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Then, Shaw Min pretended to be cheerful, tearing open the snack bag and enjoying a bite. "Hmm, I'm so lucky today, this snack is delicious and so fragrant."
After taking a bite, she handed the snack bag to An Shaojie. "An Shaojie, try it, isn't it really good?"
Although An Shaojie knew that this snack was left by Qinglan, he pretended not to know in order to avoid disappointing Shaw Min.
Since the snack bag had already been opened by Shaw Min and she had taken a bite, he couldn't return it to her without eating some.
At first, feeling guilty because he knew the snack was from Qinglan, An Shaojie hesitated and declined a few times. It wasn't until Shaw Min was about to finish it that he accepted the snack she offered and ate the remainder.
Later on, whether it was Shaw Min's acting skills or An Shaojie's gradual adaptation to the tacit understanding between Shaw Min and Qinglan, he stopped refusing. Whenever Shaw Min picked up snacks from the roadside, he would share them with her.
Walking ahead, Qinglan heard An Shaojie's happy laughter behind her as he joyfully shared the snacks left by her. In her heart, Qinglan smiled beautifully.
However, what Qinglan didn't know was that while An Shaojie was eating her snacks, his thoughts were on Lin Xi.
An Shaojie was like a child filled with fantasies; perhaps his mind had already formed an illusion or maybe it was due to his longing for Lin Xi. He imagined that those snacks were gifts from Lin Xi, arriving unexpectedly at the roadside in a way he couldn't see, just like mysterious presents appearing at a child's bedside on Christmas Eve.
Before long, winter arrived.
Since school started in September 1991, Qinglan and An Shaojie began fourth grade while Shaw Min was in sixth grade. Jiawei went to town for junior high school and stayed in a dormitory, returning home every Saturday.
As winter set in, due to health reasons, Shaw Min attended school irregularly—three days of attendance followed by two days off.
Thus, during the harsh winter, the only person waiting for school under the Old Locust Tree at the bridge every day was An Shaojie.
Without Shaw Min by his side, An Shaojie's animosity towards Qinglan seemed to have diminished significantly. When passing by Qinglan, he no longer looked away or cast disdainful or hostile glances as he used to.
Instead, like An Shaomin, he would glance at her lightly as he walked past or subtly look back after taking a few steps away.
Qinglan followed closely behind.
Seeing that he seemed to have become a bit friendlier, Qinglan was no longer as fearful of him as before. She walked behind him, not mimicking his every step as she used to. Sometimes she would even walk ahead of him, only to be overtaken by him again, creating a playful chase between the two.
After school, Qinglan still placed a bag of snacks by the roadside, but she was unsure if An Shaojie would take them.
So, from the moment she set them down, she occasionally turned her head to look back, patting her chest and silently praying, "I hope Brother Shaojie can see that bag of snacks. I hope Brother Shaojie doesn’t dislike them. I hope he will pick them up."
With her eyes slightly closed, the cold could not suppress her anxious excitement; her cheeks flushed slightly from nervousness.
Oh, Qinglan gently patted her small hands on her chest, feeling extremely happy!
Because she caught a glimpse of An Shaojie bending down at the spot where she had left the snacks. He picked up the bag.
However, unlike Shaw Min, who would tear open the snacks immediately upon picking them up, he placed the bag into his backpack.
"It’s okay if he doesn’t eat them now; he can save them for when he gets home," Qinglan clasped her hands in front of her chest, shyly lowering her head as a blush spread across her face.
The river by the roadside had already frozen over; the wet pavement was hard with ice. The mountain wind howled through the distant woods, creating a whistling sound. Qinglan wore the bright red gloves knitted by Lin Xi'en. The warmth from her clothing combined with the warmth in her heart made her feel no chill at all; instead, it felt as if a warm current was flowing through her.
In the harsh winter, with mountains cold and waters thin.
The water in Liu Family Village had dried up in front of Clear Water, leaving only a thin layer that had frozen solid. Qinglan and An Shaojie walked one after the other to the east end of the village near the Stone Arch Bridge.
The thin and quiet water beneath the bridge made the ancient Stone Arch Bridge appear quite lonely. As Qinglan stepped onto the bridge and reached its highest point, she paused.
Wearing a light purple jacket with embroidered peony flowers along its edges and a green wind hood, Qinglan stood against the wind at the height, gazing at An Shaojie, who was walking toward the village head.
