Heart Flutter

Chapter 21

“Aunt Ji…” Tang Yan turned around with a bewildered look.

“Shh, let’s talk once we get off,” Ji Yuqing stood up and guided her to slowly disembark with the crowd.

After leaving the subway, Aunt Ji led Tang Yan upstairs. Along the way, Tang Yan kept glancing over her shoulder, though it was hard to see anything because Aunt Ji’s jacket was covering her.

When they reached the restroom entrance, Ji Yuqing opened her bag and took out a medium-sized sanitary pad from a hidden compartment, handing it to Tang Yan. “Use this for now.”

Tang Yan was startled. She shrank back, afraid that people passing by would notice. Feeling incredibly embarrassed, she clenched the pad in her hand and said, “I’ll come out as soon as I can!” Then she rushed into the restroom.

She passed by a row of sinks, and inside were two rows of facing toilet stalls. The floor had just been mopped clean and still glistened. Seeing that no one else was there, Tang Yan chose one stall and locked it from the inside. Only then did she cautiously remove Aunt Ji’s jacket from her waist, realizing that a palm-sized patch of blood had stained her pants. No wonder Aunt Ji had hurriedly taken off her jacket to cover Tang Yan’s waist. With so many people on the subway, it would have been mortifying if anyone had noticed.

Thinking of this, Tang Yan felt an immense sense of gratitude for Aunt Ji rescuing her from such an embarrassing situation. While dabbing the bloodstains carefully with toilet paper—doing whatever she could to manage the situation—she tried to avoid getting any on Aunt Ji’s jacket.

Tang Yan’s period always arrived without warning. She never felt any pain or had any signs, so it frequently came out of nowhere and caused quite a few awkward moments for her.

She remembered back in sixth grade, near the end of the school year. She wore a white dress one afternoon in the scorching summer heat. Everyone had just woken up from the midday nap, Tang Yan included, when her desk mate suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, “Tang Yan! Your butt is bleeding, and there is so much blood!”

His loud announcement instantly drew everyone’s attention. Curious onlookers flocked over. Tang Yan, who had not the slightest clue what was happening—her mother had never been around to teach her—felt utterly bewildered. At twelve, she ended up becoming the laughingstock of the boys in class that afternoon.

Just then, a girl in her class stepped forward with a calm demeanor. Sensing Tang Yan’s confusion and fear, she took her hand and said, “Let’s go find the teacher.”

With the teacher’s help and guidance, Tang Yan finally understood what was going on. This was what people called “menstruation,” something every girl experienced monthly, also known as a period.

From then on, Tang Yan changed a bit. She started to develop her own thoughts as a young woman.

Because she never felt any pain or discomfort, she encountered multiple awkward incidents over the years. Many kindhearted female classmates helped her out, covering for her or lending her sanitary pads. Tang Yan’s period was usually unpredictable, so she could not accurately plan for it. Most of the time, she tried to prepare a few days in advance.

Now that she had come to Huadu, perhaps the change in environment had thrown her off. Her period came earlier than usual, catching her off guard. If Aunt Ji had not been around today, Tang Yan might still have been wandering around the subway with a bright red stain on her pants, completely unaware.

After Tang Yan emerged, she tied Aunt Ji’s jacket around her waist again. She still felt deeply embarrassed. If only she had remembered to wear a jacket when she left the house, she would not be in this predicament.

Seeing her come out, Ji Yuqing stepped forward and helped her adjust and secure the jacket around her waist, tying a neat, inconspicuous knot. Only then did she step back a couple of paces to study Tang Yan. “Now it looks fine.”

Tang Yan did not really care if it looked nice or not; her head was filled with the lingering embarrassment of the moment.

After transferring lines and riding the elevator, they needed to go seven more stops. They then exited on the underground floor of the train station.

Tang Yan tried not to sit down. Even if there were seats, she preferred standing. She worried about staining Aunt Ji’s jacket, and besides, subways never made her feel motion-sick. It was stable, and most people behaved courteously, so standing all the way did not bother her.

Surprisingly, they did not arrive late. They reached the station right on time. Tang Yan had no idea where the exit was, so Aunt Ji led her. She had to admit, having Aunt Ji around made life easier. If Tang Yan had been alone, who knew how long it would have taken her.

Tang Yan recognized that exit. It was the very one through which she had come to meet Aunt Ji for the first time.

It had been more than half a month since then, yet she could still recall that sweltering evening—crowds surging everywhere—and how they had managed to meet in the sea of people.

At first, Tang Yan had worried that she might not get along well with this Aunt. In truth, though, Aunt Ji was gentle, caring, and tended to Tang Yan’s needs in every possible way. Tang Yan could say that even her own mother had never treated her this kindly. It left Tang Yan feeling a certain indifference toward her own mother’s love.

As the train’s arrival time drew closer, Tang Yan’s heart began to race with excitement.

Zhao Xiaoyun was her best friend—no one else compared. They were the same age and came from the same village. Their equally difficult circumstances had brought them together. They talked about everything and grew up side by side until they finished junior high. Zhao Xiaoyun had then been forced by her family to drop out and go to work. Since then, they could only see each other once a year. Zhao Xiaoyun had not been a bad student, and Tang Yan believed she could have made it into a decent college if she had been allowed to stay in school.

