Huayu: Starting with binding the front desk

The next morning.

After finishing the last bite of her breakfast, Tian Xiwei put her chopsticks down on the table and said, "Mom, I won't be coming home for dinner tonight."

"Aren't you coming home for dinner? You silly girl, where are you going to run off to again?" Tian's mother looked up at her.

"Let's go to Anding Ancient Town to see the iron flower performance."

"Who gave you permission to run around alone? Didn't I tell you not to go out alone?"

"I wasn't alone; I was with Wang Zhe the whole way," Tian Xiwei said confidently.

"Who is Wang Zhe?" Mother Tian frowned.

"Aunt Li's grandson."

Mother Tian suddenly realized, gesturing with her chopsticks in the air: "Oh...you mean that kid who used to follow you around all the time, the one with the runny nose?"

"Mom..." Tian Xiwei drawled out the last syllable, both annoyed and amused, "I'm all grown up now, I'm sensible, I haven't had a runny nose for a long time."

Tian Xiwei went upstairs and arrived at Wang Zhe's maternal grandmother's house.

"Aunt Li, where is Wang Zhe?"

Grandma gestured towards the study with her lip: "Still dozing off in bed."

"Then I'll sit down and wait for him for a bit," Tian Xiwei said, sitting down on the sofa.

"It's alright, just go in and call him 'Dou'."

"Oh dear, I'm afraid that's not quite right," she said, but her eyes glanced towards the study.

Grandma smiled and looked her up and down. "What's wrong with that? You've grown into a young lady, and now you're shy?"

Tian Xiwei blushed slightly at what was said, and decided to stop being coy and get up to confidently push open the door to the study.

Wang Zhe's maternal grandmother's house is a two-bedroom apartment. His grandmother lives in one room, and Wang Zhe's parents occupy the other room.

With nowhere to sleep, Wang Zhe could only set up a small bed in the study as a makeshift shelter.

Grandma watched Tian Xiwei's retreating figure as she went inside. As soon as the door closed, she turned around with a smile and looked at her daughter.

"How peaceful! The two kids are childhood sweethearts, inseparable."

  

Xu Ying paused for a moment, then lowered her voice: "Mom, you're not trying to set these two up, are you?"

"Why not?"

Grandma smiled and said, "I know Xiaotian very well, and I really like her."

"Mom, but Xiao Zhe is still young."

Grandma waved her hand dismissively, "What's the big deal? I gave birth to you when I was nineteen, didn't I?"

"How can these be the same!" Xu Ying said, both amused and exasperated.

"Don't worry, just let the two kids develop a relationship slowly." Grandma glanced at the study again.

……

Tian Xi pushed open the door and entered the study.

Wang Zhe was still fast asleep, completely unaware that there was another person in the room.

She tiptoed to the bedside, looked at his tightly closed eyes for a while, and for some reason, squatted down and leaned over the bed to examine him closely.

Wang Zhe was breathing steadily and sleeping soundly.

Tian Xi stared at him for a long time, but found it boring, so she reached out and poked his face with her finger.

Wang Zhe grunted, turned over, and continued sleeping facing the wall.

Tian Xi pursed her lips slightly, thought for a moment, and decided that there was no rush anyway—the iron flower performance only took place in the evening, and it would be fine to leave in the afternoon.

She didn't call him again, but stood up and looked around the small study.

His gaze swept across the desk and landed on Wang Zhe's phone.

She picked it up and looked at it; the crack on the screen was particularly noticeable.

She paused for a moment—could it be from when she bumped into him downstairs yesterday?

Why didn't you say a word?

There were a few pieces of paper under the phone, which she casually pulled out.

It is a musical score.

The song is called "Weiwei".

"The faint morning light illuminates this noisy world..."

She read down line by line.

"...Weiwei is small, yet she never tires. Weiwei is us..."

Tian Xiwei tightened her grip on the paper slightly. Did Wang Zhe write this last night?

Is "Weiwei" written for myself?

As she thought about it, she unconsciously hummed a tune.

Although the tune was a bit off-key, she was completely unaware of it.

It would have been better if she hadn't made a sound.

This snort really startled Wang Zhe.

