Burning Flowers, Swaying Moon, Asking About the Past - Clouds Unfurl, Rosy Mists Roll; With Nothing to Do, Sing of Spring's Traces

After the rain cleared, the Zhenshui River shed its former wild fury and grew as gentle as a girl in the first bloom of youth.

High above, the lingering rain clouds formed countless shapes against the azure sky, shifting unpredictably into boats and mountain peaks. Touched by sunlight from beyond, they glowed like the brilliant clouds of sunset.

On the broad waters of the Zhen River beneath that boundless sky, a youth lay with his head pillowed on misty waves, rising and falling as he gazed spellbound at the clouds unfurling overhead.

Was that all just a dream?

The warm spring waters seemed to soak his thoughts apart, leaving him unable to gather his wits and clearly work out what had happened in the past little while.

The clouds overhead scattered their radiant colors across the fine ripples around him, reflecting countless shards of pale violet light. Xing Yan drifted with the current, his thoughts floating far away, utterly unaware that time was flowing past with the river.

In that half-dreaming, half-waking state, he suddenly heard someone call softly beside his ear:

"Big Brother, has Sister Lingyi gone?"

At that tender question, the youth seemed to wake from a dream, his wandering thoughts returning to the mortal world. Turning his head, he discovered that the speaker was Qiong Rong. At some point, the little girl had quietly swum to his side. Her slightly rounded, rosy cheeks floated close beside him, bobbing with the gentle ripples.

Her question brought Xing Yan fully to his senses, and he thought:

I never knew this little girl could swim so well!

Aloud, he replied:

"Yes, Qiong Rong. Your Sister Lingyi has already gone back."

"Oh..."

Hearing a note in her brother's reply that differed from usual, little Qiong Rong merely answered once before closing