Old Wounds, New Growth - Chapter 11

Translator: Deyonna

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For the next two days, Li Chishu and I occasionally took turns cooking. Because we had a new puppy, he began to allocate some of his extra study time to spend with Potato–even though he was already overly strict about studying, reducing time wouldn't have much impact on his grades, but after all, this was still a privilege that even I hadn’t received much of.

Clothes are not as good as new, and people are not as good as dogs.[1]

[1] Original idiom: 衣服新的好，朋友旧的 (Clothes are not as good as new, and people are not as good as old)

However, even so, Li Chishu still showed an unmistakable sense of disappointment in the two days leading up to the end of the break. I scratched my head trying to think of the reason as I watched him sleep, but the only possibility was that he did not want to leave this place—I had a very keen intuition, or perhaps this intuition came from my understanding of his true nature over the years. I think Li Chishu genuinely believed that our interactions would come to a complete end at the end of the short vacation. In his eyes, the intimacy I've shown him these days was only compensation for asking him to accompany me to live in the countryside and not from my true feelings.

He doesn't believe that Shen Baoshan, whose world was parallel to his, can have extraordinary feelings toward him.

On the evening of the 6th, he sat on the low wall again, with the scent of earth and vegetation mixed in the evening breeze. His oversized T-shirt fluttered like a flag in the wind. Li Chishu stared silently at the crimson sunset on the roof, perhaps pondering how an ice cream-flavored kiss could be intertwined with ordinary compensation, or perhaps considering whether ordinary classmates could embrace each other and blow dry each other's hair so intimately. Perhaps he was also puzzled by how the murmured words from that morning when I hugged him from behind could be blurted out so naturally.[2]

[2] When SBH told LCS to sleep a little longer and snuggle into his neck.

I made Li Chishu's brain, which was originally not getting much rest, even busier.

After feeding Potato, I walked out of the backyard, habitually putting my hands in my pockets and leaning against the old wooden door, calling him, "Li Chishu."

He looked sluggish and bewildered, lowering his gaze and focusing on my face as I called out to him, "......en?"

I asked him, "Do you want to go fly a kite?"

"Fly a kite?" He searched around the far left and right. "Where's the kite?"

"Didn't you make one for me?"

He looked uneasy and restless again, explaining to me carefully, "That one... can only be played with by your hand. It's not good for flying."

I walked towards him step by step. "Then let's go find one that can fly well."

-

When Li Chishu sat on the back seat of the motorcycle, he hadn't even reacted yet. "Where are we going?"

I fastened his helmet for him. "We're going to town to buy a kite."

"Buy a kite?" Although Li Chishu had many questions, his hands were very obedient. As soon as I sat down, he grabbed my clothes on both sides. "It's October now. Are there any kites available?"

I started the motorcycle. "Why can't there be kites in October?"

His voice was mixed in with the sound of the engine. "I thought kites were flown in spring."

I thought of something and asked him as we rode out on the motorcycle. "With your father?"

He nodded, our helmets lightly colliding as he whispered, "With mother too."

No wonder. As a left-behind child, Li Chishu grew up with time limits for everything, even flying kites. Throughout the year, his parents could only accompany him at the beginning of spring after the Chinese New Year, so in his memory, even kites had a blooming season.

I turned my head and smiled at him. "Then you can treat me as spring."

-

Luckily for us, the nearby town was an old developing town, and there were quite a few tourists coming in and out from time to time. As the night approached, it became more lively. Otherwise, if it were an ordinary town, many shops would have closed by five or six o'clock.

I found a small shop that looked like it was run by a local. When the shop owner heard that we wanted to buy a kite, he turned around and went to the second-floor warehouse. He really found a pile of kites from the unsold inventory from last year.

At the edge of the old town, there is a wide, small square with a running track and a lawn next to it. There is also a flag-raising platform under the fence, which is said to be the former site of an old primary school before the development.

The setting sun was casting a warm glow over the slope, and tourists were sitting in groups on the grass. Li Chishu's kite was large, with colorful ribbons fluttering in the wind, and the colors were highly saturated. The more I led him towards the lawn, the more people looked over.

He visibly became uncomfortable. If I hadn't pushed him, he could have stepped back. "How about we change places…"

"What are you afraid of?" I said, "Am I not here with you?"

Finally, Li Chishu stood at the edge of the lawn, holding the kite and spool, looking at me in a flustered manner.

"You won't fly it?" I asked.

He lowered his head and scratched the colorful ribbon at the tail of the kite, too embarrassed to look at me. "I haven't flown one in over ten years, so I'm not very good at it."

"I'm not very good at it either." I took the kite from his hands and handed him the spool of string. "I heard that kites should be flown against the wind, so let's try it together."

Since Shen Baoshan was also "not very good at it either," Li Chishu seemed to relax a bit. As I ran forward with the kite held high, he waited eagerly for my command, his heart and eyes fixed on the kite waiting to be flown.

I felt the wind coming, and I had been running around holding this thing for quite a while. As long as Li Chishu pulls the string in the opposite direction, it shouldn't be a problem for it to fly.

