Early the next morning, Cheng Che was woken by his own body clock.
The sky outside had only just begun to turn gray. Mountain wind slipped through the half-open window, carrying the scent of bamboo leaves and dew.
The bamboo grove behind the house rustled, as though someone stood up high, gently shaking out a length of green silk.
Cheng Che checked his phone: 6:07.
He stretched, his joints popping a few times, feeling refreshed.
Now that his stamina stat and two passive talents had improved, he really did need less and less sleep.
He had gone to bed at ten last night, and now he wasn't the least bit sleepy.
He got dressed and went downstairs.
It was already lively down there.
He got up at six, yet he was the last one in the family to wake up. Could you believe it?
His grandparents slept less because they were old, while his parents had developed the habit from running a breakfast shop.
His grandfather, Cheng Qingshan, sat on the threshold sharpening an old hoe. His grandmother, Zhou Lan, was sorting vegetables outside the kitchen, with Jiang Xue helping beside her.
Cheng Jianguo squatted at the edge of the courtyard, watching short videos on his phone. The volume wasn't high, but the host's crisply enunciated voice still drifted over.
"You're up?" Zhou Lan looked up, saw her grandson, and smiled. "The congee's in the pot. It'll be ready soon. Sit down first."
"I'm going out for a run," Cheng Che said.
"What are you running for this early in the morning?" Zhou Lan frowned. "You hardly ever come home. Why not get some more sleep?"
"He runs every day. It's a habit now." Jiang Xue tipped the green beans into a basin. "Mom, leave him be. He'll eat more when he gets back."
Cheng Che left the courtyard and began jogging along the village road.
The roads in Pond Village weren't as flat as those in the city.
They rose and dipped, twisted and turned, with loose stones and muddy potholes appearing underfoot now and then.
Yet Cheng Che ran no slower than he did in the park, his breathing steady and his steps light.
The morning mist hadn't fully cleared, and the distant mountains looked draped in a thin veil.
As he passed several houses, elderly people who had risen early sat outside eating noodles from enamel bowls. Seeing Cheng Che run past, they called out with a smile, "You're up early, lad!"
Cheng Che smiled and answered without stopping.
Only after he finished five kilometers did the sun slowly climb above the mountaintop.
He returned home, washed his face, downed two bowls of congee in one go, and ate a large steamed bun.
Then he flopped onto the bed and settled into a Ge You sprawl.
A rare stretch of leisure.
Over the past few days at school, his nerves had stayed taut.
Back in his hometown, even the air seemed to have been set to half speed.
Cheng Che did nothing but lie there, listening to the wind rustle the bamboo leaves, the birds calling, and his grandfather and dad chatting intermittently downstairs.
At ten sharp, Jiang Xue came upstairs to call him. "Let's go. We're heading to Batang Village."
Cheng Che sprang out of bed, changed clothes, and went out with his family.
Batang Village was the neighboring village, only a little over ten minutes away on foot.
Cheng Che remembered visiting a few times as a child. In his memory, there was an enormous Chinese banyan at the village entrance, with a tiny Earth God temple beneath it.
The road had been improved now, and the banyan was still there, its lush branches and leaves spreading like a giant umbrella.
On the way, Cheng Che casually snapped two pictures of the rural scenery and sent them to Guo Xin.
One showed distant mountains wreathed in mist, the other some nameless wildflowers by the roadside, pink and white, blooming with reckless abandon.
Guo Xin replied instantly, first with a string of sobbing stickers, then with a voice message.
Cheng Che tapped it.
"Are you even human? I'm stuck in the city watching over a tennis court, with a bunch of grown men's hairy legs waving in front of my eyes. Meanwhile, you're off in the countryside enjoying a banquet, looking at mountains, rivers, and wildflowers! Do you know how many balls I've picked up today? Do you know how hard those guys smash? My legs are about to fall off from running!"
A photo followed the voice message.
On the tennis court, several burly men in tank tops and shorts stood with their hands on their hips, drenched in sweat, their leg hair gleaming under the lights.
Cheng Che laughed at the photo for a full half minute.
The feeling of enjoying himself while his friend suffered was just... so damn satisfying.
He replied, "Keep it up. The tennis court needs you," then pocketed his phone in contentment.
Batang Village really was bustling today.
