That evening, after they arrived in Chengdu, Jì Chengyang began preparing for the next day's departure to head to Daocheng Aden.
Nuannuan truly did as she said she would, exhausting all possible methods until everyone finally, though feeling a headache with the decision, agreed to let Jì Chengyang take her and Jǐ Yi along with him.
"You'll get altitude sickness." Nuannuan's mother tried with all her might to persuade her otherwise.
"No worries." Nuannuan was eating her numbingly-spicy skewers of chuanchuanxiang, all the while sucking air into her mouth. "Grandpa already promised that he'll give me soldiers and a doctor who are especially experienced to go with me."
The last attempt at persuasion was declared a failure.
Jǐ Yi's eyes were also watery from the food. So spicy. And then, she secretly threw an admiring glance at Nuannuan.
... So amazingly dominating. She basically had the fighting strength that took on ten opponents all by herself.
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Early the next morning, at five o'clock, they left Chengdu by car. As the vehicle drove, the two girls slept the entire way and did not wake until lunchtime. After eating some food, Nuannuan began to happily clutch Jì Chengyang's arm and swing it back and forth, pouting cutely to him. Or, she would take her mobile phone and secretly send text messages to Class Prefect Xu Qing.
When Nuannuan played on her mobile phone, Jǐ Yi would keep Jì Chengyang company and chat with him.
Though she said she was keeping him company, in reality, it was more correct to say that he was keeping her company.
Gazing out at the scenery beyond the window, Jǐ Yi softly remarked, "The air outside must be especially fresh."
"It is very clean and fresh." Off to the side, the driver joined in on the conversation. "But it's really cold, too. Also, you two little girls need to save some of your strength. The road we're taking today is going to bring us to higher and higher altitudes. I'm worried that by the time night comes, the two of you won't be able to handle it."
"Altitude sickness?" Nuannuan's mother had mentioned this.
"Yes, altitude sickness." The driver smiled. "But we do have a very experienced doctor along with us, so we're in much better shape than those people who tour around by driving themselves."
She nodded.
She wanted ask whether the place they were going to was fun, but worried that the driver would find her a bother, she did not inquire any further.
It was actually the driver who was very fond of talking. He even spent some time explaining that sometimes, people who are normally physically weak are fine when they get up to the high altitudes, and the normally physically fit people actually fall ill more easily.
She listened for a while. She felt that she tended to fall sick quite easily while Nuannuan's body was very strong and healthy.
Poking her head forward, she patted Jì Chengyang, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. Unexpectedly, she discovered that his eyes were closed. Worried that she would wake him, Jǐ Yi quietly pulled her hand back again, but his hand all of a sudden grasped her wrist. "What's the matter? Hungry? Thirsty?"
Embarrassed, she shook her head. "No."
Jì Chengyang let go of his hold on her. "Or do you need to use a washroom?"
She was even more embarrassed with that, and vehemently, she shook her head. "No."
"Feeling unwell? Dizzy? Short of breath?"
"... No." Jǐ Yi quietly replied, "I just wanted to ask if your body is healthy and strong."
And then that had brought about this string of questions from him.
It was apparent that Jì Chengyang had not truly tuned in to what the driver had been saying earlier and did not really understand the intention behind her question. However, there was a slight shift in the expression in his eyes. Before she had a chance to look into his eyes, they suddenly heard Nuannuan shout out a question. "Why is there no reception?" The driver hurriedly explained that this was not Chengdu, after all, and it was very normal for mobile reception to cut in and out. Moreover, they would be driving into the mountains very shortly, and the reception there was even worse.
The look on Nuannuan's face shifted. She had wanted only to have some fun while at the same time calling and sending text messages to Class Prefect.
But, against her expectations, that hope was completely shattered.
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When it was time to sleep that night, Nuannuan was already unable to take it anymore and tossed and turned on the bed incessantly.
Jǐ Yi had already drifted off into a half-asleep state but was woken by her noise.
