Sweet Oxygen - Chapter 34

Chapter 34 – Fan

It is still going strong, it can last another hundred years

——

The night Zhang Yuqing rejected her, Qin Han had a dream.

She dreamed of a childhood memory when her father returned from a business trip in another province. Exhausted and travel-worn, he entered the house without even removing his shoes, first embracing her and Mother Qin.

That time, her father brought back a book—thick and heavy—which he placed on the living room cabinet.

During his trips, Father Qin would pass the time reading on trains or planes, often returning with various books. But this particular one left the deepest impression on Qin Han.

Because her father said the author was Aisin-Gioro Puyi.

Qin Han hadn’t yet started elementary school. Though she recognized many characters, she’d never studied history or heard of the last emperor. She only found the author’s name intriguingly beautiful and unique.

Curiosity drove Qin Han to stand on tiptoe, trying to reach the book on the cabinet.

The cabinet was too tall, she too short. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t reach it.

In the end, her father lifted her up, allowing her to grasp the book.

Both Father Qin and Mother Qin smiled, saying, “Darling, you won’t understand this.”

Little Qin Han flipped through a few pages, truly not comprehending. Even recognizing the characters proved difficult.

The book was written in such complex language, especially incomprehensible without historical knowledge.

Even when Qin Han entered middle school, she opened *My Half Life* but couldn’t finish reading the first paragraph.

She saw countless unfamiliar words: “Min Ning,” “Zaitian,” “Yi,” “Jiantiao.”

She didn’t understand what “bedridden” meant, or what a “successor emperor” was.

In Qin Han’s memory, that book was obscure and difficult to understand. But in her second year of high school, one day she saw it in a bookstore. She picked it up and flipped through it, and suddenly she didn’t find anything difficult to understand.

After dreaming about this and waking up, Qin Han suddenly felt that liking Zhang Yuqing was something that had to come slowly.

Zhang Yuqing was right. She was too young.

Perhaps it wasn’t just age, but also psychological maturity.

She and Zhang Yuqing were like her childhood self, foolishly trying to reach for that thick book *My Half Life* by standing on tiptoe.

She was the child standing on tiptoe, and Zhang Yuqing was the incomprehensible book.

Qin Han thought that she would have to wait until she was mature enough before she could fully understand Zhang Yuqing.

So when Qin Han went to Yaonan Alley again, she found an excuse, saying she was going to the basketball court to watch basketball.

She needed a reason that would let her openly look at Zhang Yuqing, but also let her step out of Zhang Yuqing’s line of sight, absorbing more and learning more.

Some growth was painful, some growth was pleasant.

Qin Han was content in the moment. She didn’t want to rush into anything with Zhang Yuqing; instead, she wanted to grow slowly and cherish this feeling for a long time.

She sat at the basketball court, watching the boys laugh and joke around.

The boys on the court ranged in age, including some junior high school students. When one of them spoke, Qin Han could tell he was much younger than herself.

As she wiped away Dandan’s drool, Qin Han thought wistfully, *Does Zhang Yuqing see me as equally childish?*

*He probably does.*

When Zhang Yuqing came to the basketball court looking for her and Dandan, he’d actually assumed someone could lure her away with an ice cream.

Walking back to the shop with Zhang Yuqing, Qin Han wondered morosely, *How mature do I need to be before Zhang Yuqing sees me as a woman, not a girl?*

After a few steps, Zhang Yuqing suddenly stopped.

He turned around and walked back.

Confused, Qin Han asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Didn’t you want ice cream? Let’s go get some.”

Qin Han and Dandan followed Zhang Yuqing to the ice cream shop at the intersection, where they bought three strawberry-flavored cones.

Surprisingly, Zhang Yuqing also chose strawberry.

The summer sun cast their shadows across Yaonan Alley’s uneven pavement. Qin Han and Zhang Yuqing stood on either side, with Dandan in the middle.

It was somewhat like a family of three.

The thought popped into Qin Han’s mind, startling and embarrassing her. She choked on her strawberry ice cream, coughing repeatedly.

Only a few days remained before school resumed.

Qin Han visited Zhang Yuqing’s shop daily under the pretense of watching basketball, then took Dandan out.

Sometimes she kept score for the basketball players, other times read stories to Dandan from books.

August’s end brought oppressive heat, despite autumn’s imminent arrival. The afternoon sun blazed with merciless intensity, as if determined to roast everything alive.

Luo Shijin had warned her—autumn in Imperial City was even worse. The “autumn tiger” heat could kill.

Under the basketball court’s leafy canopy, Dandan’s mosquito bracelet carried a faint lemon scent. Qin Han wiped her forehead as she read Hans Christian Andersen tales.

The boy who’d first let Qin Han referee joined them. Seeing the girls’ heat-stricken state, he offered: “Come cool off at my family’s shop. Air conditioning’s perfect for this weather.”

Their destination was the Yaonan Alley hair salon. As Qin Han and Dandan reveled in the cool air, Zhang Yuqing’s call came through.

“Where are you?”

Qin Han sighed contentedly under the air conditioning: “Dandan and I are at the hair salon on the street corner. What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

Despite saying it was nothing, Zhang Yuqing arrived within minutes.

When he came, Qin Han was explaining “air conditioning” to Dandan.

The hair salon was nearly empty, with the little girl sitting in the high chair used during haircuts.

