Volume 10: Days of Cultivating in the Republic of China
Happy Six-One!1
Wishing everyone a happy Six-One!!!
It wasn’t until they were inside the supermarket that Shen Maomao finally felt like she had come back to life.
This was too hard. For Lou Jingmo, she had given far too much.
The supermarket was packed with people; it seemed like there was some kind of member event going on. To avoid being swept apart by the crowd, Shen Maomao clung tightly to Lou Jingmo’s arm, squeezing with her toward the very back of the store.
The fighting strength of the uncles and aunties was absolutely not something two young girls like them could compare to. In the time it took Shen Maomao to turn her head and grab a bottle of yogurt, she discovered that she and Lou Jingmo had been swept apart by the river of people.
With yogurt in one hand and her other hand fumbling for her pocket, she was passively carried forward by the crowd, struggling to make a WeChat2 call to Lou Jingmo.
But the signal was poor underground. She tried for a long time but couldn’t even get the call to dial out.
So she put her phone back in her pocket and prepared to search toward the exit. If that didn’t work, she could just wait by the escalator entrance for a while; she could always squat and wait for the person3.
While being squeezed, she actually felt pretty good——because this way, she didn’t have to find an excuse to wander around the supermarket aimlessly.
However, she was afraid Lou Jingmo would get anxious if she couldn’t find her, so she didn’t deliberately delay. She just shuffled forward along with the grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunties. After a difficult journey squeezing past the snack aisle, she arrived at the fresh produce section, and with a glance of the eye, she actually saw a familiar person——her mom!
Her mom was holding a fish, about to put it into her shopping cart. Her gaze followed Mother Shen’s cart to the side, where she saw a person standing next to her mom, pushing another cart filled with snacks——who else could it be but Lou Jingmo!
A sense of imbalance instantly rose in Shen Maomao’s heart.
What was this situation? Here she was, worried that Lou Jingmo was anxious, but not only was Lou Jingmo not the least bit anxious, she had even joined up with her mom. Looking at this picture of a loving mother and a filial daughter, where was there any place left for her?
She puffed up her cheeks and squeezed over, placing the yogurt into Lou Jingmo’s cart and asking loudly, “Ma? What are you doing here?!” The subtext was, “What about setting up the scene like we agreed? How’s it going now?”
Mother Shen replied, “There wasn’t much to tidy up at home, so I figured I’d come to the supermarket to buy some groceries for tomorrow’s meal!” After speaking, her tone shifted, her gaze turning sharp as she looked at the snacks in the cart and scolded, “Why are you buying junk food again? Can’t you get enough of it? I’ve yelled at you so many times, but you never listen.”
“Okay, okay, I know.” The words went in Shen Maomao’s left ear and out her right4; she paid her lecture no mind at all. After her mom finished, she even added, “Actually, Lou Jingmo bought all of this.”
Lou Jingmo consciously shouldered the pot5, “Yes, Ayi, I bought it all…”
Mother Shen sighed, pulled the cart from Lou Jingmo’s hands, and then commanded, “Go, pay for this cart of junk food, then carry your things and roll back home. Xiao Lou and I will continue shopping together.”
Shen Maomao was a little silent. “Am I really your biological child?”
Mother Shen: “How many times have I told you, it was raining that day, I went to throw out the trash, and it turned out I found…”
Shen Maomao quickly cut her off, “Alright, alright, alright, I’m leaving. You two have a good time shopping, I’ll head back first.”
…
This was not what they had discussed on WeChat yesterday.
Carrying the bags on her way back, Shen Maomao fell into deep thought. She thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out what medicine her mom was selling in her gourd6.
According to the original plan, she was responsible for tricking Lou Jingmo into going out, while Mother Shen and Father Shen were responsible for decorating the house and preparing the food and cake. Once they were all done, they would send her a WeChat message, and then she would bring Lou Jingmo back… so what was this situation now?
Filled with confusion, she returned home. The moment she entered, she saw her dad standing on the sofa, sticking colorful ribbons to the wall, and on the coffee table was a cake with candles already inserted, but not yet lit.
Seeing her, Father Shen immediately said, “Quick, come and help, these decorative stickers keep coming loose…”
Shen Maomao put down her bags, a little silent. “I think asking you two to decorate the house was the wrong choice…”
Father Shen looked at her, puzzled.
Shen Maomao: “We’re just celebrating a birthday, not getting married…” These paper garlands, these balloons, if they added a shuangxi7 character, she and Lou Jingmo could be sent into the bridal chamber tonight.
Father Shen waved his hand dismissively, “It’s all the same, all the same… You hang up these garlands first. Your Ma said since it’s Xiao Lou’s birthday, it’s better if you’re the one to present the cake.”
Shen Maomao thought that made sense and took over the task from her dad.
After she was done, she opened her phone, only to find missed voice calls and unread messages surging up like snowflakes. There were messages from her mom asking where she was, and later, seeing no reply, they changed to telling her to bring Lou Jingmo to the supermarket to find her. There were also messages from Lou Jingmo after they got separated, sauntieng she would wait for her at the exit.
Only then did she realize that her phone service had probably been suspended due to an unpaid bill. No wonder she couldn’t make WeChat calls.
In that case, bumping into Mother Shen was a real coincidence.
…
Seeing that it was about to get dark, she quickly called her mom and told her to bring Lou Jingmo back.
Her home wasn’t far from the supermarket, only about a ten-minute walk. Shen Maomao was quite nervous, yet a little expectant, and couldn’t help but rub her hands together. Her dad placed the crown that came with the birthday cake on her head, then took out a lighter to light the candles.
“Bzzz——” Her phone vibrated. It was a message from Mother Shen: “We’re waiting for the elevator!”
