The History of Magnolia Alley

At noon, Wentao came over for a shoulder and neck massage. As soon as Xu Bin placed his hands on Wentao’s shoulders, before he even applied any pressure, Wentao began to squeal and squawk dramatically. Xu Bin laughed, “Stop yelling. She’s resting on the third floor—she can’t hear you.”

“Tell me,” Wentao said, troubled, “do I really have no chance?”

“You really don’t know how she feels about you?” Xu Bin replied.

Unwilling to give up, Wentao persisted, “Some people are slow to warm up. You have to take your time, work at it gradually.”

“I doubt you’ll get anywhere with that slow approach,” Xu Bin shook his head. “I’ve invited her multiple times to come hear us rehearse. She clearly wants to, but always ends up refusing. I think she’s avoiding you.”

Wentao considered another possibility. “Is there anyone else suspicious hanging around her?”

“I haven’t seen anyone else looking for her. She’s happy every day—seems even more cheerful than before her last breakup.”

Wentao’s instinct was certain. “Happier? That’s a sign she’s started a new relationship, isn’t it? Is there anyone around her about her age?”

Xu Bin, hearing this, started counting off on his fingers. “There used to be Liu Xin next door, same age as her, but they’re definitely just friends. Now there’s Ye Zhan, who’s my age. He’s got some special talents—his photography skills are top-notch. I’m even thinking of asking him to shoot an MTV video of our song ‘Little Little’ as a keepsake.”

“Could he be pursuing our little junior?”

Xu Bin frowned, thinking it over. “He’s always calling her ‘Little Yi’ or ‘village girl’ and making a racket. Who knows what’s going on in his head. The guy’s a bit of a wild card, thinks very differently. Yi Yi probably wouldn’t like him.”

Wentao thought of Qin Baike. “What about the owner of Qin’s Place? I’ve seen a ton of fangirls under his videos calling him handsome—not just ten or twenty.”

Xu Bin waved the idea away. “Oh, he’s the Daniel Wu of our Magnolia Lane. But he has someone in his heart, and Yi Yi is nowhere near his goddess.”

Wentao lay there in silence for a while. “Let’s go to the movies tonight.”

Xu Bin pursed his lips. “If she knows you’re going, she’ll refuse.”

“Just give it a try. If she really says no, I’ll come up with another plan. I can let go when I need to.”

“Alright, that’s the spirit.”

After his massage and moxibustion, Wentao saw Tang Yiyi coming downstairs just in time. He immediately greeted her with a broad smile and asked her to write a prescription—he was determined to get rid of the eczema on his foot.

Tang Yiyi took his pulse, wrote the prescription, and asked Xu Mingtang to double-check it.

Wentao whispered in her ear, “It’s fine—I trust your medicine.”

With the prescription in hand, Wentao reluctantly took his leave and then sent a message to Xu Bin: Don’t try yet. I still can’t let go.

After dinner, Xu Bin called out to Tang Yiyi, “Come with me to get a phone repaired. When it’s done, bring it back and quietly give it to Xiang Qiaoting. Don’t let her dad see.”

Tang Yiyi blinked at him, not understanding the connection. Xu Bin explained, “Brother Bai asked me to get it fixed and quietly hand it back to Qiaoting. I’m just too lazy to come back. Once it’s done, you just bring it to her.”

Tang Yiyi checked the phone. The screen was cracked with several lines and scratches at the side. “This is Qiaoting’s phone, but why is Brother Bai helping her fix it? Did he break it?”

“Who knows? He didn’t have the time, so he asked me to run the errand, and I did.”

Tang Yiyi accompanied him to the phone repair street, got the phone fixed, and then headed back alone to Magnolia Lane.

The Xiang family rented an apartment in a neighborhood outside the lane. Only then did Tang Yiyi remember that she still had Qiaoting’s phone—how was she supposed to let her know to come collect it? It would be rude to show up at their home unannounced, so she stood outside for a while and decided it would be better to give it to her first thing in the morning.

Back in the lane, she saw Xu Mingjie sitting at the supermarket entrance and walked over to greet her. Xu Mingjie invited her to sit down. Tang Yiyi asked, “Auntie, when Magnolia Lane is demolished, will you open another supermarket somewhere else?”

“I’ve been wondering what to do myself. There’s only a year until retirement. I’ll have a pension and don’t have to work if I don’t want to. After running the supermarket for so many years, I’ve got some savings, and there’s another apartment I’m renting out—that’s enough for retirement. But I really can’t bear to leave this place. Do you know when the magnolia tree was planted?”

Tang Yiyi shook her head.

Xu Mingjie’s eyes brimmed with memories. “My grandfather planted it in 1945. When I was little, the tree was only half its current size. Every year when it bloomed, Wu family’s fifth boy would lift me up so I could pick the flowers. Back then, the lane had no name. Everyone called this area Yichima Pier. It was the busiest transport hub in the city. Just think—such a big river, so much shipping.”

“So this used to be a pier.”

“Of course. There were lots of laborers working the docks, and everyone was poor. They couldn’t afford fancy meals—the cheapest and most filling thing was noodles. That’s where ‘ran noodles’ came from—dry-mixed, each strand coated in oil, very satisfying.”

“Who was the first to make ran noodles?”

