The words "friends" kept Nan Jin from saying more than a few words throughout the journey. Even controlling the flower basket to fly alongside my umbrella did nothing to change that. Instead, her unwavering companionship on the way to Qingxian Prefecture made things exceedingly awkward for both of us.
It wasn't as though I hadn't spoken to her. I had, but her replies consisted of little more than "Mm," "Oh," and "Okay." That unfamiliar distance was hard to bear at first, though it wasn't impossible to accept. After all, so many twists and turns had happened between us along the way, allowing the original spark to grow into a flame. Now that someone had suddenly dumped a basin of water over it, it was only natural for her to feel bewildered and lost.
Floating beside the flower basket, I looked more like a protector of flowers. She also kept from falling behind. Then, just as we passed the border fortress on the way to Qingxian Prefecture, a sudden torrential downpour became the beginning of our journey toward breaking the ice.
As the sudden rain drifted down around us, the flower basket did not activate its protective barrier. Nan Jin deliberately let the rain fall on her face and head, and in almost an instant, she was soaked like a drowned rat.
I hurriedly held up my umbrella and floated back to the flower basket. Seeing her completely unconcerned expression, I said, "Little auntie, what are you doing? The sky's covered in dark clouds, and you don't even know enough to close the lid of the flower basket?"
"Why do you care? I don't need a friend like you helping me," Nan Jin said unhappily.
"If you don't need a friend, then we won't be friends. As for being your elder,