Mud beads

After Liang Dong arrived, the night shift at Nong Ning Tea felt like they'd been pulled out of the water and were finally able to catch their breath.

During their busiest times, Yu Zhu and Liang Xia felt like they wanted to split their hands into four. The order processing machine would beep, the front desk would be urging them, the delivery would be urging them, Liang Xia would shake the milk tea until her brain was oxygen-deprived, and Yu Zhu would press the cup lid until her wrist ached so much that she could barely hold a pen at night.

Things are different now.

Liang Dong wasn't talkative, but he was quick-witted and energetic. He memorized the milk tea recipe in two days and mastered all the tasks at the shop in three. When Yu Zhu asked him if he was tired, he came out carrying an ice bucket and said while working, "It's easier than at home."

Upon hearing these words, Yu Zhu's heart softened once more.

Liang Dong didn't think anything of it. He turned off the ice cooler and started slicing lemons again. The small limes twirled nimbly in his hands. After removing the ends, they were cut into uniformly thin slices, which he then neatly arranged in the box using the back of his knife.

Just before closing time that evening, Ji Yong suddenly visited.

He was carrying two large insulated bags, wearing a white vest and work pants that revealed his strong arms, and at first glance, he seemed to have a more impetuous, youthful air than before.

As soon as he entered, the night breeze carried the lively atmosphere of the night market outside, diluting the sweetness of the lemon and syrup mixture in the shop.

"Comrades, you've worked hard!" Ji Yong put the bag on the booth by the window, her voice tinged with laughter. "Here's some late-night snack for the working people."

Liang Xia's eyes lit up. She flipped the bag over from the bar counter and leaned closer to it: "Boss Ji is here to serve the people again?"

"Absolutely," Ji Yong replied readily.

Upon hearing his voice, Yu Zhu couldn't help but think of what happened that night. Feeling embarrassed, she still lifted the curtain and came out to greet him: "Not busy today?"

When Ji Yong saw Yu Zhu, his smile was as bright as ever: "No matter how busy I am, I still have to come see you."

Yu Zhu paused slightly in her hand holding the damp rag, but instead of retreating to the kitchen as before, she simply lowered her head to soak the rag in disinfectant and said calmly, "You bought too much; we can't finish it all."

"Not many, didn't you just fill in some new hires?" Ji Yong raised an eyebrow. "I saw a young man come into your shop this afternoon?"

"Oh, my brother!" Liang Xia suddenly remembered, stopping her hand from disassembling the chopsticks. "I just went to take out the trash. I'll introduce you to him later."

Ji Yong nodded and agreed, then helped unpack the bag.

He had packed some seafood porridge from somewhere; the box was steaming hot when he opened it. He first ladled out a bowl and handed it to Liang Xia, then bent down to ladle one for Yu Zhu.

Yu Zhu reached for the spoon in his hand: "I can do it myself."

Ji Yong raised her hand to avoid it, feigning strength: "No, I won't allow it."

The wind chimes rang at the door, just as Liang Dong returned. He stood at the door, still wearing the apron he used for making lemon tea, the straps tied tightly, accentuating his narrow waist.

"Oh, you're back." Liang Xia put down her bowl, ran to the door, and pushed Liang Dong in front of Ji Yong. "Liang Dong, my brother."

Before Liang Dong could react, she pointed at Ji Yong and said, "This is Ji Yong, the boss of LIMBO next door, your sister Zhuzhu's—uh, good friend."

Liang Dong glanced at Ji Yong in the booth, then at Yu Zhu, without much expression.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Liang Xia pinched his waist. "Silly boy, call me brother."

Liang Dong then spoke up: "Brother Ji Yong."

Ji Yong's smile remained unchanged. She moved her chair back a little, looked up at Liang Dong, and then looked at Liang Xia: "Your brother doesn't look like you."

"Wow, you guys are so annoying." Liang Xia gestured for Liang Dong to sit down and pushed her bowl of porridge towards him. "Everyone who has seen him since I was little says that I inherited my parents' bad looks."

"I think my little brother could be a model." Ji Yong smiled slowly, then looked down and took apart another pair of chopsticks, picked up a shrimp dumpling, blew on it, and put it in Yu Zhu's bowl. "It's a waste of his talent to make milk tea for you."

Yu Zhu stared blankly at the glistening shrimp dumplings in the bowl, then, without looking up, simply said thank you.

"He's just a guy, he can barely even say 'Welcome,' let alone be a model." Liang Xia shook her head, her tone carrying a hint of pride. "But the boss of his gaming guild did ask him if he'd be willing to switch to being a streamer."