“They say it was the ancestor of the current noodle shop on Liberation Road. Because it was so popular, people started copying the idea. Back then, there were plenty of noodle shops here because of the heavy traffic—every shop did well. After liberation, the area couldn’t be left nameless, so they started naming each lane. When they got to this one, it was late spring, when the magnolias were in full bloom—the strong fragrance gave the lane its name. Later, as the city was redeveloped, everything around here was gradually demolished. Of the old Yichima Pier, only Magnolia Lane remains.”

“No wonder when I first came here, it felt old but had such a special charm—a sense of history.”

“The new city districts are all perfectly planned. People want to live somewhere with a better environment. It’s true that these old lanes aren’t as convenient as the new districts. They made some improvements along the way, but demolition was inevitable.” Xu Mingjie sighed with a touch of sadness.

She shook her head. “No point thinking about it. Is Qin’s Place still crowded today? I want to go have a bowl of noodles. I haven’t had dinner yet. The older you get, the less hungry you feel.”

“When I went out, there were still quite a few people. Probably less now.”

“Let’s go together.”

Xu Mingjie locked up, and they went to Qin’s Place. Sure enough, the number of customers was back to normal.

“Still won’t come out, Baike?” Xu Mingjie laughed. She walked over to the wall and looked closely at Qin Baike’s photo, praising it without stopping, “Such a beautiful shot—it doesn’t look like it was taken in Yicheng at all.”

She turned to see Ertong. “Your photography is really good—take a few pictures for Aunt Jie when you have time?”

When it came to photography, Ertong was eager. “Of course, Aunt Jie. What kind of photos do you want?”

Xu Mingjie pointed outside. “Let’s do it right here in Magnolia Lane. It’ll be gone soon, and after that, we’ll only have photos.”

Ertong slapped his thigh. “That’s a great idea, Aunt Jie. I really should document the lane.”

“How about I wear a qipao for it?” Xu Mingjie asked.

“…Aunt Jie, you’re not thinking of using an oil-paper umbrella too, are you?”

“You guessed right—I really have one. Bought it on a trip to Hangzhou.”

Ertong rolled his eyes. “Aunt Jie, that’s not the style I’m after. Qipao, oil-paper umbrella, old lanes—those have been done to death.”

“But everyone does it that way, and it’s beautiful. What would you do instead?” Xu Mingjie asked.

“I’ll have to think about it,” Ertong replied, frowning.

“See? I told you, it’s got to be a qipao. I can’t exactly wear an off-the-shoulder evening gown—people would think I’m a witch.”

Xiao Xie came over and overheard, saying, “Aunt Jie, you’d look great in a qipao. I wish I could wear one too.”

Ertong glanced her up and down. “Forget it. Even the largest size wouldn’t fit you.”

Xiao Xie muttered, “I’ll just find a super, super, super large one and wear it for a video.” With that, she pouted and went into the kitchen.

Xu Mingjie couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. She asked Ertong, “Is your sister still in Beijing?”

“Yes,” Ertong nodded.

“What does she do there? She’s married, isn’t she?”

“She’s a documentary director at a media company. She’s about to get married.”

“Oh? What does her fiancé do? People in the entertainment industry aren’t always so steady.”

“He’s a university teacher. A good guy, a bit bookish.”

Xu Mingjie praised sincerely, “That’s wonderful. Ye Tong was always broad-minded as a child, so hardworking—very different from other kids. Now it’s clear she’s the most accomplished of you all.”

Tang Yiyi couldn’t help but feel a pang of inferiority and sadness. No wonder Qin Baike had always been hung up on her—such an outstanding girl is hard to forget.

Xu Mingjie noticed Tang Yiyi’s glum expression. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. I’m not hungry today. You take your time, Aunt. I’ll head up.”

Tang Yiyi trudged up to her room, hand raised to push the door, but stopped. She turned and quietly walked to the railing and looked down.

Qin Baike was shirtless, doing push-ups on the platform below—each one crisp and precise. When he finished, he rolled over onto a yoga mat to do crunches.

Tang Yiyi quickly retreated to the spot where Qin Baike had smoked the day before. She leaned against the wall as he had, then slid down to sit.

It was very quiet. She could hear his breath as he exhaled through his mouth. She silently opened her palm, imagining a cigarette resting there. She raised two fingers, pretending to hold it, brought it to her lips, and took a deep drag, then slowly exhaled, letting the fresh air swirl in her lungs.

From downstairs came the sound of Qin Baike running high knees in place. Tang Yiyi sat there, “smoking” alone, taking slow, imaginary puffs, accompanied by the rhythm of his footsteps until they stopped. Then she stubbed out her imaginary cigarette on the ground, stood up, and walked to the trash can. Just as she was about to toss the “stub” in, she paused.

Suddenly, she spun around and, with a mischievous grin, flicked her “cigarette butt” toward the railing, imagining it tracing a perfect arc before tumbling down to the platform below. She smiled in satisfaction.

If a real cigarette butt were to fall from above, and from right here, would Qin Baike come charging up, stern-faced, to scold her? Would he tell her off for littering, or lecture her about girls smoking? Maybe she really ought to do something outrageous, just to make him notice her.

She went inside, shutting the door on all movement below. Best to study diligently for a while, wash up, and get some sleep.