A Childhood Friend

It was nine in the morning.

The weather had not turned hot yet.

Chen Shu threw on a light jacket, went out, unlocked a rental bike, and rode along at an easy pace.

The world felt wonderfully fresh after the rain. The early-summer sun was just right, and the ground had already dried, leaving no trace of last night's downpour.

Ning Qing's home was neither near nor far.

Chen Shu followed a resident into a courtyard complex of the kind common in Yi Nation, something like a villa neighborhood filled with Chinese-style courtyard homes. He walked along the petal-strewn road inside and soon reached one of the courtyards.

Knock, knock!

A dozen seconds later, the door opened.

A tall, delicate-looking woman stood inside. She looked at him calmly, studying him from head to toe.

Chen Shu broke into a grin. "That was quick."

As he spoke, he held out his hand. A piece of candy lay in his palm. "Brought you some candied tangerine peel. It's pretty sour."

Ning Qing took it, her hand pale and slender.

"I was spraying the flowers."

"No wonder."

Chen Shu squeezed past her into the courtyard.

Flowers grew everywhere inside. Their fresh fragrance filled the air and lifted his spirits the moment he stepped in.

A white cat lay lazily on the lawn.

Ning Qing closed the courtyard gate and followed him. Her gaze dipped slightly, settling on a spot on his back. "Your jacket's coming apart at the seam."

"Where?"

Ning Qing said nothing. She just stared straight at it.

Following her gaze, Chen Shu found a small split on the right side of his jacket. The broken threads stuck out like a centipede's legs. He remembered tearing it in PE class last week, and once he had found it, he put it right out of his mind. He yawned and said:

"Who cares?"

The temperature was climbing anyway. He pulled off the jacket and tossed it onto a stone bench in the courtyard.

Ning Qing watched him and went on, "I heard the police took you in yesterday?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"From a classmate."

"Who? You haven't even been going to school."

"The class monitor."

"Her? She could turn a sprained ankle into a broken leg."

"So?"

"Just routine questioning. Nothing serious."

"Really?"

"That's what the police officer said. Would I lie to you?"

"Often."

"Not this time, anyway."

Chen Shu waved a hand and bent to inspect the flowers filling the courtyard. Roses were at their best this time of year, but last night's rain had been too heavy. Many blooms had gone soggy, others had scattered in the wind, and even the least damaged bore ugly yellow-brown scars from the storm.

Most of the flowers here were roses.

Ning Qing still stood behind him, watching his bent back. Her voice was cool and light. "Have I ever told you..."

"Oh, I know."

"Know what?"

"You have a basin in your heart. Every time I tease you, brush you off, or lie to you, you pretend not to notice, but you add a little water to the basin. Once it fills up, I'm in trouble." Chen Shu frowned, then added, "It's such a pain."

"As long as you know."

Ning Qing said no more.

She was a rather aloof girl.

Before long, Chen Shu spotted an unusual potted flower in the garden. It was a blue-green with an almost plastic look to it, like the car-paint shade called Tiffany blue, or the blue of a robin's egg. As far as he knew, flowers rarely came in that color.

"What flower is this?"

Chen Shu leaned in, intrigued.

"Deep Sleep Flower."

"Why is it called Deep Sleep Flower?"

Chen Shu moved closer and took a sniff. It had a faint, pleasant scent, and he could not help taking two more breaths.

"Smells pretty good!"

Ning Qing glanced at what he was doing and pressed her lips together. "Because its fragrance is usually released slowly, it calms the mind and helps people sleep. But if you get close and breathe in deeply, a large dose of pollen makes you lose consciousness almost at once. One breath is enough to send an ordinary person into a deep sleep."

"Huh?"

Chen Shu froze.

She's making that up, right?

Then his head began to swim. It felt as if his mind could no longer muster a single thought, while strength drained from his limbs.

"This..."

Chen Shu dropped onto his backside, disbelief all over his face. He opened his mouth but could not get a word out.

