124: Chapter 124 I want to build them a new building

Before the laughter had fully faded, Huzi pulled two little girls out, saying they wanted to sing "the wind rises."

The two little girls stood at the front, their faces flushed red, heads bowed, pushing each other for a long time, but neither was willing to start.

In the end, Huzi waved his hand grandly: "One, two, three, sing!"

"Along this journey, walking and stopping—"

The first two lines were surprisingly on key.

Shen Nian sat up straight, her eyes lighting up.

But by the third line, the two little girls messed up; one went too high, the other too low, completely out of tune with each other.

The two looked at each other; one covered her mouth and giggled, while the other simply stopped singing, turned her head, and hid behind.

Huzi got anxious, clapping his hands from behind: "Sing! Why did you stop?"

Shen Nian couldn't help it anymore; she stood up and walked into the middle of the children.

"Come on, Big Sister will sing it with you once."

She cleared her throat and, without any accompaniment, just began to sing.

"Along this journey, walking and stopping, following the drifting traces of youth..."

The children looked up at her, mouths agape, forgetting to sing along.

When they reached the chorus, Shen Nian placed her hand on the little girl's shoulder, guiding her melody slowly.

"I once let my youth surge into her..."

The two little girls slowly caught up. Whenever they made a mistake, they would peek at Shen Nian's lip movements and try again.

When the song finished, the courtyard was silent for two seconds.

Then applause broke out.

The two little girls rushed over and hugged Shen Nian's waist.

"Big Sister sings so beautifully! Even better than on TV!"

Shen Nian squatted down, wrapping her arms around the two little girls, her eyes crinkling into crescents as she smiled.

Mother Fang watched Shen Nian, who was surrounded by the children, and said to Jiang Fan.

"To be honest, this girl... is truly wonderful."

"Yeah."

Mother Fang glanced at him.

"What's with the 'yeah'? If you dare to bully her, I'll skin you alive."

—

The sun had set.

The lights in the courtyard had been turned on.

Mother Fang held Shen Nian's hand and chatted with her under the veranda for quite a while.

From when Jiang Fan wet the bed as a child to when he snuck over the wall at fourteen—

Jiang Fan listened from the side, his face turning green.

"Mother Fang—"

"Don't interrupt." Mother Fang patted him and continued chatting with Shen Nian, "There was another time, he got a harmonica from somewhere and said he wanted to learn music. He played it in the corridor for three days; the children in the whole building couldn't sleep at night and collectively came to me to complain."

Shen Nian laughed until she was doubled over, glancing at Jiang Fan from time to time.

Jiang Fan couldn't save face, so he found an excuse to go clean up the tables in the courtyard.

Mother Fang muttered at his retreating back: "Why are you running away? It's not like it's anything shameful."

Shen Nian covered her mouth and giggled, her shoulders shaking non-stop.

—

When it was time to leave, Mother Fang forcefully shoved a bag of steamed buns and sugar-filled triangular buns she had made into Shen Nian's arms.

"Take this home to eat."

Shen Nian held the bag, pressing her lips together for a long moment.

"Mother Fang, I will come to visit you all often."

Mother Fang nodded vigorously and patted the back of her hand.

Just as Jiang Fan and the others were heading toward the gate, a figure darted out from behind the locust tree.

Xiaomei.

She ran to stand before Shen Nian, clutching a piece of drawing paper in her hand, and held it up to her.

Shen Nian paused, surprised, and took it.

There were three people drawn on the paper.

A tall figure, a long-haired girl, and in the middle, holding hands with them, a little person in a red dress.

The background was a large house, much like the Orphanage; the windows were drawn crookedly, but every window was colored with a warm yellow.

Looking at the drawing, Shen Nian squatted down and gave Xiaomei a hug.

"Big Sister will come to see you again next time."

Xiaomei didn't speak, just nodded vigorously, then turned and ran back under the locust tree.

Mother Fang wiped her eyes behind them: "This child... she's been here for over half a year, and this is the first time I've seen her take the initiative to get close to someone."

