Chapter 10: Lin Jianxia

Seven o'clock sharp.

Lin Jianxia walked out of the storeroom.

The female boss at the front desk was eating her takeout. Seeing her come out, she asked casually, "All done?"

"Yes, everything has been unpacked and sorted," Lin Jianxia nodded, her voice soft. "I've also checked the inventory list, and the numbers match up."

"Alright, you can get off work then," the boss waved her hand.

Forcing herself to look away from the steaming braised chicken and rice, Lin Jianxia nodded politely. "Goodbye then, Mrs. Zhao."

Pushing open the bookstore door, she saw that the sky had already darkened. Only the last faint trace of the evening glow lingered on the horizon. The scent of home-cooked meals and charcoal smoke mingled in the air. Lin Jianxia subconsciously clutched her stomach. She took a deep breath, adjusted her backpack, and headed toward home.

Lijiang Third Middle School was only a ten-minute walk from Jinxiu New Village, so Lin Jianxia soon arrived at her apartment complex. As an older residential area built years ago, the street in front of the buildings was already bustling. Various food stalls and night market vendors had set up shop along the road, filling the air with the enticing, smoky aroma of street food.

Her footsteps gradually slowed, her stomach GROWLING even louder. Her eyes darted toward a nearby barbecue stall. Reason urged her to hurry upstairs, but the hollow ache in her stomach made it impossible to take another step.

"What would you like to eat, little girl?" the middle-aged woman running the barbecue stall called out warmly when she saw her stop. "We have everything here."

Lin Jianxia hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "How much are the chicken wings, ma'am?"

"Five yuan a skewer. Our chicken wings are grilled with a secret recipe; they're absolutely delicious."

She did some quick mental math and said, "Then... I'll have one skewer of chicken wings and one skewer of mushrooms. Neither spicy, please. Thank you, ma'am."

"Alright, coming right up!" the woman answered briskly.

She nimbly picked out a chicken wing skewer and a mushroom skewer from a plastic container, brushed them with a thin layer of oil, and tossed them onto the blazing charcoal grill. The chicken skin quickly heated up with a loud SIZZLE, glistening with oil as the savory aroma of charred meat mixed with cumin began to waft through the air. The mushrooms curled slightly under the heat, oozing clear juices.

Lin Jianxia stood by the stall and waited, her eyes tracking the two skewers of food back and forth. In the warm yellow halo of the streetlamp, droplets of oil occasionally splashed up and caught the light, sparkling like fleeting little stars.

"Here you go, miss! Careful, it's hot!"

The woman handed over the skewers in a paper bag. It was piping hot to the touch. Lin Jianxia took it carefully, paid her money, and murmured her thanks. She didn't rush to open it; instead, she turned and walked briskly into the complex.

Under the dim, yellow lights of the stairwell, Lin Jianxia stopped and pulled the chicken wing skewer out of the bag first. The surface of the wings was golden-brown and glistening. The mouth-watering scent of cumin and roasted fat drilled straight into her nose, shining with an inviting luster under the light.

She stared at it for a few seconds and swallowed hard, but carefully placed it back into the paper bag and folded the top neatly. Next, she took out the mushroom skewer. By the faint light of the stairwell, she wolfed it down in just a few bites.

After finishing, Lin Jianxia placed the empty bamboo stick back into the bag and turned to head upstairs.

The key slid into the keyhole with a soft CLICK.

She pushed the door open, met head-on by silent darkness. Without a hint of surprise on her face, Lin Jianxia entered the apartment, reached out to switch on the main light, and set her backpack on the table. Only after doing all this did she walk toward the inner room. She stopped in front of the closed door and raised her hand to knock gently. KNOCK KNOCK.

After waiting silently for a few seconds, she pushed the door open and went in.

In the somewhat dim lighting, Lin Tingwan sat on the edge of the bed with her knees drawn to her chest. Her beautiful eyes were gazing blankly out the window, completely motionless.

"Wanwan," Lin Jianxia called out softly. "I brought you something good to eat."