Soon he could not even stay seated. He toppled over onto the paving stones. Above him stretched a broad expanse of early-summer sky, pale blue with clouds like gauze. A corner of the tall, flourishing jacaranda beside the courtyard entered his view.

"Meow?"

The long-haired white cat nearby turned its head and stared at him in puzzlement. It soon lost interest, though, licked its paw, and went back to basking in the sun with half-closed eyes.

The sun felt good to it.

Ning Qing walked over and stepped across Chen Shu.

"Don't worry. It's harmless."

Then she stepped back across him.

"And it lets you rest your mind."

Chen Shu kept his eyes open and struggled to stay conscious. Only his eyeballs could move.

The gentle sunlight fell on his face, warm without burning. It reminded him of the days when he and his classmates had finished lunch and lain on the sports field, idling away the afternoon. Those had been good times.

It really does let you rest your mind.

Since I can't fight it...

Chen Shu closed his eyes too.

He faintly heard footsteps again. This time they stopped beside him. He forced his eyes open and saw a younger face: a girl bending over him, her head tilted as she stared. She stood very close, and like her older sister, she wore little expression.

"Brother-in-law, what are you doing?"

Ning Qing's voice came immediately from nearby.

"Don't call him that."

The girl ignored her completely, as if she had not heard. She kept looking at Chen Shu, waiting for an answer.

Chen Shu: ...

Then the girl raised her head a little and glanced at the Deep Sleep Flower beside him. After a few seconds of silence, she asked, "Brother-in-law, did you smell the Deep Sleep Flower too?"

She tilted her head and waited a while longer. When Chen Shu gave no answer, she turned and walked away.

Her footsteps faded into the distance.

Before long, she came back.

Chen Shu felt two hands lift the back of his head. Then one hand supported it while the other slipped a pillow underneath.

Chen Shu: ...

About half an hour passed.

Chen Shu gradually regained his strength and control of his body. He sat up with difficulty and tried speaking. When he found that he could, he immediately voiced his displeasure to Ning Qing. "How could you do that? I even brought you candy, and you..."

He trailed off.

As Chen Shu turned, he saw Ning Qing sitting on the stone bench. She was at the brightest age of youth; even seated, the graceful curve of her waist caught the eye. She held his jacket in one hand and a needle and thread in the other. Her skin was flawlessly white, radiant in the early-summer sunlight, and her features were exquisitely fine. Lips pressed together, she worked the needle through the fabric, her eyes full of concentration.

The scene was so quiet that Chen Shu could not bear to disturb it.

She seemed to have heard him. Ning Qing turned her head slightly.

"What?"

"I forgot..."

"Oh."

Ning Qing looked back down. She had just finished sewing. With a tug on the thread, she drew the split seam together until no trace of the damage remained. After securing the thread, she folded his jacket on her lap and asked lightly:

"Did the sunshine feel nice today?"

"Not bad..."

Chen Shu scratched his head and sat down on the stone bench beside her. "Did you wash your hands after spraying the flowers? Don't get any of that stuff on my jacket."

Naturally, he got no answer.

By afternoon, the sky had turned gloomy again.

"You should head home."

"I haven't had dinner yet."

"I need to work some slow-release fertilizer into the soil around the flowers before it rains. I don't have time to hang out with you." Ning Qing added, "Go home and prepare properly for the big exam."

"No."

Chen Shu propped his chin on one hand and held a flower in the other, sniffing it now and then. "My mind's a mess right now. If this keeps up, it might affect my exam in a few days, and I haven't been admitted early like you. So I need to stay here a while longer and relax."

"..."

Ning Qing looked at him, her eyes shifting, but said nothing.

"You go work in your fertilizer. I'll hang out with Xiaoxiao."

Chen Shu patted his backside, got up, and headed into the house.

Xiaoxiao was watching a documentary on the sofa. She was much shorter than her sister, only about five foot three. She wore loose shorts and an equally loose striped shirt, and her shoulder-length hair gave the outfit a somewhat boyish look. Her two fair, slender legs were crossed beneath her, and she held a bag of potato chips in both hands.

