Zheng Yang was mopping the floor when her phone ding-donged several times with WeChat messages.
She picked it up with some anticipation and, sure enough, it was Wu Chun, complaining about a stomachache.
Zheng Yang felt a twinge of guilt, thinking about how she had just been wondering if Wu Chun was being cold toward her.
But when it came to period pains, she had experience—after all, she had been married for over a decade.
“Boil some hot water, don’t catch a chill or get too cold. It should help if someone massages your belly.”
“Mhm, that’s pretty much what my mom says too,” Wu Chun replied.
“Are your parents home?”
“They’re both at work.”
Oh dear, poor thing.
No wonder she was messaging me.
Zheng Yang felt a wave of pity.
Although from the tone, this probably wasn’t Wu Chun’s first or second period, having no one around during the worst of it could easily make anyone feel down.
And right now, she herself had nothing but free time…
She looked at the ring on her finger, engraved with Wu Chun’s name in pinyin, and thought, ‘It’s a bit of a hassle, but for Chun Chun’s sake, I should go!’
“Chun Chun, do you have ginger and brown sugar at home?”
“There should be some,” Wu Chun replied, thinking Zheng Yang was suggesting she make some ginger tea herself.
“But I don’t really feel like moving. It’s fine, I’ll tough it out.”
Zheng Yang smiled, sent a couple more messages, grabbed her house keys, and headed out the door in her pink tracksuit.
Dad had gone to the office and wasn’t home.
If he were, he’d definitely encourage me to go.
When Zheng Yang knocked on Wu Chun’s door, holding brown sugar and ginger, Wu Chun’s eyes lit up like someone had just flipped a switch.
“Wow, sis! It’s you! I thought it was my mom coming back.”
“I told you not to call me sis, we’re classmates.”
Zheng Yang was both pleased and a little flustered by Wu Chun’s reaction.
“I wasn’t sure if you actually had brown sugar at home, so I bought some.”
“Just you being here, sis, makes my stomachache feel half as bad already!”
Zheng Yang pinched Wu Chun’s cheek, not wasting any time.
“Alright, stop being stubborn. Go lie down. I’ll go to the kitchen and make you a bowl of ginger and brown sugar tea.”
“Okay, thanks, sis!” Wu Chun obediently went to lie down.
Zheng Yang found it amusing.
A girl like Wu Chun, who didn’t bother with formalities at all, was really nice… though she still needed to get used to it.
Although Wu Chun’s kitchen was unfamiliar, it wasn’t a challenge for Zheng Yang.
Boiling water, slicing ginger, adding sugar and stirring—soon, a large bowl of ginger and brown sugar tea was brought to Wu Chun’s bedside.
Wu Chun propped herself up on her side.
“Sis, you’re so amazing! You can do everything!”
“What’s so amazing about that? It’s just a bowl of water.”
Zheng Yang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Hey, if you call me ‘sis’ again, I won’t let you drink it!”
“I’ll drink it! I’ll drink it! Yangyang! Yangyang! I’ll drink it!”
“Hehe, that’s more like it!”
Zheng Yang held the bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other.
She scooped up a spoonful with a few thin shreds of ginger, gently blew on it until it was less scalding, then brought it to Wu Chun’s lips.
Wu Chun opened her mouth wide and gulped it down in one go.
Pfft!
“What’s the rush? Swallowing so fast, aren’t you afraid of burning yourself?”
“You blew on it for me, sis—I mean, Yangyang blew on it for me! How could it be hot?”
Zheng Yang couldn’t help but laugh.
She wondered, ‘It’s clearly Wu Chun who has no defenses, so why is it me who feels warmed, whose pointless defense mechanisms are crumbling?’
She was growing fonder and fonder of this little girl from the bottom of her heart.
Oh, right, she drank the ginger shreds… doesn’t she find them spicy?
Back when she used to make ginger tea for her wife, Bai Jie, Bai Jie would always take one small sip, complain it was too spicy to bear, and refuse to drink any more.
To avoid waste, Zheng Yang would end up drinking it herself.
Later on, she simply stopped adding ginger.
She asked Wu Chun, “Isn’t it spicy?”
Wu Chun looked at her incredulously.
“It’s a bit spicy, but it’s fine. If you can’t even handle ginger shreds, that’s just being too fussy!”
She knew Wu Chun was trying to show off her bravery, but unintentionally, she had completely outshone Bai Jie.
