Chapter 39: Can’t You Really Invite Me In?

What a grand palace.

Standing dumbfounded on the lawn in front of Shi Ying’s house, Cheng Simin couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. Such an enormous building—comparable to the school’s science lab—was home to her best friend, Shi Ying. It was simply unbelievable.

“Hey, who lives with you? I remember you saying your family has three members.”

“Yes, three: my mom, my dad, and me. Who else could there be? All our classmates are only children. Do you think my parents secretly had some illegitimate kids somewhere?” Shi Ying teased her to make her laugh.

Cheng Simin did laugh at his absurd joke: “No, what I mean is, your house is so big—it feels like it could easily fit ten more people.”

“Oh, it’s not that big. Even if we count four people, there’s still a live-in maid in the first-floor servant quarters.”

Shi Ying casually parked his bike by the entrance and moved Cheng Simin’s bike under the shade of a pine tree. As he worked, he frequently glanced up at the card room on the third-floor terrace. The sheer curtains were drawn, making it impossible to tell if anyone was inside.

To ensure Cheng Simin wouldn’t encounter any strange scenes when she entered, Shi Ying thought for a moment and then said, “Can you wait outside for a bit? I’ll go in and tidy up first.”

As for what he needed to tidy, he naturally came up with an excuse.

“My room’s a bit messy. I didn’t expect you’d come over today—dirty clothes, smelly socks, that sort of thing. Let me clean up first, and I’ll call you once I’m done. Is that okay?”

Shi Ying, of course, didn’t have the habit of leaving dirty clothes lying around. He always kept his nails trimmed short, took a bath every day regardless of the season, and paid meticulous attention to personal hygiene. But to scout ahead before she came in, this was the only way.

“Sure. I’ll wait here. No rush,” Cheng Simin replied without suspicion, immediately heading to sit under the wooden corridor by the entrance. The corridor was covered in wisteria during spring, its delicate petals flowing like a waterfall, creating an elegant atmosphere. But now, after summer, the flowers had faded, and long pods hung from the vines.

Cheng Simin reached out to touch the fruit hanging from the branches and discovered a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. A few meters away, Shi Ying had already opened the double anti-theft doors.

Without pausing to change shoes at the entrance, Shi Ying quickly climbed the stairs and pushed open another door.

The living room was startling. The master Li Xiangqun had invited yesterday had left numerous talismans throughout the room. The shorter ones, about a foot long, were stuck on all reflective surfaces—the TV, the wine cabinet, the coffee table. The largest one bore a red cinnabar handprint, resembling a bloodstain, and was hung in the house’s most auspicious spot alongside incantations.

Shi Ying’s eye twitched as he hastily began removing these yellow papers. After tearing off just four or five, he heard the sound of mahjong tiles clattering upstairs.

Anxious, he bypassed the home elevator and instead bounded up the spiral staircase, pushing aside the crystal curtain of the card room. Inside, smoke filled the air. Li Xiangqun sat at the host position, smoking a slim lotus cigarette, and played a tile onto the green velvet cloth.

“Oh, our son’s back! After a few days, he’s grown even more handsome!” Mrs. Zhang, sitting to Li Xiangqun’s left, commented. Her husband was the bank manager of Area A, Building 8 of Hillside Garden.

Mrs. Lü, wife of the principal of the nearby elementary school, chimed in, adjusting her gold-rimmed glasses and giving Li Xiangqun a knowing look. “Of course! Our son is already so tall—he takes after both of you. He’ll definitely grow into a towering figure like your husband.”

As for Li Xiangqun’s opponent, Shi Ying didn’t recognize her. She was likely the director of a cosmetic surgery clinic catering to these wealthy women.

Shi Ying was accustomed to his mother’s friends trying to cozy up to him. He politely nodded and greeted them: “Hello, Aunties.”

Then, fixing his gaze on Li Xiangqun, he said, “Mom, are you almost done? I need to talk to you. Why didn’t you answer my calls earlier?”

