Ye Qingyang looked utterly bewildered. “I can’t sleep, I’m practicing singing.”
“Practice singing at night?! Are you crazy?!” Wang Hui scolded.
Ye Qingyang pouted pitifully. “Well, you’re all awake at other times, so I don’t want to disturb you. Tonight, you’re asleep, and I can’t sleep because I’m cold. That’s why I thought I’d practice singing.”
He glanced at Wang Hui. “Sister, don’t be mad. I’m practicing for a competition. If I win, the prize money can buy you some lipstick or perfume.”
“I don’t need it,” Wang Hui said, rubbing her stomach. “I finally fell asleep. Stop making a fuss! Go back to sleep! Are you out of your mind, practicing singing in the middle of the night?!”
“But I’m cold,” Ye Qingyang said, lowering his head. “The weather report said the cold air is moving south, so the temperature swings a lot. I’m sleeping alone on the balcony with a thin blanket, and I can’t fall asleep.”
He started singing:
“Cold ice rain hits my face wildly
Warm tears mix with the cold rain
The colors before my eyes suddenly fade
Your shadow relentlessly haunts me
You’re like an executioner betraying me
My heart feels pierced by a bayonet
Love on the cliff
Who would accept such painful fate?”
Wang Hui: …
Ye Hong spoke up, “It’s not that cold. How can a boy be so delicate? Go back to sleep right now.”
“I can’t sleep,” Ye Qingyang said pitifully. “The books say if you exercise, you won’t feel cold. So why sleep? Let’s get up and have fun!”
He even invited Wang Hui enthusiastically: “Come, let’s draw a dragon on the left side together.”
Then he looked at Ye Hong and her husband on the right. “Let’s draw a rainbow on the right side too.”
Wang Hui: …
Ye Hong: …
Ye Hong’s husband: …
Seeing their stunned expressions, Ye Qingyang got even more excited, singing and jumping with the megaphone:
“I’ll never get tired
I’ll dance three days and nights
My mood is so light I could fly
O.K. O.K. join my ranks
No K. No K. from day to night
Always, always, happiness never loses
No way, no way, no one can refuse
Three days and nights, in the dead of night, dancing never stops”
Ye Hong: …
She rushed over, ready to hit him. “I’ll show you never getting tired, dancing non-stop, disturbing our rest! How can you be so impossible?!”
Ye Qingyang dodged calmly, deliberately teasing her: “O.K. O.K., join my ranks, No K. No K., from day to night.”
Ye Hong’s anger spiked; her heart raced as she swung the broom. Ye Qingyang nimbly jumped onto the glass coffee table.
Ye Hong’s heart nearly stopped. “Get down!”
Ye Qingyang wagged a finger at her. “No way, no way, no one can refuse.”
Ye Hong swung the broom again. Bang! The glass table nearly shattered; the fruit on the plate exploded.
Ye Qingyang leapt onto the sofa, hopping around to provoke them. “Three days and nights, in the dead of night, dancing never stops.”
Ye Hong went berserk, swinging the broom wildly. Wang Yue quickly intervened. “Xiao Hong, stop! Put down the broom, this isn’t working.”
Ye Qingyang moved skillfully, jumping to Ye Hong’s bedroom door. With a turn, he entered and locked it from the inside.
Ye Hong and Wang Yue hadn’t reacted yet.
He flopped onto Ye Hong’s bed, stretching and shouting through the megaphone: “I’m sorry, Aunt, I won’t do it again. Please don’t hit me. I’ll sleep now.”
His tone was sincere, even tinged with fear and pitifulness.
Ye Hong angrily pounded the door. “Open it! You’d better open it, or you’ll learn who you’re dealing with today!”
Ye Qingyang kept his eyes closed, feigning submission. “I’m scared… afraid you’ll hit me. Aunt, tap lightly—don’t break the door, it’ll cost money to fix it.”
Ye Hong: …
She reluctantly retracted her foot from kicking the door. It was her room—breaking it would be a loss to her.
Gritting her teeth, she tricked him: “Come out, Aunt won’t hit you. Close the door. How is Aunt supposed to sleep?”
Ye Qingyang feigned fear. “I’m too tired… Aunt, you can sleep on my bed first. I’ll sleep here.”
He turned off the megaphone, put on his headphones, and slowly closed his eyes to peaceful music.
Ye Hong spoke for a long time but got no response. She angrily started pounding the door again.
Wang Hui couldn’t take it any longer. “Enough! Stop! If you keep banging, you’ll wake the baby in my belly!”
“This isn’t enough racket for the middle of the night? Fine. You and Dad sleep on the balcony. I’ll go back inside.”
Ye Hong pointed at the balcony. “How can you sleep there? There’s no way two people fit with me and Dad. I just wanted the bedroom back!”
“But you clearly can’t get it back!” Wang Hui shot her a sidelong glance. “If you can, pull him out. If not, go sleep on the balcony. I’m sleeping there whether you do or not.”
Thinking about Ye Qingyang keeping her awake, Wang Hui felt irritated. “Useless brat. Why didn’t he die with his parents? He’d just be causing trouble, better off gone with them.”
She turned and went into her room, slamming the door.
Ye Hong looked at her husband. Wang Yue sighed. “Just make do for one night. There’s no other way.”
“You make do, I’m not,” Ye Hong said, lying on the sofa with a pillow. “I’ll sleep here.”
Wang Yue couldn’t argue, so he brought Ye Qingyang’s blanket from the balcony, covered the sofa, and slept with Wang Hui.
Ye Hong looked at the coffee table with footprints, the smashed oranges, the sofa Ye Qingyang had stomped on, her new oil, and three ruined tomatoes, and felt overwhelming grief. Tears streamed down her face.
“Why am I so unlucky? What sin did I commit?”
Wang Yue comforted her. “Sleep first.”
Ye Hong got angrier and sat up, going to the balcony, grabbing Ye Qingyang’s schoolbag, and tearing out two exercise books.
Wang Yue hurried to stop her. “Why tear his books?”
“I’m mad!” Ye Hong snapped.
“Just tear two, not all. He has no money. If he can’t buy more, the teacher will call us anyway. Isn’t that a waste of time?”
Ye Hong got even more frustrated. “Why did I get such a troublesome little brat?!”
Wang Yue persuaded her back to bed. She looked around the messy house, still annoyed, and finally picked up the broom and mop, cleaned, and went to sleep.
Feeling extremely wronged, she hugged her pillow, cried quietly for a while, and eventually drifted off.
Meanwhile, Ye Qingyang had already finished an entire dream.