Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 20

Temple Fair¹

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year,² Liu Yiyi came to visit. She sported a stylish haircut, long in the front and short in the back, with streaks of red highlighting the smooth locks. Her monolidded eyes, when she squinted slightly to look at people, made her resemble a bewitching Persian cat.

She strode in on high heels, dropped off a huge pile of gifts, and then stared at Anzhi for a long moment. “So this is your daughter, huh?” she asked Yan Qi. She grabbed Anzhi, poking her cheek and pinching her arm. “So cute, just like a doll. Hey, she’s real…”

Yan Qi gave a small roll of her eyes. “You should call her Auntie!”

“Calling me Auntie makes me sound old. No way! Call me Jiejie!”³

Anzhi was still trying to process what was happening. Her face was being touched and kneaded, and this woman’s naturally familiar⁴ behavior had her completely bewildered. She cast a pitiful, pleading look at Yan Qi.

“Alright, let her go,” Yan Qi said, pulling Anzhi over to her side. She shot Liu Yiyi an annoyed look. “You’re so lacking in restraint.”⁵

“It’s the New Year! Can’t I come and wish you a happy one?!”

“It’s already the fifth day. Besides, it’s not like I don’t know what you’re really here for!”

A grin spread across Liu Yiyi’s face as she casually scanned the room. “Where’s your Second Brother?”

“He went back to the university.”

“How is that possible? Isn’t he supposed to wait until after the Lantern Festival?⁶ I messaged you this morning, and you said he was here.” Her flowery face lost its color.⁷

“He was here then. But he left after lunch. He probably went back to the university,” Yan Qi said, her expression a mixture of sympathy and someone taking joy in calamity, delighting in disaster.⁸

Liu Yiyi had been her best friend since childhood and was two years her senior. She had been bitterly in love with Yan Qi’s Second Brother, Yan Yixi, for years, but her efforts had never managed to cultivate to achieve the true fruit.⁹ It was no wonder; their painting styles¹⁰ were too dissonant.

Yan Qi didn’t quite understand why Liu Yiyi liked Yan Yixi. He was a cold person who cared for nothing outside of academia and had no hobbies to speak of. He barely said more than a few sentences a day, unless you brought up his field of study. He was handsome and elegant, tall and slender, and almost always dressed in white. He was lukewarm, forever proper and conventional, as bland as plain water. For some reason, when the first buds of her love first opened,¹¹ Liu Yiyi had fallen for this “flower on a high peak,”¹² but neither her overt nor her secret confessions had ever succeeded.

Dejected, Liu Yiyi had gone abroad to study. She’d had a few relationships overseas and worked for several years, thinking she had finally become immune. But upon returning to the country and seeing Yan Yixi again at the Yan residence, she fell right back in, just like when she was a teenager. She even quit her job abroad to settle down back home.

But Yan Yixi, that lump of elm wood,¹³ still hadn’t caught on.

Liu Yiyi had even asked Yan Qi and Yan Yinan to find out what kind of girls Yan Yixi liked.

Both of them reported that they had never seen him with a girlfriend.

Liu Yiyi was starting to suspect his orientation. But then again, she’d never seen him with a boyfriend, either.

“Maybe… my Second Brother just isn’t interested in humans,” Yan Qi had said.

Liu Yiyi had replied, “If he ever falls for me, do you think he’ll recite that poem to me? That line by Hai Zi?¹⁴ 【Tonight, I don’t care about humanity, I only think of you】”¹⁵

Yan Qi: ……

Yan Qi said, “Alright, my Second Brother isn’t home. If you want to see him, you should probably go to his university, right?”

Yiyi chuckled. “No, no, I came especially to see you today. You’re going back to work soon, aren’t you?”

“The eighth day of the Lunar New Year.”¹⁶

“I heard you’re moving out?”

“That’s right.”

Liu Yiyi glanced at Anzhi, a thoughtful look on her face.

Yan Qi said, “I’m going into the city to buy some things. Want to come along? Or are you heading to the university?”

“I’ll come, I’ll come,” Liu Yiyi said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a good chat.”

“Anzhi is starting elementary school, so I’m taking her to buy some school supplies.”

“Why don’t the two of us just go? Why bring a kid along?” Liu Yiyi’s bright face was full of confusion.

Liu Yiyi was a frequent visitor to the Yan family. Though she hadn’t managed to win over Yan Yixi, she was on excellent terms with everyone else, especially Yan Yinan and Yan Qi, who were closer to her in age.

Like most people in their early twenties, she found cute children amusing to play with for a moment, but she couldn’t understand why Yan Qi would shoulder such a troublesome burden. Besides, it wasn’t like Yan Qi was particularly fond of kids.

But being a woman, her mind was a bit more meticulous. Could it be that after breaking up with Gao Jiming, Yan Qi decided to raise a child to distract herself? That didn’t make sense, either. Usually, after a heartbreak, shouldn’t you start a new relationship as soon as possible? And Yan Qi’s prospects were amazing. Her family was wealthy and powerful, and she herself had looks and talent, not to mention a considerable dowry.¹⁷ The line of guys chasing her in school had never ended.

Liu Yiyi couldn’t figure it out, and she was also troubled by her own situation with Yan Yixi and wanted to talk. Bringing a child along would be inconvenient. But Yan Qi insisted. Puzzled, Liu Yiyi had no choice but to agree.

After buying the school supplies, it was still early, so they went to a Temple Fair.