The tiles circled the table. Next to Li Xiangqun was a glass of leftover ash-infused water. Without looking up, she picked a tile, ran her thumb along its edge, and exclaimed, “Nine of circles—I win!”

“Li Xiangqun! What kind of tile is that?”

The women craned their necks to look at her tiles. Li Xiangqun, her hair neatly coiled, pushed her tiles forward, beaming. “Six-nine combination in the hall! It’s been ready for three rounds.”

“Oh, your luck is incredible! Even a self-drawn win!”

“It seems the master really works. Maybe we should invite him again next time. Always chasing wealth gets boring—we should focus on longevity.”

“We’ve got to outlive those men of ours. Otherwise, if we sisters die early, all the money will end up with outsiders.”

“The sisters are absolutely right.”

The four women resumed shuffling tiles, the noise growing louder. Shi Ying’s patience wore thin, and he called out again, “Mom.”

This time, Li Xiangqun noticed the talisman in his hand. Her brows furrowed as she stubbed out her cigarette, her red-lipped mouth barking at him: “Why are you touching my things again?! The Daoist priest said they need to stay up for 24 hours to work. Are you deliberately trying to drive me crazy?”

“Oh, don’t get upset.”

“Yes, what do children know? Ignorance is no sin.”

“These things are about sincerity. You’ve been eating vegetarian food for so long—this is nothing.”

Shi Ying didn’t believe in feudal superstitions and didn’t want to argue with her. Instead, he asked gently, “Did you see the messages I sent? How many rounds have you played? Why don’t you move the game to Auntie Lü’s house? I have a classmate coming over.”

“What classmate? Don’t bring anyone home.”

Li Xiangqun pulled another slim cigarette from the pack, pinching it between her middle and ring fingers. The woman opposite her obsequiously rose, bending over the mahjong table to light it for her.

Auntie Lü arranged her tiles and, out of curiosity, asked, “What’s this about? Which classmate? So unworthy of your approval?”

Auntie Zhang and Auntie Lü’s children were around Shi Ying’s age, but they attended prestigious schools in the provincial capital. After elementary school, Li Xiangqun, unwilling to let her son fall behind, suggested sending him to study in the provincial capital while she accompanied him. However, Shi Kaiji, Shi Ying’s father, refused to compare their son to others, and Shi Ying himself didn’t want to transfer schools. Thus, the plan was abandoned, and Shi Ying continued attending his public middle school. Li Xiangqun remained in the villa, waiting for Shi Kaiji, who frequently traveled for work, to return home.

Few students at Banshan First Middle School came from well-to-do families. Especially the classmate Shi Ying mentioned—Li Xiangqun didn’t need to guess who it was. That little girl had been clinging to her son since elementary school. Whenever she asked Shi Ying about his day at school, nine times out of ten, Cheng Simin’s name would pop up.

Later, during adolescence, Shi Ying became quieter at home, sensing his mother’s hostility toward his friend. He stopped mentioning Cheng Simin’s name in front of Li Xiangqun, but she knew he was still friends with the girl.

When Shi Ying wasn’t home, Li Xiangqun would sneak into his room using a spare key, rummaging through his drawers and books. Those notebooks were often filled with childish doodles of cartoon characters.

“Who else could it be? I can’t understand why he keeps associating with the child of vegetable sellers. What if she corrupts you!”

“Mom!” Seeing the tension on Shi Ying’s face, she grew even more irritable, taking a deep drag of her cigarette and exhaling to the side. “Fine, fine. Go ahead. This room is full of smoke anyway—I don’t want you getting sick.”

“Listen carefully. Don’t bring your classmates home casually. Who knows if they’re clean or not? They might touch things randomly. I hate strangers entering the house. Take some money from the TV cabinet and go out to play.”

Shi Ying tightly clenched the talismans in his hand, not bothering to say goodbye to the adults. Clenching his teeth, he turned and stormed downstairs. Behind him, Li Xiangqun called out, “Hey! Don’t stay out too late. Your father’s returning from his business trip tonight, and he’ll quiz you on your studies. Did you finish the thousand-word reflection from your recent trip?”

