Chapter 53: Before the Storm
"Grandma, sit here and watch TV. I'm going to cook, and you mustn't wander around."
Ji Xinshen held the old woman's shoulders and spoke clearly, one word at a time, fearing she wouldn't hear him properly.
Grandma nodded with a smile, holding her hands together neatly like a child as she sat straight.
...
His father had taken a phone call and rushed out in a hurry without saying what he was going for.
Ji Xinshen paused his online class and went into the kitchen.
Although it was still the Chinese New Year period, the yellowed refrigerator didn't even have any leftover food left. He had no choice but to take some loose change and go out to buy tofu and tomatoes.
During the final exams, Xiong Rui and his gang had caused trouble for him, resulting in his phone getting water-damaged. It kept shutting down on its own and couldn't process regular payments.
Ji Xinshen bought the groceries and came home to cook.
Just for himself and Grandma.
The aunt from next door came over for a visit. Seeing that it was the New Year and Ji Xinshen and his grandma were only eating a single vegetarian dish, her expression changed, and she pulled them both to her house to eat.
Ji Xinshen waved his hands repeatedly, his face flushing with embarrassment.
The aunt said, "You usually help my Xiaoming with his homework. It's only right for you to come to our house for a couple of meals during the New Year. Grandma, come with me. We're stewing chicken, and it smells so good."
Ji Xinshen couldn't refuse and helped Grandma over to the next door.
The neighbors weren't particularly wealthy, but during the New Year, no family lacked food; two more people just meant two more pairs of chopsticks.
At the dining table, the uncle and aunt kept putting food into the bowls of Ji Xinshen and his grandma. Even their child, who was still in primary school, put food in their bowls.
Ji Xinshen ate in silence.
Grandma was smiling happily. Despite her advanced age, she was still quite capable of eating meat.
The neighbor uncle asked, "Is your dad not home?"
Ji Xinshen nodded.
The aunt turned her face away with a displeased look, as if she wanted to say something, but her husband stopped her with a glance.
The neighbor uncle continued, "You're at a crucial stage right now, Xiaoshen. If you don't have time to cook, just come over to our place. We might not have fancy dishes, but there'll be plenty to eat."
Ji Xinshen lowered his head even further.
Seeing that the chicken in Grandma's bowl was finished and feeling too shy to pick some for her himself, he quietly shared the meat from his own bowl into hers.
Upon seeing this, the aunt immediately picked up the serving spoon and stood up to add more meat to both of their bowls.
"Eat up. There's still more in the pot."
...
After dinner, Ji Xinshen stayed behind to help Xiaoming with his winter break homework.
Grandma sat to one side, watching an anti-Japanese war drama on the local television station.
The neighbor uncle and aunt were talking next door in very low voices, but unfortunately, the old house had poor soundproofing.
"Old Ji took money out to buy lottery tickets again?"
"Sigh, don't mention it. The kid is right outside."
"I just can't stand the way he acts. What time is it, and he's still dreaming of getting rich? Buying lottery tickets a thousand at a time. I heard he lost hundreds of thousands in the stock market and is even borrowing money to trade. Xiaoshen is about to take the college entrance exam, and instead of saving some tuition for the boy, or even leaving some living expenses, which parents act like him? It's such a waste of a good child like Xiaoshen."
"Sigh, alright, alright, stop talking. We usually call the child and the old lady over for dinner; since we're neighbors, we have to help out where we should."
"...I didn't say I wouldn't help."
"Thank you for your hard work, wife. You have the kindest heart."
...
Ji Xinshen pretended not to hear.
...
When the uncle and aunt went out for a walk, he pulled Xiaoming aside and asked, "When you were playing outside just now, did you see which way my dad went?"
"The welfare lottery station, of course."
Xiaoming answered without hesitation.
He and his mother had run into Ji Xiangyang when they came back from outside.
Ji Xinshen patted Xiaoming's head, asked him to keep an eye on his grandmother, and said he needed to go out for a little while.
Xiaoming nodded obediently.
...
Ji Xinshen turned left out of the door, took the alleyway to the welfare lottery station, and stood at the corner.
Tonight was the first draw of the year since the Spring Festival holiday, and the lottery shop was crowded with people buying tickets before the deadline.
From afar, Ji Xinshen saw Ji Xiangyang standing right at the front with a glowing, flushed face.
"This set of numbers I picked definitely has a shot. It's just that cash is tight right now, otherwise I'd definitely buy a few thousand yuan worth."
"Buying a thousand is pretty ruthless. Old Ji is the one with deep pockets; we wage slaves just buy a few bucks' worth for fun."
