Rebirth in a Shura Field, but in an Abstract Version

027 An elder's gift cannot be refused

On a July afternoon, the cicadas' chirping seemed to tear the air apart, so noisy that it was irritating.

Wang Zhe was awakened by a series of knocks on the door.

He groggily got out of bed, glanced at his phone—it was a little past 3:30 in the afternoon. The curtains were drawn tightly, the air conditioning was on, and the room was dimly lit and cool—a perfect place to sleep.

"They're here..."

He yawned and slipped on his slippers to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, a wave of heat rushed in through the crack. Standing in the doorway was Jiang Di, his brow beaded with sweat.

The girl had changed out of her dress and into a simple denim shorts and T-shirt, her ponytail tied high, revealing her long, fair neck. However, her usually somewhat stubborn face was now filled with embarrassment and awkwardness.

"What's wrong?" Wang Zhe turned to the side. "Come in, it's so hot outside."

Jiang Di said "Oh," and obediently changed her shoes and went inside. As soon as she entered the air-conditioned room, she comfortably squinted her eyes, like a cat whose fur had been stroked.

"Um, I'm here to pay back the money."

Jiang Di stood in the center of the living room, not sitting down, but taking out a few banknotes from his pocket and handing them to Wang Zhe.

"This is the few hundred yuan you paid for my dad at the restaurant last night. After my dad sobered up, he heard about the bill last night, counted out the money you paid, and even added two hundred more. He told me I had to bring it over."

Wang Zhe smiled as he looked at the money the girl handed him.

"Okay, then I'll accept it."

"Well... I'm leaving now." Jiang Di turned to leave after realizing he had completed his task.

"What's the rush?" Wang Zhe called out to her. "Since you're already here, sit down for a while."

Jiang Di hesitated for a moment, then sat down on the sofa. She rested her hands on her knees, her eyes darting around, avoiding Wang Zhe's gaze.

The scene of "swearing brotherhood" last night was so impactful that her mentality, like her seniority, has completely collapsed when she faces Wang Zhe now.

Wang Zhe went to the kitchen and got two bottles of iced cola. He handed one to Jiang Di and then sat down next to her.

"I see you're still using that old slider phone, aren't you?"

"Hmm..." Jiang Di nodded, "As long as it can make calls and send text messages, it's fine. I don't use it much anyway."

Wang Zhe took a sip of cola, savoring the refreshing sensation of the bubbles bursting in his throat, and shook his head, saying, "Times have changed. In the future, everyone will use smartphones, which can chat on WeChat, play games, and search for information online anytime, anywhere. Your slider phone will be basically useless except for making calls and cracking walnuts."

Wang Zhe pulled out his Nokia candybar phone, which he'd used for several years, and waved it around: "I'm still using this old relic too. Perfect timing, I'm planning to get a new phone today, I'll get you one too."

"Huh?" Jiang Di was taken aback, and quickly waved her hand, "No need, no need! My phone still works! Besides, new phones are so expensive, they easily cost four or five thousand..."

These days, the iPhone 4S is at its peak, and owning one is a status symbol, but its price naturally makes it unaffordable for students.

"Who said we were going to buy an Apple?" Wang Zhe looked at her like she was an idiot. "Am I crazy? Two phones for ten thousand yuan? What else could I do with that ten thousand yuan?"

Jiang Di was stunned: "Then what should we buy?"

Wang Zhe replied matter-of-factly, "Support domestic products! Modern Chinese smartphones are quite good, and the price-performance ratio is very high. I plan to buy two, costing no more than three thousand yuan in total."

These days, domestically produced mobile phones are generally low-end, and the industry level hasn't really caught up yet. But even low-end smartphones are enough for him and Jiang Di.

Although he currently has 330,000 yuan in cash in his account, he doesn't plan to touch it. He won't use it for personal enjoyment or to pick up girls. He'll use the red envelope from Jiang Peng yesterday, plus some of his own spare change, to cover Jiang Di's expenses.

He had other uses for the cash in his bank account.

It's important to understand that this year marks the bottom for the A-share market. What follows will be a year of fluctuation followed by a year of growth, before reaching a peak in 2015…

However, even if he only bought her a phone costing a thousand yuan, Jiang Di still felt it was inappropriate: "Three thousand yuan isn't cheap. If my parents found out, they'd definitely beat me up again!"

Wang Zhe sighed, put the Coke bottle on the table, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Jiang Di with a very imposing gaze.

"Why are you so stubborn? Have you forgotten what happened yesterday?"

Jiang Di's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding washing over her: "What...what happened?"

Wang Zhe's lips curled into a wicked smile, his eyes full of mockery: "Your dad, who's also my older brother, was holding my hand last night, asking me to take care of you from now on. Since I'm your dad's sworn brother, I'm your elder. There's an old saying, 'One should not refuse a gift from an elder,' have you heard of that?"

Jiang Di stared wide-eyed at Wang Zhe in disbelief: "You...you actually believed that? That was clearly just my dad talking nonsense when he was drunk!"

Wang Zhe said with a straight face, "I saw that Big Brother's eyes were clear and his logic was sound at the time. He even wanted you to kowtow to me on the spot. If I hadn't stopped you, your knees would probably be bruised by now."

"You're talking nonsense!" Jiang Di cursed angrily. "Who's going to kowtow to you?!"

"Tsk, how can you talk to your elders like that?" Wang Zhe said sternly, flicking Jiang Di's forehead. "No respect for elders. Call me 'Uncle' then!"

"I won't call you that!" Jiang Di covered her forehead, her face as red as an apple, both angry and ashamed.

This guy is shameless!

Just a few days ago, they were doing that kind of... shameful spanking punishment in bed, and it was all under the guise of boyfriend and girlfriend. And now, just one day later, he's suddenly going to be her uncle?

Is this some kind of weird role-playing game?

"Fine, you don't have to call me that. Just listen to me. Come on, let's go to the digital plaza. As her uncle, it's only right that I buy her a gift. If your dad finds out, he'll just praise me for being loyal."

"I'm not going..." Jiang Di still tried to struggle.

Without saying a word, Wang Zhe reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Let's go, stop dawdling."

His palms were large and warm, and he had a lot of strength, pulling Jiang Di up from the sofa.

Although the girl muttered "No, no" under her breath, she couldn't forcefully shake herself off.

Holding his hand so firmly, feeling the warmth from his wrist, Jiang Di's heart started racing again.

Although she said she hated him playing the seniority game, deep down, the feeling of being domineeringly arranged by him actually made her feel a little... happy?

"I'm hopeless..." Jiang Di sighed silently, letting Wang Zhe pull her out of the house.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.