Zhao Guogang hadn't returned yet. Yao Yuan was already thinking about what excuse he could use to get rid of this guy, or at least figure out how many days he would be staying and whether he’d mess with his stuff, and so on. He figured the cousin was probably here to look for work, and couldn't afford school after middle school. This was very normal in his hometown, coming to this immigrant city in the South to work and make a living.
He hoped things wouldn't develop in the worst possible direction. Yao Yuan could almost imagine the scene of this guy named Tan Ruikang being idle at home, eating and living for free for months on end.
He decided to test the waters first.
Their home was beautifully decorated, with teakwood flooring rare even in S City at the time. As soon as Tan Ruikang stepped in, he looked overwhelmed. He took off his shoes, revealing socks with two holes in the toes. Sitting awkwardly on the couch, he asked, “Uncle Zhao isn’t home yet?”
"My dad went out this morning for something. He'll be back later." Yao Yuan imitated Zhao Guogang's usual manner, connecting the kettle to boil water, washing the cups, taking out the tea leaves, brewing the tea, and pouring a round of boiling water to rinse everything.
"You…" Tan Ruikang pointed to his own head, "Go wipe it first, don't catch a cold."
"It's okay." Yao Yuan's half-wet hair hung on his forehead. He tried his best to entertain this guest, but he couldn't say anything. He thought for a moment and said, "How's the old home doing these years?"
Tan Ruikang rubbed his hands, pondered for a moment, and said, "Great Grandpa died. You didn't go back that year. He was still calling your name before he passed away."
Yao Yuan remembered his maternal grandfather. Many things from his childhood were already hazy, but his maternal grandfather's military uniform photo and the old man's smell were still very clear for some reason.
Yao Yuan and Tan Ruikang were already three generations removed in direct relation. They were neither particularly close nor particularly distant. Yao Yuan's maternal grandfather had three siblings. His maternal grandfather was the eldest, and Tan Ruikang's grandfather was the second oldest.
Tan Ruikang's grandfather sacrificed himself during the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, leaving behind a single nephew. His maternal grandfather treated the nephew as his own son. The nephew also served in the army when he was young. His wife ran away with someone, leaving behind Tan Ruikang, an only child.
A sparse family, passed down through three generations.
Yao Yuan said, "How's your dad? Is he doing well?"
All these years, Yao Yuan had only overheard bits and pieces from his parents’ occasional phone calls. He’d heard that Ruikang’s dad worked at construction sites, and life was tough.
He always suspected that his father took a lot of money to help the countryside. Zhao Guogang's money was equal to his own money. It was wrong to randomly take it to help relatives. He tried to bring it up a few times, but he was scolded by his father. Ever since, he’d nursed a quiet resentment toward those relatives.
"He's gone." Tan Ruikang said, "He left two months ago.”
Yao Yuan nodded, unable to react for a moment, and said, "Where did he go?"
Tan Ruikang said, "He passed away."
Yao Yuan: "..."
Tan Ruikang said, "His lungs… Long-term inhalation of dust wasn't good."
Yao Yuan said, "Didn't he get treatment?"
Tan Ruikang said, "When they found out, he was already coughing up blood. There was no cure."
Yao Yuan said, "Why didn't you… didn't you send him here for treatment?"
Ruikang gave a faint smile, his deep eyes glimmering with quiet warmth, but said nothing.
Yao Yuan sighed and said, "My mom was the same, but I was too young at the time. I didn't understand it until much later."
Tan Ruikang's eyes reddened. “It’s all in the past. We have to look ahead.”
"Yeah." Yao Yuan didn't care much. So many years had passed, and the scars had healed almost completely. He didn't hate Tan Ruikang as much as he did at first. After all, he had also become unwanted… Yao Yuan looked at him, wanting to say something, but suddenly felt that Tan Ruikang sitting on his sofa looked awkward no matter how he looked at it like a sticky, dirty piece of chewing gum, and a chewed one at that.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Yao Yuan’s father was back.
"Uncle."
Tan Ruikang quickly got up to greet him. Zhao Guogang had a briefcase under his arm. He nodded slightly as a greeting.