Whenever Tang Yan thought about that, she felt a deep sense of regret. Sometimes she felt life was unfair to her, but those complaints paled in comparison to what her friend had gone through. At least Tang Yan had the chance to finish high school and now attend college in Huadu, which made her feel grateful.

While they waited, Aunt Ji stood next to Tang Yan and asked curiously, “Is your friend a girl?”

Tang Yan nodded. “Yes, we grew up together in the same village. She’s my closest friend.”

“Oh, so you two have known each other since childhood. That’s really nice,” Ji Yuqing replied, sounding both moved and a little envious.

Tang Yan asked casually, “Did you have any friends like that when you were young?”

Ji Yuqing lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. She spoke in a deliberately relaxed tone. “I moved around a lot when I was young and didn’t have a fixed place to live, so there wasn’t really any friend I stayed close to. That’s why I envy you.”

So even Aunt Ji had things she envied in other people. Tang Yan always thought that, with her looks, talents, and financial independence, Aunt Ji must be surrounded by friends. But indeed, everyone had a past they kept hidden and secrets they held close to their heart.

“If you don’t mind…I could be your friend too…” Tang Yan mustered all her courage to say this. Halfway through, she was already blushing to her ears.

“Well, if we’re going to be friends, there is quite an age difference,” Ji Yuqing said with a laugh. “We’d be friends across generations.”

Tang Yan’s face fell slightly. She was only seventeen, not that big a difference in her mind.

“Someone’s coming!” Tang Yan exclaimed. A female voice on the station broadcast announced that the train had arrived…

In an instant, the once open exit began to fill with crowds. A wave of people, announced by the broadcast as YuriAcgn, emerged like a tide. Tang Yan strained her eyes, searching for someone in the throng. Finally, she spotted a slightly tanned young woman with well-defined features, lugging a large bag and pulling a suitcase. Originally, Zhao Xiaoyun had not been this tan—her work in a southern city these past few years had darkened her skin.

“Xiaoyun, over here!” Tang Yan shouted, afraid her friend might not see them.

Hearing Tang Yan’s voice, Zhao Xiaoyun looked around frantically. She soon caught sight of the two people standing at the exit. She almost did not recognize Tang Yan, who now seemed so different.

After quickly checking her ticket, she came out to meet them. Standing next to Tang Yan was a woman with an extraordinary aura, dressed in simple yet elegant clothes with a tasteful style. If Zhao Xiaoyun guessed correctly, this must be the “Aunt Ji” Tang Yan had mentioned so often.

“Yanyan!” Zhao Xiaoyun beamed, showing a row of bright white teeth.

The first words out of Tang Yan’s mouth were, “You got even more tanned!”

“Well, you know the place I work in. The sun is blazing hot almost all year long—no way to avoid a tan,” Zhao Xiaoyun replied, then indicated the woman beside Tang Yan. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

Tang Yan hurried to do so. “This is Aunt Ji. She was my mom’s friend. Aunt Ji, this is Xiaoyun.”

Ji Yuqing nodded politely with a smile. “Hello.”

“Hello, Auntie,” Zhao Xiaoyun replied, bowing her head in a respectful greeting.

“Let’s talk on the way,” Ji Yuqing suggested, pointing in a certain direction. “We can catch the subway from there.”

Because they were not too familiar with the area, the three of them walked in a loose formation: Tang Yan in the middle, flanked by Aunt Ji and Zhao Xiaoyun on each side. Sometimes Aunt Ji walked in front while the two girls followed, chatting as they went.

“Yanyan, what’s with that outfit today? Why did you tie your jacket around your waist?” Zhao Xiaoyun asked, pulling her luggage along.

Tang Yan leaned closer and whispered something in her ear. Unable to hold back, Zhao Xiaoyun burst out laughing. “That really was awkward.”

Up ahead, Ji Yuqing walked alone, not too far from them. She guessed they had plenty to catch up on after being apart, so she did not want to interrupt. She quietly bought three subway tickets on her own.

At least Zhao Xiaoyun had spent three years working in the city, so she knew how to navigate the subway better than Tang Yan, who was still in school. They did not have to ride all the way back to the house. They only needed to go as far as the station near the shopping center where Ji Yuqing had parked, and the timing was perfect for lunch.

Because they had set off from the train station, the subway cars were packed with people, many of them carrying luggage. Boarding was challenging, and once they managed to get on, the crowd separated Ji Yuqing from the two girls by about six people. It was not too far, though. By standing on tiptoe, they could still catch sight of each other.

“I didn’t expect Huadu’s subway to be this crowded,” Zhao Xiaoyun said, almost flattened by the crowd.

“That’s to be expected. It is the capital, after all,” Tang Yan replied. She stood on tiptoe, looking over heads to make sure Aunt Ji was still nearby.

Zhao Xiaoyun could not contain her curiosity. “Is your Aunt Ji really thirty-five?”

Tang Yan nodded. “Yes, she is. I’m totally sure of it.”

“She looks like she’s in her twenties. She takes really good care of herself. My mom is only in her early forties, yet there’s no comparison at all,” Zhao Xiaoyun remarked.

Tang Yan felt a strange sense of pride at her words. She blurted out, “Why do you keep calling her ‘my Aunt Ji’?”

“Well, obviously she isn’t mine,” Zhao Xiaoyun joked.

“In that case, I guess she really is mine,” Tang Yan said quickly.