Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 28

Midsummer (Part 1)

The summer was hot. Anzhi had been riding her bike outside for a few days and hadn’t been diligent about reapplying sunscreen, so she got sunburned. She had no choice but to obediently stay cooped up at home.

Yan Xi flicked her forehead and applied a layer of chilled aloe vera gel to her reddened face. She repeatedly reminded her to put on sunscreen properly—if she went out, she had to use a high-SPF one and reapply it.

At her age, Anzhi understood the importance of beauty and nodded frequently.

After Yan Xi left, Anzhi did some homework but found it uninteresting. She ran downstairs to the kitchen to make a dessert.

In the years Grandmother Liu had been with them, especially during her elementary school days, the old woman and the child didn’t really have much to talk about. But she would make all sorts of delicious dishes for her, sometimes letting her watch, including desserts. Over time, Anzhi learned quite a bit herself and could make a few dishes that looked quite presentable.

I’ll make a mango pancake¹ today, she thought. Yan Xi loves mangoes the most.

IMAGE HERE: Mango Pancake

She prepared three eggs, a large fresh mango, 20 grams of melted butter, 200 grams of heavy cream, 250 grams of milk, 50 grams of cake flour, 30 grams of granulated sugar, and 12 grams of powdered sugar.

Anzhi loved making desserts. She liked using measuring cylinders and cups, and she enjoyed preparing all the ingredients before adding them one by one.

She mixed the eggs with the powdered sugar, poured in the milk, sifted in the cake flour, and mixed well. Then, she added the melted butter to the already mixed egg and milk batter. After combining everything, she strained the batter and refrigerated it for half an hour. While waiting, she peeled and diced the mango.

Using a non-stick pan on low heat, she poured in a suitable amount of batter, spreading it into a thin, round crepe. Once it solidified, she removed it.

She whipped the heavy cream with the granulated sugar. On the cooled crepe, she spread a layer of cream, placed some mango chunks, and then added another layer of cream. She folded it into a small square, seam-side down, and with that, the great work was announced complete².

Anzhi remembered the first time she tried to make it. The crepe hadn’t spread well; it was rough, unevenly thick, and ended up tearing. Yan Xi hadn’t shown any disgust and ate every last bite.

After finishing, Anzhi put the pancake in the fridge to chill and was idle once again. Feeling a hundred boredoms³, she stared into space for a while.

Should I go look at my face in the mirror? Growing taller was such a novel experience. In the past, she had to stand on her tiptoes to see herself in the bathroom mirror, but now she didn’t need to.

In the mirror, her eyes were deep and clear, the pupils exceptionally black, like dotted lacquer⁴. She had a small, delicate nose and soft pink lips. When Anzhi tilted her head up, the dimple on her right cheek appeared.

So familiar, yet a little strange. So this is how others see me?

Did this face resemble her biological parents at all?

Chen Muqi had come to see her just as she started her first year of junior high. At the time, he had called Yan Xi’s phone while Anzhi was right beside her. She couldn’t read Yan Xi’s expression; she just listened quietly for a moment before Yan Xi said coolly, “I can’t make the decision for her; I have to hear her opinion. No, she won’t talk to you. I need to ask her first. Only if she’s willing.”

With that, she hung up.

Yan Xi turned to her and said, “That was Chen Muqi, your… father. He said he wants to meet with you. Do you want to go?”

Chen Muqi. That was the first time Anzhi learned her father’s name. She asked, “Why does he want to see me?”

“…He didn’t say. He heard you did very well on your primary school promotion exam⁵…”

Anzhi lowered her head and said nothing.

Yan Xi seemed to be studying her expression. After a moment, she said slowly, “If he asks you to move in with him…”

Anzhi’s head shot up, and she blurted out, “I won’t go! I don’t want to!”

Yan Xi’s expression softened. She comforted her, “Okay, okay, you don’t have to go.”

“I don’t want to meet him anymore!” Anzhi bit her lip. “There’s nothing to see!”

“…It’s okay. Just go see him. After all, he is your legal guardian. If you don’t like it, you can just see him less often!”

“Then you have to take me,” Anzhi said, looking at her. “And you have to pick me up.”

Yan Xi’s tone from that day still seemed to echo in her ears as she soothed her, saying:

“Okay, Taotao.”

“It’s okay, Taotao.”

When they met, she realized Chen Muqi had no intention of taking her back with him at all. He had just returned from Japan, suddenly remembered he had a daughter named Anzhi, and was just asking a few questions out of casual concern.

Looking back on those days now, Anzhi thought that if it weren’t for Yan Xi, she might have spent her entire life in that cold, lifeless house of the Chen family. Even if she had been lucky enough to survive to her current age, when Chen Muqi married that Auntie Xu, she would still be an awkward presence.

No one would have cared if she was growing taller, no one would have cared if her grades were good or if she was suited for skipping a grade, and no one would have cared whether she lived or died.

“You look…” Chen Muqi studied her face. “A lot like Tao Zhenzhen.”

After all these years, his tone when mentioning Tao Zhenzhen was still not very pleasant. What’s the deal with those two? Anzhi wondered. Did they have me without any emotional foundation at all?

Yan Xi had bought her some books on biology, so she knew the process of creating life.

