Chapter 75
◎Buying New Clothes◎
Before Su Juesheng left the capital, he insisted on taking Tangtang to buy a few sets of clothes.
Tangtang declined, “Brother Juesheng, I really don’t need them. I’ve brought enough clothes to wear.”
Su Juesheng grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth. “It’s okay. Just listen to Big Brother. I also want to check out the shopping malls in the capital.”
Zhou Shunian had originally planned to see Su Juesheng off at the station. Since he had nothing else to do, he went along with them.
So, Tangtang took Su Juesheng to the department store she had been to last time. Last time, she had mainly looked at daily necessities and hadn’t been to the clothing section. The clothing section mainly sold ready-made clothes of various styles. There were Lenin suits, blue work clothes, and some relatively fashionable styles, including brightly colored shirts and some dresses with simple decorations. Tangtang looked at the pile of ready-made clothes and felt that every piece was particularly fashionable and beautiful.
“Tangtang, what do you think of this one?” Su Juesheng scratched his head and finally picked out a dark jujube-red shirt from a pile of colorful clothes.
Tangtang saw the dark jujube-red shirt in her brother’s hand. The color was too eye-catching. It felt so red that it could outshine the sorghum in the fields. Her face twitched, and she shook her head. “No, I don’t want it.”
“What about this one?” Su Juesheng picked up a military green shirt. “You can wear it with these black pants.”
Zhou Shunian couldn’t help but facepalm. “You should just save yourself the trouble and let Tangtang choose for herself.”
“Let’s go to the food section and see if they sell any soda.” The capital was already showing signs of warming up in March and April, especially since the sun was quite strong today. As Zhou Shunian was walking out, he didn’t forget to say, “Tangtang, just pick whichever one you like. Don’t be polite with your own brother.”
Tangtang blinked. “Thank you, Brother Shunian.”
After the two of them left, Tangtang instantly felt much more at ease. It was really uncomfortable to buy clothes with two boys. She couldn’t help but pick up a light purple polyester shirt with a lilac print. It felt cool to the touch, and the texture was much finer than the homespun cloth at home. The machine-stitched seams were very neat, and the lilac print was raised on the fabric. She could feel the fine texture when she ran her fingers over it.
“Hello, can I try this on?” Tangtang picked up the shirt and asked the salesclerk.
She had never bought ready-made clothes before and was worried that it wouldn’t fit after she bought it. She would have to alter it herself. Her needlework was average. If she had to alter it, she would have to go to a tailor shop, which would cost extra money.
The salesclerk raised her chin. “According to the rules, only clearance and seasonal clothes can be tried on. This kind of new arrival cannot be tried on. But there’s no one here now. If you want to try it, you can go to the fitting room inside.”
It was called a fitting room, but it was actually just a narrow gap between two counters, enclosed by a blue cloth curtain. Only a tiny bit of light could be seen. Tangtang took off her outer shirt and put on the light purple shirt in her hand.
Just as she had changed, she heard Zhou Shunian calling her name from outside.
Tangtang lowered her head and lifted the cloth curtain. After blinking to adjust to the light outside, she unexpectedly met a pair of dark, deep eyes.
She didn’t know how to describe those eyes. They were like a deep pool mixed with ink, like the thin frost on the tiles in the early morning of early spring. When the sun shone on them, a gentle warmth would emerge.
His gaze was clearly steady, but it made Tangtang feel as if the two lines of sight were like fine silver needles, making her ears burn.
Zhou Shunian’s Adam’s apple moved unconsciously. This was the first time he realized that Tangtang was no longer the little girl from six years ago. The fingers hanging by his side curled unconsciously. He quickly averted his gaze. “The soda comes in orange, pineapple, and lemon flavors. Which flavor do you want?”
“Oh, oh.” Tangtang also shifted her gaze elsewhere, her ears still feeling slightly hot. “I’ll have the lemon flavor.”
“Alright, then I’ll go get it for you,” Zhou Shunian replied.
Tangtang had thought Zhou Shunian was about to turn and leave, but she suddenly heard him lower his voice and say, “The clothes are very pretty.”
…
In the end, Tangtang chose a light purple shirt with a lilac print, a cream-colored top with a Peter Pan collar, a pair of light brown polyester trousers, and a sky-blue skirt.
In addition, Su Juesheng also bought some daily necessities like toothpaste and shampoo for his younger brother and sister, all in pairs. He also wanted to give Tangtang fifty yuan, but Tangtang refused to take it.
“Brother, I have enough money. Dad and Mom send us money every month, and the school also has a subsidy.” Tangtang knew that she had already spent a lot of money on clothes.
Su Juesheng had no choice but to take the fifty yuan back and ruffle her head. “Alright then. When I report to the military academy, I’ll write to you. If you encounter any difficulties in your life, you can write to the address on the letter, you know?”
“I’ll remember,” she nodded, her eyes sparkling.
The three of them walked towards the entrance of the department store. As they passed the counter for daily necessities, Tangtang’s first glance fell on the pearl cream with the words “Xuehuatang” printed on it.
“What’s wrong? Is there something you want to buy?”
Tangtang’s footsteps paused for a moment, but she still shook her head. She had already bought a lot of clothes today and had spent a lot of money. “There’s nothing I want to buy.”
