Chapter 7: Kindness, How Precious It Is
Sister Zhang’s house was located on the ground floor, with walls covered in moss and weeds. Even before entering, a damp, musty smell warmly greets visitors. Due to the shading from the second-floor terrace, the interior lacks natural light, with only a small south-facing window able to receive a bit of sunlight, resembling a prison cell.
During the day, the lights need to be on indoors. When Jiang Xiaoyuan entered, she found the living room—so to speak—lit by a small 5-watt bulb hanging from the ceiling. Whenever someone upstairs moved, the dim light swayed accordingly.
Beneath the light sat a teenage girl, probably around fourteen or fifteen, quite pretty with a pair of large eyes similar to Zhang Xiuqin’s, but on this girl’s face, they simply made her look lively.
She wore a deep blue sports school uniform, diligently doing her homework. When she heard footsteps, she glanced at the door, seeing Zhang Xiuqin bringing in a stranger. The girl neither greeted nor expressed surprise. She frowned slightly, then disinterestedly returned her gaze to her books, casually flipping through them while using a pen to twirl her hair.
Zhang Xiuqin introduced her somewhat embarrassedly, “This is my daughter, Tian Tian. Zhang Tian, why don’t you say hello?”
Zhang Tian remained indifferent, her face expressionless, indicating she might be a late-stage “chuunibyou[mfn]中二病 (chuunibyou): A Japanese term that refers to a person who exhibits adolescent-like behaviors, such as having delusions of grandeur or believing they are a special character from a fictional world. The term is often used in a lighthearted or humorous way, and it is not considered to be a serious mental illness.[/mfn].”
Sister Zhang felt embarrassed, wanting to scold her, but she was also hesitating. After a moment’s hesitation, she restrained herself and explained to her daughter in a low voice, “This sister couldn’t find a place to stay temporarily, so she’s staying with us for now. I don’t understand your homework either. You can ask her for help in the future…”
Zhang Tian glanced sideways at Jiang Xiaoyuan, her eyes dark, her face pale. Together, it looked like she had stepped out of a painting. But before Jiang Xiaoyuan could appreciate it, this little girl with picturesque features gave her a standard sneer.
Sister Zhang was at a loss as to what to do. Unable to control her daughter, she reluctantly said to Jiang Xiaoyuan, “I can’t control her… Xiaoyuan, come over here. You can stay here for now. I’ll tidy up for you later…”
Behind the small living room was an equally dim bedroom without a trace of light. iang Xiaoyuan suspected that the girl was so white because she was covered up by the extreme night environment all year round. Behind the bedroom was a storage room, which became Jiang Xiaoyuan’s temporary resting place.
Sister Zhang asked her to wait there while she rolled up her sleeves and quickly cleared the clutter, turning the debris into a pile and dug out a folding camp bed and a quilt out of nowhere.
Jiang Xiaoyuan lowered her head and looked at the thin body on the bunk bed, the various stains of unknown origin on the corners of the quilt, and then looked around the windowless storage room. She thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile: “I’ve gone from being a cousin of Dali to Harry Potter.”
“The conditions are a bit poor,” Sister Zhang said apologetically, “but it’s just a bit messy, not dirty… The sheets are freshly washed. You sit down first, I’ll get you a glass of water.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan hurriedly stopped her, “Where’s the bathroom?”
“What… oh, the toilet? It’s outside,” Sister Zhang said, “The kitchen is also outside.”
Two minutes later, Jiang Xiaoyuan was led to the communal “bathroom” of the entire building. It was hardly worthy of being called a “bathroom” because there was nowhere to wash hands.
The toilet was only suitable for individuals of medium to slightly slim build. The floor was covered in unidentified liquids. The most frightening thing was that above the squat toilet on the opposite wall, there seemed to be a row of louvered vents. Jiang Xiaoyuan looked up and happened to make eye contact with an old man from the neighboring second floor who was hanging laundry!
… What a convenient design for observation.
Jiang Xiaoyuan murmured with a pale face, “This… several households share this… this toilet. There won’t be a fight in the morning, right?”
