Chapter 133 - 95: Tutoring
Ever since Liu Xiuying laid down that strict rule, the wooden door to the Chen family's living room had never been opened during the day.
The security door was shut, and the wooden door was bolted from the inside, sealing off the hallway draft and the gazes of passersby.
It was stuffy inside.
The electric fan was on its highest setting, its head WHIRRING back and forth, just churning the hot air around the living room.
It was just after ten in the morning. Chen Jianguo and Liu Xiuying had both gone to work at the factory.
Chen Zhuo was home alone.
He was wearing a tank top that had faded from too many washes, a pair of baggy blue athletic shorts, and was barefoot on the floor.
The floor was cooler than the sofa.
Chen Zhuo leaned his back against the leg of the sofa, holding a yellow handheld Tetris game.
The plastic casing of the game console was worn shiny, and the black blocks on the screen were falling at a frantic pace.
His two thumbs flew across the buttons, making a crisp TAP-TAP-TAPPING sound.
The TV was on, but the volume was low.
A rerun of *My Fair Princess* was playing. The character Xiao Yanzi was dashing all over the screen, but Chen Zhuo didn't spare it a glance, his attention completely fixed on the small screen in his hands.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP—
A sharp burst of electronic tones sounded. The blocks on the screen had stacked to the top. Game over.
Chen Zhuo let out a long breath, tossed the game console onto the coffee table, and reached for a nearby glass, gulping down half a glass of water.
Then he grabbed an old-fashioned popsicle from the freezer and stuck it in his mouth.
Just then, footsteps sounded from outside the door.
The footsteps stopped right outside, followed by two soft knocks.
Chewing on his popsicle, Chen Zhuo glanced at the closed wooden door. He didn't make a sound or move.
Liu Xiuying had given him strict orders: no matter who knocked, if he didn't know them or if they hadn't called ahead, he was not to open the door.
The person outside waited a moment. Hearing no response, they knocked twice more.
"Jianguo? Auntie Xiuying? Are you home?"
A man's voice came through the door. It sounded a little fawning, and a bit awkward.
The voice sounded familiar to Chen Zhuo, but he couldn't place it right away. Still chewing his popsicle, he walked to the door and peered through the peephole.
The light in the hallway was dim.
A middle-aged man stood outside, wearing a wrinkled short-sleeved shirt with the collar open, revealing tanned, dark skin underneath.
The man was carrying two red cardboard boxes in one hand and a plastic bag full of apples in the other.
Behind the man stood a boy.
He was a head taller than Chen Zhuo, dressed in an ill-fitting, baggy T-shirt. He kept his head down, staring at his own feet with a dejected look.
Chen Zhuo recognized the middle-aged man.
Chen Jianqiang.
He was a distant cousin of his father, Chen Jianguo. Tradition dictated that Chen Zhuo call him Uncle.
The two families lived far apart and rarely visited. They would only see each other briefly during the New Year when they returned to their ancestral home to pay respects to their ancestors, and even then, they barely exchanged a few words.
Chen Zhuo didn't open the door right away. Instead, he asked through the door panel.
"Who is it?"
Hearing his voice, Chen Jianqiang's eyes lit up, and he hurried closer to the door.
"Is that you, Chen Zhuo? It's me, your Uncle Jianqiang! I came over from South City."
Chen Zhuo twisted the knob of the deadbolt.
CLICK. The wooden door opened a crack.
A gust of hot air from outside seeped through the gap.
Chen Zhuo looked at Chen Jianqiang standing outside the security door, and at the boy with his head bowed behind him.
"Uncle."
Chen Zhuo said, his tone flat.
"My parents are at the factory. They won't be back for lunch. I'm the only one home."
The implication was obvious.
'The adults aren't here, so it's not a good time for guests.'
But Chen Jianqiang either didn't understand or pretended not to.
He hitched up the plastic bag in his hand, his face plastered with a smile.
"That's alright, that's alright. I'm not here to see your parents. Your uncle came all this way just to see you! Hurry up and open the door, it's hot as an oven out here in the hallway."
As he spoke, Chen Jianqiang reached out and tugged on the arm of the boy behind him.
"Taozi, say hello. This is your cousin, Chen Zhuo."
The boy called Taozi reluctantly lifted his head, glanced at Chen Zhuo, and quickly looked down again.
"Cousin."
Taozi's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
Chen Zhuo looked at the obviously purposeful smile on Chen Jianqiang's face, then glanced at the things he was carrying.
'Looks like I have no choice but to open the door today.'
'He's family, after all, and we've never had any conflicts. If I just leave him standing outside, it'll be impossible to explain to Dad when he gets home.'
Chen Zhuo tossed the wooden popsicle stick into a nearby trash can and reached out to open the security door.
"Come in. You don't need to take off your shoes."
Chen Jianqiang quickly pulled Taozi inside.
As soon as they were inside, Chen Jianqiang placed the things he was carrying on the coffee table.
The two red boxes contained some unknown brand of milk; the packaging was a bit faded, as if it had been sitting on a convenience store shelf for who knows how long. The bag of apples, however, held quite large ones.
"Your uncle just picked up a few things. We don't have much to offer at home."
Chen Jianqiang sat down on the old sofa, rubbing his hands together.
Taozi didn't sit. He stood awkwardly by the coffee table, his eyes furtively glancing at the television.
Chen Zhuo went to the kitchen, got two clean glass tumblers, poured two glasses of lukewarm water, and set them on the coffee table.
"Have some water."
After saying this, Chen Zhuo went and sat on a small stool to the side.
Chen Jianqiang picked up his glass and took a sip, his eyes scanning the room. He couldn't see anything that made it different from his own home.