The moment Cheng Che's family entered the village, they heard suona music and firecrackers mingling up ahead.
Vehicles lined both sides of the village road: vans, sedans, motorcycles, and several SUVs with out-of-town plates.
An inflatable red arch stood outside the Xu family's courtyard, bearing large gold letters: Congratulations to Mr. Xu Tiande on His Eightieth Birthday.
"You're here, Uncle Cheng! Over here!"
A middle-aged man in his fifties came forward to greet them. He was Grandpa Xu's eldest son, Xu Chengguo.
Dressed in a new outfit today, his face blooming with smiles, he repeatedly shook Cheng Qingshan's hand. "Uncle Cheng, we're glad you came, but you walked all this way! You should've let us pick you up!"
Cheng Qingshan waved a hand. "Pick me up? It's just a few steps. I walk this every day."
Jiang Xue and Cheng Jianguo stepped forward and pressed a red envelope into Xu Chengguo's hand. "Just a little token, to add to Uncle's birthday blessings."
"Oh, you're too kind, far too kind." Xu Chengguo tried to decline a couple of times but accepted it in the end, then pulled Cheng Jianguo along to greet the birthday celebrant.
Cheng Che followed behind, craning his neck to look into the courtyard.
There were plenty of people, men and women, old and young, with more than a dozen round tables set out.
Some greeted guests, some carried dishes, and some stood beside the stoves, wielding large ladles as they stir-fried. Cooking fumes mingled with the gunpowder smoke from the firecrackers and came wafting over in a hot rush.
He looked around but didn't spot Old Xu.
Cheng Che told his family, "I'm going to look around," then slipped out of the courtyard.
He wasn't very familiar with Batang Village. He had only taken a few steps along the main road when he suddenly heard a familiar voice from a small alley beside him.
"Mm... I know. I'm just outside getting some air. It's too smoky in there. It's choking me."
Why did that voice sound so familiar?
Cheng Che poked his head around for a look.
At the corner of the alley, Old Xu had his back to him, squatting at the foot of a wall with a nearly burnt-out cigarette between his fingers.
As he talked on the phone, he kept glancing furtively toward the alley entrance, looking exactly like an invigilator sneaking peeks through the window during an exam, afraid the students would spot him.
Cheng Che's mischievous streak flared up in an instant.
He crept over and gave Old Xu a sharp slap on the shoulder.
"Teacher Xu."
Old Xu jolted, nearly flinging the cigarette butt away.
He hurriedly stubbed it out and turned around in a panic. When he saw Cheng Che, he froze for a moment, then his face darkened.
"Cheng Che? What are you doing here?"
Cheng Che held back his laughter. "Teacher Xu, I'm here for the banquet. My hometown's Pond Village, right next door."
Old Xu blinked, his mind racing.
He looked Cheng Che up and down, then glanced out of the alley. Only after confirming no one was there did he breathe a sigh of relief, stand up, and brush the dust off his trousers.
"You're from Pond Village?" Old Xu ground out the cigarette butt under his foot. "Oh, right. That explains it. I was just thinking, in all the villages around here, the only families surnamed Cheng are those few in Pond Village."
He took out his phone, then put it away again, as if digesting this coincidence.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
Cheng Che had filmed a music video with Yan Ruanning.
Of course he knew about that.
He had watched his daughter's "Midsummer Reply" three times from start to finish.
As he watched, he had kept muttering inwardly: How did a student from my class end up in my daughter's music video?
But he wasn't the sort to make a fuss.
Very few people in Spring City knew his daughter's identity.
That went even more for Batang Village. Yan Ruanning had left young, and with her makeup and changed stage name, few young people in the village could connect that female singer on television with Xu Ruanning, the Xu family's girl who used to run all over the mountains as a child.
Besides, she already had an engagement today and wouldn't be back until eight or nine tonight.
So he hadn't asked his daughter to cancel it. After all, as a singer who had been riding high these past two years, the moment she appeared, probably every young person in Batang Village would crowd around.
That was why Yan Ruanning wouldn't be appearing at this birthday banquet.
So the family had agreed to have another family meal tomorrow at noon, after the birthday banquet.
Looking at Cheng Che before him, he weighed things up:
This student is one of my class's top students, thirtieth in the grade, a promising prospect who can make me look good in front of my colleagues someday.
