You Are My Constant Thought and Unforgettable Love - Chapter 1

The apartment building where Shen Xin got off the bus was so old that the paint was peeling in large flakes. Several elderly men were gathered at the base of the building, engrossed in a game of chess.

In the distance, there were several bridge openings. Beneath them, many people were selling vegetables, and a gust of wind carried the scent of sour greens and fishy brine.

As soon as she looked up, she spotted a thin, frail figure crouching by the river. The person wore an ancient bamboo hat that concealed most of their face, leaving only a chin that seemed to glow with a porcelain whiteness.

A few heads of bok choy were placed at the girl’s feet. She wore an oversized red T-shirt; as she leaned forward, a large portion of her fair, exquisite collarbone was exposed.

Shen Xin blinked, feeling that small patch of skin was almost blindingly white.

The person crouching by the river seemed to sense something was amiss. She reached up, pulled the neckline high, and bit down on it with her teeth. This action covered her chest, but in doing so, a section of her slender waist was revealed.

The waist was both white and thin.

Shen Xin gripped her phone as the call she had dialed was finally connected.

Watching the “little beauty” in the distance whose face remained hidden, she spoke into the phone: “You can’t just unilaterally apply for a school transfer for me just because I’m a good-for-nothing.”

A burst of clamor and a loud crash erupted from the phone the unmistakable sound of mahjong tiles being overturned. The person picking up a tile spoke in a soft, refined voice: “Did you all hear that? Is that even human language?”

After a brief pause, the voice on the other end dropped to a whisper, sounding as if through gritted teeth: “You have the nerve to be proud of being a good for nothing?”

“Even so, you can’t exile me to some mountain gully and call it a ‘field trip’ for artistic inspiration.” Shen Xin’s expression was grim. A suitcase stood by her leg, making it clear she had already been banished from the city.

Mrs. Shen laughed. “Pung! I win. Mahjong!”

“How old am I that you treat me like this? Do you know where the driver dropped me off? I don’t know the roads, and I don’t have a cent on me,” Shen Xin said, suppressing her anger. She raised her free hand to press down on her baseball cap, her shoulder-length hair sticking to her sweaty, slender neck.

It was currently the September enrollment season, and the weather was sweltering under the scorching sun.

Mrs. Shen said leisurely, “Look back at that apartment building. I’ve rented Unit 3, Room 602 for you. You’ll live there this semester. There’s an envelope weighed down by a vase on the living room table; it contains a bank card and some cash. I’ll wire you money regularly every month, so you won’t starve.”

Shen Xin stood at the bottom of the building for a long time, nearly fainting from the sun. Her ears were ringing; she couldn’t believe her own mother would do this. She took a sharp breath. “The quality of teaching here is probably terrible. Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn even worse?”

“You’re already as bad as a wilted weed; how much worse can you get? Just treat it like you’re on ‘Extreme Makeover.’ Reform yourself well and don’t cause trouble,” Mrs. Shen added softly, the sound of mahjong tiles clacking loudly in the background.

Shen Xin glanced again at the person in the distance biting their collar. She felt as though the girl was a dose of “heart-clearing” medicine; just looking at her made her feel less frustrated.

“Then what am I supposed to eat here?” she asked.

Mrs. Shen laughed. “Isn’t there a bridge next to the apartment? People sell vegetables in the bridge openings. Just buy something and cook it yourself.”

Shen Xin suddenly felt that she really was participating in a reality show, with the only difference being that no one was filming her.

“Now that things have come to this, just take things as they come,” Mrs. Shen added leisurely.

Fuming, Shen Xin hung up the phone. She grabbed her luggage to head toward the building but stopped after two steps. She figured it was better to buy something to fill her stomach first; she could neglect anyone, but she couldn’t neglect herself.

So, she pivoted and walked toward the bridge opening. Her line of sight landed precisely on the “little beauty” selling bok choy.

Leaning her suitcase to the side, she looked down at the person sitting on the stool. She still couldn’t see the face; her entire vision was filled by that exaggeratedly large bamboo hat.

The person below her had long, slender limbs. Her wrists and ankles were thin, and her skin was so white that the veins beneath were clearly visible. The girl seemed to glow.

