A little over a week later, Yang Shuyi’s grandmother was discharged from the hospital. It was a Saturday. Their school had held make-up classes throughout the morning. When classes ended at noon, Shao Wu followed Yang Shuyi to the hospital again to visit his grandmother. This time, he did not buy anything. She looked much better. Her complexion had improved and she seemed energetic, though she now walked very slowly and her legs were not as steady as before.
Yang Shuyi’s father was there too. So was his stepmother, who was holding the hand of a little girl with rosy cheeks. She was in fifth grade. The girl was very well behaved. When she saw Shao Wu, she sweetly said, “Hello, Big Brother.” Then she became shy and hid behind her mother.
Yang Shuyi’s father had borrowed a van from a friend. There was enough room for the whole family. His grandmother invited Shao Wu to go home with them for lunch. She said the old man at home was cooking and that his food was delicious. Shao Wu smiled. “Grandma, we still have to go back to school this afternoon. I should probably go home.”
He was telling the truth. That afternoon they had to collect their winter-break homework and have their exam seats assigned. Final exams began next Monday. If he went home for lunch, he could even take a short nap.
His grandmother told Yang Shuyi to walk Shao Wu to the bus stop. So the two of them headed there side by side. The weather was beautiful that day. The rain had stopped. Even the wind was gentler. At noon, the sky was a brilliant blue. Shao Wu could tell that Yang Shuyi was in a good mood now that his grandmother had been discharged. He still wore his usual careless expression. But the smile in his eyes could not be hidden.
“Yang Shuyi, what are you planning to do over winter break?” Shao Wu asked tentatively. “Old Dong said that once we move into senior year after next summer, we’ll have classes practically every day…”
Yang Shuyi walked with both hands in his pockets. “I’ll tutor a kid at home.”
“Huh?”
“Longlong used to go to school in Yingxiu. That school wasn’t very good, so she’s fallen a little behind after transferring here.”
Elio’s Notes: Yingxiu (映秀) is a town in Wenchuan County, Sichuan. Its location becomes historically important to the novel’s 2008 setting.
Longlong was the little girl his stepmother had brought with her. Shao Wu thought: Does this mean Yang Shuyi and his father are getting along better now? He was even willing to tutor the little girl. That was wonderful. New Year was approaching. The roadside trees had already been decorated with strings of multicolored lights. Even the butcher shops had hung signs advertising sausages and cured meats. It was New Year. Of course families should be peaceful and happy together.
“Longlong is so well behaved,” Shao Wu said with a smile.
“She only looks well behaved. At home, she’s wild.” Yang Shuyi glanced at Shao Wu, then suddenly smiled too. “Are you secretly laughing at me? Yang Shuyi tutoring someone else’s homework.”
“Huh? No!”
“What if there are fifth-grade problems I actually can’t solve…” Yang Shuyi muttered.
Shao Wu immediately said, “Then call me!” “Here, my number is…” He stopped. “Never mind. I’ll write it down for you this afternoon!”
Yang Shuyi said, “Then you can tutor both the big one and the little one.”
Shao Wu froze. It took him a second to realize that by “the big one and the little one,” Yang Shuyi meant Longlong… And himself. It felt as though someone gently pinched the tip of Shao Wu’s heart. He tightened his grip on his backpack strap. His entire heart suddenly went soft.
“The bus is here,” Yang Shuyi said.
“Mm.” Shao Wu moved toward the bus with the crowd. Then he turned and called back, “See you this afternoon!”
Yang Shuyi was still wearing that oversized black down jacket. He had been running back and forth helping with the discharge paperwork and carrying things, so he had worked up a sweat. His jacket hung open, revealing the blue school uniform underneath. One hand rested inside his pocket. He raised the other and waved at Shao Wu. “See you this afternoon.”
Against the blue sky and bright sunlight, Yang Shuyi looked striking and heroic to Shao Wu, like one of those young men in an old poem who might leap onto a horse in the very next moment and ride off toward the ends of the earth. But Yang Shuyi was not going to ride off toward the ends of the earth. They were going to see each other again that afternoon.
Shao Wu smiled and kept smiling all the way from the hospital to his front door.