He also knows my daughter through work. He's not the type to chase after celebrities and make a fuss.
Now he's practically a fellow townsman, too.
Since we've run into each other, it'd be hard to justify not inviting him for a meal.
Old Xu considered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Tomorrow at noon, we're having a meal with just the family. You should come too."
Cheng Che paused. "Wouldn't that... be a bit inappropriate? It's a family meal. What would a student like me be doing there?"
"What's there to worry about? You're my prized pupil. I'm counting entirely on you to get into Tsinghua or Peking University through the college entrance exam so I can hold my head high in front of my old colleagues." Old Xu swept a hand, his tone no different from when he assigned students cleaning duty. "It's just a meal. Are you coming or not?"
"Yes." Cheng Che stopped standing on ceremony. "If my teacher's treating, I'll definitely be there."
"That's more like it."
They chatted a little more, then went their separate ways.
Cheng Che returned to the courtyard, found his parents, and told them about it.
After hearing him out, Jiang Xue felt a little embarrassed. "Wouldn't that... be too much trouble for Teacher Xu? It's their own family meal. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for you to go?"
"Mom, it's fine." Cheng Che smiled. "Old Xu himself issued the invitation. Not going would be a slight to him. Besides, your son's first in his class now, at least. He's dying to drag me over to make him look good."
Jiang Xue rolled her eyes at him but still felt somewhat uneasy.
Cheng Jianguo was much more easygoing. "Just go. If his homeroom teacher's inviting him to a meal, it means our son's doing well in class. That's a good thing."
With father and son chiming in together, Jiang Xue had nothing more to say. "All right, then. We'll stay another half day and head back tomorrow afternoon."
While they were talking, the birthday banquet officially began.
Cheng Che sat down with his parents, but the moment he picked up his chopsticks, he noticed something was off.
There were lots of young people at his table. Several girls who looked to be in their early twenties kept glancing his way even as they chewed their food.
Some of the bolder ones even secretly raised their phones, silenced them, and took pictures.
Cheng Che kept his eyes straight ahead and concentrated on eating.
[Stars Surrounding the Moon] was doing its work. He was long used to it.
Braised pork hock, steamed pork with rice flour, pork belly with preserved mustard greens, fish with pickled mustard greens, spicy chicken, twice-cooked pork, cold-dressed fish mint... Dish after dish arrived, and Cheng Che ate until his mouth glistened with oil.
The young people beside him were still busy posting on Moments and Douyin, while he was already on his second bowl of rice.
These days of being secretly watched were fine, as long as they didn't interfere with chowing down.
The next day, Cheng Che got up bright and early.
Because he was going to Old Xu's house for lunch, Jiang Xue and Cheng Jianguo were even more nervous than he was.
Just after seven, his dad took Jiang Xue into town. They came back carrying a carton of milk and a bag of fruit.
"Go over at nine. Don't let them think we have no manners." Jiang Xue pressed the bag of fruit into Cheng Che's hand. "Get there early and see if there's anything you can help with."
Cheng Che accepted the fruit, feeling a little helpless.
Parents all seemed to be like this.
People online said to arrive at work early and be diligent, preferably helping with the cleaning. Maybe your boss would promote you.
Whether the boss would promote you was anyone's guess, but being reassigned as a cleaning lady was the likeliest outcome.
Carrying the fruit, he walked along the field ridges toward the Xu house.
The nine o'clock sun was already a little hot. Dew still clung to the weeds by the path, and walking through them could soak half a trouser leg.
Cheng Che turned into the Xu family's courtyard with practiced ease.
Before he could raise his head, he saw a woman in pale pink pajamas standing in the middle of the courtyard with her back to him, stretching.
Her hair was a little messy, but she had a lovely figure.
Cheng Che stopped dead.
Just then, she finished stretching and turned around.
Their eyes met.
Wind blew into the courtyard, carrying the scent of bamboo leaves and wildflowers, lifting both the ends of her hair and the hem of her pajamas.
Yan Ruanning stood in the wind, her eyes still a little bleary with sleep.
Then her eyes slowly widened.
Cheng Che stood rooted to the spot, still holding a bag of fruit, his expression even more spectacular than hers.
The wind kept blowing.
Neither of them spoke.