"What time did you arrive?" Zhao Guogang glanced at Yao Yuan and saw that his hair was still wet. He said, "Xiao Yuan, go take a shower and change your clothes. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Yao Yuan was happy to get away from entertaining the guests. When he went to take a shower, he vaguely heard Tan Ruikang and his father talking in the living room. Tan Ruikang didn't say much. Zhao Guogang asked him a question, and he answered it, with a kind of cautiousness, saying as little as possible to avoid saying something wrong. After Yao Yuan came out of the shower, he asked, "Do you want to go buy a toothbrush and underwear?"
"I brought them," Tan Ruikang said.
Yao Yuan nodded, knowing that Tan Ruikang would be staying at home at least tonight. He went over to actively clean up the guest room, until this time, Yao Yuan hadn't realized any problems. He just regarded Tan Ruikang as a guest looking for a job.
Zhao Guogang didn't like having guests at home either. Usually, after the guests came to his house and chatted for a few words, he would arrange for them to stay in a hotel paid for by the company. It wasn't until Tan Ruikang put away his things and went to take a shower that Zhao Guogang came over to tell his son something that Yao Yuan was immediately dumbfounded.
"What?!?" Yao Yuan looked at Zhao Guogang as if he were hearing a joke.
Zhao Guogang repeated it again.
Yao Yuan said, "How long is he going to stay?! Wait! Explain it to me clearly."
Zhao Guogang said, "Until you can both be independent and leave home to go to college."
Yao Yuan: "This won't work! Why didn't you discuss this with me in advance! No way!"
Zhao Guogang: "It was decided yesterday. Dad thought you would be very happy."
Yao Yuan suddenly flew into a rage. He roared at Zhao Guogang, "Happy my ass! There's no place for him in this house! Why does he have to come to our house? Why should he be allowed to live in our house?"
Zhao Guogang said, "Yao Yuan! His dad is your uncle! He's already passed away! Your mom treated his dad like her own brother when she was alive. He has good grades. After finishing junior high school, he dropped out of school to take care of his dad for more than a year because of his dad's illness. Your maternal grandmother asked him to come here to study. Ruikang is a good kid. He'll be staying in our house for at least three years. You have to get along."
"Uncle Zhao." Tan Ruikang said from outside.
Fortunately, the soundproofing of this house was good. Yao Yuan was still a little wary, not for the other party's feelings but also to maintain his own image. But for a moment, he still strongly couldn't accept the fact that there would be another member in the family.
Why? Eating his dad's food, using his dad's things, and staying here for three years?! Three years wasn't long, but it definitely wasn't short either.
Zhao Guogang went out to teach Tan Ruikang how to use the water heater, then came back in and closed the door. Yao Yuan was still full of fire. He questioned Zhao Guogang, "Why didn't you discuss such a big decision with me first?!"
Zhao Guogang said, "When you were little, at your maternal grandfather's house, Ruikang spent a summer with you. When your uncle sent you to the car, you were crying and wanted your little cousin to accompany you. You cried all the way back. Have you forgotten?"
Yao Yuan said, annoyed and ashamed, "Who remembers those trivial little things!"
Zhao Guogang sighed, patted Yao Yuan's shoulder, and his eyes were a little red. Yao Yuan knew that he was thinking of his own mom.
"Wait! This can't be the end of it!" Yao Yuan said.
"What do you want?" Zhao Guogang asked.
Zhao Guogang's face was gloomy. There was no room for discussion on this matter. Yao Yuan also had a dark face. The expressions of the two fathers and sons were exactly the same. There was a loud noise outside. Zhao Guogang quickly got up and went out, saying, "Ruikang, you'll live in this room from now on. Wear Xiao Yuan's clothes and underwear first. I'll take you to buy some tomorrow. It's almost time for school anyway."
Tan Ruikang was led into the guest room. Yao Yuan wanted to say something but didn't have the courage. It felt like a dream. There was actually a stranger in his house.
Zhao Guogang said some words about getting along well to the two of them. Naturally, most of them were said to Yao Yuan. Yao Yuan knew his dad's temper very well, he could make trouble in private, but he couldn't let him lose face in front of outsiders. He had to nod and go back to his room to play games.
So Tan Ruikang stayed. Zhao Guogang was on the phone outside, contacting a friend who worked in the district education bureau, asking him to issue a note so that he could take Tan Ruikang to the principal's house the next day. Yao Yuan played games absentmindedly, listening carefully to the movements outside, while guessing in his heart what school he would go to.
