Fei Cheng huddled in his room with the electric fan blowing, ignoring everyone. On the bed, the notification light of the flip phone blinked incessantly.
He sat at his desk, twirling a pen in one hand and resting his chin on the other, watching the setting sun outside the window.
It was always this double standard. He truly couldn't understand it—wasn't he doing well now?
His grades weren't bad, and he wasn't causing trouble. Why wouldn't their attitude change along with his own transformation?
*Buzz— Buzz— Buzz—*
The phone under the pillow suddenly vibrated. Fei Cheng put down his pen, walked over, and picked it up. "Huh?"
"Brother Cheng?"
Cheng Yifei immediately asked, "Are you feeling unwell? Were you asleep, or did something happen?"
Fei Cheng was bewildered. "I’m not sick, and I wasn't sleeping. What’s wrong, Brother Cheng?"
Cheng Yifei: "…You didn't reply to my messages for three hours."
Fei Cheng froze. Since he was on a call, he couldn't check what Cheng Yifei had sent.
He sat on the edge of the bed and answered honestly, "I hid the phone under the covers and was just spacing out at my desk. I didn't notice."
Cheng Yifei: "..."
"You're in a bad mood."
Fei Cheng didn't ask how he knew. He flopped back onto the bed and said, "Yeah. My mom wants me to take a temp job, probably packing on a production line. In a moment of impulse, I told her I wasn't going and that whoever wanted to go could go. She started ranting about how I only know how to spend money and not how to earn it. Then my grandparents got into an argument with her, and it ended badly."
"I was just thinking... how much does she actually hate me? It makes me feel terrible when Grandpa and Grandma argue with them. They don't actually want to fight with my mom, but it happens every time because of me. It’s not right."
Cheng Yifei listened intently, feeling a tightness in his chest. As he suspected, Fei Cheng wouldn't have suddenly thought about working without some kind of trigger.
He frowned and scratched his forehead, feeling a surge of irritation. What money did Fei Cheng even spend? Just basic living expenses and a few hundred yuan for tuition; his book fees were pitifully low!
Cheng Yifei stood by the railing of his rooftop, his expression conflicted. He faced the sunset, his shadow stretching behind him, his entire figure bathed in a golden glow. The phone was becoming hot from the sun. He turned to look at his shadow, having so much he wanted to say but not daring to speak.
Fei Cheng found the silence on the other end strange. "Brother Cheng? Hello? Are you still there?"
"I'm here." Cheng Yifei’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He said somewhat dejectedly, "You could work on those Math Olympiad problems I gave you. That way, you won't have time to think about anything else." And he wouldn't be upset.
Fei Cheng: "...Oh!"
As the sun dipped lower, Fei Cheng sat at his desk seriously solving Math Olympiad problems. After finishing a page, he stretched in his chair. Hearing the iron gate open, he stood up and leaned out the window. He saw his grandparents returning home against the backdrop of the sunset, their faces beaming with joy. They were whispering to each other as they walked, and his grandmother was cradling an orange-yellow eco-friendly bag in her arms as if it were a precious treasure.
Fei Cheng watched them enter the house before pulling back and sitting down again. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. It seemed his grandparents weren't brooding over the incident at noon. That was good.
He put down his black pen and prepared to go downstairs. If he didn't show his face, they would probably think he was still angry.
Just as he opened the door, he saw his grandparents coming up the stairs. When they saw him, their smiles grew even more eager, as if they had something very important to share.
Grandmother Fei walked over with a spring in her step, using one hand to gently push Fei Cheng back into his room. Fei Cheng complied, and Grandfather Fei followed them in, closing the door. After a moment of thought, the old man opened the door again.
Fei Cheng looked confused as he helped the two elders sit on the edge of the bed. "Grandpa, Grandma, what are you doing?"
Grandmother Fei’s smile was kind, her bright eyes crinkling into slits. She opened the eco-bag and took out a rectangular box, opening it with great care. "Chengcheng, look. Do you like it? The shopkeeper said this is the most... right, the most popular phone right now. A slider! It can make calls, send texts, and even take pictures. Quick, take a look. Your grandpa and I watched him press a bunch of buttons and it seemed very impressive. You try it out; if it’s no good, we’ll go back and exchange it."
Fei Cheng stared at the new phone, stunned. The earnest gaze of the elderly couple was too intense; what they wanted was not a refusal, but acceptance. It took him a long while to find his voice. He nodded, his throat slightly raspy. "Thank you, Grandma. I really like this phone."
"As long as you like it, as long as you like it. The shopkeeper even gave us a SIM card with three hundred yuan of credit pre-loaded. He threw in an extra battery, too, and there’s a charger and headphones—everything! Chengcheng, don't be mad at your mother. She has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. We won't go to any summer job, okay? If you need anything, just tell Grandma. Grandma has money," Grandmother Fei said, pressing the phone box into Fei Cheng's hands.
Grandfather Fei sat nearby with his hands on his knees. "Your grandma doesn't have money; I’m the one with the money. Just focus on school and don't worry about anything else. But don't blame your mom. She just has a bit of a temper, but she loves you dearly in her heart; she just doesn't say it out loud."
Whether that love was real or fake, Fei Cheng could feel it for himself.
He stroked the slider phone, suppressing the stinging in his nose. "Grandpa, I’m afraid if I have a phone, I’ll play with it and won't want to study. Maybe we should wait until I go to university to buy one. Let's return it."
Grandfather Fei glared. "Other people's kids all have phones. Why should my grandson have to wait until university?!"
Fei Cheng’s throat tightened.
