The handwriting was crooked, but all the strokes were correct.
Ji Nian thought to herself that at this time, it was still just a small amount. She remembered Ms. Li once telling her that the first time she met Ji Tingzhou, she spent ten dollars to get her hair braided.
"Do you know how to read? I wrote this."
Seeing Ji Nian staring at the sign, Shen Rushan observed her for a moment before breaking into a pleasantly surprised expression.
As soon as Ji Nian nodded, he lifted his shirt, revealing a tattered book tucked inside.
Shen Rushan carefully flipped open the textbook, its cover half torn and crumbling from years of neglect.
"Do you recognize all the words in here?"
Ji Nian crouched down to take a look.
With the cover missing, she couldn’t tell which grade the textbook was for.
"I do," she said after skimming through it.
When she looked up, she found Shen Rushan staring at her as if she were a giant pack of instant noodles.
Even yesterday, when Ji Nian had kicked over the two robbers right in front of him, his gaze hadn’t been this awestruck.
"Do you want me to teach you how to read?" Ji Nian offered.
Shen Rushan looked like he might faint from excitement. "Really!?"
"Of course."
At his age, if he weren’t here, he’d probably already be in third grade.
"Some time ago, people said a school would open here. I wanted to save up enough money to enroll."
Ji Nian’s eyes flickered. "Do you have to pay tuition?"
Shen Rushan shook his head—he didn’t know.
But he’d overheard parents from North Street talking about saving up for school bags, notebooks, and pencils to send their kids to school.
He wasn’t sure about tuition, but there were definitely expenses involved.
Just then, Shen Rushan noticed Ji Tingzhou’s gaze from across the way. He carefully tucked the book back into his waistband and whispered to Ji Nian, "We’ll talk later. Someone’s coming."
With that, Shen Rushan stepped forward and began calling out, "Hair braiding! Get your hair braided!"
Ji Nian wondered why he was shouting so energetically when they already had a sign.
After observing the other stalls, she realized none of them had signs—perhaps the literacy level here was lower than she’d imagined.
Shen Rushan kept shouting, but no customers came.
Ji Nian crouched nearby for a while before an idea struck her. She scooted over to Ji Tingzhou and tugged at his sleeve.
Ji Tingzhou frowned at the contact and shot her a sidelong glance, as if asking, What do you want?
Ji Nian thought, What a grumpy little boat.
She sat down on the small wooden stool meant for customers, took off her hat, and let her curly hair tumble free. "Braid my hair."
Shen Rushan’s eyes lit up when he saw her move.
"We thought of doing this before, but Zhiliao’s hair is too short—we couldn’t use it as a display."
But now they had Ji Nian—a little girl with beautiful hair.
A perfect model!
Ji Tingzhou stood beside Ji Nian, reaching out to toy with a strand of her curls.
Ji Nian looked up at him and smiled. "Pretty, right? My dad used to braid my hair all the time. He was really good at it."
Her voice carried unmistakable pride.
Ji Tingzhou replied flatly, "Oh."
What’s so impressive about braiding hair?
He glanced down at her, quickly envisioning a suitable hairstyle, then deftly gathered two sections of her hair and began working.
Ji Tingzhou’s striking emerald-green eyes were already attention-grabbing, but now, with a fair-skinned, rosy-lipped little girl who looked completely out of place in Liuxing Street sitting in front of him, even more eyes were drawn their way.
Most notably, the little girl looked identical to the boy braiding her hair!
Soon, a crowd gathered—some just watching, but a few women passing by were captivated by the hairstyle taking shape on Ji Nian’s head.
Shen Rushan, quick-witted as ever, started calling out to potential customers as soon as the crowd thickened.
Zhiliao, meanwhile, kept a sharp eye out, ready to deter anyone with ill intentions.
"One dollar per style, right? Can you do any hairstyle?" a woman asked decisively as she approached Shen Rushan.
Shen Rushan beamed. "Yes, sister! One dollar per style. We can do any hairstyle you like. If you’re not sure, we’ll design one just for you—something that highlights your beauty!"
