From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

Su Qing sat on the stone table in the courtyard with a lunchbox in her hand, deliberately opening the lid slowly.

The heat rose up immediately, and the aroma drifted up to the rooftop on the wind.

She deliberately picked up a piece of meat, tilted her head back, and waved it at me.

"This braised pork smells so good, you really don't want some?"

I stood on the edge of the rooftop, my hand gripping the low concrete railing, staring at her smug face, and felt a surge of anger.

"Su Qing, you left me stranded on the rooftop while you went out to eat, and then you deliberately made me hungry when you came back. Are you even human?"

She giggled, put down her chopsticks, rested her hands on her knees, and looked up at me.

"Then call me 'sister,' and I'll bring the ladder back to you."

"You're dreaming."

"Then you can stay here. The view up there is so nice, you can enjoy the river view more."

As she spoke, she picked up another mouthful of rice and said leisurely, "Anyway, I'm not in a hurry."

I took a deep breath, suppressing the helplessness in my heart.

This isn't the first time this girl has tricked me. Last time, she hid my phone by the river and made me make a wasted trip.

This time it was even worse; they completely blocked my way downstairs.

But I know her too well; the more I argue with her, the more enthusiastic she becomes.

The key point is, I had no idea why she was acting so crazy and arguing with me.

I shook my head and gave a wry smile, saying to her, "Okay, sis! Is this okay?"

She put down her chopsticks, looked up at me, and pretended not to hear me: "What? I didn't hear you."

"Sis!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Su Qing stood up, satisfied, and moved the wooden ladder that was leaning against the courtyard wall to the edge of the roof.

While carrying the load, he muttered, "That's not right. Why not just talk it out nicely? Why argue with me? What's the point?"

I climbed down the ladder, and Su Qing, probably noticing that my expression wasn't quite right, quickly handed me the untouched lunchbox from the stone table:

"Here, I bought this for you. Eat it while it's hot. I wrapped it in two layers of a bag so it wouldn't get cold."

I glanced down at the lunchbox; there were indeed two portions.

I paused for a moment, didn't say anything, pulled over a stone bench, sat down, untied the bag, broke open the disposable chopsticks, and started eating.

After taking two big mouthfuls of rice, the emptiness in my stomach slowly subsided.

Su Qing sat back down opposite me, propped her chin up, and watched me eat without saying a word.

I finished the last bite of my food, put down the lunchbox, leaned back in my chair, let out a long sigh, and looked up at her:

"Why did you trap me on the rooftop? What did I do to offend you?"

She pouted, "You went to the antique market without inviting me, and what did you promise me? Have you forgotten?"

"What did I promise you?" I looked at her blankly.

"What did I tell you yesterday? I told you not to act rashly, why didn't you listen to me?"

I was taken aback, and after thinking about it carefully, I realized that I had indeed said that.

"Just because of that?" I was a little dumbfounded.

"What else did you think?" she snorted. "You're all talk and no action. If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll definitely run away again next time."

I opened my mouth, wanting to say something in my defense, but then I thought better of it; she was probably just trying to help me.

But as I remained silent, she suddenly said, "Do you think I can't help you?"

"I didn't mean that."

"Then why didn't you call me?"

I was silent for a moment, then took out the cigarette pack and pulled out a cigarette.

Then he remembered that he was still eating, so he put the cigarette back in his hand.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "I just feel that I owe you something about the bracelet, so it's only right that I go and do the legwork to find clues. You've been running around with me, getting tired and sunburnt, and I feel bad about it."

Su Qing looked at me but didn't reply immediately.

A breeze blew in from outside the courtyard, causing the stray hairs on her forehead to flutter.

After a few seconds, she said, "Next time you go investigating clues, could you take me with you?"

"I'm not going with you for fun, I genuinely want to help. I've worn that bracelet since I was little, I remember it perfectly. If you find a similar fake, I'll be able to tell the difference at a glance. If you go alone, what if you get fooled by someone offering a fake?"

