Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 13

Wind and Waves¹

After a cold rain, the temperature dropped sharply under a sky obscured by dark clouds.

The Yan Family Old Residence was in a state of chaos. No one could have predicted the sudden turn of events.

It all started when Yan Qi brought home a box of Water Honey Peaches.² Auntie Xin cut up several for the children to eat in the dining room while she and Yan Qi chatted in the adjacent living room.

Suddenly, a child’s shriek erupted from the dining room. When they rushed in, they found Yan Da Pang crying and scratching at his body, his chubby little face swelling up rapidly. Anzhi and Yan Xiao Pang stood beside him, frozen in shock.

Yan Qi knew this was bad. She grabbed the boy. “Auntie Xin, it looks like an allergic reaction. Do we have any Claritin³?”

Auntie Xin hurried back with a pill. “But can he take this?!”

“Break off half a piece, crush it, and mix it into warm water. Have him drink it now, then we’ll go to the hospital.”

Yan Qi spoke calmly as she comforted the wailing Yan Da Pang. Yan Xiao Pang couldn’t help but start crying, while Anzhi just watched in terror.

Auntie Xin scrambled to do as instructed, too busy to mind the other children.

Xiao Yutong, just returning from an outing, heard the crying and ran into the room. The scene stole her breath. “What’s going on? What happened?”

While coaxing Yan Da Pang to drink the medicine, Yan Qi gave her a succinct reply. “An allergic reaction.”

Xiao Yutong’s eyes scanned the table and landed on a few leftover peach slices. She frowned. “Who eats peaches this time of year! Neither Da Pang nor Xiao Pang are fond of them…”

Her gaze fell on Anzhi, cold and full of blame.

Anzhi flinched, her body giving a nearly imperceptible tremble.

“Eldest Sister-in-law, hold Da Pang. I’ll drive. We need to get to the hospital,” Yan Qi said.

Heart aching, Xiao Yutong took the sobbing boy, holding his hands to keep him from scratching as they hurried out.

“Mama… Aunt…” Xiao Pang cried, chasing after them.

“Hey…” Auntie Xin rushed out and scooped him up. “It’s okay, sweetie, don’t be scared. Your brother will be fine once he gets to the hospital.”

Anzhi was left standing alone, at a complete loss. She wrung her small hands, her eyes turning red. On the table, the slices of Water Honey Peach sat neglected, ignored by all.

Is it my fault? If I hadn’t eaten the peaches, would this not have happened?

She sat in the dining room for a while, then wandered into the living room, feeling like an invisible person.

They didn’t come back that night. Yan Qi called to say Yan Da Pang was mostly fine, but Xiao Yutong was worried and insisted on staying at the hospital overnight for observation.

Auntie Xin finally relaxed, murmuring “Amitabha”⁴ several times.

Anzhi barely slept. The next morning, after breakfast, she returned to her room, put on her small backpack, and gripped the doorknob. She gave the room one last, lingering look, then quietly closed the door.

She usually went back to her room after eating, and her quiet, reserved nature made her easy to overlook. Besides, it was the weekend. The young security guard at the villa’s main gate was dozing off and didn’t notice her tiny figure slipping out.

When Yan Qi got home, Auntie Xin thought Anzhi was still on the third floor. But when Yan Qi checked, the room was empty. The clothes Auntie Xin had given her were folded neatly. On top lay a sheet of white paper with the words: “Yan Qi, thank you. I’m going back.”

The handwriting was childish, though the two characters for Yan Qi’s name already showed the beginnings of a delicate, graceful style.

Anzhi walked for a long time without seeing a bus station. Tired, she sat on the side of the road. The suburbs were lush with trees, offering no obvious landmarks. She could only rely on memory, and the only route she knew was from the Yan Family Old Residence to her kindergarten. She had to get there first, then ask for directions.

She wanted to go back to the home she shared with her grandfather. Only that place was her real home.

She drank from her water bottle and looked up. A large, dark cloud was drifting slowly toward her, joining with others, seeming to gather into the shape of a monster.

Fear knotted in her heart. Not daring to delay, she started walking again. After who knows how long, a bus finally arrived, and she got on.

Will Yan Qi come look for me? Will she miss me?

She had already done so much. Staying would only bring more trouble.

The bus was nearly empty. She watched the trees fly past the window and remembered when Tao Zhenzhen had come to pick her up. She’d thought she would finally live with her “mom and dad.” She’d told herself to be sweeter, to make them like her.

Now, she was alone again, heading back once more.

The bus didn’t go directly to the kindergarten. She had to transfer, took the wrong one, and lost a lot of time. When she finally arrived, she saw the old groundskeeper wasn’t on duty. It was only four in the afternoon, but the sky was already dark and the air was cold. Anzhi shrank into her collar, realizing she was exhausted and hungry.

