Thank you, Little Pig

They were mere inches apart, and Jiang Xu's breath caught. The warmth of Liang Xiaoqing's words brushed her cheek—a sensation entirely different from the steady, even breath that had slipped into her collar earlier.

The chest beneath her rose and fell, and under Liang Xiaoqing's puzzled gaze, Jiang Xu scrambled up quickly and sat on the edge of the sofa.

"I..." Her heart thumped at an unnatural rhythm, and she kept her eyes lowered. "I didn't mean to."

"Hm?" Liang Xiaoqing propped herself up into a sitting position too, her hair slightly tousled from sleep.

Jiang Xu still didn't dare look at her, blinking rapidly. "It was... the remote."

"Oh."

Liang Xiaoqing tilted her head, glanced at the inside of the sofa, and indeed spotted the remote. She picked it up, handed it to Jiang Xu, and asked, "Were you trying to watch TV?"

"..."

Jiang Xu stared at the remote resting in her palm, her mind going blank as she replayed what Liang Xiaoqing had just said.

What are you doing?

What was she doing?

What did she want to do?

What could she possibly do?

Why was she so nervous, so scared, unable to say it openly? Why did she always approach Liang Xiaoqing with such tentative caution...

A flood of questions surged through Jiang Xu's mind, all sparked by Liang Xiaoqing's words. It frightened her, and it troubled her too.

Having grown up without a sense of security, she constantly felt she would be abandoned. She had never dared to trust anyone easily. Liang Xiaoqing was the first person she had ever felt dependent on, and she was terrified of being abandoned at any moment, with nothing deeper binding them together—no blood relation, nothing else.

Jiang Xu shoved all those questions back into some sealed, airtight corner of her mind. From the outside, she looked as bright as sunlight.

"Xiaoqing jie..."

She thought this might be a serious matter, because not everyone liked her getting close. Wang Cai, for instance.

Wang Cai didn't like her getting too close.

She began to think about how to smoothly let this pass, so that Liang Xiaoqing wouldn't come to dislike her. Her approaching Liang Xiaoqing was different from Liang Xiaoqing approaching her.

Her back straightened, but her voice was small. "Xiaoqing jie, are you angry?"

Liang Xiaoqing was taken aback for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Why would I be angry?"

Jiang Xu relaxed a little at her expression. "Because I bumped into you."

"Did you do it on purpose?"

"No."

Liang Xiaoqing looked at Jiang Xu and said, "Can you tell me why you bumped into me?"

Jiang Xu loosened her body. "Because I was looking for the remote."

"And then?" Liang Xiaoqing said.

"To turn off the TV." Jiang Xu glanced up at Liang Xiaoqing, who remained perfectly calm, and went on. "Because you had fallen asleep, Xiaoqing jie, and I wanted to turn off the TV so the sound wouldn't bother you."

Perhaps Liang Xiaoqing's easy manner gave Jiang Xu more of a sense of security. "The sofa is too small. It's not safe for you to sleep here, Xiaoqing jie—if you move, you'll roll onto the floor. ... Xiaoqing jie, are you still sleepy? If you are, go sleep in the bed. Or you take the bed and I'll sleep on the floor—either way is fine. I can sleep anywhere..."

Jiang Xu said a great deal in one breath.

Liang Xiaoqing's expression grew increasingly serious, listening carefully, her gaze falling on the clean coffee table. Something stirred in her chest.

Jiang Xu, as if her floodgates had opened, chattered on and on. Liang Xiaoqing curved her lips, finding Jiang Xu more and more endearing. She thought that if she really had a daughter, she would probably be just like Jiang Xu.

She leaned forward and hugged Jiang Xu.

"Thank you, Xiao Xu."

For Jiang Xu, it was the first time anyone had ever hugged her.

"You did great."

She heard Liang Xiaoqing's gratitude and praise. It suddenly struck her that if even being kind to others had to be done with such care, it was because she had never once received a hug or gratitude from anyone.

"N-no need to thank me, Xiaoqing jie."

