TSIBAMS Chapter 2
by VolareYe Xing spent twenty seconds surveying the two-bedroom apartment before collapsing onto the sofa, staring at the ceiling light fixture, pondering –
What was his mom up to this time? Experiencing life? Although his family wasn’t exactly wealthy, they were definitely not at this level of poverty.
This apartment had nothing extra besides the basic furniture and appliances. The soundproofing was also pitiful. The sounds of arguments, children crying, and commercials blaring from someone’s TV enveloped Ye Xing from all sides.
He quickly went to the window and closed it, immediately making the sound level lower.
Forget the ventilation, I’d rather suffocate!
Ye Xing held his charging phone. The screen lit up, and he immediately called Fang Rong.
“Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable.”
For a moment, he felt like he’d been tricked into participating in a reality show.
No slippers, no towels, he could survive one night, but without even a quilt or pillow, this hard bed felt like sleeping directly on the floor. Could he even get up tomorrow?!
Ye Xing shook his head internally.
Though unwilling, he went outside anyway.
Downstairs was a shop with colorful fabrics hanging inside and a sewing machine right at the entrance. It looked like a tailor shop. Looking up, the sign clearly read, “Aunt Shen’s Tailor Shop,” as expected.
In this era, sewing machines still exist. It must be a time-traveling thing.
Whether he traveled back in time or not, all he wanted to do was get a good night’s sleep.
Ye Xing walked into the shop. Inside was a small boy, probably only four or five years old, sitting quietly watching TV. He wasn’t afraid of the new customer. He trotted to the curtain inside and pulled out an adult.
It was the owner, Aunt Shen, looking around forty or fifty years old. Although she looked puzzled, she was at least not as aggressive as the tricycle driver.
Ye Xing’s first impression of this town was still based on three examples: the loud tricycle driver, the teenager he almost fought, and the mysterious cigarette-collecting man. Seeing such a kind face made him feel much better.
“Sorry to bother you.”
Maybe due to her professional habits, Aunt Shen looked people up and down without any hesitation. After studying his clothes, she quickly concluded, “You’re not from around here, are you!”
“No, I am not. Is there a home goods store nearby?” Ye Xing asked.
“Home goods store?” She looked confused.
“You know, is there a place that sells blankets, pillows, and such?” Ye Xing explained.
“Oh,” She looked as if saying “Why didn’t you say so earlier,” and pointed to the shop across the street, “They fluff cotton there.”
Fluff cotton? Is she joking?!
Ye Xing looked in the direction she pointed. It really was cotton fluffing. The person fluffing cotton held a piece of wood that looked very heavy in one hand, and used the other hand to pluck at the string on the wood, as if playing some ancient instrument. Up and down they plucked, distorting the space. Dust flew in the air, making it hard to distinguish between the cotton and the dust.
Ye Xing’s eyes widened. If the sewing machine was something he had some impression of, fluffing cotton was unheard of. He was in shock, unable to recover.
This day of adventures could be written as “Ye Xing’s Adventures” or “Ye Xing’s Survival Guide.” Either he had traveled back in time, or his mother was trying to teach him a lesson by making him join a reality show!
Ugh! Get out of my head!
Just as Ye Xing was trying to dismiss his own crazy thoughts, someone blocked his view at the door. That person was not tall, had fair skin, and looked exactly like the child inside. He was holding a few freshly grilled skewers.
The aroma reached Ye Xing’s nose, and he suddenly realized he hadn’t eaten dinner.
The child behind him ran to the young man and hugged his leg, “Brother! Brother!” He called him brother, but his eyes were very focused on the skewers.
The young man squatted down to give the skewers to the child and then stood up to ask Ye Xing, “Want a skewer?”
Ye Xing didn’t know when his gaze had landed on the skewers.
And he got caught!
How embarrassing!
Ye Xing quickly waved his hands, saying he didn’t want any.
“This child is new here, and wants to buy a blanket.” Aunt Shen said from behind, “I just told him they sell them across the street.”
“Mom, they only sell cotton filling across the street. Are you planning to take on the quilt cover job too?” he shook his head helplessly.
“Hey, you brat, you talk too much! Xiao Bao, don’t eat too much, or you’ll become like your brother, talking nonsense all the time!”
Unfortunately, the child named Xiao Bao was completely focused on the skewers and didn’t have time for anyone else.
“Hello, my name is Zhou Tian.” This was directed to Ye Xing.
“Ye Xing.” The social misfit, Ye Xing, still failed to say “hello”, but feeling it wasn’t appropriate, he added, “I just arrived here for my first day and live upstairs.”