Liang Dong frowned, tugged at Liang Xia under the table, and whispered, "Sister."

"It's nothing," Liang Xia said casually. "Boss Ji is one of us."

Ji Yong's gaze fell on Liang Dong's hands. Liang Dong's hands were large, with distinct knuckles, short nails, and thin calluses on his palms.

"A gaming companion guild?" Ji Yong raised an eyebrow. "What kind of jobs did you do before?"

"I'll accept them all," Liang Dong said, "mostly FPS games."

"CS?"

Liang Dong nodded: "I'll play too."

Ji Yong smiled, as if he had just gotten a freebie: "What a coincidence. I happen to have a CS game tonight, B+ rank, four players short one. How about you help us rank up, little brother?"

Yu Zhu listened, then calmly looked up at Liang Dong.

Liang Dong sat at the table, lightly wiping his fingers on his apron. He wanted to say that he still needed to clean the newly rented apartment that night, and that he needed to buy bed sheets the next morning, but before he could finish speaking, Liang Xia interrupted, "Sure, he's free anyway."

Ji Yong readily agreed, saying, "Then I'll have to give my brother a big red envelope."

Liang Xia waved her hand: "Hey, hey, hey, we're all on the same side, don't be so formal."

Ji Yong leaned back, a smirk playing on his lips: "Even close brothers should keep clear accounts; you wouldn't understand."

Liang Xia was taken aback by what he said, then laughed and patted Liang Dong on the back: "Did you hear that? Tonight, you're going to put on a show of demanding an exorbitant amount for Boss Ji."

Liang Dong didn't look at her; his eyelashes drooped, concealing his expression. The porridge in front of him had gone cold, and he hadn't even touched it.

After finishing their late-night snack, Liang Xia told Liang Dong to leave first, but Liang Dong refused, insisting on finishing up the closing work. Ji Yong, not minding the delay, waited outside, smoking and twirling his car keys. Once the shutter door was down, he walked over and naturally put his arm around Liang Dong's shoulder: "Let's go, little brother."

Liang Dong followed him across the street, and before getting into the car, he looked back one last time.

Yu Zhu and Liang Xia were still standing at the entrance of Nong Ning Tea. Liang Xia was looking down, rummaging through her bag, muttering something to herself. Yu Zhu stood under the light, her work clothes changed, her hair tucked behind her ears, her face serene in the shop's lighting.

Liang Dong quickly turned his head back.

The car door closed.

The following afternoon, Liang Xia took a day off.

When Yu Zhu arrived at Nong Ning Tea after class, Liang Dong was the only one in the shop. He was wearing his work uniform and standing in the back area smashing lemons. The pestle fell heavily, juice splashed, and half a lemon seed flew out from the gap in the lid, landing on the dark circles under his eyes, but he seemed not to notice and continued smashing lemons with concentration.

Yu Zhu put her bag in the locker, changed into her work clothes, and walked over to him: "What time did you get back last night?"

Liang Dong stopped, her eyelashes trembled, and she seemed to only then realize that someone was standing next to her. She turned her head and said, "A little after four o'clock."

Yu Zhu stared at the lemon seed under his eyes for a while, then reached out and picked it off.

Liang Dong was stunned.

A delivery driver pushed open the door and called out, "Pick up the food!" Yu Zhu lifted the curtain and went out, seeing the driver off. She then bent down to tidy up the things on the bar counter and asked, "How was yesterday?"

Liang Dong was silent for a moment, then slowly said through the curtain, "They gave us quite a lot."

Yu Zhu put down the rag in her hand without turning around: "Did they... make things difficult for you?"

"No," Liang Dong answered quickly.

Before Yu Zhu could answer, he added, "They want me to go today too."

Yu Zhu didn't speak.

The shop was quiet, with only the soft bubbling of the tea brewing machine. The wind chimes by the door tinkled softly in the breeze.

"But I don't want to go anymore," Liang Dong's voice rang out again, devoid of emotion. "I'm a little tired."

"I'm too tired to go," Yu Zhu said, walking into the reserve area with a serious expression. "I'll talk to your sister."

Liang Dong looked at her, his eyelashes lifting and falling again. After a while, he gave a soft "hmm" and turned to wash the shaker.

The two of them took turns doing the work for a while.

There weren't many people on weekday evenings, so they closed half an hour early. Yu Zhu and Liang Dong walked towards the residential area together. On the way, Liang Dong suddenly spoke up: "Yesterday... a lady asked me if I wanted to continue my studies."

Yu Zhu raised her head.