“No,” Sister Zhang interjected, “Everyone uses spittoons and urinals. They queue up every day to empty them. It’s quick.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan imagined the scene, and the goosebumps all over her body formed a square matrix.
With this place to go, Jiang Xiaoyuan felt like a camel, being cautious with every mouthful she ate and drank, fearing she might need to make another trip to the toilet—making Sister Zhang think she was shy.
That night, Jiang Xiaoyuan thought she would toss and turn, unable to sleep, but she didn’t. She lay on the creaky military bed and fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow. She dreamtless night until she woke up feeling half paralyzed, then drifted back into a drowsy state.
It was pitch black all around, impossible to see anything. Inside it, the biological clock was completely malfunctioning—let alone Jiang Xiaoyuan, who had never had such a thing.
Her previous daily grooming routine was like this: first, she thoroughly cleansed her face with a four-step face wash. After the applied toner dried, she patted on another layer of toner. Different textures of toner were patted on three times, from thin to thick. Then, she sequentially applied essence, eye essence, facial essence, eye cream, and face cream, followed by lash nourishing base cream. After this routine, she decided whether or not to add a facial mask based on her mood, then officially moved on to the more complex makeup routine.
But what was there in this hellhole?
There was only one tiny washroom in the whole building, and every morning, all the residents, young and old, men and women, would line up with their toothbrushes and towels slung over their shoulders, all looking disheveled and leaving dripping wet.
Lotions and essences were all out of the question. If they could manage to rub in some cream in a sachet to prevent their skin from cracking in winter, that was already considered the best they could do for their faces.
Jiang Xiaoyuan sat dumbfounded at the edge of the bed, thinking about how she was a guest in someone else’s home and should tidy up the bed for them. She looked down at the bed where she had slept, and under the faint light seeping in through the crack in the wall, she saw the spotty stains and mold on the bed.
Jiang Xiaoyuan hesitated for a moment, maintaining the posture of holding up one hand. Suddenly, she bent down, covering her mouth, and retched. She didn’t vomit anything, only psychological tears flowed uncontrollably down her face. She wanted to find someone to cry on, but she was alone in this space, with no one she knew. These parents of Jiang Xiaoyuan were not her parents, and this family of Jiang Xiaoyuan was not her family. She was just a fare-dodging fugitive who had stolen someone else’s identity.
At that moment, Jiang Xiaoyuan heard voices outside—the old house had thin walls, and even whispers from the next room could be heard clearly, let alone when they weren’t trying to conceal anything.
Zhang Tian said, “Do you know who she is, bringing someone home like this?”
Sister Zhang said, “Lower your voice… Lower your voice… I met her on the way, she seemed pitiful. She was a little girl, not much older than you…”
Zhang Tian said, “What’s wrong with being a little girl? Can’t a little older girl be a bad person? She doesn’t even know where she’s from. Yesterday, when we were eating, she wouldn’t even touch her lips with the chopsticks. That was a sign of dislike for you. Can’t you see it?”
Sister Zhang said, “She just arrived at our house. She’s embarrassed…”
Zhang Tian said dismissively, “Oh, come on! We only have these two cramped rooms, and you’re still not satisfied with the number of people living here, right? We can’t even fit in two more flies coming in, and you’re still bringing people home, and they’re eating and drinking for free. Does she look like she’s seriously looking for a job? What time is it? She’s still not up? Who is she? Some rich lady? Waiting for someone to come in and serve her with her food and clothes?”
Zhang Xiuqin: “Keep your voice down! You’re making my heart hurt.”
Zhang Tian retorted sharply: “You’re making my teeth hurt!”
Sister Zhang said, “Alright, alright, young lady, aren’t you supposed to go for extra classes? Hurry up and leave. Did I pack your lunch box?… Oh, Tian Tian, why aren’t you taking it?”
There was a sound of the door from outside, and Zhang Tian’s angry voice drifted in from a distance, “Keep it for yourself! Just let me starve to death!”
