Heart Flutter

Chapter 6

Tang Yan blushed slightly, and above all, she was reserved. Having grown up so much, she had rarely worn a skirt; her only vivid memory was of the Children’s Day performance in kindergarten, when her whole class had organized a show. Like most of her classmates, she had worn a bright red skirt and danced a dance she did not even understand—perhaps not even a real dance, but merely swaying along with the crowd.

“It looked really beautiful; that skirt seemed as if it were made for you,” the shop salesperson complimented lavishly.

Tang Yan felt as if her head spun listening to the praise, and she grew even more embarrassed as she scratched her earlobe. At that moment, she stole a quick glance at Aunt Ji, who appeared very happy.

Sure enough, Ji Yuqing promptly spoke up the next moment, “How much was that skirt?”

Tang Yan silently shifted her gaze back to the salesperson.

“After discount, it was 1888,” the salesperson replied.

“Okay, I’ll take it,” she said.

Wait—had they really decided to buy it? Tang Yan wondered if she had heard correctly. A skirt costing 1888 was far too extravagant. Or was the cost of living in Huadu always like that? If so, how could she possibly make ends meet here?

Taking advantage of the salesperson walking over to the cash register, Tang Yan quietly edged up to Aunt Ji and murmured, “Aunt Ji, isn’t that too expensive?”

Ji Yuqing paused for a moment, then smiled and replied, “It was only a little over a thousand, which wasn’t expensive. Most importantly, it suited you well. One good match was priceless, wasn’t it?”

Tang Yan could offer no rebuttal. Stunned, she watched as Aunt Ji finished paying and emerged with a beaming smile. “Let’s go over to that shop; their clothes should also be especially suitable for you,” Aunt Ji said.

Thus, Tang Yan was taken from one shop to another. From head to toe, from full outfits to individual pieces, she bought everything. She dared not count the cost, but it was no less than nearly ten thousand dollars spent by Aunt Ji—even without counting the money for the phone.

Having only been here for just over a day, she already owed so much—how could she ever repay it? Tang Yan felt utterly overwhelmed.

After opening the trunk and neatly packing dozens of shopping bags, Tang Yan’s stomach began to grumble at an inopportune moment—a sound that Ji Yuqing clearly heard beside her.

Feeling extremely embarrassed, Tang Yan raised her hand to cover her stomach. Ji Yuqing promptly closed the trunk and, pretending casually, said, “It seemed to be mealtime; let us purchase the remaining items after we have eaten.”

“Alright,” Tang Yan obediently replied.

The two of them got into the car and left the mall. It was noon, and the sunlight was extremely harsh. Without the air conditioning, sitting in the car felt as if they had entered an oven. Even though all four windows were open, it made no difference. Sitting in the front passenger seat, Tang Yan inadvertently noticed sweat on Aunt Ji’s forehead quietly trickling down onto her collarbone. Feeling somewhat guilty, she thought that Aunt Ji must be very hot too. It was just that she insisted on keeping the windows open while driving. The car ran well, but whenever they were stuck in traffic, the blazing sun exploited every gap.

Noticing that there were tissues in the car, Tang Yan quickly reached out and took a few to hand over, “Aunt Ji.”

Ji Yuqing was momentarily taken aback, a bit surprised. Taking the tissues with a slight smile of thanks, she gently wiped the sweat from the corner of her forehead, moving down all the way to her collarbone. Tang Yan’s gaze followed along and fixed itself there. After staring blankly for a while, she suddenly averted her eyes and forced herself to look at the traffic outside.

They had their meal at a famous western restaurant on West Street. Ji Yuqing intended to teach her how to eat Western food so that in the future, when she was on her own dealing with others, she could handle it with ease and composure—without appearing flustered.

Tang Yan had her first experience of eating Western food in her life, and it was with Aunt Ji.

Facing the knives and forks arranged before her, Tang Yan could not tell left from right, nor did she know how to use them. On one side lay a steak calmly on the plate, and on the other, her stomach grumbled noisily, leaving her rather perplexed.

Aunt Ji, like a teacher and also like an elegantly refined noblewoman, first picked up a glass of red wine from the table and took a sip. She then began to explain to Tang Yan the origins of red wine. Tang Yan sat obediently and listened attentively, like an exemplary student.

Then came the proper way to eat Western food. Tang Yan followed and learned with some semblance, quickly grasping the manner. When she tried to drink the red wine elegantly like Aunt Ji, she started coughing immediately after taking a sip; it was bitter and difficult to drink. The way her tongue stuck out made her look especially cute.

Ji Yuqing was amused by her and hurriedly handed her a glass of water that she had just finished drinking. Tang Yan gulped it down without a second thought, and only afterwards did she realize that it was Aunt Ji’s water, which felt rather strange.