It couldn't be No. 1 Middle School or No. 3 Middle School. Foreign Language Experimental Middle School… that was just a dream. The level of education in a rural junior high school in this immigrant city was at most the level of an ordinary high school. The college entrance rate for key undergraduate universities in ordinary high schools was only 3% to 5%. Yao Yuan's school was a key middle school. Students in the top classes from junior high school to high school were directly promoted. There were more than 300 students in a grade, and nearly 95% of them passed the top three batches.
When Yao Yuan was entering junior high school, he put in a lot of effort, hiring tutors for extra lessons and finding notes from the education bureau. In the end, he also spent 30,000 yuan on school selection fees to barely squeeze into the top class.
Fortunately, Yao Yuan was competitive and vain since he was a child, and he was a little clever. In the past two years of junior high school, not only was he not left behind, but he also caught up to the top ten in the grade. He usually played hard, pretending not to study at all, but he spent more effort studying hard at home.
Yao Yuan's game was GAMEOVER several times, so he turned off the computer, took out the books he bought in the afternoon, and flipped through Jimmy Liao's picture albums on the bed, always listening to the outside. He heard Zhao Guogang asking Tan Ruikang to review at home these days and also to take the exam… Zhao Guogang was halfway through speaking when the phone rang.
The door opened. Yao Yuan said impatiently, "Can you knock on the door!"
Zhao Guo sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "Baby, what are you looking at?"
Yao Yuan’s cheeks flushed. It had been a long time since Zhao Guogang called him by his childhood nickname. His memories of his mother had grown faint, but Zhao’s gentle “baby” struck just the right emotional chord, instantly diffusing Yao Yuan’s anger.
"Can you respect other people's privacy? Dad!" Yao Yuan was like a hedgehog.
"What is other people's privacy?" Zhao Guogang said, "Others? Even if you're eighty years old, you're still my son. Jimmy's album?"
Yao Yuan casually closed the book. It was "The Moon Forgot," and Jimmy was very popular at the time. There were picture albums of him everywhere. Zhao Guogang flipped through it, not understanding what was so interesting about it. Yao Yuan said, "What school is that guy going to?"
Zhao Guogang's face darkened. He said, "Call him brother. How can you talk like that?"
Yao Yuan had an indifferent expression. Zhao Guogang said, "It also depends on his exam scores. Dad has to go out tonight. You take your Ruikang brother out for dinner and go to the supermarket to buy something. Hang up the clothes."
"Oh—" Yao Yuan said, "Drink less alcohol."
Zhao Guogang touched his son's head and got up and left.
Yao Yuan flipped through the picture album for a while. He went out and saw Tan Ruikang tidying up his things in the room. It was originally a servant's room, small and only able to fit a bed and a desk. Yao Yuan's family had hired several nannies. When he was a child, the nannies were irresponsible. Not only did they steal food and use things, but they also cut back on Yao Yuan's snacks and took them home for her son to eat. They changed her, the next one used to pinch him. Changing back and forth, the nannies were like revolving lanterns, coming and going. Some were too lazy, and some were too stupid. When Yao Yuan was in the second year of junior high school, he was annoyed by the unfamiliar people in the house, so Zhao Guogang stopped hiring them. The two fathers and sons took turns doing housework, and they hired an hourly worker when they did a big cleaning. They just cleaned up casually.
“My dad’s gone out,” Yao Yuan said as he walked through the corridor to the bathroom to start the washing machine. It had already finished.
Tan Ruikang said something in the room, but Yao Yuan couldn't hear it clearly, so he didn't respond. He took out the clothes and found scraps of paper and tobacco on them. He secretly called out that it was dangerous! Someone came today, and he forgot to hide the cigarettes. He almost got discovered by Zhao Guogang.
He would definitely be beaten to death if his father found it. Yao Yuan frantically shook off the scraps. Tan Ruikang's voice suddenly sounded behind him, saying, "Xiao Yuan."
Yao Yuan was startled, and his expression was a little stiff. Only Zhao Guogang would call him by the name "Xiao Yuan." He said, "Call me Yao Yuan. I'm not a kid anymore."
Tan Ruikang nodded and said, "Let me do it."
Yao Yuan immediately said, "Go back. Don't snatch it!"