To her right was a pond, and to her left was a narrow path of Clear Water. A sudden breeze stirred up on this path, causing An Shaojie's hair to flutter slightly. Although he was not from the Tujia ethnic group, he still wore a traditional black cotton jacket typical of their attire. He had on black cotton shoes with elastic cuffs and short black cotton pants. Even with gray knee-high socks on, his bony ankles were still visible.
He was tall and slender, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.
Reaching the edge of the bridge, the place closest to Qinglan, An Shaojie slightly lowered his head and turned his face toward the pond, hurriedly crossing the bridge and walking toward the west side of the village.
He still did not glance at Qinglan, but she could see a hint of softness in his gaze and on his face.
Only when his figure gradually disappeared at the west end of the village did Qinglan retract her gaze.
“Lanlan, it’s so cold today, and there’s such a strong wind on the bridge. What are you doing standing there?”
Qinglan turned around and saw Liu Xiuzhen standing by the fence, sorting through the dried green cabbage.
Qinglan lowered her head, avoiding eye contact. “I’m not doing anything. My backpack is too heavy, and I got tired walking, so I’m taking a break.”
Since entering fourth grade, Qinglan had become less willing to talk to Liu Xiuzhen because her aggressive questioning often made Qinglan uncomfortable.
Moreover, Qinglan was beginning to understand some things and gradually grasped the implications behind Liu Xiuzhen's veiled remarks.
So whenever she sensed that Liu Xiuzhen wanted to inquire about An Shaojie's family or criticize her relationship with him, she would try to avoid her as much as possible.
“Are you looking at that boy? You came back with him again, didn’t you?” Liu Xiuzhen questioned bluntly.
“Mother, what are you talking about?” Qinglan frowned tightly, stamping her foot. “We got out of class at the same time, so of course we came back together. Should I sit in the classroom for an hour waiting for him to go home before I go home? Or should I leave class early?”
Qinglan shot a glare at Liu Xiuzhen and ignored her, walking straight past her into the yard.
“You ungrateful girl, just like your worthless father,” Liu Xiuzhen shouted at Qinglan from across the yard.
In the yard, Grandma was carrying a bamboo basket into the house. Inside the basket were needles and thread along with the shoe tops she had just made, embroidered with a vibrant peony flower.
"Grandma," Qinglan called from behind.
Grandma turned around, saw Qinglan, and with a pout and a beaming smile said, "Ah! Lanlan is back. You must be hungry! Grandma has already prepared the meal, waiting for you, my little darling."
"I'm not hungry, Grandma." Qinglan took the dustpan from Grandma's hands and supported her as they walked into the house.
"Wow. I'm going to kill you."
"An Shaojie!"
"Put down the knife, what are you doing?"
"Hurry up and leave! Quickly!"
Suddenly, from outside the courtyard, there came a cacophony of shouting and crying from Bai Cuifen's house.
"Oh no, it sounds like Father's voice." Qinglan was startled and instinctively turned to look outside the courtyard, straining to listen to the commotion.
"An Shaojie, calm down, put down the knife." It was Bai Cuifen's heart-wrenching voice.
"I'm going to kill you today!" An Shaojie's furious shout echoed.
"Get out of here, Shusheng Brother!" Bai Cuifen cried out.
"It really is Father! What happened?" Qinglan confirmed again.
Grandma was hard of hearing and did not catch the noisy sounds outside; she continued to chatter about school matters in front of Qinglan.
Qinglan had no time to think further; she threw the dustpan on the ground and ran out in a hurry.
Walking in front of Qinglan, Grandma felt that there was no response behind her. Turning her head to look, she saw a dustpan on the ground, its contents scattered everywhere, and Qinglan had dashed out of the yard.
“Lanlan, where are you going?”
Just as Qinglan ran out of the yard and was about to head towards Bai Cuifen's house, she suddenly heard a shout from behind.
It was Liu Xiuzhen.
Standing at the side where Qinglan had just passed, holding a bunch of wilted green cabbage, her eyes stared blankly at Qinglan.
“Mother!” Qinglan timidly shifted her feet, tugging at her clothes. “Father... he is worried about him.” Qinglan's voice was barely audible, like a mosquito buzzing, occasionally glancing up at Liu Xiuzhen.
“Let him go. It would be better if he died; it would solve two problems with one knife,” Liu Xiuzhen said through gritted teeth, speaking viciously.
“But...” Qinglan twisted her clothes with her fingers, stepping back.
