Thirteen Wonders (ShíSānYāo) : Chapter 32 - One Tong Nine Tong
Chapter 32: One Tong Nine Tong
The night air was as cold as ice, but it was still early. The chill of the winter night wasn’t overwhelming under the warm glow of lanterns blanketing the city. It was rare for them to have a day off, so Zhou Yao and her friends had spent the entire day together. In the evening, Ying Nian monopolized her, and the two girls went out shopping, enjoying their time together—such moments of leisure were hard to come by.
Ying Nian's gaze was drawn to a winter outfit displayed in a store window. She tugged on Zhou Yao's arm, pulling her inside, but a figure crouching on the opposite side of the street caught Zhou Yao’s attention.
It wasn’t exactly familiar, but Zhou Yao had a good memory for faces—especially when she’d had such a ‘deep’ interaction with someone before.
“…What’s wrong?” Ying Nian stopped when she noticed Zhou Yao wasn’t moving and turned back to look at her.
“Niannian, you… go inside first.” Zhou Yao smiled slightly. “I want to get a sesame flatbread from the stall across the street.”
“你没吃饱啊？”迎念诧异，“你刚刚怎么不早说！早知道我就多点点东西，你看你这么瘦，饿坏了怎么办？饿了是不是？走走，我们先去吃点别的……”
“You’re still hungry?” Ying Nian was surprised. “Why didn’t you say so earlier! If I’d known, I would’ve ordered more food. You’re so thin—what if you go hungry? You’re really hungry, aren’t you? Forget the flatbread, let’s go get something more filling…”
As she spoke, Ying Nian didn’t even bother going into the store. She grabbed Zhou Yao, ready to drag her away for food.
Zhou Yao stopped her. “It’s fine. I just want a flatbread. After we finish picking out your clothes, we can grab a bite somewhere. I’m not really that hungry, just craving a little snack. Really.”
Seeing Zhou Yao insist, Ying Nian reluctantly agreed. “Alright, but come in as soon as you’re done. I’ll just try on that coat.”
Zhou Yao nodded. The two of them split up—one pushing the door open to enter the store, the other heading to the roadside, waiting for the rush of cars to pass before crossing to the flatbread stall.
The stall owner was an old man with a short beard, focused entirely on making his flatbreads. When Zhou Yao approached but didn’t stop in front of his stall, he didn’t even glance up.
A few steps away from the stall, about seven or eight paces, there were large stones left from the river embankment’s construction, their edges long worn smooth. They made perfect seats for passersby.
Gu Yujun was sitting on one of them, holding a plain, slightly burnt flatbread that the stall owner had sold him at a five-cent discount.
He chewed slowly, as if gnawing on thick rubber, his bites laborious. But he ate seriously, methodically, one mouthful at a time.
Suddenly, Zhou Yao’s shadow appeared in front of him, blocking the faint light illuminating his face.
He stopped chewing and glanced up, glaring at her impatiently, before shifting his gaze away and resuming his slow, mechanical chewing.
“Dinner?” Zhou Yao asked.
Gu Yujun ignored her, keeping his head down as he ate. His hand was still wrapped in bandages. If his clothes were just a little dirtier, he could easily blend in with the older men doing hard labor, indistinguishable in their shared weariness and roughness.
Zhou Yao walked up to the stall owner and pulled out some money. “Five meat-stuffed pancakes, make the crust crispy.”
The old man, his hands greasy, took the money and responded, “Got it!” before quickly getting to work.
Gu Yujun assumed she was just buying food for herself, so he paid no attention. But when the stall owner swiftly finished making the five pancakes, he walked over to Gu Yujun and handed them to him.
“For you.”
She held the bag out toward him.
Gu Yujun looked at her strangely for a long moment before finally saying, “Are you sick?”
“Take it.” Zhou Yao frowned slightly, her tone cold. “I don’t want to repeat myself. Take. It.”
They stared each other down in silence. Zhou Yao pressed her lips together, then leaned down and shoved the entire plastic bag of pancakes into the left pocket of his coat.