Then Chen Muqi said, “You must be curious about what happened with Tao—your mother—and me. You’re older now, so I can tell you. She had just started her freshman year of college, I think. Your mother was not even 17 when she started college. As for me, I always wanted to get into the Beicheng Academy of Fine Arts because getting into that school was a matter of great prestige. But I really couldn’t adapt to that whole exam-oriented education⁶ system. Since I couldn’t pass the exam, I naturally wanted to experience the atmosphere of a university campus…”

Here, he paused for a moment before continuing, “There were a lot of pretty sister papers⁷ in college, and I happened to be really into portraiture at the time… That’s how I met your mother. We chatted a few times, and on the night of her 17th birthday, I celebrated with her…”

“Neither of us expected you to happen. It was an accident.”

Anzhi stood dazedly by the mirror. When she came to her senses, the water from the faucet she’d turned on was gushing loudly. She turned it off, walked out, and collapsed onto the living room sofa.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t sad.

In these few years with Yan Xi, she had slowly become more cheerful, more mischievous, and would even act cute with her.

But Chen Muqi’s words constantly reminded her. She was an accident, a child whose birth was not anticipated. He resented her, and her mother, Tao Zhenzhen, resented her too, never once contacting her. Anzhi didn’t even know where she was.

Does she know my grades are good enough to skip a grade? Does she know I’m already 1.5 meters tall? Does she know I look like her now?

She didn’t know. Chen Muqi knew, but he didn’t want her either. Her parents had cast her off like a great burden, and their lives had been smooth sailing ever since. Yes, she was a great burden, a great burden that nobody wanted.

Strangely, when she first heard it, her heart had just felt dull and heavy, and she didn’t have much of a reaction. She had always thought she was fine, always thought she had stopped hoping.

For several days, she had even been happily tinkering with her bicycle. Even on the day she saw Chen Muqi and that Auntie Xu, she didn’t have much of a reaction—until today, being cooped up at home.

Anzhi covered her eyes, feeling the tears fill her eyelashes⁸.

When she was six or seven, she used to think that maybe when she got older, it wouldn’t hurt so much, and she wouldn’t envy other children anymore. But she just needed to grow up a little more, and then thinking about it wouldn’t be so sad, right?

Anzhi didn’t know what was wrong, but once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop.

She didn’t even answer when the landline rang. Then her cell phone started ringing.

It had to be Yan Xi. During summer vacation, whenever Anzhi was home, she would always call. Sometimes the calls were only a minute or two, just to ask if she had eaten, what she was doing, or if she needed anything brought back.

Anzhi messily wiped her face and took several deep breaths, thinking the sound of crying probably wouldn’t be noticeable in her voice anymore, before answering the phone.

“Taotao, want some watermelon? I’ll buy some on my way back.”

“…Yeah.”

“What did you do at home today? Did you sneak out?”

“…No…”

“Homework?”

Her homework was already done; she had even read half of her textbooks for the new semester today. But Anzhi was afraid Yan Xi would hear that she had been crying, so she just mumbled a few vague sounds.

“…Okay, I’ll buy it on my way back then.”

“Okay!”

After hanging up, Anzhi let a few more tears fall freely before composing herself and going to wash her face.

Half an hour later, Yan Xi returned. Anzhi took the pre-cut watermelon in a clear plastic bag from her hand.

Yan Xi changed her shoes and came inside. There was a thick weariness in her eyes, and her steps were a bit puffy and floating⁹.

“What’s wrong?” Anzhi noticed.

“It’s nothing, probably a little heatstroke. Get me a glass of water.” Yan Xi’s head felt a bit groggy.

Anzhi trotted into the kitchen and poured a glass of cooled boiled water.

Yan Xi took it and drank half. She noticed Anzhi watching her worriedly. “Do you need to see a doctor? I’ll call Third Uncle¹⁰.”

Yan Xi gave a faint smile. “He’s in the cosmetic surgery department. What’s the point of calling him? I’m fine. I’ll just go upstairs and sleep for a bit. We can eat dinner later.”

She gently patted the top of Anzhi’s head and went upstairs. Anzhi picked up her bag and followed behind her with wide, expectant eyes.

“Are you really okay?”

Yan Xi’s room was the master bedroom, a bit larger than Anzhi’s. The decor was similar to the rooms in the Yan Family Old Residence—mostly white and simple. It was shaded and cool in the summer and had floor heating in the winter. She drew the curtains and lit a candle.

“I’m fine,” Yan Xi said softly. She looked tired, and her voice was a little hoarse. Her movements were languid. Without shying away from Anzhi, she turned to the side and unbuttoned her shirt. The garment slid down her lustrous, smooth back, revealing a pair of delicate and elegant butterfly bones¹¹.

Anzhi froze for a second, then reflexively looked away.

“I’ll go get you another glass of water.”

She turned and clattered down the stairs, pouring another glass of cooled boiled water.

She didn’t know if it was from running too fast or something else, but her heart was beating a little rapidly.

After a short while, she went back upstairs.

Yan Xi was already asleep. She had changed into a nightdress, and a summer quilt for the air-conditioned room covered her waist. Her long eyelashes were lowered.

Anzhi tiptoed in, placed the water on the nightstand, and, still worried, reached out to feel Yan Xi’s forehead.

She should be fine after she wakes up, right?

The edge of Yan Xi’s bed wasn’t high, so Anzhi simply sat on the floor. There were faint shadows under Yan Xi’s eyes, the creases of her eyelids were deep, and she was sleeping soundly, her lips slightly parted and glossy.

Anzhi placed her own hand on top of Yan Xi’s head, just like how Yan Xi used to soothe her to sleep when she was little.

The Diptyque¹² candle in the baies¹³ scent didn’t have an overly sweet berry fragrance. It was more like the scent of pine trees and vines in the early morning, still wet with dew. You could almost hear the low chirping of birds.

And so, Anzhi stayed by Yan Xi’s side.

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