Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Pistachios
Gu Qing released Lu Qianqian’s hand.
The best way to get someone to agree to your request is to create some physical contact with them. After grabbing her hand and making his request, Gu Qing gradually realized something seemed inappropriate.
The girl’s palm was warm and soft, but after he held it, it seemed to become slightly sticky.
“Want to watch TV for a while longer?” Gu Qing asked her.
Lu Qianqian nodded gently, so Gu Qing shifted over and gave her the other half of the sofa. The sofa wasn’t very big to begin with, so the distance between them was neither far nor close. Gradually, Lu Qianqian felt a bit cold since her pajamas were so thin, so she took out a blanket from the cabinet beside the sofa and covered herself with it, also turning off the main living room light, leaving only a dim small lamp.
“Are you… cold?” she suddenly asked in a small voice.
“I’m not cold,” Gu Qing answered so naturally that Lu Qianqian’s offer to share half the blanket got stuck at her lips, unable to come out.
The two sat quietly like this, with the variety show on TV chattering noisily, yet adding much liveliness to the room. Lu Qianqian occasionally stole glances at Gu Qing’s profile. Gu Qing seemed to be watching intently, but also seemed lost in thought—who knew what he was thinking about.
She didn’t know what she was thinking about either. Her mind was full of chaotic thoughts, and as she thought, she gradually fell asleep, her body leaning toward Gu Qing. Gu Qing was slightly startled and caught her shoulder, looking down at her. “Sleepy?”
“Mm.” Lu Qianqian answered drowsily.
“Then go sleep quickly.”
“Mm-hmm.” Lu Qianqian made a soft sound but didn’t move, as if her body had gone soft and she couldn’t muster the strength due to drowsiness. Gu Qing thought for a moment, then asked, “Should I carry you to bed?”
“Okay…” Her voice was thin and soft, soft like she was acting cute.
Gu Qing stood up, lifted the blanket from her body, gently supported her legs and back, and easily lifted her up. Although her figure wasn’t particularly petite, her weight was surprisingly light—Gu Qing estimated around ninety-two pounds.
Still a bit too thin. These next two months, I need to feed her well.
Thinking this, Gu Qing carried her back to the bedroom, placed her on the bed, then pulled up the covers and gently tucked her in, saying softly, “Sleep well. If you’re hungry tomorrow morning, don’t wait for me—eat first. Good night.”
“Good night.” Lu Qianqian answered drowsily.
At ten in the morning, Gu Qing opened the bedroom door. Lu Qianqian was hugging a history textbook, seriously memorizing knowledge. Gu Qing rubbed his eyes and, on his way to the bathroom, habitually asked, “Have you eaten?”
“Not hungry yet…”
“What about now?”
“I’m just a little hungry now.” Lu Qianqian had already stood up, ready to go to the kitchen to cook noodles. As she passed by, Gu Qing casually reached out and lightly tapped her forehead. His movement was very gentle, and Lu Qianqian fled quickly, mumbling, “I really wasn’t hungry.”
Breakfast was noodles. Lu Qianqian made tomato and egg topping, using the fresh noodles they’d bought downstairs yesterday—soft, bouncy, and full of wheat fragrance. Lu Qianqian also fried two eggs, giving the bigger one to Gu Qing.
After breakfast, Gu Qing sat down beside her and began teaching her today’s exercises.
When teaching her problems, Gu Qing’s voice was always lazy. Math was about developing logical ability. The girl Gu Qing had tutored before was much slower than Lu Qianqian, yet he’d been able to teach her well too, so he firmly believed in one principle: there are no students who can’t be taught, only teachers who don’t know how to teach. Once you successfully cultivate a student’s interest in independent learning, teaching is already more than half successful.
Of course, if a student refuses to learn no matter what, that’s another story entirely. Humans are naturally arrogant and instinctively resist being educated.
After an hour of private tutoring ended, Lu Qianqian put down her pen and rubbed her somewhat tired eyes, while Gu Qing moved a small stool to the balcony to bask in the sun. He held a handful of sunflower seeds and pistachios. Having nothing to do, Lu Qianqian also came and sat across from him. Today she’d put on those thick cotton pajamas again, her whole body covered tightly, looking a bit bulky but very cute.
She began peeling pistachios by hand but didn’t eat them. After peeling them one by one, she collected them in her palm, and after gathering a big handful, she expectantly offered the pile of pistachios to Gu Qing.
Gu Qing glanced at her, but she shyly avoided eye contact.
Until Gu Qing picked up a pistachio and brought it to her lips, she obediently opened her mouth slightly, and that pistachio was placed in her mouth. After she swallowed it, Gu Qing fed her another one.