He was dreaming when, in his hazy state, a woman's voice suddenly drifted into his ears, ethereal and like some kind of eerie background music.

Wang Zhe sat up abruptly, nearly hitting his head on the bookshelf next to him.

Tian Xiwei was startled by his sudden action and took a half step back, clutching her chest: "You're awake? Why are you reacting so strongly? You scared me."

Wang Zhe was still in shock. After recognizing Tian Xiwei, he was even more speechless: "Wait... Big sister, what are you doing in my room?"

"What did you call me?" Tian Xiwei's expression instantly turned from sunny to cloudy. The emotion she felt just now about "him writing a song for me" vanished completely, and now she just wanted to punch him a couple of times.

Wang Zhe caught a glimpse of her clenched fist, and his survival instinct kicked in instantly. He quickly corrected himself, "You misheard me, I called you 'good sister'."

Do you think I'm deaf?

Without saying a word, Tian Xiwei punched him on the head, and feeling that it wasn't enough, she punched him again.

Wang Zhe was stunned for a moment.

A familiar feeling suddenly flooded my brain, and the previously blurry memories became clear in an instant.

If I remember correctly, Tian Xiwei used to beat him up like this when they were kids.

After beating him, he ran home crying to find his mother.

Seeing his head tilted and his bewildered expression, Tian Xiwei clearly recalled the same scene: the little brat who had been beaten to tears by her years ago, his face covered in tears and snot, who turned around and ran home.

She chuckled, "Alright, I didn't use any force, it doesn't hurt at all."

"It's not your head, of course it doesn't hurt," Wang Zhe said, rubbing his head.

Tian Xiwei sat down on the chair next to her, crossed her legs, and raised her chin: "Now that you're awake, get up quickly."

Wang Zhe remained wrapped in the blanket, not moving, just watching her.

"What? Still shy?"

Tian Xiwei waved her hand dismissively, "It's not like I'm sleeping naked."

Helpless, Wang Zhe lifted the blanket and began to put on his outer clothes.

"Did you write this song?" Tian Xiwei waved the few sheets of paper in her hand.

Wang Zhe nodded.

"Speak, are you mute?"

"Yes, I wrote it last night," Wang Zhe quickly replied, afraid that the violent girl would kick him again.

"Written for me?" Tian Xi's eyes lit up.

"No, I was just writing this for fun."

"That's a lie."

Tian Xiwei turned the sheet music over to face him, poking her finger at the song title, "The song is called 'Weiwei,' and you still say it isn't?"

Wang Zhe lowered his head to tie his shoelaces and mumbled, "Sister, think whatever you want."

Tian Xiwei couldn't help but smile, secretly pleased with herself. What a stubborn little brother.

"Then sing it for me once."

"There's no accompaniment, and no guitar either," Wang Zhe said, shrugging.

"Sing it a cappella." Tian Xiwei slammed the sheet music on the table, leaned back in her chair, and adopted an attitude of listening attentively, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

Wang Zhe snatched the sheet music from Tian Xiwei's hand and raised his chin: "Then listen carefully, what the hell was that you just sang?"

"Stop talking nonsense and start singing." Without saying another word, Tian Xiwei slapped him again.

"No... you hit me again? What was it this time?" Wang Zhe covered his arm, looking wronged.

"You're my brother, I'm your sister, so what if I hit you?" Tian Xiwei said confidently, without even blinking.

Wang Zhe's lips twitched, and he gave a dry laugh: "Fine... are you going to listen or not?"

"Listen, sing it now."

Wang Zhe pursed his lips, glanced down at the sheet music, and cleared his throat.

The study fell silent.

There was no accompaniment, no guitar; the boy's voice rang out cleanly and simply.

"The faint morning light illuminates this noisy world..."

Seeing that the two children hadn't made a sound in the study for a long time, Xu Ying became suspicious. She tiptoed to the door and quietly pushed it open a crack.

As soon as the door opened, Wang Zhe's singing voice floated out.

She listened for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief—it turned out they were just singing, not doing anything they shouldn't have.

But... these lyrics, "slightly"?

She stood there for two seconds, pondering.

If I remember correctly, this girl's full name is Tian Xiwei, right?

This kid, he's just writing a song, why did he put someone else's name on it?