After exchanging a few pleasantries, I noticed she kept wiping away sweat, so I grabbed a stool, stood on tiptoe, and turned on the old window air conditioner. I tend to save money at home—if I’m alone, I rarely use the AC unless it’s over thirty-six degrees. Save wherever you can, right?

　　“By the way, why did you buy so many walnuts?”

　　“Oh, I plan to pick out a few pairs that look alike and sell them. Walnuts have been appreciating lately.”

　　“Then let me help you pick some.”

　　I hesitated for a moment, but still nodded, “...Thank you.”

　　“There you go again!” Emily Walker rolled her eyes at me in mock annoyance. “I’ve never seen a kid as polite as you!”

　　I separated the eight walnuts I’d just rejected from the rest, slipped off my slippers, climbed onto the bed, and sat cross-legged, pushing the remaining two hundred or so walnuts between us. But what caught me off guard was that Emily Walker also took off her high-heeled sandals, grabbed my buckwheat pillow, propped it up at the end of the bed, and leaned back comfortably, her plump legs stretched out as she calmly picked through the walnuts.

　　Her stocking-clad ankle was only a centimeter from my knee. Every time she turned a walnut, she’d occasionally brush against my leg, and as she bent and straightened, the deep cleavage of her chest would flicker in and out of view, making it hard for me to concentrate.

　　She’s not doing this on purpose, is she?

　　My throat tightened. I forced myself to calm down and not overthink.

　　Pairing walnuts is hard work—only those with great patience can manage it, and of course, luck plays a big part too. Emily Walker was clearly luckier than me. Though she didn’t find a perfect match, she did pick out a pair of “duckbill” walnuts with over eighty percent similarity. They wouldn’t fetch a fortune, but a hundred or two yuan was no problem.

　　“I’ll give you this pair.” I casually scratched my knee, which her stockings had made itch terribly. “Rubbing walnuts helps with blood circulation and is good for the brain too.”

　　“Heh, I don’t need that.”

　　“You could give them to your mother.”

　　As we were politely pushing the pair back and forth, someone knocked on the door.

　　“Xiao Jing!”

　　It was Mom!

　　I quickly shot Emily Walker a look, and we hurriedly gathered up the walnuts and hid them under the covers.

　　When I opened the door, I saw my mother standing by her window, reaching for a string of garlic hanging on a nail. “Phew, take this down for me. I want to see if it’s dry. If not, I’ll have to buy more tomorrow.” I stood on tiptoe and pulled down the five or six heads of garlic, handing them to Mom. Then she quietly asked, “I forgot to ask you—when you and Little Walker bought rice and flour today, was it her idea for you to carry it because it was too heavy?” That twenty jin of grain really wasn’t light, and I knew Mom was worried about me.

　　I made a sound and quickly nudged Mom toward her room. “Oh, I insisted on carrying it.”

　　But could you keep your voice down? Aunt Walker is right in my room!

　　“Don’t bother with her business next time!” Mom grumbled in a voice as thin as a mosquito, as if talking to herself: “Even at home, she dresses so provocatively. Who is she trying to seduce?”

　　I broke out in a sweat!

　　Back in my room.

　　I saw Emily Walker still gulping down her drink, her expression unchanged, and I felt a bit relieved.

　　But seeing the way she drank, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. “This is fifty-six proof liquor, right? Are you planning to drink it all?”

　　Emily Walker swirled the bottle elegantly. “I used to go out for business dinners all the time. Half a jin, a whole jin, it was nothing. Sigh, after so many years, I’ve developed quite a habit. Now if I don’t drink for a day, I feel uncomfortable all over. It’s become a routine.”

　　“Oh.” I didn’t say much, just took out more walnuts and continued picking with her.

　　Not long after, Emily Walker called my name. When I looked up, she squinted at me. “Little James, do you also think... I’m very flirtatious?”

　　Uh, so she heard!

Chapter 13 [A Woman’s Voice Rings Out Beside Me!]

　　“No, no.” I quickly waved my hands. “Absolutely not.”

　　“It’s fine.” Emily Walker gave a bitter smile, moistening her lips with the liquor. She glanced at her watch. “It’s getting late. I should wash up and go to bed. I’ll help you sort the walnuts again when I have time tomorrow.”

　　“Okay, take care.”

　　I really couldn’t handle that kind of awkward atmosphere and was eager for Aunt Walker to leave early.

　　As I walked her out, the door to the east room creaked open. Grandma Walker, holding an enamel basin and towel, seemed to be heading to the faucet to wash up. When she saw Emily Walker coming out, her face darkened. “What are you doing in Little James’s room in the middle of the night, and drinking too? Hmph, go to bed!” Country folks speak bluntly. Then, Grandma Walker looked at me with a strange expression.

　　The next day, after getting up from bed, I continued this seemingly simple but actually massive task.

　　I grabbed a walnut, compared it one by one with the other two hundred, and put it down.

　　Then grabbed another, repeating the process.

　　By afternoon, I was basically dizzy and seeing double. I rubbed my eyes, shook the sweat from my T-shirt, and decided to rest for a couple of hours. If I kept going like this, it’d really kill me. I went to the kitchen, grabbed a stainless steel spice box used for stewing meat, and went to Mom’s room to fill it with rose petals and a few Chinese herbs. Mom learned this from a traditional Chinese health book—she said adding some to the bath is good for the skin.