The sea breeze tousled Ruan Xi’s playful short hair.
She unconsciously pouted, helpless, her unblinking gaze making it nearly impossible to focus on anything else.
A seagull tried to approach the Shrimp Paste Fried Dough Stick, but Cheng Daichuan’s sudden shift in attention startled it.
The attempt ended in failure, and the seagull landed sulkily on the railing, pretending to be busy as it looked around.
Cheng Daichuan asked Ruan Xi, “Did you already pay?”
Ruan Xi’s eyes widened in alarm, and after three seconds, she decisively shook her head. “Absolutely did not pay.”
Three years ago, right before the start of the second semester of their first year in high school, when Shi Chao was constantly coming to Cheng Daichuan’s house to frantically copy homework, Ruan Xi’s family of three moved into the empty apartment downstairs from Cheng Daichuan, becoming his new neighbors.
At first, Cheng Daichuan didn’t pay much attention to his new neighbors downstairs.
Whether it was a boy or a girl living below, what kind of personality they had— it didn’t concern him.
So, when Shi Chao brought up the new neighbors for the third time, saying that the girl downstairs was clearly a super quiet and well-behaved type, Cheng Daichuan tore his attention from his Hearthstone game and tapped his winter homework on the table. “Are you copying or not?”
Shi Chao stuffed a Hongdou Bun into his mouth in one go, not at all bothered by Madam Shang’s earlier mistake of using salt instead of sugar in her rush.
He’d just marked a “B” on the English multiple-choice, and before he’d even finished chewing, he couldn’t help but speak again.
Shi Chao said, “She looks pretty cute, but she doesn’t talk much, and her voice is really soft. Sometimes when I greet her, I’m afraid I’ll scare her.”
Madam Shang was home too, in a good mood, humming a tune from some French film as she walked to the entryway with a vase of freshly arranged flowers in her arms. “Are you talking about the girl from the neighbors downstairs?”
Shi Chao choked on the bun, pounded his chest, and nodded.
Madam Shang said, “I haven’t met her yet.”
Cheng Daichuan glanced at the vase on the entryway cabinet. The main flowers were pale pink Peonies and clusters of small Roses the color of orange juice— warm, bright, and vibrant.
He asked Madam Shang, who was adjusting her high heels, where she was taking such beautiful flowers.
Madam Shang beamed as she turned around. “You think this arrangement is pretty too? As expected of my son, such good taste.”
Shi Chao struggled to swallow the bun. “Ayi, I think it’s pretty too.”
Madam Shang laughed, picking up the vase. “When Ayi gets back, I’ll make you instant noodles, with a fried egg and lots of beef slices.”
Shi Chao said, “Yay.”
Cheng Daichuan sighed helplessly. “Mom.”
Madam Shang turned. “Hm?”
“So, where are you going?”
“Oh… Actually, I’m going to the neighbor’s house you were just talking about.” Madam Shang confessed, blushing.
That morning, while the two boys were out playing soccer, the neighbor downstairs had called— they’d written the wrong floor on a delivery, and it ended up at her place.
It was several heavy boxes of soil for planting flowers, all carried up by the neighbor.
Madam Shang said, “They’re a lovely couple. I want to bring them some flowers to thank them.”
Shi Chao grinned. “Messed up the address again?”
Madam Shang made a “shh” gesture, then asked, “You two know the neighbor’s daughter? Want to come with me?”
Cheng Daichuan lounged on the sofa, his Hearthstone match at a critical point.
He was strategizing how to maximize his card damage, eyes fixed on the iPad. “Don’t know her. Not going.”
That night, Cheng Daichuan heard Madam Shang return and gush with the joy of meeting kindred spirits, praising the couple downstairs as very easy to get along with.
She also mentioned the neighbor’s daughter. “That child looks like a porcelain doll— so well-behaved, so quiet. I heard she’s transferring to your school, and will be in your year.”
Quiet, soft-spoken, easily startled, gentle, well-behaved…
Those were Shi Chao and Madam Shang’s impressions.
Cheng Daichuan didn’t see it that way.
The night the new neighbors moved in, Cheng Daichuan came back from the soccer field and, halfway up the stairs, already heard her voice.
Her tone was cheerful, like a flock of birds chattering in the pear tree, lively and full of laughter.
This old residential building had thin walls, so even without trying, Cheng Daichuan could hear the neighbors’ conversation clearly as he walked down the hallway.
She said, “Grandmother, Grandmother, my dearest Grandmother, just tell me— when did you put the red envelope in my coat?”
The old lady replied, “Last night.”
“Huh? No way! Didn’t you give me the red envelope last night? I waited until midnight to sneak it under your pillow. You were already snoring by then.”
The old lady said, “You’re the one who snores! I prepared two red envelopes. The one I gave you was a decoy, to lower your guard…”
“Wow! The older, the wiser!”
When she exclaimed “Wow!”, even Cheng Daichuan raised his eyebrows.
Her volume was no less than Shi Chao’s.
When Cheng Daichuan unlocked the door with the fingerprint lock, the “quiet” girl downstairs was in the middle of a “wahahaha” laugh, calculating how many hamburgers she could buy with the red envelope.
Beep— the fingerprint lock disengaged, and Cheng Daichuan stepped inside.
He closed the security door and turned on the speakers. The sound of cooking from across the hall and the conversation from downstairs faded away into the music of The Darkerside.
After school started, the new neighbor became a student in the next class.