She turned to leave. Gu Yu-jun immediately jumped up, yanking the bag out. “It’s burning hot! Are you trying to scald me to death?!”
Only then did Zhou Yao turn back to speak. “Eat up. It’s windy here—better leave before it starts raining.”
Gu Yujun stared at her. “Are you pitying me?”
“Who has the time to pity you?” Zhou Yao had no patience for nonsense. She looked at the traffic, genuinely preparing to cross the street and return to Ying Nian. If she delayed any longer, Ying Nian would probably start worrying.
But Gu Yu-jun wasn’t ready to let her go.
“Hey—”
He lifted his chin, looking at Zhou Yao, then suddenly asked a deliberately provocative question, as if trying to rile her up. “You and that Chen Xuze are a couple, aren’t you? He acts all cold and indifferent to everyone, but you still follow him around like a loyal dog. Why? You know about his messed-up family, don’t you? Or do you not? Don’t you find it disgusting?”
Zhou Yao remained silent.
“I mean, besides looking decent, what’s so good about Chen Xuze?” Gu Yujun smirked, feigning nonchalance. “Have you two kissed? Or slept together? Hey, let me tell you, guys like him…”
“You’d better not say another word.” Zhou Yao’s eyes were cold as she warned him. “I’m telling you—don’t joke about Chen Xuze in front of me. Or you’ll regret it.”
Gu Yujun dismissed her as bluffing. “Regret? The word ‘regret’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary! So what if I joke about him? What can you do about it? Don’t think that just because you gave me some food, I’ll suddenly start being nice to you. Please. You people—none of you understand anything.”
“The one who understands nothing is you.” Zhou Yao interrupted him. “Childish, boring, delusional. You think you’re doing something grand, that you’re some kind of hero fighting against the world. But in reality, you’re just a joke.”
Gu Yujun’s face darkened instantly. He glared at her, lips curling into a sneer. “Yeah, sure, you’re amazing. I’m the joke. In that case, I’ll keep joking about Chen Xuze. You, the one who’s supposedly ‘not a joke,’ what are you gonna do about it?”
He tilted his head, looking her up and down. “You’re pretty. So, have you slept with Chen Xuze? How was it? I bet he likes you a lot.”
Zhou Yao silently looked at him for three seconds.
Gu Yu-jun assumed she had nothing to say. But then, she spoke. “You know, if you say one more word that pisses me off, I can call the police right now and have you arrested. You have my fifty yuan in your left pocket. Why is my money in your pocket? Think you can come up with a good explanation?”
“Second, after you get out of the police station, my friends will deal with you again. Just like last time—remember how Chen Xuze kicked you so hard you flew into a wall?”
Her tone was calm, like water flowing steadily, but every word was sharp and mocking, enough to make anyone furious. Gu Yujun was stunned. He instinctively reached into his left pocket, where—deep beneath the stuffed pancakes—was a fifty-yuan bill she had slipped in at some point.
He glared at her. “You! You…” His face flushed red, and after struggling for words, all he could say was, “You’re unreasonable!”
“Can reasoning even work with you?” Zhou Yao didn’t care about his protests. “I won’t bother expecting an apology from you. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything you said just now. But if there’s a next time, I have plenty of ways to deal with you.”
She glanced at his bandaged hand. “You’ve experienced being pinned down and having your wounds treated. Do you want to experience being pinned down and force-fed pancakes next?”
Gu Yujun saw the enormous pancakes in his hands, his expression flashing with sudden hesitation.
Zhou Yao turned away, waiting for a break in traffic.
Gu Yujun watched her back and called out in a low voice, “Hey! What’s the meaning of giving me money? Are you trying to humiliate me?”
“I don’t have time to humiliate you,” Zhou Yao didn’t even turn her head. “I gave you money so you can buy a hot drink at the convenience store later. It’s not pleasant to get soaked when it rains.”
She paused for a moment, then softened her voice slightly. “After eating something solid, drinking something warm will make your stomach feel better.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
Gu Yujun suddenly asked.