"Li Chishu!" I shouted back at him. "Run!"

He obediently turned the spool of string and ran in the opposite direction from me.

I saw the right moment and let go. The kite swayed in the air, riding on the strong gust of wind and soaring higher and higher.

Li Chishu had already run quite far, occasionally looking back at the sky. Seeing the kite soaring high, he slowed down his pace and waited for me to catch up.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked as I walked up to him.

Li Chishu stretched his neck up so much that he almost didn't know how to put it down. He was so happy that his eyes were bent. "It turns out that you can really fly a kite now."

"Not now." I took the spool of thread and helped him unwind the thread, refuting him in a serious tone.

Li Chi looked puzzled. "Ah?"

"Only in spring." I said, "I am spring."

He was in a daze.

"Of course," I said, looking up at the kite, which had become a small dot in the distance. "If you want, I can also be summer, autumn, and winter. I can be all four seasons."

I didn't look at Li Chishu because, at that moment, he was still staring at me in a daze. If I were to look back at him, he would immediately avert his gaze.

After a while, he turned his face away and whispered in a voice he thought I couldn't hear. "Actually, you can just be Shen Baoshan."

I pretended not to hear and turned to ask him. "Do you want to drink water?"

Li Chishu said, "Yes."

He took the spool and waited for me in the same spot to buy water.

In that short moment, when I turned around, I couldn't help but let out a smile. It turned out that Li Chishu and I had similar and coincidental thoughts.

Shen Baoshan was willing to become all four seasons, but Li Chishu only needs to be Li Chishu.

After finishing flying the kite and preparing to go home, it was already around eight or nine o'clock in the evening. Our motorcycle came to a halt halfway on the mountain road. The roadblock that hadn't appeared in the afternoon suddenly emerged in the dark night. I took out my phone and looked at it. The section of the road ahead had turned into a muddy mess in just a few hours.

There was no other choice but to park and walk back on a small path.

These days have been sunny. The village's narrow and winding paths were not difficult to walk on. The challenging part was the path between the paddy fields. It was just a muddy road, barely wide enough for a 16-inch computer. At most, it could accommodate only one person at a time. On both sides were paddy fields, and if one wasn't careful, they could step into the muddy water up to their legs.

Li Chishu held onto the kite, hesitant to take a step. "How are we going to walk through this?"

"Go on." I used the light of my phone to illuminate behind him. "No matter what happens, Shen Baoshan will be behind you."

I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid, Li Chishu, keep moving forward."

Even if you don't want to go, you have to keep going.

Even in this situation, Li Chishu was unwilling to let go of the kite. He opened his arms and walked carefully, as if balancing on a beam.

I stepped more steadily than him, so just before Li Chishu slipped, I quickly reached out my arm and caught him. This time, I had to exert some force. My entire arm and palm were tightly held onto his waist. I could even feel Li Chishu's ribs beneath the thin fabric of his shirt.

And he was too preoccupied to be nervous about this.

Li Chishu's breathing was heavy and erratic amidst cry of the insects chirping in the fields. I could only hear his rapid gasps.

"Scared?" I tapped his shoulder.

He hesitated for a few seconds before speaking the truth. "A little. I... don't have a very good sense of balance."

No wonder, in our previous life, he always refused to walk on rope bridges with me.

I stepped into the paddy field on his right, and my ankles quickly sank into the sticky wet soil. This way, I could walk alongside Li Chishu and extend my hand to support him.

Li Chishu, caught by my arm, hesitated to speak. "Your... shoes..."

"They're Jiang Chi's, it's fine." I held him and urged him to move forward. "Let's hurry back home."

Shoes can be bought again, but my wife can't handle a fall. Three thousand yuan for a new model is nothing, but Li Chishu is priceless.

—Doesn't this mean he should be head over heels for me?

-

October 6th, Sunny

Finally, school is about to start again. There will be more dishes available in the cafeteria tomorrow afternoon.

I will be able to see Shen Baoshan tomorrow night.

-

October 6th, Sunny

Tomorrow, we will be going back. After we return, Shen Baoshan probably won't look for me again.

For the first time, I really don't want to start school.

But today was really great, just like spring. Shen Baoshan can even manage to make a goodbye a happy thing.

And I flew kites with him, but the road back was blocked. He stepped into the fields for me and is now downstairs scrubbing his shoes.

I said I would scrub his shoes for him, but he insisted that I go upstairs and wait.

After flying kites, I also had some ice cream cones, which were bought by Shen Baoshan.

The crispy waffle cone under the ice cream was delicious. Shen Baoshan also gave me his.

Shen Baoshan is very nice. I like spring.

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Translator's Corner: Hey guys, I had taken two weeks vacation so I wasn't able to update last month (I just realized I haven't inform y'all about the vacation. I will inform in advance once I decided to take a break so you won't be waiting for updates. I'm so sorry). I'm back now and updates will continue now. I will change the update calendar once I sort out my schedule. Thank you so much for the patience.

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