"Brother-in-law, want some chips?"

The girl generously offered Chen Shu the bag.

"No thanks."

"Oh. Brother-in-law, are you taking the big exam soon?"

"In just a few days."

"Good luck."

"If I get in, will you buy me dinner?" Chen Shu asked without a trace of embarrassment. "I'll help you spend some of your allowance."

"Sure."

"Hey, how old are you again?"

"Fifteen."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu nodded. If he remembered right, Xiaoxiao had skipped a grade. Like her sister, she was excellent at school and had a strong talent for cultivation.

"Brother-in-law, what do you want to watch?"

"I'm not watching anything. I'll read a book, or your sister will lecture me later. She never stops talking."

"True."

The girl agreed wholeheartedly. She tipped her head back and watched Chen Shu go upstairs, chewing her chips the whole time.

Chen Shu walked straight into Ning Qing's room without the slightest hesitation. He found a stack of books on her desk and looked through them, finally choosing one from the middle titled Tricky Questions from Past Spell Theory Competitions (With Answers).

Perfect. I can work through some questions.

Back downstairs, Chen Shu chatted idly with Xiaoxiao. "When are your mom and dad getting back?"

"Don't know."

"Don't you have homework?"

"I'll do it tonight."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu lowered his head and began reading.

The questions really were tricky. They were far from mainstream and even lacked practical value, but they made for a good change of pace.

Time slipped by unnoticed.

Working slow-release fertilizer into the soil was tedious, especially with a whole courtyard of flowers. By the time Ning Qing finished everything, washed her hands, and came into the living room, Chen Shu was absorbed in the book. She stepped closer and glanced at what he was holding, her face expressionless. She only said:

"It's about to rain. Go home now, or you'll get soaked again."

"Really?"

Chen Shu looked outside. Sure enough, dark clouds had already gathered. The weather by the lake changed at the drop of a hat.

He closed the book and stood. "I'm taking this home to finish."

"I haven't finished reading it."

Ning Qing refused, then added, "Your exam is coming up. Everything in that book is far beyond the syllabus, and almost none of it will be tested. Don't waste your time on it."

"That's true."

Chen Shu thought she had a point and put the book down. "I'll come get it after the exam, then. Better hurry up and finish it."

"Take my bike."

"Will do." Chen Shu had already taken two steps when he stopped abruptly. "Oh, right. Remember to go to school tomorrow. They're taking the graduation photo."

"Mm."

Chen Shu climbed onto Ning Qing's miniature motorbike, feeling as though he were riding a dog. He pressed the power button. Spiritual-energy recognition kicked in, starting it without a key, and the dashboard lit up. One twist of his right hand sent the little motorbike zipping off.

The wind was strong outside, and riding through it felt wonderful.

Just as he reached his own complex and parked, a raindrop struck the ground, leaving a petal-shaped wet mark on the dry pavement. Chen Shu hurried to lock the bike. In that brief moment, the rain turned heavy and dense, pelting the ground with a clatter until its noise filled the whole world.

Rain pattered down.

Xiaoxiao pretended to watch the documentary and eat potato chips, but her eyes stayed fixed on her older sister. She watched Ning Qing pick up the book her brother-in-law had read and turn toward the back of the house. Her sister's expression was no different from usual, yet something felt off.

Oh no. I'll have to turn my head to keep watching.

As she debated whether to pretend to turn her head, the footsteps suddenly stopped. Then her sister's voice came from the stairs. "If you've got nothing to do, go finish your homework."

The girl flinched, nearly shaking the chips out of her hand, and hurriedly focused on the documentary and her snack.

Only then did the footsteps resume.

Back in her room, Ning Qing sat down at her desk and opened the book.

I'd planned to post the new book tomorrow, but I didn't expect Qidian's review process to be so fast. I thought it wouldn't be approved until tomorrow... I'm a new author with a new book, and it's hard to get by on Qidian. I hope you'll all support me.