“Are you sure?” Su Juesheng raised his eyebrows.
Tangtang pushed her brother towards the door. “I’m sure, I’m sure. Let’s go quickly. If we’re any later, we’ll miss the train.”
Tangtang and Zhou Shunian saw Su Juesheng off at the station. After watching him get on the train, they walked towards Capital University together.
…
At 9:30 in the evening, after Tangtang had finished her evening self-study and returned, she took a quick bath and was washing her clothes in the dormitory when she heard the dormitory administrator come up and call her, “Su Xintang, someone is looking for you downstairs!”
Hearing this, Tangtang quickly washed the foam from her hands. When she went downstairs, she found that the person looking for her was Zhou Shunian.
For the first time, Tangtang had a real sense that she and Zhou Shunian were in the same university.
Thinking about it now, she had seen a back that looked very much like Zhou Shunian’s at the school several times, but she really couldn’t have imagined that he would be at the same university as her, so she hadn’t chased after him at that time.
“Brother Shunian.”
“Is this what you wanted to buy at the department store this afternoon?” Zhou Shunian handed her the paper bag in his hand.
“What?” Tangtang took the bag and looked at it. Inside were two bottles of Xuehuatang pearl cream, with white glass bottles and red caps. “Brother Shunian, this…”
Tangtang suddenly remembered her childhood, when she had felt lost and sad because Zhang Chunni had said she was not the Su family’s biological daughter. It was also Zhou Shunian who had first noticed her emotions.
Whether it was six years ago or six years later, he was always so warm and so meticulous.
“I can’t accept this.” But Tangtang still pushed the pearl cream back into his hands.
She knew that this pearl cream required an industrial coupon, and one bottle cost three yuan. In fact, she could have afforded it if she gritted her teeth, but the industrial coupon was really hard to get.
“Do you still not see me as your brother?”
“But…” Tangtang bit her lip.
“I happen to have some industrial coupons that the machinery factory issued before. I don’t need them, so I just used them to buy this.”
Tangtang frowned with some difficulty. After considering it, she still accepted the two bottles of Xuehuatang pearl cream. For one, he had already bought them, and for another, she really wanted this pearl cream. A smile appeared on her lips. “Then I’ll give you the money.”
“No need. Your Brother Shunian doesn’t need to count this little bit of money with you.” Remembering something, Zhou Shunian took out a stack of coupons from his pocket and stuffed them into her hand. “The machinery factory issued these brown sugar coupons. I, a man, don’t need this. You can help me use them.”
This was the first time Tangtang had received so many brown sugar coupons. Back home, her mother, Yu Juanfang, would find ways to exchange grain coupons for a few brown sugar coupons every month, or she would buy them on the black market. If so many brown sugar coupons were taken to the black market, they could probably be sold for a lot of money. She hadn’t expected Zhou Shunian to give her a whole stack.
Even if she refused, Zhou Shunian would only find various reasons to make her accept them. After considering it, Tangtang still accepted them.
“Want to find a place to talk?” Zhou Shunian asked.
“Alright.” Tangtang nodded.
Zhou Shunian went to the small shop at the entrance and bought two bottles of soda. After unscrewing the cap of one, he handed it to her.
“When did you know I got into Capital University?” Tangtang tilted her head and asked him.
“About three days after the admission results came out. I sent a telegram to your big brother at that time and asked him how you all did. He replied to me a day later and said that both you and Juesheng had gotten into university.”
Tangtang wrung her fingers. “Then why didn’t you tell me that you got into university?”
“You didn’t ask me.” Zhou Shunian shrugged.
Alright, Tangtang thought. She indeed hadn’t asked Zhou Shunian if he had gotten into university.
“Heartless.”
Tangtang puffed out her cheeks. “Who are you calling heartless?”
“Who was it that didn’t write me a single letter in six years?” Zhou Shunian sighed faintly.
“I was afraid of disturbing your work as an educated youth and your work. Besides, you didn’t write to me in these six years either.”
In the first two years of being an educated youth in Wanqiu, Zhou Shunian had indeed been in a state of depression and pain. He had also hoped to numb himself with work and naturally had no mood to do anything else. “At least I wrote first, but I didn’t receive your reply.”
Tangtang didn’t speak anymore. She was indeed in the wrong for not sending a letter.
“Then have you seen me at school?”
“Mhm, I’ve seen you with your roommates, but not many times.” After all, Capital University was quite big, and the physics and chemistry departments were not in the same school area.
“Why did you choose the chemistry department? Is it because you like chemistry?”
“Mmm.” Tangtang took a sip of the fizzy soda and couldn’t help but burp. “Actually, I wouldn’t say I like it. It’s mainly because my chemistry grades are the best. When I saw that Capital University had a chemistry department, I naturally chose it.”
As for why Zhou Shunian chose physics, it must be because he liked physics.
“Brother Shunian, do you like being in university?”
He looked at the few fireflies flying around in the flower bed in the distance and briefly uttered two words, “I like it.”
Zhou Shunian liked being in university. The countless professional courses and experiments had found a crack for his long-suppressed desire for knowledge to break through the soil.
Tangtang’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “I like it too.”