OS - 1

Zhou Yu found a part-time job as a cashier at a small supermarket. She worked six hours a day, earning 13 yuan per hour.

In the evenings, the small supermarket in the county town was busiest with customers buying cigarettes and alcohol. The roadside was dusty, so Zhou Yu spent her time wiping shelves when there were no customers. If there were customers, she would man the cash register; otherwise, she would organize goods at the back. Four hours passed quickly this way.

Suddenly, someone pushed aside the curtain and rushed into the supermarket. “Zhou Yu! Your mom’s pancake stall has been smashed up—go take a look!”

Hearing this, Zhou Yu panicked and nearly fell off the chair she was standing on to reach the higher shelves. She quickly tossed the cleaning cloth into the person’s hands. “Keep an eye on the store for me.”

Her home was located at the edge of the county town, and even taking a shortcut, it would still take her twenty minutes to get there.

As she turned the corner, she heard Liu Fen cursing loudly. A train passed by on the tracks, its rumble lasting for more than ten seconds. Zhou Yu sat by the roadside catching her breath, wiping the sweat from her face before slowly getting up and walking toward the scene.

The charcoal inside the pancake oven was still burning, and the walls of the oven were scorching hot. It took several buckets of water before they dared to touch it.

Liu Fen struggled to lift the oven alone, so Zhou Yu helped move it back to its original spot.

In the corner, bags of flour covered in dirt and freshly baked pancakes lay scattered on the ground—all ruined. Liu Fen lamented the wasted food and cursed loudly again, startling the neighbor’s chickens, which flew about in panic.

Zhou Yu wiped down the table with a damp cloth. “Who did this?”

Liu Fen replied, “I don’t know which bastard did it. I went to fetch some flour, and when I came back, everything was like this.”

“It’s hot anyway, so we might as well take a break for a couple of days. We’ll reopen once we buy a new pot.”

After helping Liu Fen clean up the stall, Zhou Yu returned home to change her sweat-soaked clothes. Without even drinking a sip of water, she hurriedly left again.

“I’m going to the supermarket. I’ll be back by ten.”

She had started her shift at five-thirty in the afternoon, and the supermarket closed at nine-thirty.

After finishing her accounts, she headed to a barbecue shop next to the sports field. Upstairs was a billiard hall, bustling with students during the summer vacation.

This shop had been open for over a decade, and it was always crowded—even outside seating was full.

Zhou Yu crossed through the main hall and climbed to the third floor, where the billiard hall was located. Compared to downstairs, the smell of alcohol was lighter here, but the cigarette smoke was heavy.

Every night, this place was frequented by local troublemakers—some with dyed yellow hair, others with red. Zhou Yu stood at the entrance, scanning the room but didn’t find the person she was looking for. However, she recognized someone else.

“Yan Ci?”

“He just left—about five or six minutes ago.”

Zhou Yu turned and walked downstairs, following the road toward the city center. At the intersection, she turned into a narrow alley surrounded by dense residential buildings.

The alley stretched about two hundred meters, with only one streetlamp outside a house. The road was narrow, and air-conditioner condensation dripped continuously onto passersby.

In the dim light, Zhou Yu first noticed the flickering glow of a lighter in the darkness, followed by the smell of cigarette smoke carried by the warm breeze. She stood rooted in place, not moving deeper into the alley, waiting until the flame was extinguished underfoot before picking up her backpack and hurling it at the figure.

“Don’t do such childish things anymore.”

Leaning against the wall, he kicked the backpack away with his foot and repeated her words softly, “Childish things.”

After a long pause, he stepped out of the shadows.

The closer he got, the stronger the smell of alcohol and cigarettes became.

“Is that really childish?” He looked into Zhou Yu’s eyes and suddenly chuckled. “Then should I kill her?”

“How dare you...”

Before she could finish her sentence, he grabbed her by the throat. Instinctively, Zhou Yu tried to resist by grabbing his wrist, but he shoved her against the wall. Her back hit a protruding stone, momentarily dulling the pain caused by the choking sensation.

His voice, filled with hatred, whispered close to her ear, “Let’s see if I dare!”

He hated her.

He should hate her.

“Excuse me,” a voice sounded a few steps away.

The grip around Zhou Yu’s neck loosened. She closed her eyes and collapsed weakly onto Yan Ci’s shoulder, gasping for air.

Cheng Yuzhou hadn’t expected to encounter a young couple secretly making out in a dark alley on his first day back in his hometown. Using his phone’s flashlight for illumination, he avoided shining it directly on them, instead noticing a backpack lying on the ground with a knitted orange keychain hanging from its zipper.

He waited for a while, but the couple remained tightly embraced without any intention of picking up the backpack. With no choice, Cheng Yuzhou lifted his suitcase and walked past them.

The surrounding residential area used to be part of the Cheng family garden—a fact known to everyone living nearby.

Cheng Yuzhou exited the alley and entered the large red gate by the roadside.

“Grandma, I’m back.”

The elderly woman had prepared dinner and eagerly went out to greet him upon hearing his voice. “My grandson is back!”

“I’ll carry my own luggage,” Cheng Yuzhou said, holding his suitcase in one hand and supporting the elderly woman with the other. “The train was delayed, so I spent a few extra hours at the station. Grandma, what delicious dishes have you made? It smells amazing.”

“Oil-braised prawns, braised pork ribs—all your favorites!” The grandmother smiled as she wiped the sweat from his forehead. “It must be hot outside. Go take a shower first—I’ve cut some watermelon for you.”

“Alright,” Cheng Yuzhou placed his belongings carelessly, found a set of clean clothes, and went to take a shower.

He was born elsewhere and returned to his hometown every two or three years, sometimes for the Lunar New Year and sometimes for summer vacation.

The Cheng family had two sons who had never divided their household.

Since the passing of the grandfather last year, the grandmother had been melancholic, spending her days staring at his belongings in the courtyard. However, she cheered up slightly after hearing that Cheng Yuzhou would return for summer vacation.

While washing his hair, Cheng Yuzhou dried it with a towel until it stopped dripping, then emerged from the bathroom. The living room was cool with the air conditioning on, but since the grandmother disliked the cold, he found the remote control and turned it off.

The grandmother ate little but kept serving Cheng Yuzhou more food.

“Boy, can you stay for two months this time?”

Cheng Yuzhou hadn’t asked anyone to drive him home. Instead, he took the train, transferring midway and eating almost nothing throughout the day. He was genuinely hungry, so he added half a bowl of rice.

“I can stay for a whole year.”

The grandmother thought he was being rebellious during puberty, possibly having quarreled with his parents. “Are you not going to school anymore?”

“I am. I’ve come back to take the college entrance exam.”

Cheng Yuzhou had studied elsewhere all along, so the grandmother immediately sensed something unusual about his sudden decision to return to the small county town. Educational resources were better in big cities, and senior year was the most crucial period.

“Is this your parents’ idea? Are they too busy to take care of you? Boy, are they fighting again?”

Cheng Yuzhou laughed. “No, it’s a national regulation. I need to return to my hometown to take the college entrance exam.”

The grandmother wasn’t convinced. Worried that he had run back on his own, she called his mother while he was in the restroom. Only after confirming did she feel reassured.