Madam, Please Behave

Liu Changqing was starting to feel exhausted.

Driving wasn’t as easy as he had imagined.

To drive fast and steady, a driver needed solid driving skills—and a constantly alert brain.

After more than five hours on the road, when he finally reached the rural path, the bumpy terrain nearly made him throw up.

The trees lining both sides of the country road were bare, and the land stretched out in bald, wintery patches as far as the eye could see.

Finally, as dusk began to fall, he reached his destination.

Liu Changqing’s hometown wasn’t heavily populated; it was a relatively small village, and in that village, most people bore the surname Liu.

When he reached the entrance of the village, Liu Changqing didn’t drive in right away. Instead, he pulled over, turned off the engine, pulled the handbrake, and rolled down the window.

He rested his arm on the edge of the window, and his gaze… drifted outside.

It was hard to explain exactly why he felt that way, but when Liu Changqing looked at the scattered glimmers of light coming from each house, that feeling welled up in his chest.

The winter wind was brutally cold.

He shivered all over. Snapping out of it, Liu Changqing rubbed his hands together and took a deep breath.

After pressing down the strange emotion stirring in his heart, he restarted the car and slowly drove into the village.

“Woof woof woof!”

The sound of the car seemed to alert some of the dogs tied up outside homes. One by one, they stood at their gates and started barking at him.

As soon as the first dog barked, the rest joined in.

With his window still down, Liu Changqing could hear the barking clearly. As he got closer to his destination, he could feel his heartbeat speeding up.

He arrived.

A large iron gate appeared in front of him—rusted, with chunks of red paint peeling off.

Liu Changqing stepped out of the car, and to his surprise, he noticed the area in front of the gate had been cleaned.

It looked like someone came by regularly to sweep.

He stepped forward.

Instinctively, he pushed on the gate, but because it was locked with a big padlock, it clanged a few times and didn’t budge.

Realizing this, Liu Changqing stood in front of the gate for a while.

Then he turned around, walked to the back of his car, popped open the trunk, and pulled out a box of good liquor, along with some snacks, pastries, and health supplements.

Both hands full, he struggled a bit to close the trunk, then walked toward his uncle’s house—where his body’s original owner’s uncle lived, in his memory.

The road wasn’t great, and with the sky already dark, Liu Changqing walked very carefully, worried he might step on something.

When he crossed the now-frozen dirt road and reached his uncle’s house, he saw an old man sitting on a little stool at the door, smoking.

Hearing movement, the old man looked up from his daze and saw Liu Changqing’s figure.

Their eyes met.

Neither of them spoke.

After a moment, Liu Changqing started walking again.

When he got close enough to see the other man’s face clearly, he stopped.

He recognized him instantly.

This old man smoking at the door—he was his body's uncle.

And also… his real uncle now.

A cheap cigarette pinched between his fingers.

Uncle Liu Jiannong stared at Liu Changqing, whose hands were full of items, fell silent, flicked the ash from his cigarette, then braced his legs and slowly stood up from the small stool.

His back was slightly hunched.

Step by step, in dirty old shoes, he walked toward Liu Changqing until they stood face-to-face.

Lifting his hand, he smacked Liu Changqing hard on the arm.

Smack!

Liu Changqing tensed up. He hadn’t expected that sudden slap from his uncle. But when he looked at this now-aging man in front of him…

He saw…

A smile appear on Liu Jiannong’s face as he rasped through the cigarette-smoker’s voice:

“You finally decided to come home.”

There was a hoarseness in his voice, like phlegm stuck in his throat that never came out.

The scolding Liu Changqing had braced for never came, which actually caught him off guard.

After exchanging a few awkward words, Liu Changqing followed Liu Jiannong inside.

It was a typical rural home. Inside the yard, he could see ducks penned up, and the grunts of pigs came from another room.

Liu Jiannong walked ahead, moving slowly, talking the whole time:

“You haven’t come back in all these years. The house key’s still with me. Now that you’re back, good—take the key. Come back to visit sometimes.

Your cousin and his wife couldn’t make it this year. They said there’s work at the construction site and they can’t get away.

You two haven’t seen each other in quite a while now…”

“Is that my cousin?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I’ve only got one son. Who else would it be?”

Snapping at him, Liu Jiannong led Liu Changqing to the kitchen.

