Homecoming

A young man of about sixteen or seventeen appeared at the street corner and slowly made his way toward the courtyard.

His steps were unsteady, and he was covered in dust. The dark blue outfit he wore was torn in many places, leaving him looking rather disheveled.

The servant who had remained by the gate hurried over when he saw the young man.

"Third Young Master, where did you go last night? Second Madam was worried sick."

The young man pushed away the servant's outstretched hand and glanced at the woman in green standing at the gate, puzzled.

"You..."

Before he could ask anything, the woman turned her face toward him, her gaze settling on his.

"Qing...hu?"

The words that reached his ears were clear and pleasant, and compared with the voice in his memories, they lacked the affected tone that had once grated on him.

The woman before him looked somewhat different from the face in his memories, but there was still a strong resemblance.

His gaze traveled downward to her slender figure. The puzzlement on his face turned to terror. He stumbled back several steps, eyes wide.

"E-eld... Eldest Brother?!"

His voice carried the distinctive rasp of a boy going through adolescence.

Shi Qinghu felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in his mind. His ears rang, and he had almost lost the ability to think.

"It's been a long time..."

Shi Lan looked at the young man, who now stood taller than her, and nodded, a faint smile touching her lips.

More than a year had passed, and Shi Qinghu had changed quite a bit. If her memory hadn't grown so much sharper, she might not have recognized him at first.

"Ah... Lan?"

Hearing the soft call from behind her, Shi Lan paused and turned toward the