Cheng Daichuan had seen her after P.E.— just like Madam Shang described, she was very quiet.
She wore a dark blue uniform, her fair skin tinged with pink, really did look like a porcelain doll.
She didn’t walk with her classmates but wandered alone across the playground.
He’d also run into her in the stairwell at home.
Her eyes were red from crying, carrying a bag of trash, rubbing her eyes as she went downstairs.
One morning, while waiting for Shi Chao by his bike, Cheng Daichuan saw her parents hurrying down the stairs.
They were saying:
“After moving, Xi Xi hasn’t seemed very happy.”
“Sigh, I wonder how she’s doing at school?”
Not very well.
Cheng Daichuan answered in his mind.
Really, not very well.
That very night, Cheng Daichuan and Shi Chao ran into her again in the hallway.
Shi Chao, being more outgoing, greeted her.
She seemed lost in thought, eyes downcast as she poked her key into the lock.
The hallway wasn’t wide, so as they brushed past her, she didn’t seem to notice them at all.
Like a stray breeze, wandering aimlessly in this unfamiliar city.
Shi Chao held back his words until they were inside Cheng Daichuan’s apartment, and once the door closed, he finally said, “Isn’t the new neighbor acting a little off?”
Cheng Daichuan nodded, but said nothing.
She didn’t seem as cheerful as she’d sounded in the hallway that night— always gloomy and downcast.
The day she forgot her keys, Cheng Daichuan heard the faintest sniffle as soon as he entered the stairwell.
He knew she’d been crying, so he didn’t disturb her, just stood on the first floor and listened to her forced cheerful words.
It was that day that Cheng Daichuan learned her name: Ruan Xi.
Ruan Xi said she’d treat them, and went with them to the Convenience Store near the neighborhood.
Shi Chao, as if he hadn’t eaten for three days, roamed the aisles, eyes darting everywhere.
Ruan Xi held up a bag of chips and turned around, looking as lively as the Four-Seasons Osmanthus by her door after watering. “Do you guys like these?”
She was generous with her treat, afraid there wouldn’t be enough, so she took the lead grabbing several snacks and hugged them to her chest.
Shi Chao joined in.
Cheng Daichuan tugged on the hood of Shi Chao’s sweatshirt, and the hand reaching for pickled chicken feet was reluctantly withdrawn.
Shi Chao glanced at Cheng Daichuan, then put the beef jerky back on the shelf as well.
When Ruan Xi went to pay, Cheng Daichuan only had a cola from the fridge section.
Her face practically said:
Why did he only take a cola? Is treating at the Convenience Store too stingy? Should I remind him to get something else? Is there nothing he likes? Should I add some oden? Should I get a grilled sausage…
Ruan Xi was simple-minded, the kind of girl whose thoughts were easy to read. When she had an idea, it was like a live barrage of comments scrolling across her face.
Pretty cute, the kind that made you want to tease her.
So Cheng Daichuan said, “Ruan Xi, do you know why the rent is so cheap in my building?”
Ruan Xi was waiting for the cashier to scan her items. Hearing that, she nervously glanced back at Cheng Daichuan.
The barrage appeared again—
What does that mean?
Why?
Did something bad happen before?
As she thought about it, her eyes grew wide, and she finally concluded, “Could it be… my apartment used to be haunted?”
Cute.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be losing sleep.
The Ruan Xi in front of him now was the same. Even though she insisted, “Absolutely did not pay,” her wavering eyes still flashed with worry and panic, and she kept searching the crowd at the dock, unwilling to give up…
Cheng Daichuan asked, “How much did you give?”
Ruan Xi insisted, “I didn’t give anything!”
Cheng Daichuan ruffled Ruan Xi’s wind-blown hair. “Ruan Xi, actually, I…”
A person in a green vest ran over and patted Ruan Xi’s shoulder. “I’ve been waiting for you forever! What took you so long? Did you bring your ID?”
Judging by Ruan Xi’s delighted expression, this must be the sales agent she’d contacted.
The sales agent was busy searching for new customers at the dock and told them to go to the cruise center to register themselves.
Ruan Xi asked, “After registering, do we get the tickets?”
The sales agent pointed at the domed building not far away. “Yep, I’ve already told them to expect you. Go on!”
“Thank you!” Ruan Xi beamed, popping the last bit of Shrimp Paste Fried Dough Stick into her mouth.
She grabbed Cheng Daichuan’s wrist and jogged toward the cruise center. “We’ve got the tickets!”
Passing a trash can, Cheng Daichuan took the wrapper from Ruan Xi’s hand and tossed it in.
Ruan Xi let go of Cheng Daichuan’s wrist, spun around excitedly, and used both hands to shield her eyes from the sun. “Oh right, Cheng Daichuan, what were you going to say just now?”
Cheng Daichuan took off his sunglasses and put them on Ruan Xi. “It’s nothing.”
Getting the tickets at the cruise center went smoothly. Ruan Xi put away her ID and handed the ticket to Cheng Daichuan.
He could guess what this girl had done to get today’s cruise tickets.
As for why she wanted him to go on this cruise, it was probably something Madam Shang had said.
“Ruan Xi.”
“Mm?” Ruan Xi, wearing Cheng Daichuan’s sunglasses, looked at the morning sky that seemed like dusk.
She saw Cheng Daichuan holding the Sunset Cruise ticket between his index and middle fingers, waving it at her. “Thank you.”
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