TVDC 64: A Stolen Kiss

Spring passed and autumn arrived. The cold and heat alternated, and time slipped away as swiftly as flowing sand.

This morning was still a bit cold. Qiu Xuning wore a jacket with a little-dog pattern printed on the back, and below it were simple, loose casual pants. The close-fitting fabric revealed the straight shape of his legs.

By this time he had grown much taller—once shooting up like scallion stalks, he had now become tall and upright like green bamboo. He used to always lower his head and didn’t dare look at people, but now he subconsciously straightened his back, making him look even more upright.

Qiu Xuning brought home the taro and pork he had bought from the market. Zhou Mingmei took one look and said, “Little taro?”

A smile appeared on Qiu Xuning’s face. His voice still hadn’t changed much—gentle, refined, and delicate, with a tender tone. “I went early, and when I saw there were some, I bought a lot.”

Small taro is different from other vegetables. Its texture is soft and glutinous, and children love it so parents like to buy it. It’s also relatively expensive. If you go late, it’s hard to find any for sale.

Zhou Mingmei took the bag from his hands, looked inside, and said, “You didn’t buy any rotten ones, right?”

Qiu Xuning shook his head and said seriously, “I checked them one by one. There aren’t any rotten ones.”

Zhou Mingmei looked through them, and sure enough, they were all fine. She smiled and said, “Alright then, you’ll have dumplings. I’ll make them into dumplings for you.”

Qiu Xuning nodded. He really did want to eat taro dumplings.

Zhou Mingmei gave the small taro a quick rinse and put them into the pot to boil.

“Has He Zhiyuan bullied you?” As usual, Zhou Mingmei had to ask.

Qiu Xuning was watching Zhou Mingmei chopping vegetables and cooking when he heard her ask. He shook his head and answered, “Why would he bully me?”

Zhou Mingmei said, “I mean, he must have quite a bit of money in his hands now—he just says he will move out and then he does move out. You two have a good relationship and he’s even taking you along. I’m just afraid that once he’s capable, he will come and bully you.”

He Zhiyuan was already an adult now. According to the agreement, he indeed gave Zhou Mingmei and the others a villa. It was the smallest villa in the area and just over a thousand square meters, but a bit far from the Qiu family, separated by several provinces. After the new year, the whole Qiu family went to inspect the villa and their attitude toward He Zhiyuan underwent a complete transformation.

Zhou Mingmei no longer had any complaints about Qiu Xuning and He Zhiyuan getting along or held any grudge.

The home environment had improved significantly, with continuously added furniture and appliances. Even the second floor began renovation. The black, dull floorboards were all replaced with bright off-white flooring, making the house seem several degrees brighter.

A single villa could rent for tens of thousands a month, so Qiu Shunming no longer went to work and idled around every day.

Qiu Xuning didn’t know whether this change was good or bad for the household.

But for him and He Zhiyuan, it was good. At least they wouldn’t scold He Zhiyuan, and even when he lived together with He Zhiyuan, no one said much.

“He won’t bully me,” Qiu Xuning said absentmindedly.

Today was Saturday, and he was going back home for a meal. He Zhiyuan was still a little unhappy. After moving out, he rarely came to Qiu’s house, and when he did, it was usually just Qiu Xuning returning alone.

Qiu Xuning could understand He Zhiyuan’s mood. In fact, if he had come along, everyone would feel awkward.

“Mom, the small taro I bought, how many dumplings can we make?” Qiu Xuning asked softly.

Zhou Mingmei calculated briefly and said, “Probably about a hundred.”

That was still relatively few. Qiu Xuning could eat about twenty by himself, and it wouldn’t be right to ask Zhou Mingmei to save another twenty for him to take back to He Zhiyuan.

He dismissed the thought and watched Zhou Mingmei scoop the cooked taro out, rinse it briefly with cool water, and casually rub it by hand so that the skin came off, revealing the white tender taro inside.

After peeling the taro skins, she placed the white tender taro into an iron basin and mashed it, added sweet potato starch, and began kneading the dough.

While the taro was boiling, Zhou Mingmei had already prepared the meat filling. Once the dough was ready, she started rolling the wrappers and making the dumplings.

Qiu Xuning washed his hands clean and helped her make the dumplings.

Zhou Mingmei watched him and asked, “What did you eat yesterday?”

Qiu Xuning thought for a moment and said, “I had steamed egg custard, cola chicken wings, and a plate of baby bok choy.”

“Was it still made by He Zhiyuan?”

Qiu Xuning nodded.

Zhou Mingmei sighed and said, “I didn’t expect he could cook.”

Qiu Xuning didn’t say anything. He Zhiyuan didn’t know how to cook at first but he learned later.

He learned things very quickly, so he got the hang of it fast. Originally, Qiu Xuning suggested he cook but seeing him so enthusiastic, he let him cook. He was also careful with the oil and salt.

The dumplings were quickly finished. Zhou Mingmei put them into the pot and started boiling them.

Qiu Zhaozhao came down from upstairs. Once He Zhiyuan moved out, she moved to the second floor and stayed in He Zhiyuan’s room.

She saw Qiu Xuning and smiled joyfully, calling out, “Ningning, you came so early?”

She quickly realized Zhou Mingmei was making something delicious. She peeked in and asked, “What’s cooking in the pot?”

Qiu Xuning answered, “They are dumplings.”

Qiu Zhaozhao said with delight, “I like eating dumplings!”

Her mood had clearly improved a lot. Zhou Mingmei glanced at her and said, “If you don’t get into a top university, you won’t even get dumplings in the future.”

Qiu Zhaozhao heard her say this. She squinted her eyes with a smile, and said, “At least I can get into an ordinary undergraduate program, right?”

