Chapter 84

Sun Jianguo was clearly having a blast and asked Jiang Nian if he posted on TikTok.

After Jiang Nian shook his head, he nervously made a request; when Jiang Nian nodded, Sun Jianguo chuckled, ran over to the fish net, posed for a photo, and posted a TikTok video.

Caption: 【Let go of everyone and everything, accept fate's arrangement—the sky is getting colder, and so is my heart. The greatest kindness of middle age is silence.】

Jiang Nian glanced at it and laughed, giving a thumbs-up.

"Brother Sun, that's deep."

He didn't post on Moments anyway, and the fish and money were all his. Sun Jianguo spent a little cash, not only looked impressive but also scored three wild large fish for free.

Win-win.

As for whether Sun Zhicheng felt embarrassed in the class group, that had nothing to do with Jiang Nian.

Your dad is happy.

Yeah, both dads are happy.

At noon, Sun Jianguo generously drove the fish to Xu Qianqian's hometown, while Jiang Nian rode his old motorcycle home, putt-putting all the way.

When the black Mazda pulled up to the gate, Xu Qianqian was stunned.

Her grandparents were equally baffled for a long time, repeatedly telling Sun Jianguo.

"Sir, we didn't order any fish—the banquet is at the house in Miao Bei Qian."

Sun Jianguo called for a large basin, then dialed Jiang Nian's WeChat video call. The guy was still riding his bike; seeing the two elderly faces on screen, he instantly understood.

After a brief explanation, the two elders relaxed and happily went to fetch the basin.

Sun Jianguo was sharp—he guessed Jiang Nian had a close relationship with this family, though he didn't know if they were relatives or in-laws.

Worried the elders wouldn't understand, he turned to Xu Qianqian in the courtyard.

"The basin won't keep them alive long—they need to be put in a pond."

Xu Qianqian was confused. "Our garden's small pond hasn't been used in years—it's completely abandoned."

Sun Jianguo thought for a moment, then took out the spare oxygenator he'd bought for over a hundred yuan from his car. He didn't care about the money—winning Jiang Nian's favor was worth more.

Many of his boss friends loved fishing; securing Jiang Nian meant securing the future.

He'd already thought of his next TikTok caption.

【The wind was too strong—it blew away my fish, just like it blew away my life.】

Xu Qianqian watched Sun Jianguo personally oxygenating the fish in the basin and teaching her how to use it, speechless.

Fortunately, Jiang Nian arrived on his broken motorcycle; Sun Jianguo smiled and walked over to chat briefly. Before leaving, he made a gesture to stay in touch, then drove off.

"These are all your catches?" Xu Qianqian was still dazed, looking from the fish to Jiang Nian. "You didn't buy them from that guy, did you?"

"Believe it or not." Jiang Nian looked utterly indifferent.

When a man adopts this attitude, what he says is usually true. If a woman says it with casual detachment, it's probably a lie.

Xu Qianqian believed him. "Hey, when did you meet that guy? You seem pretty familiar."

"Just met recently—we happened to be fishing at Xiao Long Tan." Jiang Nian walked over to the oxygenator, glanced at it, then crouched down. "Turns out he's my classmate's dad."

"Ohhh, so how do we return the oxygenator?" Xu Qianqian bent over, peering curiously at the two basins filled with dozens of swimming fish, blinking.

"Just buy it. I just made a little off him—I'll transfer the money via WeChat later."

"Made?"

"Yeah, sold him three fish."

Xu Qianqian was nearly dizzy—what insane plot.

"By the way, Xu Qianqian." Jiang Nian stood up, revealing his true intent. "Even with the oxygenator, not all these fish will survive—pick a few to kill."

"Why me? Why don't you kill them!"

Jiang Nian spread his hands. "I'm the guest."

"What kind of guest are you?!" Xu Qianqian gritted her teeth, suddenly understanding his cruel humor. "You have to do it too! Otherwise, you're eating instant noodles for lunch!"

Jiang Nian remained calm as an old dog, smiling serenely.

Sure enough, his grandmother couldn't help but come over to mediate.

"I'll do it. I'll kill them."

At the courtyard's water tap, Xu Qianqian squatted alone, grimly slaughtering fish.

White fish scales covered the ground; under the tap, a red plastic basin held several fish gutted open, their blood flowing down a moss-covered drain.

Jiang Nian sat on the wall, scrolling on his phone and laughing loudly, nearly passing out from laughter.

"Are you trying to die?!" Xu Qianqian slammed the cleaver onto the cutting board with a thump. "Get lost! Don't let me see you!"

"No way. You know how hard I worked fishing?"

"What's that got to do with me?!" Xu Qianqian was furious—she'd killed five fish, her hands nearly numb.

"Of course it's got to do with you, baby." Jiang Nian roared with laughter, nearly falling off the wall. "You look hilarious when you're mad—your fish-slaughtering skills are improving."

"You! I really want to chop off your dog head!"

"Holy shit, you're so brutal—I'm gonna cry just listening."

In the afternoon, Old Xu drove back.

He seemed in good spirits, circling the basins with interest, then told Xu Qianqian to go inside and wake up Jiang Nian, who'd slept all afternoon.