Hearing this, Lin Tingwan seemed to finally snap out of her daze. She turned her head to look at Lin Jianxia. A faint glimmer of light finally ignited in her previously vacant eyes. Lin Tingwan blinked and slowly stood up, her gaze landing on the grilled chicken wings in her older sister's hand.

She didn't reach for them immediately. Instead, she picked up a spiral notebook from the bedside and neatly wrote down a single line: "What about yours?"

"I already ate mine. Look, the stick is still here." Lin Jianxia shook the empty bamboo stick inside the paper bag, her expression completely natural. "Wanwan won't blame me for eating first, right?"

Lin Tingwan shook her head. Only then did she take the chicken wings, lowering her head to nibble at them in small bites.

"You must be starving. I'll go make dinner." Lin Jianxia turned to head out, asking casually, "Wanwan, do you still have snacks left?"

Lin Tingwan obediently followed behind her, taking small bites of the chicken wing without responding.

"Oh, right..." Lin Jianxia didn't mind her silence. She pulled an opened pack of strawberry gummies from her school uniform pants pocket. "Here, I tasted one for you. They're pretty good."

Seeing her little sister accept the candy, she nodded in satisfaction and went into the kitchen.

The rice in the cooker was already done and sitting on the keep-warm setting. Lin Jianxia lifted the lid for a glance, confirmed the rice was fully cooked, and then turned to open the refrigerator.

The fridge was very empty. The top shelf held a few wilted greens, two or three chunks of carrot, and a small handful of bean sprouts. The bottom shelf had nothing but two eggs and half a bag of dried noodles. In the side door of the fridge sat a solitary small box of tofu, its edges already turning slightly yellow.

They were indeed running out of groceries, and it was all vegetarian.

"I need to go grocery shopping," she thought.

Thinking this, Lin Jianxia took the wilted greens and the half-carrot out of the fridge, along with the box of slightly yellowed tofu. She nimbly washed and chopped the vegetables. A small pile of shredded carrots and torn cabbage leaves soon gathered on the cutting board. She diced the tofu and gave it a quick rinse with clean water.

The sound of hot oil hitting the pan echoed through the kitchen with a loud SIZZLE. Lin Jianxia stir-fried the vegetables with practiced ease while Lin Tingwan stood to the side, watching silently.

The two vegetarian dishes were quickly brought to the table. The tofu was stewed soft and tender in a light, clear broth; the greens were bright with oil and steaming hot. Lin Tingwan set out the bowls and chopsticks, and the two sisters sat down facing each other.

"Wanwan, let me tell you..."

As Lin Jianxia ate, she recounted the little bits of amusement she had encountered today—from the sparrows constantly chirping outside the window, to the teacher who suddenly dozed off in class, to the funny book titles she had spotted in the bookstore. Lin Tingwan listened earnestly, occasionally lowering her head to write a question or two in her spiral notebook. Whenever she did, Lin Jianxia would answer happily.

Once dinner was finished, Lin Jianxia swiftly cleared the dishes. The sisters then sat side by side at the desk to begin their evening studies. The older sister carefully explained the material her teacher had covered today, word by word, and the two completed their homework together.

The scratching of pen tips across paper was especially clear in the quiet room.

Once their homework was finished, Lin Jianxia took her sister to wash up. They changed into clean pajamas and lay side by side on the rather narrow single bed.

"Goodnight, sister."

Lin Tingwan wrote the final line in her notebook and gently nudged her sister's elbow.

Lin Jianxia turned her face and smiled softly in the dim light. "Goodnight, Wanwan."

She reached out and switched off the small bedside lamp.

This was an ordinary day in the life of the young girl, Lin Jianxia—a day without any turbulence.

But just as she was about to fall asleep, a certain frivolous, smiling face suddenly barged into her mind at the worst possible time.

"Shameless!" she thought.

In the darkness, Lin Jianxia silently ground her teeth. After viciously cursing him with her mouth, she finally closed her eyes in satisfaction.