A cetery on the outskirts of Jincheng.
All was silent, as the wind blew away a cloud, sunlight slanted across the tombstone, revealing the strikingly carved words "Late Father Shi Tingsong."
Standing in front of the tombstone was Shi Wangyue, dressed all in black.
In the blazing sumr, the cetery appeared deserted, with only countless cicadas on the grass and tree branches chirping, "zik-zik."
Shi Wangyue ignored his sweaty brow and was clearing the weeds around the tombstone with his bare hands.
After clearing the weeds, he took a handkerchief he brought, poured pure water on it, and patiently wiped the marble tombstone.
Once he finished cleaning the tombstone, he arranged the fresh flowers, fruits, incense, and paper money he had brought, one by one.
As the paper money and incense burned, wisps of white smoke rose under the azure sky.
This drew the Tomb Guardian, who had been patrolling in the distance, over to take a look.
As he got closer, the Tomb Guardian stood on the road at the bottom of the cetery’s slope and shouted with a rough voice, "Young girl, are you visiting your uncle at this ti?"
The speaker was an elderly man whose voice was slightly hoarse.
As he spoke, he held a cigarette in his mouth, making his words sowhat unclear.
Shi Wangyue paused for a mont, then rose, "Young girl?"
He was still holding so incense he had just lit in his hand.
The Tomb Guardian only then saw clearly that this was a very handso young man, not a girl.
"Oh, sorry, young man, I saw wrong, saw wrong." He quickly added, "The weather is dry, be careful with fire when paying respects to ancestors, young man."
Having said what needed to be said, the Tomb Guardian hoisted his shovel and prepared to leave.
Shi Wangyue quickly placed the incense and then, in a few steps, stood in front of him at the cetery’s entrance.
"Hello, sir, may I ask your last na?" He took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it over.
The Tomb Guardian looked at the young man with a face smooth like jade, then at the cigarettes in his hand, revealing a slightly chipped tooth as he smiled on his dark face, "My last na is He, but you can just call Old He; I take care of this area."
"Old He, may I borrow a light." Shi Wangyue took out a cigarette.
Old He took the cigarette butt from his mouth.
Shi Wangyue went over, took a few puffs, and lit the cigarette, "Keep this pack for yourself, but I need to trouble you a bit longer to ask about sothing."
The Tomb Guardian generously accepted the cigarette, putting it in his pocket.
"What do you want to ask, young man?"
Shi Wangyue took a deep drag from his cigarette, his eyes deep and inquisitive, "Have you seen others co to visit my father before?"
He pointed to the tomb he had just offered his respects to.
The Tomb Guardian squinted at the tombstone on the slope, "Yes, every Tomb-Sweeping Day a young girl cos, bringing many flowers, paper money, and incense. After the rituals, she even sits and chants for a while. She cos occasionally on ordinary days too."
Shi Wangyue’s heart trembled, "Is it a very beautiful girl?"
Old He looked up at the locust tree overhead, a complex emotion of admiration and amazent showing on his face as he smoked, "A very pretty girl, she always cos alone."
"Every ti?" Shi Wangyue’s hand trembled, holding the cigarette.
"Once or twice a year, it’s been about seven or eight years, or maybe eight or nine, I can’t rember exactly." The Tomb Guardian’s voice was hoarse as the gentle breeze brushed past the treetops.
Shi Wangyue’s heart seed to burst into colorful blooms, ready to jump out.
...
Jincheng, Xie family’s villa.
"Little Book Monster, where are you?" Xie Yizun stood at the spiral staircase on the first floor, shouting upstairs.
"Stop shouting, your sister will co down once she finishes her work." Xia Youqing was pacing in the living room, digesting her lunch.
"Ink Vampire, where are you?" Xie Yizun continued shouting, ignoring his mother.
Xia Youqing gave him an annoyed glance, "What are all these nonsensical nicknas?"
Xie Yizun turned to look at her, "She loves reading so much, that’s why I call her that."
Xia Youqing was speechless, "Stop hollering like that, your sister needs to rest."
Xie Yizun paused, asking, "Is my sister going to sleep now?"
Xia Youqing turned around, "She got up so early this morning, of course she needs to nap at noon. It’s so hot, how can she not rest? You’d think everyone is like you, bouncing around like a monkey."
Xie Yizun walked back to the living room, deflated.
He lazily sat down on the sofa, randomly flipping through TV channels with the remote, "Sister hasn’t visited in so long, and she won’t even play gas with properly."
Xia Youqing said, "Didn’t she keep you company this morning?"
Xie Yizun pouted, "It was less than half an hour."
"Your sister never plays gas, forcing herself to play with you for half an hour was quite sothing." Xia Youqing sat down next to her son.
"My daughter works hard at her job, and now she finally has a holiday to rest. Yiyi, be good and let your sister sleep." Grandmother Xie ca out of the kitchen with a tray of sweet lons, "These were picked in the garden this morning with my daughter, try them, they are delicious."
"Thank you, Grandma."
Xie Yizun reached out to take two slices of lon, giving one to his mom and taking a big bite of the other.
The lons, picked in the morning, had been washed by Ning Youguang and chilled in the fridge, perfect for eating now.
As soon as Xie Yizun took a bite, he gave his grandmother a big thumbs up, "Grandma, you’re amazing, growing such delicious lons."
Grandmother Xie was filled with comfort from her grandson’s flattery, "There’s more in the fridge; your sister can eat them when she wakes."
Xie Yizun nodded imdiately, "I’ll bring one for sister later."
...
In the scorching noon sun of midsumr, the sunlight blazed like a fire upon the earth.
Ning Youguang lay on the beige tatami, air conditioner on, engrossed in a book.
Having just eaten, she wasn’t planning to sleep yet.
Earlier in the year, Xia Youqing had the house redesigned by an architect, so now the Xie family villa looked very different from before.
Ning Youguang’s room was no longer a pink and girlish princess chamber.
She finally felt she could comfortably stay in the room.
She heard all the various nicknas Xie Yizun shouted from downstairs but had no intention of responding.
The quiet, cool space made her want to quietly read for a while, uninterested in dealing with the energetic child.
She loved everything about books.
She even had a number of little "Book Monsters" to help her collect books from all around the world.
The book in her hand was a rare edition, sourced by one such little Book Monster, Shi Wangyue, from a second-hand bookstore in the United States.
She had just started reading it over the past couple of days and was completely absorbed.
With the desire to quickly finish the book at hand, she had been sowhat distracted when playing with Xie Yizun that morning.
Xie Yizun, that sharp little rascal.
If she spaced out, he would imdiately notice.
He asked, "Sister, why aren’t you concentrating on the ga?"
She said, "I want to read."
Thus, an annoyed Xie Yizun ca up with a slew of random nicknas for her.
The two he just yelled downstairs were two of the inventive nas he’d made up that morning.
Though slightly perturbed by her little brother’s yelling, Ning Youguang couldn’t help a small smile as she noticed her mind drifting.
In the serene room, her smile seed to soften even the sunlight streaming through the window.
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