The evening breeze was slightly cool.
The broad water reflected the lights along both banks, reflected the stars in the clear night sky. A bright white moon hung in the inky blue heavens, scattering its cold radiance. Specks of fireflies drifted along the riverbank, and the daytime heat quietly faded away. Quite a few people had come to the bank to cool off at night, their conversations dispersing through the refreshing evening breeze.
The spring river's tide rose level with the sea; above the sea, the bright moon was born with the tide.
For no reason at all, that line of poetry surfaced in Luo Chuan's mind. It was already midsummer, and before him was merely a tranquil river, its surface reflecting the moon. Perhaps the river would eventually rush into the sea as well. He looked again at Yao Ziyan beside him.
Yao Ziyan sat on a small stool, a fishing rod in her hands.
She wore an ordinary pair of sandals and a pure white dress. Her waist was slender, her hair falling naturally down her back and swaying faintly in the evening breeze. She also wore an off-white sun hat on her head. (Though perhaps moon hat would have been more fitting at a time like this?)
"Red rain drifting, stirring memories—how could they ever fade? Your brows and eyes, as in those bygone days, flowed through my heart..."
Yao Ziyan softly hummed a tune she had heard from Luo Chuan. Beneath her skirt, half of her jade-white calf gently swayed. Her exposed skin was white as snow, possessing an almost unreal transparency beneath the moonlight. Her violet eyes remained fixed intently on the water's surface.
"What are you looking at?" Yao Ziyan noticed Luo Chuan's gaze and turned toward him.
"I feel like you're getting prettier