"I still hope Little Man Tian Xing can see the Guardian Spirit."
Li Yan's eyes were half-closed, his expression devout as he prayed.
A few seconds later, Li Yan opened his eyes.
He happened to see Grandma Luo walking over.
"Grandma Luo?"
He stood up.
Grandma Luo set a plate of sliced fruit on the coffee table.
"Master Xiao, have some fruit."
"Xiao Yan, you too."
Grandma Luo then took something from the coffee table—
"These are sunflower seeds, walnuts..."
"And some candy."
"Take whatever you like."
Before long, Grandma Luo had filled the entire coffee table with snacks.
"Help yourselves."
She got up and left.
Soon, Grandma Luo returned with two cups of tea.
"Have some water."
She set the cups on the coffee table.
Their bottoms tapped lightly against the table, making a crisp sound.
After all that fuss, Grandma Luo went back to the kitchen.
Looking at the table full of snacks, Li Yan grinned at Master Xiao. "Master Xiao, take whatever you want."
"Don't be shy."
"Master Xiao."
Li Yan looked a little sheepish and embarrassed. "I was so excited..."
"So I came a bit early."
"Actually, we could've come after lunch and still made it in time."
But instead, they'd come in the morning.
He smiled wryly and pursed his lips.
He remembered how, when he was little, he would wake up before dawn whenever his class had a Spring Outing the next day. He always claimed he wasn't excited, but he still got out of bed much earlier than usual.
That was saying something, since normally he'd make himself sleep for every last minute, even if his alarm was about to go off.
His parents had teased him about how much he was looking forward to the Spring