Archery and Senior Sister

"I think my training for you is actually slightly different from the Way of Archery,"

Qiao Heng said. "If you're interested, you can go to the club afterward to catch up—there are other seniors who can teach you.

But for this next month, I hope your training focuses on 'technique,' not 'ritual.'"

"Archery?"

You En had some thoughts but didn't intend to voice them.

Qiao Heng glanced at him. "Say whatever's on your mind. We've already seen each other bare, so there's no need to be shy or hold back."

You En spoke his mind directly, "So you mean that for this next month, I only need to train in the technical aspects of archery itself, without worrying about all those tedious formalities?

Sorry, my words might be a bit rude."

"Having those thoughts isn't wrong—it's just a difference in perspective,"

Qiao Heng said. "The Way of Archery itself is about cultivating ritual, adjusting one's mindset to be centered and calm. What seems tedious to outsiders has its own meaning.

This is simply the difference between the one watching the arrow and the one holding the bow."

You En nodded. "I understand. If Senior is willing to teach me, I'd be happy to learn."

But that wouldn't come from an interest in the Way of Archery—it would come from fondness for his senior.

Qiao Heng smiled in return. "If you want to learn, I'd be happy to teach... but it's not allowed."

As she spoke, her mood dipped for a moment, then returned to that crisp and steady demeanor.

You En was puzzled. "Not allowed? Why not allowed?"

"That's a question I can't answer,"

Senior Qiao Heng said with an apologetic smile, explaining with a hint of regret:

"If it were a peaceful and stable time, I'd probably start from the most basic rituals and teach you step by step. That stage would take about two years between us.

Only in the final year would I let you participate in some competitions—not needing you to place, just to keep an ordinary heart."

Her tone revealed both concern and helplessness.

You En looked at her, feeling that the person before him was both far and near. He recalled the Space Club's slogan from earlier.

Senior was probably seeking inward—she must be like the stars and the sea.

What he felt was only a part of her, but that part was already warm and strong enough.

"Senior, thank you."

Qiao Heng shook her head. "I was just talking to myself."

She cleared her throat. "Alright, let's start our formal lesson. First point: you must get to know the bow. Earlier, I had you shoot arrows so I could get to know you. But now, you're the one using this bow, so you need to get to know it."

"Get to know it?"

You En looked at the Heart Bamboo bow on his knee and tentatively asked, "Its structure?"

"You've already gotten to know it,"

Qiao Heng said.

"Getting to know it means impression. From the first glance, we begin forming a cognition of the bow, and at the same time, the bow reacts back on our consciousness—these change every moment.

As for structure... it looks similar to other bows, but this one is different. You need to feel it yourself."

"This is the first lesson. When you come next month, you'll tell me what you've felt from your bow."

After assigning this week's task, Senior Qiao Heng began the formal teaching.

First was the "Eight Stages of Archery." Though they were focusing on technique, they still learned from the content of the Way of Archery's basics.

Modern archery, while emphasizing form, hasn't become mere formality. Many ritualized or formalized elements actually have practical value.

After a brief explanation and demonstration, Senior Qiao Heng encouraged You En to try boldly.

You En stepped forward, first facing the target at the shooting position, spreading his feet apart—this was the first stage, "Foot Stance." After stabilizing his footing, he steadied his upper body, nocked the bowstring, raised the bow high above his head, pulled the bow with one hand and the string with the other, slowly bringing the arrow level with his line of sight.

"Not bad,"

Qiao Heng naturally noticed some flaws, but she didn't mind.

"Continue."

You En began aiming the arrow at the target, but he felt as if "Heart Bamboo" was resisting him. He aimed for a long time without finding the feel.

A crisp voice seemed to ask: "What do you want?"

He answered: "What I need isn't the result, but the process of shooting the arrow. Only the process is alive; the start and end are just dead things."

After saying this, the resistance from the Heart Bamboo bow seemed to vanish.

You En aimed at the target, tightened his left hand, right hand, both shoulders, and chest, then channeled his strength into his feet, waist, and abdomen, opening his chest. At the moment that felt best to him, he released the arrow, letting it fly from the string.

He held that posture, feeling himself, slowly bringing both hands back to his waist, while watching the arrow's trajectory.

--Dead center.

"A straight shot hits the mark. Proper form is crucial knowledge for beginners. Starting from the correct process and moving toward the correct result—well done."

Qiao Heng lightly clapped for him.

You En looked at the bow in his hand, then at his senior, "Lucky shot."

If he had to do it again, he didn't have confidence he could hit dead center.

