090, cell phone, panic

Following Jing Qingxin’s instructions, Gao Shen fixed his gaze on the camera, adjusted his posture slightly, and tried to stretch his lips into a smile. But seeing himself so clearly in the lens made him feel stiff and uncomfortable.

This phone is truly magical—it can mirror me just like a real mirror! Gao Shen marveled inwardly.

With a click, the image froze, just like a photograph, only in color.

“Did you see clearly? This is a camera, just one of the many applications on a phone. The phone can hold so many things. No matter where you go, for clothing, food, shelter, and travel, one phone can handle everything!” Jing Qingxin summarized, striving to explain in plain words.

Then, Jing Qingxin took the phone and demonstrated from turning it on to using the basic apps, explaining each function while showing Gao Shen, doing her best to help him understand.

When she finished, Gao Shen eagerly took the phone and began exploring it himself. With no signal, many features were unusable; only the simple games pre-installed on the phone could capture his interest, since those didn’t require internet access.

Jing Qingxin rarely saw Gao Shen display such childlike innocence, so she let him be. Besides, there was nothing on her phone she minded him seeing.

Watching Gao Shen engrossed and happy, she didn’t disturb him and returned to the main room to tidy up. She remembered buying a piece of cloth at the last market, intending to hang a curtain in Gao Shen’s room. Without it, anyone standing in the main room could see inside, which offered no privacy.

She had forgotten about it amidst her busy comings and goings. Retrieving the coarse blue fabric, she found herself lacking hooks to hang it, so she folded one edge and sewed a hem by hand.

With this, a thin cord or wire could run through the curtain, and a slender wooden stick fixed to either side of the doorframe would suffice to hang it.

Such stitching was simple enough for Jing Qingxin’s skill, unlike more complicated sewing which she couldn’t manage.

In a short time, she finished sewing and peeked outside to see Gao Shen still in the same posture, absorbed in the phone, making her shake her head with a gentle smile.

She prepared the slender wooden stick and cord, ready for the next step, when she heard a knock at the door.

At the sound, Gao Shen immediately put away the phone, his expression returning to calm. Turning, he saw Jing Qingxin standing in the main room, nothing amiss, so he strode to open the courtyard gate.

Seeing who stood outside, Gao Shen’s brow furrowed slightly, his eyes flickering with strange emotion. He asked expressionlessly, “What brings you here?”

“Little brother, your big brother has come all the way to your door—won’t you let me in for a visit?” Gao Wei, playing the role of elder brother, squeezed past Gao Shen and entered the yard.

“Oh, this must be your future sister-in-law, right? Little brother, honestly, the last time I came by you didn’t even introduce me. That’s hardly proper for our Gao family!” Gao Wei complained.

Jing Qingxin said nothing, sitting quietly on a wooden stool in the main room, maintaining a polite smile, leaving all dealings to Gao Shen.

Gao Shen stepped forward and sat on a stool in the courtyard, his face calm. “If you have something to say, just say it. No need for roundabout chatter.”

At this, Gao Wei coughed awkwardly before speaking plainly, “I heard you were distributing meat last night. Mom and Dad sent me to get some to take home. We haven’t had meat at home for a while.”

Since Gao Shen returned from the army to recover, the family lost his subsidies and allowances, making life tight. His wife managed the household finances; before, with Gao Shen’s support, she’d buy meat occasionally, so they had meat once or twice a month. Now, with that income gone, his wife was reluctant to spend, and he dared not quarrel with her. Their lives and status had changed, and upsetting her would only bring misery upon himself—he didn’t want to end up a lonely old man!

This morning, his wife heard Gao Shen was giving out meat last night and cursed loudly at home. After lunch, she sent him to his younger brother, under the pretense of their parents, to ask for meat for their parents—though really, it was for their own household.

“No meat,” Gao Shen replied bluntly.

Instantly, Gao Wei protested, “How can there be no meat? Didn’t you share it with the villagers last night? Why is there none left for our parents? Little brother, that’s not right!”

“You said it yourself, I gave meat to the villagers. If I gave it all away, how could there be any left?” Gao Shen replied coolly, unmoved.

“You didn’t save any? I don’t believe you gave it all away!”

With that, Gao Wei angrily rushed toward the kitchen. He didn’t believe there was no meat stored there. He’d heard Gao Shen went hunting in the mountains yesterday, bagged a roe deer and some wild poultry. Just two people—in sharing with the villagers, they couldn’t have finished all the meat!

But after searching the kitchen thoroughly, inside and out, he found nothing. The kitchen was spotless, not a trace of meat. Impossible! They must not have stored it there.

Turning quickly, Gao Wei charged into the main room.

This time, Gao Shen wouldn’t let him run amok. He hurried to the main room and blocked Gao Wei’s entrance. He hadn’t stopped him earlier because he knew there was nothing in the kitchen; Jing Qingxin always cooked straight from her magical storage. If he didn’t let his elder brother see for himself, he’d never be convinced.

“No meat means no meat. Please leave,” Gao Shen said, blocking the doorway with a chilly tone.

This only confirmed Gao Wei’s suspicion that the meat was hidden in the house. Before leaving, his wife had sternly ordered him to bring meat back, or else he’d go without dinner tonight.

Thinking of his wife’s temper, Gao Wei puffed up and tried to force his way into the main room, but his strength was no match for Gao Shen. Frustrated, he shouted, “Little brother, you’re so unfilial! You give meat to villagers but not to your own parents! Is this how a son should behave?”

Jing Qingxin knew Gao Wei was no match for Gao Shen and felt no concern. She sat calmly in the main room, amused by Gao Wei’s flustered state.

Suddenly, a familiar pain surged through Jing Qingxin’s mind. With a jolt of realization and panic, she cried out, “Gao Shen!”

—Extra—

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This book was first published by Xiaoxiang Book House. Please do not repost!