The outer side fell silent for a moment. After a while, the door of the storage room was gently pushed open a crack. Sister Zhang might have wanted to secretly check if Jiang Xiaoyuan was awake, but she didn’t expect to meet Jiang Xiaoyuan’s gaze as she sat on the edge of the bed in a daze.
Zhang Xiuqin shuddered and lost her grip, pushing the storage room door open all the way. In the dark and narrow room, the two stood and sat, looking at each other without saying a word.
The atmosphere couldn’t be more awkward.
Considering Jiang Xiaoyuan’s terminal princess disease, no matter how grateful she was to Sister Zhang, she absolutely couldn’t tolerate this kind of treatment.
She stared with her slightly swollen peach blossom eyes, her tongue pressed firmly against the bed. She was preventing herself from spraying her anger directly onto Sister Zhang’s face.
“Oh my gosh, this desolate place really thinks it’s the White House?” Jiang Xiaoyuan thought to herself, “She’s really protective of her own!”
However, before she could open her mouth, Big Sister Zhang spoke abruptly.
“Sorry, Xiaoyuan, my daughter… My daughter has never been obedient since she was young. You see, I’m working day and night, running a car business in other places. I just can’t take care of her. Can you… can you not hold it against a child, she doesn’t know any better.”
Jiang Xiaoyuan remained silent.
Sister Zhang’s eyes were full of helplessness, her face slightly pale, her lips devoid of any color, standing at the door awkwardly, her gaze like a blunt file, breaking apart Jiang Xiaoyuan’s surging anger.
Jiang Xiaoyuan was the type of person—if someone accidentally offended her, and the other party showed an indifferent or disdainful attitude, she would definitely not let it go and would want to settle the matter. But if the other party sincerely apologized with fear and sincerity, she wouldn’t feel comfortable getting angry, even if she was still unhappy.
Moreover, she was originally an uninvited guest who had received someone’s kindness. What right does she have to pick on others?
“No,” Jiang Xiaoyuan said somewhat stiffly, “It’s nothing. Thank you. I’ve bothered you too much.”
Sister Zhang didn’t know what to say. Jiang Xiaoyuan said, “I’ll go wash my face first.”
She stood up a bit too abruptly, and Jiang Xiaoyuan, who had low blood sugar, couldn’t help but sway a bit. At the moment, what she urgently needed was to find a place to have a good meal and take a bath.
She pinched her nose to clean herself up, packed up her only possessions, and carried them all with her, looking ready for a long journey. She politely said goodbye to Sister Zhang and prepared to go to a hotel to make a break for it.
In the end, Sister Zhang was still hesitant to say anything. Her back was hurting more, feeling like she couldn’t straighten up, as if there was a mountain pressing down on her.
Kindness, how precious it is, not everyone can afford to give it.
Sister Zhang saw Jiang Xiaoyuan off all the way. The neighbors all thought Jiang Xiaoyuan was her relative and greeted her with smiles.
Standing at the gate of the small courtyard, watching Jiang Xiaoyuan’s departing figure, she sighed. Maybe she was too tired from running the car business last time, or maybe she didn’t sleep well the night before. Sister Zhang’s chest was tingling like a needle prick. She leaned against the door frame and rested for a moment. Suddenly, she heard a “hey” from above. Without looking, she knew that the silly kid had come out to make trouble again.
Sister Zhang wanted to scare him, but unexpectedly, she couldn’t breathe. She heard her heart pounding rapidly for a moment. Her fingers unconsciously pinched into the wooden door frame.
With a muffled thud, the little fool threw something down from the second floor again. Zhang Xiuqin’s body was unresponsive, and it was too late to dodge.
A discarded and dusty safety helmet fell from the sky, landing directly on Zhang Xiuqin’s head. Amidst the screams, Zhang Xiuqin fell straight down.
If you like our translation for this novel and want us to release more chapters frequently, feel free to support us on either our ko-fi and paypal ❤️
To read advanced chapters, feel free to visit our
✨ Ko-Fi✨