She wore a light blue dress, her pale legs swinging in the air. The wounds on her legs seemed not yet healed, with two blue bear-shaped bandages stuck on them.

Dandan sat in the hair salon chair, and Qin Han patiently explained, “This is air conditioning. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. It makes people cool.”

Dandan nodded, “Cool!”

“Is air conditioning cooler than electric fans?”

Dandan nodded again, “Cool!”

Zhang Yuqing stood at the door and snorted derisively. He heard the little girl cheerfully sing: “I also think air conditioning is cooler than electric fans~”

Then the girl sighed and muttered, “Don’t even think about switching to air conditioning. Luo Shijin said yesterday that the shop’s electric fan is still going strong—it can last another hundred years.”

Little eye-rolling brats.

Both of them.

The barber shop was owned by the boy’s father. When business was slow, the owner would sit in the inner room watching TV.

The boy spotted Zhang Yuqing first and called out, “Hey, Qing-ge! What brings you here today?”

Zhang Yuqing nodded and pointed at Qin Han and Dandan. “I’m here to pick them up.”

“Those two little girls are yours?”

The boy smiled, then quickly glanced at the closed door leading to the inner room. He lowered his voice and whispered to Zhang Yuqing, “Qing-ge, I want to get a sun tattoo on my back. Can they make it golden? And I want a basketball symbol inside the sun. Is that possible?”

Zhang Yuqing smiled. “If your dad agrees, it’s possible.”

“No way! Qing-ge, why aren’t you making money off this? My dad would never let me get a tattoo.”

The boy shook his head and sighed. “If I dare tell my dad I want a sun tattoo, he’d say, ‘I see you’re a sun’.”

“Aren’t you trying to become a civil servant?”

“Yeah, so what? Civil servants can’t have tattoos? Shit, they can’t? Civil servants can’t have tattoos?!”

As the man spoke, Qin Han had already risen from her chair and bent down to help Dandan straighten her clothes.

The movement caused the dress to ride up, revealing a sliver of her slender waistline beneath the summer’s light fabric.

Zhang Yuqing withdrew his gaze from Qin Han and said mildly, “When it comes to work, it’s best to understand the situation clearly.”

Qin Han and Dandan followed Zhang Yuqing out of the shop. Qin Han couldn’t shake the feeling that Zhang Yuqing seemed unusually subdued today.

As they approached the front of the Oxygen shop, Zhang Yuqing turned his head toward the sign above the door. “Don’t you have a place of your own? Why go to someone else’s?”

He directed his question at Dandan, his tone neither harsh nor confrontational, even carrying a hint of amusement.

Yet Qin Han felt inexplicably certain he was “interrogating” them.

With Dandan unable to understand, Qin Han braced herself to answer. But how could she possibly say she’d come here to escape Zhang Yuqing, to gain more exposure to the outside world so she could grow up faster?

Qin Han mumbled, “His shop has air conditioning.”

Zhang Yuqing clicked his tongue in disapproval, but offered no further comment.

No matter how much Qin Han cherished these moments, time still marched forward day after day.

There was no need to count on her fingers—only two days remained until school resumed.

Cocooned under her blankets with her phone, she found herself inexplicably moved by every news item she read.

One story reported that a weathered stone monument from a scenic spot had been relocated to a museum for preservation, replaced at its original site with a replica.

Ah, weathered away, Qin Han thought morosely. How sad.

Next came a report of a man who fell asleep while smoking, accidentally setting his curtains alight and causing a fire. Thankfully, firefighters arrived in time to prevent any casualties.

Ah, a fire, Qin Han mused. How sad.

After reading several more stories, Qin Han finally realized her sadness wasn’t about the news content at all.

It was because after these two days, school would start again. She wouldn’t be able to visit Yaonan Alley every day, nor see Zhang Yuqing daily.

Without even eating breakfast, Qin Han hurried to Yaonan Alley.

But when she reached Zhang Yuqing’s shop, she saw two men outside the premises, hammering and drilling with tools.

For a moment, Qin Han’s legs froze in panic, unable to move forward.

She thought Zhang Yuqing’s shop had moved.

But in the next moment, Luo Shijin’s booming voice came from inside the store.

“No, Qing-ge, why did you buy an air conditioner?”

“Damn, over 4000 yuan?!”

“Why spend so much? If you want an air conditioner, you should’ve told me! There are used ones we could’ve gotten for cheap.”

“Besides, summer’s almost over. What’s the point of buying an air conditioner now?”

“But this one looks really fancy. So badass!”

Qin Han let out a sigh of relief and took a few more steps forward.

Zhang Yuqing, with a lollipop in his mouth, leaned against the store counter, studying the air conditioner manual.

Perhaps sensing her gaze, Zhang Yuqing turned his head. “You’re early today.”

“Mm.”

Qin Han stood by the door, peering inside. A white standing air conditioner sat by the table, its simple yet elegant design catching her eye.

She felt a bit confused. “Why did you suddenly decide to buy an air conditioner?”

Zhang Yuqing replied casually, “The fan broke.”

“Ah, how did that happen?” Qin Han asked, a note of regret in her voice. Just days ago, they’d all thought that old fan could last another century.

“Fucking hell! Qing-ge!”

Luo Shijin’s voice suddenly came from upstairs. He was leaning over the second-floor railing, holding the old fan, his eyes wide. “I just gave it a couple of whacks, plugged it in, and now it works!”

Zhang Yuqing looked up expressionlessly, giving Luo Shijin a glance.