Winter Time Rendering

Dirty, gray snow was still piled up along the curbs. Every few steps, he’d spot discarded snack wrappers on the ground. A gust of cold wind sent the plastic film from a straw tumbling past. It was a bleak scene.

Eight years from now, when he attended the funeral, Zhang Shutong would ride the island’s only bus route past this very spot. He had assumed the commercial street would be long gone by then, but to his surprise, it was still around. And comparing the future to the present, it hadn’t changed much at all in those eight years.

"It’s still the same old place."

Unlike Ruoping and the others, who were single-mindedly pushing their bikes toward the restaurant, he kept stopping every few steps to look around.

"Then take a good look around."

To his surprise, Ruoping also stopped her bike and glanced around, as if trying to commit the scene to memory. She sighed.

"This place will be gone soon, anyway. Who knows where we’ll go to eat then... But by that time, we’ll be in high school in the city. We’ll probably be hanging out on a real commercial street."

"That’s perfect! I’ve been wanting to try Pizza Hut forever. I heard one just opened in the city," Du Kang chimed in, moving closer. "We’ve never even had a proper Western meal. You know, the whole shebang with pizza and steak... what’s the third thing again?"

Zhang Shutong wanted to tell him that Pizza Hut didn’t really count as "proper" Western food. But seeing their sudden excitement, he thought, ’This whole process is kind of wonderful in its own way—discovering the world beyond our little island, piece by piece.’

’It’s like a kid walking along the beach, treasuring every single shell they find...’ But that wasn’t the real issue. Zhang Shutong was more concerned about what Ruoping had just said.

"What do you mean, ’this place will be gone soon’?"

’It’ll still be here eight years from now, though,’ he thought. ’I wonder if that fried chicken joint ever opened any other locations.’

"And you have the nerve to call yourself an island kid," Ruoping said with a scoff. "A clueless city boy, just as I thought."

’Where did that random dig at city folk come from?’

Ruoping was just teasing, clearly in a good mood.

"We’re about to graduate, Shutong, but you should really pay more attention to what’s happening on the island. Why don’t you ask your deskmate? Come to think of it, this is actually related to her."

"What does this have to do with Gu Qiuyan?"

"To be precise, it has to do with her dad," Du Kang cut in. "Look over there—"

Zhang Shutong followed his finger and saw a three-story building in the distance. On an island this small, three stories was practically a skyscraper.

"Isn’t that Peiyi Mall?"

Zhang Shutong recognized it. It was the largest building on the island, a department store, though in reality, it was more like a large supermarket and couldn’t hold a candle to a real shopping plaza.

’The first floor is the grocery store, I think. The second floor sells clothes, and the third is a mishmash of things—appliances, sporting goods, stationery, toys... A total mess, anyway.’

The entire building didn’t cover much ground. He only called it a "mall" out of habit. From his current perspective, it was really just a mid-sized supermarket.

"Don’t tell me you didn’t know Gu Qiuyan’s dad built that?" Ruoping asked in astonishment.

Now that she mentioned it, Zhang Shutong did have a vague memory of it. When the mall first opened, his parents had gotten a gift card and gone on a massive shopping spree inside.

"So what does that have to...?" Zhang Shutong trailed off as it dawned on him. "Seriously? How have I never heard about this?"

"You only ever have fish on the brain."

Ruoping slowed her pace to walk beside him and decided she might as well explain the whole story.

"If the mall had been built closer to this street, it might have actually helped bring in more customers. But it’s so far away that it just sucks everyone over there. The mall has pretty much everything this street has, only with more selection, and sometimes their sales make things even cheaper. How are these shops supposed to compete? Even my mom loves shopping there now. She’s always going to fight for the discounted eggs. Oh, Du Kang has the most to say about that."

Du Kang picked up the story, a look of lingering fear on his face.

"Tell me about it. My dad even said we’re lucky our family’s restaurant is far away from this area, or business would be suffering. I’ve heard the story Ruoping mentioned, too. I think... Gu Qiuyan’s dad originally had his eye on this land, right here on the commercial street, for his mall. The demolition and relocation deals were almost settled, but some of the owners got greedy and jacked up their prices. In the end, the whole thing fell apart."

"And Gu Qiuyan’s dad is one tough customer. He just went and built the mall somewhere else, intentionally running this street into the ground. I heard they’re talking about demolition again recently, but I don’t know the details on that..."

"No wonder..." Zhang Shutong murmured, lost in thought.

"No wonder what?"

"No wonder Gu Qiuyan’s backpack is always full of snacks. Her family owns a supermarket." The moment the words left his mouth, Ruoping shot him a glare.

What he really meant to say was, ’No wonder this commercial street is still standing eight years from now.’ Gu Qiuyan was going to die in a few days. The new demolition talks Du Kang mentioned probably fell through as a result.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the restaurant. It was a place that served local specialties called the Nanhu Fish Restaurant. It was the largest establishment on the street and even had private rooms.