"So this is just the beginning. Good work deserves encouragement, or do you want some kind of material reward?"

Qiao Heng smiled. Unlike her rather aloof appearance, at least when dealing with You En, she was as meticulous and gentle as possible in her teaching.

You En wasn't a saint. He naturally held good feelings and secret thoughts toward Senior Qiao Heng, but what he said came from the heart:

"Having you personally teach me—that's already the best reward."

"Then let's continue."

In happiness, people always feel every moment is so fulfilling, so they throw themselves into it wholeheartedly. But the more they do, the faster time seems to slip away.

In the blink of an eye, the morning lessons had ended. Time passed quickly, yet it felt long—You En felt as if a whole week had gone by.

During the lunch break, his senior said she had made a bento for You En and needed to go get it, asking him to wait a moment.

Taking this time, You En pulled out his Student Terminal to confirm.

"Archery (lv0, Beginner)"

There was a lot he'd learned in the morning. Though most of it focused on shooting arrows, his senior had also explained many concepts, and You En could clearly feel that all the teaching and explanations were specifically designed for him.

No wonder she'd only started teaching him today. She'd probably spent this whole time designing a personalized learning process for him.

"Broke through to Beginner?"

Senior Qiao Heng walked over carrying a bento box.

"Mm."

You En nodded. This was his personal panel—it didn't seem like something new that only appeared this year. His senior probably had one too.

His senior handed over the bento box. "I made sushi for you this morning. I don't know if you'll like it. If there's anything you don't enjoy, tell me, and I won't put those ingredients in next time."

"I'm not picky."

You En wasn't picky at all. "I've basically been eating the school's free food these past few days."

"That must have been rough on you."

His senior cupped her face, looking a bit regretful. "Too bad I can't lend you points either."

"It's not rough. Free lunch—what's there to complain about?"

You En opened the bento box. There were many varieties, and it was generous. Most importantly, he could tell it was made with great care.

He took a bite, and his eyes lit up. It wasn't that he'd never eaten sushi before—back in the outside world, he'd been fairly well-off and had tasted many kinds of food. But this flavor stirred a long-missed nostalgia.

"Still, there's a difference even in free food. I'd be willing to eat your bento even if it cost me everything I had."

What kind of taste was this?

Qiao Heng smiled, a hint of happiness spreading across her face. "I'm glad you like it."

"Aren't you eating, Senior?"

"Just watching you eat is enough."

Qiao Heng seemed about to come up with some excuse, but she gave up. She didn't want to lie to You En, not even a harmless one.

The two didn't speak again. One ate quietly, the other watched quietly.

"I'm full. Thanks for the meal."

"You're welcome. I'm really happy."

Qiao Heng took the bento box away, presumably to wash it. Remembering something, she turned back and tossed him a set of keys from her pocket.

"Go further in—the third room is mine. You can go in and rest. Use my bed, it's fine."

You En caught the keys. There were no extra trinkets on them—just three identical keys, very simple.

"Mm."

By now, he had a pretty good sense of his senior's temperament, so he didn't refuse. Training would continue in the afternoon, and even if he was in decent shape, he still needed to let his mind relax a little.

Besides, he was a bit curious about his senior's room. Boys and men—or rather, people—were all the same. Being interested in the opposite sex was normal, let alone when it was someone he had feelings for.

Arriving at his senior's room, You En looked at the nameplate on the door.

"Qiao Heng Meizhui"

This should be the one. He took out the key and opened the door.

Soft light seeped through the crack. When the door swung fully open, sunlight filtered through the white gauze curtains, spilling onto the beige tatami mats and casting the dappled shadows of cherry blossom branches.

Inside, aside from a bed covered with light blue sheets, there was only a low table and some antique tea utensils.

Some photos hung on the wall too. In those, the senior looked young and shy—probably from her first year, judging by the season. Each semester, the people standing beside her dwindled by a few.

After that, she stopped keeping photos.

You En walked to the balcony. The small potted plants there had long withered, as if untouched for a long time.

He felt like he had stepped into a yellowed old photograph. Everything was from the past, except for that plain, clean bedsheet.

You En went to the bed, carefully hung his bow on the wall, took off his jacket, and lay down. He only meant to rest a little, not to fall asleep.

But leaning against the senior's pillow, his eyelids suddenly grew heavy. He felt tired, and sank into a deep sleep.

In his dream, someone seemed to gently stroke his forehead, sensing his unease, softly comforting him.

"It's okay. I'll be with you. As for 'time,' I'll give you some. Don't rush. Sleep slowly."