He pushed open the door and shouted inside:

“Er’ya, steam a few more buns.”

“Okay.”

A voice answered. The girl in the kitchen, who was stoking the fire, lifted the lid of a big pot, took three more buns from a basket, and set them in.

After she finished, she looked back at Liu Changqing, who had followed her grandfather inside.

Her eyes were filled with curiosity.

Liu Changqing noticed.

This girl, called Er’ya, wasn’t very old—probably just two or three years older than his own daughter.

But from the look in her eyes, Liu Changqing could tell—

She was very mature for her age.

Liu Jiannong went on to explain:

“Your cousin has two kids, same as you—one boy, one girl. The boy doesn’t like studying. His teacher’s always scolding him. Every day he’s goofing off.

And look at now—dinnertime, and no idea where the heck he’s run off to.”

“Boys… it’s understandable. They like to play.”

Liu Changqing responded politely, then raised the items in his hands.

“Where should I put these?”

“Just leave them in the kitchen. They won’t be in the way.”

“…”

Looking at his two full hands, Liu Changqing thought to himself:

Next time, I should bring more.

After setting everything down, he heard Liu Jiannong keep talking—like he hadn’t had a real conversation in years.

Looking at the girl tending the stove, a pleased smile crossed Liu Jiannong’s face.

“Between the two kids, I love Er’ya the most. She’s smart and sensible, and she actually takes school seriously.

Too bad… she’s a girl.

No matter how well she studies, it’s useless…”

The girl paused when she heard that. She didn’t talk back, just silently poked at the fire with a stick.

Liu Changqing saw this.

He glanced at Liu Jiannong beside him and suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.

“You can’t say that… Nowadays, people don’t say boys are better than girls anymore.

They’re both your grandkids, right?

And studying isn’t useless just because she’s a girl.

In this day and age, reading is the only way for kids from poor families to stand on equal ground with rich ones.

If she loves studying, let her keep at it. Uncle, we can’t favor boys over girls.”

“…”

Liu Jiannong didn’t expect such a long speech from Liu Changqing.

After being rebutted, he just stared at him in surprise.

He thought to himself—

This kid… doesn’t seem like the same person anymore…

The girl by the stove looked up at Liu Changqing after hearing what he said. Her eyes locked on him.

Noticing her gaze, Liu Changqing smiled at her warmly.

The atmosphere turned a little tense.

Just when Liu Changqing was thinking of changing the topic, noise came from the front door.

A voice rang out from afar:

“Is dinner ready yet? I’m starving!”

A guy, just over 1.7 meters tall, bundled up in thick clothes, came running straight into the kitchen.

Liu Changqing turned around to look.

With a buzz cut and a square-shaped face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, the guy’s features were pretty upright. Just from his looks, Liu Changqing guessed he was probably the loud, boisterous type.

Sure enough, the moment he spotted Liu Changqing, the guy froze. He didn’t recognize him.

Then he turned to Liu Jiannong and shouted:

“Grandpa, who’s that?”

“Watch your manners. That’s your uncle!”

“Him? The one who disappeared for years and ran off with that woman in the city…”

Before he could finish, Liu Jiannong grabbed a stick from the floor and swung it at him.

The young man quickly backed off, dodging the strike.

Liu Jiannong looked furious.

“No respect! Who taught you to talk like that?!”

“Well, it’s true! Everyone in the village says—his parents died and he never even came back…”

“You say one more word!”

Liu Jiannong charged out of the kitchen with the stick raised.

Seeing the look in his grandfather’s eyes, the guy immediately began dodging.

At first, he kept talking back.

But when Liu Jiannong’s stick actually hit him and the pain set in, he finally started begging for mercy.

“Stop hitting me! It hurts! I was wrong!”

He shouted, but Liu Jiannong had no intention of stopping.

The girl by the stove dropped her stick and rushed out to break up the fight.

Liu Changqing watched for a while. When he figured the guy had had enough, he stepped forward, quickly got behind him, and locked his arms to hold him in place.

Then he drove his knee hard into the guy’s backside.

“Ahh!”

“Uncle, that’s enough. He didn’t mean what he said. Don’t hit him anymore.”

The sharp pain from Liu Changqing’s knee made the guy scream.

Liu Jiannong, thinking he had used too much force, finally stopped.