He mimicked the ad slogans he’d heard on the electronics store’s TV.
The woman handed over her money, satisfied.
Soon, others followed, lining up to get their hair braided.
Most of them worked in the nearby red-light district and had free time during the day.
Ji Tingzhou wrinkled his nose at the overpowering perfume clinging to the women.
He hated touching strangers’ hair and disliked being close to people, but survival didn’t leave him the luxury of preferences.
Oddly enough, though, he hadn’t felt any discomfort while braiding Ji Nian’s hair.
His gaze drifted back to Ji Nian.
Her curly hair was now styled into a delicate updo, resembling a flower bud from behind. She was playing with a child.
Wait—a child?
Ji Tingzhou focused and saw a snot-nosed, dopey-looking little boy standing by the stall. The moment the boy spotted Ji Tingzhou, he grinned widely and shouted, "Brother! Brother! Brother!!"
Ji Tingzhou averted his eyes, pretending not to notice.
Shen Rushan was busy with customers, while Zhiliao frowned at the boy. "How did you find us?"
The boy puffed out his chest. "I asked around!"
"I can help too!"
With that, he started hollering about hair braiding, completely throwing off Shen Rushan’s rhythm. Shen Rushan waved him off, telling him to go play somewhere else.
This kid from North Street just won’t leave us alone, Shen Rushan thought irritably.
After Ji Tingzhou had beaten him up for breaking Da Gen’s doll’s arm, the brat had latched onto them like glue, impossible to shake off.
Ji Nian was barely holding back laughter.
This round-faced, dim-witted but sturdy little rascal could be none other than Wei Yang!
Ignored by everyone, Wei Yang cast longing glances at Ji Tingzhou before sidling up to Ji Nian. "Who are you? How come you look exactly like my brother?"
Even Shen Rushan had mistaken her for Ji Tingzhou at first, but Wei Yang had spotted the difference immediately. Now that’s what you call a devoted fan.
Ji Nian suppressed a chuckle and patted his bald head affectionately. "Call me sister."
...
Thanks to Ji Nian, they made about sixteen dollars—a small fortune by their standards. They decided to spend a little on something nice to eat.
As they packed up and headed back, Wei Yang trailed after Ji Tingzhou like a loyal shadow.
Ji Tingzhou ignored him completely.
Ji Nian couldn’t help but sympathize.
While walking down a street, Ji Nian was taking in the surroundings when she noticed Ji Tingzhou’s gaze linger briefly on a nearby shop.
It was just a flicker, but she caught it.
She turned to look.
It was a clothing store, though in Ji Nian's eyes, it could barely qualify as more than a "street stall." Yet, judging by the owner's proud expression, business must have been booming—likely the best clothing shop around.
Earlier, Ji Tingzhou had been eyeing a gray jacket hanging outside.
Unlike the flashy patterns on the other garments, this one was plain and unremarkable, yet its cut was surprisingly well-tailored, tucked away in an inconspicuous spot.
So, even at this age, he’s already conscious about his looks…
Ji Nian glanced at the thin, threadbare shirt he was wearing—washed so many times it had faded to white, with patches stitching together the frayed fabric.
After walking a little further, Ji Nian suddenly halted, catching sight of something.
The three ahead continued on, oblivious, with Wei Yang trailing dumbly behind.
Only when Ji Tingzhou stopped and turned to look back did Wei Yang follow his gaze.
Ji Nian stood frozen under Ji Tingzhou’s stare before snapping back to attention. Instinctively, she called out, "Dad… ahem—Zhouzhou, I’m heading over there for a bit. Go on ahead, I remember the way. I’ll catch up later."
With that, she hurried off.
Shen Rushan and Zhiliao turned to Ji Tingzhou.
Watching Ji Nian disappear, Ji Tingzhou simply said, "Let’s go."
And so they continued.
But before long, they were forced to stop again.
Had Ji Nian been there, she would’ve recognized the man leading the group—one of the men she’d kicked to the ground the day before.
The man smirked down at the children, who barely reached his waist, and sneered, "Little rats… Today, I’m going to skin you alive!"
"Get them!"
