Cao Adi

The Goldfish in a Green Skirt

Cao Adi

Hunan Juvenile & Childrens Publishing House

December 2022

28.00 （CNY）

Cao Adi

Cao Adi is a member of Hunan Province Writers Association. She has worked in education for many years and has published literary works.

I have a brother who was born just 10 minutes before me. Even though he was born first， were still twins. When Im happy， I call him “brother.” But if he upsets me， I grit my teeth and call him “Huanhuan.”

Everything our parents buy for us comes in pairs： two pencil boxes each with the same design so neither can be fussy. One set of paints each， so we dont fight over them. Only our picture books are different， as we can swap and read each others.

Our little beds face each other in the room with the same sheets， pillows， and comforters. But anyone can tell at a glance which bed belongs to Huanhuan and which is mine. Thats because Huanhuans bed is always neat and tidy， while mine is often a mess. My mom praises Huanhuan on one hand and scolds me on the other. Frustrated， I sometimes mess up his bed， too. But Huanhuan neither tattles nor fights with me， he just looks at me as if to say： So lame！ Might as well tidy up a bit so it doesnt look so bad.

In the past， Huanhuan and I dressed quite similar. Maybe mom prefers girls？ Huanhuan didnt seem to mind when Mom styled his hair in braids. I heard he protested when he was in senior kindergarten. One day， a boy blurted out， “Shame， shame！ A boy looking like a girl！” while fighting over a toy with Huanhuan. Huanhuan was stunned speechless， and watched as the boy ran away with the toy.

The next morning， as Mom was dressing Huanhuan， he protested， “Im a boy. Why do I have to dress like my sister？” It seemed only then did Mom realize he had a point. She took Huanhuan shopping for clothes and shoes and got him a haircut， and by the time he returned to kindergarten， hardly anyone recognized him.

Most older brothers are several years older than their younger siblings. Huanhuan is just 10 minutes older than me. Sometimes， I hardly want to admit hes my brother. Moreover， he weighed only 1.9 kg at birth， while I weighed 2.5 kg. Its obvious whos the bigger one. Who knows， maybe the doctors got it wrong when we were born？

But sometimes， he does act like a big brother. At school， if anyone makes me cry， Huanhuan will confront them or fetch the teacher. In the park， when I see a little dog I both adore and fear， Huanhuan will walk over， hug the dog， and say， “Good doggy， stay still. Lele likes you， let her pet you， okay？” Then he turns to me and says， “Dont worry， Ill protect you. You can come and touch it.” He acts so mature， like my guardian angel. Sometimes， with the chocolates Mom gives us， hed secretly save his. When I get upset and throw a tantrum， hed magically produce it to cheer me up. Appreciating the chocolate gesture， Id follow him， saying sweeter than the candy， “Big brother， youre so kind.”

You might wonder， do we， this pair of twins， look exactly alike？ Huanhuan and I often encounter such curious glances and hear Mom introducing us to the intrigued folks. Truth be told， Huanhuan resembles Mom more： big eyes， small mouth， high forehead; hes more beautiful than me. I look more like Dad： not-so-large eyes， full lips， and ears that seem to stick out rebelliously. Whenever we have guests， they “evaluate” us. Not only can they not tell were twins， but some even think Im the older sister and Huanhuan is the younger brother， because hes half a head shorter than me.

People often say twins have a telepathic bond. My mom echoes this sentiment， always telling people， “When one cries， the other surely follows. If one catches a cold， you can bet the other will soon be feverish too. If one has an upset stomach， the other is right behind.”

What？！ Thats ridiculous！ Huanhuan and I have never had such a bond. Ive tested it many times.

For instance， when Dad takes us to the bookstore and I see a book I like， Id ask Huanhuan， “Do you know which book I want to buy？” Nine times out of ten， hed guess wrong. If we truly had that bond， I wouldnt struggle with any exam questions.

Especially at dinner， “Eat a bit more， just a bit more， or you wont grow taller than your sister，” is what our grandparents always tell Huanhuan. At meals， Mom always serves him extra food. If not prompted by adults， hed simply not eat. Overeat at dinner， and hed complain of a bloated stomach， resulting in Grandma chasing him with digestion pills.

I never need coaxing to eat， and they usually let me be. My indifference slowly turned to resentment： why do they only fuss over him， treating him like royalty while sidelining me？ So， one evening， I refused to eat too. This sent our grandparents and parents into a frenzy; some checked my temperature， some wanted to rush me to the hospital， while others thought of calling doctor friends for advice. Seeing their reactions， I felt secretly pleased and couldnt help but giggle. My astute mom caught on， telling everyone， “Stop fussing， Lele is just pretending.”

Fearing a scolding， I quickly started eating.

Grandpa sighed in relief， saying， “As long as shes healthy.”

Mom commented， “Little mischief， isnt it enough that were already so busy catering to the two of you？ Huanhuan already gives us enough to worry about with his height， and now youre adding to the chaos.”

But Dad said， “You all worry needlessly. Huanhuans height is quite average for his age. Its Lele whos taller than most kids her age. She sure loves to eat， this little foodie！ How can two kids from the same womb be so different？ Look， Huanhuan is reserved， Lele is lively， ones introverted， the other extroverted.”

Mom added her own bewilderment， “And their personalities are opposite of what youd expect. Girls tend to be more reserved， but Lele is so energetic; boys tend to be more active， but Huanhuan always seems to be pondering something in stillness.”

Indeed， even though were together almost all the time， its usually me talking and him listening. Faced with the same thing， he always comes up with many more insights， proving hes the more thoughtful one.