The two of them quickly lit the candles, turned off all the lights in the room, and then Shen Maomao picked up the cake and hid in the kitchen with Father Shen.
Not long after, the sound of a key inserting into the keyhole was heard, followed by the sound of plastic bags being placed on the floor. Then Mother Shen said, “Maomao? Why didn’t this child turn on the lights? Xiao Lou, you go in first, Ayi will look for the light switch.” She was acting her part quite convincingly.
Lou Jingmo said okay and, using the light from the hallway, changed her shoes and walked into the living room.
Father Shen yanked open the kitchen door, and Shen Maomao walked out wearing the crown and holding the cake, singing, “Happy birthday to you~”
The expressions of the other three people instantly collapsed a little.
Mother Shen quickly kicked her and began to sing loudly along with her. Father Shen also joined in, clapping his hands to the beat as he sang, trying his best to make his voice drown out Shen Maomao’s.
Shen Maomao swallowed her grievance for the sake of the bigger picture8 and quickly shut her mouth so as not to ruin this meticulously planned birthday party.
As she moved, the candlelight flickered slightly, causing her eyes to also fill with fine, fragmented light, carrying a kind of gentleness unique to Shen Maomao. Lou Jingmo looked at her, the corners of her mouth turning up, forming a wide arc that made her whole person seem much softer.
While singing, Mother Shen took the crown from her head and placed it on Lou Jingmo’s. Lou Jingmo lowered her head slightly, cooperating with her to complete the handover ceremony.
When the song ended, Shen Maomao offered the cake forward and said, “Lou-jie, happy birthday~ Make a wish.”
Lou Jingmo closed her eyes, clasped her hands in front of her chest, then rested her chin on them. After a few seconds of silence, she raised her head and, in one breath, blew out all the candles.
Mother Shen led the applause, “All of Xiao Lou’s wishes will definitely come true!”
Lou Jingmo smiled with exceptional gentleness, “I’ll borrow your auspicious words9.”
The meal had long been prepared and was sitting on the kitchen table, covered by a dust cover; it wasn’t cold even now. The four of them ate dinner first, then began to share the cake.
Lou Jingmo cut a large slice, intending to give it to Mother Shen first. Mother Shen waved her hand, sauntieng, “No, no, no, the cake is too sweet. We two can’t eat much. Cut this piece in half again, and your Shen-uncle and I will share it. You and Maomao can eat the rest.”
The cake was 10-cun10, so Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo didn’t eat much either. They packed the rest into the fridge, planning to eat it for breakfast tomorrow.
Father Shen and Mother Shen were older and went to bed early. Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo quietly cleaned up the kitchen, then washed up and returned to Shen Maomao’s room.
Lying side by side on the bed, neither of them felt sleepy for a moment.
Shen Maomao asked secretively11, “What did you wish for?”
After asking, she felt a little regretful and changed her tune, “Never mind, don’t say it. It won’t come true if you say it out loud.”
“It’s fine. The things I want, I will obtain through my own efforts,” Lou Jingmo said fearlessly. “I wished for your whole family to be healthy and happy.”
Shen Maomao’s eyes stung a little. She burrowed herself into her arms. “What about you? Don’t you have a wish for yourself?”
Lou Jingmo gazed at her in the darkness, like a great dragon guarding its own precious treasure. “I have one wish for myself, too. I hope to be with you forever.”
“Isn’t forever a bit too long?”
“It does seem a bit long.”
Shen Maomao: “????”
Lou Jingmo continued, “Then let’s just be together for this lifetime first. I’ll try my best to find you in the next one.”
Only then did Shen Maomao break into a smile. “Were you very surprised and moved today!”
Lou Jingmo patted her arm intermittently, as if coaxing a child to sleep. “I was very moved, but I had my suspicions.”
The Shen family probably had a hereditary inability to hide their inner thoughts. The three of them might as well have had the words “we’re up to something” written on their faces.
She cupped Shen Maomao’s butt with her hand and lifted her up a bit, sauntieng, “If your singing wasn’t so terrible, I almost couldn’t stop myself from kissing you right then.”
Shen Maomao: “??”
Sure enough, a woman’s mouth is a ghost that deceives people12. Before they got together, she said her singing was nice. Now that they were together, she was starting to complain about it.
Just as she was stewing in silent anger, Lou Jingmo suddenly flipped over, pressing her whole body on top of her, and said in a low voice, “But it’s not too late to kiss you now, is it?”
Shen Maomao instantly forgot about being angry.
She swallowed, her hands gripping the blanket, and stared at Lou Jingmo’s silhouette in the darkness. “Are you for real?”
“I just feel like… my cake doesn’t seem as delicious as you,” Lou Jingmo said in a low voice. “Now I’m coming to have a taste…”
By the end, her voice was as low as a murmur, yet it entered Shen Maomao’s ears with perfect clarity.
Immediately after, lips carrying warmth landed on hers, beginning to toss and turn, grinding against hers, forcefully sucking out all the saliva from her mouth.
Their bodies were scorching hot. Lou Jingmo’s hand traveled all the way down, and just as things were about to get out of hand…
Shen Maomao quickly called a halt, “Don’t… my family’s house doesn’t have good soundproofing.”
Lou Jingmo reluctantly got off her. “Your family is great. So when are we going back?”
Shen Maomao of course understood what “going back” implied. Her old face reddened13 as she said, “Anyway, we came back because our whole family wanted to celebrate your birthday. Now that the birthday is over, why don’t we… go back tomorrow?”
The author has something to say:
As the title says! To celebrate Six-One (and to atone for updating late every day these past few days), the first one hundred comments today will all receive small red envelopes! Charge!!
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