Chapter Three — Demolition

A unique skewer restaurant had just opened near the company, offering a three-day half-price promotion to attract customers. Yan Lu, who had always been powerless against good food, was already craving it and insisted on dragging Su Yishu along on the last day of the event.

Yishu was never particularly fond of spicy foods like skewers or hotpot. In fact, she had simple tastes, preferring light meals on ordinary days. The only indulgence she truly loved was sweets—bread, cake, and chocolate were her favorites.

Unable to resist Yan Lu’s fervent pleas, she finally agreed.

It happened to be a rare day off the next day.

After work, Yishu still needed to deliver handwritten orders to the workshop, so she told Yan Lu to go ahead to the skewer shop first.

Yan Lu, her heart racing with anticipation, hurried over without delay.

Once Yishu had finished her work, she stepped out of the Kaisheng building and walked north toward the industrial area, where the bustling snack street had already come alive beneath the evening lights.

“You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting ages for you,” Yan Lu called out to Su Yishu. “Come on, I’ve already ordered the food.”

Yishu adjusted her shoulder bag, crossed the narrow aisle, and sat opposite Yan Lu. The skewers on the table emitted a medley of tantalizing aromas.

“My mom forced me to go on another blind date yesterday,” Yan Lu said, biting into a skewer heartily before reaching for a can of beer and gulping it down. Without waiting to swallow her food, she continued, “She said I’m almost twenty-six—if I don’t get married soon, I’ll be an old maid. She says I still have some assets left to pick and choose, but in two or three years, when I’m old and faded, I’ll only be able to marry some old man or a divorcé.”

Yishu felt uncomfortable hearing this. She silently took a sip of her beer and patted Yan Lu’s back. “You’re excellent and live so optimistically—that’s your strength. Your mother… she cares about you, in her way. Even if her way of showing it isn’t what you want, the older generation’s thinking is just different from ours.”

Yan Lu ate with gusto, her cheeks flushed. “Sometimes, I really envy you.”

Envy me?

What is there to envy?

Is it that I have no parents to force me into blind dates, or that I cook and eat alone, always alone…

Yishu didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Night quietly settled around them as they talked, neon lights flickering everywhere.

The weather was beautiful tonight—if the city’s power were cut at this moment, the sky over Cloud City would surely be filled with stars.

It was a lovely feeling, though tinged inevitably with a hint of melancholy.

After their meal, Yishu didn’t feel comfortable letting Yan Lu go home alone, nor could she ride her electric scooter with someone so intoxicated. So they supported each other to the street corner, hailed a taxi, and headed to Yan Lu’s place.

Yan Lu lived in Blue Sea City, a neighborhood near downtown. A few years ago, it had been a rundown village, but after the government’s urban renewal, rows of old houses were demolished and apartment buildings sprang up. Yet, something had been lost: the smoke from cooking, the crowing of roosters, barking of dogs, the sight of vegetables drying in the sun—all traces of daily life had vanished.

Yan’s mother was furious to see Yan Lu drunk. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? Coming home this late and drunk! I—” She stopped herself, noticing Su Yishu standing quietly by. She reined in her temper a little. “Yishu, thank you for bringing Lulu home. You young girls really should be more careful. Drinking so much at night—what if you run into trouble?”

Seeing Yan’s mother so upset, Yishu didn’t dare explain and only nodded in agreement.

“Don’t just stand there, come in,” Yan’s father said, trying to ease the tension.

Yan’s mother glared at him. “You just like to play the good guy!”

Yishu felt a natural resistance to Yan’s mother’s unchanging severity.

Their families were from the same town, but different villages. From elementary through middle school, she and Yan Lu had attended the same school. In high school, though in different classes, they’d still been in the same school. After graduation, they both joined Kaisheng.

As a child, Yishu had visited Yan Lu’s home several times. Yan’s mother wasn’t as gentle as her own, but always welcomed her warmly, sharing lunch or dinner together.

But with the passing years, she seemed to have grown much harsher.

Yishu felt uneasy. Since Yan Lu was already asleep and she planned to visit her brother Su Yihui at his school the next day, she politely declined Yan’s mother’s invitation and left.

After eight o’clock at night, it was hard to find a taxi in this area. The distance between their homes was seven or eight kilometers—it would take about an hour and a half on foot. Luckily, the moonlight tonight was beautiful, and walking along the road, Yishu didn’t feel lonely; it even gave the night a poetic air.

The next day.

Yishu was awakened early by sunlight streaming through the window. She tossed off her blanket, slipped into a light sweatshirt, and stepped onto the balcony. Across the river, crowds were gathering at the village committee. Though she was never one to join the commotion, she sensed something important was happening.

“Aunt Wang, what’s going on?” Yishu called to her neighbor at the edge of the crowd.

“You don’t know yet?” Aunt Wang turned to her. “Our village is being relocated.”

So it was finally happening. She had never liked those cold, emotionless high-rises—buildings reeking of indifference and decay. The memories of an era, the environment she’d grown up in, were about to disappear forever.

Yishu turned to look at the little river behind her. It flowed silently on. In summer, she and her brother used to play at the water’s edge, waving nets in the shallows and sometimes catching tiny shrimp or crabs. Back then, their mother was alive and loved to wash vegetables and clothes at the river steps.

How much longer could these peaceful days last?

“What are you all discussing here?” Yishu asked, returning to herself.

