Afternoon, Qingliang Terrace.
The cicadas in the mountains filtered through the gaps in the bamboo blinds, becoming a faint layer of background sound.
Qi Yu lounged on the daybed, propping his chin on one hand, his legs crossed at the edge. His bare toes swayed gently to the rhythm of his turning pages.
He held the travelogue he had been reading for years, its pages already curled at the edges, and stopped at the chapter on Lingnan lychees. He laid the book facedown on his chest and tilted his head back to look at Qi Xiao, who sat beside the daybed.
"Darling, lychees." He opened his mouth.
Qi Xiao was peeling a chilled grape. De'an had sent the grapes from the Capital City early that morning. They had been chilled in an ice chest for over half an hour, and a thin layer of water droplets still clung to their skins when they were taken out.
With a gentle twist of his thumb, the thin skin split open, revealing the glistening green flesh inside. He glanced at the person on the daybed waiting open-mouthed to be fed and popped the grape into his mouth.
"Lychees won't ripen until next month. This is a grape."
Qi Yu chewed the grape, one cheek bulging, and said indistinctly, "Then we'll eat lychees next month. You promised to take me to Lingnan to eat them freshly picked."
"Lingnan is too far."
"Then have someone bring them by fast horse. Keep them on ice. Even if a few horses have to be ridden to death, they must get here." He spat the grape seeds into his palm, and Qi Xiao casually took them and dropped them into the empty dish beside him. Qi Yu opened his mouth again, and Qi Xiao put another grape in.