Liang Xiaoqing treating her like this only made her feel overwhelmed. She felt that same thin breath against her ear as before, and the moment Liang Xiaoqing embraced her, she was enveloped in that familiar scent. Having lived with Liang Xiaoqing these past days, she carried those same smells on herself.

She tentatively pinched the fabric of Liang Xiaoqing's clothes with her fingers. Liang Xiaoqing was wearing a cream-colored sweater, and in this embrace, nearly half of Jiang Xu's face was buried in it. On her palm-sized face, a pair of unusually exquisite eyes stood out especially bright.

Jiang Xu stared at the figures reflected in the window—a dark background, dim yellow light, blurry silhouettes embracing. She seemed to hear her own heartbeat, the sound of blood flowing through her veins like the rush of air over a vast, empty sea. Her lashes trembled, her nostrils fluttered slightly as she drew in the compressed air, and she didn't say that Liang Xiaoqing's hug was making it hard for her to breathe.

Jiang Xu's eyes half-closed.

Liang Xiaoqing released her soon after.

Jiang Xu's nose tip was faintly red. She looked at Liang Xiaoqing and said, "Xiaoqing jie, are you still watching TV?"

Liang Xiaoqing smiled, perhaps because she had just woken, her eyes still carrying a misty sheen. "No more." She pinched Jiang Xu's cheek, feeling that Jiang Xu had put on a little weight under her care. "I need to grade the papers."

The most important task this week was to finish grading the exam papers—the Chinese papers from her own class, and also the math papers for Class Five that Zhang Qing had asked her to handle.

She didn't really want to help Zhang Qing, but since Jiang Xu was in Class Five, she hadn't dared to ask Jiang Xu how she had done. Most importantly, she didn't want to put pressure on Jiang Xu. She figured that since she was grading papers anyway, if she happened to come across Jiang Xu's paper, she could also get a sense of how Jiang Xu had been doing in her studies.

Yang Man had told her about Jiang Xu's situation—her foundation wasn't great, and she could hardly keep up in class. That was why, the last time they ran into each other in the cafeteria, she had wanted to have a proper talk with Jiang Xu. But when the words reached her lips, she didn't know how to say them.

Liang Xiaoqing thought she would have to take things slowly. Jiang Xu was quiet by nature, with delicate, sensitive feelings. Saying too much might bruise her pride.

Fortunately, Jiang Xu was gradually changing. Yang Man told her that Jiang Xu had been in a good learning state recently and was putting in real effort. Liang Xiaoqing figured Jiang Xu's score this time shouldn't be too bad.

Jiang Xu furrowed her little brows. "You can grade them tomorrow."

Liang Xiaoqing sighed helplessly. "I have to go to the county for a study session tomorrow."

There was a teaching seminar in the county this Saturday, and the principal had secured a few spots for Qing Middle. Tomorrow, Liang Xiaoqing and a few of the younger teachers had to head to the county for the session along with the principal.

The workload was still heavy, and besides, Liang Xiaoqing had already promised someone else. She'd had enough relaxation since coming home; it was time to be satisfied. She lifted her chin, gesturing toward the remote in Jiang Xu's hand. "Xiao Xu, if there's anything you want to watch, just turn it on yourself. I'll go get busy. And you have to shut the TV off and go to bed before ten, okay?"

With that instruction, Liang Xiaoqing shuffled into her slippers, ruffled Jiang Xu's hair, picked up the papers, and headed into the bedroom.

Jiang Xu watched her retreating back in silence. She had thought Liang Xiaoqing really liked that drama, but other matters could put it aside for later.

Jiang Xu sat down in the spot where Liang Xiaoqing had been lying, still faintly warm. Actually, Jiang Xu didn't have any particular show she wanted to watch either. She set the remote aside, stared at the male and female leads on the screen, and idly flipped through a few channels before landing on a cartoon for kids and watching that for a while.

After a bit, she turned off the TV and headed to the bedroom as well.

Liang Xiaoqing was a woman of her word, and sure enough, when Jiang Xu came in, she saw her bent over the desk grading papers. Liang Xiaoqing hadn't turned on the bedroom light, only the desk lamp. The room was so small that with the lamp on, the entire space was bright.

