Heart Flutter

Chapter 14

Later on, Ji Yuqing won many more plush toys, but there was never another teddy bear. The one she gave to Tang Yan was the only teddy bear she had.

On the drive back, Zhang Miya could not help complaining, “You are so biased, Ji Yuqing!”

Shoulders shaking with laughter, Ji Yuqing replied while driving, “You should be satisfied. I gave you all the other plushies except the teddy bear.”

Zhang Miya was not actually upset; she was only teasing. She took Dou Dou’s tiny hand and jokingly made a gesture of thanks. “We thank Auntie Ji for the plush toys. Thank you, thank you…”

Tang Yan found the atmosphere in the car very cheerful. Before she knew it, a smile had spread across her face as she lowered her head to look at the teddy bear in her arms, hugging it a bit more tightly without realizing it.

That marked the end of Tang Yan’s first meeting with Auntie Zhang. Up to that point, she still did not know much about her. The only things Tang Yan learned were that Auntie Zhang and her mother had attended the same school, and Auntie Zhang was a very good friend of Auntie Ji. Clearly, she also knew Tang Yan’s mother, and perhaps they both knew something about Tang Yan’s father, a man she had never met.

Tang Yan often could not stop herself from thinking about those matters. Although she did not really care who her father was, she very much wanted to figure out what had happened. Why, from childhood to now, had nobody ever been willing to mention him?

That night, as Tang Yan packed her things to go back to school the next day, she felt something was missing. She soon realized it was the teddy bear resting on her pillow. Tang Yan was very fond of this bear. She picked it up and rubbed her face against it, unable to hide the smile on her lips. “I will bring you along too,” she murmured.

[201997 The weather remained cloudy

I was returning to school tomorrow. My single-day holiday felt brief yet fulfilling. Today, I met Auntie Ji’s female friend, who was married and had a baby nearly one year old. It gave me some inexplicable sense of reassurance that I cannot put into words. I also watched a romantic comedy with Auntie Ji. The love story between the main characters did not move me at all, and I was not sure why. Ever since I was young, no romance story, whether ancient or modern, at home or abroad, has ever touched me or made me empathize. The comedic parts, however, were acceptable. It turned out Auntie Ji shared the same feelings. Right, she gave me a teddy bear plush she got at the arcade today, so now I know how amazingly good she is at crane games.]

Tang Yan was writing in her diary when she suddenly heard a startled cry from the other side of the house, followed by a loud clattering noise. Her first thought was that it came from Auntie Ji’s room, so she dropped her pen without hesitation and ran out.

Fearing something had happened to Auntie Ji, Tang Yan rushed in without a second thought. Clearly, neither of them expected that she would burst into the bathroom, where Ji Yuqing had slipped and fallen while completely unclothed, every detail visible.

Tang Yan instinctively turned away and covered her eyes with both hands. “Auntie Ji… I did not know you were not dressed.”

Ji Yuqing laughed, sounding both embarrassed and shy. “I did not realize how slippery the bathroom was today…” As she spoke, she tried to move and get up, but found it a bit difficult.

Facing away, Tang Yan felt eager to help but hesitated. She did not know what to do until Auntie Ji spoke from the floor behind her, “Could you hand me the bath towel on the rack?”

Tang Yan immediately got to work. She pulled down the white towel from the rack, holding it out while still covering her eyes with her free hand. Sighing with a helpless smile, Ji Yuqing reached out, took the towel, and wrapped it around herself. “All right, could you help me stand up now?”

Hearing this next request, Tang Yan finally dared to lower her hands and open her eyes. She summoned all her strength to help Auntie Ji up from the bathroom floor. Fresh blood trickled down Auntie Ji’s leg, and Tang Yan nearly panicked. Her mind was full of worry and alarm. “Auntie Ji, you are bleeding.”

Yet Ji Yuqing appeared quite calm. When she had lived alone before, occasional bumps and scrapes were inevitable, and she had always handled them on her own. “It is nothing,” she reassured Tang Yan. “I will disinfect it and put on some medicine.”

Tang Yan was both distressed and amazed by how composed Auntie Ji remained. She gritted her teeth and did her best to support Auntie Ji’s arm as they moved to the bedroom, where she helped her onto a stool. “The first aid kit is in the third cupboard in the storage room. Could you fetch it for me?”

“All right!” Tang Yan dashed off and, following the instructions, located the kit. She knelt in front of Auntie Ji and opened it, unsure what to do. Above her, she heard Ji Yuqing say, “That bottle is disinfectant. Start by cleaning the wound.”

Tang Yan nodded, feeling flustered and anxious, which made her movements clumsy. Sensing her panic, Auntie Ji tried to calm her down. “Do not rush. Take your time.”

Tang Yan twisted open the disinfectant and gently poured it over the wound, washing away the blood and sterilizing the area. She noticed that Auntie Ji’s leg was trembling, and she could hear the faint sound of hissing breaths and suppressed gasps. Tang Yan realized she was causing her pain and grew even more cautious.

She coaxed softly, “Almost done… just a little more. Hang in there.”

Extremely quick to learn, Tang Yan successfully cleaned the wound and applied disinfectant. Then she took out a healing ointment, dabbing it on with a cotton swab. From her angle, all Ji Yuqing could see was the top of Tang Yan’s head. Tang Yan’s movements were careful and gentle, and this thoughtful act filled Ji Yuqing with genuine warmth. She felt truly fortunate that Tang Yan was such a kind child.

“Do not bother wrapping it,” Ji Yuqing said when Tang Yan reached for gauze. “For a cut like this, it will heal soon enough. The ointment helps keep out air and bacteria.”

Tang Yan nodded and kept it in mind. After closing the first aid kit, she looked up. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Auntie Ji? I can do anything.”

The earnest look on Tang Yan’s face made Ji Yuqing laugh. “I am not completely disabled. There is nothing more you need to do. You are heading back to school tomorrow, so go get some rest.”

Pressing her lips together, Tang Yan stood up with the first aid kit. “All right… you rest well too, Auntie Ji. If you need anything, just call me.”

She had reached the doorway when Ji Yuqing suddenly called, “Yanyan.”

Tang Yan turned around at once, in almost a single heartbeat.

“Thank you,” said Ji Yuqing, smiling so gently that it felt like her warmth could have melted Tang Yan’s heart on the spot.

Inexplicably, Tang Yan felt her face grow hot. Her heart thumped faster, pounding in her chest. She blurted out some parting words and rushed out of Auntie Ji’s room.

Yes, she actually ran away.

She could not explain why she reacted that way. After returning to her own room, Tang Yan leaned her back against the door, breathing heavily. She stayed like that for quite a while until she finally calmed down. Sitting back at her desk, she picked up her pen to continue writing her diary but found she had nothing left to write. Her mind was a complete blank.

Meanwhile, Ji Yuqing stared at the open bedroom door, recalling how Tang Yan had taken off in a fluster right after hearing a single word of thanks. For some reason, it made her want to laugh.

That girl was rather endearing.