Grandmother Fei nodded in agreement, leaning in to whisper in Fei Cheng’s ear, "Chengcheng, don't worry about the money. Grandma has tens of thousands saved up; it’s all set aside for you and your brother." She stroked Fei Cheng’s head affectionately. "Even if you're afraid it’ll distract you from your studies, isn't it still summer break? Summer is for playing. You can worry about studying after school starts. Be a good boy."
Grandfather and Grandmother Fei each patted Fei Cheng’s head and told him to figure out how to use it before heading downstairs together.
Fei Cheng sat alone on the edge of the bed, his thumb slowly brushing over the sliding screen. After a moment, he curled his index finger to wipe the corner of his reddened eyes and took a deep breath. He took the flip phone Cheng Yifei had lent him, snapped a photo of the new phone, and sent it to Cheng Yifei.
Fei Cheng: "Look, Brother Cheng! My grandparents bought me a new phone!"
XH14: "[Surprised] The latest slider model. It’s quite expensive. Your grandparents are truly generous."
Fei Cheng: "They are!"
XH14: "[Pat on the head] [Pat on the head] [Pat on the head]"
XH14: "Be happy."
Fei Cheng: "I am very happy!"
Less than five seconds after the message was sent, Cheng Yifei’s call came through. As soon as it connected, a light chuckle reached his ears. "Are you really happy now?" Cheng Yifei asked.
Fei Cheng was startled for a moment, then laughed as well. "With two elders valuing me so much, how could I dare not be happy!"
Cheng Yifei hummed in response. After a moment of silence, he said, "How about you come to Zhoucheng with me tomorrow? My parents are very busy with business and travel often. It’s just me and my brother at home, and he has a lot of plans to go out. Your coming wouldn't affect anything."
Fei Cheng leaned against his pillow. "I can't. My parents are in Zhoucheng too. If I go, they’ll definitely make me stay with them. I don't want to live with them."
Cheng Yifei: "..." That was true.
Fei Cheng didn't hear a reply and gave a few "hellos." "Don't worry, Brother Cheng. Even if I wanted to get a summer job, Grandpa and Grandma might not let me. I’ll just stay home, read, do some problems, and watch TV. Oh, right—Da Hei found a 'partner' outside. Grandma said she’ll probably have puppies around the end of the month or mid-July."
Cheng Yifei laughed. "Da Hei is the most majestic dog in your village; he’s never lost a fight. Who would have the guts to make a move on him?"
Fei Cheng: "I don't know. He must have been in heat and forced himself on some poor innocent male dog!"
The two chatted about Da Hei for five minutes until someone on the other end called for Cheng Yifei, ending the call.
Fei Cheng hung up and scratched his cheek. It felt like the conversation ended a bit... prematurely.
He picked up the slider phone to familiarize himself with its functions when he suddenly heard a knock on the door. He looked up, tucked Cheng Yifei’s flip phone into a drawer, and said, "Come in."
Fei Qi turned the handle and entered. His gaze lingered on Fei Cheng’s new phone for a second or two before shifting away. He pulled a chair over and sat next to Fei Cheng. "I’ve already spoken to Mom. She won't ask you to work a summer job anymore. If you want to go somewhere to play, you can tell Dad. He won't object."
Fei Cheng looked up at Fei Qi’s reassuring expression and felt a sense of irony. He shrugged. "Let her do whatever she wants. I’m not going anyway. Even if I were to work, I wouldn't do it at her place."
Fei Qi disapproved of his attitude and said with a stern face, "Don't always talk back to Mom. Use a better tone and be more obedient. Mom isn't an unreasonable person!"
Fei Cheng scoffed and put down the phone. "So-called 'obedience' means submissively going to work that summer job, right? She’s reasonable with all of you, but never with me. I don't want to talk about this with you. If you have nothing else, get out. Don't annoy me."
"Just how long are you going to keep this up with Mom?" Fei Qi was starting to get angry because Fei Cheng was being completely stubborn. "The past is in the past. I’m your brother! Do you have to treat me with this kind of attitude?"
"What attitude? I’m not allowed to say I don't like a topic? So what if you're my brother? Am I supposed to worship you like a deity? Do you think time is a universal cure? Just because time has passed, does it mean what happened to me before never happened? Fei Qi, I will never forget the way you just gave a cold glance and walked past as if nothing was happening while I was being bullied!"
Fei Qi’s brow furrowed tightly.
Fei Cheng looked up at him. "It’s not like Mom’s dislike of me is a new thing. Instead of telling me to go coax her, why don't you tell me the reason she hates me so much? I’m not any worse than you now, am I? So how does she treat me?"
Fei Qi said with a headache, "Mom didn't mean it..."
Fei Cheng gave an "oh," his face clearly showing he didn't want to continue the conversation.
Fei Qi stood up and asked him, "If your dream was ruined by someone..."
Fei Cheng didn't like talking in circles and asked bluntly, "What dream of hers did I ruin?"
Fei Qi didn't continue. He left with a complex expression. Fei Cheng watched his back, pursing his lips and frowning. What kind of dream would make a woman dislike her own biological son so much? He didn't know, and he wasn't the one who made the choices back then, so he wouldn't accept her anger.
Fei Cheng didn't go digging into the matter, and the summer break passed quickly.
In mid-August, Cheng Yifei returned from Zhoucheng. The three of them went to the county seat to scout the area and familiarize themselves with the streets and alleys. Once September arrived, they set off together without their parents' company and easily handled the school registration procedures.
The September temperature in Yu County reached as high as 35 degrees Celsius. The sun was like fire, leaving everyone wilted and listless.
Fei Cheng and Cheng Yifei were not assigned to the same class, but Yu Qing and Cheng Yifei were classmates once again. Fei Cheng was in the class right next to theirs; being neighbors made them close enough.
***