"We're supposedly going to the home of one of Little Uncle's relatives tomorrow and won't be arriving in Daocheng until the day after. I can't take it! I can't handle not being able to contact Xu Qing for so many days."
"Just treat it as if you're helping Class Prefect save money." Letting out a yawn, Jǐ Yi told her in a quiet voice, "With the way you guys are texting and calling, even if he works two jobs, he won't have enough to pay for all of it." Nuannuan was feeling a little cold, so she thrust her legs into Jǐ Yi's blankets and stuck them in between Jǐ Yi's thighs.
Grimacing from the chill, Jǐ Yi rubbed Nuannuan's feet with her hands. "Your feet are like ice."
"What am I going to do? I miss him..." Nuannuan carried on, "His mobile phone was a gift from me that I paid for with my own money. It was so hard to get him to finally agree to take it, and he even said he would save up enough to pay me back in the future... He won't let me pay any of the mobile fees at all."
Likely anyone who belonged to the male gender would not feel good about accepting that from her.
As Jǐ Yi mused away, she was about to slip into slumber again.
Nuannuan once more woke her up by suddenly asking, "Xixi... The day after tomorrow is your birthday. How about you spend it with just my little uncle alone?"
"Huh?" She did not understand.
"You finally have a chance to come here. It'd be a pity if you didn't go to Yading [Aden]." Nuannuan was basically talking to herself as she continued to make the arrangements. "Tomorrow, I'll pretend I have altitude sickness, how about that? You need to fib for me and say that I've been feeling unwell this whole night."
"Wouldn't the doctor be able to figure out the truth when he checks you?" Though it was true that this young missy had gotten so good at faking illness she was as adept in it as a demon spirit.
"What can he figure out in a check-up?" Nuannuan was completely confident in her plan. "I'll just say I feel unwell. They won't dare to not send me back to Chengdu."
"It's not totally without reception. Sometimes there'll be some."
"I need it every minute, every second, Xixi—" Nuannuan genuinely was so lovesick it had become a catastrophe to her.
"... Then how about I just go back with you?"
"No, you go celebrate your birthday. Let me tell you, that place is especially, especially beautiful." Nuannuan recalled what Little Uncle had described before. "You're surrounded by snow-capped mountains. At the foot of those mountains is the village, and it's warm like spring there. And there are all kinds of animals..."
"Wild goats, deer, and also Tibetan eared pheasants..." Jǐ Yi added. "And ancient temples."
These were all things the driver had mentioned when they were inside the vehicle, and those words had made her heart especially itch with excitement.
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As a result, for the first time ever, she overthrew her own rationality. The next morning when they woke up, she truly did help Nuannuan successfully hoodwink everyone while she stayed behind by herself.
"You really aren't going to go back?" Jì Chengyang touched his hand against Nuannuan's forehead, but he was not really able to ascertain whether she truly was beginning to get altitude sickness. Then, he turned his head to also ask Jǐ Yi this question.
Hold strong. If you hold stong, you'll be able to see snow-covered mountains, grasslands, red leaves, flowing streams...
Looking at him, Jǐ Yi gave a light "mm-hmm" in reply.
And so, just like that, Jì Chengyang actually agreed to it.
In their vehicle that was continuing on its forward journey, he was still mulling over whether he had made the wrong decision, since, after all, this was the child of another family and what would follow was a drive that would only be increasing in elevation. If anything happened, it truly would be hard to explain... However, when he saw the expression of delight and surprise on Jǐ Yi's face as she pressed her nose against the window and continuously stared outside, he suddenly relaxed and let go of those worries...
In any case, there was a doctor accompanying them, so there should not be any major problems.
The road was getting increasingly difficult to travel. The entire way was a winding mountain road.
While driving, the driver told them, "I heard they're applying for some sort of World Natural Heritage site status over there. Maybe ten years from now, this place will be a famous scenic spot, and then the roads will definitely be much better."