Liang Dong stared straight ahead, the streetlights illuminating his sharply defined profile.

He spoke quietly: "She said she could sponsor me."

Yu Zhu's heart skipped a beat.

She thought of Toru Echizen from high school. He was wearing a clean greyish-white hoodie, standing in front of the Yu family's main hall, with a gentle smile.

Grandpa, take her away.

He spoke, but his voice was soft.

At that time, she thought that Toru Koshima was a god sent from heaven, Elpis who came specifically to save her.

But now, hearing Liang Dong's words, she slowly began to understand. For people like Yuejian Tetsu, and for those in their circle, the line between giving and receiving was incredibly thin. Saving someone was as easy as ordering a cup of milk tea, even less troublesome than raising two dogs.

He wasn't that good to her.

She feels good because she was too shameless before.

"Sister?" Liang Dong called softly when he saw her lost in thought.

Yu Zhu snapped out of her daze and gave a hasty smile.

"That's good." She looked at him, trying to sound relaxed. "If you want to study, then accept it. Don't take it too seriously. If you have the ability to repay it later, then repay it. If you don't, just remember the kindness and don't forget it."

Liang Dong hummed in agreement and said, "I've already refused."

Yu Zhu raised her eyes.

Liang Dong was younger than her, but his frame was quite tall. When he looked down, his short buzz cut was visible on top of his head, looking rather fuzzy.

She suddenly felt a urge to pat his head.

"That's good too." Yu Zhu smiled. "Being debt-free is a relief."

Moth

After closing up shop at night, the two locked up the store and headed towards their rented apartment.

The streets were still warm at night, the charcoal fires at the roadside barbecue stalls glowing a stifling red in their metal buckets. Several students rode past on electric bikes, the exhaust gusts lifting the hem of Yu Zhu's clothes. Liang Dong subtly moved to the side closer to the road, his steps slow, always half a step behind her.

Once downstairs, the two went upstairs one after the other. The hallway was still dimly lit, and the little GG on the wall was torn in half, revealing old glue marks underneath. They reached the third floor, and Yu Zhu stopped.

Liang Dong stood on the half-step: "Sister."

Yu Zhu turned around.

"I still want to thank you," he said.

"Thank you again." Yu Zhu opened the door. "Get some rest."

"See you tomorrow." Liang Dong waved, grabbed his backpack strap, and ran upstairs in a few steps, his movements nimble.

Yu Zhu closed the door, put down her bag, and boiled a kettle of water. The room was stuffy, and the air from the fan carried the smell of dust from the daytime sun. She took off her top, tucked it under her arm, and then took her pajamas into the bathroom.

The water heater was old; it took forever to get hot water. Yu Zhu threw her dirty clothes and underwear into a basin and placed it under the showerhead to catch the cold water. The water splashed in the basin, and droplets sprayed onto her face. She raised her hand and gently wiped them away.

I closed my eyes, and the image of Echizen Toru came to mind again.

Inside the closed car, she kept her head down, her body pressed tightly against the door. He smiled coldly and asked, "Can't you write? Can't you even copy?"

She naively thought at the time that he was encouraging her to study hard.

Stupid. So stupid.

He never hid any malice from her; it was she who, in her wishful thinking, idolized him.

The water was hot, so Yu Zhu kicked the basin aside and stood under the showerhead. Water poured down from above her head, running down her eyelashes.

The bathroom light flickered and made a faint electrical sound. Just as Yu Zhu rinsed the foam off her hair, the light suddenly went out.

The hot water, warmed by the residual heat in the pipes, flowed for a few seconds before quickly cooling down. The exhaust fan overhead also stopped.

The house and the surrounding area were plunged into complete darkness.

Yu Zhu turned off the shower and stepped onto the wet floor tiles. She walked to the door, fumbled for the light switch on the wall, pressed it twice, but nothing happened.

It must have tripped.

The electrical box in the old building is in a metal box at the entrance of the building. She had encountered it once before last week and had gone out to move it herself in the dark. But now, with her clothes wet, her already meager sense of security felt even weaker.

Water dripped down her calves, and Yu Zhu shivered, reaching out to take the towel off the hook.

She wrapped the towel tightly and reached for her phone on the sink.

The screen lit up, the light making her eyes a little sore. She opened Liang Dong's WeChat, thought for a moment, and started typing.

It seems like my power went out. If you're still awake, could you go to the third-floor hallway and check the circuit breaker for me?

She paused, then added another sentence.

Trouble.

New message notifications came very quickly.

Liang Dong: Don't go out. I'll come down and check.