"Why are all your good friends girls?"
"..."
"Girls... what's wrong with girls?" Pei Ye frowned.
"Nothing, it's just..." Zhang Piaoxu was a little afraid of making him angry. "I've always played with boys since I was little..."
"I play with boys too," Pei Ye said. "It's just that none of my brothers are here today... they don't like going out."
"Oh."
"Mm."
Pei Ye fell silent for a while. "Are you just going to sit here the whole time? Tell me what you want to do, and I'll take you-want to get up and set off some firecrackers?"
"No." Zhang Piaoxu shook his head, holding the dead branch. "I set off loads yesterday. I came here today because... I wanted to see Xiye."
"Ah, that's easy. Once they're done talking inside, I'll take you in."
"...Thank you."
Before lunch, he took Zhang Piaoxu to Xu Chuo's courtyard to see the little mermaid. It had to be said that her air was entirely different from when they first met. Though still a little shy of strangers, she no longer seemed like a bird startled by a bowstring. Her hair was fine and her skin lustrous as she curled inside a large tub of clean water, complete with aquatic plants and pebbles. Xu Chuo had clearly cared for her very well.
Pei Ye had no idea how Zhang Piaoxu communicated with her. In any case, the boy clung to the rim of the tub and talked on and on. Whether the little mermaid understood him was unclear, but she did keep watching him, letting out an "ee-ya" now and then.
When the two finally came out, Zhang Piaoxu looked thoroughly satisfied, yet spoke with some sadness. "Pei Ye, did you know? Legend says merfolk can live for three hundred years, but