Inside the door, Shi Ying’s eyes reddened. He tore the talismans in his hand into pieces and angrily threw them into the trash.

Outside, Cheng Simin was oblivious, observing the butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon.

Perhaps due to the cooling weather and the delayed emergence, the newborn butterfly was exerting all its strength to squeeze out of the opening, but despite exhausting itself, it still failed.

Cheng Simin felt anxious for it and used her fingernail to tear a larger hole in the cocoon, helping it crawl out. But the fragile butterfly, nearing its end, couldn’t spread its wings as hoped. After trembling for a few seconds on the pod, it fell straight to the ground.

Crouching down, Cheng Simin mourned the insect that had barely transformed from caterpillar to butterfly. Behind her, a loud “clang” sounded—Shi Ying had reemerged from the house, carrying his backpack.

Cheng Simin looked up just as Shi Ying hurried to her side. He appeared preoccupied, his tone impatient: “Cheng Simin, why don’t we go to your place to wrap the books? Our maid’s cleaning right now, and the floor’s wet—it’ll take a while to dry.”

The pale butterfly, so small it hadn’t even spread its wings, lay on the ground mixed with fallen leaves, completely unnoticed.

Because it was so inconspicuous, within moments of their conversation, it had already been crushed under Shi Ying’s foot, reduced to powder.

Cheng Simin lowered her head, staring at the green liquid beneath Shi Ying’s sole. Her heart tightened, and her lashes quivered. After a few seconds, she licked her dry lips and softly said, “I can wait.”

She tried to suppress the lump in her throat and forced a smile at Shi Ying. “Shi Ying, can’t you really invite me in? Aren’t we good friends?”

Shi Ying knew Cheng Simin was stubborn—once she set her sights on something, she wouldn’t give up until she achieved it. But today, her persistence seemed to reach new heights. What was so appealing about his mediocre house? It wasn’t a zoo or an amusement park.

He bent down, tugging her arm to pull her toward the bikes. Using some force, his voice rose: “Next time, okay? Consider this my debt to you today. Don’t you love watching movies? I’ll treat you to the cinema this afternoon.”

“I’ll buy two large buckets of popcorn—one caramel and one sea salt—all for you.”

“Or do you want to go to the supermarket now? I’ll buy whatever snacks you like. Didn’t you mention wanting a meter-tall lollipop before? I’ll get it for you today.”

“I don’t want it anymore. I just want to see your house right now.”

Cheng Simin, dragged up from the ground by Shi Ying, still resisted, twisting her body to struggle against him.

Not far away, a middle-aged woman carrying fresh groceries approached. Spotting Shi Ying, she greeted him enthusiastically, her voice booming: “Finished collecting your textbooks already? So quick! Perfect timing—your mom specifically requested stir-fried chestnuts, green beans, and mushrooms for lunch. I also bought some bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms. Come in quickly—I’ll have four dishes ready in half an hour.”

“Maybe I’ll make a shrimp and egg custard too. You’re growing, so you need more protein.”

“Oh? Is this your classmate? What a lovely girl! Should she join us for lunch? I’ll cook extra rice and bring it upstairs for you later.”

The kind live-in maid walked to the gate, pulling out her keys, and didn’t forget to flash a friendly smile at Cheng Simin.

But Cheng Simin’s heart sank. Her intuition had finally manifested.

Her gut feeling about the fake excuse of mopping the floor was confirmed. Indeed, Shi Ying simply didn’t want her to enter his house. From the start, agreeing to bring her here had been a lie.

There was no need to doubt it anymore. Last night, those people were right. Shi Ying truly looked down on her, just like everyone else. Because her family sold vegetables, lived in a low-end neighborhood, wasn’t pretty, wasn’t tall, didn’t perform well academically, and spoke poor Mandarin—she was garbage, worthless, and unworthy of his trust.

Their friendship was fake. Only inequality and disdain were real.

For the moment, Shi Ying was distracted by the maid, explaining why he and his classmate weren’t staying for lunch. When he turned back, Cheng Simin had already hopped onto her bike and left.