Jǐ Yi had thought she would get to see those Tibetan-style houses she had heard about all this time, but Jì Chengyang told her the place they were going to tonight was not Daocheng. It was only then that Jǐ Yi remembered, Nuannuan had mentioned that tonight they would be staying in the home of one of his relatives.
From the sounds of it, Nuannuan did not know this relative, either. So, it was probably someone from Jì Chengyang's mother's side?
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When the sun was nearly about to dip below the horizon, they at last entered a small town.
Their vehicle drove in along the old street. The road was pieced together from long, tile-like stones and was somewhat bumpy. Through the window, she gazed out at the red wooden doors and walls as well as lanterns that swung back and forth. After turning a few corners, their vehicle had already driven to a dirt road, and if they continued driving, they would come to a brook and a large stretch of weeds.
When they finally came to a stop and the driver asked Jì Chengyang whether this was the place, he surprisingly did not give an answer straightaway.
Getting off the vehicle, Jǐ Yi followed Jì Chengyang through the doors of a courtyard-style home. She had only just stepped inside when suddenly there was the sound of a dog barking. Oh God... As she stared at that especially tall and big, black dog in front of her, her legs instantly grew weak.
Jì Chengyang swiftly reached out his hand and shielded her behind himself.
"Little Blackie!" The voice of an elderly woman curbed the dog, and then, that person lifted up the cotton curtain over the doorway and walked out.
When the elderly woman saw Jì Chengyang and this group of people, she first paused in surprise, but after that, she carefully scrutinized Jì Chengyang. All of a sudden, her eyes widened, and in their corners, there even could be seen tears that were about to spill over...
"Yang Yang. Is it Yang Yang? ..."
Jì Chengyang made a sound in answer and addressed her, "[Maternal] Grandaunt."
Grandaunt's legs were not very nimble, but still, she moved with quick steps towards them while her eyes continuously pored over Jì Chengyang. After several other questions that were asked with brimming emotions, she finally turned her gaze onto Jǐ Yi. "This is... one of the children in their family?"
"No." Jì Chengyang answered in the negative.
Grandaunt felt Jǐ Yi's face. Jǐ Yi was very compliant and did not try to move away.
Actually, she had been pondering earlier whether there was some other form of address that she should use. After all, she should be addressing Jì Chengyang as "Little Uncle"... But, what should the grandaunt of Little Uncle be called? She honestly did not know.
And so, in a small voice, she followed Jì Chengyang's lead and addressed the elderly woman, "Grandaunt."
"This is the little wife that the Jì family found for you?"
......
Despite Grandaunt's very strange accent, Jǐ Yi was still able to understand this sentence. Instantly, she was left in dazed shock.
Jì Chengyang was also taken aback, but then he suddenly laughed. "No. This is the child of another family."
Grandaunt was doubtful. Then why did she copy you and call me Grandaunt?
However, she did not continue questioning this and, instead, hurriedly brought the group into the house. The driver and the soldiers accompanying them were all from Sichuan province, and after only a few sentences of chitchat, they had all become acquainted with one another. Jì Chengyang seemed able to understand their local dialect but was not really able to speak it, so he simply sat to the side and warmed himself by the fire.
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Later in the evening, many people came to the house. Afraid she would not be accustomed to this, Jì Chengyang told her to go to the room in the back, where she could sit and watch television.
There were not many channels, and after flipping through for a short while with the remote control, Jǐ Yi felt bored. So, she decided to simply pull out the math exercise papers from her schoolbag, spreading them over the entire bed. It was nearly time to retire for the night when Jì Chengyang walked into the room, where he saw her, beneath the yellow glow of the light, holding her pen and gnawing on its clear cap, seemingly stumped by a math problem.
Her height was not even 1.5 metres yet, and she was slender, too, so as she lay belly down, curled up amongst the piles of papers, she was just a little ball.