“You need to buy a blanket? I know where to go, but they’re probably closed now. Do you need it urgently? If not, I can take you tomorrow.” Zhou Tian seemed very enthusiastic.
He needed it urgently. If he didn’t get one, he’d have to sleep on the sofa.
But since they were closed, it was no use being anxious.
“Okay, then I’ll find you tomorrow. Thanks.” Ye Xing said as he headed to the door, “Goodbye Auntie, Goodbye Xiao Bao!”
“You’re welcome.” Zhou Tian squatted down and said to Xiao Bao, “Xiao Bao, say goodbye to your brother.”
Xiao Bao reluctantly waved, still with half a skewer in his hand.
It made Ye Xing feel even hungrier.
He scanned the surrounding area but didn’t see a barbecue stand, and he was too embarrassed to ask where they bought them. He had to settle for instant noodles and ham from the convenience store and went back home. Thankfully, there was a pot, Ye Xing thought optimistically.
Back home, though he was starving, his remaining rationality made him boil the cutlery and pot with water to disinfect them.
He boiled more water, and put the noodles in.
He was glad that no one was around when he cooked his noodles, otherwise, he’d have to answer why he only put the noodles in and not the seasoning packet.
Because he had to rinse the noodles first! To get rid of harmful substances, and of course, oil. Although nobody asked him this time, he still muttered to himself, silly humans.
After the noodles were cooked, he took them out and put them in a clean bowl and soaked them in cold water for a minute. It was said to make them more elastic. He learned it from a movie, but Ye Xing didn’t have the time or patience to calculate one minute. He usually just spaced out for a while and thought it was okay.
But it was very annoying if someone interrupted him at this time!
Yes, that’s right, someone was knocking at the door. Ye Xing tried to pretend that no one was home and didn’t bother to look. He waited, tightly guarding his minute.
After a few seconds, the person knocked again.
Trying to stop him from cooking his noodles? He was starving! If he couldn’t eat his noodles, he would eat them!
Ye Xing prepared to angrily open the door and scold whoever was there. When he got to the door, he realized that the peephole was broken! He cautiously asked through the door, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Zhou Tian.”
“You?” Ye Xing opened the door to see a quilt at the door. That’s right, he could only see a quilt, not the person. Ye Xing tried to communicate with the person behind the quilt, “How did you know where I lived?”
“Let me in first.” Zhou Tian tried to stick his head out from behind the quilt.
Ye Xing stepped aside to let him in.
Zhou Tian threw the quilt on the sofa and continued, “There are so few people in this building, I know them all. Figuring out where you live is easier than solving an equation.”
“Oh,” Ye Xing rubbed his nose. “Is this for me? You didn’t have to go through so much trouble!”
They had only just met, no, they had only just greeted each other!
“It’s no trouble, my mom insisted I bring it up. Xiao Bao said he saw you get out of the tricycle alone today and fall. My mom thinks you’re pitiful, probably didn’t bring anything with you when you moved. Just use this for tonight,” Zhou Tian said.
Bad news really travels fast. He actually got seen when he fell, how do kids have such good eyes?
How embarrassing.
The people in this town were also strange. Some were like firecrackers ready to explode, others were weirdly too friendly.
“Thank you! And please thank your auntie!” Ye Xing said.
“And this!” Zhou Tian pulled out a Doraemon-themed band-aid from his pocket. It must have been from Xiao Bao.
Ye Xing was puzzled.
Zhou Tian pointed to Ye Xing’s ankle.
The wound wasn’t deep, it had already scabbed over, it must have been from the skateboard.
“Just use this. I couldn’t find anything else.”
“No need!” Ye Xing waved his hand, trying to hide his dislike of the child’s band-aid. “It’s a small wound. I didn’t even notice it.”
But it seemed Zhou Tian hadn’t listened to Ye Xing’s refusal, as he carefully tore open the package and held the band-aid to his ankle.
Ye Xing didn’t doubt that Zhou Tian would go ahead and stick it on for him, so he snatched it from his hand.
“Okay, I’ll do it myself!” And then he stuck it roughly to his ankle.
The Doraemon’s mouth was open, smiling brilliantly on Ye Xing’s ankle.
“It’s kind of cute!” Zhou Tian nodded in satisfaction.
More like sissy.
Ye Xing internally resisted, but had to force a polite smile.
Zhou Tian saw the light on in the kitchen. “Are you cooking?”
