He must have been seeing things.
Xu Qingzhu shook his head at Xu Zizhen. "It's nothing."
"Oh."
Xu Zizhen looked away.
The corners of Xu Qingzhu's mouth had just begun to lift—
Hm?
He paused, slightly startled.
What was this...?
He reached out.
A scarlet maple leaf drifted down and landed in his palm.
Was it a coincidence?
Xu Qingzhu looked up at the maple tree before him.
Just then, a gentle breeze swept by, and the maple leaves rustled.
Apart from the leaf in his hand, none of the others had fallen.
"Hey, Uncle, where did that maple leaf come from?"
The breeze had stung his eyes a little, and Xu Zizhen tilted his head slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of bright red.
He focused on it and saw a beautiful maple leaf lying in his uncle's hand.
It really was beautiful.
Its color was scarlet and its shape exquisite, like an ornament crafted by hand, yet it had a touch more liveliness to it.
"It fell by itself."
Xu Qingzhu pinched the stem of the leaf and examined it closely.
Hm.
He'd make it into a bookmark when he got home.
"It fell by itself?"
Xu Zizhen looked envious. "How did such a beautiful maple leaf fall?"
Normally, fallen leaves had at least a few flaws.
A perfect leaf wouldn't fall.
"Uncle, you really didn't pick it yourself?"
Xu Zizhen was skeptical.
"How could I?"
Xu Qingzhu laughed. "Why would I pick Spirit Maple's leaves?"
That was true.
Xu Zizhen knew that, too.
He'd only said it offhand.
He knew it was impossible.
This maple tree was Spirit Maple, after all.
If he didn't know that, it would be one thing.
But now that he