‘Bai Jie, oh Bai Jie, look at her!’—Zheng Yang sighed deeply in her heart.
She suddenly remembered Bai Jie’s expression when drinking ginger tea—frowning as if in mortal agony, sticking out her tongue, pushing the bowl back.
Back then, she thought it was because she hadn’t made it well enough.
Now she knew that wasn’t the case.
The bowl of ginger tea was soon finished.
Zheng Yang told Wu Chun to keep lying down, tucked the small quilt around her, and then slipped her hand underneath, massaging her belly based on her past experience.
As she massaged, she also talked about how during one’s period, one should absolutely avoid getting cold.
Even in summer, drink plenty of warm water.
And it’s best not to consume overly cold things even when not on your period…
“Wow, sis… Yangyang, you’re really, really amazing! You sound just like my parents!” Wu Chun exclaimed, then suddenly realized something.
“Yangyang, when did you first get your period?”
“I…” Zheng Yang was caught off guard.
“I… haven’t gotten it yet…”
“Huh? Then how do you know so much about it?”
“Well… didn’t they teach all this in middle school biology class…”
“You went to middle school?!”
Wu Chun blurted out another surprised question, then suddenly remembered this was what her dad had called the other person’s “sore spot.”
She quickly covered her mouth and coughed dryly.
And Zheng Yang also realized she had said the wrong thing, hurriedly explaining she had learned it on her own, glossing over it.
Zheng Yang continued massaging her belly, smiling and sighing to change the subject.
“Ah~ getting your period means our Chun Chun can have babies now!”
But Wu Chun didn’t take her teasing lying down, firing back instead.
“Hmph, sis, don’t be in such a hurry yourself. You’ll be able to have them soon too!”
“You’re the one who’s in a hurry!” Zheng Yang almost blushed from Wu Chun’s words.
‘Me, have a baby? Me? An old man? In the future, I’ll have to get pregnant? With whom?’
‘Heavens, I haven’t really thought about this in detail before… What am I going to do in the future…’
Wu Chun seemed completely unbothered about discussing shy topics with “sis,” even often initiating them herself.
Like asking Zheng Yang her bra size—which stumped her again.
Currently, she only had one bra.
It was the “default setting” from when she turned into a girl.
She didn’t even have a spare.
When it felt dirty, she’d wash it, go “commando” while it dried, and put it back on once dry.
That’s how she had been getting by until now.
How could she possibly bring herself to go buy underwear for herself?!
Wu Chun wasn’t surprised, laughing.
“Not knowing is normal. Usually, breasts finish developing before the period comes. Yangyang hasn’t gotten her period yet, which means your breasts might still develop more.”
“Huh? They can still grow?!”
Zheng Yang wasn’t very clear on the order of female development.
Hearing this, she almost panicked.
Seeing her reaction, Wu Chun found it even more amusing and continued.
“But Yangyang’s current size is just perfect. It’s better if they don’t grow anymore. If they get any bigger, they won’t look as good, and they’ll bounce when you walk, hehe!”
Blushing, Zheng Yang added a bit more pressure with her massaging hand, pressing down a few times, making Wu Chun laugh and cry out for mercy.
“Hmph, I’m not massaging you anymore!”
Zheng Yang abruptly pulled her hand out, but still made sure to tuck the small quilt tightly around Wu Chun to keep the drafts out.
‘Who says bigger isn’t good-looking? I used to like them really big…
But now, just as Wu Chun said, they already start bouncing when she walks a bit fast, let alone running.
So she genuinely didn’t want her breasts to develop any further.
“Oh, Yangyang! After you massaged me, I feel much better!” Wu Chun said with pleasant surprise.
“Your hands are warm, it feels really comfortable. That must be why!”
Zheng Yang shot her a sidelong glance.
“Really? And yet you, this ungrateful thing, keep making fun of me?”
Wu Chun giggled.
“Well, you were the one who teased me about being able to have babies first~”
“Tch, what I said was the truth.”
“Then what I said is the truth too!”
Pfft~ Zheng Yang suddenly laughed out loud—’Is this what bickering between girls is like? Childish, but… kind of fun.’
She slipped her hand back under Wu Chun’s quilt.
“Alright, come on, let me massage you some more.”
“No need, Yangyang, you’ll get too tired!”
“Be good! Don’t worry about me. I could massage you all morning!”
Zheng Yang wasn’t boasting.
After all, that’s exactly what she used to do.