She wandered the streets alone, unsure where to buy food, so she just followed the crowds. After nightfall, lights flickered on one by one. Her feet ached.

Finally, she found a 24-hour convenience store, went inside, and bought a sandwich. The clerk poured her a cup of hot water. “Are your parents coming to pick you up soon?”

Anzhi forced a smile. “…Mhm.”

She sat on a high stool, watching people through the large glass window. A light rain had started to fall, the streetlights illuminating the wet pavement. People came and went, some with umbrellas, some without. They all looked like they had a home to go to.

Anzhi lowered her head and slowly chewed her sandwich. There was a telephone on the counter. She glanced at it several times.

Just as she turned away, she saw her. Yan Qi was getting out of a car. A few steps from the streetlight, a fine mist of rain drifted down, making her expression seem hazy.

Anzhi froze.

“Hey,” the clerk said, “is that who’s here to pick you up?” The clerk had been watching her closely—such a small child with such a sad and helpless expression.

Anzhi didn’t know how to answer.

Yan Qi walked quickly, pushing the door open and coming straight to her. Her eyebrows were knitted together, her normally laughing eyes now holding an emotion Anzhi couldn’t understand.

Her chest rose and fell slightly, as if she were suppressing something. But she said nothing, just held out a hand. “Let’s go.”

Anzhi stared up at her, stunned.

Yan Qi took her hand, led her out the door, and put her in the car.

“Fasten your seatbelt.” Her voice was flat.

Anzhi obeyed, biting her lip and stealing a glance at Yan Qi’s profile. It looked icy, and she hadn’t looked at her once since getting in the car.

The car started moving. As the drizzle thickened, the wipers swished slowly back and forth, raindrops forming beautiful patterns on the windshield.

Yan Qi had been on the verge of going mad. For the first time, she had lost her temper with Auntie Xin, furious that no one even knew when the child had left. It was also how she learned that Anzhi usually spent all her time alone.

The police wouldn’t file a report until 24 hours had passed. Besides, explaining why Anzhi wasn’t with her legal guardian was a mess she didn’t want to navigate.

Her heart burned with anxiety. She’s going back? Where could she possibly go?

She remembered that time at KFC, when Anzhi had lowered her little head and said, “I don’t have anywhere else to go…”

Where else could she go?

The only place was the home she shared with her grandfather. But a child her age couldn’t buy a high-speed rail ticket.

Yan Qi’s temples throbbed as horrible news stories about child trafficking flashed through her mind.

She forced herself to calm down, to think like Anzhi. The kindergarten was the only place she’d know. Yan Qi had driven slowly along the bus routes, and when she arrived at the empty gates, she had nearly broken down.

Regret, anxiety, fear, anger, panic—the emotions surged up, choking her. Holding onto one last shred of hope, she had continued searching the streets.

And there, in the convenience store, was a lonely little figure.

The moment she saw her, Yan Qi’s heart finally settled.

But the fear and anxiety curdled into anger.

This Bear Child!!!!!⁵

Seeing Anzhi’s timid eyes, however, she was afraid of scaring her and forcefully suppressed her fury.

Her stomach felt sour and heavy, as if a cold scale weight⁶ were pressing down inside it. She had spent last night at the hospital and today searching for the girl. She was utterly exhausted.

Yan Qi wearily rubbed the space between her eyebrows, feeling that familiar heart-tiredness once again.

The drive home was silent.

The moment they walked in, Auntie Xin rushed over, grabbing Anzhi and looking her over. “You scared me to death! It’s good you’re okay, it’s good you’re okay.”

Anzhi whispered, “I’m sorry…”

“No, no, as long as you’re alright…” Auntie Xin stroked her head, asking if she was cold, if she was hungry.

Anzhi quietly said that she had already eaten.

“Auntie Xin, you watch her,” Yan Qi said. “I’m going to get something to eat.”

Her stomach ached. After two straight weeks of high-intensity overtime, this was supposed to have been her time to rest. The stress had left her feeling completely drained.

Unwell and out of energy, she couldn’t deal with Anzhi right now. Her eyelashes drooped, her lips were pale, and she pressed a hand to her stomach as she walked toward the dining room.

A bowl of hot porridge helped. Yan Qi pursed her lips, pressed her long fingers to her forehead, and let out a long breath.

Only then did she begin to feel settled.

Sigh… children were such a troublesome species. The naughty ones, and the ones who were far too well-behaved.

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The author has something to say:

You see that old lamp on the street corner
It is the child’s way home
-170409

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