It was the peak of the Spring Festival, and there was a mountain of people, a sea of people. The air was filled with joyful sounds and cheerful laughter.

Anzhi had never seen a Temple Fair before and found everything novel and exciting. Yan Qi held her hand tightly, talking to her as they walked.
In front of a crowd watching a performance of shaking the empty bamboo (Diabolo),¹⁸ Yan Qi lifted Anzhi up and rested her on her arm. Afterward, she bought her a butterfly-shaped hand-tied kite,¹⁹ a pellet drum,²⁰ and a pinwheel decorated with gold and silver sycees.

Poor Liu Yiyi trailed behind them, relegated to the role of pack mule.

A crowd of children surrounded the stall for pinching sugar figures.²¹ The old craftsman pinched off a lump of sugar, rolled it into a ball, and his nimble fingers worked the scalding hot sugar. When he had pulled it to a certain thinness, he abruptly snapped the sugar thread, put the tube-like end in his mouth, and puffed out his cheeks. In an instant, he blew it into a hollow, caramel-colored sphere.

The surrounding children let out gasps of amazement.

The old craftsman’s expression didn’t change, but his wrinkled hands were incredibly deft. He slowly molded the sphere into a chubby little pig. Then he took it from his mouth, broke off the sugar thread, and curled the tiny remaining piece with his hand, turning it into a perfect little curly tail.

“Wow, wow, wow!!!” The children clapped their hands, clamoring, “I want one, I want one…”

“A tiger!” “Sun Wukong!”²² “A big rooster!” “Ultraman!”²³

Anzhi was so captivated she didn’t want to leave.

Yan Qi understood. She smiled and said to her, “How about we have the old grandpa make you a rabbit?”

Liu Yiyi, teetering on ten-centimeter heels, had fragrant sweat soaking her back despite the winter cold. “I want one too!” she said irritably.

As dusk settled, a chilly wind began to blow. The lanterns were lit, and the aroma of snack stalls wafted over. Liu Yiyi started eating, and only then did she feel like she had come back to life. She ate her way down the street: Zha Gao,²⁴ Lü Dagun,²⁵ Ai Wowo,²⁶ Jiangsi Paicha…²⁷

Feeling like everything was sweet, she then bought a Jianbing Guozi.²⁸

A whole one was too big for Anzhi to finish, so Yan Qi split it in half and let her hold it in its paper bag. Anzhi took a bite, burned her mouth, blew on it, and then took another huge bite. The green vegetables, red ham, and crispy golden cracker, all wrapped in an egg-scented crepe, were as beautiful as they were delicious. Anzhi’s eyes curved into crescents as she ate, sauce smearing the corners of her mouth.

Yan Qi knelt down and gently wiped her mouth with a tissue, her gaze soft.

Standing nearby, Liu Yiyi rolled her eyes. Is this kid really not her illegitimate daughter?

After wandering for most of the day, they were tired. Anzhi could barely walk anymore, so Yan Qi carried her on her back. She was already too full to eat another bite, but when she saw the Tanghulu,²⁹ she rarely took the initiative, leaning close to Yan Qi’s ear. “I want that…”

“You can still eat more, little Anzhi?” Liu Yiyi teased.

Anzhi hadn’t spoken much to her all day, being a little shy around strangers. Thinking Liu Yiyi was calling her a greedy eater,³⁰ she ducked her head in embarrassment.

Yan Qi glanced at the other children holding their own sticks of candied fruit and smiled. “Alright, we’ll buy one for our Taotao.”

Our Taotao? Anzhi froze for a second. It had been a long time since anyone had called her that.

The long skewer of large, round hawthorns was coated in a pale yellow sugar glaze, making them look like a string of exquisitely decorated little red lanterns. It was an adorable sight. Anzhi held the wooden stick and moved it to Yan Qi’s lips.

With Anzhi on her back, Yan Qi wasn’t expecting this move. She blinked. “You want to give me the first bite?”

Anzhi’s right wine nest³¹ faintly appeared. “The first one is for you.”

“Mmm…” Yan Qi bit into one, her cheek moving slightly. “It’s delicious.”

“The rest is for you.”

Anzhi rested on Yan Qi’s shoulder, carefully keeping her shoes from kicking her. She nibbled on the Tanghulu, watching the scenery go by and listening to the two adults talk.

“Do you think your Second Brother will be home tonight?”

“If he is, are you planning to spend the night at my place?”

“Yep. I can see him tonight, and I can see him tomorrow morning.”

“You’re really hopeless…”

In the car on the way back, Anzhi sat next to Yan Qi in the back seat, drowsing. Liu Yiyi drove, and the city lights streamed past the window, bright then dark, bright then dark.

Liu Yiyi sighed. “I’m probably going to hang myself from Yan Yixi’s tree³² for the rest of my life…”

“You don’t have to, you know…”

“I can’t help it. It’s love, don’t you get it? This is why I don’t understand how you could break up with Gao Jiming. I’m starting to think you never loved him at all…”

Anzhi didn’t understand. She was very sleepy and didn’t know what “love” was. She only knew that Yan Qi’s hand was stroking her head, that she didn’t have to worry about anything, and that she could take her time growing up. She closed her eyes and drifted peacefully to sleep.

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The author has something to say:

Had to go moving bricks³³ to make a living, so I’m a bit late. I have to keep moving them tomorrow, so I’ll update again tomorrow night.

Um, if this story were to Enter V,³⁴ would you guys buy it?

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