Tan Ruikang was also a little embarrassed. Both of them insisted on hanging up the clothes, snatching back and forth. Yao Yuan was a little angry, thinking that this person was really troublesome. Tan Ruikang noticed the scraps of paper and said, "You smoke too? Does Uncle know?"
The word "too" revealed a lot of information. Yao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, but he still didn't trust him very much. He said, "It's… my dad's."
Immediately, he felt that something was wrong. There were only two people's clothes in the washing machine. It had nothing to do with Zhao Guogang.
Yao Yuan said, "It's mine. Don't tell my dad."
Tan Ruikang immediately said, "I smoke too. I won't say it. I definitely won't say it."
Yao Yuan shook the tobacco and scraps of paper into the bathtub and flushed them with water. He went to the balcony to hang up the clothes. Tan Ruikang followed him. Yao Yuan was a little crazy. Why are you following me?!
Ruikang blushed slightly. “Let me do it. You rest.”
Yao Yuan ignored him and hung up the clothes. He found a hole in the butt of Tan Ruikang's underwear. It was still that kind of loose green sports underwear from decades ago. He couldn't help but laugh.
Tan Ruikang's expression was very awkward. Yao Yuan hung up all the clothes and went back to his room to read as if nothing had happened. He remembered something and told Tan Ruikang, "My dad is going out to socialize tonight. Are you hungry? I'll take you out for dinner."
Tan Ruikang quickly said that he wasn't hungry. Yao Yuan went back to his room to flip through the picture album and wait for dinner. He was still a little absent-minded, thinking that Tan Ruikang was two years older than him and had dropped out of school for more than a year. Which school would he transfer to? Mostly a technical school. His dad often said that learning a craft would keep you from starving.
Yao Yuan felt very sympathetic to this cousin from the countryside. He turned around and said, "Tan Ruikang."
"What?" Tan Ruikang asked from the opposite room.
Yao Yuan leaned back in his chair and looked towards the opposite side, seeing him tidying up the tattered textbooks he brought from the countryside.
"Can I borrow your reference books to take a look at, Xiao Yuan?" Tan Ruikang said.
"Call me Yao Yuan." Yao Yuan was too lazy to correct him on this issue. He casually pointed to the bed. Tan Ruikang came over to look at his reference books. Yao Yuan got up again and took the textbooks for him to read.
Yao Yuan's notebooks and pencil cases were designed very delicately, and his schoolbag was also a famous brand. His stationery was very refined for a boy. He thought Tan Ruikang would praise his taste, but he didn't notice this at all. He just said, "The English book is different."
"Yeah, it's the coastal version." Yao Yuan said. "You should be reading the People's Education Edition."
Tan Ruikang looked at it seriously for a while and said, "Do you have listening tests?"
Yao Yuan said, "Of course. The high school entrance exam uses machine-readable answer sheets."
He took out the test papers and answer sheets for Tan Ruikang to see. This time, Tan Ruikang was moved.
"Your English is really good!" Tan Ruikang said, "Twenty-three points for the composition?"
Yao Yuan smiled modestly and asked, "Which school did my dad let you go to?"
Tan Ruikang said, "He didn't say. He's afraid I won't be able to keep up with the progress here. I might have to repeat a grade."
Yao Yuan nodded sympathetically and said, "It's okay. It was very difficult for me to learn when I first came here. Our school is full of study maniacs."
At six o'clock in the evening, Yao Yuan got up and said, "Let me take you out to play, you…"
He noticed Tan Ruikang's clothes. It was a little inappropriate to take him out like this. He found his jeans and white shirt and let Tan Ruikang change into them.
This action seemed a bit… but Yao Yuan was purely kind and had no malice at all. He just wanted him to adapt to this city faster. If you looked too rural, you’d stand out like a sore thumb when you walk on the road. Yao Yuan used to care about this very much. He still had a bit of inexplicable inferiority in his bones.
He looked at Tan Ruikang coming out in the clothes and suddenly found that his figure was not bad. Forget the messy migrant-worker haircut, if he had a more popular short haircut and put an earring on his ear and a ring, he might look decent.
"Let's go." Yao Yuan took Tan Ruikang downstairs. The rain had stopped, but Tan Ruikang was still wearing his dirty warrior shoes, which were quite out of place.