NOVPUBAfter dinner, apparently to help Xia Xiaoxiao reclaim her lost childhood, Xia Guofu drove to the town and bought a car trunk full of fireworks and firecrackers to bring back.
When he carried two large boxes of fireworks to the entrance of the courtyard, whether Xia Xiaoxiao had reclaimed her childhood was unclear to Xu Qingfan, but a group of children who had just been severely criticized was visibly excited.
Xia Guofu would intentionally or unintentionally steal glances at the young girl, but Xia Xiaoxiao sat on the bluestone bench at the entrance all along, playing with her phone and not bothering to look at him or the firecrackers.
It wasn’t long before Liang Siyu finally finished cleaning the kitchen and came out from the living room. Seeing her not busy seemed to relieve Xia Xiaoxiao.
"Mommy, take me to set off the fireworks. Daddy bought so many fireworks!" Xia Tian let go of his grandpa’s thigh he had been hugging and ran to Liang Siyu instead.
"Let daddy take you. Mommy doesn’t know how to do it," the woman said with a smile, wiping away the snot that Xia Tian had flung.
"Daddy always sneaks peeks at sis..." The child cast a stealthy glance at Xia Xiaoxiao, perhaps too shy to call her ’sister’ outright.
Xia Xiaoxiao looked up at the two of them, and at that moment Liang Siyu also looked towards Xia Xiaoxiao. As their gazes met, the young girl pretended as if nothing was happening and continued to lower her head to play with her phone.
Caught out by his own son, Xia Guofu’s face showed slight embarrassment. He picked up a bundle of fireworks from the cardboard box, "Come here, Daddy will teach you how to set off fireworks!"
"Yay!" Xia Tian ran up excitedly.
Xia Guofu stole another glance at Xia Xiaoxiao, hoping to see her reaction, but the girl kept her head down, engrossed in her phone the whole time.
He silently sighed in his heart and then adjusted his mood to happily light the fireworks in his hand.
Setting off fireworks during the day had its own unique joy. Through the formations of smoke, one could observe the trajectories of the fireworks, and as they burst at the highest point, the dispersing smoke resembled ink splashes on a blank canvas.
Of course, regardless of everything, nothing compared to hearing, "Dad, you’re amazing! I want to see more!"
Xia Xiaoxiao, at some point, had stopped browsing on her phone and sat quietly, staring into the sky, lost in thought.
"Mom, I learned how to set off fireworks, I’ll teach you!" It wasn’t long before Xia Tian ran to the spot where Liang Siyu was sitting, insisting on pulling her up to set off fireworks.
Xia Tian actually wanted to include Xia Xiaoxiao in the fun as well but felt shy around the pretty older sister. He only managed to steal glances at her now and then, not daring to actually approach.
As for Xu Qingfan, he certainly wouldn’t be shy; he began to play wildly with a bunch of little kids right away.
Their various innovative ways of playing drew shouts and cheers from the kids, completely forgetting they had just been betrayed by him.
For example, they’d dig a hole in a bamboo stick, stuff a lit firecracker inside, and the bamboo would burst into countless pieces—a literal interpretation of "firecracker."
There was also an advanced version where they’d stuff firecrackers into drink bottles arranged in rows; once lit, these would shoot flames like fireworks on the spot.
Xu Qingfan was having a blast, and so were the little kids; presumably, Xia Guofu and his family of three were happy as well.
Only Xia Xiaoxiao sat alone, sullenly, having come to terms with many things, but the more she understood, the more bewildering it all became.
Was marriage just about, like that woman, spending a lifetime cooking, raising children, and honoring in-laws?
Her own mother couldn’t do it, so she divorced that man.
She suddenly began to grasp the meaning behind Xu Qingfan’s words that there are downsides to marriage as well as to staying single.
[But Aunt Yao and Uncle Xu...]
Xia Xiaoxiao sought a counter-example, yet immediately recalled that Aunt Yao seemed to have fallen out with her in-laws. It had been many years since she had visited them.
She wasn’t very sure about Lin Wanning’s family, but she knew that in Xiao Ruawen and Wu Lingyu’s households, it appeared to be the same.
[And Yiyi’s mom, did she divorce for similar reasons?]
The more Xia Xiaoxiao thought, the more pessimistic she became about marriage.
[Aunt Yao definitely isn’t like that!]
[But Aunt seems to really like Yu...]
[Yu is especially diligent, always eager to help Aunt with the housework. Whenever groceries are bought and meals are cooked, she’s there assisting, and Aunt really favors her.]