Her shadow was even tinier.
"Don't know how to do it?" He walked over beside her and sat down.
"Mm-hmm." Rather hopefully, she nudged the paper towards him and pointed at a problem.
Scanning over the problem, he stated in a neutral voice, "y ≤ 0 or y ≥ 4."
"... If you don't show the steps for how you solved it, you get a zero."
"Why?" Jì Chengyang took her pen from her and began writing out in her notebook the steps for solving that problem.
"Don't know... I've gotten zero before because I didn't write out the steps. Even if the answer is right, it's no use." Jǐ Yi was also very glum about that. She glanced over what he had written. She could approximately understand it but would still need to fill in and add a lot more. "If you skip steps... you'll get marks deducted, too."
Jì Chengyang paused. Then, in good temper, he started writing out the steps again from the beginning, but this time much more detailed.
"And you need to write... a lot of words, too. It's not just the formula and steps..."
"Such as?" He truly had forgotten how mathematical problems in high school were supposed to be solved.
"For example," she told him with seriousness, "in this last sentence, you can't just write, 'the y value of C is y ≤ 0 or y ≥ 4.' You need to write, 'the range of the function C is... y ≤ 0 or y ≥ 4'."
......
He finally gave a faint, resigned smile. "Does that mean if I were in your class, I'd be called away by the teacher and given standing punishment, too?"
"... You probably would." Jǐ Yi stated the honest truth.
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The entire night that she had waited for him, she had been too embarrassed to ask him where the bathroom was. Now, they had chatted for quite a while already, but it was only because she finally felt that she absolutely, positively needed to go that she very self-consciously asked him, "Do you know... where the bathroom here in Grandaunt's house is?'
Jì Chengyang once again paused in blank surprise for a moment. Recalling that she had not used the bathroom since arriving here...
The kid probably felt like she was going to explode from holding it in?
He felt rather bad as he led her outside. Hanging over the concrete step was a string, and above it was a yellow lightbulb that illuminated more than half of the courtyard. The dog was also tied up, so there should be no problems. He pointed at a small, shed-like structure with brick walls in the corner of the courtyard. "Hurry. Go ahead. I'll wait for you here."
Where?
As Jǐ Yi walked in that direction, the light in her surroundings grew dimmer and dimmer. By the time she had followed the little pathway up to the brick wall, it was so dark that only moonlight remained.
Inside, it was pitch black. There was no door.
So scary.
But Jì Chengyang was behind her, watching her.
Clinging tightly to the belief that "I cannot cause trouble for him; I cannot embarrass myself," she finally stepped inside. It truly was an old-style bathroom in a village. She hurried inside, and then after, also hurriedly ran out. But then, to her surprise, she found that the light in the courtyard had been extinguished, and furthermore, there was not even a person's shadow in the courtyard. With just this one glance, her hands and feet grew cold.
Where was Jì Chengyang?
Where was Little Uncle Jì? ...
This was too scary. Why was it just like a horror movie? An old house. And also the sound of a dog's quiet barking.
There was no one. Not a single person.
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"Xixi?" From the front entrance of the home, a voice called her name. A silhouette walked toward her.
Spinning around, Jǐ Yi discovered it was him. Immediately, she threw herself at him and hugged his waist tightly, burying her face deep into his black cashmere sweater. Her arms and legs were limp from fright. "Where did you go? ..."
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串串香. Chuanchuanxiang is similar to the idea of hot pot. In general, the soup base contains less oil and more water than that of hot pot, though, and hence the foods that are cooked within the soup are usually pre-marinated for flavour. 串串 means "skewered," for the foods are usually strung on bamboo skewers, and the customers cook these themselves in the hot soup.
Chuanchuanxiang ()
姨婆 "yi po." This is how you would address the maternal aunt of either your father or your mother (i.e. the sister of your grandmother). In Jì Chengyang's case, this grandaunt is his mother's maternal aunt.