Shyness (Revised)

Chi Li lay on the ground, his arms crossed beneath his head, looking at Si Jinyan beside him.

Si Jinyan sat at his side, gazing into Chi Li's deep eyes as the unease in him seemed to grow. "What is it, exactly?"

Chi Li suddenly reached out, seized Si Jinyan's left hand, and pressed it against his own chest.

Si Jinyan's palm rested against Chi Li's chest. The warmth of his body seeped through the thin fabric into his hand. He froze, suddenly worried. "Does it hurt here?"

Chi Li said, "No."

Si Jinyan bent closer to Chi Li's chest. "Then what is it?"

Chi Li released the hand resting atop Si Jinyan's and sat up, pointing to where his heart was. "Something of yours is in here."

The corner of Si Jinyan's lips lifted. He thought Chi Li was, for once, saying something sweet to him. But when he saw that Chi Li did not look as though he were joking, the smile in his eyes gradually faded. "What do you mean?"

Chi Li glanced at Si Jinyan's chest, then raised his eyes and stared steadily at him. "You're missing a scale. The scale over your heart is with me."

Si Jinyan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Chi Li, though I would very much like to give you that scale, I... I don't think I ever did that."

Seeing the shock in Si Jinyan's eyes, Chi Li suddenly felt a sharp ache in his heart. "Because you forgot."

After a moment of silence, Chi Li lowered his voice, with an almost imperceptible note of self-reproach. "I forgot too."

Si Jinyan silently looked at Chi Li for a while. At last, he merely reached out and tightly clasped the hand Chi Li had unconsciously clenched against the grass beside him. "Then