Zhou Mingmei said flatly, “An ordinary undergraduate is worth nothing. You have to get into a top university. The money spent on you, you’ll have to pay it back when you start working.”

Qiu Zhaozhao closed her mouth.

Last year, Qiu Zhaozhao’s grades were neither good nor bad. This year, with the family having money, they sent her to a cram school. If this had been before, it would have been impossible. However, Zhou Mingmei had tasted the benefits of having a child in the family who could study so she gritted her teeth and sent her anyway.

With the family’s support, Qiu Zhaozhao was clearly motivated, and her grades improved significantly. Zhou Mingmei was used to being sharp-tongued. If Qiu Zhaozhao slacked off, she would get a few jabs from time to time—Qiu Zhaozhao had also gotten used to it.

Qiu Xuning interjected and said, “There’s a little meat left. Can I take it back?”

He bought quite a lot of meat—one and a half jin. He used one jin for the filling, leaving a little less than half a jin.

Zhou Mingmei didn’t mind the amount of meat. What bothered her was that Qiu Xuning said “take it back,” as if his home was really over there, which made her feel a bit uneasy.

“Are you going back today?”

Qiu Xuning didn’t notice Zhou Mingmei’s feelings. He was still planning that this little half-jin of meat could make a small stir-fry, and with other ingredients in the fridge, he could make a meal in the evening.

His mind was elsewhere as he said absentmindedly, “Yes, I have to go back. I haven’t finished my homework and have about ten test papers to do.”

When Zhou Mingmei heard this, she didn’t say anything.

At noon, the whole family sat together for a meal. Qiu Shuohai also came back, and having learned from the previous lesson, he didn’t talk to Qiu Xuning and became much colder.

Qiu Xuning didn’t care either. He was still growing so his appetite was bigger than ever. He ate a big bowl of dumplings but wasn’t full and still wanted more. With so little taro, there weren’t many dumplings so he ate another bowl of rice to finally feel full.

After finishing the dumplings, he took the remaining little meat and was about to leave. Qiu Zhaozhao still wanted to see him off, reluctant to let him go.

“You’re not even staying at home for a bit, and you’re leaving so soon?”

Qiu Xuning lightly cleared his throat a few times and said, “I’m going back to do my homework.”

Qiu Zhaozhao said softly, “You can bring your homework back and do it here.”

Qiu Xuning didn’t say anything.

Qiu Zhaozhao said, “I was really afraid he would bully you. I didn’t expect he would actually give a villa.”

She also felt guilty, knowing that they hadn’t treated him well before—now facing He Zhiyuan again, she felt inferior to him.

He Zhiyuan’s villa was written into the agreement. Originally only Zhou Mingmei and Qiu Shunming knew, but Qiu Zhaozhao also knew now. Only Qiu Shuohai was kept in the dark, for fear he might make a fuss.

Qiu Xuning said, “He won’t bully me.”

Not knowing what he was thinking, he pursed his lips and smiled.

Qiu Zhaozhao saw the smile on his face. It was soft and stunning, like the spring breeze and like warm sunlight. It easily reminded one of the moment a flower bud blooms.

Her younger brother really looked good when he smiled, but this smile was clearly for He Zhiyuan. Qiu Zhaozhao felt something strange in her heart yet didn’t know exactly what was strange.

In this small county town, information was limited. At this time, the internet wasn’t very developed and Qiu Zhaozhao’s common knowledge was pitifully little. She had no way to learn more, so even though she felt something strange, she didn’t know exactly what the problem was. She herself was like this, let alone Zhou Mingmei and the others.

Qiu Xuning rode his electric scooter past the supermarket, bought juice and beer, and then returned to He Zhiyuan’s home.

The place He Zhiyuan rented was not far from No. 1 High School. It was a very neatly renovated two-bedroom apartment with kitchen, bathroom, and balcony all included. With 150 square meters, the monthly rent was 1,600 which was considered expensive in this small county town. After becoming an adult, He Zhiyuan obviously had a sum of money that belonged solely to him, so for him, it wasn’t a big deal.

They kept a cat and a dog. The cat was an American Shorthair probably mixed with a countryside cat, somewhat small. Compared to delicate purebred cats that might get sick, it was much healthier. Apart from shedding, it had no other problems.

The dog was a Golden Retriever, and it’s not much different from what Qiu Xuning had expected. It was very enthusiastic and had a very good temperament. No matter how the cat messed with it, it didn’t get angry. It had a very gentle nature.

As soon as Qiu Xuning returned home, both pets ran up to greet him. He petted one with each hand while calling out He Zhiyuan’s name, but He Zhiyuan didn’t appear.

Qiu Xuning stood up, poured cat food and dog food into their empty bowls, and then went to He Zhiyuan’s room to look for him.

He Zhiyuan wasn’t in the room. Qiu Xuning took out his phone and sent him a message, but he didn’t reply.

He wouldn’t be angry, would he?

‘It shouldn’t be that bad,’ Qiu Xuning thought while turning and going back to his bedroom. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a bulge on his huge bed.

Qiu Xuning froze for a moment, gently closed the door, tiptoed around to the side of the bed, and leaned over. Sure enough, he saw a few strands of fine hair peeking out from under the blanket.

Qiu Xuning lifted a little of the blanket, and He Zhiyuan’s face appeared. He was clearly asleep and even when the blanket was lifted, he didn’t open his eyes or move.

Qiu Xuning looked at his face, and kept looking. Suddenly, he blushed. His eyes flickered, he slightly pressed his lips together, and his cheeks puffed slightly.

He didn’t know how long he had been staring. Finally, he mustered up the courage, slowly lowered his head, and leaned closer. Audacious as he was, he actually wanted to steal a kiss on He Zhiyuan’s lips.