Oh god, he forgot about the important thing! Ye Xing rushed into the kitchen and rescued the noodles from the cold water. He put the noodles in a new bowl.
Zhou Tian followed behind Ye Xing, watching without any hesitation. “You’re using a lot of bowls for making instant noodles.”
“It’s called Takeshi Kaneshiro-style instant noodles, you wouldn’t understand!”
Ye Xing opened the seasoning packet and poured it over the drained noodles and began to mix them.
Zhou Tian had never seen anyone make instant noodles so complicated. He raised his thumb and mouthed the words, “Awesome.”
Next came boiling water, and if this were a regular day, Ye Xing would have added all sorts of vegetables, maybe even an egg, making it even more complicated than a “Crossing-the-Bridge” rice noodle. After all, it was the only food he could make, and through countless practices, he had already cooked with his soul.
But today there weren’t any vegetables, not even an egg.
He suddenly lost his energy, picked up the ham and put the whole thing in the noodles.
When the water boiled, he poured the mixed noodles in the pot, turned off the stove. It didn’t matter whether he poured it into a bowl or not, Ye Xing was too lazy to wash another bowl. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and went straight to the living room with the pot.
It was awkward watching someone eat, but Zhou Tian showed no sign of leaving.
From the moment Zhou Tian watched him cook his noodles, Ye Xing realized this man didn’t know how to be embarrassed.
And Ye Xing’s awkwardness was very easy to trigger.
Zhou Tian, finally bored, tried to establish communication with the hungry ghost across from him. “Classmate Ye Xing, where did you move from? Why are you living alone?”
“From the next village over.” Ye Xing teased him, and only answered the first part of his question.
“Who are you kidding? The next village is even more run-down than this place! You’re definitely from a big city,” Zhou Tian said.
Ye Xing didn’t stop eating as he answered vaguely, “My mom is coming next month. Ask her then.”
“Where do you go to school?” Zhou Tian continued to ask.
“My mom handled the transfer, it’s at that school in your town… what was the name of your town again?” Ye Xing looked up, thinking.
“Chen Town! Chen Town Middle School? That’s where I go!” A flash of surprise crossed Zhou Tian’s eyes.
“I think so. Your town has a very casual name. Is it because there are too many people with the surname Chen, so they decided to use it as the name?” Ye Xing asked.
“No! Our town has historical roots! It was a revolutionary base during the war and produced several war heroes, all named Chen. Isn’t that something? To honor them, the name was changed to Chen Town,” Zhou Tian was getting ready to give him a history lesson.
“Oh, I guess I shouldn’t underestimate your town,” Ye Xing gave a very supportive “I see” look.
“Of course, and our Chen Town Middle School is also the best school in this town. Don’t look down on it, we even produced a student who went to Tsinghua University last year!”
Ye Xing thought to himself, it seems he had come here to ruin another school.
Zhou Tian pulled out his phone, “Let’s add each other on WeChat. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I’ll take you shopping.”
“Thanks, I’ll scan you,” Ye Xing held up his phone and beeped Zhou Tian’s phone.
After they were successfully added, Zhou Tian’s habit of staring at people like his mother flared up again. “The sun pattern is your WeChat name? Cool! Hey, you only have one post. ‘Lazy in body, clueless in farming, illiterate in writing, helpless in fighting.’ What is this, and the food in the picture looks terrible…”
Before he could continue his evaluation, Ye Xing quickly responded, “That line is from a song, and the picture is of the food I made.”
“Oh.” Zhou Tian seemed to be an optimist. He didn’t seem embarrassed that he said the wrong thing and immediately changed the subject, “It’s getting late, I’m gonna go now. Let me know when you get up tomorrow!”
He walked towards the door. “No need to see me out, see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow.”
The door closed.
The world was peaceful.
Ye Xing had almost finished eating. He threw the pot and the cutlery into the sink, creating a mess. He didn’t even know where to start. He thought if someone sent him a dishwasher right now, he’d call them father.
Forget it, he’d wash them tomorrow. He waved his hand and left.
This was not a life for humans to live. Although Ye Xing wasn’t a neat freak, he always felt that showering was a necessary prerequisite for a good sleep. He couldn’t sleep without a shower. But today was an exception. Too many amazing things happened, he didn’t have the time to take care of every mood.
He was too tired!
He washed his face in the bathroom and treated it as his shower.
Ye Xing lay on the sofa, his head resting on the edge of the sofa. The quilt was also long enough. He found a comfortable position and couldn’t move.
Whatever, please take me back after I wake up.