Liu Changqing’s intervention gave him an out.

Seeing his grandson being held still, he glanced at them a few times, then quietly went back into the kitchen.

The girl followed her grandpa inside.

Only then did Liu Changqing let go of the boy, straightened him up, and faced him.

Smiling, he said:

“Be more polite in the future. Don’t say things like that out loud. It can really stir up tension in the family.

Besides, family matters should stay in the family.

I’m your uncle, so you should at least show a little respect…”

“What gives you the right to lecture me?”

“Oh? What gives me the right…?

How about the fact I could knock you out with one punch—is that enough?”

The moment he said that, the boy’s rebellious streak vanished.

He looked at his tall, muscular uncle…

Then at the hand on his shoulder.

He wasn’t lying.

Swallowing hard, the boy finally softened.

Liu Changqing patted him lightly on the shoulder.

“You’ve got a solid build. What’s your name?”

“Liu Yuan…”

“Good name. What’s your sister’s?”

“Er’ya…”

“I meant her full name.”

“Liu Fang…”

“Liu Fang… that’s a nice name too.”

Muttering to himself, Liu Changqing looked at this now-nervous nephew and gave him what he thought was a friendly smile.

“Study hard. Don’t mess around all the time.

Come on… dinner’s ready. Let’s go.”

Saying that, Liu Changqing turned and headed toward the kitchen—leaving Liu Yuan standing there…

This uncle… seems kinda scary…

After dinner.

Liu Jiannong asked his granddaughter Liu Fang to help him prepare a bed.

Liu Jiannong was 68 years old. He had one son and two daughters. His eldest son—Liu Changqing’s cousin—didn’t come back this year since he was working out of town. So Liu Jiannong had been raising the two kids at home by himself.

His wife passed away years ago, when he was in his early fifties. That was part of why he looked so worn down with age.

The burdens of life…

His grandson, Liu Yuan, was 17—two years older than Liu Changqing’s own son.

His granddaughter, Liu Fang, was 12—also two years older than Liu Changqing’s daughter.

Compared to her rebellious older brother, Liu Fang was clearly more obedient and sensible, which was why Liu Changqing had scared the boy a little earlier.

Standing off to the side, Liu Changqing watched as Liu Fang prepared a bed for him.

Her thin little body was hugging a huge pile of bedding, and she struggled to lay it down properly on the wooden bed frame.

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.

He stepped forward and gently lifted her off the bed frame, setting her down on the floor.

“I got this.”

“Uncle… I can do it…”

“No need. It’s not like I don’t have hands.”

Seeing Liu Changqing say that, Liu Fang didn’t argue further.

She just silently watched him as he got down and began making the bed.

Quietly…

“Uncle, thank you for saying those things earlier.”

“Huh?”

Liu Changqing was caught off guard mid-bedmaking. When he realized what she meant, he paused.

“If you like studying, then keep studying. I’ll leave you my phone number.

If your grandpa ever stops you from going to school, call me. I’ll help you get into another school.”

“No need, really! Grandpa would never stop me from going to school!”

She quickly waved it off and explained:

“It’s my mom who doesn’t want me to keep studying.

Grandpa’s actually really supportive.”

“Oh, I see…”

Liu Changqing responded softly.

He hadn’t expected that.

From her tone, it wasn’t hard to guess what kind of person his cousin’s wife must be…

They both fell silent.

Liu Changqing finished making the bed.

Compared to his own bed, this one was just thick wooden planks—it felt rock hard just touching it.

And the blanket was pretty heavy, too.

When he was done, he turned around and saw that Liu Fang was still staring at him.

It looked like she wanted to ask something.

So he sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled.

“You got something you want to ask me?”

“Mm.”

She nodded quietly.

She looked hesitant, unsure whether to ask.

But when she looked at Liu Changqing’s kind face, she finally made up her mind and blurted out:

“A while ago… when I was at the market, a really pretty lady drove up and asked me if I knew where your family’s burial plot was.

Um… is she your wife?”

“A pretty woman? What did she look like?”

“Well… she had this cold face and wore really fancy clothes…”

As she spoke, Liu Fang peeked at Liu Changqing’s expression.

When she noticed his face darken, she quickly waved her hands and rushed to explain:

“I didn’t tell her!

I said I didn’t know.

Then she saw I didn’t know, so she just drove off…”