Proactive Introduction!

Tang San's footsteps were much lighter coming down the mountain than they had been going up.

It was as if he had shed a shell. That shell had been with him since he was seven; it wasn't heavy, but it wasn't light either. He never spoke of it because he felt it was overly sentimental. A boy shouldn't go around with the word "lonely" constantly on his lips.

But just now, as he spoke those words, he suddenly felt lighter.

Xiao Wu was half a step ahead of him, her ponytail swinging behind her as she stepped back and forth on his shadow. Whether intentional or not, she managed to land precisely on the head of Tang San's shadow every single time.

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

Upon hearing the words "Big Sister Xiao Wu," the curve of her lips deepened. Far from slowing down, she picked up her pace, hopping and skipping down the mountain like a wild rabbit from the back hills.

Tang San shook his head, unable to suppress the smile tugging at his lips.

The two entered the village one after the other as the sky had turned completely dark. Dim, yellow light leaked from the windows of the village houses; the cooking smoke had long since dissipated, and the air was filled with the lingering fragrance of dinner. Villagers passing by looked curiously at Tang San and the strange little girl, but no one asked any prying questions.

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

When he knocked, Old Jack opened the door. The old man was draped in a cotton-padded jacket, holding a bowl of hot tea. Seeing Tang San and Xiao Wu, he chuckled and swung the door wide open.

"Back already? Your little friend went out, said he wanted to walk around the village and would be back in a bit," Old Jack stepped aside to let them in. "Come in and sit, it's cold outside."

Tang San hesitated, not yet knowing how to respond, when a series of shuffling footsteps sounded from behind.

Huang Fei turned the corner from the alley, his hands tucked into his sleeves. He was hunched over, curled up like a human shrimp frozen by the cold wind. Seeing Tang San and Xiao Wu standing at Old Jack's doorway, he paused for a moment before quickening his pace to walk over.

"Finished enjoying the scenery?" Huang Fei asked casually, his tone carrying that usual lazy drawl, though his eyes swept over Xiao Wu before settling on Tang San's face.

Tang San nodded, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something but didn't know where to start. He glanced at Xiao Wu, who tilted her chin up, giving him a look that said, "You tell him."

Tang San took a deep breath.

"Huang Fei, that... Xiao Wu and I just swore an oath to be siblings on the back hill. She's my sister now."

He didn't say it very smoothly, as if facing a very formal moment, or perhaps fearing that Huang Fei might misunderstand—after all, he and Huang Fei had grown up together, in some ways closer than brothers. Suddenly having a sister, he felt an instinctive need to explain it clearly to Huang Fei.

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

After saying this, Tang San felt it sounded a bit strange, so he quickly added, "Of course, you're different from me. She can just call you Brother Fei; no need for anything else."

Huang Fei blinked after hearing this.

He suppressed the "I already knew" that almost slipped out—after all, he had been sitting behind that big tree on the back hill half an hour ago, watching the whole process from start to finish, including every word Tang San said, every syllable Xiao Wu agreed to, and the golden glow of the sunset on their faces as they shook hands.

But he couldn't let anyone know that.

So, he stood stunned for a full two seconds, then slowly widened his eyes and opened his mouth slightly, putting on a look of surprise as if he were just finding out.

"Sworn siblings?" He looked at Tang San, then at Xiao Wu, his gaze shifting between them twice before returning to Tang San's face.

Tang San nodded, waiting for his reaction.

Huang Fei dropped the feigned surprise and a sincere smile bloomed on his face. He reached out and patted Tang San on the shoulder twice—the first was a congratulation, the second was a firm squeeze that said, "I understand."

"Not bad, Little San. With your dad gone, you must have felt empty inside; having a sister is just right. Congratulations, congratulations."

His tone was incredibly natural, neither overly excited nor deliberately perfunctory. It was the perfect, reassuring reaction one would expect from a best friend hearing good news from another.

Tang San's tense nerves instantly relaxed.

He had actually been worried that Huang Fei might think he was "choosing a sister over his brother," or that he was acting on impulse. But Huang Fei's reaction told him—no. None of that. Huang Fei was still the same Huang Fei, accepting all his decisions.

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

"No." Huang Fei refused cleanly and decisively, without a hint of hesitation. "Having you as a brother is enough for me. If I had another sister, how much more would I have to worry? Not worth it."

Tang San gave a wry smile, knowing he would say that.

Xiao Wu had been standing to the side, silent.

She tilted her head, watching Huang Fei with something subtle in her eyes. It wasn't hostility, nor was it closeness; it was more like... an appraisal. Like a rabbit trying to determine if the lazy creature in front of her was a cat or a tiger.

"So I'm calling you Brother Fei from now on?" Xiao Wu asked.

Huang Fei glanced at her. "Call me whatever you want, or don't call me anything at all."

"Brother Fei," Xiao Wu said. Her voice was crisp, as if she were testing how those two words tasted coming from her own mouth.

"Mm," Huang Fei replied. His tone was flat, but he couldn't help the corner of his mouth curling up.

Old Jack, who had been watching from the doorway, chuckled and chimed in, "Alright, alright, stop standing at the door, come in and sit! Little San, Grandma Jack has already tidied up your room; all three of you can fit tonight. Though there aren't enough beds, you'll have to squeeze in."

Tang San was about to be polite, but Huang Fei had already walked into the house, found a stool closest to the stove, and sat down. He stretched his hands out over the fire, squinting in comfort.

Xiao Wu followed him in, sat down beside Huang Fei, and also held her hands out to warm them.

Tang San stood at the door, watching this scene, and suddenly felt that the words and oaths on the back hill had made everything different. Yet, it also felt 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.

And Huang Fei, sitting by the stove warming his hands, looked exactly the same as he did when he first arrived at Notting Academy and lay in the bedding in Dormitory Seven, and exactly the same as when he lay under the big tree at the entrance of Holy Soul Village.

There wasn't a single change just because "Tang San had a sister."

No loss, no jealousy, none of those tropes Tang San had read about in books where "a third person suddenly appearing between two good friends makes things awkward."

Huang Fei was just Huang Fei. Always the same.