“I almost forgot you are still a student; better not to drink alcohol in the future.” After saying that, Ji Yuqing called over a waiter to exchange Tang Yan’s drink for a glass of juice.

At that moment, Tang Yan silently made a wish in her heart, hoping that one day she too could become as elegant a woman as Aunt Ji.

“Aunt Ji, I need to use the restroom,” Tang Yan said as she put down her knife and fork.

“I will go with you,” Ji Yuqing replied as she looked up.

“No, no, I can manage on my own,” Tang Yan insisted, not wanting to trouble Aunt Ji with every little matter—a restroom visit was no big deal.

But as soon as she rose from her seat and turned around, she collided head-on with an approaching waiter. The waiter, carrying a glass of juice, spilled it all over Tang Yan, leaving her extremely disheveled and drawing the attention of the surrounding diners.

“I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry,” Tang Yan apologized repeatedly.

The waiter, seeing her so abject, grew even more arrogant; not only did he not accept her apology, he pretended as if nothing had happened and walked by, muttering under his breath, “Redneck.”

At that moment, the sound of a chair being pulled out was heard. Ji Yuqing got up, completely shedding her previous gentle demeanor, and said to the arrogant waiter, “Is this really how your establishment treats its guests?”

The waiter turned around, looked Ji Yuqing up and down, and then, his attitude shifting completely, said, “It is my poor service; please do not take it to heart.” He then walked forward, took out a dry towel for Tang Yan, and said, “Please wipe yourself off. I will bring you another drink—no, two drinks—and I will pay for the extra one as compensation.”

Seeing that his attitude was acceptable, Tang Yan decided not to press the matter. However, she did not expect that Aunt Ji would not let it slide. She turned and made a phone call, and the restaurant’s manager immediately came out, apologizing profusely and promising to properly discipline the staff and administer the appropriate punishment.

In Tang Yan’s eyes, Aunt Ji had always been the very gentle and knowledgeable type; she never imagined that when serious, she too could have a temper. Because Ji Yuqing was not only a customer of the restaurant but also acquainted with the owner, the manager did not dare to offend her and promptly waived the bill as compensation and apology.

The onlooking diners eventually withdrew their gazes, feeling a sense of satisfaction as if venting their pent-up frustrations.

Tang Yan shoved a piece of steak into her mouth, puffed out her cheeks, and whispered, “Really, Aunt Ji did not have to be so angry with me; that waiter already apologized.”

Ji Yuqing stopped using her knife and fork, looked at her seriously, and said, word by word, “Do you know what I found most intolerable? Her—”

Tang Yan looked up, waiting, but she did not get to hear the rest. When the waiter had arrogantly called her “redneck,” Ji Yuqing could not tolerate that term at all, finding it extremely insulting.

“Forget it.” Ji Yuqing smiled and resumed her gentle demeanor, “Have you eaten enough? Does it taste to your liking?”

Tang Yan nodded and gave her a silly smile, “It was delicious.”

“As long as it was delicious.” That was enough.

Ji Yuqing lowered her head and continued slicing the steak on her plate.

Later, they visited the largest Walmart nearby to purchase the living necessities Tang Yan needed for school. Aunt Ji acted like an elder, taking care of everything and considering every detail thoughtfully.

Thus, the day passed in a hurried manner—tiring yet fulfilling.

Later, Tang Yan wrote in her diary:

[2019/8/31

The weather was, as always, clear. Today, I went with Aunt Ji to many places and saw many things—worlds I had never experienced in the past eighteen years. Aunt Ji even bought me a super expensive phone; I still had not figured out how to use it. Although she said that the money came from mom, I still did not quite believe it. How could my mother have spent so much money on me?

Let’s continue—Aunt Ji took me to a very, very large shopping mall and bought me… ]

After writing that, She looked back at the shopping bags on my bed, counted them carefully one by one, then turned back to my desk to continue writing.

[She bought me twelve pieces of clothing. In the past, I barely got four new outfits in an entire year. These had cost Aunt Ji so much money that I thought I would have to work for a very long time to pay it back. Thinking of it all made me feel quite pressured. Aunt Ji even took me to eat steak. It was my first time eating steak and also the first time I saw Aunt Ji angry because I accidentally bumped into a waiter and spilled juice. Although Aunt Ji did not tell me the reason for her anger, the way she defended me made me feel reassured. Tomorrow, I was to report to school. I felt both nervous and excited. What would the new school be like? What would my new classmates be like? I feared I would have difficulty falling asleep tonight.]

When Tang Yan had nearly finished writing, there came a knock at the door. She quickly closed my diary and got up to open the door. Tang Yan saw Aunt Ji standing outside, holding something that looked like a box, and she politely asked, “May I come in?”