The three of them climbed the hill with incense, candles, and yellow paper; Jiang Nian carried a chicken, Old Xu carried a red plastic bag filled with incense, candles, and paper ingots.

Xu Qianqian's bag held thick stacks of ghost money.

Since Old Xu had already cleared the grave yesterday, the surrounding weeds were gone; traces of burned paper remained on the ground. The father and daughter's expressions were calm, and they occasionally smiled along the way.

Time makes you accustomed.

Jiang Nian wasn't overly solemn—he treated it like visiting elders, spoke as he bled the chicken. Bright red blood stained the yellow paper; he dabbed a little, then burned it.

Overcast skies, the mountain air was chilly.

As he burned the paper, ash fluttered through the air, and he noticed a layer of goosebumps rising on Xu Qianqian's arm. He softly asked if she was cold; she shook her head.

You can't throw too much yellow paper in at once—it won't burn thoroughly—so Jiang Nian increased the frequency of tossing paper into the fire. The flames instantly grew larger, and the temperature slowly rose.

Mountains get frequent rain; ditches get clogged by fallen leaves or hardened soil piled up over time. Slowly, the originally flat and smooth gravesite would accumulate water.

After lighting the incense and candles, Old Xu squatted by the ditch, pulling weeds, clutching a small square stone he'd picked up by the roadside, patiently clearing the uneven channel.

After a whole afternoon of work, the area around the grave was finally cleaned spotlessly.

The three rested for a while, then prepared to leave.

Old Xu picked up the dead chicken, ready to discard it into the river according to custom. The old man said such a chicken, after being used to dye the yellow paper, had no flavor left and couldn't be eaten—it had to be thrown away after use.

Extra incense and candles were left behind, placed nearby and weighed down with small gray-white stones. They arrived carrying loads of items; they departed carrying only the dead chicken.

On the way back, Old Xu deliberately called out a warning.

"Look ahead. Don't look back."

Jiang Nian didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent. He suppressed the instinct to turn around all the way until he'd fully left the valley, then couldn't help but glance back once.

Old Xu and Xu Qianqian also stopped, pausing to look back.

The mountain wasn't beautiful at all—it looked almost deformed. Large patches resembled bald spots, exposing yellow earth, appearing dark and dense from afar.

The gray sky loomed heavily; the mountains stood silent.

Jiang Nian gazed for a while, then looked away, thinking Old Xu would probably return here someday. The way he'd carefully cleaned everything made it seem as if he planned to lie in the grave tomorrow.

After descending the mountain, the atmosphere gradually returned to normal.

Someone suddenly added him on the class group chat. Jiang Nian assumed it was his "good son," Sun Zhicheng—but it turned out to be Lin Dong, and he immediately remembered the phrase: "Only an idiot signs up."

Accepted.

(Lin Dong): "Jiang Nian, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

(Lin Dong): "Did you take any other photos while fishing today? My cousin heard about your story and admires you greatly—he wants to see the fish you caught."

"Cousin?"

(Lin Dong): "Yeah, what's wrong?"

Jiang Nian wasn't particularly enthusiastic. "Only the video in the group. I didn't take anything else."

(Lin Dong): "Oh okay, thanks (grinning)."

"Weird. Where did this cousin even come from?"

Jiang Nian found it strange, but didn't bother thinking deeply. The sky darkened; he put away his phone, washed his hands, and prepared to eat. He had to return the next afternoon.

The sports meet runs from Thursday to Saturday afternoon, and evening self-study continues afterward. Starting this week, the school has implemented make-up classes—Sunday mornings will have lessons.

This means, barring special circumstances, the school's only future holiday time will be Sunday afternoons.

The sports meet is the final spree.

After dinner, Xu Qianqian returned to her room to do homework.

Jiang Nian hadn't brought any homework and didn't want to do any. So he turned to Old Xu for tea; the two men sat on the second-floor balcony with hot tea and sunflower seeds.

Gazing at the pitch-black night, the distant blue mountains vanished into it.

Old Xu suddenly sighed, "Xiao Nian, you've grown up. You've become much more sensible."

"Haha, sort of—I'm in Gao San now." Jiang Nian laughed it off. "Eighteen's already an adult."

But inside, he thought: I'm not becoming sensible—I'm just hungry for your daughter.

One day I'll park a Ghost Fire bike downstairs and test your heart rate.

The "childhood friend" buff doesn't automatically guarantee success. These days, it's everywhere—same elementary school counts as childhood friends.

Same elementary school, different village—does that even count?

A lickspittle will never make it onto her elementary school roster.

So broadly speaking, "childhood friend" is just a label like "neighbor"—whether it's romantic or not depends entirely on their looks and whether they clicked.

Good-looking? Childhood friend.

Ugly? Then—

"My Ugly-as-Shit Neighbor Who Keeps Confessing in Unintelligible Dialect."

If you're good-looking and live nearby, you naturally start thinking about them. You swing the stick whether there's fruit or not—who cares about the future? Ambiguity needs no conditions to happen.

"By the way, you're eighteen this year, right? Shouldn't you think about signing up for a driving school?" Old Xu lifted his teacup, casually giving him a nudge.

Jiang Nian paused for a moment. "Yeah, I should sign up for a license. Uncle Xu, do you know any instructors?"