The food was delicious, inexpensive, and came in generous portions. When it came to having a meal together on the island, this fish restaurant was always their first choice.

They were all regulars. The moment they stepped inside, they were greeted by a plump woman. Ruoping, ever the sweet-talker, showered her with "Auntie," making the owner’s wife beam until her laugh lines crinkled at the corners of her eyes.

The restaurant’s interior had a dated charm—

Cases of beer were stacked by the entrance next to a drink cooler. The white walls were stained with a faint film of cooking smoke, and the wooden tables and chairs were worn smooth with age. Each table was covered with a floral tablecloth, which was in turn protected by a sheet of tempered glass. The place certainly matched the bleakness of the street outside; the main dining hall was empty, and they were the first customers of the day.

Du Kang went straight to the counter to grab menus. They were laminated and sticky, having seen who-knows-how-many years of use. The four of them sat down and huddled together, heads bent over the menu as they decided what to order.

With his family background in the restaurant business, Du Kang was eager to show off his culinary expertise, immediately rattling off which dishes were the most skillfully prepared. He only quieted down after Ruoping smacked him on the back of the head. Still unconvinced, he defiantly ordered the stir-fried shrimp.

Ruoping, who had a sweet tooth, ordered the candied sweet potatoes. Qingyi’s tastes were unshakeable; whenever he came here, he ordered the shredded loach, and only the shredded loach.

Finally, all three of them turned to look at Zhang Shutong. He honestly couldn’t think of anything. He was about to say "whatever," but he knew Ruoping hated that answer. After a long moment of thought, he suggested, "How about the hot and sour shredded potatoes?"

Ruoping smacked him again. "Have some ambition! This is a special occasion, you get it? A special occasion!" He had no choice but to change his order to the braised pork ribs, a dish he knew the other three all liked.

While they waited for their food, Du Kang announced that they absolutely had to drink something strong. Qingyi hesitated. "But don’t we have class this afternoon? Isn’t that going a little too far?" At this, Ruoping acted like a righteous heroine from a martial arts film, slamming her hand on the table. "What’s there to be afraid of? If we get in trouble, I’ll take the fall! Auntie, bring us four bottles to start! We’ll order more if that’s not enough!"

And so, the owner’s wife brought over four bottles of a yogurt drink.

They were quite ceremonial about it, refusing to drink straight from the bottles. The drinks had to be poured into glasses. Du Kang, a natural master of ceremonies, launched into a toast. "For their meritorious service in suppressing the bandits last night, I, on behalf of all the residents of this island, would like to express my sincerest gratitude to Comrades Qingyi, Ruoping, and Shutong!"

Zhang Shutong laughed. ’What is he even talking about?’ he thought. The other three were already on their feet, waiting for him, so he stood up as well. Four glasses clinked together as brilliant smiles blossomed on the teenagers’ faces.

"Cheers!"

The crisp sound of clinking glass rang out. But before the four "heroes" could chug their yogurt drinks, a male student burst through the door, completely shattering the moment.

Du Kang shot him an annoyed look, as if to say, ’Hey, you. Take a good look at who we are. Didn’t you just see us up on the flag-raising platform during the big recess?’

The boy wasn’t the least bit intimidated. Instead, he gave them a provocative arch of his eyebrows and yelled into the restaurant.

"Hey, owner! Got any tables?"

The owner’s wife hurried over, smiling. "Of course, of course! How many in your party? Come on in, sit anywhere you like. I’ve even got private rooms available."

The boy, however, was dismissive. "There’s a lot of us," he said, jutting his chin toward their table as if they were an eyesore. "Just worried your place might not be big enough."

Du Kang was so exasperated he laughed. ’Listen to this arrogant prick. How many people could he possibly have with him? Is he trying to book the whole restaurant? Just wait, I’m gonna count every single one of them.’

The boy then jogged back outside. Through the glass door, they could hear him say, "There’s only one table taken, just some students. They won’t be much of a bother. How about we eat here?"

A moment later, he ran back. This time, instead of entering, he held the door open, looking for all the world like a massive entourage was about to arrive.

Du Kang pursed his lips and began to count. "One, two, three, four..." He counted all the way to thirteen, his eyes growing wider with each number.

"Seriously? There are really that many of them?" he said, dumbfounded, a white mustache from the yogurt drink on his upper lip. "Is this a school lunch or a gang summit?"

But that wasn’t all. The students who filed in didn’t rush to find seats. Instead, they all looked toward the entrance and parted automatically, forming a path down the middle. Zhang Shutong also turned to look down this makeshift "welcoming aisle," a sudden premonition taking root in his mind.

A moment later, his premonition came true.

By the restaurant’s main entrance, the boy who had been holding the door shot their table a disdainful smirk.

Then, the leader of this "gang"—or rather, a small boot—stepped inside.