Xia Xiaoxiao seemed to trap herself in extremes, her mind racing with thoughts until she found herself quietly staring at Xu Qingfan setting off firecrackers.
Even though her relationship with Xu Qingfan hadn’t even started, it didn’t stop the girl from daydreaming. She fantasized about a life married to Xu Qingfan.
Waking up at six in the morning to prepare breakfast for the whole family, then buying groceries, doing chores, cooking lunch, and later sitting on a small stool in the kitchen to eat and wash dishes after lunch...
But after only a short while of fantasizing, Xia Xiaoxiao shook her head. She didn’t want such a life, not even with Xu Qingfan.
As these thoughts crossed her mind, the images of Wu Lingyu and Lin Wanning surfaced unbidden. Perhaps they would be willing, though she couldn’t be certain...
"I’d rather marry a stinky dog than him!"
It’s not that Xu Qingfan wouldn’t marry her, but Xia Xiaoxiao just couldn’t remember a single time when he didn’t cook for her whenever they went to school together. That just goes to show how illogical a woman’s fantasies can be.
This is also why, when couples argue, even though they may have made up, hugged, kissed, and lifted each other sky high the night before, the next morning she may find out that she’s been blocked on WeChat and her phone by his girlfriend. That’s the real reason.
The lesson Xia Xiaoxiao learned from Xia Guofu was that men are unreliable, feelings are unreliable, and skyscrapers rise from the ground—you can only rely on yourself!
"But what if I really like him..."
Just as the young girl was nurturing a daring thought at the bottom of her heart, her hand was suddenly grabbed by Xu Qingfan.
"What are you doing!" Xia Xiaoxiao was startled and looked at him in astonishment.
"What do you mean, what am I doing? We’re going to catch fish, lead the way to the reservoir!"
"How childish." Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him and put her phone back in her bag.
Perhaps Xu Qingfan had spoken to the kids beforehand, because as they walked hand in hand, getting farther away, no one came after them.
Xia Xiaoxiao looked back at the direction of the courtyard, where Xia Guofu, that woman, and her stepbrother were still setting off fireworks. After all, they were the real family.
She turned her head back and grasped Xu Qingfan’s hand tighter, "I’ll take you to a place, somewhere my mom and I found when I was little!"
"Hey, hey, slow down a bit."
"Hmph, you always used to pull me along like this!"
After the two had passed through a section of woodland, it didn’t take long before they arrived on a deserted, seldom-trod railway track.
Xia Xiaoxiao contentedly sat on the rails, hands resting on her knees, gazing into the distance.
Xu Qingfan looked around and, not finding any trace of beef jerky, also sat down.
He took out two fireworks from the snake-skin bag he’d brought, one for himself and one for Xia Xiaoxiao.
"Here, you’ve been sulking all day. Enjoy setting off a firework."
"Tch, I was just thinking!"
Xu Qingfan didn’t bother with her response and lit his firework with a lighter before passing the lighter to her.
Not long after, Xia Xiaoxiao lit her firework too.
They sat like fools on the ground, setting off fireworks at a thirty-degree angle. The burst of light exploded not far off in the grass, bringing up a puff of black smoke.
They set off one after another, and before they knew it, the ground was littered with discarded paper sticks.
Winter evenings come quickly, and by a little past four o’clock, the sky had already turned from blue to yellow. Unseen insects chirped from dark corners, creating a tranquil and far-reaching atmosphere.
This time, when Xia Xiaoxiao looked at Xu Qingfan, she realized she might have been overthinking things earlier. The stinky dog definitely wasn’t that kind of person, just like Uncle Xu wasn’t that kind of person either.
"Thank you," Xia Xiaoxiao suddenly turned to look at him and said.
Xu Qingfan: ???
"Are you sick?" He reached out to touch the girl’s forehead.
"Damn it, why don’t you just go and die!"
"Hahaha~that’s more like it, you really scared me for a moment there!"
"Get lost!"
After picking up the trash from the ground, the two got up to return. Villages always start cooking early, and from a distance, they could already see smoke coming from the chimney of Xia Guofu’s house.
When they reached the crossroads, Xu Qingfan suddenly stopped, as Xia Xiaoxiao was walking in the wrong direction.
"Are you an idiot? You’re going the wrong way!" he called out, standing still.
The girl turned around and said to him, "Going home, to our home."
After saying that, she walked on without him, humming a tune and moving with a spring in her step as if she were in a very good mood.
"How rude," Xu Qingfan shook his head helplessly and chased after her.
