Tea of Summer - Chapter 32: Winter Warmth 1.2

Chapter 32

Winter Warmth 1.2

Song Qiyan seemed to look the same after being gone for a month.  He was not dressed in his usual casual T shirt, jeans, and cap.  He wore extra clothes because it was getting colder, a white shirt, a pair of cream colored casual pants with a khaki colored woolen windbreaker.  He stood tall and straight.  Without the cap, his clean-cut medium length hair was in full view.  He was standing at the door of Xia Liang’s apartment looking down at his cellphone.  His eyelashes casted shadows under his eyes.

Xia Liang stood at the turn of the staircase and watched for two seconds.  She walked down in a hurry when he looked up as if he had sensed something.

Song Qiyan put his cell into his pocket.  He lightly smiled and looked at her.  “Why are you so quiet?”

Xia Liang slanted her head, her ears turned slightly red. “Ke……”

Song Qiyan was clearly smiling now.

Xian Liang turned her head to look at him once more.  Then she noticed that the shadow beneath his eyes were not just from the eyelashes; there were real dark circles under his eyes. “Shixiong, have you not been sleeping well?”

Song Qiyan lowered his head to look at her, staring intensely into her eyes as usual. “Is it that obvious?”

Xia Liang pointed her finger at the area underneath her eye and nodded earnestly.

Song Qiyan gave a tired smile. “Yeah, I’ve been a bit exhausted recently.”

Xia Liang was going to ask when he had returned to the US, but Song Qiyan suddenly spoke, “Let’s go to supermarket.”

Xia Liang looked at the nearby Walmart sign. “Oh.”

They walked into Walmart.  Xia Liang followed Song Qiyan to the flour section.  They picked up a bag of flour.  Then they went to the freezer at the corner and picked up a……Xia Liang looked around.  She did not know what it was.

Song Qiyan caught her eyes.  He explained, “This is crust.  It’s the bottom of the pie.”

Xia Liang nodded.

She was only a foodie.  She could only cook some simple Chinese food.  As for making desserts, she really wasn’t good at it at all.

“Let’s go.  My car is parked outside.”

Song Qiyan dropped the shopping bag from Walmart into the trunk after they arrived at the parking lot.  He opened the driver side door and looked at Xia Liang with confusion. “Why aren’t you getting in?”

Xia Liang recovered, opened the passenger door, and sat in.  She smiled embarrassedly. “Uhm……I was a little surprised.”

Song Qiyan asked, “Because I have a car?”  He laughed softly, “I have been here for ……6 years.  It’s quite normal that I have a car.  I haven’t mentioned it to you before.  My parents live in China.  I have an aunt who married to a Chinese American.  They moved to Seattle after they got married.  Xiao Yi has taken care of me. I stay at my apartment at school but I will go to their home during the holidays.”

Xia Liang listened carefully.  She sighed, “It’s so nice to have a relative living nearby. Well, it looks like I am the first one in my family to go abroad.”

Song Qiyan smiled.

It didn’t take long to go to the house of Song Qiyan’s aunt.  The drive only took about 10 minutes.  Song Qiyan parked the car.  He carried the shopping bag and then led Xia Liang into the house.

His aunt lived in a very spacious house.  The interior decorations were not as luxurious as some of the mansions in China, but it wasn’t as simple as the average American family.  It made you feel warm and fashionable.

The sound of children playing emanated from the living room.  Someone was busy in the kitchen.  A women came out of kitchen after she heard the sound from the front door.  She looked to be around the age of 40, wearing an apron.  She had kept herself in good shape and looked very gentle.

“You’ve arrived?”  She greeted with a smile and took over the bag from Song Qiyan.

“How are you.  I’m Xia Liang.  I’m Song shixiong’s schoolmate.”

The women glanced at Song Qiyan.  Then she smiled at her. “How are you, Xiao Xia.  Come in.  Your don’t need to change shoes. Make yourself at home. Just call me Xiao Yi like Ah Yan.  By the way, my husband has gone out for some company business.  He will come back in the afternoon.”

Xia Liang looked at Song Qiyan and saw that he was bending over to look at her.  So she nodded quietly and politely greeted her. “Xiao Yi.”

Su Wei let them in.  Then she called out to the living room.  Two 12 or 13 years old girls ran out from the living room immediately.  They were obviously twins.  The two young girls had the same long dark hair, brown eyes, identical appearance and identical body shape.  They looked at her with the same curiosity.  Then they flew to Song Qiyan’s side and simultaneously shouted, “Albert!”

“Morning.”  Song Qiyan bent over.  He touched the young children’s heads one by one. “Introduce yourselves to Summer.”

Then he stood straight up.

The young children looked at each other.  The young girl at left spoke first, “Hey, Summer, I’m Annie.”  Then she added in Chinese, “My Chinese name is Qi Ning.”

The girl at right spoke next, “Hey, Summer, I’m Angie.  Uhm, my Chinese name is Qi Jing.”

Su Wei, who was next to them, began to complain, “Alright, alright, you two go back and play.”  Su Wei helplessly shook her head as she watch the two children run back hand in hand. “Their names don’t match their personalities at all.  How are they Ning and Jing.”[1]  Both Xia Liang and Song Qiyan laughed.

Then Su Wei went to the kitchen to drop off the bag.  After she came out, she saw Song Qiyan was keeping Xia Liang company in the living room.  She could not help herself from walking up to pat Song Qiyan’s arm and become somewhat unusually serious.  “Ah Yan, you go to take a nap.  I’ll keep Xiao Xia company.”

Song Qiyan understood his Xiao Yi’s personality.  Most of the time she was gentle but there were times when she could be very stubborn. In addition, he was indeed tired; he already felt the onset of a headache.  He nodded.  Then he looked down at Xia Liang.

Xia Liang could hear that even his voice was a little hoarse.  She pulled his sleeve. “Shixiong, you go take a rest.  I’ll be all right.”

“Go quickly now.”  Su Wei patted his hand.

Su Wei sighed after Song Qiyan walked upstairs. “I have to worry about everybody.”  She turned to look at Xia Liang with a gentle smile again. “Ah Yan just arrived this morning and ran to pick you up after he took only a very short nap.  He was very picky.  So he surely didn’t sleep well on the plane.  He can’t keep it up if he still doesn’t get some rest.  He was so busy for several weeks back in China and he was in such a bad mood, so he most certainly hasn’t had a chance to rest.  He looks like he has a mild personality but he’s actually a very stubborn person.”

Xia Liang carefully listened to Su Wei’s comment about Song Qiyan.  But her mind was not calm inside.

Did he go to pick her up right after he got off the airplane?  Actually it was not far from here to her apartment, she could come over here by herself.  He only needed to tell her.

Besides, what did it mean that he was busy in China and he was in bad mood?

Xia Liang stuffed all these questions inside herself as she was too embarrassed to ask.  Finally, she could only ask Su Wei cutely, “Xiao Yi, do you need any help?  Uhm, I can be your assistant.”

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[1]:  In Chinese, Ning means calm and Jing means silent.