She still wanted to go to Bai Cuifen's house to see what was going on! How could her usually good-tempered father be arguing with Brother Shaojie and get so angry?
“He just started to improve his attitude towards me; I don’t want anything to happen that would make him revert to how he was before,” Qinglan thought to herself.
At just ten years old, Qinglan had not experienced any love or hatred; she did not understand that human emotions can sometimes accumulate and intensify over time. Especially the flames of hatred—once they are reignited after being extinguished, they can become deeper, more intense, and longer-lasting than before.
Qinglan took small steps backward, unaware that someone was approaching her from behind.
The person wore an old blue cotton coat and blue trousers, but despite the cold weather, he had left his coat open.
With his head down and looking somewhat dispirited as if lost in thought, he did not notice that a little girl was walking backward in front of him.
Suddenly, Qinglan's body bumped into him, and her heel stepped right on his foot.
"What are you doing?" the person looked up, astonished and asked.
Qinglan turned around in a panic, staring fearfully at the person behind her like a startled deer.
"Father!" Upon seeing Qing Shusheng, Qinglan couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. "You."
Seeing that Father was unharmed, Qinglan stomped her foot in anger and turned to walk into the courtyard, not even glancing at Liu Xiuying, who stood by the courtyard wall. In an instant, her small figure dashed into the house.
Once inside, Qinglan saw that Grandma had already set the table for her meal. When Grandma noticed her come in, she hurriedly stood up from the table and asked anxiously, "Lanlan, where have you been? I heard a commotion outside just now. You ran out for a bit and then disappeared. What happened in the village? You're just a child; why are you getting involved in all this? Come on, eat your meal and get ready for school; your food is getting cold."
Qinglan puffed out her cheeks and glanced at Grandma without responding. With a loud bang, she rushed into her room and slammed the door shut.
At that moment, Qing Shusheng and Liu Xiuzhen walked in one after the other—one looking listless and the other with a face full of mockery and anger.
"What's wrong with Lanlan? She seemed fine when she got back from school just now. Suddenly, who made her angry? She won't even eat and locks herself in her room."
Grandma's eyes were fixed on Liu Xiuzhen behind Qing Shusheng. Usually, it was she and Jiawei who liked to tease Qinglan; now that Jiawei wasn't home, who else could it be?
"Don't look at me." Liu Xiuzhen stepped into the room first, pointing at Qing Shusheng with glee as she said, "Ask him; it's her good Father who made her angry!" Liu Xiuzhen sneered.
"Qing Shusheng, what did you do to make Lanlan angry?" Grandma's tone immediately softened.
"I..." Qing Shusheng looked helplessly at Grandma, his face weary. He suddenly walked quickly to a chair and sat down, patting his knees with both hands, lowering his head with a sigh. "Sigh!" He shook his head and fell silent.
Grandma looked at Liu Xiuzhen with pleading eyes.
Liu Xiuzhen maintained a stern expression as she went in and out of the kitchen. She served herself some food without acknowledging anyone else and sat down at the table to eat by herself.
"Your Father is still upstairs; aren't you going to check on him? You just start eating by yourself?" Grandma shouted at Liu Xiuzhen.
A few days ago, Liu Dezhou was working on the mountain when he accidentally fell and broke his right leg. He has been lying in the upstairs bedroom since then.
Liu Xiuzhen rolled her eyes and gave Qing Shusheng a glance before heading to the kitchen to get some food for Liu Dezhou.
Grandma helplessly glanced at Qing Shusheng and went to knock on Qinglan's door, calling her out for dinner. "Lanlan, come out for dinner! You still have to go to school this afternoon!"
Qinglan was sitting on the bed, silently shedding tears. When she heard Grandma calling her for dinner, she suddenly realized that she still had class in the afternoon! She needed to eat quickly and wait at the bridge for Brother Shaojie to go to school.
Thinking of this, Qinglan jumped off the bed, her eyes darting around. She tugged at the hem of her clothes, opened the door, and with her hands behind her back, head held high, she strutted out with a proud smile, swaying with each step.
Seeing her expression, Grandma looked suspiciously at Qing Shusheng. What kind of act was she putting on?
Qing Shusheng raised her head under Grandma's gaze and followed her line of sight to look at Qinglan.
Qinglan was swaying her body with a smug look as she sat down at the table.
"Grandma, where's my food?" Qinglan called out.
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