Chapter 20.1
Editor: Jodi
Ning Sheng seldom stayed up late, but tonight he watched the fireflies until one in the morning.
And he used the children’s phone his grandmother had bought him to take countless pictures of the fireflies.
“Should we go home?” Xu Ling asked for the fifteenth time.
“Little Bell, give me a smile.” Ning Sheng lifted his phone to take a picture of Xu Ling, “Be a little happy.”
“Taking another picture?” Xu Ling’s face was about to crack from all the smiles.
Ning Sheng: “Uh-huh, got any other expressions?”
“Princess.” On a branch above, Lu Peng waved, “Take my picture!”
Ning Sheng: “No, there’s no memory left.”
Lu Peng: “Just delete two of Xu Ling’s pictures.”
Ning Sheng: “No.”
These were precious images of the little devil king to be kept as mementos for future leverage to remind the great devil king of his goodness.
“Should we go home?” Xu Ling asked again.
“I want to watch the fireflies.” Ning Sheng said.
After a two-second silence, Xu Ling shouted towards the tree, “Lu Peng, come down and work, he doesn’t dare climb down!”
Lu Peng: “Alright.”
Ning Sheng: “???”
Ning Sheng: “Don’t…”
“Princess.” Lu Peng started, “we can’t live in a tree forever. Look at the math nerd, he’s already slept twice.”
Li Haoyue, hearing his name, looked up sleepily.
“I’ll go down first. Ning Ning, just step on my shoulders.” Then Xu Ling said, “Math nerd, go and get Ning Ning’s shoes back.”
A few minutes later.
Xu Ling: “My shoulders are next to my neck, not on it!!!”
Ning Sheng: “Of course I know, can you not talk so much when I’m this tense!”
“I can’t hold on woo woo woo.” Lu Peng shouted from the tree, “Princess is pinching the palm of my hand.”
Lu Peng let go, and Ning Sheng, clutching the bark of the tree tightly, slid down rapidly, was caught by Xu Ling in a stumble, then they both fell onto the soft grass, landing amidst the green glow of fireflies.
Ning Sheng, covering his erratic heartbeat, looked up to see Xu Ling’s smiling face.
Fireflies were dancing all around them, a landscape he’d missed for so long.
“Look.” Xu Ling said, “I told you you would be able to come down.”
“Idiot!” Ning Sheng got up, “Is a hard landing the same as a soft one?”
Then at half past one in the morning, three bicycles raced through the streets of Qing’an Town, with Ning Sheng dozing off, hugging Xu Ling’s waist.
“Your place or mine?” Xu Ling asked him.
“Your place is my place.” Ning Sheng said in response, “I can come and go as I please, so mind your own business.”
Xu Ling: “Get off and walk.”
Ning Sheng clung tighter: “Xu Ge, I want to sleep at your place.”
Xu Ling’s family’s car wash had just closed for the night, and Xu Ling’s stepdad sitting at the doorway cooling off, was smoking a cigarette leisurely.
Xu Ling’s mom who had just moved the chairs inside turned her head at the sound of bicycle bells and saw Xu Ling carrying Ning Sheng rushing over.
“My goodness.” She cried out in surprise, “where have you two been and how did you end up like this?”
Xu Ling: “Ah? Watching fireflies.”
Xu Ling’s mom: “Did the fireflies step on your face with their shoes on?”
Ning Sheng: “……”
Xu Ling’s stepdad laughed, and watching them come closer, snuffed the cigarette out then tossed the butt into the trash can.
“You two went begging for food, right?” Xu Ling’s mom crouched down, brushed the dust off his clothes, and pinched his sleeve, “How did your shirt get torn?”
Xu Ling: “How is that possible?”
Xu Ling: “Who would go and beg for food with Ning Ning around? He’d complain that the food was spoiled.”
Ning Sheng: “……?”
“Would you eat spoiled food that is given to you directly?!” He asked back.
Xu Ling: “You’re already begging, could it be that you won’t eat and just put it on their head instead?”
“You two are really something else. You can argue about anything…” Xu Ling’s mom couldn’t stop laughing as she inspected Ning Sheng’s clothes carefully.
Ning Sheng wanted to say that it was okay. He had plenty of clothes, so they could just be thrown away.
“Take it off.” Xu Ling’s mom patted his head, “I’ll mend it for you.”
Ning Sheng: “En?”
Could it still be mended?
“My Little Bell just happens to have one in this color.” Xu Ling’s mom told him. “He’s grown so much these past two years that he can’t wear it anymore, so we can take the fabric from it to patch yours up.”
Ning Sheng: “No need to bother….”
She urged, “It’s no bother, go and wash up, you’re all covered in mud.”
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