good at investing, giving her a hand, there was no way they could be living so well.
Anzhi wondered if she was being too ungrateful, too immature, to be acting so unreasonable toward her now.
Her long eyelashes veiled her large eyes, and her dimples sank deeply in sorrow. She stood rooted to the spot. Yan Xi came up from behind and gently hugged her, stroking her head. “Taotao…”
Anzhi was on the verge of tears. She turned and buried her face in Yan Xi’s embrace, her voice muffled. “I’m sorry… I threw a tantrum…”
Yan Xi thought: Sure enough, a teenager’s emotions can change in an instant. She had intended to talk to her about the sensitive topic of romance, and now she had to stabilize her emotions instead.
She comforted her softly, “It’s nothing… It’s okay… Shall we go back? We can talk more when we get back?”
Anzhi saw from her embrace that people around them were starting to look at her. She grew embarrassed and pulled away, whispering, “Mhm…”
Anzhi once again felt a wave of frustration lodge in her stomach, making her extremely uncomfortable. She was dejected as she looked at the people around them, at all the families. It seemed that even the worst moods could be soothed within the stability of a blood relationship.
She had grown up under Yan Xi’s care. Yan Xi cared for her because of the compassionate and gentle heart she’d developed from growing up in a happy family. If, one day, Anzhi couldn’t control her emotions, would Yan Xi grow impatient? Would she stop caring for her?
She should be more well-behaved, but sometimes, she didn’t understand where all these negative, complicated emotions came from.
Footnotes
- An ’empty shot’ (空镜头, kōng jìngtóu) is a term from filmmaking for a shot of scenery or an object, devoid of main characters, used to establish a mood or transition.
- Literally ‘ball head’ (丸子头, wánzi tóu), a popular hairstyle where the hair is pulled up into a bun.
- A Chinese idiom, ‘sì xiào fēi xiào’ (似笑非笑), describing an ambiguous smile that is not quite a full smile.
- A Chinese idiom, ‘qìshì bī rén’ (气势逼人), describing someone with an intimidating or overwhelming aura.
- A Chinese idiom, ‘yù zhū luò pán’ (玉珠落盘), used to describe a sound, typically a voice or music, that is exceptionally clear and pleasant.
- A Chinese idiom, ‘shà yǒu qí shì’ (煞有其事), meaning to act as if something important is happening, often with an air of pretense or seriousness.
- A Chinese idiom, ‘wúlǐ qǔnào’ (无理取闹), which means to be deliberately provocative or to make trouble for no good reason.
- Refers to the ‘biānzhì’ (编制), the authorized staffing quota for a government-affiliated entity in China. Being on the roster grants significant job security and benefits.
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