Dreams, Things to Do

In the end, Alice was coaxed into a better mood by Ye Shuang. The little girl was, admittedly, very easy to placate. Alice happened to have a performance that weekend, so Ye Shuang agreed to go with her. It wasn’t any trouble, really—he was just helping Alice out.

With Bobo away, Alice honestly didn’t have anyone she could really talk to. After all, she hadn’t had a single normal friend before. As a child star and model, there simply weren’t many people her age in her social circle, and she hadn’t had a particularly good experience at her previous international school, either.

…

…

“Gurgle, gurgle…”

The pot in front of him bubbled away, sending up clouds of steam. Ye Shuang stirred it with a ladle, scooped out a little, and added some salt to taste. After deciding it was about right, he nodded slightly.

That should do it.

Although they rarely drank soup in the morning, the weather had recently turned colder. On top of that, Yu You and the others had been working hard to prepare for the concert, so Ye Shuang thought he should make something nourishing for them.

As he watched the soup bubbling in front of him, Ye Shuang thought for a moment, then took some goji berries from the side and sprinkled a few in.

He needed a little nourishment himself, too. Being drained by them in turns over the past few days was starting to wear him out.

Yu You was young, so she was one thing, but Chen Qin’s stamina was truly terrifying.

“The way people in Guangdong make soup really is different,” Peach said, standing beside Ye Shuang. As usual, she had arrived early. In fact, Yu You and the others were still asleep at this hour. Perhaps because the weather had cooled down, all of them had started sleeping in.

“What else do you drink back home besides pepper soup?” Ye Shuang asked with a smile.

“Hmm… beef soup and geda soup. Those are all breakfast foods,” Peach replied. “Usually with strips of flatbread added in.”

“That sounds delicious,” Ye Shuang said with a smile.

He had kept breakfast fairly simple that day. Apart from the soup, which he had prepared the night before, things like the steamed buns were store-bought.

The two of them stood there like that for a while. When he noticed that Peach was quietly standing by without saying anything, Ye Shuang spoke up.

“How’s Fugui doing?”

It had been some time since Ye Shuang had seen Fugui after the funeral. Even when they chatted online, he couldn’t get much out of him.

“Father went abroad on vacation,” Peach replied. She took out her phone, tapped a few times, and showed it to Ye Shuang.

The screen displayed a photograph. Fugui was dressed as a man, wearing sunglasses as he traveled around and admired the scenery.

Ye Shuang didn’t know whether makeup was involved, but Fugui’s face looked unusually pale—almost to the point of being sickly.

“Do you think Fugui’s in a better state than before?” Ye Shuang asked.

After hearing the question, Peach shook her head. “I don’t know… But if Grandma Qiao were still here, Father would be willing to live like that for the rest of his life, pretending to be his sister.”

“You see things pretty clearly. But as far as I’m concerned…” Ye Shuang paused, then continued with a smile, “that’s what it means to welcome my thirteenth birthday.”

Peach pondered this, then nodded as if she understood something.

“What about you? Are you planning to inherit Fugui’s business in the future?”

“Yes.”

“Is there nothing else you want to do?” Ye Shuang asked. Before coming to this city, the girl had at least had some hopes for her life.

Following Fugui’s path was hardly a respectable choice, even if Peach was Fugui’s chosen successor.

“I… I only want my younger sisters to grow up healthy and be able to repay Father properly.” Peach herself didn’t really know what she wanted. In the past, all she had wanted was an apartment—and now she had finally managed to save up the down payment and start paying the mortgage.

At the very beginning, all she had hoped for was to survive in this city.

Without a doubt, both Ye Shuang and Fugui were her benefactors. They had reached into a dark, muddy swamp and dragged her out with all their strength.

After all, not every parent would take good care of their children. Some parents would do anything to bleed their children dry, not caring in the slightest whether they lived or died. As long as they got their hands on the money, nothing else mattered.

Peach had once believed that she simply hadn’t worked hard enough. Later, she realized that all her efforts had been nothing but a joke.

It was Fugui who had made her understand that.

“…”

If she were truly asked what she wanted to do, Peach only felt lost. For a moment, she didn’t even know what else to say.

Ye Shuang seemed to understand her hesitation, and smiled. “You’re still young. Take your time and think about what you want to do in the future. You don’t have to walk the same path forever. I think Fugui would understand.”

“All right…”

“Oh, right. Help me wake Yu You and the others up. And remember to remind Yu You to put on her underwear.”

“Okay!”

After the morning passed, Peach sat in the classroom with her cheek propped in her hand, thinking about what Ye Shuang had said.

What she wanted to do in the future…

It had only been a casual question from Ye Shuang, yet it left Peach feeling so restless that she let out a sigh and slumped forward onto her desk, squashing her cheek against the tabletop.

“Peach, aren’t you coming to P.E.?” Keke and the others noticed her lying across the desk. Seeing that something seemed off with her, Keke asked curiously.

“P.E.? Oh, right. I’m coming.” Peach immediately stood up.

“Peach, are you in a bad mood?” Bai Yuyou was particularly perceptive when it came to people’s emotions, and she could sense Peach’s agitation.

“It’s a long story. Let’s go change first.”

“Okay.”

The three of them went to the changing room, where Bai Yuyou and Keke soon understood what was troubling Peach.

“Goals? What you want to do in the future? Why would that be bothering you?” Keke thought about it. Was this really something people worried about?

As she spoke, Keke began changing. As usual, she managed to get either her backpack or her head stuck in her clothes. In the end, Bai Yuyou had to hold the garment down so Keke could pull herself free.

“What do you want to do in the future, Keke?” Peach asked.

“Me? I…” Keke put on a thoughtful expression. “We haven’t even graduated yet. There’s no need to think about that stuff now. Besides, what you want to do in the future isn’t necessarily what you’ll actually be able to do. Dreams and reality are two very different things.”

It was rare for Keke to say something that sounded so reasonable.

“I want to become a manga artist, then live off my royalties for the rest of my life,” Keke declared.

“Keke, you’ve never even done anything related to manga, have you?” Bai Yuyou asked from the side.

“Oh, right.”

“A dream you make no effort toward is just a daydream, isn’t it?”

“Wow, Yu You, that was harsh!” Tang Keke pulled out her phone and showed Bai Yuyou her collection folder. “Luke! Luke, Luke!”