Shen Xin half-squatted and pretentiously poked at the bok choy laid out on the plastic sheet. “How much are these?”

She also casually looked up, hoping to see what this little beauty looked like.

Lu Nian looked at her expressionlessly, as if she didn’t care at all whether the vegetables were sold or not.

Shen Xin’s hand froze as she poked the vegetables. She had never seen anyone so beautiful. The girl’s face was so small it could be covered by a single hand, and her features were as exquisite yet lifeless as a doll’s. Her face lacked expression, giving her a lonely and aloof aura.

“How much are these?” Shen Xin asked again, dazed by the sight.

Lu Nian pointed to a cardboard sign nearby with numbers written on it, still not speaking.

Great, a little beauty with a temper, Shen Xin thought to herself.

A second later, after catching sight of the number on the cardboard, she nearly choked.

No, how could these vegetables be so expensive? Even if she had never bought groceries before, this bok choy was obviously overpriced.

“Is this cabbage plated in gold?” Shen Xin was dumbfounded.

Lu Nian said nothing, maintaining an attitude of “buy it or leave.”

Since she had already come this far and asked the price, she couldn’t just walk away. Shen Xin awkwardly felt around in her pocket, but she only found a few hard coins. Fine, she was now so poor she couldn’t even afford cabbage.

Lu Nian watched her silently, a hint of disdain appearing in her beautiful eyes.

“Can you make it cheaper?” After a long silence, Shen Xin squeezed out the words.

She had been the “Big Sister” of X School for so long and had always bought whatever she liked; she had never had the experience of haggling with someone like this.

The little beauty simply shook her head and heartlessly pointed toward the cardboard sign again.

Shen Xin: “…”

Her first attempt at bargaining in her life ended just like that. She suddenly felt that this small place was not simple; not only were the prices high, but even a random beauty was a cold-hearted businessperson.

Lu Nian’s fine brows furrowed. Sensing that the person was blocking her light, she shifted slightly to the side. A corner of faded denim shorts peeked out from under the oversized T-shirt. Her legs were bent and crossed, and on her feet, she actually wore a pair of slippers with a cat pattern.

So cute, Shen Xin sighed in her heart. Cute but irritating a true budding profiteer.

Just as she was awkwardly pulling her luggage to leave, an old man arrived from a distance, waving a sunflower-leaf fan. He called out, “Little girl, want to buy something? Take a look around.”

Lu Nian stood up upon hearing his voice and nodded to the old man. She took off the large bamboo hat, revealing a messy bun that had been flattened. Her porcelain-white neck was thin.

Shen Xin saw it clearly: there was a small, dark red mole on the side of her neck.

The old man laughed, took the bamboo hat, and placed it on his own head. He sat on the low stool and skillfully picked up the steelyard scale. “Two yuan per jin approx. 500g. How much do you want?”

Shen Xin glanced at the cardboard sign again. So the “21” written on it meant “2 yuan per jin”? Fine, she was the illiterate one.

Lu Nian walked away on her own in her slippers, avoiding the sewage on the ground. Her figure was thin and frail; she didn’t look very tall, probably reaching about Shen Xin’s ear, Shen Xin thought.

The old man looked up at the departing girl and slapped his forehead. “Niannian, thanks for watching the stall for a bit today, or else I would have lost a game of chess. Come to my house for dinner some other day.”

The little beauty didn’t look back, but the old man wasn’t annoyed; he seemed used to it.

With interest, Shen Xin asked, “Grandpa, is this your vegetable stall?”

The old man laughed and said, “It sure is. I grew them myself. I couldn’t eat them all, so I brought them out to sell.”

“Is that girl your… granddaughter?” Shen Xin asked after a moment of thought.

“Oh, how could I have such a beautiful granddaughter?” The old man laughed so hard his shoulders shook. “Are you buying or not? Two yuan a jin, the lowest price around, honest dealings for everyone.”

Shen Xin: “…”

“I’ll take it. Give me one jin.”

If she pooled the coins in her pocket, she had enough.

As the old man weighed the vegetables, he glanced at Shen Xin a few times. “Here to visit relatives?”

Shen Xin suppressed the resentment in her heart, exhaled a puff of turbid air, and said slowly, “I’m here for school.”

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