Summer break—a word full of happiness, longer than winter break, and set in a season when you can eat ice cream.
Shen Yao once tried buying an ice cream cone in winter and got scolded by his Aunt for being a fool, the kind of idiot who wouldn’t use an umbrella when it rained or would even pick up things from the ground to eat.
Back in the village, his favorite thing to do during summer break was to take out his treasured Ultraman Cards from the Iron Box at home, then go play cards with the kids at the entrance of the village.
Of course, cards might be the trend this year, but maybe next year Glass Marbles would be popular.
In the end, it was usually Chengcheng who went home loaded with winnings—she had always been good at those kinds of games.
On the first day of summer break, Shen Yao didn’t have time to look for a part-time job; he first had to solve the problems he had with himself.
Even though he didn’t want to admit it, if he wanted to figure out what was happening to him, he could only turn to Qiao Yunxue.
Before leaving the house that morning, he thought of Chengcheng and went to the Cheng Family, knocking on their door.
He didn’t even know why he was looking for her—maybe it was because he couldn’t forget that slightly melancholy look on her face when she left yesterday.
His relationship with Chengcheng was both simple and complicated.
Simple, because they were as close as brothers could possibly be.
Complicated, because even long ago, Shen Yao had thought there couldn’t really be pure friendship between a boy and a girl.
Sometimes people are just that complex and contradictory, just like how, in the surface world, he was an honest, highly disciplined student—yet in another world, he was as extreme as Qiao Yunxue.
The sort of life that can be summed up in a single word only appears in history books.
To his surprise, the door wasn’t opened by his energetic childhood friend, but by her mother.
Shen Yao felt both disappointed and a little relieved.
“Xiao Shen, you… Are you looking for Chengcheng? She’s already gone out with her friends. All right then, I’ll let her know you came. Do you want to come in for breakfast? Okay, okay…”
Shen Yao politely declined Aunt’s invitation, glanced regretfully at the window, and then walked toward the bus stop.
After Shen Yao left, Cheng Cheng’s Mom called upstairs, “Chengcheng, Shen Yao’s gone. Why won’t you see him, kid? Did you two have a fight?”
Chengcheng didn’t answer. She hid behind the curtain, peeking through the gap at Shen Yao’s retreating figure.
She didn’t know why, but she just didn’t want to see Shen Yao.
She felt awkward, not knowing what to say or do.
She wanted to act as enthusiastic as she used to, but once she remembered that he already had someone he liked, she found her own behavior ridiculous, like a clown performing in a circus.
So much for being “good bros.” Once the other person had a partner, it turned out there was no place for her at all…
*
Shen Yao arrived at the villa and saw, from afar, a red motorcycle in the yard gleaming in the sunlight.
That was the same bike Qiao Yunxue had used to escape with him from that strange situation.
Shen Yao walked over to the motorcycle and couldn’t help reaching out to touch it.
There were still beads of water from a recent wash clinging to the body.
His impression of motorcycles came from the Masked Rider he used to watch on TV.
Back then, you had to pay to request shows, and someone in their county would always request Masked Rider.
He’d squat in front of the TV and watch it over and over.
What stuck with him most was the masked man racing down the road on his cool bike, and then those five big characters—Ishinomori Shotaro—appearing on the screen.
He’d always thought that was the name of the main character.
“Kawasaki ZZR-X, never mass produced. This is one of the prototype models.”
Qiao Yunxue’s voice suddenly rang out.
Shen Yao was startled. He turned around and saw Qiao Yunxue walking over, a water gun in one hand and a sponge in the other.
“Move over, I need to keep washing the bike. If you’ve got nothing to do, help me wipe down the body with the sponge.”
Shen Yao took the sponge and squatted down to help wipe the bike.
“Do you like motorcycles?”
Qiao Yunxue asked casually. Maybe it was her personality, but the way the two of them interacted felt like old friends—no awkwardness, just an easy back-and-forth.
“I wouldn’t say I like them, exactly. It’s just that this one’s so pretty I couldn’t help taking a closer look.”
Shen Yao didn’t want to look weak in front of Qiao Yunxue. Even if he liked it, he’d never admit it.
Qiao Yunxue said, “My father went to a lot of trouble to get this bike from Japan.”
Shen Yao was surprised. “I thought you had a terrible relationship with him.”
“It is terrible. But this bike was actually originally meant for my mother. She’s a motorcycle fanatic. For some reason, the prototype ended up being passed down to me.”
Shen Yao pictured the scene: a heroic foreign woman, helmet in hand, leaning against a dazzling motorcycle, standing tall in the sunset.
“Your mother must have been amazing.”
Qiao Yunxue responded with a vague sound, as if it didn’t bring her any joy.
Suddenly, she turned on the faucet and sprayed Shen Yao.
Shen Yao was caught off guard and got a face full of water.
Still stunned, he heard Qiao Yunxue burst out laughing, “Look at that silly face!”
Annoyed, Shen Yao stood up, holding the soaked sponge, and walked toward Qiao Yunxue.
Realizing she might be in trouble, Qiao Yunxue quickly dodged away.
“Don’t come over here!” She sprayed Shen Yao with the water gun as she retreated.
Shen Yao didn’t bother dodging. He simply strode forward.
Qiao Yunxue, now genuinely scared, tossed the water gun aside. “How can you be so petty? It was just a little spray!”
Shen Yao picked up the water gun. “Then I’ll spray you back.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Qiao Yunxue glared at him, but her delicate face had no intimidating power at all.
Shen Yao grinned, flicked the switch, and a stream of water shot toward Qiao Yunxue, turning the young Miss into a drenched mess.
Qiao Yunxue, clearly very competitive, just went all out after being soaked.
She grabbed the PA Pot full of foam from the side. “Shen Yao, you’re dead meat!”
Seeing that the PA Pot was full of bubbles, Shen Yao hurried to hide behind the motorcycle. “Miss, I’m sorry! Please show mercy!”
“I’m not done with you!”
The Housekeeper heard the commotion outside and poked her head out.
Seeing it was just young people playing with water, she couldn’t help but smile and say, “Miss has gotten a lot more lively lately.”
The Driver Uncle, trimming hedges nearby, nodded solemnly.
“Ever since Shen Yao started coming around, Miss really has been brighter. She rarely says those reckless things anymore.”
“That’s right. The scars on Miss’s hands before… scared me half to death. I don’t even dare keep scissors or fruit knives in the house anymore…”
“But Qiao Mister…”
“What did Qiao Mister say?”
“He told me to keep a closer eye on Shen Yao.”
“Well, all fathers are like that. I think Shen Yao’s a good kid.”
Snip.
The old uncle trimmed away a weed. That was exactly what he’d told Qiao Mister too.
But Qiao Mister’s response was unforgettable.
“Anyone who gets along with Yunxue—how could that be a good kid? At best, it means his problems just aren’t as easy to spot.” Qiao Mister paused.
“Anyway, keep an eye on them. Don’t let Yunxue do anything foolish.”