Chen Ying didn’t go over to comfort her, but he didn’t leave either. He thought he could probably understand Mi Xi’s mood.

No family, no friends, nothing familiar around her; stuck in a strange world where she doesn’t have anything she could call her own. And she was so young—she could already be considered very strong by not crying, shouting or making trouble. 

Chen Ying realized once again that he really should exercise more patience and treat her better.

The sun came out, and the golden light poured in through the large floor-to-ceiling windows. It shone on Mi Xi’s little face. She was staring off blankly, but she suddenly reached up and wiped her face vigorously, erasing all the tears and tear stains. 

She stood up. Chen Ying stepped back, hiding instinctively, and quickly retreated back to his room. After standing there for a while without hearing any movement outside, he opened the door again—with a heavy hand this time, deliberately making noise—then stepped out.

Walking into the living room, he saw Mi Xi stretching her limbs. She turned her head upon hearing him come in.

“‘Morning,” he greeted casually. Sure enough, he couldn’t see the earlier fragility on her face anymore; her small face was cold and stern.

Mi Xi dipped slightly and gave a formal greeting, “I have seen Uncle.” 

Black lines appeared on Chen Ying’s face. 

He clearly greeted her cheerfully, but got called ‘old’ in turn. It’s too early for this.

Take a breath, don’t worry, let’s start a little literacy education. 

“Mi Xi, here, the greeting in the morning is to say ‘good morning’, not to announce who you have met. You can also say ‘hello’ to so and so. For example, you can say ‘hello’ to uncle and aunt. No need to say that you have seen uncle.” 

Mi Xi suddenly became a little awkward.

“Do it again. Good morning,” Chen Ying urged, teaching her.

“Good morning,” Mi Xi saluted again.

“Don’t clasp your fists, don’t bend down. Just look at me and say, ‘good morning’.”

“Good morning.” Mi Xi straightened her back obediently and said it again. Then she looked at him.

He’s a little dumbfounded. So serious! Was she greeting an officer? What’s the difference then without the salute?

Ermm, now what? Just don’t ask her if she slept well, pretend you don’t know; just wash up then have breakfast.

Today was Wednesday—he still had a lot to do. She was so rigid earlier that he found no sense of accomplishment in the impromptu literacy education. But it’s okay, don’t be afraid, take your time, she will eventually get it.

“Go brush your teeth and wash your face. Let’s go out to have breakfast,” Chen Ying instructed. He saw that Mi Xi’s face was blank, and he added, “Brushing your teeth is that kind of dental medicine…” She should have brushed her teeth last night.

“I know.”

“I know.”¹ Seize every opportunity to eradicate illiteracy.

“I know.” Mi Xi repeated seriously, and Chen Ying was quite satisfied.

“Okay, hurry and clean yourself up. Let’s go out.”

Mi Xi moved quickly under his meaningful stare. She ran to the bathroom, took a toothbrush and toothpaste, opened the lid smoothly, and carefully squeezed a little bit onto the bristles.

“Squeeze more,” Chen Ying instructed.

Mi Xi looked at him, a little awkward.

“This is called toothpaste; squeeze some more.” Chen Ying pointed, and Mi Xi followed suit.

“A little more. Alright, remember to use this amount in the future when you brush.” Chen Ying’s words embarrassed Mi Xi; she pursed her lips and nodded.

“Use a cup to catch the water, rinse your mouth first, and then brush like this.” Chen Ying grinned and showed his teeth, and taught her with hand gestures. Mi Xi watched, her face going a little red.

“Do you understand?”

Mi Xi nodded.

“Swipe one and let me see.”

Mi Xi didn’t move a muscle, staring at him with caution.

“Okay, I won’t watch, you brush by yourself.” Chen Ying walked away, and after a while, he heard the sound of teeth brushing coming from the bathroom. He pretended to be passing by and took a quick look. Well, the action was a little clumsy, but it’s brushed on smoothly so it’s fine. Satisfied, he went back to his room, whistling.

It was really not easy to raise someone.

……

After Chen Ying washed and changed his clothes, he came out whistling and saw Mi Xi standing in the living room waiting for him. He walked over and patted the sofa. “This is called a sofa, a kind of chair, used for sitting. You remember, we sat down at Uncle Cheng’s house yesterday. You don’t have to stand when you are waiting for someone. Don’t stand when you can sit, understand?”

Mi Xi nodded.

“You sit down and let me see.”

Mi Xi looked at the sofa, looked at Chen Ying, and finally sat down as instructed. She’s still upright, with both hands flat on her knees. Then she looked up at Chen Ying with an expression of ‘this is good’.

Chen Ying rubbed his chin. Well, she only just arrived. It’s not appropriate to tell her she’s being too reserved or too dignified right now. He’d better wait until they get along better. He hooked his fingers to get her to get up. But Mi Xi didn’t move, staring at his gesture very seriously, her eyes full of condemnation.

Chen Ying was taken aback and retracted his fingers. “It’s not vulgar, it’s just a sign for you to get up.”

Mi Xi got up, her face still serious. Chen Ying cursed in his heart, reminding himself to be more cautious in his words and deeds.

The two of them head out. Chen Ying took a closer look at Mi Xi. She seemed to be walking unnaturally. Was it the shoes? 