"A thousand is nothing! If it weren't for having my old mother and a son to support... Hmph! Once my son gets through school and makes something of himself, I'll buy however I want!"
The people around laughed, flattering him for raising such a promising child.
Ji Xiangyang acted as if he didn't see the contempt in other people's eyes, hearing only his own loud, boastful words.
Ji Xinshen walked over.
Glancing and spotting his son, Ji Xiangyang immediately scrambled like a rat into a hole, dodging into the very back.
Ji Xinshen stood there for a moment, then pretended not to notice and walked straight home.
A person by the roadside, also waiting for the lottery results, spat and cursed, "That old gambler, what's he acting so high and mighty for? The three hundred he owes me still hasn't been paid back. No shame at all at his age, bah!"
A thick lump of phlegm landed on the ground.
It felt as though it had been spat right onto Ji Xinshen's face, burning hot.
...
Late at night.
Grandma was asleep.
Looking at his empty piggy bank, Ji Xinshen felt somewhat dazed. He had clearly saved several hundred yuan in it, intending to use the money to get his phone repaired.
Man-made damage wasn't covered under warranty; it would cost money.
He had already asked at the repair shop, and it would cost at least three hundred.
...
Ji Xinshen opened his contacts list, searching for someone he could borrow money from. Apart from Lin Shu, there was only Lin Shu.
As for Huang Pingting, he hadn't yet paid her back the money he had asked her to advance last time, and if he opened his mouth again this time, he feared it would expose the dire poverty of his family.
As for other girls, bringing it up now would be a bit abrupt... They would definitely ask him if he didn't receive any New Year money.
Lin Shu knew his background inside and out, and her family was well-off; she would have received at least tens of thousands in New Year money.
Lending him three hundred would be a mere drop in the bucket for her.
Besides, his phone getting water-damaged was inseparable from her.
At that time, when Xiong Rui and his gang had cornered him, she had clearly been present, yet she hadn't said a word...
If Lin Shu hadn't stood by with folded arms, his phone wouldn't have been thrown into the drainage ditch by them and ended up in its current state.
Ji Xinshen drafted a message and hit send.
A red exclamation mark appeared after a delay.
She had deleted him?
...
Ji Xinshen tried sending a text message, but as a result, the water-damaged phone automatically shut down.
Left with no other option, he could only use Grandma's old-model feature phone to call Lin Shu's number.
A brief beep... beep...
The call connected.
"...Hello, who is this?"
A voice, both familiar and distant, came through. They hadn't spoken in a long time.
For no reason, Ji Xinshen felt nervous. He pressed his lips together and said with a trembling voice, "Lin Shu, it's me."
"Don't hang up! I'm calling you from my grandma's phone..."
Hearing mention of Ji Xinshen's grandma, Lin Shu did not hang up.
In the Ji family, only Grandma acted like a decent human being. Back during the special period when Lin Shu had fainted from a high fever, the old woman had braved the risk of infection and walked back and forth on her cane to take care of her.
He wondered how such a wonderful person could have raised such a son and grandson.
"Did something happen to your grandma?"
Lin Shu asked.
Ji Xinshen stammered, and after a long while, managed to say he wanted to borrow three hundred yuan.
"...What do you need it for?"
"...My grandma needs to nourish her body. Her legs keep cramping."
"Then she should take calcium tablets and drink milk. Go ask your father for money. Didn't he shake down a huge sum from my parents previously? Has he squandered it all already?"
"What do you mean by 'shake down'?"
"Following proper procedures, at most it would have been a few thousand in compensation. When he opened his lion's mouth, what was that if not extortion?"
"Can you not speak without slandering my father?"
"...Ji Xinshen, you're the one borrowing money from me, why are you acting so high and mighty? I don't owe your family anything. Besides, that's your grandma, not mine. It's your dad's job and your job to be filial to her, what does it have to do with me?"
...
"Are you going to lend it or not?"
"I don't have money. Don't harass me anymore. If you keep nagging and whining, I'll broadcast the fact that you used to receive financial aid to the whole class."
"Lin Shu, you... do you really have to treat me this way?"
"Ji Xinshen, I don't like gossiping about people, but that doesn't mean I can't. Hanging up. Asking to borrow money during the Chinese New Year is sheer bad luck."
...
Listening to the busy tone, Ji Xinshen let his hand holding the feature phone drop desolately.
Why had Lin Shu changed so much?
She hadn't been such a cold-blooded person before...
Footsteps sounded outside the door.
Ji Xinshen stood up. It was Ji Xiangyang, reeking of alcohol, coming back home.