Jiang Xu stood at the door for a while, her hand fiddling with the bead strings of the curtain, her gaze landing on Liang Xiaoqing's hunched back, then shifting from her back to the large stack of papers beside her. She wanted to say something. Even if Liang Xiaoqing didn't say it, Jiang Xu knew—the only thing she had to offer right now was her grades. Liang Xiaoqing had spared no effort to help her, so she should repay her.

Jiang Xu wasn't exactly an ungrateful person. At worst, she was someone who held grudges.

This time, she had answered every question on the exam with ease. She might not be first, but she definitely wouldn't be bad. Especially because of Jin Xiao's special attention, Jiang Xu had put more effort into the math paper. She was confident she had done well this time. Suppressing the urge to tell Liang Xiaoqing, she walked over and sat down beside her, staring with quiet smugness at the ungraded papers.

If Liang Xiaoqing graded her paper, she would surely be happy for her. Jiang Xu felt a thrill of anticipation just thinking about it. She waited for Liang Xiaoqing to reach her paper, waited for her to praise her.

Pen up, pen down—one paper took about a minute to grade, which was fast for Liang Xiaoqing. She caught a glimpse of Jiang Xu from the corner of her eye but didn't let it distract her. The pen tip swept across the paper with a rustle, leaving red marks behind. "Why aren't you watching TV anymore?"

"Nothing good on."

"Mm." Liang Xiaoqing's attention was fixed on the papers, and since Jiang Xu said that, she didn't press further. Jiang Xu sat beside her watching her grade for almost half an hour, until Liang Xiaoqing said, "Tired? Go to sleep."

"Not sleepy yet," Jiang Xu said, wondering why her paper hadn't come up yet.

Liang Xiaoqing thought Jiang Xu looked a little silly like this. She turned her stiff neck and smiled. "No need to keep me company, Xiao Xu. You go on to bed."

"...No, it's fine." Jiang Xu scooted a bit closer. "I'll help you sort the papers."

The papers had just fallen to the floor, the two subjects mixed together. Liang Xiaoqing was grabbing whichever one she came to, and before she could reply, Jiang Xu had already taken it upon herself to separate them.

Chinese papers to one side, math papers to the other. Jiang Xu kept an eye on Liang Xiaoqing from the corner of her gaze, and when she saw no reaction, she relaxed. She pretended to be diligently sorting the papers, but in truth she was hunting for her own, placing hers on the very top.

That way, Liang Xiaoqing would see it.

The rain outside seemed to be letting up—the sound against the window wasn't as loud as before, only occasionally a gust of wind rattling the glass. The room was warm and cozy, the potted plant by the windowsill casting a cold green glow. The rustling of papers sounded especially loud in the quiet room, and Jiang Xu flipped through them tirelessly.

Finally, she spotted a fresh paper with familiar handwriting, and the corners of her lips curved up. Liang Xiaoqing smoothly took the paper from her hand, checked it against the answer key Wang Qing had given her, and after finishing, flipped through it and said with satisfaction, "This math paper is pretty well done."

Jiang Xu focused on Liang Xiaoqing grading her paper, ready to receive her praise. The scent of ink wafted into her nose. Even though she had been looking forward to this moment, she still felt a little nervous as she waited.

Liang Xiaoqing read out the name on the paper: "Jiang Erya."

Jiang Xu froze.

Liang Xiaoqing smiled. "It's her. The other day, Jin Xiao told me Jiang Erya wasn't doing well in her studies, but she did score pretty high this time."

She set Jiang Erya's paper aside and picked up the next one.

What? Jiang Erya...

Jiang Xu was stunned, unable to process it. She forgot all about helping sort the papers and hurried around to the other side, snatching up that paper and holding it under the desk lamp, scrutinizing the name. The space for the name showed obvious signs of erasure, the original writing no longer legible, replaced by a crooked scrawl reading "Jiang Erya" in big characters.

It was as if she had been slapped awake.

"Xiao Xu." Liang Xiaoqing tugged at the paper that was about to be crumpled in her hand. "What's wrong?"

Jiang Xu released the paper and looked at Liang Xiaoqing, who was watching her with concern. Her lips moved, but no words came out.