After getting out of the elevator, he observed for a while before stopping Mi Xi. “Are the shoes too big?”

“Not bad.”

This answer made Chen Ying’s face twitch. Big was big, not big was not big. What the hell was ‘not bad’? He squatted down and pressed the tip of Mi Xi’s shoe, and there was a small empty space that was too big for her foot. 

“Let’s make do with it for now, and I’ll buy you another pair later,” he said. He stood up and found something wrong again. She was still wearing the same clothes that Su Xiaopei prepared for her yesterday, but she zipped the clothes all the way to the top, and the collar was turned up high. She was wrapped up tight.

Chen Ying didn’t think much about it and reached out to help her pull down the zipper a little and tidy up her clothes—she pinched his palm as soon as it touched her neckline.

Chen Ying almost cried out in pain.

Mi Xi quickly shook off his hand and took a step back. Chen Ying held his palm, feeling angry and anxious—but not knowing if he really should be angry or anxious. This little miss was so f*cking fast! She attacked without seeing what was going on first! 

He looked at her. Well, maybe she felt she was being attacked.

“Your clothes,” Chen Ying said through gritted teeth. His hand really hurt! He pointed to her neckline, “Don’t pull it so high, it’s unsightly.”

Mi Xi covered her neckline and ignored him. 

This attitude! Chen Ying was upset. He turned around and strode forward, walked a few steps, paused, and looked back: Mi Xi was still following him.

He continued to walk, stopped suddenly after walking for a while, turned around again and said to her seriously, “First, I am a gentleman. Second, if I want to play like a hooligan, I will not attack a minor like you. Most girls look forward to playing with me, but I am not that kind of person. Third, if you eat what I have, live where I live, and use what is mine, you must have a minimum of respect for me, and I will get angry if you get rough on me.”

Mi Xi blinked but said nothing.

“Do you understand?”

Mi Xi nodded. But that expression made Chen Ying feel that she must have done it only because she thought she should do it.

Chen Ying turned around and strode forward. 

Damn it! He was not a hero like in the legends, full of infinite patience—he really wasn’t! Just as he’s sulking, he suddenly saw an office worker walking in front of them wearing a suit with a short skirt and a very low neckline. Chen Ying stopped, and when Mi Xi drew near, he pointed to the short-skirted girl with his chin, “Look at her.”

He meant to say that everyone here wore it like this, and it’s okay if the collarbone was exposed—that he really didn’t mean to take advantage of her. He was wronged!

Mi Xi pursed her lips, blinked, but still kept silent.

At this time, an old man passed by. He wore a yellowing vest, worn beach shorts, and a pair of slippers that’s barely hanging on. Mi Xi looked at the old man, then at Chen Ying—well-dressed in a buttoned shirt, trousers, and shiny leather shoes. After looking, she didn’t say anything, just moved on.

Chen Ying was stunned for a moment; okay, she dared to talk back with her eyes!

Didn’t this situation obviously mean that it was the old man who needed to dress like him? It didn’t mean that it was alright for her to turn herself into a wrapped dumpling, looking all ugly. 

Also, where was her condemnation for indecent behavior? She could easily overlook it now? Wasn’t she an ancient person? The old man had half of his body showing, how come she had the nerve to look at him so brazenly?

……

Mi Xi walked slowly ahead of him, with her hands behind her back, looking everywhere around her. Chen Ying didn’t know if it’s due to her own mentality—he just felt that her walking posture and demeanor didn’t fit the world at all.

Mi Xi walked ahead for a while, stopped, and looked back at him. 

Chen Ying’s heart softened again, and he took a few steps to catch up. If he teaches her slowly, then she would understand. She was looking for a marriage here, and she only has three years—he must remember.

Chen Ying took Mi Xi to the ‘Dim Sum Place’ not far from his community. It was open 24 hours and was very famous. Xiaolongbao, congee, and siu mai were the main products. There were all kinds of dim sum, noodles, and side dishes. The price was not cheap, but even so, the customer flow was still quite good.

Mi Xi entered with a curious look on her face, and kept on looking at the posters of the restaurant’s dishes hanging on the walls. “It’s very beautiful,” she said to him.

Chen Ying almost tripped in surprise—she praised the large posters of xiaolongbao as ‘very beautiful’.

He looked around; fortunately, there was no one near enough to hear her. It’s still too embarrassing, so he quickly led her to sit at an empty table.

After getting the menu, Miss Mi Xi’s attention was once again grabbed by the pictures of sample dishes. Before she could repeat the praise ‘very beautiful’, Chen Ying quickly ordered a meal for her: a bowl of congee and a basket of ‘very beautiful’ steamed dumplings. He himself had the same.

The waiter who took the order left, and Chen Ying hurriedly whispered, “Praise the dumplings as ‘delicious’, or they ‘look delicious’, not ‘beautiful’.” 

Mi Xi also lowered her voice and whispered, “The painting is really, seriously good.”

Ahh, so she was praising the restaurant’s poster for its beauty, not the steamed dumplings itself. But praising the poster of xiaolongbao as ‘beautiful’ was still embarrassing!

_______________

FOOTNOTE:

¹ Mi Xi’s ‘我晓得’ and Chen Ying’s ‘我知道’—he corrects her old school phrasing here. ↩