Looking at her, I suddenly realized that what she said made sense.

It is indeed very difficult for me to distinguish between genuine and high-quality fakes based on just one photo.

I didn't say anything more, just nodded: "Okay. I'll call you next time."

A smile returned to Su Qing's face as she picked up her lunchbox and stood up: "That's more like it."

I didn't say anything more. I ate my meal while watching the sunlight spill onto the river, casting a layer of orange-red light. It was absolutely beautiful.

Su Qing also gazed at the river view for a while before asking, "Is your luggage still at the hotel?"

"Um."

"Then let's go get it, before it gets dark."

I snapped out of my daze and nodded: "Okay, I'll ride my bike to get it later."

"I'll go with you." She said, pushing my electric scooter. "Stop dawdling, hurry up, we still have to tidy up the house when we get back."

Watching her push the cart from behind, I didn't refuse anymore and followed her.

I rode my electric scooter to the hotel and packed my luggage into two woven bags.

Su Qing was waiting downstairs. When she saw me carrying two large bags, she came over and took one of them for me, hanging it on the footrest of my electric scooter.

On the way back, the sun had already set most of the way down, and a thin layer of twilight remained on the horizon. The wind was cool and refreshing.

"Hey," Su Qing suddenly asked, "Do you think Fang Heng knows we've rented this courtyard?"

"It can't be that fast! But... it's hard to say. He has people watching me, but I found this courtyard house on a whim, so even if he knew, it wouldn't be this quick."

"That's good," she said in a lower voice, "If he finds out, he'll just find another way to cause trouble."

I didn't reply, but I knew in my heart that Fang Heng would find out sooner or later.

We've just settled down, so we'll cherish every day we can have some peace and quiet.

When I got back to the courtyard, it was completely dark.

I carried my luggage into the empty room on the left side of the first floor. The room contained only a bed and a wardrobe with peeling paint, with a straw mat on the bed frame.

Su Qing leaned against the door and asked me, "Do you live on the first floor or the second floor?"

"Let's go to the first floor, it'll be more convenient."

"Then I'll stay on the second floor," she said. "The view from the second floor is better; I can see the river as soon as I open the window in the morning."

"Whatever you want." I squatted down and untied the ties of the woven bag, stuffing the clothes one by one into the wardrobe.

She didn't leave. She stood at the door for a while and suddenly said, "The landlord said he'll come over the day after tomorrow to bring us some vegetables that his wife grew."

I glanced back at her: "Did he come to check up on us?"

"Right, but he said he'd bring groceries," Su Qing tilted her head, "He probably just wanted to check if we were really living together."

I paused for two seconds, then stood up and closed the wardrobe door: "Then you'd better behave yourself the day after tomorrow."

"I've always behaved very well," she said matter-of-factly. "But you, don't put on that long face every time you see the landlord, like someone owes you money."

"I wasn't wearing a stern face."

The way you talk to strangers...

She imitated me, lowering her eyebrows and straightening the corners of her mouth, and said, mimicking my mannerisms:

"That expression of his is just like Fang Heng's deadpan face."

I burst out laughing at her appearance, and waved my hand, saying, "Okay, okay, I'll laugh like Maitreya Buddha the day after tomorrow, alright?"

Su Qing smiled with satisfaction and turned to walk upstairs.

He took a couple of steps and then turned back: "By the way, I want noodles for breakfast tomorrow. Should I cook them or will you cook them?"

"You cook."

"I won't."

"If you don't know, why are you asking me?"

"What I mean is, you cook, and I'll learn."

I shook my head helplessly and said, "Okay, I'll teach you tomorrow morning."

She then went upstairs completely, the wooden stairs creaking under her feet.

A little while later, I heard her rummaging through things upstairs; she was probably tidying up her room.

I stood in my room on the first floor, folding the last few pieces of clothing and putting them in the closet.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and saw that it was a message from Dao Ge.