He felt like he had slept for a long time.

When he woke up, You En saw the senior sitting beside him, leaning over to meet his gaze, one hand playing with his hair.

The girl showed no embarrassment at being caught. There was only a hint of delight on her face.

"Awake?"

"Slept well. Um... sorry, did I take your bed?"

You En said, "I interrupted your nap."

"It's fine. I haven't used this room or this bed in a long time."

A trace of weariness lingered deep in the senior's eyes.

"But you're the first person to enter my room. Doesn't that make you happy?"

You En instinctively replied, "Of course. I'll probably be laughing in my dreams tonight."

The senior let out an "Oh." "Oh. So, are you staying here tonight?"

You En shook his head. He wanted to stay, but he couldn't. Once he got used to it, he might not be able to go back.

"No."

Senior Qiao Heng's expression remained unchanged.

"Mm. Then go back to class."

After the afternoon classes ended.

You En changed out of his kyudo uniform, put on his school clothes, and took his leave of the senior.

"Anything you want to say to me?"

Qiao Heng looked at him expectantly.

You En thought for a moment, then said helplessly:

"Senior, when someone's changing clothes, could you not peek?"

Qiao Heng seemed surprised by this.

"How did you know I was watching you?"

You En found her question baffling.

"You were right in my face. How could I not know?"

But thinking back, her behavior had been really strange. It was like she thought he couldn't see her, so she let herself go a bit in the changing room. You En hadn't called her out on it, just played along.

The senior was embarrassed for a split second, but quickly put one hand on her hip, showing no sign of guilt. "Then... next time, I'll watch openly!"

This was what You En feared most.

Shamelessness truly made one invincible. He could only surrender and run back to the dorm.

After he left.

Yui from the neighboring Kendo Club appeared, wearing a purple kendo uniform, a katana at her waist.

Yui asked, "You're really throwing your weight around. How much 'time' did you give him today?"

Qiao Heng stared at You En's retreating figure until he completely disappeared before turning to answer her question:

"Ten days. That's the limit he can handle right now."

"If it were just normal teaching, fine. But giving away time? You're really rich. Do you have nowhere else to spend your points?"

Yui genuinely thought the other girl was being extravagant. The school frowned on interference between grades. The restrictions on cross-grade support were severe, so the personal points required multiplied geometrically.

"You value him that much? Are you going all in?"

Suddenly, Yui seemed to think of something. She looked at Qiao Heng seriously.

"You're out of time yourself?"

"Soon. But that's not the main reason."

There was no fear on Qiao Heng's face. She didn't look like someone who had just heard about death. Instead, a trace of happiness showed through. Her long lashes fluttered gently.

"When I'm with him, I feel happy."

Yui couldn't understand it. Spending an astronomical amount of points and an enormous price, even giving away a bow that countless people would trade many things for—all just because she "felt happy"?

She tilted her head and asked, "That's it?"

Qiao Heng nodded. "Yes, that's it."

Yui was a bit skeptical. Though her strength couldn't compare to Qiao Heng standing before her, she was still capable of graduating on her own. At the very least, she could handle twenty of those teachers who scraped by on their diplomas without breaking a sweat.

She truly couldn't see where You En had the qualifications to be so valued by Qiao Heng.

Even with his peculiar "Second Self," even if his talent was decent among this batch of students, it was still far from enough. He couldn't even compare to her, let alone Qiao Heng. The gap between them couldn't be summed up by saying they were worlds apart.

Yui felt she should give her some advice.

If she went by her own reasoning, she'd think that this woman Qiao Heng had probably gone so long without a relationship that she'd finally found a man who looked relatively pleasing to the eye, and so she'd fallen for him.

It didn't matter. If she liked him, she could just date him. Spending some time with him and finding it fun was fine, but there was no need to pay such a heavy price.

She didn't voice these thoughts, of course. Instead, she said, "I think you need to be rational. Our situation isn't good—we only have one chance. We need to find people who can truly solve our problems."

Qiao Heng didn't speak after hearing that. Instead, she looked up. Her sun had gradually begun to set behind the mountains, perhaps never to rise again, but that was fine.

"I choose to believe in him. I don't care what happens to me in the end. Even if I can only walk this path with him for a while, that's fine too."

Like You En, what she cared about was the process, not the result.

Yui shook her head inwardly. There was no point trying to persuade her further this month.

She'd wait until the end-of-month assessment began. After seeing You En's performance, she could use more concrete words to advise this kind-hearted senior of hers.