Proactive Introduction!

Tang San's steps were much lighter on the way down the mountain than they had been on the way up.

It was as if he'd shed a layer of shell. It had been clinging to him ever since he was seven—not heavy, but not light, either. He never talked about it, because he thought saying it aloud would sound melodramatic. A boy shouldn't go around with the word "loneliness" constantly on his lips.

But just now, when he said those words, he suddenly felt lighter.

Xiao Wu walked half a step ahead of him, her ponytail swishing behind her as she wandered back and forth, stepping on his shadow. Whether she did it on purpose or not, she managed to land right on the head of Tang San's shadow every time.

"Sister Xiao Wu, slow down," Tang San called from behind.

At the words "Sister Xiao Wu," the curve of her lips grew even wider. Instead of slowing down, she sped up, skipping and bouncing down the mountain like a wild rabbit from the back hills.

Tang San shook his head, unable to suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.

They entered the village one after the other. It was already completely dark. Yellow lamplight spilled from the windows of the villagers' homes. The cooking smoke had long since dispersed, and the air was filled with the lingering aromas of dinner. The villagers they passed took a few curious looks at Tang San and the unfamiliar little girl with him, but nobody asked any questions.

Old Jack's house was not far from the village entrance. Huang Fei had said earlier that he'd be sleeping there, so Tang San decided to look for him first.

He knocked, and Old Jack opened the door. The old man wore a padded coat and held a bowl of hot tea. When he saw Tang San and Xiao Wu, he opened the door wide with a hearty smile.

"You're back? Your little friend went out for a walk around the village. He said he'd be back in a little while." Old Jack stepped aside to let them in. "Come sit inside first. It's cold out."

Tang San hesitated. Before he could answer, a string of dragging footsteps sounded behind him.

Huang Fei came around the alley, his hands tucked into his sleeves and his whole body curled into a ball, like a human shrimp frozen by the cold wind. When he saw Tang San and Xiao Wu standing at Old Jack's door, he paused, then hurried over.

"Enjoy the scenery?" Huang Fei asked casually, his voice as lazy as ever. His eyes swept over Xiao Wu before settling on Tang San.

Tang San nodded. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to begin. He glanced at Xiao Wu. She lifted her chin and gave him a look that said, "You say it yourself."

Tang San drew a deep breath.

"Huang Fei, um... Xiao Wu and I just became sworn siblings on the back hills. She's my little sister now."

He didn't say it very smoothly. It felt like a very formal moment, and he also seemed worried Huang Fei might misunderstand. After all, he and Huang Fei had grown up together and were, in some ways, closer than real brothers. Now that he suddenly had a little sister, he instinctively wanted to explain things clearly to Huang Fei.

"From now on, you're her big brother too."

Once he'd said that, even Tang San thought it sounded a little odd, so he hurriedly added, "Of course, you're different from me. She can just call you Brother Fei. She doesn't have to call you anything else."

Huang Fei blinked after hearing all this.

He held back the words "I already knew" that had almost slipped out. After all, half an hour ago he'd been sitting behind a big tree on the back hills, watching the entire thing unfold—from every word Tang San had said and every syllable Xiao Wu had agreed to, to the golden sunset falling across their faces as they shook hands.

But he couldn't let anyone know that now.

So he stood there stunned for a full two seconds. Then his eyes slowly widened, his mouth fell slightly open, and he put on a surprised expression that said, "This is the first I've heard of it."

"You became sworn siblings?" He looked at Tang San, then at Xiao Wu, his gaze passing between them twice before returning to Tang San.

Tang San nodded and waited for his reaction.

Huang Fei dropped the deliberate look of surprise, and a genuine smile spread across his face. He reached out and patted Tang San on the shoulder twice. The first pat was congratulations; the second gave his shoulder a firm squeeze, as if to say, "I get it."

"Not bad, Xiao San. Your dad left, and you've been feeling a bit empty inside. Getting yourself a little sister is just the thing. Congratulations, congratulations."

His tone was so natural it was impossible to fault. He wasn't overly excited, nor was he deliberately dismissive. It was the perfectly measured, reassuring reaction of a best friend hearing good news from another best friend.

The tension in Tang San's nerves melted away all at once.

He'd been a little worried Huang Fei might think he'd "gotten a little sister and didn't want his brother anymore," or that he'd acted on impulse. But Huang Fei's response told him otherwise. There was nothing to it. Huang Fei was still Huang Fei, accepting every decision he made.

"What about you?" Tang San suddenly asked. "Do you want to, too...?"

"No." Huang Fei refused cleanly and decisively, without the slightest hesitation. "Having you as my brother is enough. If I get another little sister, how much more would I have to worry about? Not worth it."

Tang San gave a wry smile. He'd known Huang Fei would say that.

Xiao Wu had been standing quietly to the side the whole time.

She tilted her head and studied Huang Fei, a very subtle look in her eyes. It wasn't hostility, nor was it affection. It was more like... appraisal. Like a rabbit trying to work out whether the lazy creature in front of it was a cat or a tiger.

"So you're my Brother Fei from now on?" Xiao Wu asked.

Huang Fei glanced at her. "Call me that if you want. You don't have to."

"Brother Fei." Xiao Wu tried the words out, her voice crisp and clear, as if testing how they tasted coming from her mouth.

"Mm," Huang Fei answered. His tone was flat, but he still couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting a little.

Old Jack had been watching from the doorway for a while. With a hearty chuckle, he chimed in, "All right, all right. Stop standing in the doorway and come inside! Xiao San, your Grandma Jack has tidied up your house. The three of you can all stay there tonight. There aren't enough beds, though, so you'll have to squeeze in."

Tang San was about to refuse politely, but Huang Fei had already stepped straight inside. He found a stool closest to the stove and sat down, stretching both hands over the flames and closing his eyes in comfort.

Xiao Wu followed him in, sat down beside him, and held her hands out to warm them by the fire too.

Tang San stood in the doorway, watching them. Suddenly, he felt as if the words and promises spoken on the back hills had changed everything. And yet it also seemed as if nothing had changed. His father was gone, but Huang Fei was still here, Old Jack was still here, and now there was Xiao Wu, too.

And Huang Fei, sitting beside the stove and warming himself, looked exactly the same as when he'd lain under a blanket in Dorm Seven after first arriving at Notting Academy, or when he'd stretched out beneath the big tree at the village entrance in Holy Soul Village.

Not a thing about him had changed because "Tang San had a little sister now."

There was no disappointment, no jealousy, none of those "things get awkward when a third person suddenly enters the friendship between two good friends" tropes Tang San had read about in books.

Huang Fei was Huang Fei. He would always be just the same.