“Am I nice to you?” Zhou Yao turned back. A truck passed by from one side, its headlights flashing across her eyes. She squinted slightly and looked at the tall Gu Yujun. His silhouette was blurred, and for a fleeting moment, he looked like someone else in her eyes.
She didn’t answer, leaving only that rhetorical question before walking away. Gu Yujun wanted to call her back, but in the blink of an eye, she had already crossed the street and entered the store where Ying Nian was trying on clothes.
……
Ying Nian had seen Zhou Yao talking to Gu Yujun from inside the store. Later, she quietly asked, “Why bother with him? He’s like a lunatic…”
Zhou Yao had simply smiled and said, “It’s nothing. Lunatics can be quite interesting.”
Ying Nian gave her a sly look and whispered, “Okay, got it. I won’t tell Chen Xuze and the others.”
Zhou Yao chuckled, “Why? It’s not like it’s some shady secret. It doesn’t matter if they know.”
Ying Nian’s bright, mischievous eyes flickered as she stared at Zhou Yao. After a while, seeing that she was serious, she nodded meaningfully.
The next day, Ying Nian told the others about it.
Jiang Jiashu and the rest thought Zhou Yao was too kind-hearted. “He should just starve! Buying him food? I wouldn’t even waste a punch on him! He can go eat dirt for all I care!”
As usual, Ying Nian kicked him. “Why are you so crude? You eat dirt, Jiang Jiashu!”
“Damn! Ying Nian, you little—”
The two of them started squabbling.
Zhou Yao wasn’t around. After the commotion, everyone noticed that Chen Xuze had been silent the whole time, his expression unreadable.
They all straightened up, suddenly feeling serious. The boldest among them, Jiang Jiashu, sat down next to him and raised his hand, about to pat his shoulder—but before he could, Chen Xuze had already gotten up and walked away.
Watching him leave, everyone started whispering.
“What’s up with Xuze?”
“Did you see his face? Scary as hell…”
“He’s probably pissed off.”
Jiang Jiashu shook his head. “Even a blind person can tell there’s something between him and Zhou Yao. If this story annoys me, imagine how Chen Xuze must feel. I bet he’s jealous as hell.” Then he elbowed Ying Nian. “Big mouth. Happy now? If you hadn’t blabbed, we’d all still be having a good time.”
“Big mouth? Sounds like you’re asking for trouble, you filthy thing. Eat dirt—”
The two of them started fighting again.
The rest: “…”
……
On the way home, Chen Xuze bought Zhou Yao an ice pop.
Though he bought it, he didn’t approve of eating cold things in chilly weather. “It’ll upset your stomach.”
“It’s fine. It’s nice to have it once in a while.”
He watched as she took a bite, then held it in her mouth for a moment, as if the cold stung her teeth, before slowly chewing the ice. She looked like a little rabbit—one that made people want to dote on her.
As the ice cream melted, a bit of it stuck to the corner of her lips. She stuck out her tongue and licked it away, her little tongue curling the sweet cream into her mouth.
Chen Xuze watched her every movement, a strange feeling welling up inside him.
A feeling of being surrounded, filled, and slowly melted by something soft and warm—
He knew what it was.
When Zhou Yao looked at Gu Yujun, she was actually remembering herself as a child, witnessing that scene from years ago. Maybe she felt a little sorry for Gu Yujun, but more than anyone, Chen Xuze understood—she wasn’t pitying him.
What she truly pitied was the boy from years ago—the small, helpless, terrified child lost in the world of adults.
From that day on, the once well-behaved and sensible little Chen Xuze was left with wounds that time could never heal.
When Zhou Yao looked at Gu Yujun, the deep sorrow in her eyes wasn’t really for him. It was for that small, solitary figure who had once protected her, only to grow up cold and sharp-edged.
The third time Zhou Yao licked the cream from her lips, Chen Xuze suddenly paused.
She stopped as well, tilting her head. “Hm?”
He reached out his right thumb, pressed it against the corner of her lips, then leaned down and kissed his own fingernail.
She was always the one aching for him.
But sometimes, Chen Xu-ze couldn’t help but wonder—Who would ache for her?
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