Seven Days of Love

It was almost time for school to let out, so I went to pick up Tuotuo.

The sun was scorching, and I couldn’t stand the heat, so I went to the freezer to grab a popsicle and hid under the shade of a tree to munch on it.

I picked a pudding-flavored one this time.

This flavor still suits my palate best.

Just as I took a bite, that Cayenne appeared again.

And Tuotuo had already appeared at the school gate.

I winked and gestured at him; Tuotuo caught on immediately and scurried back into the school.

By the time Jin Lan was leaning against his car door lighting his seventh cigarette.

I was already sitting in a KFC with Tuotuo.

Tuotuo watched me gnaw on a spicy chicken wing, chewing on a fry, his cheeks puffed out as if he were unhappy.

I spat out a bone: “What’s wrong? You look all grumpy.”

Tuotuo leaned his face almost right up to the wing in my hand: “Mom, is the chicken wing good?”

I chewed slowly and said earnestly: “It’s a bit spicy.

“Remember not to eat this in the future, it scratches your throat.”

Tuotuo looked miserable: “Then was the popsicle from earlier good?”

I held my jaw and shook my head: “It was good, but it sticks to your teeth. I even lost a tooth to it.

“Tuotuo, you have to remember, the prettier a popsicle looks, the more it’ll deceive you.”

Tuotuo nodded, looking like he half-understood.

On the way back, we walked hand-in-hand through the alley.

A family of three walked past us, and Tuotuo asked me: “Mom, why don’t I have a dad?”

I crouched down, stroked Tuotuo’s face, and said with feigned grief: “Your dad.

“He kicked the bucket.”

A man’s voice, grinding his teeth, rang out from behind us:

“Lin Qiqi, so you’ve really been going around telling everyone I’m dead?!”