"We're leaving, Mother Fang."

The car started and slowly drove out of the courtyard gate.

In the rearview mirror, Mother Fang stood in front of the iron gate, surrounded by a circle of children, waving in the direction of the car.

Huzi had the loudest voice, shouting: "Brother Fan, come again next time—"

Shen Nian looked back for a long time, until the car turned a corner and they were no longer visible.

She turned back and leaned her face against Jiang Fan's shoulder.

The car interior was quiet.

Streetlights flashed by one by one outside the window, casting light and shadows across Shen Nian's face.

Li Cheng drove steadily, and no one spoke.

After a long while, Shen Nian said in a muffled voice.

"When I earn enough money in the future, I'll build them a new building."

Jiang Fan looked down at her.

She buried her face in his arm, her voice muffled.

"Every child can have their own room, with big windows that get sunlight. The activity room should be big too, so they can draw and sing."

Li Cheng glanced in the rearview mirror, his throat bobbed, and he cracked the car window open.

The wind blew in, carrying the scent of grass from the outskirts.

Jiang Fan didn't reply, just placed his hand on top of her head and patted it gently twice.

—

It was almost eight o'clock when they returned to the city.

Li Cheng dropped them off downstairs at the apartment building, rolled down the window to say see you tomorrow, and drove off.

The taillights turned into the intersection and disappeared.

Shen Nian carried the steamed buns Mother Fang had given her toward the building entrance, with Jiang Fan following behind.

Once inside, Shen Nian put the buns in the refrigerator first.

She turned to go take a shower.

Jiang Fan sat on the living room sofa and took out his phone to handle messages.

Xu Qingya: [You're not coming to the concert tomorrow?]

He thought for a moment and replied: [Really busy, I'll celebrate your success when you get back.]

Xu Qingya replied with an unhappy sticker: [You better keep your word.]

Su Yuyan also sent a WeChat: [There are two more details in the Arrangement for "Sigh", come over tomorrow to go over them.]

He replied "Okay," exited the app, and set his phone on the coffee table.

He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes for a while.

The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom.

After ten minutes or so, Shen Nian came out.

Her hair was half-wet, draped over her shoulders, and she was wearing loose pajamas.

She walked over barefoot, took Xiaomei's drawing out of her bag, spread it on the coffee table, and gently traced the edges of the drawing with her fingers.

"I need to frame this and hang it up at home."

She said this in a soft tone, as if talking to herself.

Shen Nian tilted her head, then leaned over entirely, resting her head on Jiang Fan's lap.

Her hair spread over his knees, still carrying the scent of shampoo.

"Jiang Fan."

"Yeah."

"Mother Fang said you still wet the bed when you were eight; is that true?"

Jiang Fan's expression paused for a beat.

"...You'd better forget that."

Shen Nian laughed into his lap, her shoulders shaking.

Jiang Fan raised his hand and patted her head lightly.

"Stop laughing."

Shen Nian rolled over, lying on her back to look at him, her eyes still filled with amusement.

Jiang Fan looked down at her and suddenly said: "You're over twenty, don't you wet the bed too?"

Shen Nian's laughter cut off instantly.

Her expression went from smug to blank, then from blank to bright red.

"Jiang Fan, shut up!"

She sprang up from his lap with a "whoosh," grabbed a throw pillow from the side, and threw it at him.

Jiang Fan dodged to the side, and the pillow hit the sofa armrest and bounced away.

Shen Nian lunged onto him, pressing her hands on his shoulders, her knees on either side of him on the sofa.

"Are you going to keep saying things?"

Shen Nian's hair slid down from her shoulders, hanging between the two of them.

Jiang Fan, pinned by her, looked up at her.

Her loose pajamas sagged, leaving the scenery inside fully exposed.

Jiang Fan's gaze slid downward.

Shen Nian followed his gaze, looked down, and hurriedly freed one hand to pull at her neckline, but her center of gravity shifted, and she fell right onto his chest.