With each one he fed her, Lu Qianqian’s cheeks grew redder, but Gu Qing was completely oblivious. He rather felt like he was feeding a little kitten at this moment—quite amusing. After feeding her several more, Lu Qianqian finally said unclearly, “Can’t eat anymore.”
She picked up pistachios and brought them to Gu Qing’s lips. Gu Qing obediently ate them all, one by one.
After a while, Lu Qianqian ran to get a handful of sugar oranges, carefully peeled them, and shared them half and half with Gu Qing. Gu Qing suddenly remembered an odd bit of trivia: “If you eat too many sugar oranges at once, your skin will turn yellow.”
“Eh?”
“It’ll turn yellow temporarily because they contain lots of carotene.”
Lu Qianqian’s eyes flickered, then she put all the sugar orange she’d just peeled into Gu Qing’s palm.
Gu Qing laughed heartily.
Tomorrow night would be New Year’s Eve.
The wet markets were almost closed, only the huge supermarkets were still open. In the afternoon, Lu Qianqian changed into clothes for going out and went with Gu Qing to buy ingredients for tomorrow’s cooking. She wore a loose down jacket with her fingers tucked into the sleeves. Before leaving, she tied a knitted scarf around Gu Qing’s neck—one her mother had knitted before, very warm.
Lu Qianqian’s steps were still bouncy, looking full of energy, much more vibrant than that girl who used to busk at Huitian Plaza with eyes that always seemed misty. After arriving at the supermarket, Gu Qing pushed the shopping cart while she selected ingredients. They also bought some snacks like potato chips, jelly, chicken wings, and chicken feet, and finally picked out several cans of fruit-flavored cocktails to save for tomorrow night’s New Year countdown.
After getting home, Gu Qing cooked while Lu Qianqian obediently leaned against the sofa, opening a bag of chips.
After eating their fill and washing the dishes, she lay contentedly on the sofa as if she couldn’t muster any more energy. Gu Qing went to shower first. When he came out, Lu Qianqian’s body was curled up on the sofa, soft like a little kitten that didn’t want to move. She wore blue jeans with white socks with lace trim around her ankles, looking very warm.
Then Lu Qianqian went to shower. Gu Qing discovered that girls take forever to shower. When she came out, Gu Qing heard her saying, “From now on, don’t throw your underwear in the washing machine after showering. Just leave it there, and I’ll wash it together for you.”
Gu Qing scratched his head, looking at her slightly flushed cheeks. “Is that necessary?”
“Mom said to wash them separately for better hygiene. I can just scrub them together anyway.” Lu Qianqian’s voice trembled slightly, as if wanting to quickly skip past this topic. Gu Qing thought about it: “Then I’ll do it myself from now on.”
“I can just do it while I’m at it… it’s fine…”
“But your face looks really red.”
“Where am I red? I just finished showering… it’s hot…” Lu Qianqian’s eyes darted away as she came to sit beside Gu Qing. Her body curled up on the sofa, using a towel to carefully wipe the water droplets from her pale little feet before finally putting them on the sofa. She hugged her knees like this, eyes looking toward the TV, her body shrunk into a small ball.
Gu Qing inadvertently turned back and noticed her cheeks were still rosy. Feeling playful, he reached out and gently poked her cheek. Lu Qianqian turned her head somewhat stiffly, and heard him say, “Still so red.”
Lu Qianqian bit her lip, both shy and aggrieved, as if her eyes were about to mist over. Her cheeks puffed up slightly as she stared at him like an indignant pufferfish, while Gu Qing laughed even more happily.
“Want to go set off fireworks tomorrow night?” he suddenly changed the topic, looking sneaky.
“But… aren’t fireworks banned now? There’s nowhere to buy them…”
“There are more solutions than problems. Hey, I’ve been wandering for years—the people I’m most connected with are these black market dealers. He said business is bad this year, stocked too much and can’t sell it all. Tomorrow he’s giving me a box and letting me pick it up myself.”
“Eh?!” Lu Qianqian’s eyes lit up.
“We’ll go to the lakeside to set them off. Absolutely safe—lots of people will be there. If they were going to arrest people, they couldn’t possibly arrest everyone, right?” Gu Qing grinned. “Want to go?”
Lu Qianqian nodded vigorously, but her expression became as sneaky as his, full of mischief.
“It’s been so long since I’ve set off fireworks. Nice to have some excitement for once.” Gu Qing said softly.
Lu Qianqian suddenly had even more to look forward to. Her eyes were bright and sparkling at this moment, as if fireworks were already flashing in them.