“It’s just about the compensation,” Aunt Wang replied with a shake of her head. “They’ve changed the policy. No more cash compensation—just new apartments. In the meantime, we have to rent somewhere, but the property company will cover the rent.”

“So rent isn’t a problem?”

“Right, don’t worry about that, the company will handle it.”

Aunt Wang, standing on the outskirts, seemed to know more than those in the thick of the crowd.

Having learned what she needed, Yishu was about to leave when a man emerged from the throng. He wore a sharp suit, and under the sunlight, his dark hair gleamed. His features were still indistinct from a distance.

As he approached, she realized—

It was him.

So the urban renewal project was contracted to Xunyuan Company.

“Is it possible not to relocate?”

Yishu followed behind Mr. Xu, lost in thought.

“It’s you again—we really are fated. What argument have you prepared today?” Mr. Xu smiled, his tone crisp and direct.

“About last time…” Yishu began.

“Oh, last time.” Mr. Xu cut her off. “I checked with my colleague afterward. I had asked him to help me buy something online. He happened to buy something for himself too, and when filling in the delivery address, he made a mistake. So it had nothing to do with me. You don’t need to trouble yourself about it anymore.”

Yishu felt acutely embarrassed. His words seemed to imply she had ulterior motives, and he was subtly making his stance clear.

“Thank you for clearing up something that’s puzzled me for over a week,” Yishu replied, forcing a polite tone. “But I’m not the sort of person you imagine. What I want to discuss now is the relocation—not compensation. I was born and raised here; I have deep feelings and attachments. Maybe for you, it’s just someone else’s business—fulfill your task, meet your target. But for us, it’s destroying our past, a past that can never come again.”

To her surprise, Mr. Xu showed no annoyance at her lengthy speech; his expression softened instead.

What a girl—so different inside from how she appears.

In his eyes, the woman standing before him was nothing like the timid person he’d spoken with a week before: back then, she’d been vague and hesitant, unable to get to the point, lingering around the edges. Today, she was passionate, even able to anticipate his thoughts.

Perhaps, as someone in sales who relied daily on both mind and tongue, he felt a certain kinship with someone equally eloquent.

“I understand,” Mr. Xu said with a faint smile. “Let me introduce myself: Xu Shixi, Planning Manager at Xunyuan Real Estate. But I can’t agree with you. We’re not destroying your past—we’re building your future.”

“Thank you for the introduction. Out of courtesy, let me introduce myself as well.” Yishu ran a hand through her hair, trying to ease her nerves. “I’m Su Yishu, a native of this village. You say you’re building our future, but what kind of future is that? Cold, lonely walls of concrete? A modern city that’s just a cage? You’re just imposing your vision on us. ‘If you are not a fish, how can you know the joy of fish?’”

Xu Shixi remained calm, checked a message on his phone, and slipped it back into his pocket. “This is in the best interest of the majority.”

“The majority?” Yishu scoffed. “So the minority should just give up? Must the few always yield to the many? Who looks after the wishes and interests of the minority? Is numerical advantage a license for selfishness, and disadvantage a sentence to selflessness?”

Xu Shixi grew a little flustered. In his view, much of what Yishu said was unreasonable, and her attitude was less than friendly. But to answer unreasonable arguments in kind would be beneath him—and might escalate the conflict. He was at a loss for a suitable response.

Just then, his phone rang.

“Yes, I’ll be right back.” Xu Shixi hung up. “Miss Su, there’s something urgent at the office. If you’d like to continue your argument, perhaps we can go together.”

His slightly provocative tone riled Yishu, who replied with a mechanical smile, “No problem.”

That answer was clearly not what he expected; surprise flickered in his eyes.

Once in the car, Yishu fell silent. She realized how ridiculous her earlier words must have sounded. She thought of making an excuse to get out, but then remembered he was heading downtown anyway—just where she needed to go to see her brother.

In the confined space, their breathing seemed only louder.

“Why so quiet?” Xu Shixi glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

“I’m waiting for your answer,” Yishu replied, feigning composure.

“When interests can’t be unified and a choice must be made, I think we should choose the lesser of two evils,” he said after a pause.

They both fell silent again.

Yishu looked out the window. The peach blossoms she’d longed to see had all fallen.

It was a half-hour drive from Yishu’s home to Xunyuan’s office by the shortest route. The national highway had recently been repaved—no more potholes, just smooth asphalt.

“Where do you need to go? I’ll drop you off first,” Xu Shixi asked.

Yishu was about to decline, but realized there was no need for empty politeness—they were already in his car. “If it’s not too much trouble, please take me to Cloud City Middle School.”

“You’re a teacher?”

“No,” Yishu straightened up. “My brother’s a student there. I’m just going to visit him.”

“I thought you were a teacher, the way you argue,” Xu Shixi teased, as if a little disappointed.

Yishu gave an awkward laugh and patted her pocket, only to realize she’d left the thousand yuan in cash she’d prepared the night before at home.

“Do you have any cash?” she asked, embarrassed.

“How much do you need?”

“A thousand,” Yishu replied quickly. “I’ll transfer it to you on WeChat. I forgot to bring cash, and my brother needs it for living expenses—phones aren’t allowed at his school, so I have to give him money directly.”

They added each other as contacts and exchanged the money.

As she watched Xu Shixi drive away, Yishu thought back over their two encounters—all the details, all the clashes. It was all a little incredible, something she could neither explain nor fully understand.